Frank on The Classic Metal Show tonight (Sat 1/25)

[GypsySoul]

Regarding the "professional musician" comment, he said he loves playing in Pisser because the music comes from the heart, and he's great friends with all the band members.  Then, with Guns, he's more of a professional musician, meaning a hired hand, IMO.  The vibe I got was a a guy that plays Guns n Roses, but not because he loves it, but because it "pays the bills" so he can do the things he truly enjoys.

I call bullshit. 
In no way, shape or form did Frank say or suggest this.

Frank has a passion for what he does.

Analogy:  There's a firefighter that lives in Valley Stream.  His regular gig that "pays the bills" is with the FDNY stationed in Manhattan.  On his off days, he's a VOLUNTEER (non-paying) firefighter at his local Valley Stream station BECAUSE HE HAS A PASSION FOR WHAT HE DOES.  Valley Stream is where he grew up, where he still lives, where his family and friends and home and heart is.  But he is certainly no "hired hand" with the FDNY.  His passion for both gigs is equal.  His love for his 'brothers' on both jobs is equal.  Is it a different passion and different love? Yes.  But one is not less or more than the other.

If you love what you do, Passion is Passion.

[Ginger King]

Regarding the "professional musician" comment, he said he loves playing in Pisser because the music comes from the heart, and he's great friends with all the band members.  Then, with Guns, he's more of a professional musician, meaning a hired hand, IMO.  The vibe I got was a a guy that plays Guns n Roses, but not because he loves it, but because it "pays the bills" so he can do the things he truly enjoys.

I call bullshit. 
In no way, shape or form did Frank say or suggest this.

Frank has a passion for what he does.

Analogy:  There's a firefighter that lives in Valley Stream.  His regular gig that "pays the bills" is with the FDNY stationed in Manhattan.  On his off days, he's a VOLUNTEER (non-paying) firefighter at his local Valley Stream station BECAUSE HE HAS A PASSION FOR WHAT HE DOES.  Valley Stream is where he grew up, where he still lives, where his family and friends and home and heart is.  But he is certainly no "hired hand" with the FDNY.  His passion for both gigs is equal.  His love for his 'brothers' on both jobs is equal.  Is it a different passion and different love? Yes.  But one is not less or more than the other.

If you love what you do, Passion is Passion.

Call bullshit all you want to...but you're just turning a blind eye.  You want to know what's bullshit, your comment that "In no way, shape or form" did Frank say he's more comfortable in Pisser because he's great friends with the band members (I think he said he was friends first, then bandmates), and that the music in Pisser comes from the heart.  Dude...he actually, in way, shape, and form, said those things.

Now, you can disagree with my take on his comments, but to say that he didn't say those things is just dumb.

[jarmo]

"The fact that he loves playing the songs means nothing."

Did he use those words in the interview?

No. It was my comment to the claim that Frank lacks passion for GN'R.

I didn't say no passion for Guns...I did say he has more passion for Pisser.  That's not searching for the negative (or even negative at all) and one can reasonably surmise that from the interview.  The other comment, that the members of Guns are there to support Axl and take the pressure off of him, are things he said, so I'm not clear how my obvservation of his comments paints a bleak view of him.   

You're taking things out of context.
It's like saying a professional athlete has more passion when playing with his kids than when playing with his team.

The thing you got out of the interview was that he doesn't love being in GN'R and he's only doing it for the money.


I'll explain it to you. He could've said anything, and in the end you probably would've made the same observations. In other words, they're not "passionate enough" and they only play in GN'R for the money.
Sorry if you feel singled out, but as somebody who's heard these complains before, it's kinda amusing how they keep turning up with regular intervals. You didn't even have to listen to the interview to post that kind of comments. Because you'd have some people nodding their heads and agreeing with you even if you didn't listen and said the same thing. Because it's not the "old gang of brothers" who were the only "passionate" ones in the band.




/jarmo

[Ginger King]

Your not the only one with that opinion.   I would say most people around this place pretty much know most GNR members are doing this for the paycheck. 

That's amusing.

A professional musician wants to make a living on performing music? Who knew!


Frank was very respectful to everybody involved, past and present, with GN'R.
Yet it seems like it's very difficult for some of you to show any kind of respect to the current members of the band....





/jarmo

Woah, who's being disrespectful to Frank?  I said he sounded like a good dude, and I agree he was very respectful about the history of guns and prior band members.  What I got from the interview was a guy who wasn't very passionate about playing in GnR...a guy who was hired to help Axl succeed, to "take the pressure off" Axl (his words, not mine).  IMO, he seemed resigned that he's in a band that plays GnR, and not in a band that is making GnR music.  How many songs have been written since Frank joined the band almost 8 years ago? 

Also, do you think it's a coincidence that every member in GnR (sans Axl) has a side project where they create and release new music?  Christ, even Pittman's in another band.  Do you find that to be a strange coincidence?  Sure, other bands have members that have side projects...but all of them?  To me, it's an indication that these guys know that if they want to write, create, release music, it has to be done elsewhere.  I'm sure you (and the Gypsy) have a different take.   

I, for one, have a different take.  I think that artists can have different creative and/or stylistic leanings, and that can be the reason for having multiple projects.  Perhaps an artist prefers a more low key side project, like Pisser, because it doesn't have the questions and pressures of the more high profile primary project?

It may not be that a side project exists for the sole purpose of having a creative outlet that otherwise wouldn't be afforded.

Ali

Good point Ali, that may very well be the reason for some (or all) of the guys.

[jarmo]

Hypothetical question: Is there anything that the current band members can do to make you reconsider your opinion that they lack passion for GN'R? And if your answer is "release new music", how does that increase the level of passion one has for a band?




/jarmo

[GypsySoul]

Call bullshit all you want to...but you're just turning a blind eye.  You want to know what's bullshit, your comment that "In no way, shape or form" did Frank say he's more comfortable in Pisser because he's great friends with the band members (I think he said he was friends first, then bandmates), and that the music in Pisser comes from the heart.  Dude...he actually, in way, shape, and form, said those things.

You do realize that both Richard and Bumblefoot play in PISSER also and that Richard and Frank were friends before either joined GNR, right? 

[dont_damn_me]

Hypothetical question: Is there anything that the current band members can do to make you reconsider your opinion that they lack passion for GN'R? And if your answer is "release new music", how does that increase the level of passion one has for a band?




/jarmo

Get a GNR tat....like Izzy, Duff, Axl , myself and lots of other fans on this board have.....that would convince me.

 I honestly don't know how much passion each member has, would be interesting to know.  I think  most of the current members have always seemed to be into GNR from as far as I can tell, although i'm sure they wish things could sometimes be done differently, maybe like getting a new release out and playing the songs live ?

[Ginger King]

Hypothetical question: Is there anything that the current band members can do to make you reconsider your opinion that they lack passion for GN'R? And if your answer is "release new music", how does that increase the level of passion one has for a band?




/jarmo

That's a good question, and I'm curious to see what others think (the tattoo suggestion is solid).  To me, releasing new music is probably on the top of my list.  I think the current lineup needs to create its own identity...right now they're playing other people's songs, whether it's AFD, UYI songs, or CD songs by Bucket, Robin, Brain, etc.  I want to see what this band can do on its own, free of the past.

I also think a real group photo or the entire band showing up in public would help.  In particular, the Paradise City photo op in Vegas.  Here's a link to the pic:  http://hauteliving.com/2012/10/haute-event-paradise-road-becomes-paradise-city-road-for-guns-n%E2%80%99-roses%E2%80%99-residency/321951/

Now, maybe there's a legitimate excuse (Axl didn't know about it, was stuck in traffic, he's a night person -if that's the case do the picture at night) but come on, if you want people to believe you're a band then you have show people.  How many group photos/interviews with the old lineup were there?  Countless.  I think this lack of identity hurts the current lineup.  They are each talented, professional musicians that can play Guns n Roses songs...but I want to hear them play their Guns n Roses songs.  That, to me, will show their passion for Guns and, IMO, is the only way they can try to get out of the shadow of the former members.

[jarmo]

The tattoo as a way of proving your passion seems somewhat naive to me. Several guys who were in the band in the past had tattoos and "lost" their so called passion.

I still don't think releasing music written and recorded by all the guys in the band is some kind of meter of your passion.


Regarding group photos. The was one photo of the group who recorded  the Use Your Illusion albums.
There was no group photo in the booklet that comes with "The Spaghetti Incident?"... 






/jarmo

[carmiedisco12]

Doesn't your argument of the photo's prove the exact opposite of your point??

AFD is considered a tight knit group = lots of group pic
Illusions are considered a fragmenting group = An album pic with Izzy and as far as I recall none after
Spaghetti without Izzy is a dying "band = No group pics

[jarmo]

Whose point?

My point that it's nothing new that there's not as many group photos since the band made it big?





/jarmo

[JAEBALL]

Lol.... I could care less about who has a GNR tattoo or not.....

there are no group pictures of this version of GNR other than the them in vegas maybe theres another one somewhere ..and of course Axl was not there....ha

but again.... no point in getting worked up over that




@Ginger King... i agree with you just in that GNR is not his true passion...more of a job... and who can blame him? he has never created a GNR song... but dont harp on that here...its not going to be received well.. pick ur battles!

he comes off as a cool dude tho...i wouldnt mind hanging with him having some beers in the BK !

 

[D-GenerationX]

He laughed off a question about a new Guns album

Which is depressing as hell.  They all do this, pretty much.

[D-GenerationX]

A professional musician wants to make a living on performing music? Who knew!

But not recording or releasing anything.  Why would someone think a band would do such things?  Talk about crazy time.

Frank was very respectful to everybody involved, past and present, with GN'R.
Yet it seems like it's very difficult for some of you to show any kind of respect to the current members of the band....

Because Axl sends them out to battle with no bullets in their guns.

These guys are real sports doing this stuff.  Questions about GNR are inevitable, if not the outright focus.  And he, like all of them, never has anything for us.  Which is not remotely his fault.

This is why people make the "not a band" comments.  Questions about future plans are met with shoulder shrugs and laughter.  They have done no writing or recording together.  These are not examples of what typically happens in a band.  If it were, iTunes would be a wasteland.

[jarmo]

But not recording or releasing anything.  Why would someone think a band would do such things?  Talk about crazy time.

Yeah, it's amazing how often you can bring this up....
Maybe if you keep saying it often enough, things will change? 




/jarmo

[D-GenerationX]

But not recording or releasing anything.  Why would someone think a band would do such things?  Talk about crazy time.

Yeah, it's amazing how often you can bring this up....
Maybe if you keep saying it often enough, things will change? 

I'd put it at even odds with you eventually convincing people that we have it made in the shade. 

[Ginger King]

Lol.... I could care less about who has a GNR tattoo or not.....

there are no group pictures of this version of GNR other than the them in vegas maybe theres another one somewhere ..and of course Axl was not there....ha

but again.... no point in getting worked up over that




@Ginger King... i agree with you just in that GNR is not his true passion...more of a job... and who can blame him? he has never created a GNR song... but dont harp on that here...its not going to be received well.. pick ur battles!

he comes off as a cool dude tho...i wouldnt mind hanging with him having some beers in the BK !

 

Jaeball, point taken...chalk it up to my relative naivete in the world of forum posting.  This is the only GnR site I post in (how's that for loyalty, Jarmo?  ) and I get that, for the most part, it's kind of like State run media so I'm not expecting to change anyone's opinion here, just expressing my own and hoping not to get put on the firing range!