Help on Rocket Queen & Patience

[estrangedpaul]

Some Geffen record executive said he heard Izzy just playfully strumming and singing at the back door of the hellhouse one day. He said "Izzy's just there casually playing and he has a top 5 hit!" or something like that, in reference to the fact that everything the band did at that point turned to gold.

[keithos27]

Where is Axl's ex-wife (Erin Everly I'm assuming) in the Patience video?? I never remember seeing her.

i meant stephanie seymour...  sorry

[isa]

none of them are in the video

[keithos27]

none of them are in the video

okay i'm an idiot, haha!  i think i read it was the Don't Cry video... my bad!  and she was sup. to be in Estranged ("Part 3") correct?

[Loaded NightraiN]

none of them are in the video

okay i'm an idiot, haha! i think i read it was the Don't Cry video... my bad! and she was sup. to be in Estranged ("Part 3") correct?

She was in Dont Cry and November Rain..... And yes slated for Estranged, but they broke up.... See "Making the videos" for more!!

[Albert S Miller]

none of them are in the video

okay i'm an idiot, haha!? i think i read it was the Don't Cry video... my bad!? and she was sup. to be in Estranged ("Part 3") correct?

"Estranged", I do believe is part 4,  part 3 does not exist!!

[Albert S Miller]

Hey everyone.? Can some of you more experienced board members point out some info on Rocket Queen and Patience?? These are two of my favorite GNR songs and I always like to know the stories behind the music whenever possible.? Some things I already have learned:

- Rocket Queen featues real acoustics of Axl having sex with a g/f of Steven Adler at the time.? She did it to get back at Adler for cheating on him.?
- Rocket Queen changes over to a "happier sounding" beat because Axl wanted to end the album on a happy note.
- Patience features Axl's ex-wife in the video.

That's all the little tidbits I know at the moment.? Any other little facts would be much appreciated... any quotes on what band members have to say about the songs, etc.

Cheers,
Keith

"Patience" does not feature Axl's ex-wife Erin Everly nor does it feature Stephanie Seymore, however "Sweet Child O' Mine" was written for or about Erin Everly, Erin Everly is daughter to one of the two "Everly Brothers" I don't remember which, If you do not know who they are, one of their great hits was "Wake up Little Suzie". 


Here is a quote from Axl out of one of my GNR related books in regards to "Rocket Queen"

"There was also this ambiguous 'Rocket Queen' that Axl would say was him singing as if the song were about him but actually referred to a girl he knew who had very little life left after abusing herself through mental torture and substance abuse.  He said it was a "fucked thing" that since he was in L.A. he had lost five or six friends he used to hang out with every day.

"I wrote this song for this girl who was gonna have a band and she was gonna call it Rocket Queen.  She kinda kept me alive for a while.  The last part of the song is my message to this person, or anybody else who can get something out of it.  It's like there's a hope and a friendship note at the end of the song.  For that song there is also something I tried to work out with various people - a recorded sex act.  It was somewhat spontaneous but premeditated; something I wanted to put on the record...It was a sexual song and it was a wild night in the studio.

I have also heard that the song was about a girl named "Barbie Von Grief or something like that and she is supposedly the girl who has or had a band called Rocket Queen, and it is said that her brother once owned a bicycle and had named it Rocket Queen, so she used it as her band name.  I don't  know!!!!

Like someone mentioned before a good read in this months RS.

[Limulus]

some facts about "Rocket Queen" from August 2004, official message board/blog from Barbi Von Greif www.barbivongreif.com (this site now is offline though)


quote from a fan question:

"[.....]Before I heard about you, I read on a site(gnrinfo.tk) that Axl had written(or dedicated)
the lyrics of RocketQueen to a special girl that had been a friend of the band and that had a band named RocketQueen. I've never heard of anyone other
than Axl writing Novemeber Rain(I read Tracii Guns mentioning Axl working on it way back in 85' or 86') but I could be misinformed. Some of the members
on the forum I freguent asked if you helped write the lyrics or were the woman who was moaning in the background during the middle of the Rocketqueen.
If you or any of your fans can answer these questions I've raised that would be awesome! Thanks again. Keep on being an artist cause your style rocks!
Later"


quote/reply from "Barbi Von Greif":

"[....]Adriana did the moans..( dancer whom was dating Steven and I think she did a great job, don't you?)
My sister had a motorcycle called the RocketQueen when I was little which is where the name started. I wrote a version for the band Rocket Queen
which used my material and later morphed into the girl band Hardley Dangerous. The song itself was later morphed into the one you now know and I
think they did a #@*%!ing great job on it to be honest. ( Example "Here I am Your Rocket Queen" was changed to "Here I am, and you're a Rocket Queen" )
I'm not the chick in the studio! I wrote at home!"

2 pics from Barbi:

[kaasupoltin]

Thanks Limulus, cool info! So it all started from the band's friend's sister's motorbike.

[Adler_Sorum_Brain]

i was at the same show - izzy's first onstage appearance with Axl in almost 14 years.? and i'm 26? ?
? ?

Whenever somebody talks about it, i?ll get pissed..Izzy played a couple of shows with GNR..And decides to go home, just one day..ONE day before the sweden gig..The gig i attended...And then he comes back afterwards

[kaasupoltin]

i was at the same show - izzy's first onstage appearance with Axl in almost 14 years.  and i'm 26   
   

Whenever somebody talks about it, i?ll get pissed..Izzy played a couple of shows with GNR..And decides to go home, just one day..ONE day before the sweden gig..The gig i attended...And then he comes back afterwards

Yeah, he wasn't in Finland either. Fucking Norway

[stolat]

some facts about "Rocket Queen" from August 2004, official message board/blog from Barbi Von Greif www.barbivongreif.com (this site now is offline though)


quote from a fan question:

"[.....]Before I heard about you, I read on a site(gnrinfo.tk) that Axl had written(or dedicated)
the lyrics of RocketQueen to a special girl that had been a friend of the band and that had a band named RocketQueen. I've never heard of anyone other
than Axl writing Novemeber Rain(I read Tracii Guns mentioning Axl working on it way back in 85' or 86') but I could be misinformed. Some of the members
on the forum I freguent asked if you helped write the lyrics or were the woman who was moaning in the background during the middle of the Rocketqueen.
If you or any of your fans can answer these questions I've raised that would be awesome! Thanks again. Keep on being an artist cause your style rocks!
Later"


quote/reply from "Barbi Von Greif":

"[....]Adriana did the moans..( dancer whom was dating Steven and I think she did a great job, don't you?)
My sister had a motorcycle called the RocketQueen when I was little which is where the name started. I wrote a version for the band Rocket Queen
which used my material and later morphed into the girl band Hardley Dangerous. The song itself was later morphed into the one you now know and I
think they did a #@*%!ing great job on it to be honest. ( Example "Here I am Your Rocket Queen" was changed to "Here I am, and you're a Rocket Queen" )
I'm not the chick in the studio! I wrote at home!"

2 pics from Barbi:

Yes Limulus! A very entertaining story, to say the least! 

[stolat]

i was at the same show - izzy's first onstage appearance with Axl in almost 14 years.? and i'm 26? ?
? ?

Yeah, he wasn't in Finland either. Fucking Norway

The Norwegians did have a very strong resistance though. They are famous for travelling through the snow on skis. There is one Norwegian Resistance member who has recieved the most medals for bravery out of everyone!!!?

[keithos27]

thanks everyone.  i found this interesting...

"The song itself was later morphed into the one you now know and I
think they did a #@*%!ing great job on it to be honest. ( Example "Here I am Your Rocket Queen" was changed to "Here I am, and you're a Rocket Queen" )"


is that a sarcastic tone i'm reading???

[stolat]

Yes it is.


The website no longer exists.......

[keithos27]

Yes it is.


The website no longer exists.......

any history on why sarcasm?  i thought she was a friend of the band's?  was she not happy with them using the name???

[LunsJail]

Yes it is.


The website no longer exists.......

any history on why sarcasm?? i thought she was a friend of the band's?? was she not happy with them using the name???

I'm still not sure she's being sarcastic there.  I guess no one really knows though.

[stolat]

Well, for a start, the comment "here I am and you're a Rocket Queen" is a little provocative. Who is she calling a queen?

And two, Axl would never steal a line of someone!

The original story may very well have something to do with a bicycle and a brother, but that brother may not necessarily be Barbie's!

The hope and friendship factor that Axl talked about in one of your books is real......

[Limulus]

- Barbi's sister had a? motorycycle called "Rocket Queen" = the beginning
- band called "Rocket Queen" (later "Hardley Dangerous") <-- Barbi wrote some lyrics for them
- GN'R had interest in those special RQ ones (probably bought copyrights and stuff) and edited lyrics, the song in general etc. so Barbi's lyrics "Here I am Your Rocket Queen" (Rocket Queen the motorcycle) was changed by GN'R to "Here I am, and you're a Rocket Queen" (= no motorcycle but some girl) and Barbi simply liked how they changed it.

sounds pretty clear to me?

(by the way Barbi WAS in contact with GN'R back then)

[Albert S Miller]

Isn't it crazy, how many versions of the story are out there?  When Axl retires a full fledged biography written by Axl himself would be such a great money making project for him, and even better for all of us who have wondered about so much for so long!!!!