Does Axl Need To Set The Record Straight? (Once and for All)

[14 Yrs Of Silence]

We've been told that this is just the beginning.  I expect Axl to do press to promote the album and tour as other artists are expected to do.  An in depth interview with say Rolling Stone would be great and nearly as exciting for me as Nov 23rd will be. 

[Verasa]

I'm not saying he owes us and if he decides to remain silent thats cool. After listening to Bumblefoot friday nite, I was just a little put off at how nervous he became as soon as GnR talk started and he didnt seem to get comfortable as the show went along.. It's axl's song and dance no doubt, not saying otherwise. I think people have a certain idea of what the band is was and when nobody is allowed to speak about the current situation..nothing changes. The mystique of Axl's silence builds anticipation for us die hards but in the mainstreem i think it's outta sight outta mind.
But maybe silence is the best way, hell i dont know. I just think that you're putting out a album that nobody is to speak about except the master..and the master doesnt speak

[BenDixon]

Axl should in my opinion  promote the hell out of this album. Even though the album probably could marked itself only on the GnR name and the mystique Axl has created about himself through the years - though that probably would not be ideal. 

But in the case of setting ?the record straight,? well that is a personal thing and should not in ideal world make a differens. We as fans may feel that he owns us that much - for sticking up for the band and him through all these years of silence and on going rumors. On the other hand I feel that we do not have any right to ask him to explain himself. We stuck up, trough our own free will - that is one of the things that define us as fans. If he does decide to tell his side of the the story though it will and should be his choice. I am not saying it would not be great, it probably would. But I think that celebrities and their ?issues? often drive the media in what they - and we - think are newsworthy. But let us ask ourselves if it really should be these ?issues? that are important?  Should not the music, not the person behind it be the real news? It might be naive, but this is still my two cents, and i am sticking by them.

[tat2d1]

I really don't think it would do much good. People love to hate Axl Rose. He made it quite easy for people to love to hate him. It was through some of his own actions like last minute cancellations,walking off stage mid concert, not showing up, etc.... He painted that picture himself so to speak. He's already pretty much given his side of the story without going into the nitty gritty of it all:

Originally I intended to do more of an Appetite style recording but with the changes in the band's dynamics and the band's musical influences at the time it didn't appear realistic. So, I opted for what I thought would or should've made the band and especially Slash very happy. Basically I was interested in making a Slash record with some contributions from everybody else. There?d still be some chemistry and some synergy happening and whatever dynamics anyone else could bring in to the project. It seemed to me that anytime we got close to something that would work, it wasn?t out of opinion that Slash would go ?hey it doesn?t work?, but it was nixed simply because it did work. In other words, ?Whoa, wait a minute. That actually might be successful, we can?t do that.? People like to call me paranoid. It has nothing to do with paranoia; it was to do with reality. If the material were strong enough for me to sink my teeth in then I would still be in a certain public position in regards to Guns, we?d have possibly still held a certain popularity with the public as I have previously been fortunate enough to have had. Slash and his ex-wife Renee and his security guy and closest confidant at the time, Ronnie Stalnacker could not live with that. It?s not something Slash could live with. Slash chose not to be here over control issues. Now people can say ?Well Axl, you?re after control of the band too.? You?re damn skippy. That?s right. I am the one held responsible since day one. When it comes to Guns n? Roses, I may not always get everything right but I do have a good idea about getting things from point A to point B and knowing what the job is that we have to do. Within those parameters, I give everyone as much freedom to do what they want something Slash has verified in several interviews. Had Slash stepped up and written what we captured glimpses of, it would have created an environment that was beyond Slash?s ability to control. He did not want to do that or put himself through the rigors of taking the band to that level even if he was capable of writing it. Was he capable of doing it? Absolutely 100%. I think that some of the riffs that were coming out of him were the meanest, most contemporary, bluesiest, rocking thing since Aerosmith?s Rocks. The 2000 version of Aerosmith Rocks or the 1996 Aerosmith Rocks by the time we would have put it out. I don?t know if I would have wanted to even do a world tour at the time but I wanted to put that record together and could we have done it? Yes. It?s not something I would want to approach (without Slash) because at the time there was only one person that I knew who could do certain riffs that way. We still needed the collaboration of the band as a whole to write the best songs. Since none of that happened, that?s the reason why that material got scrapped. If one were to say well then why not do it now there are several reasons.1) My band, too much time, too much effort and hardship. Confidence in our material. Excitement in watching this grow and being a part of the whole experience. 2) Money. You get what you play for and nothing?s free. Can you cover the cost of this venture and its financial potential that I am just supposed to walk away from and for what? To where? I do not believe in any true effort or potential regarding most of my past relationship from the other party or parties, creatively or emotionally. Without that the money from a reunion doesn't mean much and though I'm sure the alumni is up for it for me it would be as or more lacking than it was during our attempts to work together previously. As a friend and former friend of Slash said to me in regards to working with Slash, "you can only do so many pull ups." This is my shot and you can root for me to fail all you want, but there is simply way too much put into this to cater to someone else's selfish needs and destroy peoples dreams I truly care about including my own. Not too mention that though I've fought what feels like the heart of the nature of this entire industry, my own people would probably eat me alive if I opted for a lesser course. 3) Slash has lied about nearly everything and anything to nearly everyone and anyone. It's who he is. It's what he does. Duff's support for the man though understandable in one sense in regard to his circumstances, is inexcusable, and furthers my distance from the two of them. For me Matt doesn't figure into the equation and for as much as I was a friend to him he was incapable of reciprocating and life is much better without such an obvious albatross. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from the alumni in regard to their prior performances on record or touring to support the albums. I know how I was treated and more importantly I know how they treated others during both of these things, it's not a way anyone should be forced or even asked to work. And for the record I'm referring to Slash and Matt in regards to their actions and behavior, Duff played more of a supporting role (for reasons I've never understood). For the fans to attempt to condemn me to relationships even only professional with any of these men is a prison sentence and something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I'd say my parole is nearly over. I'm practically a free man and if you don't like it you'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea.?

[Annie]

I really don't think it would do much good. People love to hate Axl Rose. He made it quite easy for people to love to hate him. It was through some of his own actions like last minute cancellations,walking off stage mid concert, not showing up, etc.... He painted that picture himself so to speak. He's already pretty much given his side of the story without going into the nitty gritty of it all:

Originally I intended to do more of an Appetite style recording but with the changes in the band's dynamics and the band's musical influences at the time it didn't appear realistic. So, I opted for what I thought would or should've made the band and especially Slash very happy. Basically I was interested in making a Slash record with some contributions from everybody else. There?d still be some chemistry and some synergy happening and whatever dynamics anyone else could bring in to the project. It seemed to me that anytime we got close to something that would work, it wasn?t out of opinion that Slash would go ?hey it doesn?t work?, but it was nixed simply because it did work. In other words, ?Whoa, wait a minute. That actually might be successful, we can?t do that.? People like to call me paranoid. It has nothing to do with paranoia; it was to do with reality. If the material were strong enough for me to sink my teeth in then I would still be in a certain public position in regards to Guns, we?d have possibly still held a certain popularity with the public as I have previously been fortunate enough to have had. Slash and his ex-wife Renee and his security guy and closest confidant at the time, Ronnie Stalnacker could not live with that. It?s not something Slash could live with. Slash chose not to be here over control issues. Now people can say ?Well Axl, you?re after control of the band too.? You?re damn skippy. That?s right. I am the one held responsible since day one. When it comes to Guns n? Roses, I may not always get everything right but I do have a good idea about getting things from point A to point B and knowing what the job is that we have to do. Within those parameters, I give everyone as much freedom to do what they want something Slash has verified in several interviews. Had Slash stepped up and written what we captured glimpses of, it would have created an environment that was beyond Slash?s ability to control. He did not want to do that or put himself through the rigors of taking the band to that level even if he was capable of writing it. Was he capable of doing it? Absolutely 100%. I think that some of the riffs that were coming out of him were the meanest, most contemporary, bluesiest, rocking thing since Aerosmith?s Rocks. The 2000 version of Aerosmith Rocks or the 1996 Aerosmith Rocks by the time we would have put it out. I don?t know if I would have wanted to even do a world tour at the time but I wanted to put that record together and could we have done it? Yes. It?s not something I would want to approach (without Slash) because at the time there was only one person that I knew who could do certain riffs that way. We still needed the collaboration of the band as a whole to write the best songs. Since none of that happened, that?s the reason why that material got scrapped. If one were to say well then why not do it now there are several reasons.1) My band, too much time, too much effort and hardship. Confidence in our material. Excitement in watching this grow and being a part of the whole experience. 2) Money. You get what you play for and nothing?s free. Can you cover the cost of this venture and its financial potential that I am just supposed to walk away from and for what? To where? I do not believe in any true effort or potential regarding most of my past relationship from the other party or parties, creatively or emotionally. Without that the money from a reunion doesn't mean much and though I'm sure the alumni is up for it for me it would be as or more lacking than it was during our attempts to work together previously. As a friend and former friend of Slash said to me in regards to working with Slash, "you can only do so many pull ups." This is my shot and you can root for me to fail all you want, but there is simply way too much put into this to cater to someone else's selfish needs and destroy peoples dreams I truly care about including my own. Not too mention that though I've fought what feels like the heart of the nature of this entire industry, my own people would probably eat me alive if I opted for a lesser course. 3) Slash has lied about nearly everything and anything to nearly everyone and anyone. It's who he is. It's what he does. Duff's support for the man though understandable in one sense in regard to his circumstances, is inexcusable, and furthers my distance from the two of them. For me Matt doesn't figure into the equation and for as much as I was a friend to him he was incapable of reciprocating and life is much better without such an obvious albatross. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from the alumni in regard to their prior performances on record or touring to support the albums. I know how I was treated and more importantly I know how they treated others during both of these things, it's not a way anyone should be forced or even asked to work. And for the record I'm referring to Slash and Matt in regards to their actions and behavior, Duff played more of a supporting role (for reasons I've never understood). For the fans to attempt to condemn me to relationships even only professional with any of these men is a prison sentence and something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I'd say my parole is nearly over. I'm practically a free man and if you don't like it you'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea.?

What is this from?

[jarmo]

What is this from?

August 14th, 2002
GN'R press release
http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=82



/jarmo

[Jim Bob]

and over 6 years later it would appear he meant every word he said. 

[Annie]

and over 6 years later it would appear he meant every word he said. 

I am so totally blown away.

[Thorned Rose]

Be careful what you say please. Your post may get removed, the key word here is "6 years" later.

Regardless I'm excited as hell and the album is coming.

What a great time for Gn'R fans.

Keep up the great work Jarmo! 

[jarmo]

Be careful what you say please. Your post may get removed

Yeah, if you're gonna be a fucking smart ass about shit.

I thought I explained it to you in a PM, but obviously you don't get it.


Take your fucking whiny posts to Dead Horse and they won't be removed.

I don't see the need to air your frustrations about this in a time when there's actual news.

I bet the majority of the board understands that.


I'm sorry if me making this public offends you, but you chose the path by posting this crap AFTER I explained my reasons to you privately.




/jarmo

[Thorned Rose]

that's odd, I wrote you a post last night that you never got back to me about...

I was apologetic in the post...

please get back with me on it.

[LunsJail]

I don't think Axl needs to promote Chinese Democracy by giving another big explanation as to why Slash and Co. aren't in the band.  Better to look forward at this point.....

[jarmo]

that's odd, I wrote you a post last night that you never got back to me about...

I was apologetic in the post...

please get back with me on it.

I think I made myself clear.




/jarmo

[Hudson]

Originally I intended to do more of an Appetite style recording but with the changes in the band's dynamics and the band's musical influences at the time it didn't appear realistic. So, I opted for what I thought would or should've made the band and especially Slash very happy. Basically I was interested in making a Slash record with some contributions from everybody else. There?d still be some chemistry and some synergy happening and whatever dynamics anyone else could bring in to the project. It seemed to me that anytime we got close to something that would work, it wasn?t out of opinion that Slash would go ?hey it doesn?t work?, but it was nixed simply because it did work. In other words, ?Whoa, wait a minute. That actually might be successful, we can?t do that.? People like to call me paranoid. It has nothing to do with paranoia; it was to do with reality. If the material were strong enough for me to sink my teeth in then I would still be in a certain public position in regards to Guns, we?d have possibly still held a certain popularity with the public as I have previously been fortunate enough to have had. Slash and his ex-wife Renee and his security guy and closest confidant at the time, Ronnie Stalnacker could not live with that. It?s not something Slash could live with. Slash chose not to be here over control issues. Now people can say ?Well Axl, you?re after control of the band too.? You?re damn skippy. That?s right. I am the one held responsible since day one. When it comes to Guns n? Roses, I may not always get everything right but I do have a good idea about getting things from point A to point B and knowing what the job is that we have to do. Within those parameters, I give everyone as much freedom to do what they want something Slash has verified in several interviews. Had Slash stepped up and written what we captured glimpses of, it would have created an environment that was beyond Slash?s ability to control. He did not want to do that or put himself through the rigors of taking the band to that level even if he was capable of writing it. Was he capable of doing it? Absolutely 100%. I think that some of the riffs that were coming out of him were the meanest, most contemporary, bluesiest, rocking thing since Aerosmith?s Rocks. The 2000 version of Aerosmith Rocks or the 1996 Aerosmith Rocks by the time we would have put it out. I don?t know if I would have wanted to even do a world tour at the time but I wanted to put that record together and could we have done it? Yes. It?s not something I would want to approach (without Slash) because at the time there was only one person that I knew who could do certain riffs that way. We still needed the collaboration of the band as a whole to write the best songs. Since none of that happened, that?s the reason why that material got scrapped. If one were to say well then why not do it now there are several reasons.1) My band, too much time, too much effort and hardship. Confidence in our material. Excitement in watching this grow and being a part of the whole experience. 2) Money. You get what you play for and nothing?s free. Can you cover the cost of this venture and its financial potential that I am just supposed to walk away from and for what? To where? I do not believe in any true effort or potential regarding most of my past relationship from the other party or parties, creatively or emotionally. Without that the money from a reunion doesn't mean much and though I'm sure the alumni is up for it for me it would be as or more lacking than it was during our attempts to work together previously. As a friend and former friend of Slash said to me in regards to working with Slash, "you can only do so many pull ups." This is my shot and you can root for me to fail all you want, but there is simply way too much put into this to cater to someone else's selfish needs and destroy peoples dreams I truly care about including my own. Not too mention that though I've fought what feels like the heart of the nature of this entire industry, my own people would probably eat me alive if I opted for a lesser course. 3) Slash has lied about nearly everything and anything to nearly everyone and anyone. It's who he is. It's what he does. Duff's support for the man though understandable in one sense in regard to his circumstances, is inexcusable, and furthers my distance from the two of them. For me Matt doesn't figure into the equation and for as much as I was a friend to him he was incapable of reciprocating and life is much better without such an obvious albatross. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from the alumni in regard to their prior performances on record or touring to support the albums. I know how I was treated and more importantly I know how they treated others during both of these things, it's not a way anyone should be forced or even asked to work. And for the record I'm referring to Slash and Matt in regards to their actions and behavior, Duff played more of a supporting role (for reasons I've never understood). For the fans to attempt to condemn me to relationships even only professional with any of these men is a prison sentence and something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I'd say my parole is nearly over. I'm practically a free man and if you don't like it you'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea.?

I read this a long time ago. I think we still have not heard the entirety as to what really went down in GNR. However, we get these little snipets every once in a while from the parties involved.

Axl and Slash seem contradict each other when they mention the time they were working on new material before Slash's departure. Always two sides to every story. Originally there were rumors and I am not sure if Slash may have also said that Axl wanted to the NIN type album or more industrial album which was one of the reasons Slash was clashing creatively with Axl. Slash has said if I recall correctly as well as Duff and Matt that they were frustrated when they departed because nothing was getting done because of Axl. (I am not saying it is the truth, but what they said... Jarmo correct me if I am wrong).

I am not going to say Axl is lying, but I am having a little trouble believing the part where he says that he wanted to a Slash type album and Slash was basically nixing everything. This part seems off because we have seen Slash throughout the years always write material and release it rather quickly. Additionally, I remember from a long time ago Slash said he did Snakepit to get those songs out of his system because Axl said he did not think they were good enough for GNR.  

Also the first Snakepit album was done pretty quickly, and so was second, In VR they they worked on the first album for a year, and the second for a year and a half or something like that. I cannot imagine Slash undermining his own material it seems a little weird, especially if it is the material he wanted to play.

We all know Axl is highly critical of GNR material, I think it is a blessing and a curse because he may take long but he is without a doubt a genius. CD has taken very long to come out, and is nothing like AFD, so Axl's explanation to me does not coincide with what we have witnessed throughout the years. I think Axl just wanted to take the band in a new direction the rest of the members were clashing creatively and felt nothing was ever good enough for Axl, and nothing was ever going to get done at the pace they were working. The former to me has been reinforced by all the people that have come and gone working on CD.

I agree with with Axl on his feelings to release CD with the new members for all the reasons he gave... I cannot argue with that. After all the work put in even by 2000 he needed to get it released with the people who worked on it.

[jarmo]

I am not going to say Axl is lying, but I am having a little trouble believing the part where he says that he wanted to a Slash type album and Slash was basically nixing everything.

Imagine somebody with the user name Hudson having "a little trouble" believing that.

You know where you can discuss your namesake.


History has proven Axl to be right.

In case you didn't notice.

Just because you like to just write songs and record it quickly, then release it, doesn't mean you're interested in working on something until it's great. Go look up what Rick Rubin told those guys.



/jarmo

[wight gunner]

Seems to me that in decorating terms that Axl likes to do the tedious stuff and get the job done right. Others perfer the slap on the paint method that appears to be the same until you look closer and the rough stuff shows the short-cuts and their failings.

Of course it would have been better to of used "The hare and the tortoise" story to make the same point. If your gonna do it, do it right....

I think the wait will be worth it, and as mentioned before, I think that there will be other stuff coming shortly, though not soon!

[Howard2k]

I don't think we'll hear all the details for quite some time, if at all.

If there is even a snowball's chance in hell right now of the powers that be negotiating a reunion (and I'm not suggesting that there is, nor that it's what I want to see) then it would be in Axl's best interests to keep quiet.  

And even if there is not, tensions between Axl and Slash to appear to have publicly thawed slightly over the last few years.  So my guess is that GNR will let the music do the talking and as much as I'd like to hear all the details, I'm just happy that this music is seeing the light of day.

I'm sure that there are plenty of other things that Axl wants to (or needs to) address before he gets into those details.  The creative process behind Chi Dem, the status of the band, the future direction etc.  All those are more pressing than a history lesson in my opinion.

[thesloth]

I would think Axl will be doing some kind of press to push CD. Im sure someone will ask the questions we want to hear asked.

I dont think it would be in anyones better interest if Axl were to stay a "recluse" throughout all this hype and stuff to come.

He should to do some interviews, get out and talk to people. It would do wonders.

Talk to people or talk to media?

I think the web could be Axl's best friend.  He can just do some web videos answering questions from fans or talk about the making of the album cool stories ect.  That way he does not have to deal with the media and can still have his voice herd.

[Crowebar]

I don't think Axl "needs" to set the record straight. I think it's up to him. He sort of cleared the air a bit in that press thingy from 2002. I hope that he does give some revealing interviews or something someday though. Probably be a very interesting read.

[Olorin]

Mabye with this release he just intends to draw a line under the past. He never made any mention of them when they went out on tour in 06/07, why now? Never really gave any press either and the tour was still a success, and that was with no album in sight.