Sean Beavan Interview- w/GNR mention (May 2015)

[EmilyGNR]

Excerpt:

You worked with Axl Rose and Guns on "Oh, My God" from the "End of Days" soundtrack and then the "Chinese Democracy" record?

He was really cool. I was there for two years and did 35 songs, haha. I was approached by Billy Howerdel from A Perfect Circle. He was doing some programming there with Axl and running one of the computers for it. Robin Finck was playing lead guitar and so the two of 'em kind of approached me to come in and help out and do some production for it. I brought in my friend Critter the engineer who had started engineering for them. Around that time, Chris Vrenna but Josh Freese started there who was a friend of mine.

A lot of people going in and out.

It was fun. I knew lots of people there and they knew me. Axl was really, really interested in working with me and doing some stuff together, which was really fun. Axl and I are the same age so we get along really well. We have similar influences.

What are those?

We're both big Alice Cooper and Queen fans. That was really fun. Then I got to become really, really, really good friends with Tommy Stinson who was playing bass. Tommy and I have become really, really close and he's part of my first LA family and made me feel good being here.

You have a good time doing the sessions for "Chinese Democracy" though they seemed to have lasted a while?

[Laughs] Oh, yeah. Totally. Axl is an incredible talent obviously. He was the only singer I've ever worked with where he came in and in order to warm up, he'd do a 45-minute stand-up routine, hahaha. The dude is amazing. Any joke he hears, he remembers perfectly and he's got a great delivery. He would just get in the vocal booth and then just start killin' it with jokes.

Interview by Steven Rosen
Ultimate-Guitar.com (C) 2015

www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/sean_beavan_on_recording_slayer_you_have_to_do_it_right_or_the_fans_will_kill_you.html

[Spirit]

Thanks for posting!

Love stories like this.


The Sean Beavan version of Chinese would have been an interesting listen I think.

[D-GenerationX]

Would be cool if showed that side more often.  Or ever.

Too many different people say he has a good sense of humor for it all to be bullshit.

[Spirit]

Would be cool if showed that side more often.  Or ever.

Too many different people say he has a good sense of humor for it all to be bullshit.

The 2006 Trunk interview probably showed a lot of Axl ? the human being.

[D-GenerationX]

Would be cool if showed that side more often.  Or ever.

Too many different people say he has a good sense of humor for it all to be bullshit.

The 2006 Trunk interview probably showed a lot of Axl ? the human being.

Yeah, that was a good one.

[Spirit]

Without having fine-read the GN'R history in a while, why did they end the relationship with Sean?

I seem to remember an interview with Tommy where he said that he felt the record got close to being done while Sean was producing. I also got the sense that Tommy, at least, liked working with Sean way better than with Roy Thomas, that seems to be confirmed as Sean himself says in the interview that they got really close.

Was it the record company that let Sean go and then brought in the next producer? I wonder if Axl was happy with the production done in the late '90s.. If he was, and then got steamrolled by Interscope because they didn't like the production, I suspect they are at least as much to blame for the delay as Axl. It couldn't have been the songs, it's what ended up getting released anyways. They must have had some issues with the production if they indeed were the main driving force behind the change of personnel in the studio.

Or, was it Axl who wanted to change the direction of the production?

[TheBaconman]

That was a nice read.  Thanks for posting!

[GNR2014]

That was a nice read.  Thanks for posting!

Yeah it was!
Axl's stand-up routines would make a great disc 5 for a Chinese Democracy box set

[14 Yrs Of Silence]

Shame he's lost that fire to create and share.

[HBK]

Very Good, thanks

 

[jazjme]

Duff, cites knock , knock jokes , that Axl had amassed before he took the gig to play the shows in S.A last yr, he couldn't keep up with him

[JAEBALL]

Maybe Axl could do a stand up comedy residency at the Hard Rock if all the other guys are busy with their other bands. 

[jarmo]

Anybody who follows Axl on Twitter knows that it's not always serious. Or that he makes jokes about current (serious) events.



/jarmo

[CherryGarcia]

As many of us know, Sean Beaven was the first real, set in stone producer for Chinese Democracy. Moby had done some pre-production work in 1997 but nothing came of it as he didn't want to commit, Mike Clink was on board briefly but ended up not on the project. Youth was there too briefly, but didn't last that long. Around late August or early September 1998, Sean Beaven began working with Guns, and he would work with them until 2000.

 In the liner notes of Chinese Democracy, Sean's credited with:

Initial production of the guitar solos for Street of Dreams, TWAT, I.R.S., If The World, and Madagascar, as well as production on those songs.
Initial recording of Axl's vocals on Chinese Democracy, Prostitute, If The World, T.W.A.T., Riad, and I.R.S.

So, Beaven was heavily involved on many of the earliest songs on CD.

Q: You worked with Axl Rose and Guns on "Oh, My God" from the "End of Days" soundtrack and then the "Chinese Democracy" record?

BEAVEN: He was really cool. I was there for two years and did 35 songs, haha. I was approached by Billy Howerdel from A Perfect Circle. He was doing some programming there with Axl and running one of the computers for it. Robin Finck was playing lead guitar and so the two of 'em kind of approached me to come in and help out and do some production for it. I brought in my friend Critter the engineer who had started engineering for them. Around that time, Chris Vrenna but Josh Freese started there who was a friend of mine.

Q: A lot of people going in and out.

BEAVEN: It was fun. I knew lots of people there and they knew me. Axl was really, really interested in working with me and doing some stuff together, which was really fun. Axl and I are the same age so we get along really well. We have similar influences.

Q: What are those?

BEAVEN: We're both big Alice Cooper and Queen fans. That was really fun. Then I got to become really, really, really good friends with Tommy Stinson who was playing bass. Tommy and I have become really, really close and he's part of my first LA family and made me feel good being here.

Q: You have a good time doing the sessions for "Chinese Democracy" though they seemed to have lasted a while?

Beaven: [Laughs] Oh, yeah. Totally. Axl is an incredible talent obviously. He was the only singer I've ever worked with where he came in and in order to warm up, he'd do a 45-minute stand-up routine, hahaha. The dude is amazing. Any joke he hears, he remembers perfectly and he's got a great delivery. He would just get in the vocal booth and then just start killin' it with jokes.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/sean_beavan_on_recording_slayer_you_have_to_do_it_right_or_the_fans_will_kill_you.html

[jarmo]

Already posted. Sorry.

* Merged *


/jarmo

[CherryGarcia]

Already posted. Sorry.

* Merged *


/jarmo

My bad.
As far as Axl showing off his comedic side mentioned earlier here, he does quite often. Listen to any interview with him from...pretty much the beginning to present. He's pretty funny.

[BOILER GUNZ]

I wanna hear those elusive 35 or 36 tracks if you include omg.  I still get a little bit of a mind twist when I recall coming to the realization that Billy and Josh were making the record with Axl.    A PERFECT CIRCLE was so bad ass.  I've seen 'em twice live.  i want to hear all the the Billy, Axl, Josh, Robin material played live, recorded, heard. 

[Lucky]

2 bad that never got wrapped up would love to hear that iteration of the album

[ice cream sand pig]

Would be cool if showed that side more often.  Or ever.

Too many different people say he has a good sense of humor for it all to be bullshit.

agreed! some people mentioned an axl rose stand up. it would probably never happen, but that would be just too damn cool. ive said it before, but a music video is always a good chance to show off an artists humor.

* dont agree with the "ever" part. hes usually pretty funny on stage and in interviews.

[EmilyGNR]

Would be cool if showed that side more often.  Or ever.

Too many different people say he has a good sense of humor for it all to be bullshit.

agreed! some people mentioned an axl rose stand up. it would probably never happen, but that would be just too damn cool. ive said it before, but a music video is always a good chance to show off an artists humor.

* dont agree with the "ever" part. hes usually pretty funny on stage and in interviews.

Some of his tweets are hilarious as well.