was it gilby who said 'the checks just stopped coming"?
Yes
"One day the checks just stopped comming, i pretty much took that as a hint"-Gilby Clarke
Let's not forget that Gilby never contributed creatively to the band. He wanted to play in a heavier, harder version of the Stones and he was glad to "throw his hat into the ring" if I remember his exact quoate.
Axl probably realized Gilby's "limitations" pertaining to his "vision" and didn't want to continue paying him.
I see where your comming from. He was pretty much in the same boat as Slash, Axl wanted an industrial sound and so forth and Slash did not. Neither did Gilby so they are the same in those terms
Funny i remember a classic rock article from last year on Guns N' Roses. And they were showing all the ex guitar players from Guns. And on Gilby they said the following:
"After 1 too many ballads, Gilby asked Axl if they could "Rock Out" a little more, and he was sent packing"