Here Today... Gone To Hell!

GOnna be interesting to see what all howard asks him.

That will be interesting. You know there's going to be a ton of Axl questions. There is a Youtube site that posts all of Howard's interviews. I'll post a link when it's up.

Short teaser clip from Howard TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N74G8rbo2po

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNoBicY3WO4&list=UUSXhwBdPwbpMoJ8MyYHWcvg&index=8&feature=plpp_video - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUrMiyuMggg&list=UUSXhwBdPwbpMoJ8MyYHWcvg&index=7&feature=plpp_video - Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r91yWu-hUhg&list=UUSXhwBdPwbpMoJ8MyYHWcvg&index=6&feature=plpp_video - Part 3

Part 4 got taken down for some reason

Have you or anyone else listened to it? 

Any talk of VR and their future?  Any GN'R talk?

I'm just curious because if Howard asked him a bunch of questions about Perla and past girlfriends or whatever, I'm not interested.

Ali

I'm halfway through Part 2 and it's been mostly about GNR so far.

Thank you.

Ali

Very interesting interview but nothing in there we didn't necessarily know before. Hopefully the guy can edit out whatever music caused Part 4 to be taken down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRVrZUC3lbQ&list=UUSXhwBdPwbpMoJ8MyYHWcvg&index=1&feature=plpp_video - Part 4 with the song edited out

I thought the interview was great.  Gotta hand it to Slash.  The man knows how to promote.  He's got quite the full schedule this week.

I thought it was interesting Slash admitted he knows why Axl hates him.  His explanation seemed to make sense, though I'm sure there's more to it than that.  But in the past I remember Slash giving more of a "I have no idea why he hates me" type of answer.  Also found it amusing that he was so uncomfortable talking about someone trying to break up his marriage that he said he'd rather talk about Guns N' Roses.

Apparently Slash did Opie and Anthony right after Stern yesterday. Can't find that interview yet. But I listened to the end of O&A and they were talking about how Slash's "people" were difficult. He came on right after the band Train (who suck btw). The Train guys wanted a picture with Slash and his publicist or whoever wasn't having it. It sounded like it was a bit awkward from the way they were talking about it.

I don't think his explanation made sense, actually.  Not at all.  Especially in light of what Marc Canter said recently.  I believe that Marc, having talked to Axl directly, has a better idea of what the reasons are for Axl's disdain for Slash than Slash himself, who has not spoken to Axl in well over a decade.

Ali

How did it not make sense exactly?

Did you read the Marc Canter interview with Legendary Rock Interviews?  Read or recall that and the fact that Axl led off his infamous "tip of the iceberg" post with refuting the story that he blackmailed Slash and Duff into signing over the name.  I think Marc has a better idea of what the reasons are for Axl's disdain for Slash, and given what Axl decided to get off his chest right off the bat in that infamous post, I think Slash's answer does not make sense and is frankly ill-informed. 

If I want to know why someone feels the way they do or why they think what they think, I would first ask the person in question.  If that isn't possible, I would prefer to speak to someone (Marc Canter) who has discussed the subject of interest with the person who's thoughts I'm trying to understand.  What I wouldn't do is go by the perspective of someone (Slash) who hasn't spoken to the person in question (Axl) in 15 years.

Ali

Did you read Marc Canter's recent interview with Metal Sludge? He doesn't seem to fully understand what it's about either.  Also, keep this in mind...Slash talking about signing some contract making him an employee rather than a member and him referring to signing the "Guns N Roses" name over to Axl are 2 totally separate occurences.

If you're talking about this interview:  http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2771&Itemid=52, it is the same one I'm referring to.

He?s also angry about some things Slash said in the wake of leaving and about some things said regarding signing the name of the band over.  It?s really a story of miscommunication more than anything because they?re both really, honestly telling the truth but unfortunately there?s two different stories and therefore two different truths.   That?s partly because there?s middle men involved that people really don?t know.  For instance, if you read Slash?s book, in regards to signing over the name he says that the manager told him that he and Duff had to sign the paper or Axl wouldn?t go onstage and there would be a riot.  Now, if you ask Axl he?ll say ?100 % false.  I never said that, I never said I wouldn?t go on?.  You know what?  Because of Doug Goldstein, their manager being that middle man they are both telling the truth.  Axl didn?t say that, Doug said that and pushed that on Duff and Slash in order to get Axl off his back, and they bought it.  He just said ?Come on guys, just sign it.  You know Axl, if you don?t deliver this signed he won?t go on and there?s going to be a riot tonight.?  Axl maintains that yes, he did want them to sign it, he wanted that control in case something bad like a death should ever happen so that control of the band would not go into the hands of wives or girlfriends but he never, ever stated he would not go onstage.  Slash maintains, as does Duff, that it happened so I am sure that it did, Doug said that but Axl is upset that Slash went to the media and everyone else and spun it that he wouldn?t go on if he didn?t sign away the name or that he pressured or tricked them because he didn?t.  Like I said, in a way they are both telling the truth, it just comes down to Axl being unable to forgive Slash for spinning it that way and saying that he tried to blackmail them.

I believe the question from Howard was about why Axl hates Slash.  Above is Marc's answer, which I believe makes more sense than Slash's answer given that Axl led off his "tip of the iceberg" post with that subject.

Ali

Yes, that was exactly the quote from Marc Canter I was thinking of. However, I think Slash in the Stern interview was referring to an agreement presented to him to sign over ownership of the band and become a paid employee which is something he says happened a few years later right before he quit. The same thing was presented to Izzy right before he quit.

It could be that what Axl is pissed about and what Slash thinks he is pissed about are two different things.

Contrary to the seemingly popular opinion on this site, I never got the impression that Slash wanted back in GN'R, but the part of this interview I found the most interesting was when he said they had squeezed all creativity out of the band for the Illusions. Still hard to believe that a band could be that splintered coming off such an epic album(s).

Good point. And I think some people believe Slash would jump right back on if Axl was down with it. It sounds like he doesn't want the headache.

Also, Duff's book really puts things into perspective too. As great as some fans feel the Illusion era was, the band seems to have really stopped having fun and was running on fumes. Some of that could be revisionist history and some of it could be from downing a gallon of vodka everyday during that time. But you get the impression Axl doesn't look back fondly on that time period either.

That last statement of yours is EXACTLY my point.

Ali

If this is the reason Axl is pissed at Slash, In my opinion, it is way way way overblown. At the end of the day Axl won, he maintained ownership rights to the name GNR and continues to record, perform, and benefit from GNR. If you really think about it, Slash and Duff are the ones that should hate and despise Axl even if the whole thing was orchestrated by Doug Goldstein, because Axl never came back to them to say hey I did not do this and lets get this thing straightened out. Slash and Duff are the ones that lost out, but they seem not to not have any animosity toward Axl. Instead Duff is cool with Axl and vice versa, but Axl still holds the grudge against Slash. Axl and Slash were always my favorite, but Axl has overreacted to this whole situation especially considering he has the upper hand. Its almost like he is trying to rub it in Slash's face for some reason. I think deep down Axl also resents that there is such a huge portion of the GNR fan base that continues to support Slash, that pushes for the reunion, and that it will not go away no matter what he does.

Yea that was a great moment I was hysterical! We all know how much Slash hates talking about gnr

At the nyc show tuesday night. Slash & Myles stayed and signed autographs for every single person online maybe 50-60 people but his bodyguard would not allow pictures which sucks because its all i wanted. My phone battery had already died anyway

Howard stern is SHREDDING slash

Wow. I'm sorry, but that is one of the more incomprehensible and absurd takes in the situation I've read. Whether or not Axl "won out" is irrelevant. The point is that Slash's portrayal of the situation, either intentionally or not, has helped create the perception that Axl got the rights to the band name through blackmail. In fact, I had an email dialogue with a writer from the San Jose Mercury News who cited Slash's version of events as some sort of proof that Axl had blackmailed Slash and Duff into getting the rights to the name. I think its natural to be upset at someone for describing a situation in such a way that leads to a perception you did something that was illegal.

Ali

Ali, So to your point, if Axl is upset about the perception that Slash gave about how he obtained the rights to the GnR name then all he would have to do is come out and say that's not what happened. I understand this situation has 3 versions Axl's, Slash's, and the truth. My point is I think we can understand both these guys being pissed at each other when the break up went down but after 15 years or whatever it is now, it's a little absurd that Axl still despises Slash to the point he could not stand on a stage to accept and award with him for 5 min. I think the punishment outweighs the crime. Axl talks about moving on but he won't give closure to the situation. If he would do what he does with Duff and Izzy with Slash I think he could really put his past behind him and stop dealing with all the slash drama. That's probably the main reason he refuses to properly promote GnR and do press and media outlets because of dreading all the slash questions.

Don't you think the press would then instantaneously claim that Axl is lying? What possible motivation would they have for embracing Axl's perspective when Slash has essentially been the lapdog of the media for the last 15 years?

Most people with an elementary grasp of law know that a contract signed under coercion or duress is not valid, so why should Axl even have to come out and say that's not what happened? Why not let basic logic take its course?

He DID do that in 2008 in his "tip of the iceberg" post.  Maybe it would make more sense to you that Axl is angry, but was willing to forgive and move on in 2001 and have Slash play on Chinese Democracy if Slash apologized for spinning that situation the way he did.  According to Marc Canter, that's exactly what Axl said after RIR III and when Marc told Slash about that, he balked at it completely.  The point is Axl was willing to mend fences in 2001, but that didn't happen.  The difference with Duff is that Duff did not describe the situation like Slash did.  Duff described the situation more completely, saying that there was an intermediary that was involved in passing along the contract documentation, and that to this day he wasn't sure who it was that pushed for the contract to be signed that night before the show. 

Maybe if Slash had handled the situation and talked about it more like Duff, things would be different now.

Ali

Or maybe if Axl had handled major band decisions in a different way than having a manager hand someone a contract hours before a show, things would be different now too.

+1 all lot of things were being handled wrong during the illusions tour not just "the contract"

Let me see if I'm following you. The public should just know (without Axl coming out and saying it) that this didn't happen because it would have been the incorrect move from a legal standpoint. And Axl has never and will never do anything incorrectly. That's your idea of basic logic?

Maybe so.  But, the unfortunate thing is that Axl had no way of knowing how Doug Goldstein and/or his underlings would handle that situation (i.e. implying that Axl wouldn't go on stage if the contract wasn't signed).

Ali

Whatever happened in the past is the past. The fact that Axl cannot get over it and chose not to show up at the HOF event with some long winded letter as an excuse, was just petty and disrespectful...

No, not that it's "incorrect".  That it would make the contract legally null and void.  The contract was never rendered null and void, obviously.

Ali

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it.  But, Axl does not have to share your opinion.

Ali

Yup, I'm pretty sure, Axl is going to take that opinion to his grave... Pretty sad way to live if you ask me. Also my opinion.

Ok, I see that now. But it would help public perception had Axl gave his side of the story a few years earlier.


I don't think the HOF thing is that big of a deal. It would be cool if Axl and Slash could be on speaking terms but I don't think there's any desire from either side to work together again. From this interview it didn't sound like Slash was all that stoked about the HOF going in either. Sounds like it was a bunch of industry guys in suits running that show. But he's not good at saying no.

If you are talking about today's show then you listened to repeat clips.  Howard doesn't work on Thursdays anymore. 

If you are talking about Tuesday's show, I don't remember any shredding.  He mentioned how he could lock all of the GNR guys in a room and get them to sort through their differences, even calling Slash out, but it was nothing too bad.  Although his comment to Slash about how his "sobriety is tenuous at best" was hilarious. 

Hey, I don't disagree with you.  It would probably be better to let go of the anger, although no one really knows how much it weighs on him these days.  But, Axl doesn't have to agree.  It's his life and his emotions.  He's entitled to feel however he does or hold onto how he feels however he chooses to do so. Only he has to bear the burden of that.

Ali

I don't think he shredded either. Stern is aggressive with all his guests. He uses it for comedic effect to some degree. People know that before they go on there. It may seem a little surprising if you don't listen to him much.

I agree with you.  It didn't help and it created what is known as the "illusion of truth" where something is repeated enough, it is accepted as truth.

Ali

I agree with you.  It didn't help and it created what is known as the "illusion of truth" where something is repeated enough, it is accepted as truth.

Ali
[/quote]

That Behind the Music a few years back didn't help either. The voice over said "Axl forced the band to sign the name over to him or the group would be history" but they don't show Slash or anyone actually saying that and don't cite any sources for much of the commentary on there.

He also called the current Guns N Roses a tribute band, so I would not exactly say he shredded Slash.

Howard thought it was cool for Axl to blow off the Rock Hall, but is stunned that a band can reject a 100 million dollar payday. He's making boatloads off of judging a TV show on top of what he got from Sirius.

Slash is going to tolerate the Axl questions from Piers & Howard, and I think Piers had just interviewed him a couple of years ago.  The rest of them can read the book.

Howard can go to Hell!!!

He was on his back foot the entire interview, stern broached about 20 topics slash clearly didn't want to talk about and you could tell slash was uncomfortable for like 80% of the interview ...

What was he afraid to talk about? Stern asked about reunion questions, which Slash has answered in the last 100 interviews about-there was nothing earth shattering in the interview

He clearly didn't want to talk about what happened with Perla that time!

I dont understand why anybody would want to talk to a guitar player about his marriage..... 

That kinda stuff is him and Perla's business only.

I agree totally.

Except for the fact that she is always putting herself in the public eye, and is currently writing a book about her marriage.  So I guess you are right, it is literally her "business" :hihi:

Yeah, but that is how Stern has made his money and made a name for himself.  He would grill all celebrities he has on the show.  If Slash had been asked that question 15 years ago there is no chance Stern would have backed off of him. 

I didn't think the interview was bad at all.  I thought there were some really good moments and its not all the time you get a current or former member of GNR to have a 45 minute live interview like that. 

The book Perla is writing is not about her marriage or Slash.

I agree, it wasn't bad at all. The people surprised about this interview obviously don't listen to Stern much.

True.  Stern's show is for entertainment purposes.  That's what his listeners care about.  Being entertained.  They don't want him to ask the basic, or even in depth questions about music.  Leave that to the stock interviewers.  He's going to ask his guests the uncomfortable questions that they may not want to talk about.  He will try to push the envelope on occasion, but he knows when to let up, which he did with Slash.  He's one of the best interviewers in the business.  I think he knows what he's doing.

i think this "take" from Hudson is actually a good one, something not to read on boards that much by the way. meaning: no matter how it went down with the middle men, it was Axl's intention to get more power and secure the band name for himself only, it was his move! how much weight on Slash's and Duff's shoulders that must have become more and more over the years, slowly realizing Axl could (and did!) go on with the same b(r)and name but new musicians/employes....is smth. people hardly can even imagine. off course the same goes for Axl's shoulders, he will have to deal with that until he dies. but it most likely leaves some bittertaste for his old friends, too, it provenly does for many fans.

I agree. I get what your saying Ali, and the fact that Axl is getting an overblown and undeserved negative perception from Slash's comments, failure to clarify issues and media bullshit is clearly what is upsetting him. And I think that's whats come out alot recently - that the reason he's REALLY pissed is that Slash's comments from interviews 5-10 years ago, the anecdotes in Slash's book, and i guess Slash's ambivalence in recent times, has been a big contributor to the overhyped perception that he is a big jerk.

But he should realise that he's not the only one whose the victim here, and slash and duff have lost alot. They are playing to much smaller venues especially internationally than they could with the gnr name. Axl has the brand name, he has a good band and its a far bigger drawcard than Slash, Loaded or even VR ever was, and those guys live in the Axl shadow just as much as he does. So he 'wins' in many ways.

And the weight he has to carry is his own fault on two counts: (1) he instigated the move and (2) he repeatedly chooses to avoid media interviews and go on shows like Howard Stern and clarify what really went down. If he's worried about his public perception so much and the "endless revisionism and fantasies that need stamping out" then he should do something about it.

Like I said before, Axl "winning" is irrelevant in regards to being able to feel the way he does towards Slash.  There's no reason why the ultimate outcome has to be tied to how to feel about an inaccurate, public-perception-skewing take on how things went down.  He may have instigated the move, but he is not responsible for how it was executed.

Axl DID do something about it.  He did speak out against, although granted a little late.

http://www.mygnrforum.com/index.php?showtopic=133371

Ali

but, Ali, it could be considered as THE 1st big move leading up to all the thrash talking and stuff!??! nevermind the situation Slash and Duff have been in addictly by that time.....its still goin down to succesfully getting them out of the GN'R name - during a time when Axl, Slash and Duff were in one of the biggest Rock bands in the world (Rolling Stones-like)!

When did she say the book would be about her marriage?

I've never heard this before..... anyplace I can find this interview with Marc Cantor where he says this?


The interesting thing about that is that it still contradicts Axl's story.  Axl claims that it happened when the band renegotiated with Geffen, and that Slash and Duff had to initial where it said that in the contract.  So when did the contract renegotiation occur?  Wasn't that in 1990?  In his book, Duff claims the incident transpired (just as you described above) before a show in 1993.


Maybe so, but Slash admits he was incredibly bitter towards Axl in 2001 and truly believed that he'd been forced to sign away ownership in the name (otherwise the band would instantly break up), which obviously proved to be a lethal combination.  I think Slash's biggest sin (as always with him) was his lack of foresight, in both signing those papers and letting his emotions get the better of him.

Besides, you also have to wonder if Axl truly would've been able to forgive, since the bad blood goes beyond that one incident.  These days, Axl seems to nit-pick every alleged flaw that Slash ever had, from making comments that "it was a war between Slash and myself since day 1" and all of those comments in his 2008 "tip of the iceberg" rant.  I suppose that one could rationalize that Axl's own bitterness is now doing the talking for him, and being perpetually pissed off at someone does make you constantly try and find faults within them.

Another way I could spin it is that things could also be different if Axl hadn't been so obstinate about communicating through management only.  Imagine if Axl actually walked up to Slash or Duff and presented the contract himself, or discussed the situation with them beforehand (which Axl obviously didn't, given Slash's and Duff's surprise to it).  Maybe a lot of things wouldn't have happened then.


Yes they did.  Slash was shown saying, "if we didn't sign that paper, the band was gonna break up right there.  So we did what we always did, keep the fucking thing rolling."

http://www.legendaryrockinterviews.com/2012/04/22/legendary-rock-interview-with-guns-n-roses-insider-and-author-marc-canter/

heres the marc canter interview. That site also has some interesting interviews with Alan Niven and Vicky Hamilton. author really knows his guns shit.

Yeah the Marc Canter interview is amazing, but I don't think that link will be available for much longer on this site  : ok:

There is a reason why it was never posted in the main GNR section. 

The Marc Canter interview is really fascinating stuff...

Nothing earth shattering as far as stuff we havent heard already....

but with his perspective from being close with all sides its really interesting to hear what he has to say

The link was provided.

I don't think Axl and Duff's accounts are different.  I think Axl's point was that the issue of the rights to the name were brought up during the contract renegotiation with Geffen and Duff is talking about when he and Slash finally signed off on the name issue.  I think the contract renegotiation took a while to conclude.

Of course, Axl was willing to forgive and move forward in 2001.  Look at Marc Canter's comments.  He was willing to have him play on Chinese Democracy, so of course he was willing to forgive and move forward then.  If he didn't want to make peace, I can't imagine any other explanation for why he would be o.k. with Slash playing on CD.

As far as "discussing the situation" beforehand, Axl did do that.  Even Slash said in his book that Axl brought up the issue of ownership of the band name when Steven Adler was fired, so this was nothing new.  Maybe if Axl had personally handed Slash and Duff the papers things would be different, but then again I've never heard of anyone personally handing someone legal documents like that. 

Ali

Maybe so, but my point is that from Duff's standpoint, he supported Slash's side, not Axl's.  The whole "it was presented before a show by someone who implied that Axl wouldn't go onstage unless we signed it right then." was Duff's account, which Axl claims never happened.  I think Canter had it right; there was a lot of misguided communication transpiring there.


That was interesting reading as I hadn't seen that before.  But you said before that Slash "balked" at Axl's request and that was why they didn't reconcile at that time.  Marc Canter elaborates that the reason Slash balked at it was because, in Slash's mind, Axl really did blackmail them, and consequently Slash was incredibly pissed off about it.  If you couple that with Slash's admitted intense bitterness towards the situation around 2001, you have a guy who wasn't willing to apologize for anything because (as Canter said) Slash didn't believe he had anything to apologize for.

I have to say I enjoyed reading Canter's interview.  He seems to have a much clearer and more objective perspective on Guns N Roses than any single member, especially Slash or Axl.

I'm sorry, but I think you are mistaken about what Axl is saying.  He's saying he  never threatened to not go on stage unless the contracts were signed.  He's not talking about what management did or did not do.  He's speaking for himself, about his own actions, or lack thereof in this case.

Ali

I know that.  That's what I meant when I said that Axl's and Duff's accounts differ.  Axl says he didn't threaten to refuse to go onstage, and Duff and Slash both said that the person delivering the papers said or implied that Axl was threatening that.

That's not exactly true, either, I'm afraid.  Slash, whether or not it was intentional or he was intending to be literal, did not portray it as someone from the management team giving him and Duff the contract papers.  I know some people think that detail is insignificant, but  I happen to think that it has helped perpetuate the belief that Axl "blackmailed" Slash and Duff out of the name. 

Slash:  "Before a gig one night in '92, [Axl] hands us a contract saying that if the band breaks up, he's taking the name,'' says Slash. ''Unfortunately, we signed it. I didn't think he'd go on stage otherwise.''

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,389304,00.html

Ali

Took me awhile to find this, but I remember reading about this way back when.  Well Howard brought this up the other day.  He was a little miffed about Zeppelin going on Letterman and not doing his show.  Also they tried to get Neil Young on and he didn't want to get up that early to do the show and only did "The Daily Show" for promo.  So in his mini rant about the power of the show and such, he talked about how Slash did an about face recently.

A written review taken from http://www.marksfriggin.com/news12/12-3.htm#tue

Howard took a call from Tommy in Malden who asked if he saw the guys from Led Zeppelin on Letterman last night. Howard said he DVR'd it but hasn't seen it yet. Tommy said those guys are looking pretty old. Howard said some of these guys don't age very well. He said Joe Perry from Aerosmith is aging well but Jimmy Page and Robert Plant aren't aging well. Howard said if they made a deal with the devil the deal must be running out. Howard said they resemble nothing of the pretty boys they were. Howard said that Jimmy used tot be a rock god and Plant used to have his hair flowing but now you think you're visiting middle earth when you see them.

Howard said that all of these guys like Neil Young and Pete Townshend don't do his show. He said he goes nuts when he sees them on Letterman and Jon Stewart's show. Howard said it's a non-interview. He said he hasn't seen Letterman but he's sure there was no substance. Howard said he knows Dave just got the Kennedy Center Honors but he should get it. Howard said he actually asks questions. Howard said he is a rock DJ and he knows rock information. Howard said when he sees these guys on the other shows it's frustrating to him. Howard said if he could get a hold of Led Zeppelin he could do a great interview. Gary said they were out promoting and they tried to get them on the show. He said they tried to get Pete Townshend on the show. Howard said Pete hates him. He said that he asked about the internet and the boys and he walked out of the interview. Howard said these motherfuckers...they were his heroes.

Howard said he blames the publicists. Howard said they have 22 million listeners and they have 60-70 percent of that number listening to his channels. Howard said if you put all of the late night guys ratings together they still have more listeners there on his channels. Howard said Adrienne Curry comes on the show and she ends up the number one Google search. Gary said he gets the line ''He's not doing radio'' from the publicists. Howard said that you go where you can sell product. Howard said he goes on Letterman and he barely mentions the product he's selling. Howard said they come on this show to sell product. Gary said Kid Rock sold a lot of records after he was on Howard's show. Howard said of course he did.

Howard said Slash was on the show and they got a call from his publicist who said that they spent too much time talking about Guns N' Roses. Howard said that Slash called the show a few days later and he was sorry he said anything because he had the fans coming up to him and talking about how great the interview was. Howard said he was so glad to hear that. Howard said Billy Corgan came in and said that he was responsible for boosting the sales of his album.

Gary said the publicists are afraid of the show. He said he tried to get Mark Knopfler on the show. Howard said he's glad he didn't get him on the show. Howard said no one gives a fuck about him. Gary said Mark didn't do anything wrong in this story. It was 1987. Gary said he called the publicists and the publicist said he didn't want to do the show. Gary said he went to another show he was on and Mark said he wanted to be on the show. He said the publicist was afraid to ask Mark if he wanted to do the show. Howard said the publicists want him when they have some shitty artist that no one knows. Howard said Mark is a great guitar player. Howard told Gary to check with him before booking him. Gary said that was in 1987.

Ali - There is no sense dwelling on the past.  Different times back then, and things changed for the better.  Axl founded the band hence he owns and deserved the band name no matter how it was obtained.  If you are insuating perhaps management lied on Axl's behalf that would be incorrect.  Axl got the name during a renogotiation.  Plain and simple.  The rest is just fluff.