New Dj interview at LegendaryRockInterviews.com (Sep 2014)

[ice cream sand pig]

If only I had a sense of humor I would be able to enjoy the same complaints and tired arguments being made over and over again. 

[jarmo]

I laugh at those people. Don't worry.
Do they admit they were ever wrong? Nah. Just act like nothing happened and move on to the next "joke".

Can't take that shit or them seriously.

Yeah, you really need to lighten the hell up there, guy.  My lord.

They are JOKES, for christ's sake.  You act like were are drawing a cartoon of Mohammed here.

Which part of "I laugh at those people" or "can't take them seriously" didn't you get? I thought it's plain English.

Jeez, you really want to believe your ideas about me so you keep telling yourself what you say is true.
There's a reason why I don't take you seriously either. One reason is your constant need to think you know me.


Anyhow, your idea of JOKES, might be funny to some. Others might have heard the same jokes for years and years. Sorry to burst your bubble. You need a new joke, guy!
 


So just because some of us don't piss our collective pants everytime we hear somebody comment on Axl not showing up a few hours before showtime, doesn't mean we lack a sense of humor. In fact, flying piano! That's funny.



/jarmo

[ice cream sand pig]

Some of the jokes really are funny. I thought DX's Gilligan's island analogy was hilarious. And Mortis Murphy, when you described Axl as "croaking through November Rain on a flying piano", I thought that was pretty funny too. I never thought to describe his singing style as croaking before but it's perfect given that whole reptilian quality he has to him.

Maybe Axl is actually one of those lizard men that David Icke guy is always going on about. That would explain why he won't release music faster, he does it to create negative emotions in us so he can feed off of them and sustain his existence in the third dimension. 

[D-GenerationX]

When I was waiting for Axl to show up in 2012, and there was a lot of people in the lobby to kill the time, everybody, in my ear-shot, was making jokes about, ''whether or not he was going to show'', or, ''whether he will have a temper tantrum on stage''. I even remember the guy selling the t-shirts saying, ''well, it has never been the same since Slash left, has it?''. I think I understand you now, and things here. It is essentially one big sense-of-humour fail.

Exactly.  Very little levity around here.  Following a rock band is SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Call it gallows humor or what have you.  Who can even appreciate the situation, other than fellow GNR fans?

I had a blast with all the people I hung with in the lobby.  Nobody was scolding anyone for being non-believers.  We were having a laugh.

We were all fans in that room, every one of us.  And no one felt the need to put "joke" in "quotes", like "some" appear to "like" to "do". 

[D-GenerationX]

Some of the jokes really are funny. I thought DX's Gilligan's island analogy was hilarious. And Mortis Murphy, when you described Axl as "croaking through November Rain on a flying piano", I thought that was pretty funny too. I never thought to describe his singing style as croaking before but it's perfect given that whole reptilian quality he has to him.

You have to laugh through life, I think. 

You certainly need to following this freakin' band.  And if you cna't joke with fellow fans, who can you joke with?  We're all going through it together.

Axl does it too.  I have a bootleg from the 2002 tour, forget which one.  But in between songs, Axl addresses the crowd :

"I see, uh...I see we have a lot of gamblers here tonight.  Well, I guess you figured...I went to all those other shows."

[EmilyGNR]

I always thought that being a fan ought to be fun, to be able to go online each day and read about my favorite band was great, I wasn't in the generation that grew up with the internet.
In the 80's and 90's we had magazines and MTV to keep up with the music and groups we liked, the onset of the internet was great, but as things went along, you get this new crop of people that  use the anonymity of the internet to say things that they wouldn't say in real life, they are on their way to becoming some of those bitter, resentful and hateful people who are constantly complaining about those around them, as well as others.

They are bitching and condemning the universe for their bad luck, waiting for that day when a miracle will happen and everybody will start acting according to their beliefs and expectations. And guess what? That day will never come.

I never see people like that at shows, if they feel like that they don't reveal it. I have a great time at shows, as do all the people I see around me, and talk to.

When I got home from the Bethlehem, Penn. show, I go online and there are all these people that weren't even there complaining about it, it makes no sense to me.

About the supposed jokes:

Some people attempt to diffuse offensive remarks with "just joking", or say it was "just a joke" .

 They are not willing to take responsibility but justify what they said with ?just kidding,? the offense remains. In fact, without taking responsibility, they can actually add to it because they not willing to admit it was even an actual offense.

It is passive- aggressive and cowardly, not to mention snarky and sarcastic, some aren't fooled by this ruse at all.

[D-GenerationX]

I never see people like that at shows, if they feel like that they don't reveal it. I have a great time at shows, as do all the people I see around me, and talk to.

Who wouldn't have fun at the shows?

If you spend the money to buy a ticket, its presumably because you want to go and have a good time, right? 

Has anyone here ever gone to a concert where they didn't have fun?  Not just this band, any band.  Unless you were drug there against your will on a date or with some other friend, when are you not going to enjoy it?

I guess I don't see this big trump card you do that people had fun at the show.  Is that not a given?  Its like saying that people had fun having sex.  No shit they did.  When do you not?

Has anyone ever left a concert walking out with people that didn't have fun?  Its not like a movie, which can be hit or miss.  If you go to concert, odds are, you are going to enjoy it. 

[EmilyGNR]

I never see people like that at shows, if they feel like that they don't reveal it. I have a great time at shows, as do all the people I see around me, and talk to.

Who wouldn't have fun at the shows?

If you spend the money to buy a ticket, its presumably because you want to go and have a good time, right? 

Has anyone here ever gone to a concert where they didn't have fun?  Not just this band, any band.  Unless you were drug there against your will on a date or with some other friend, when are you not going to enjoy it?

I guess I don't see this big trump card you do that people had fun at the show.  Is that not a given?  Its like saying that people had fun having sex.  No shit they did.  When do you not?

Has anyone ever left a concert walking out with people that didn't have fun?  Its not like a movie, which can be hit or miss.  If you go to concert, odds are, you are going to enjoy it. 

I have gone to a few concerts I did not enjoy, one was Bon Jovi and one was Warrant

My point was, why would some constantly complain and make "jokes" about a show they didn't even attend? What's the point of that?

[D-GenerationX]

I have gone to a few concerts I did not enjoy, one was Bon Jovi and one was Warrant

Were you forced to go?  Obviously, any concert you your are forced to go to for whatever reason, you are unlikely to enjoy. 

I just can't see any other scenario where you wind up at a concert you don't enjoy.  If you go to a movie based on the previews, but didn't like the script or the twist ending, I could see wallking out surrounded by unhappy campers.

But at a concert, continuing with the movie comparison, you already have the script.  You know the songs and know what you will get.  How are you not walking out of there happy?

My point was, why would some constantly complain and make "jokes" about a show they didn't even attend? What's the point of that?

Dunno.

But my story was about a concert I did attend.  And as I mingled in the lobby talking with fellow GNR fans, as I was in the line for drinks, all sorts of people were making those jokes. 

And you know what we did?  We laughed about it and a had a good time. 

Not one person felt the need to chime in with "I just don't think that's funny" or "that's inappropriate".  Not one scolding. 

[ice cream sand pig]

Speaking of Jokes, I heard that's how our front man warmed his voice up when he was recording his parts for CD. Forty minutes of jokes.

I agree with the sentiment that it is hard to wait for a GNR album and that the situation does not always turn out as I would like it to, and I agree that one needs to have some humility about it and be able to laugh about it.

I guess for me the only time I feel the jokes go too far is when someone out and out paints an ugly picture of one of the band members. If someone is willing to take the time to paint such an uniformed ugly picture, then I will take the few minutes needed to type a post that disagrees with it (even though my opinion is uninformed as well). Saying that someone is overcome with doubt, that he can no longer be taken seriously as an artist, or accusing him of this that or the other, I just don't get it. Why would you take that kind of stab at someone you don't even know, especially when you are one of their fans?

If the success of a concert is not dependent on whether or not the people that the concert was held for enjoyed it, then what is it that defines the success of a concert?

[D-GenerationX]

I guess for me the only time I feel the jokes go too far is when someone out and out paints an ugly picture of one of the band members. If someone is willing to take the time to paint such an uniformed ugly picture, then I will take the few minutes needed to type a post that disagrees with it (even though my opinion is uninformed as well). Saying that someone is overcome with doubt, that he can no longer be taken seriously as an artist, or accusing him of this that or the other, I just don't get it. Why would you take that kind of stab at someone you don't even know, especially when you are one of their fans?

In your opinion, if a fan of an artist has anything but super positive sunshiny things to say, should they just not say anything?

I'm not trying to be flippant.  This is a serious question.

[D-GenerationX]

About the supposed jokes:

Some people attempt to diffuse offensive remarks with "just joking", or say it was "just a joke" .

 They are not willing to take responsibility but justify what they said with ?just kidding,? the offense remains. In fact, without taking responsibility, they can actually add to it because they not willing to admit it was even an actual offense.

It is passive- aggressive and cowardly, not to mention snarky and sarcastic, some aren't fooled by this ruse at all.

Looks like this was added after.

If the snarky cowards are going to have anything positive they say discredited because you are on to how its all a ruse and you aren't fooled...how can they ever improve their standing in your eyes?

Isn't that something of a rigged game? 

[mortismurphy]

You people, the ones lacking a sense of humour, do realise that even Axl has joked about his lateness before! I think he once made a reference to being late to his own funeral. ''Axl, you troll with inflated expectations who does not know what he is saying and arrives at conclusions based on faulty premises, you''

[D-GenerationX]

You people, the ones lacking a sense of humour, do realise that even Axl has joked about his lateness before! I think he once made a reference to being late to his own funeral. ''Axl, you troll with inflated expectations who does not know what he is saying and arrives at conclusions based on faulty premises, you''

Yep.

That's why I bought up that 2002 show when he made light of it.

I wonder if he realize how disrespectful he was being to...um, himself.

[jarmo]

You people, the ones lacking a sense of humour

Hahahahahahaha. That is funny. Like a flying piano in Las Vegas.

Now we lack a sense of humor because we're not in the lobby at gigs cracking jokes with DX. You guys are funny!
Also, you might be the funniest motherfucker on the planet but "Axl's not gonna show up" isn't gonna get you a lot of originality awards at the GN'R humor awards in 2014. Sorry, even if you're pissing your own spandex pants every time you tell yourself that joke....


The people who have a sense of humor and don't take things so seriously, question their fandom and see how much they'll laugh about it.


/jarmo

[GypsySoul]

If only I had a sense of humor I would be able to enjoy the same complaints and tired arguments being made over and over again. 

Exactly!  I don't understand what's wrong with you and me and HTGTH.com that we can't see the humor of whining and bitching in every single thread and every single post over and over and over again!!! 

I actually started laughing at the flying piano. Embarrassing.

But don't you think that it was there only for "entertainment purposes" and "special effects" for the show being filmed in 3D?

How is including the flying piano for a special effect in a 3D dvd in 2012 any different then say swimming with dolphins in a music video in 1993?

IMO both were done solely to add an entertainment value to each of those vehicles.

[D-GenerationX]

Now we lack a sense of humor because we're not in the lobby at gigs cracking jokes with DX. You guys are funny!

Thank you.    

And remember, the midnight show is completely different from the 9PM show.

[D-GenerationX]

But don't you think that it was there only for "entertainment purposes" and "special effects" for the show being filmed in 3D?

How is including the flying piano for a special effect in a 3D dvd in 2012 any different then say swimming with dolphins in a music video in 1993?

IMO both were done solely to add an entertainment value to each of those vehicles.

I agree.

And the 'Estranged' video is a great comparison.  Completely over the top.  But its one of my favorite of their videos.

[ice cream sand pig]

I pointed out specifically the kinds of things I think are petty to post about. I didn't say that all posts should be sunshine and rainbows. I personally have complained about a few things, even painted a pretty ugly picture of the music DJ's band creates. I might criticize someone's art but I won't start applying negative psychological diagnoses to them. One form of criticism is personal, the other is not.

The Axl being late thing is not offensive to me at all, not sure why it keeps getting brought up. It's not a big deal. It would be different if you were in the lobby with the fans laughing about how you think Axl is overcome by self doubt and how he doesn't even bother putting in the proper practice for his shows, how he just tries to do it in a way that involves relying on raw talent while not bothering to work hard at it (which according to the basic knowledge I have in regards to singing seems like a basically impossible scenario. And besides, he said himself that singing wasn't something that came naturally to him, it was just something that he really wanted to do so he had the drive to put in the work required to do it well. Kurt Loder, if I'm not mistaken, called him the hardest working man in the industry).

Even if that is what fans laugh about at shows, then still, no big deal. But if I'm at a show and someone says something like that to me, I'm not going to just sit back and agree with what they said. I'll do what I did above, provide evidence to counter the claim that I do not agree with. I would be impressed that they think that deeply about what is going on behind the scenes of GNR, but at the same time, I may not agree with their formulations and might even be a little turned off by those formulations if they resemble personal attacks on members of the band.

And one more note in general, it's (obviously) easier to be the person criticizing someone that is trying to do something than it is to be the person trying to do that thing. This for me is where thankfulness enters the picture. The fact that they are trying to give me something I want, and in a sincere way, causes me to feel gratitude towards them. This gratitude generates in me what some people seem to think of as mysterious internal responses such as trying to be positive and supportive when it comes to their struggle and giving them the benefit of the doubt that they are doing their best. I respect that effort, by no means do I wish to belittle it by consistently complaining about whatever its manifestations are. Maybe one thing here or there, but that will definitely not be what the majority of my posts is going to consist of.

[mortismurphy]

You people, the ones lacking a sense of humour

Also, you might be the funniest motherfucker on the planet but "Axl's not gonna show up" isn't gonna get you a lot of originality awards at the GN'R humor awards in 2014.

This is, what we call in Britain, 'banter', idle quasi-comedic discussions among strangers (when waiting for Axl). This is not the Edinburgh Festival. Maybe if you removed yourself from Del James's dressing room for a change, you would hear how the majority of fans act and think out in the lobbies.