Gilby talks about Guns N' Roses, Axl Rose, Slash and Chinese Democracy

[LongGoneDay]

Oh, come on, Gilby clearly knows nothing about how Guns N' Roses works as a band, how much talented their musicians are. These are just assumptions of a resentful man.

He is underestimating people like Tommy, Dizzy and Chris, people who have done for Guns WAAAAAAAAAAAY more than he has. What is Gilby's role in GNR history? He was merely a live guitarist. He has no right at all to underestimate any other GNR member,

Gilby Clarke is exactly the same than Steven Adler, but with slightly more class...

You interpreted that totally different than how I read it. Doesn't sound like he's disparaging the current members at all. If anything, he's sticking up for them, wishing them more creative influence. Nothing he says sounds very offensive to my ears, with only Axl maybe taking exception to the GN'R moniker comment, but that's Gilby calling it as he sees it, and he has that right. He sounds like he genuinely enjoyed his time with the band. Doesn't sound like his firing is keeping him up at night.

Steven Adler was a HUGE part of GN'Rs early success, no matter how many people would love to convince themselves otherwise.

To my eyes, he was in the right moment with the right people in the right place. Guns would have never been the monster it is now without Axl and/or Izzy, and that's for sure. But I don't think things would be now much more different if someone else filled Adler's shoes back in 1985...

You may be right, but I think it's way to easy for us to say how a band would/wouldn't sound with someone else, and downplay their contributions. Frankly I don't see the point. It's playing make believe. Adler has a unigue drumming style, and I think it suits AFD perfectly.

I've noticed people(not you, this time it's me) often like to bring technical proficiency into these discussions, and I think it's insanely overrated. For instance Gilby. A lot of people thought he was a more skilled guitarist than Izzy, and would fill in just fine. He was a great band aid for the live act, but you can't expect him to just step into Izzy's songwriting shoes and have the same chemistry that he shared with Axl, Slash etc.

[LongGoneDay]

Oh, come on, Gilby clearly knows nothing about how Guns N' Roses works as a band, how much talented their musicians are. These are just assumptions of a resentful man.

He is underestimating people like Tommy, Dizzy and Chris, people who have done for Guns WAAAAAAAAAAAY more than he has. What is Gilby's role in GNR history? He was merely a live guitarist. He has no right at all to underestimate any other GNR member,

Gilby Clarke is exactly the same than Steven Adler, but with slightly more class...

You interpreted that totally different than how I read it. Doesn't sound like he's disparaging the current members at all. If anything, he's sticking up for them, wishing them more creative influence. Nothing he says sounds very offensive to my ears, with only Axl maybe taking exception to the GN'R moniker comment, but that's Gilby calling it as he sees it, and he has that right. He sounds like he genuinely enjoyed his time with the band. Doesn't sound like his firing is keeping him up at night.

Steven Adler was a HUGE part of GN'Rs early success, no matter how many people would love to convince themselves otherwise.

As for the above bolded/italicized portion, we know the band writes together.  Also, I'll point out this comment from 2008 from Axl:  "The songs were chosen by everyone involved. I didn?t want to do This I love in anyway shape or form and Robin and Caram insisted gaining Tommy?s and the others support."

Honestly, what the hell else is there as far as creative influence?  They write the songs and help choose them.  What else is there really?

Ali

Yeah that really wasn't my point. I'm just pointing out that he didn't say anything negative towards the current members, and I used his well wishes as an example of the opposite. To tell you the truth, I personally couldn't care less what the others involvement in the songwriting process is. I have a feeling Gilby might be in the same boat, but comments he makes are going to be over analyzed.

[Ali]

Oh, come on, Gilby clearly knows nothing about how Guns N' Roses works as a band, how much talented their musicians are. These are just assumptions of a resentful man.

He is underestimating people like Tommy, Dizzy and Chris, people who have done for Guns WAAAAAAAAAAAY more than he has. What is Gilby's role in GNR history? He was merely a live guitarist. He has no right at all to underestimate any other GNR member,

Gilby Clarke is exactly the same than Steven Adler, but with slightly more class...

You interpreted that totally different than how I read it. Doesn't sound like he's disparaging the current members at all. If anything, he's sticking up for them, wishing them more creative influence. Nothing he says sounds very offensive to my ears, with only Axl maybe taking exception to the GN'R moniker comment, but that's Gilby calling it as he sees it, and he has that right. He sounds like he genuinely enjoyed his time with the band. Doesn't sound like his firing is keeping him up at night.

Steven Adler was a HUGE part of GN'Rs early success, no matter how many people would love to convince themselves otherwise.

As for the above bolded/italicized portion, we know the band writes together.  Also, I'll point out this comment from 2008 from Axl:  "The songs were chosen by everyone involved. I didn?t want to do This I love in anyway shape or form and Robin and Caram insisted gaining Tommy?s and the others support."

Honestly, what the hell else is there as far as creative influence?  They write the songs and help choose them.  What else is there really?

Ali

Yeah that really wasn't my point. I'm just pointing out that he didn't say anything negative towards the current members, and I used his well wishes as an example of the opposite. To tell you the truth, I personally couldn't care less what the others involvement in the songwriting process is. I have a feeling Gilby might be in the same boat, but comments he makes are going to be over analyzed.

If there really is apathy, then better to make no comment at all rather than an uninformed one.  That's the problem here.  Not the analysis over overanalysis.  It's the lack of information on Gilby's part.

Ali

[LongGoneDay]

Oh, come on, Gilby clearly knows nothing about how Guns N' Roses works as a band, how much talented their musicians are. These are just assumptions of a resentful man.

He is underestimating people like Tommy, Dizzy and Chris, people who have done for Guns WAAAAAAAAAAAY more than he has. What is Gilby's role in GNR history? He was merely a live guitarist. He has no right at all to underestimate any other GNR member,

Gilby Clarke is exactly the same than Steven Adler, but with slightly more class...

You interpreted that totally different than how I read it. Doesn't sound like he's disparaging the current members at all. If anything, he's sticking up for them, wishing them more creative influence. Nothing he says sounds very offensive to my ears, with only Axl maybe taking exception to the GN'R moniker comment, but that's Gilby calling it as he sees it, and he has that right. He sounds like he genuinely enjoyed his time with the band. Doesn't sound like his firing is keeping him up at night.

Steven Adler was a HUGE part of GN'Rs early success, no matter how many people would love to convince themselves otherwise.

As for the above bolded/italicized portion, we know the band writes together.  Also, I'll point out this comment from 2008 from Axl:  "The songs were chosen by everyone involved. I didn?t want to do This I love in anyway shape or form and Robin and Caram insisted gaining Tommy?s and the others support."

Honestly, what the hell else is there as far as creative influence?  They write the songs and help choose them.  What else is there really?

Ali

Yeah that really wasn't my point. I'm just pointing out that he didn't say anything negative towards the current members, and I used his well wishes as an example of the opposite. To tell you the truth, I personally couldn't care less what the others involvement in the songwriting process is. I have a feeling Gilby might be in the same boat, but comments he makes are going to be over analyzed.

If there really is apathy, then better to make no comment at all rather than an uninformed one.  That's the problem here.  Not the analysis over overanalysis.  It's the lack of information on Gilby's part.

Ali

Sure, I can see your point. Like I said, I believe he may be referring to the fact that during his time with GN'R, they couldn't agree on a musical direction.
Axl later brought in people who were willing to go in the direction that Gilby, Slash and Matt were not. So only after the fact that key contributors in the bands early sound, Slash, Izzy and Duff had left, was Axl able to achieve the new sound he craved. To Gilby, and countless others, it doesn't sound like a Guns N' Roses album, because it took an almost complete turnover in personnel to create something he and the others weren't interested in making. Can certainly disagree, but tough to tell him he's wrong.

If like you suggest, he is not drawing from his experience, and is just speaking as an outsider(though he would still know more than us), flat out assuming how the band operates today, then I agree with you 100%, he's wrong to assume, and probably a safe bet to say nothing. I just have a hard time believing he would talk out his ass about it for kicks.

I believe the new lineup does operate like a band. Just as I believe the classic lineup operated like a band. It's common sense.
I think Axl is a genius, but he's not writing these guitar parts, and he's not responsible for the many different influences other members bring to the band. All you have to do is listen to the different lineups output.

There is obviously tons of information we don't and probably will never know, but it seems like the only time GN'R wasn't functioning as a band was after they got off of the UYI tour. Unfortunately that one time proved to be one too many for that era of the band.

[Ali]

I agree with a lot of what you said.  It makes sense to me.  Just to be clear, I think that simply by virtue of the fact that Gilby isn't in the band, he can't really know how the new band operates.  He may be able to guess based on his own experiences in GN'R, but in the end, without being there in the band, he's just guessing.

Ali

[14 Yrs Of Silence]

Every band needs a leader and Axl is that, always was.  I believe if Slash had been more flexible Axl would have made an entirely different record that probably could have been released by 96.  Each had there own ego and decided to go their separate ways.  Axl's decision to own the GN'R name was business savy, plain and simple.  I think Axl saw where things were headed and decided he needed to control the legacy.  God forbid things went the other way and Slash replaced Axl with someone else. 

[LongGoneDay]

I don't think the legacy really needed to be "controlled". It had already been cemented.

I can't pretend to know for sure, but I've never heard anything that would lead me to believe Slash would have had an interest in continuing Guns N' Roses without Axl. He had said in interviews he wanted to work with Axl again if they could get past their disagreements. He and Axl were so far apart on what direction to take the band, they didn't feel they could make it work.

I think it's funny when Slash is branded as a sellout, because he's actually just the opposite. Had he stayed with Axl and made music his heart was not in, that would be the very definition of selling out. Financially, leaving Guns very easily could have led to career suicide. See Mick Taylor leaving the Rolling Stones in their prime for instance. Keith Richards opted to stay with the Stones even though he and Jagger were no longer on the same page. The result was a shitload of money and an endless stretch of forgettable albums.

As much as I love that era of GN'R, I respect their decisions to part ways on top as opposed to just going along for the ride.

[AxlReznor]

Axl was actually fired by the other guys at least once until management talked sense into them. Their original plan was to replace him.

Also, there are some things that Slash has done that are undoubtedly selling out... but let's not get into that in this topic. It's already hijacked more than enough of them already.

[jarmo]

How often do you heard bands say they wouldn't continue if one of them wasn't there?

And then, something happens... And they continue or stop. Only to continue later.





/jarmo

[LongGoneDay]

Axl was actually fired by the other guys at least once until management talked sense into them. Their original plan was to replace him.

Also, there are some things that Slash has done that are undoubtedly selling out... but let's not get into that in this topic. It's already hijacked more than enough of them already.

I would like to think that was the drugs talking. Or maybe to put a scare into him and get their point across. I can't imagine clear thinking minds considering it a good idea to replace Axl. Maybe the long tour turned the entire band temporarily insane.

[LongGoneDay]

How often do you heard bands say they wouldn't continue if one of them wasn't there?

And then, something happens... And they continue or stop. Only to continue later.





/jarmo

Luckily for us it happens all the time!
As the latest example, I remember reading just 2 years or so ago, Cornell and Thayil saying there was no need to reform SG, their work was done.
I've seen them 3 times since.

[LongGoneDay]

How often do you heard bands say they wouldn't continue if one of them wasn't there?

And then, something happens... And they continue or stop. Only to continue later.





/jarmo

Luckily for us it happens all the time!
As the latest example, I remember reading just 2 years or so ago, Cornell and Thayil saying there was no need to reform SG, their work was done.
I've seen them 3 times since.

Strike that last comment from the record. Just reread your comment and realized my SG example doesn't really apply, haha.

[westcoast_junkie]

Axl was actually fired by the other guys at least once until management talked sense into them. Their original plan was to replace him.

When was that, and who have said it?

[AxlReznor]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Korn said if one member left they'd all leave because it wouldn't be Korn to them... they're now down to 3 original members.

[AxlReznor]

Axl was actually fired by the other guys at least once until management talked sense into them. Their original plan was to replace him.

When was that, and who have said it?

I'm pretty sure it was during the Appetite era after Axl didn't show up to a gig (possibly during the Alice Cooper tour?) ... don't remember who said it, but on second thoughts, it could've been one of the many bullshit rumours

[LunsJail]

Axl was actually fired by the other guys at least once until management talked sense into them. Their original plan was to replace him.

When was that, and who have said it?

I'm pretty sure it was during the Appetite era after Axl didn't show up to a gig (possibly during the Alice Cooper tour?) ... don't remember who said it, but on second thoughts, it could've been one of the many bullshit rumours

It was in Slash's book. And that is about the right time, early Appetite era before everything broke big.

[westcoast_junkie]

Axl was actually fired by the other guys at least once until management talked sense into them. Their original plan was to replace him.

When was that, and who have said it?

I'm pretty sure it was during the Appetite era after Axl didn't show up to a gig (possibly during the Alice Cooper tour?) ... don't remember who said it, but on second thoughts, it could've been one of the many bullshit rumours

It was in Slash's book. And that is about the right time, early Appetite era before everything broke big.

Oh, thank you. Thought I recalled this, but didn't know if it was rumours or not....Long time since I've read it. Gonna have to pick it up again!