An open letter to the fans from Axl - Discussion

[duga]

What, while he sleeps? Sure, why not.

Is Jarmo still in the US then?

Or does he just lie in late?

Well, it's 1.45 pm in Sweden now.

[Apple7]

Thanks Axl for be GUNS N' ROSES.





Special thanks to Jarmo.

[JimBobJoeJackJr]

Wasn't Merck's last statement something along the lines of "you'll be hearing an anouncement from the band before the end of the year"?

Wonder if he knew it was gonna be about canning his ass!

[snakepipero]

i'm goin' to believe axl, i hope the album for marth 6, and if this is not the date i hope they advise us the actually date.
Thanks axl for givin' us some information and stop all the speculations, after all this time this begin' to look like a band, doin' things like every band should do.
it's not good ?:no:to have to wait 3 more months ? but anyway it's goin' to be a great year New Axl n' Roses and Velvet revolver ?albums in spring, that's fuckin' awesome!!!! ?

[ScottishGunner]

Just awesome, none of this vauge "late fall" or "12 Tuesdays" shit, and actual date, one we can circle in our brand new calanders we all get on Xmas day

thank you Axl, and the rest of the band for all you hard work in 2006, you kicked my ass in glasgow in July and now just when the tide is turning, fans getting restless, you pull this out of the hat.

I've waited nearly 15 years for a new Gn'R record, and it looks like in 2007 i'm going to get everything i wanted when i was 14/15 years old!! ( not just a new Gn'R album BTW ? )

the best Xmas gift ever. A man of my age should not be reacting this way n his office, with a small tear in his eye.

Axl, you expalin to my staff why their boss is nearly in tears !!

Thank you, and a very merry Xmas to Gn'R, their crew, their family and all you guys & gals on HTGTH !!!

awesome man, just awesome ?

[Mandy.]

This is SO frigging awesome! Not only because of the release date, but also because of this connection with the fans. This explains everything.
Thank you, Axl!



See ya later, Merckstator!

[Naupis]

But by no means is 2006 in ruins or disappointment, I don't want to hear that.

Well, in many ways it is really no different than 02 was. Three new songs played on the tour, cancelled dates culminating in a cancellation of the rest of the tour. More heading back to the studio to finish the album talk.

The only thing that will have made the year a positive development is to actually deliver it in a timely manner as promised now.

[erose]

Great read, very nice!

I am a bit surpriced about the merck situation tho i haven't really figured out what merck ever did for the band anyway...

The only sad part is that i actually have to fuckin' go out in the jungle to buy christmas presents for everyone. I was hoping to get away with it this year simply by buying CD for everyone i know... Huh oh well. 

[charlesfosterkane]

a great letter. very humble and thoughtful of axl.

[Red1]

I know it is totally coincidental but I swear from reading that letter, its as if Axl read every complaint spewed on here by GNR fans.


I just wonder if we had anything to do with this?

Axl does read this forum.  He sees all of the bitching and stupid speculation.  He knew about the feelings of the fans on here.  However, he had a manager that assured him the album could be delivered by the end of 2006.   It obviously became apparent that it wasn't gonna happen - so Axl has sorted it out.

Good for him, good for GNR.  Lets get this train rolling once and for all!!! 

[yorch]

Thank you Axl

[Dr. Blutarsky]

We have the story straight. Thanks, Axl.

Guess GNR is ditching Merck & staying with Sanctuary.

[LittleFly]

Wow, this is just unbelieveable, in a very good way.  I had a friend from the board call me in the middle of the night to let me know this had come out, giving me the pertinent information from it.  I yell "WHAT??" so loud it woke my daughter up

A huge thank you to Axl for taking the time and thought to write this letter.  It feels so incredibly good to actually have a date to look forward to. In addition to the promise of updates if anything changes with regard to the time of the release.

This week, I had been telling people that I felt like I wanted to step away from the GNR boards for a while because I thought the negativity was going to just keep building until the end of the year.  I don't feel like I need to do that anymore

Thank you, thank you, thank you GNR!!

[Oddy]

great letter.

but i'll believe chinese democracy is out when it is in my hands and the cd is playing on my stereo.

im not gonna get all excited again only to get let down.

[tommy gun]

I went to sleep when there were 6 pages in this thread - now there is 19.  Have we figured out how Jarmo got the letter in the first place?

[tippasaurus]

Thank you Gun N' Roses and specifically Axl for this clarification. ?As we all know, he didn't HAVE to let us know anything and I especially appreciate the statement: "The stress of dealing with this situation has been considerable for everyone, including the band, but more important, in our opinion, it was something utterly insane to do to our fans."

Thank you Gn'R! ?

[oneway23]

This is extremely welcoming...If nothing else, the next few weeks should bring many developments.  I want to make clear that the following comments are not, in any way, meant to dampen the optimism this letter brings.  I am simply left curious as to a few things:

1.  Axl is well aware of what is said both around him publicly and in private.  Merck was out on the road with them every single date of this year.  I find it hard to believe that Merck drops such an irresponsible comment to Rolling Stone, and yet Axl waited until now to reprimand Merck.  Why was this not handled immediately?  Surely, the tour dates were already in place.  The band could have feasibly carried on with the tour after doing the deed.

2.  Can this record come out without someone filling Merck's position?  Are there legalities to iron out relating to Merck's departure?

I'm going to speculate that the contractual issues may relate to Buckethead's compensation for songwriting royalties owed, but who knows?  Either way, I realize that we were told in the 2004 RIR press release that a release date would be announced in the coming months, but to all who will point that out in the future, this is the ONLY time that a tentative date (As in one, single, isolated date) has been pinned down.  Axl also makes clear to emphsize that should anything change, we will be made aware.  This can only mean good things.  Right now, I see June as the absolute latest.

[Verasa]

I just woke up to this.

Thank you Axl

[JB9988]

Cool i guess fucking sucks cd isnt coming out this year. Who is going to peplace merck? But im not going to take this march 6th serious since many times end of 06 was said.

[madagas]

Good enough for me, a decade worth of bullshit boiled down to one letter. I am not going to hang my hat on March 6th but he has never been more specific than that. My guess is that in the end, the record company-Axl-Merck all had distinctly different takes on the setup of the record. Obviously, Axl and the record company didn't agree with Merck. Oh well, it is about hopefully getting music-not management/record company bullshit. See ya in March.