not true

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Original Blabbermouth news article:

Rumors of guitarist Buckethead's departure from GUNS N' ROSES have gained strength in the recent weeks, with many speculating that GNR singer Axl Rose's alleged decision to begin taking guitar lessons will result in him taking on some of the guitar duties himself during the band's upcoming live performances.

Although the GUNS N' ROSES camp has yet to make an official comment on the matter, a BLABBERMOUTH.NET visitor and a previous news contributor bumped into GUNS N' ROSES keyboardist Dizzy Reed over the weekend and filed the following report:

"The after-show for [the] YNGWIE [MALMSTEEN] [concert] was held [Sunday night, March 14] at the Cat Club. The band that was playing that night was a cover band featuring Dizzy Reed on keys. During the set, they introduced Yngwie's drummer Patrick Johansson. He sat in on the drums for a rousing rendition of AC/DC's 'Dirty Deeds'.

"After the set I introduced myself to Dizzy. I had been wearing my GNR 'Chinese Democracy' shirt too! I asked him what was the status of the new album. He said that they should be releasing it this year (big surprise). I also asked him the what happened at the Philly riot show, since I was there. He said that you could thank Clear Channel for that one. I also asked him about Buckethead's status, in which he confirmed that he is unofficially out of the band."