DJ's Letter

[C0ma]

Look at the flip side: its hard to argue that ron and dj aren't imminently better off having been in gnr. They made good money (you'd think), were exposed to a much wider fan base, and have a much higher public profile than they did when they started. I'd argue thats true for Bucket too..lthough i'm not sure he sees that as a net positive.

Its not all bad, even if the things people are assuming are true, are true across the board.

Which kind of goes to my point...John5 doesn't need Axl for that... he has it, everyone else with the exception of maybe Robin and Tommy were widely unknown and participated in largely 'indy' projects. Why would you give up all control and input over years of your musical career just to get a free plane ride around South America? After the 3rd reboot (5th if you count the AFD and UYI lineups) the name recognition of being the GnR guitarist is losing a little lustre.

(edit) Quick example John5 has had a Fender Signature model for years... I know that's not the ultimate measuring stick but no replacement player has walked into that roll in GnR with that type of contract, DJ got his signature Les Paul after (sans bumble with a Vigier signature released the year he joined Guns and lets be honest Vigier isn't exactly Gibson or Fender).

I was speaking more in general terms, rather than targeting a specific person. There are benefits to associating yourself with GnR (and now, people will come out of the woodwork and enumerate all their percieved minuses...save your bandwidth...I'm aware of the general bent of those opinions).

I agree, John5 might not be the guy, more because I think he's happy in his current gig with Rob (he's still there, right?), than anything else.

He is still with Rob Zombie...

I do agree with what you are saying, but I just think the drama out weighs the gain for an established guitar player. Like any thing in life you are going to look for recommendations and there is a pretty long list of guitar players that might not tell you to just jump in feet first. This is obviously all opinion until something happens... who knows maybe they get Steve Vai or (joke) Satchel from Steel Panther to fill in and I'm eating my words.

[JAEBALL]

I think Slash would do what he had to do on his end to make it work.

I would say if this was looked at realistically and not through 'Rose' colored glasses, Slash needs this less than pretty much all of the original members. He's released 3 albums (not counting VR) and while they are not breaking records, neither did the 1 that GnR released in 2008 which had a decade of speculation and mystique behind it. He has played 121 shows since July 9th 2014 and has another 23 scheduled between September and October. I haven't sat and counted each of them this morning, but just scanning through the tour dates I don't think GnR has played that many shows if you count 2012-2014 (maybe if you count 2011). He is a musician who loves to create and play music, not be paid to start and stop at Axl's whim. (which is why I see them having trouble getting an 'established' fill in for DJ and Ron (if needed))

I don't think Axl would ever budge on his overall control of the band and/or Team Brazil's role in the band, and Slash would help the Guns N' Roses brand more now than Axl would help the Slash brand... With that said I don't see how a reunion occurs. As far as money goes based on publishing rights etc... Slash does just fine off of the same back catalog that pays Axl.

Slash or someone close to him has to know that it is him and his top hat that are missing from the casual fan's view of the band so (IMO) he is the one who holds all the chips. At the same time I highly doubt Axl's ego would allow him to see it that way and I also think Axl (while playing at his own pace) also would be more interested in creating music on his terms the way he wants without having to change for Slash (even if it would raise the public perception of the band.)

I do agree with all of that... I just think push comes to shove if Axl calls and says lets go play arenas and stadiums for 18 months with Duff and Izzy and pretend to like each other... Slash isn't going to say no.

[D-GenerationX]

I think its hard to spin 2 major defections within the past year as a good thing.  Leaving us with an uncertain future, at best.

Nobody's spinning anything.

You've been making these uncertain future posts for months now.....

Which were clearly off base.

I should have listened to all the Dr. EverythingGoneBeAlright types, I suppose.  Because that was the right read.

[D-GenerationX]

I will take The Magical Mystery Vault.  I will take a reunion.

Most people won't take both.  I will. 

Because I refuse to accept an outcome where the best frontman of my lifetime site at home.  No god damn good.

Sits at home ? South Anerican tour, 2 Las Vegas residencies  (Blu-Ray DVD), touring from 09-14... Staying in Vegas to work on the new album in June 2014....  Might wanna take that one back.

My post referred to the future.  Not the past 5 years of obvious hustle and bustle.

[D-GenerationX]

I just cannot see a reunion happening. I don't know why everybody is talking about it? A reunion if it ever happened would collapse within a week. Slash is happy putting out his conspirator releases without the pressure of an erratic frontman. Duff has his thing musically and also writes and runs a business. Izzy is well Izzy. And by Axl agreeing to reunite it would mean that he has accepted the fact that his nugnr has been a disaster. He is too locked into his ancient feud with the 'cancer'. He has demonized Slash so much that he cannot be the bigger man and climb down from that position. Only Adler would be willing at the drop of a hat. And then you have the lawyers and management teams and hangers on to contend with. There is no way Slash would agree to work with Beta Lebeis in the background.

All legit points.

Axl would have to swallow some pride and eat some shit, which is highly unlikely to happen.  The craziest thing, of course, is that he is the only one who would see things in those terms. 

Would any of us care?  Would rock fans in general care?  They've been imploring him to do this for 15 years now.  Is there much chance people are going to rip him for caving?  He's the only one that sees things in those terms.  How he's in constant battle with the forces of evil who want to hold him back and make his life miserable, and he might fight against them at all costs.

But the rest of us just want to hear some music.

[ITARocker]

At this point i hope a reunion will happen. Axl failed building up a solid band, that's it.

[Erick]

I believe Robin returned.

Axl always showed respect for the work he did during the recording of Chinese Democracy.

Axl has yet to close this chapter of his life that already worked hard

[GeorgeSteele]

But the rest of us just want to hear some music.

That's pretty much where I am.  I am down for whatever inspires and moves him to create, whether it's a reunion with the any of the old lineups, a reboot, whatever.  I don't care how anyone would spin in it in terms of backtracking, caving, etc.  

[Silex]

I bet that Axl either
a) gets a new guitar player(s) like before
or b) go Bowie and just release album(s) and weird music videos on Youtube without touring. Under GNR name or solo. 

I don't believe in reunion. 
But whatever works. Last time guitarist left we got CD, and then tour later. 

[mortismurphy]

I just cannot see a reunion happening. I don't know why everybody is talking about it? A reunion if it ever happened would collapse within a week. Slash is happy putting out his conspirator releases without the pressure of an erratic frontman. Duff has his thing musically and also writes and runs a business. Izzy is well Izzy. And by Axl agreeing to reunite it would mean that he has accepted the fact that his nugnr has been a disaster. He is too locked into his ancient feud with the 'cancer'. He has demonized Slash so much that he cannot be the bigger man and climb down from that position. Only Adler would be willing at the drop of a hat. And then you have the lawyers and management teams and hangers on to contend with. There is no way Slash would agree to work with Beta Lebeis in the background.

All legit points.

Axl would have to swallow some pride and eat some shit, which is highly unlikely to happen.  The craziest thing, of course, is that he is the only one who would see things in those terms. 

Would any of us care?  Would rock fans in general care?  They've been imploring him to do this for 15 years now.  Is there much chance people are going to rip him for caving?  He's the only one that sees things in those terms.  How he's in constant battle with the forces of evil who want to hold him back and make his life miserable, and he might fight against them at all costs.

But the rest of us just want to hear some music.

I could only envision a really limited thing, like two-three gigs. Anything more and it would collapse unless Axl suddenly discovered the professionalism which has evaded him his whole life. They are different people. They have all worked upon their own methods of working so long. Axl is never going to completely drop the lateness thing and he is always going to work like a snail on new material. Slash likes to put out an album per year and is very professionalism about arriving on stage on time. You are not going to make either budge from this now. In a way there methods of working are complete opposites.

[faldor]

I just want to ask why is anyone thinking richie kotzen is on the table. From what i understoond from 4tus interview, richie auditioned a long time ago, which makes sense because everyone who's anyone was asked to audition.


But for someone to say richie is a poor mans version of chris cornell... damn you just don't understand music. Richie is a freakin' genius, amazing singer songwriter and is doing pretty good for himself with the winery dogs, he may of have never had the musical success of GN'R but that's not the point, he is an amazing guitar player and singer and songwriter and he is no poor man's version of nothing!

Only problem is Richie doesn't really like to play with a les paul, i think there's only one video where he does that and he stops half way through and to see someone shred on a telecaster with no guitar pick playing gn'r might not sound exactly what gn'r fans are expecting.

But i think a reunion is the most likely scenario. I don't see richie giving up a band ( the first one he started) with Portnoy and Billy Sheehan to go and tour for Axl. Doesn't make that much sense.

Maybe that was a poor choice of words on my part. I simply meant he sounded like Chris Cornell to me. I had little to no knowledge of Richie before I heard a few songs from The Winery Dogs. I was very much impressed with what I heard. But let's be honest, Chris Cornell is a million times more well known than Kotzen. Not that that means anything and everything, but that's the only reason I referred to him as a "poor man's Chris Cornell". It wasn't meant as a diss. Sorry if it came across that way. Guy is super talented. I could get excited if he were to enter the fold.

I don't necessarily see it though. Someone mentioned him, so I shared my thoughts. Simple as that.

[Ginger King]

I just cannot see a reunion happening. I don't know why everybody is talking about it? A reunion if it ever happened would collapse within a week. Slash is happy putting out his conspirator releases without the pressure of an erratic frontman. Duff has his thing musically and also writes and runs a business. Izzy is well Izzy. And by Axl agreeing to reunite it would mean that he has accepted the fact that his nugnr has been a disaster. He is too locked into his ancient feud with the 'cancer'. He has demonized Slash so much that he cannot be the bigger man and climb down from that position. Only Adler would be willing at the drop of a hat. And then you have the lawyers and management teams and hangers on to contend with. There is no way Slash would agree to work with Beta Lebeis in the background.

All legit points.

Axl would have to swallow some pride and eat some shit, which is highly unlikely to happen.  The craziest thing, of course, is that he is the only one who would see things in those terms. 

Would any of us care?  Would rock fans in general care?  They've been imploring him to do this for 15 years now.  Is there much chance people are going to rip him for caving?  He's the only one that sees things in those terms.  How he's in constant battle with the forces of evil who want to hold him back and make his life miserable, and he might fight against them at all costs.

But the rest of us just want to hear some music.

I could only envision a really limited thing, like two-three gigs. Anything more and it would collapse unless Axl suddenly discovered the professionalism which has evaded him his whole life. They are different people. They have all worked upon their own methods of working so long. Axl is never going to completely drop the lateness thing and he is always going to work like a snail on new material. Slash likes to put out an album per year and is very professionalism about arriving on stage on time. You are not going to make either budge from this now. In a way there methods of working are complete opposites.

Mortis...you should know that Axl showing up late to shows hasn't happened in awhile.  The reputation may be deserved because of the past, but it's really based a things that happened a long time ago.  Also, I agree Slash has been way more productive in terms of releasing music...but an album a year is a bit of a stretch.

[mortismurphy]

I just cannot see a reunion happening. I don't know why everybody is talking about it? A reunion if it ever happened would collapse within a week. Slash is happy putting out his conspirator releases without the pressure of an erratic frontman. Duff has his thing musically and also writes and runs a business. Izzy is well Izzy. And by Axl agreeing to reunite it would mean that he has accepted the fact that his nugnr has been a disaster. He is too locked into his ancient feud with the 'cancer'. He has demonized Slash so much that he cannot be the bigger man and climb down from that position. Only Adler would be willing at the drop of a hat. And then you have the lawyers and management teams and hangers on to contend with. There is no way Slash would agree to work with Beta Lebeis in the background.

All legit points.

Axl would have to swallow some pride and eat some shit, which is highly unlikely to happen.  The craziest thing, of course, is that he is the only one who would see things in those terms. 

Would any of us care?  Would rock fans in general care?  They've been imploring him to do this for 15 years now.  Is there much chance people are going to rip him for caving?  He's the only one that sees things in those terms.  How he's in constant battle with the forces of evil who want to hold him back and make his life miserable, and he might fight against them at all costs.

But the rest of us just want to hear some music.

I could only envision a really limited thing, like two-three gigs. Anything more and it would collapse unless Axl suddenly discovered the professionalism which has evaded him his whole life. They are different people. They have all worked upon their own methods of working so long. Axl is never going to completely drop the lateness thing and he is always going to work like a snail on new material. Slash likes to put out an album per year and is very professionalism about arriving on stage on time. You are not going to make either budge from this now. In a way there methods of working are complete opposites.

Mortis...you should know that Axl showing up late to shows hasn't happened in awhile.  The reputation may be deserved because of the past, but it's really based a things that happened a long time ago.  Also, I agree Slash has been way more productive in terms of releasing music...but an album a year is a bit of a stretch.

Well alright, if you want to be Germanic about it an album every two years then (Slash, 2010; AL, 2012; World on Fire, 2014). Doesn't Axl still hit the stage around 10 pm now? I know he has reduced it but he still technically begins later than the standard time of most acts.

[Princess Leia]

I just cannot see a reunion happening. I don't know why everybody is talking about it? A reunion if it ever happened would collapse within a week. Slash is happy putting out his conspirator releases without the pressure of an erratic frontman. Duff has his thing musically and also writes and runs a business. Izzy is well Izzy. And by Axl agreeing to reunite it would mean that he has accepted the fact that his nugnr has been a disaster. He is too locked into his ancient feud with the 'cancer'. He has demonized Slash so much that he cannot be the bigger man and climb down from that position. Only Adler would be willing at the drop of a hat. And then you have the lawyers and management teams and hangers on to contend with. There is no way Slash would agree to work with Beta Lebeis in the background.

All legit points.

Axl would have to swallow some pride and eat some shit, which is highly unlikely to happen.  The craziest thing, of course, is that he is the only one who would see things in those terms. 

Would any of us care?  Would rock fans in general care?  They've been imploring him to do this for 15 years now.  Is there much chance people are going to rip him for caving?  He's the only one that sees things in those terms.  How he's in constant battle with the forces of evil who want to hold him back and make his life miserable, and he might fight against them at all costs.

But the rest of us just want to hear some music.

I could only envision a really limited thing, like two-three gigs. Anything more and it would collapse unless Axl suddenly discovered the professionalism which has evaded him his whole life. They are different people. They have all worked upon their own methods of working so long. Axl is never going to completely drop the lateness thing and he is always going to work like a snail on new material. Slash likes to put out an album per year and is very professionalism about arriving on stage on time. You are not going to make either budge from this now. In a way there methods of working are complete opposites.

That?s not a bad idea if they commit to a few shows only. Then they can go about their business. They can always play more shows from time to time if they enjoy each other?s company

[D-GenerationX]

That?s not a bad idea if they commit to a few shows only. Then they can go about their business. They can always play more shows from time to time if they enjoy each other?s company

Could also be a trial balloon of sorts.

Say you book 3 or 4 shows at the Staples Center in L.A.  Well, even in that limited run, you can establish plenty.  That being either "man, I forgot how fun this was" or "oh right, now I remember why I stopped working with this fuckin' guy".

Not that I think such a thing is even probable.  But it would probably make more sense then booking a longer nationwide tour, only to come to a bad conclusion at the end of the first week.

Then where are you?

[FunkyMonkey]

DJ Ashba

I can not thank you ALL enough for your kind words, heartwarming messages and the incredible love! God Bless. #AFU

[Princess Leia]

That?s not a bad idea if they commit to a few shows only. Then they can go about their business. They can always play more shows from time to time if they enjoy each other?s company

Could also be a trial balloon of sorts.

Say you book 3 or 4 shows at the Staples Center in L.A.  Well, even in that limited run, you can establish plenty.  That being either "man, I forgot how fun this was" or "oh right, now I remember why I stopped working with this fuckin' guy".

Not that I think such a thing is even probable.  But it would probably make more sense then booking a longer nationwide tour, only to come to a bad conclusion at the end of the first week.

Then where are you?

 Duff was capable to perform a few shows with Axl. And things went pretty good actually. In fact Duff knows better than anyone what it feels like to go on tour with Axl now. So all the others will be very well informed.

The long term commitment, I just don?t see it neither an album by the old band. If they write a couple of songs they just play them live. Eventually they can put them on iTunes or something

[GNR2014]

If they write a couple of songs they just play them live. Eventually they can put them on iTunes or something

OMG Don't hold your breath! 

[Trash Boat]

Hope we all hear something (from TB or Axl) before the end of the year, like you said won't hold my breath 

[kukol1978]

There are 3 options

1. Ashba has quit and BBF probably.......so maybe we need 2 guitar players.So this option is follow with GNR finding 2 guys
2.Reunion,Duff and Axl talking about it seriously maybe Izzy there too,and trying to set a conversation Axl Slash eye to eye and speak about his troubles.
3.Axl says he is retiring

I dont know the % of that 3 options,maybe Jarmo or anybody in Gnr camp could give us some hints