Melissa Reese as second keyboardist

[Nikki_Sixx]

I don't see the point.  I mean it's a reunion tour........ it should be how it was back then.  For future recordings, maybe, but the old songs don't need her and that will more then likely be the bulk of the set list.

It's not a reunion tour.  It should have been, but it's not.

It should have been... says who?

Even if it was, there were 2 keyboard players for most of the UYI tour as well.  In fact there were lot more musicians on stage then, than there are now.

This is actually a very good point, I'm surprised it's coming from you.

By the way, who says Melissa is a band member ?  I've never considered Pitman a band member.  Teddy wasn't a band member.

But that's just you. I could say that I never considered XXX a band member, but it makes no difference to what someone else thinks. Considering that Pitman was with the band from the late 90's to at least 2014 and he's credited on CD, I'd consider him a band member. It's stupid to make a comparison to Teddy who only appeared on UYI tour from late 91 to early 93.

Says who ?  Anybody in their right mind.  Anyone who has a brain at all. 

I'm gonna assume Izzy and Adler/Sorum weren't interested or weren't wanted.  That's the only way to make sense of the current lineup.

Anyway this thread is not about that !

Oh, and it makes no difference what ANY of us think, not me and not you.  But it's a discussion forum and I'm entitled to my opinion.

[kaasupoltin]

Says who ?  Anybody in their right mind.  Anyone who has a brain at all. 

Ok, so you're entitled to your opinion, but if someone thinks different or questions it, he must have no brain to begin with.

Got it!

[sky dog]

Just my 2 but I think it is kind of odd bringing her in to the mix....as for needing her for Chinese tunes, don't ya think it would be kinda cool to see those songs stripped down? I do....

[Ginger King]

Maybe bringing her in is a sign that this band is not just focused on the past.  I don't know too much about her...I know she works with Brain and he's cool (I've liked him since his Primus days) so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.  IMO, her inclusion bodes well for hearing new music, and makes this lineup something else other than a nostalgia tour. 

I can see why Pittman was so pissed.  He got straight up replaced. 

[Nikki_Sixx]

Says who ?  Anybody in their right mind.  Anyone who has a brain at all. 

Ok, so you're entitled to your opinion, but if someone thinks different or questions it, he must have no brain to begin with.

Got it!

There's opinions, and there's preferring hired guns over the original lineup...

Back on topic !

[Thorned Rose]

I don't know what is so difficult about this.

She's not confirmed to be in the band, and it makes 0 sense to have 2 keyboardists really. They won't be playing heavy CD songs, and she's a younger pretty off the wall choice. I know she's like Brian's wife but it is definitely strange to have a female keyboard player unannounced in the band.

I don't consider her a member unless she actually contributes something to history aka... an album.

[Ginger King]

I don't know what is so difficult about this.

She's not confirmed to be in the band, and it makes 0 sense to have 2 keyboardists really. They won't be playing heavy CD songs, and she's a younger pretty off the wall choice. I know she's like Brian's wife but it is definitely strange to have a female keyboard player unannounced in the band.

I don't consider her a member unless she actually contributes something to history aka... an album.

So DJ and Bumble were never members...and Frank too, right?  How is she not confirmed to be in the band?  Did she just roll up to the Troubadour with a keyboard and sneak up behind Slash?  Perhaps I'm looking at this too simplistically, but my confirmation was seeing her play with the band. 

Whether the band needs 2 keyboardists is a separate discussion...clearly Axl thinks so since there has been for the past couple decades.  I thought it was pretty cool that this was completely under the radar...with all the "inside info" and rumors swirling about, no one saw this coming.  Kudos to the band and management for keeping it under wraps.

[zombux]

Frank and Bumble actually contributed to ChiDem the only member who didn't was DJ, because he joined the band after ChiDem release. if you want to go to the extreme, you can consider him a live member, who appeared at the only official live album (AfD). all the others left some footprint at ChiDem.
and about Melissa, give her a fucking break, we will see what happens next

[Thorned Rose]

I don't know what is so difficult about this.

She's not confirmed to be in the band, and it makes 0 sense to have 2 keyboardists really. They won't be playing heavy CD songs, and she's a younger pretty off the wall choice. I know she's like Brian's wife but it is definitely strange to have a female keyboard player unannounced in the band.

I don't consider her a member unless she actually contributes something to history aka... an album.

So DJ and Bumble were never members...and Frank too, right?  How is she not confirmed to be in the band?  Did she just roll up to the Troubadour with a keyboard and sneak up behind Slash?  Perhaps I'm looking at this too simplistically, but my confirmation was seeing her play with the band. 

Whether the band needs 2 keyboardists is a separate discussion...clearly Axl thinks so since there has been for the past couple decades.  I thought it was pretty cool that this was completely under the radar...with all the "inside info" and rumors swirling about, no one saw this coming.  Kudos to the band and management for keeping it under wraps.

Obviously she was invite to be there.

She's not recorded ANYTHING with Gn'R... and the huge thing for me if that she WASN'T announced or confirmed by anyone. She was just there.

Bumble played on CD, and toured. DJ barely a member to me. He just toured with them. He was a member. He was confirmed to be ya know. Don't make it so complicated. Until she's confirmed to be in the band on a consistent basis, she isn't a member.

[Factory Girl]

Just my 2 but I think it is kind of odd bringing her in to the mix....as for needing her for Chinese tunes, don't ya think it would be kinda cool to see those songs stripped down? I do....

I would love to see CD songs stripped down. One of the main reasons I was never into CD is the big production. I'm not a musician myself so I don't know if I'm explaining myself very well. But it's just not my style, too much happening at the same time.

Looking at Melissa's resum?, it doesn't seem to me that she's someone who would be in a band, like a full time member. She seems to have too many different interests. I think she will probably be there only for the tour

[Ginger King]

I don't know what is so difficult about this.

She's not confirmed to be in the band, and it makes 0 sense to have 2 keyboardists really. They won't be playing heavy CD songs, and she's a younger pretty off the wall choice. I know she's like Brian's wife but it is definitely strange to have a female keyboard player unannounced in the band.

I don't consider her a member unless she actually contributes something to history aka... an album.

So DJ and Bumble were never members...and Frank too, right?  How is she not confirmed to be in the band?  Did she just roll up to the Troubadour with a keyboard and sneak up behind Slash?  Perhaps I'm looking at this too simplistically, but my confirmation was seeing her play with the band. 

Whether the band needs 2 keyboardists is a separate discussion...clearly Axl thinks so since there has been for the past couple decades.  I thought it was pretty cool that this was completely under the radar...with all the "inside info" and rumors swirling about, no one saw this coming.  Kudos to the band and management for keeping it under wraps.

Obviously she was invite to be there.

She's not recorded ANYTHING with Gn'R... and the huge thing for me if that she WASN'T announced or confirmed by anyone. She was just there.

Bumble played on CD, and toured. DJ barely a member to me. He just toured with them. He was a member. He was confirmed to be ya know. Don't make it so complicated. Until she's confirmed to be in the band on a consistent basis, she isn't a member.

Believe me, I am not trying to over-complicate the matter.  To me, if you are on stage playing with a band, you are a member of said band.  Period. 

It would be very weird if they just had her play the Troubadour, so I expect her to be in Vegas and on the summer tour.  And I dig the fact that nobody knew.  I find that incredibly hard to pull off nowadays.  Who knows what her ultimate role and/or contribution to the band will be, but right now, hard to say she's not a member IMO.

[Spirit]

Believe me, I am not trying to over-complicate the matter.  To me, if you are on stage playing with a band, you are a member of said band.  Period. 

It would be very weird if they just had her play the Troubadour, so I expect her to be in Vegas and on the summer tour.  And I dig the fact that nobody knew.  I find that incredibly hard to pull off nowadays.  Who knows what her ultimate role and/or contribution to the band will be, but right now, hard to say she's not a member IMO.

The question is if she's purely a touring member, or an official member.

I never considered Teddy Zig Zag, Tracy and Roberta or the 976 Horns to be members of GN'R.

[aaronjcurtis]

Where is that Zig Zag dude these days? What a legend.

[zombux]

Looking at Melissa's resum?, it doesn't seem to me that she's someone who would be in a band, like a full time member. She seems to have too many different interests. I think she will probably be there only for the tour

I agree with this. she seems to be into quite a lot of different projects, she would hardly bury herself in a classic rock band, which releases 1 album each 16 years.

[kaasupoltin]

Whoa, this seems to be an important factor to some I think we'll find out what her status is going to be in the near future. This was just the first show.

But I don't really understand what's so weird in having two keyboardists in a band. And as it was already pointed out, GN'R has been touring like that since the late 1991 (excluding the Skin N' Bones tour in 1993).

And if someone doesn't know, Dizzy is not there just to play the keys, he does other stuff too.

[Spirit]

Whoa, this seems to be an important factor to some I think we'll find out what her status is going to be in the near future. This was just the first show.

But I don't really understand what's so weird in having two keyboardists in a band. And as it was already pointed out, GN'R has been touring like that since the late 1991 (excluding the Skin N' Bones tour in 1993).

And if someone doesn't know, Dizzy is not there just to play the keys, he does other stuff too.

It's not that I'm opposed to having Melissa in the band full-time, it would be no problem really.

I just think that she's here now for the tour, and probably future tours as well.

If they're recording new music, I think (guessing really) that they will scale back on the electronic elements of the sound and that was really Pitman's role in the studio. She might not be part of the band in a studio capacity. They are probably aiming for a more classic hard rock sound.

They've already gone back to having two guitarists in the band.


I remember Axl's answer back when Loder interviewed him in 1999. Axl originally wanted to do a new Appetite-style record and Loder asked him what prevented him from doing that. Axl simply answered: Slash.

That's a long time ago now, but it might still be valid for Axl. Now that Slash is back, Axl might want to go back to the classic GN'R sound for future songs.

[Axlfreek]

how old is this girl? she looks young

[Sosso]

Whoa, this seems to be an important factor to some I think we'll find out what her status is going to be in the near future. This was just the first show.

But I don't really understand what's so weird in having two keyboardists in a band. And as it was already pointed out, GN'R has been touring like that since the late 1991 (excluding the Skin N' Bones tour in 1993).

And if someone doesn't know, Dizzy is not there just to play the keys, he does other stuff too.

It's not that I'm opposed to having Melissa in the band full-time, it would be no problem really.

I just think that she's here now for the tour, and probably future tours as well.

If they're recording new music, I think (guessing really) that they will scale back on the electronic elements of the sound and that was really Pitman's role in the studio. She might not be part of the band in a studio capacity. They are probably aiming for a more classic hard rock sound.

They've already gone back to having two guitarists in the band.


I remember Axl's answer back when Loder interviewed him in 1999. Axl originally wanted to do a new Appetite-style record and Loder asked him what prevented him from doing that. Axl simply answered: Slash.

That's a long time ago now, but it might still be valid for Axl. Now that Slash is back, Axl might want to go back to the classic GN'R sound for future songs.

They wanted to be a two guitar player band back in the late-90's. They added a third guitar player (Robin) because of Buckethead.

[The Prez]

Where is that Zig Zag dude these days? What a legend.

 

[Spirit]

They wanted to be a two guitar player band back in the late-90's. They added a third guitar player (Robin) because of Buckethead.

Yeah, it made sense for the type sound they were going for. One lead player to play the more traditional guitar solos, and one to do the shredding type.

I think it's safe to say there won't be any super-fast shredding solos on any songs recorded from here on out. It backs the argument they might now go for a more classic hard rock GN'R style of sound.