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Axl Rose gives first interview in five years to Eddie Trunk of ?That Metal Show,? makes host wait 15 hours to talk November 10 2011
The notoriously elusive Guns 'N Roses frontman opens up about his new band and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination
Axl Rose, the elusive frontman of Guns ?N Roses, opens up Friday night for his first interview in five years.
In an extended conversation with host Eddie Trunk on ?That Metal Show? over VH1 Classic (11 p.m.), Rose talks about his new band, his music over the years, the band?s nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, yes, his legendary propensity for being late to everything, especially his own concerts.
?He talks about a lot of reasons why he?s late,? says Trunk. ?Then at the very end he kind of laughs and admits that when he was a kid and had a job right next door, he never got there on time, either.?
This interview itself reinforced that point. Trunk arrived at 2 p.m. at the venue where Guns ?N Roses was playing a concert and finally scored the interview at 5:30 the next morning.
?You quickly realize that with this band, everything runs on Axl time,? says Trunk, adding that he was ?ecstatic? to talk to Rose at all, no matter what the hour.
?I suppose ideally I would have talked to him at a time when I hadn?t been hanging around for 15 hours and up for 24 straight hours. But I?m not complaining.?
Trunk says he was told to come to the venue, set up his crew and that if it felt right to Axl, he?d do the interview.
?So we spent a lot of that time talking to everyone else,? says Trunk. ?We talked to the crew, everyone in the band. I mean, we had to get a show out of it whether we talked to Axl or not. So now we?ve got a lot of good stuff that won?t make it on the air this time.?
What helped, Trunk allows, is that he was the guy to whom Rose gave his last interview ? five years ago, on Trunk?s radio show.
?That one was completely out of the blue,? says Trunk. ?Sebastian Bach was there, and he knows Axl. So they were texting and Bach said, hey, c?mon down ? and he did.
?After the show ended, he hung out for a couple of hours. He was just a cool guy who likes to talk about music.?
Trunk has become the go-to media guy in the metal and hard rock media world, and he says the reason is nothing complicated.
?I?ve been doing this for 30 years,? he says. ?And I think it?s clear to everyone that first and foremost I?m a fan. I?m not going to try to make anyone look bad.
?That said, however, I will ask the tough questions. I want to know what the fans want to know. I?ve turned down interviews when I was told the artist wouldn?t talk about something I knew I had to ask.?
In the case of Rose, he says, the only precondition was that he not ask about a reunion of the original Guns ?N Roses. ?Which I understand,? says Trunk. ?He?s on the road now with new guys, and he loves playing with them. And he actually brought up some of the original guys himself at a couple of points.?
Trunk says they talk about the new band, Rose?s long interludes between CDs, and his feeling about his ?Chinese Democracy? CD.
They also talk about the Rock Hall, to which Guns ?N Roses has been nominated in its first year of eligibility.
?He says it?s not something he thinks a lot about,? says Trunk. ?He thinks it?s mostly for fans. But he said it?s an honor and he talks about how he inducted Elton John, whom he loves. If it?s good enough for Elton, he said, it?s good enough for him.?
Friday night?s ?That Metal Show? kicks off a round of eight new episodes, one of which by coincidence will feature Slash, the original Guns ?N Roses guitarist.
Meantime, having interviewed Rose has kept Trunk busy.
?Magazines that can?t interview Axl are talking to me about interviewing him,? he says. ?I?ve talked to Rolling Stone, Spin and a bunch of others.
?The anticipation for this interview is really something ? from all over the world.?
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/axl-rose-interview-years-eddie-trunk-metal-show-host-wait-15-hours-talk-article-1.975979
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