Axl's new letter.

[Mike McKagan]

Great to get this final bit of clarification.  Now, let's move on from the press release/RARHOF phase of things to the kick-ass album/rockin' world tour phase of things.   

[Birk]

All i care about now is new music

[faldor]

Cool letter, but from my end it seems there was a MASSIVE amount of negativity regarding his decision... I mean, the facebook page was full of hate for the guy. 

Granted, there was a lot of hate thrown his way.  What else is new?  People have hated Axl since the beginning of time it seems, and the number only grows with each passing day. 

But I was actually surprised that anybody, outside of these boards, had his back out of the gate.  And people did.  Eddie Trunk, Howard Stern, that article on MTV.com, just a few examples.  So I assume, that's what he is alluding to.

[sjgotnitro]

Nice !!!! 

[ShotgunBlues1978]

The response from the MEDIA was actually surprisingly positive.  A lot of big name media folks either defended his decision (Eddie Trunk, Howard Stern) or didn't condemn him for it (Andy Greene)

A large portion of the people responding are just the general morons who can't think for themselves that turn up and say something negative about Axl any time his name is mentioned.  These people aren't even really Guns fans (you can usually spot them by the fact that they spell his name "Axel")

Then you have the Reunionists who have done nothing but complain about the Slash-free era of Guns since its inception, who got their hopes up despite the fact that Axl's said repeatedly he won't perform with the original lineup ever again.  These people lashed out violently, and in an entirely expected fashion.  It was actually somewhat hilarious to watch their pathetic and hypocritical meltdown unfold. 

Are there some people who genuinely have supported Axl/Guns since the new lineup was formed that were/are disappointed or upset?  Sure.  But the vast majority of these people will get over it.  The only ones who will legitimately cling to this RRHOF snub in the long run are the people who weren't fans of the new lineup in the first place.  I mean anyone who enjoys the new lineup's live shows, enjoyed CD, has hoped for more new music from the CD era and/or the current lineup that stops supporting the current lineup because Axl didn't turn up at the RRHOF is a flat out moron.  That's really the only way to describe someone who would deprive themselves of something they enjoy until the end of time because Axl didn't show up at an awards show

[Booker Floyd]

Then you have the Reunionists ... some people who genuinely have supported Axl/Guns since the new lineup was formed

Am I the only person who believes that a significant portion, if not the majority, of the GNR fanbase lies somewhere in between the former and the latter?  If we had our choice, we'd take a reunion.  But understanding the remoteness of that possibility, we enjoy the post-Slash lineups as well.  My assumption is that most GNR fans feel this way...maybe I'm wrong?

[Z?phyr]

Then you have the Reunionists ... some people who genuinely have supported Axl/Guns since the new lineup was formed

Am I the only person who believes that a significant portion, if not the majority, of the GNR fanbase lies somewhere in between the former and the latter?  If we had our choice, we'd take a reunion.  But understanding the remoteness of that possibility, we enjoy the post-Slash lineups as well.  My assumption is that most GNR fans feel this way...maybe I'm wrong?

If we had our choice, id stick to what we've got now, ever since the split in the nineties I never looked back. Instead watched GN'R grow and unfold to what it is now, call it has come full circle if you like with a large group of people that want's to be there and lives for it. Id say it a million times if I had too "GN'R, crew & family I'm proud of ya!

[Jeramy]

Then you have the Reunionists ... some people who genuinely have supported Axl/Guns since the new lineup was formed

Am I the only person who believes that a significant portion, if not the majority, of the GNR fanbase lies somewhere in between the former and the latter?  If we had our choice, we'd take a reunion.  But understanding the remoteness of that possibility, we enjoy the post-Slash lineups as well.  My assumption is that most GNR fans feel this way...maybe I'm wrong?

It's just so unrealistic... that ship sailed over a decade ago.  I love GNR in every form.. Ever since I was 7 back when I first saw their videos on MTV in the late 80s.  Then they came back with the Terminator 2 video and the Use Your Illusion albums... after that it was video after video, hit after hit.  I've followed everything since then... The Spaghetti Incident, the breakup, SPIN magazine with the 'What The World Needs Now Is Axl Rose' cover, Oh My God, Live Era, the Axl interview on MTV where he called in, the silence, reading about Axl with a new band performing on year's 2000 in Las Vegas, I somehow missed Rio but I did see the VMA performance of Welcome To The Jungle, Madagascar and Paradise City... shortly after that is when I went online and discovered Rio and the first Chinese Democracy tour.... I was like WOW, he's still got it and this new material sounds amazing!!!  From that point on I could have cared less who was in the band... Axl is singing his ass off, he's happy, he's touring, he's making new music.... GREAT!  Fucking Awesome, I was just happy that he was back and still kicking ass.  Since then I've had the pleasure of seeing GNR in 2006 at the Warfield in San Francisco (holy shit... perfection), I bought Chinese Democracy the day it was released (most overlooked album EVER), and to wrap this huge random, poorly punctuated mess of a post up... I recently saw Guns N Roses  perform in Nashville Dec 4, 2011... it was by far the best show I've ever been to and I've been to plenty.  These guys have the look, they sound amazing and at the same time they refresh that 'raw, hungry, dangerous, something to prove' attitude that has been the driving force of this band since day one

[westcoast_junkie]

Glad the support has reached Axl. Many of the board-members here have been outstanding regarding that. Don't care what anyone might think, but it is possible to back Guns n' Roses anno 2012 100%, and not being interested in a "re-union" whatsoever.

"I once bought a homeless woman a slice of pizza who yelled at me she wanted soup. We got her the soup. You can get your own."

[daveh]

I notice how NME.com has not published the last paragraph of Axl's statement. Typical shit rag magazine. Normally they add the video of fan reaction after Reading festival 2010 to every news story regarding Guns N' Roses.

[willow]

Maybe after all is said and done the Hall will finally take a closer look at how things are done.
Love ya Axl and as always thanks for sticking too your guns!

[DeN]

classy. I'd love to interview Axl, about life in general, music, arts.

I hope he'll come here when he'll have the time to chat with us like some months ago.

anyway, even if I was a bit hurt by the whole situation as a long-time fan who love all
the line-ups and don't want to take a side because it's not my story and I don't care
who loves who and who hates who, I suppose it was the right decision to make for him.

and I can't wait for what it's really important, new music.

[richwoman]

Really interesting well thought out letter i love it when he communicates with everyone, he raises some good points about what exactly is the Hall of fame? thanks AXL

[cyllan]

I'm not ashamed to admit that this letter, especially the first paragraph, made me quite emotional. It's easy to think that because Axl must be used to all the lies and prejudiced judgments made against him, he's able to let them just roll off him and remain unaffected by them. But reading this really brought it home to me that there must be times when perhaps he gets worn down with always being portrayed as the bad guy when, as far as I can see, first and foremost he's always tried to act from a place of sincerity and integrity. So, I'm incredibly glad to know that he is fully aware of the love and support he has from a large number of fans who supported this decision and, just as importantly, acknowledged his right to act according to what is in his best interests.

I love how he takes the time to communicate the important stuff to us, the fans, whilst not bowing to the pressure to become one of those artists who live their life on twitter and/or facebook. (Not that I think artists shouldn't behave in this way if it is what they enjoy but to go against your nature just becase the market demands it, would be a sad state of affairs in my view.) The fact that Axl prefers to keep his private life private makes these occasional glimpses behind the public face even more special and the emotional honesty he displays in them I find rather touching.

[FanSince87]

Add the HOF to the ever growing list of people, corporations, and entities that have screwed Axl: Rock n Roll HOF, Slash, Sorum, Adler, Duff, Spin, Kerrang, Metallica, Nirvana, Tommy Hilfiger, Vince Neil, Vancouver arena officials, St Louis arena ppl, Irving Azoff, Alan Niven, Merck Mercuriadis, Live Nation, Bob Guccione Jr, Philadelphia arena officials, Doc McGhee, Roy Thomas Baker, etc.  Great to see him stand up for himself again!

[3STRANG3D]

I'm not ashamed to admit that this letter, especially the first paragraph, made me quite emotional. It's easy to think that because Axl must be used to all the lies and prejudiced judgments made against him, he's able to let them just roll off him and remain unaffected by them. But reading this really brought it home to me that there must be times when perhaps he gets worn down with always being portrayed as the bad guy when, as far as I can see, first and foremost he's always tried to act from a place of sincerity and integrity. So, I'm incredibly glad to know that he is fully aware of the love and support he has from a large number of fans who supported this decision and, just as importantly, acknowledged his right to act according to what is in his best interests.

I love how he takes the time to communicate the important stuff to us, the fans, whilst not bowing to the pressure to become one of those artists who live their life on twitter and/or facebook. (Not that I think artists shouldn't behave in this way if it is what they enjoy but to go against your nature just becase the market demands it, would be a sad state of affairs in my view.) The fact that Axl prefers to keep his private life private makes these occasional glimpses behind the public face even more special and the emotional honesty he displays in them I find rather touching.

You nailed it!!! I was ashamed to admit that this letter made me quite emotional. This man has always had GUTS. There is nothing more rnr than just this in my opinion & I will always admire him for everything he has ever done, for everything he has achieved regardless if most people can get it or not especially those who think that its so goddamn easy..... He has been a role model to me, a true idol, nothing dangerous there, nothing complicated because even at a really young age I always considered myself responsible for my actions & this was something that my parents taught me. I have missed him so much and I am glad for his letter.... Thank you so much!

[Annie]

I am so happy that Axl knows how much his real fans care about him! His letter totally made my day!

[Silverchair]

Dang Axl has a TON of followers. Just set my account today.

[Ali]

I seriously didn't plan on or expect the overwhelmingly positive response and public support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With such a generous outpouring of solidarity from fans, media outlets, writers and other artists, I'm truly humbled, blown away and unbelievably relieved! To be honest, I thought it would go the other way and was just hoping to weather the storm. As I said, I sincerely didn't want to disappoint anyone. It gets old being the outlaw even if "it's only rock and roll".

Am i the only one that sees Axl talking tongue and cheek here?

To many people are thinking he is being completely serious, saying he is delusional, not reading facebook etc...

Some people think Axl is and idiot, and don't understand his wit

Yeah, I was thinking that myself.  Sarcasm is often lost in the written word as you can't detect tone of voice.

Ali

[3STRANG3D]

I seriously didn't plan on or expect the overwhelmingly positive response and public support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With such a generous outpouring of solidarity from fans, media outlets, writers and other artists, I'm truly humbled, blown away and unbelievably relieved! To be honest, I thought it would go the other way and was just hoping to weather the storm. As I said, I sincerely didn't want to disappoint anyone. It gets old being the outlaw even if "it's only rock and roll".

Am I the only one that sees Axl talking tongue and cheek here?  

The meaning to a written text its defined within the spectrum of the reader.  It is not an exaggeration. When the owner of a text is famous and people/entities have different needs, expectations, demands, the whole 360 degree spectrum landscaped as it has ALWAYS been with Axl & this 'meaning'  will ALWAYS be interpreted in many different ways; one of which has already being added by your input above so thank you for this.

As for the soup, well, at least I hope it was warm & not goddamn microwaved!..............