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

[Jim Bob]

There were several different combinations of GNR until basically the Seattle tour, which I believe Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff, & Steven agree was the point were they considered themselves an official band and officially GNR.

They were officially a band before that too.   They were an "official band" after that lineup.  And they are still an "official band".   That has never changed.

[Hudson]

They were officially a band before that too.   They were an "official band" after that lineup.  And they are still an "official band".   That has never changed.

I am not saying that they are an official band now. The current line up are official now because they have written music together will be releasing an album and probably touring the world together. So yes this line up is official.

Although, I am not sure what you call or consider the many people who have come and gone in the making of CD. I would probably consider BH a former member because he wrote music for CD and toured with GNR. However, what would Dave Navarro be considered? Is he a former member a hired gun? What about Brian May, Paul Tobias, Josh Freese? It gets a little tricky and becomes a little grey... not black and white. Do you consider all those people former members? I mean Axl did not consider Matt an official member.

Finally, I believe that when they went on the Seattle tour it was basically the official birth of GNR with that particular line up. At that point all members made the commitment that they would work together to achieve their common goal in playing gigs and trying to get signed. They continued playing and writing music until they got signed by Geffen.

[Hudson]

I meant to say... I am not saying that they are not an official band now.

[Alfie Bones]

You want to talk about bands that shouldn't be using their name anymore?

Look at LA Guns, the sister band of GN'R.

The only original member left is Tracii Guns, and there are not one, but TWO separate bands touring as LA Guns today.

GN'R never broke up... and Axl never fired the band... so you have to ask yourself when is the precise moment when GN'R stopped being GN'R.

Was it when Steven left?
Or Izzy?
Or Slash?
Or Matt?
Or Duff?
Or Buckethead?

GN'R is still the same puzzle, just with new pieces. When they play old GN'R songs, it sounds right. We can't say the same for Velvet Revolver, even with three ex-Gunners there.

[jarmo]

The day Axl sets the record straight, some of you will be upset.




/jarmo

[IKnowWhereIAM]

The day Axl sets the record straight, some of you will be upset.




/jarmo

Bloods and the Crips, man...some people just can't agree on anything.  It would seem that everyone who comes to this site would be a fan of the band, but alas - not the case, some just want to bitch about old members, etc.  I would love to hear Axls side - wouldn't change my opinion on music, but 'Team Slash' would probably go nuts calling him a liar...etc.

[ZRO]

You want to talk about bands that shouldn't be using their name anymore?

Look at LA Guns, the sister band of GN'R.

The only original member left is Tracii Guns, and there are not one, but TWO separate bands touring as LA Guns today.

GN'R never broke up... and Axl never fired the band... so you have to ask yourself when is the precise moment when GN'R stopped being GN'R.

Was it when Steven left?
Or Izzy?
Or Slash?
Or Matt?
Or Duff?
Or Buckethead?

GN'R is still the same puzzle, just with new pieces. When they play old GN'R songs, it sounds right. We can't say the same for Velvet Revolver, even with three ex-Gunners there.

So Guns N' Roses isn't really a band then? Has Axl turned it into nothing more than a brand name? Like a sports team where a revolving door of people come and go at their (or most likely Axl's) choosing? Where the lineup changes from season to season?

That's pretty disheartening to think about.

We're never going to know really happened. There's Slash's truth, there's Axl's truth and somewhere in the middle is probably the actual truth.

[Jdog0830]

I would LOVE to hear what Axls side of the story would sound like bout the original line up becides him tryin to bash Steven that he was 2 Fucked up to play back then

[jeffaz02t]

As for "setting the record straight" about the old line up "leaving him" - I'd love to hear his version of the story.  His side of that is not going to set the record straight - just another side.  All sides are viable and part of the whole story.  No single one is the "right" version that will set it all straight.       

I don't givea fuck about that.   He ended up getting a better band out of it, why dwell on all that negative bullshit from the past?    Its all in the past now and I assume leave it there.   

A better band? Shit, you cannot even tell me who the guitar players are in the band right now. Fact: old band released 5 albums and changed the world. Fact: New lineup released CD, while it is a great album, it is not near the level the other albums were as far as the public is concerned. It is cool that you think the current lineup is better, but stop acting like GnR was founded in 2001. Like it or not, for eternity SLASH will be known as the guitar player in GnR, NOT Robin, NOT BH, NOT Ron. I bet that really bugs you!

[oldgunsfan]

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.?

if anyone read slash's auobiography I think slash's lack of chemistry with whoever axl brought in to replace izzy was more of a contributing factor to him leaving than any perceived lack of wilingness to work with axl

[Jim Bob]

if anyone read slash's auobiography I think slash's lack of chemistry with whoever axl brought in to replace izzy was more of a contributing factor to him leaving than any perceived lack of wilingness to work with axl

if Paul Tobias hadn't been there, there would be no TWAT, no Catcher, no IRS, and no Prostitute.   

I'll take those 4 songs over anything whats his name has done since leaving GnR in 1996.    So things worked out for the best. 

[Jim Bob]

A better band? Shit, you cannot even tell me who the guitar players are in the band right now.

Axl Rose, Tommy Stinson, Dizzy Reed, Chris Pitman, Richard Fortus, Ron Thal, Frank Ferrer.    Its on their myspace.

And we can't ignore the heavy contributions made on this album by Robin Finck, Buckethead, Brain Mantia, and Paul Tobias.   Yes I feel this grouping of musicans made the best GnR album ever.

Fact: old band released 5 albums and changed the world. Fact: New lineup released CD, while it is a great album, it is not near the level the other albums were as far as the public is concerned.

Its not a competition.   Its GnR, and Chinese Democracy more than exceeded my expectations.   As for the public's response, lets see how things stand a year from now, or after another album. 

2 weeks after AFD was released, did the album have much influence anywhere?

It is cool that you think the current lineup is better, but stop acting like GnR was founded in 2001. Like it or not, for eternity SLASH will be known as the guitar player was in GnR and was later replaced by better guitarists.

I never did such a thing, and I fixed the rest of your quote for you.

[oldgunsfan]

if anyone read slash's auobiography I think slash's lack of chemistry with whoever axl brought in to replace izzy was more of a contributing factor to him leaving than any perceived lack of wilingness to work with axl

if Paul Tobias hadn't been there, there would be no TWAT, no Catcher, no IRS, and no Prostitute.   

I'll take those 4 songs over anything whats his name has done since leaving GnR in 1996.    So things worked out for the best. 

fair enough---an old boss said to me something once about opinions "opinions are like assholes, everyone has one"