Guns N Roses - Reuniting For Coachella

So what is the chances Axl won't has some kind meltdown before this actually happens and call it off? If it does actually go off without a hitch, I'll be surprised.

I thought of Steven Adler and look up what he was doing, he seems to be hanging in there. He was struggling to stay sober when he was on Celebrity Rehab some years back. It was sad to see.

Ok where are the two guys on here that have had sex with Axl? They've posted about in previous threads. He was gay for pay back in his Sunset Strip days.

Fuck off homophobic trash.

How on-topic this thread is! I was just about to open one on Axl Rose titled "Getting the face (and body) you deserve".

Take a look at the porker this serial woman-beater and decades-long drug-and-food abuser has become. He looks like an albino manatee.

I thought he was supposed to have lost some of that weight? Guess not.

At least his face isn't as freaky as it once was. Where it looked like he had some major work done on his face.

For some reason I never thought Izzy would be the one with the most sense out of all of them. It's not a true reunion if he's not there. Adler to a lesser extent.

r2 I missed that-do you remember which threads?

The Strip ran on sex in that scene, even more than usual for rock. They were either being kept by women who took care of them, or they were hustlers. Looking at the casualties, the latter group ended up worse off.

Just as a palate cleanser, this is what he used to look like.

And it's not just age, either,. Look at Bowie, or even Sting.

r7 Rust belt special--hottest white trash ever. I have a weakness for the blonds (see below hip hop product of Cleveland).

In fairness, he's had a lot of health issues-physical and mental. The medicine course for any one of them usually leads to weight gain.

THE MOST OVERRATED BAND EVAH!!!!!!!!!

One of the top rock vocalists of all time, though.

Slash is overrated.

You're gonna diiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee

Yay and hopefully a worldwide tour after that. I've missed seeing them live twice before, so hopefully that won't happen again.

Didn't know about the gay for pay rumors about Axl....

Damn -- boozing, doughnuts, and old age.

It's about time they released a new album. It's irritating that although Guns N' Roses have enough new material to record "two or three" new albums, (according to guitarist Richard Fortus), nothing finally comes out of it. It is said that happens because of Axl Rose. The final say belongs to him. What took him so long???

I always preferred this version of Welcome To The Jungle.

The Misfits ftw R15. Pizazz and Roxy could have given Slash a run for his money. And Stormer is cooler than Dizzy Reed ever was or will be.

[quote] I never thought Izzy would be the one with the most sense out of all of them. It's not a true reunion if he's not there. Adler to a lesser extent.

It's his personality, Izzy is quiet and discreet and secretive by nature. That's probably how he got so far as a drug dealer before he took on GNR as a full time gig. By all accounts I've read/heard, Izzy has this talent for disappearing off radar, even nowadays in this age of surveillance. Sometimes his own band mates and girlfriends wouldn't know where he was for weeks. He was older, more travelled and more independent than the others when they started GNR (in his 20's, lived and gigged in Europe, ran drugs interstate), so the excess didn't tempt, impress or bother him as much. I've heard reports that he's very sweet and grounded, although he had his wild moments back on the tours (pissing in the plane etc). It was his disappearing acts and lack of accountability that got him kicked out, hypocritical considering how unreliable the others were at the time of UYI. I also think he loved and cared about Stevie more than the rest, and what happened to Stevie really affected him badly (and Duff, Stevie meant a lot to Duff).

I totally agree that this reunion without Izzy and Stevie will feel cheap and empty and kind of wrong. I do love Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke, though, so I hope we get the UYI lineup if nothing else.

I loved Izzy's independent records, 'Shuffle It All' is an anthem for me.

Is this going to be Guns and Roses on Ice? If it is Axl with Izzy,Skizzy,Mizzy and Kizie I'm not interested.

I hope Tracii Guns is getting a laugh out of this. L.A. Guns may not be touring any longer but they released more records, better records, and stuck around longer. And without the drama and wasted time/money,

I loved GNR as a tiny gay and I wished for this for years, but now I'm grown-ass and over this overhyped Geffen vehicle, I'm not into it. Even if I did care much or thought anything would come of it, they missed the boat. It's not their age that's the problem, but that this reunion should have happened at the right moment, after the smoke from the solos cleared (particularly '5'o Clock' from Slash) in the late 90's/early 2000's. They had hype, traction, and the chemistry and drive needed to create new material then.

Alas, Slash and Axl's lover's tiff went on far too long. Now this, like Chi-dem, is 10/15 years too late.

Without Izzy & Steven it's not a full reunion. Steven looked well at the r&r hall of fame.

G&R remain one of the greatest rock bands ever. I hope the semi reunion - even if it's just Axl, Slash & Duff - goes well.

We have been bombarded with shit music for years. We really need great music again.

r19 Sh.. up.

Yawn. And there is nothing uglier than a rocker.

Steven seems impaired from his stroke, but he can still drum like a motherfucker.

[Quote] One of the top rock vocalists of all time, though.

[Bold] LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R17 I'm surprised that Izzy and Duff cared more about Steven than Slash because I read a couple of their books and heard Steven in interviews and it seemed he was closest to Slash. They were friends when young too. Anyway you could tell Steven missed him the most.

Agreed, R24. It's like someone took the worst qualities of Robert Plant's singing and cranked them to 11. Axl Rose's voice is heinous.

This is rock music for clueless (mostly) white trash people.

Steven is a mess, his book was really good tho. He was a teenage hustler too.

"Welcome to the Jungle" was the ONLY great G&R song. Only because it was a game changer in music at the time. G&R never released anything equal to it.

From what I know (according to fans, industry insiders, and autobiographies), R25, Steven did indeed love Slash more than the others, but this wasn't reciprocated. He hero-worshipped Slash somewhat like a cool big brother. They went to school together, (with Flea of RHCP in fact), and since Steven didn't really have any family that gave a shit about him growing up, that meant a lot. The kid had it rougher growing up than any of them (apart from Axl). His parents didn't care what he did, shipped him off to live with his grandmother by junior high, and about then is when he started tricking.

This was all fine and well, and Slash looked after him in a way...until they grew up. Even before GNR started Slash was on the hunt for fresh opportunities, new gigs and new friends. Had Steven not been such a natural, gifted, primal drummer, you can bet he would've had his ass dumped by Ol' Slasher. Slash later collided with the force of nature that was Axl Rose and was noticeably taken with him, and from then on Slash kind of had his hands full with his frontman...

As for Izzy, he came as a package deal with Axl, in the same way that Steven came with Slash, and I think Izzy and Steven bonded over that fact, when their respective best friends dumped them for each other. Izzy did a lot of drugs with Steven, but also tried hardest to get him off them. Some even believe the guilt Izzy carried about Steven kept him away from the band members for a long time. Duff worked closest with Steven musically, and even though Steven never saw it that way, Duff essentially replaced Slash as a big brother figure who looked out for Steven and hung out with him. Duff has the biggest heart of the members, it seems, since he was very broken up about his VR bandmate Scott passing, too.

Duff's book is rated the highest on Amazon but it bored me. I liked Steven's and surprisingly Slash's the best.

Can we all agree Eric Dover was the hottest frontman Slash ever had though?

He's gay-friendly, flamboyant and he used to play in Jellyfish. A soft spoken, twinky little rockstar without the intolerance and the hitting women around crap. Surprised he and Slash had much in common...

Here's an interview with Steven. My God, his looks. It's so sad. He's sober, but the stroke just wrecked his speech. The interviewer's homophobia comes out and the awkwardness is palatable.

Bloated has-beens.

Of course, my partying female rock chick acid-wash-jeans-wearing cousin is already buying tickets.

As long as Steven can play - and he still plays great - he should return to be their drummer. He is an original member - same for Izzy.

Listen again, r24. It's soaked in excess and ego, hence the screechy parts. When he calms down, and uses his whole range he's a great rock singer--not a technical one, just a pure energy, straight ahead rocker.

Sebastian Bach is another one with a great rock voice who let ego, substances and trying too hard ruin a good thing.

I have r35 but thanks. I worked in the music industry from the 80's to the 2000's mostly in LA.

I really gave them a chance back in the day and have seen them many times. I've never understood the attraction to G&R and Axl. There were far more talented groups out there at the time. I do understand the attraction to the look.

I agree with your Bach comment.

R36 I thought the band was overrated, Slash especially as a Guitar God, but I always loved the voice. Of course, the ones who make it in the arts are usually not the most talented, as you'd know.

Bach isn't even the most talented in his family, and I wonder if the try hard ego is related. I get the sense from interviews that he felt left out from his father's attention when his four brothers became visual artists.

Agree with everyone here that Adler is a great player, possible the most stylish and original player in the band. He was emotive and always in the pocket, didn't need a big flashy kit or a dozen toms to get a rock-solid, heavy groove. That man was gifted and thankfully Appetite let him share his gift. And hell yeah, he's still got It, which is fucking miracle considering the intensity of abuse he put his body and mind through. He seems to truly love just playing, it's heartwarming. It makes you wonder at the healing and abiding power of music, even boring white dude glam-metal...

But if I remember it was more about the look and attitude and the druggie camaraderie with GNR than musical talent - Duff is a multi-instrumentalist from a musical family but the rest just grew up playing in bands at teen parties or in Church, like most rockers. You don't have to be good to play rock n'roll - hell, in the industry they say as long as your drummer and singer sound unique and powerful, you can easily get away with bland or shitty guitars, keys and whatever else you want to throw in (backup singers, violins..?). So yeah, Axl should have treated Adler better, no question.

[quote] 'Slash’s name pops up repeatedly, invoked in a way that suggests a shell-shocked husband speaking of an ex-wife after a particularly horrific divorce. “It is a divorce,” Rose says, with a sad stare.' ~ Rolling Stone, Issue 833: February 3, 2000'

Axl was always such a drama-queen about Slash leaving yet didn't bat an eyelid when he fired the others. Why?

Those 3 singles and videos off "Appetite" rocked.... WTTJ still looks and sounds completely ahead of its time. Would I see them live again? No... Like a bad high school reunion

Never got the appeal of G'n'R. "Welcome To The Jungle" was cool but the rest of its output is just noise to me.

R36 They became popular during the Lipstick Pop Metal phase when everyone was trying to be a gutless version of The New York Dolls. A lot of their swagger hearkened back to the 70s. They had a Stonesy vibe in their group. The Black Crowes were doing what Humble Pie did and did it during the same time. There was a void in rock music and certain groups filled it. Then came Grunge......

Speaking of grunge - let's not forget how much Kurt Cobain & Axl hated each other.

YES, r42 I know. I was there.

lmao R31, gotta fucking love Jellyfish, they should be playing Coachella instead.

r44 in your opinion, who was the best band that never made it, or that everyone slept on?

Of all time r46? Do you mean never made it in the US or the world?

I didn't like Slash's book at all, R30, I thought Duff and Steven were more clear and open. I feel like Slash can never get his head or his story straight when it comes to Axl, half in love with the guy and half still bitter and pressed. I felt like I was never getting the full story with Slash, like he was treading way too careful and leaving out the juicy stuff for fear of Axl taking it the wrong way. It's not subtle even with the self-censoring; he says they were 'attracted to each other' about 40 different times. I will agree with Slash that their personal relationship was a mindfuck - if half of Slash's side of the story stands. The early days had sweet moments, seemingly - I believe they shared a bed that the band helped build for them in their squat, when they lived on the Strip.The story where he jumps out of Slash's moving car still makes me laugh.

[quote] There were moments when I loved him to death, when he was just so cool and we had really close, heartfelt talks that he would lead. [...] I can go for years without saying anything about how I feel, but Axl is not like that at all; he needed someone to communicate his feelings to. We'd have these great, peaceful one-on-ones about what bothered him and what was on his mind when the static died down. [...] It was great insight into someone that I already admired, and I liked him a lot during those times because he was human and vulnerable and I felt like we really connected. [Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York].

[quote] (recounting a confrontation from the early days) I hadn't known Axl long, but I already knew him well enough to understand that he was a sensitive, introspective person who endured serious mood swings, so I chose my words carefully and presented the issue in a very non-judgemental, objective tone. Axl stared out the window as I spoke, then he started rocking back and forth in the passenger seat...when suddenly, he opened the car door and jumped out without a word.

[quote] Everything he says or does has a meaning, a theatrical place in his mind, in a blown-out-of-proportion kind of way. [...] Being close to him always felt like a roller-coaster ride.

[quote] We were an unreal band with an unreal singer; Axl was just amazing. Despite all of the tension going on behind the scenes, I still had some onstage chemistry with him that was incredible. We did amazing things every single night that were godlike.

[quote] Everybody keeps asking me, "Well, why would you quit? Guns was such a huge band." With all my heart I can say that I would have never wanted to mess with that. I did everything in my power to keep GN'R going--even having a good time in the midst of the most insane chaos with the Redhead... [Guitar One Magazine, April 2000].

[quote] (about asking Axl to sing on his solo) There were a lot of singers names who flew through my mind during the process. The thought of him crossed my mind at one point. I thought, “Axl could sing the shit out of any of these songs.” [Classic Rock Revisited, September 2010].

[quote] He’s the closest person I’ve ever worked with..[...] He’s just a really fucking huge mindfuck. He has a sweet side to him and a nasty side to him, if memory serves. He would be very, very violent and have very wicked thoughts and sore points. [...] I just do what I do because that’s what I like doing, but his thing seems to be a little more convoluted..[Slash’s Heroes & Villains, NME, October 7, 2000].

[quote] We attract each other. The relationship between most lead singers and most lead guitar players is very sensitive, very volatile [...[ just very intense. But somewhere between all this intensity and this friction there's a chemistry. And if the chemistry's right, like me and Axl are, really tight, then there's something - a spark or, you know, a need, that holds it together. You fight too [...] But that's also what makes it happen. [Tears Before Bedtime?; Q July 1991].

What are the odds that Axl has reconciled with the Polish and N!ggas, and immigrants and F@ggots?

I didn't like Slash's book at all, R30, I thought Duff and Steven were more clear and open. I feel like Slash can never get his head or his story straight when it comes to Axl, half in love with the guy and half still bitter and pressed. I felt like I was never getting the full story with Slash, like he was treading way too careful and leaving out the juicy stuff for fear of Axl taking it the wrong way. It's not subtle even with the self-censoring; he says they were 'attracted to each other' about 40 different times. I will agree with Slash that their relationship was a mindfuck - if Slash's side of the story stands. The early days had sweet moments - love that they shared a bed that the band helped build for them in their squat on the Strip. The story where he jumps out of Slash's car still makes me laugh, Axl was the definition of Extra even back then.

[quote] There were moments when I loved him to death, when he was just so cool and we had really close, heartfelt talks that he would lead. [...] I can go for years without saying anything about how I feel, but Axl is not like that at all; he needed someone to communicate his feelings to. We'd have these great, peaceful one-on-ones about what bothered him and what was on his mind when the static died down. [...] It was great insight into someone that I already admired, and I liked him a lot during those times because he was human and vulnerable and I felt like we really connected. [Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York].

[quote] (recounting a confrontation from the early days) I hadn't known Axl long, but I already knew him well enough to understand that he was a sensitive, introspective person who endured serious mood swings, so I chose my words carefully and presented the issue in a very non-judgemental, objective tone. Axl stared out the window as I spoke, then he started rocking back and forth in the passenger seat...when suddenly, he opened the car door and jumped out without a word.

[quote] Everything he says or does has a meaning, a theatrical place in his mind, in a blown-out-of-proportion kind of way. [...] Being close to him always felt like a roller-coaster ride.

[quote] We were an unreal band with an unreal singer; Axl was just amazing. Despite all of the tension going on behind the scenes, I still had some onstage chemistry with him that was incredible. We did amazing things every single night that were godlike.

[quote] I did everything in my power to keep GN'R going--even having a good time in the midst of the most insane chaos with the Redhead... [Guitar One Magazine, April 2000].

[quote] He’s the closest person I’ve ever worked with..[...] He’s just a really fucking huge mindfuck. He has a sweet side to him and a nasty side to him, if memory serves. He would be very, very violent and have very wicked thoughts and sore points. [...] I just do what I do because that’s what I like doing, but his thing seems to be a little more convoluted..[Slash’s Heroes & Villains, NME, October 7, 2000].

[quote] We attract each other. The relationship between most lead singers and most lead guitar players is very sensitive, very volatile [...[ just very intense. But somewhere between all this intensity and this friction there's a chemistry. And if the chemistry's right, like me and Axl are, really tight, then there's something - a spark or, you know, a need, that holds it together. You fight too [...] But that's also what makes it happen. [Tears Before Bedtime?; Q July 1991].

Overrated? Please. Axl & Slash wrote great songs. "Paradise City" is one of the best rock songs, ever. "November Rain."

Axl's last GnR album was horrible, after 13 years of writing there was only one good song "Better." The verses are cool, but the chorus stinks.

[Quote] . "Paradise City" is one of the best rock songs, ever. "November Rain."

[Bold} FUCKING LAUGHABLE!

[Bold] Still laughing!!!!!

Classic

I agree with you R51. They did write some great rock and roll songs. It's a shame they had so many problems because I think they could have been a great rock band. Some people think they were even with their problems, at least in the beginning. They were very popular. They were jerks and messes but they were talented.

They're obviously going to make a killing on this. Like someone else said, it'll be like a really bad high school reunion.

r56 It will all come down to how his voice is. That's the bottom line.

r47, both. People who were around the Strip and didn't get the chance they deserved there, and those who did but didn't burst out like the 'names'.

I'm so glad to see some love for Steven. He's just an amazing drummer. If he'd OD'd at their peak, more people would appreciate his talent. It's hard to believe he had that awful stroke and he's probably a better player and they won't include him. And like the sign says, Where's Izzy?

It's really a shame that they aren't including Steven and Izzy (as far as we know). Just about all of their fans would be happier if the original band members were included. If Steven isn't physically capable of playing all the songs on tour they could let him play a few songs and Matt play the rest. If everybody could get their egos out of the way, this could be awesome for Guns N Roses fans.

I remember watching this in 1988 and wondering if Axl would be able to finish singing these last two songs because he was so out of breath. He was a maniac that night. Steven always seemed so happy playing even when he was exhausted.

That band is made up of homophobic cunts.

I was so happy when Kurt arrived on the scene and squashed this annoying as hell band. That said, I did like Welcome to the Jungle. And nothing else.

Steven lucked out in one area. His wife Carolina is adorable, well-spoken and naturally very pretty. Didn't know she came from Buenos Aires!

I suppose Perla was hot and fun in a flashy, party-girl way, and Duff's wife seems smart and family-oriented (if a bit stuck-up and chilly), but Carolina must be the kindest. She stayed with Steven even when he was destitute and using heavily, no chance of a nice big house or a family.

Steven kisses his interviewer on the cheek here, it's very cute. I doubt he's homophobic, he's likely the only one of them that isn't, considering he was always quite nonchalant and accepting talking about his early life experiences with men, and seemed quite happily Bi during his party days. To me he seemed like one of the few that understood the gay subtext of the genre - I remember he idolised KISS and Paul Stanley, so..

This will be a disaster and will end before it begins.

Is there any bad blood between Izzy and other band members? It's my understanding that he quit because he was simply sick of the grind. It would be awesome for the fans if he plays the Coachella shows.

I was flipping through the channels and caught one of the recent GnR shows. It was Axl and his hired hands. I was shocked to hear how good Axl sounded. Im my opinion, he sounded as good as ever and this was only a year or so ago. So many of his peers have lost their voices such as Joe Elliott of Def Leppard and Vince Neil of Motley Crue.

Interesting you ask, R65, it's a little complicated. Axl and Izzy have been friends from young, and grew up in the same town, and I believe they patched up any bad feeling between them years ago. During the band years, though, Izzy became most disillusioned (hah) with Axl, and was notoriously the first one to walk away from GNR, at the height of their commercial success. No-one knows if the reasons he cited for leaving were true, but Izzy has it that while he liked touring and didn't mind the new musical direction, he was unhappy with how Axl handled business. He was also spooked by Axl's new incendiary lyrical style (he had got into N.W.A. in the early 90's) and the fatalities at riots at their concerts.

From an interview with Classic Rock in 2001:

[quote] In high school, you know, Axl, he had long, red hair, he was a little guy and he got a lot of shit. I think he never got laid, too, in school. I hate to bring this up..[...] he never got no pussy at school. So now the guy's a big fucking rock star, he's got the chicks lined up, he's got money and he's got people... and the power went to this guy's head. I mean, he was a fucking monster! Nuts! Crazy! And I never saw it coming.[...] I think he went power mad. Suddenly he was trying to control everything. Did you ever see those fucked up contracts for the journalists to sign? [...] He was trying to draw up contracts for everybody! And this guy, he's not a Harvard graduate, Axl. He's just a guy....[...] And you can say, well, it goes back to a fucked up childhood where his dad used to smack him around, you know, and he had no control, so now he's getting it back. But it's like, it's still kooky, you know? You don't have to have everybody signing stuff.

[quote] (about the riot in St. Louis in 1991) You can't help but think back to Donington [in 1988 2 fans were trampled to death in the rush for the stage] [...] Like, what's the point? What are we getting at here? [...] Then you've got those fucking morons in the KKK thinking we're behind them because of one song ('One In A Million')...

[quote] I was paranoid about the business, [...] freaking out going, "Where's all the money?"

[quote] (about Axl asking him to sign a contract) They were gonna cut my percentage of royalties down. I was like 'Fuck you! I've been there from day one, why should I do that? Fuck you. I'll go play the Whiskey....

[quote] Every 2 or 3 years I'll put a call in to the office and say, 'Hey, tell Axl gimme a call if he wants to'. But I mean... the weirdness of his life. To me, I live pretty normal. I can go anywhere. In 2001, I don't think people really give a shit. But for Axl, [...] because his face was all over the television, I don't think he could really go anywhere or do anything. [...] He kind of got himself in a little hole up there in the hills. He kind of dug in deeper and deeper and now I think he's gone so fucking deep [...] I know he doesn't drive and he doesn't... he doesn't do anything.

From what I remember about the other guys relationships with Izzy; Slash couldn't stand him and thought he was a bad influence on Axl (smh), whereas Steven looked up to him and was also somewhat reliant on him for his drug habit. I'm not sure how Duff feels about Izzy, but I don't think there's any ill feeling there. Gilby (Izzy's replacement) really likes him too, as does Adler fill-in Matt Sorum, so the only impediments to Izzy playing Coachella are Slash, and Izzy himself. Izzy no-showed the Hall of Fame, so somehow I think he won't turn up for this, either.

Even at their peak Steven was the only one that didn't look like an emaciated coke-whore female model, or Slash. So yeah, we like him best.

His screeching voice is annoying and so are all of their songs. Hate them.

Rose won't show up...he can't, not enough Xanax.

Ultimate Guitar Forums aren't having any of this, snark is reaching DL-levels.....:

>>Instead of seeing two people who hate each other fake it for millions of $, lets bring back the original line up in hologram form.

How can a band that hasn't played together for 20 years satisfy everybody's expectations within a few months?

Slash seems to be willing to do anything for money...not sure he's ever turned anything except Glee down.

Slash, Annie Lennox, Nile Rodgers, Rick Wakeman, Flea, Neil Peart and Axl! What a show it's gonna be!

Ultimate Guitar have been reporting a Gn'R reunion weekly for as many years as I can remember.

.....what is this clusterfuck?

No Adler, no Party.

>>My band opened for Dizzy once....

Who is Dizzy? Gillespie?

>>Why do they need three guitarists? Did Axl insist that the reunion include songs from Chinese Democracy?

roflmao @ implying slash can play buckethead's leads..

going Slipknot with amount of members they have.

They're playing Lynyrd Skynyrd covers now.

>>Axl's still Axl, and I bet Slash is walking on eggshells just to keep this together for the fans.

Are Slash and Axl buddies.....who occasionally Netflix & chill, though?

The only thing confirmed is Axl's love for Taco Bell.

>>I can see an encore with Mr. Brownstone.

A retirement plan they've had for years.

Name the tour 'Cash Grab Fever'..

'Flying Circus of Axl Rose'

boooorrinnng

R70 Rock message boards are the absolute worst. Old men hating on anyone doing better than them at their age and refusing to see that the past wasn't always that great.

R65 Izzy quit because he was on probation and told he'd go to prison if he fucked up one more time. He couldn't escape the drugs and the drama, so he left. He is on good terms with all of them now, but apparently has no interest in being part of a band full time. Steven by most accounts is still a huge mess and is avoided by both Slash and Duff. Duff met with him last year I believe and he was high as a kite.

r72 oh fuck-I'm really sad to hear that about Steven. I didn't realize he was still using. I read some comments from people who saw him and said he was a mess, but I thought they meant just shambolic from the aftermath. Everyone idolized Lemmy for his constitution, but he was a fucking mess for years before he died. No one truly gets out alive it seems.

R73 This is his latest interview, from last September. He says why he hasn't been called by the GNR people.

Thanks r74. Interesting.

It sounds like he's off all the drugs, but is still drinking. I get why Duff is distancing himself; you can't be 'half pregnant' in that situation. That also highlights how much of a money grab this really is.

It's only a festival FFS, invite him and if he fucks up, you've got Sorum literally in the wings to take over. Same with Izzy; if they fight bring in a session guy who's around LA-maybe John Lowery if he's off the road. He seems to get along with everyone.

r70 it's not rock fans per se, it's guitar fans. They are the absolute fucking worst at that crap. Oh, and if you think the electric guitarists are bad, they are **nothing** compared to classical guitarists. They are the worst because both the hobbyists and the professionals are equally intense, petty, micro-blaming, etc. Professional electric guitarists are not as bad towards colleagues as their classical counterparts.

There are more ex-members of GN'R confirmed to play on this Cruise next month than there are for Coachella. The Axes Cruise will also have a lot more acts by the looks of it, and hey, you get a long weekend partying with rockstars in the Caribbean (better than the Gathering of Hipsters).

Pass on the 'Reunion', DL classic rock fans. Go see Tracii, Gilby and Bumblefoot tear it up instead (and report back with any T, obviously).

Tony MacAlpine has colon cancer. They just did a benefit for him not that long ago, so I'd be surprised if he made the roster.

Skolnick would be the only one I'd be interested now. He was hot as fuck back in the day, too. Guns, maybe.

There's too much $$$ at play to risk Adler on drums. Bring him out to play tambourine or have Axl say some nice things about him while he briefly waves to the crowd.

Izzy should demand $$$$$ for the Coachella shows and ditch the subsequent tour. Though it would be cool if he returned with songs for a new record, too.

I demand to know where the tribute gig is for Scott Weiland and Velvet Revolver. Would that not be more timely and tasteful than Nu-NU-GN'R?

GNR should grovel and beg Sorum to drum, he's flawless. Axl hates him more than any of the others, though, so of course Matt won't get the gig. But The Cult, the only important band Matt was ever in, played Coachella last year (and killed it) so I don't give a shit and I doubt he does either.

r78 just for a fucking festival gig? I mean if he's that far gone, ok fine, but otherwise let him play. I agree with you re: Izzy getting paid and bouncing. He's been consistent about avoiding the bullshit.

R80 The last show Adler ever played with GNR was a festival gig, Farm Aid in 1990. It did not go well.

Axl Rose may be taking a powerful anti-psychotic drug like lithium. Drugs like that can cause severe weight gain.

Anyway, I don't give about Guns N Roses. They're a a dinosaur band from a long ago era. It's sad to see bands well past their prime get back together again.

r81 this sounds bad but if he's just drinking now and not using, then it might be doable. He was still heavily using during that time, IIRC.

Like I said, if he is that fucked up then OK. That's not fair to the fans. But if it's just a case of getting his shit together for an hour or so, as a final goodbye, then I still think why not try it.

Axel was so homophobic. They say your character is your fate well in his case his looks now relect his character.

The timing of this has everything to do with bare Dolla. A reunion could not have happened any sooner than about 5 years ago, simply because of how deep the GN'R brand/name was in the hole. As far as I know, the recent Best Buy deal paid off the expense of ChiDem, unpaid bills from the UYI years, and debts owed to Geffen, and so its only now that Axl can afford to pay the guys what they demand. I always wonder how guys like DJ Ashba and Bumblefoot and Fortnus fared back in the early 00's, when Guns were touring, lavishly, but mired in debt and not making anything.

That could be why Izzy and Matt haven't said yes - they just don't want all the work and the drama for what could still end up being small change. Even as recently as 5 or 6 years ago, guys like Tracii Guns wouldn't work with Axl on account of costs. This LA Guns interview is very revealing...

[quote] (Tracii on Axl asking him to play GN'R again) They suck! Why the fuck would I wanna play with them? He wouldn't ask me, he knows that I'd say no, I'd just go, why?..Why? He owes Geffen Records so much money, that no-one could ever make any money in that band now. That's why Slash and Duff won't do it, you know what I mean? They would be taking on the economic hole that Axl dug for the name 'Guns N' Roses'...

My best discovery from this however is that Tracii's son Jeremy is real cutie, in an emo kind of way. Tracii seems to love him a lot for a groupie Kid.

r85 I'm assuming they were paid like Ozzy's band gets paid, but not as well. Minus the unpaid ghostwriting of course. Thal et al aren't going to command the same salary that Duff and Slash would, either. No disrespect. And Brian Carroll really doesn't give a shit as long as he gets to play guitar. I miss him. I heard he was in poor health; I hope not. One of the very few 'shredders' I could tolerate. His ambient work is excellent.

[quote] I'm assuming they were paid like Ozzy's band gets paid, but not as well. Minus the unpaid ghostwriting of course.

Yeah, I reckon you've got it right, I can't think of another explanation. Ozzy and Sharon are good to hired Guns, but they have few money worries. I wouldn't blame Izzy for rocking up once, collecting his check and leaving; I think anyone else would do the same. But yeah, when you think of all the other guitarists that stayed for years on tour, paid dues, contributed material for free and didn't ask for nearly as much in take-home...

Totally agree that Brian is a talent, I'm sorry to hear he's not well.

My 2 cents on how Coachella might go down....

My setlist prediction (if this even happens), we get: 'Jungle', 'Brownstone', 'Sweet Child', 'Paradise' (encored 3 times); the MTV Trilogy; and maybe a couple cuts heavily featuring Slash ('You Could Be Mine', maybe 'Civil War' with 'Live & Let Die/Heaven's Door' for the stans if they tour). Perhaps 'Patience' if there's time for a ballad. I'll be astonished if Axl managed to get Slash to do any ChiDem material, but if it happens it will be just one, and one of the heavy shredders like 'IRS', 'Scraped' or 'Shackler's Revenge' (I'd have him perform 'Prostitute', but he won't for obvious reasons). I also have this dread Axl will throw 'Out Ta Get Me' or 'Get In The Ring' in unplanned, just to fuck with everybody.

As for any other shows...the catchiest and cleverest tracks on UYI, 'Dust & Bones' and '14 Years', are popular but were written by Izzy, so I predict them cut. 'Locomotive', will likely not make it, as it is driven by Adler's cross-rhythm (I believe Steven wrote it, Sorum layed it down?), and any tracks too obviously explicit on the sex/drugs will be cut as well ('Michelle', 'It's So Easy', 'Nighttrain', 'Pretty Tied Up', 'Bad Obsession').

On the bright side, maybe Duff will sing 'So Fine' one time, and maybe Axl and Slash's chemistry will hold true even after all this time.

Was Perla really the heir to Heidi Fleiss' black book and title of Hollywood Madame?

R85 FYI Jeremy is not Tracii's son officially, they aren't related. The dad/son dynamic is because of the age difference (20 years) and because they played together for years and Tracii is his mentor (unless it's a sex thing, iirc one of Pamela de Barres books had a freaky story about a threesome with Tracii and Jeremy).

[quote] He's not my blood son. There's a funny story behind why I actually call him my son – the guy that produced the first Brides Of Destruction record would go to The Rainbow and say, 'This is Tracii Guns' son, this is Jeremy Guns.' And those aren't people you'd want to bullshit....so it became this thing [of] 'Jeremy, you're now my son. In case anyone ever asks and if they find out you're not there could be trouble.' But I met Jeremy during the Brides Of Destruction time, he was friends with Nikki Sixx. He was a lot younger, he was about 18 or 19 years old and he just had this glint in his eyes. I could tell he really wanted to be playing and not hanging around, so the first opportunity I had to get him to play was actually in the Brides of Destruction, over in Europe and then he filled in for Nikki, who was his hero anyways. That's been five years now - it's been a long time. He's still playing and I'm proud to call him my son.

Tracii does have a son but he's still a young kid, was born sometime in the 2000's.

What? Perla the heir to Heidi Fleiss? I recall Slash kind of dancing around her background but hadn't heard that rumor. Are they divorced officially now? How old are their kids?

Perla was a madam and pretty low class. Slash met her through Charlie Sheen. She's total scum by all accounts and she may very well have been the reason Axl and Slash's feud continued as long as it did. She filed a bunch of lawsuits against GNR when she was the VP of Slash's company and she also tried to trademark all of GNR's symbols, and failed at all of it. Slash was relapsing on drugs at the time and then went to rehab.

It can't be a coincidence that Axl and Slash made up as soon as they got a divorce.

Fascinating R92, Thanks!

The WWD article about the party yesterday says Luke is still filming GOTT.

Opps, trying to post two things at once. This is the Perla post on the Dirty

And this was Perla's arrest for being a madam back in 1997.

Perla also had a fight with a HUGE chick that Slash was dirty texting on twitter privately. This happened at an OZZY show. Google Samantha Slopes. Slash is a confirmed chubby chaser.

Lmao Perla was so messy. But she was funny as hell on Twitter, I feel like she's got a lot of spirit, even if she was more trouble than Desi Craft.

The other Gunners have been married for a while - Duff and Izzy have been with Susan and Anneka for 15 years, and Steven has been with Carolina for about 13 as of this year. I wonder what's with Slash that he can't keep it tied down..is it really just a series of poor choices?

r98 people compare him to Axl all the time, so he looks like the sane, low key one. In reality, his ego is probably just as big, and that makes him hard to be around on a personal level. I think you do get used to the lifestyle and after a certain point, you're probably not going to change. He partied for a long ass time. I'm not defending Axl's bullshit, but Slash pissed out and shot up a lot of his career, and a lot of his talent away by being 'that guy': the guy on all the rock docs, partying with the Stones, going to fashion shows, FFS. There's a long list of those guys: Kravitz, Homme (probably the most talented) Scott Ian, etc. To his credit, he did admit it.

I don't know much about Izzy, but Duff and Steven's wives sound like mothers/caretakers. That could explain the longevity.

Steven's wife was the head of a GNR fan club in Argentina before she met him. Originally she wanted to date Slash, or so the story goes.

No arguments here R99. Slash is cool in some respects but he must have had a long ass list for his Step 8. They say like attracts like, and if that's true then Slash and Perla and Slash and Axl were perfect matches. I figure Izzy walked in the first place because of Slash and his bullshit as much as Axl's. Dealing with both of them at once must have been impossible. Duff and Slash were and are still tight, idk why as Duff seems chill.

Do we think in the early days Axl and Slash ever accidentally got it on? ie sorry man, thought you were a groupie, I'm soo wasted...

Maybe not if what R97 says is true, Axl was too skinny. He didn't look healthy until about 92, and he looked boyish once they hit stadiums.

Izzy is the only one that ever seemed hot to me. He has that western Drifter thing going on, and you know he'd be a great lay, even if he tastes of smoke and spent half his life trying to be Keith Richards. He aged the best and ended up being the interesting one once he found his own style.

He's cute in that pic. You know, he doesn't seem like he would be hard to get along with and neither do Duff and Slash. Axl must have been impossible to deal with.

R103 Izzy didn't get along with Duff, Slash, Matt or Axl at the end. He had his own tour bus and traveled alone.

I didn't know that. Do you know why he didn't get along with them?

Of the most successful rock bands they must be at the very top in terms of dysfunction.

R105 Izzy had been arrested several times for various crimes, like peeing on an airplane and assaulting one of the flight attendants. He had a very bad drug problem. He was told that if he screwed up one more time, he'd go to prison. So he tried to get clean. Slash, Matt and Duff had no respect for this and were still using right and left. Drugs were everywhere on the tour. So Izzy quit hanging around them all together.

Izzy and Axl had different opinions of where the band should go. Axl wanted it to be big and have monstrous music videos. Like the Don't Cry, November Rain, Estranged videos were all Axl's idea. Izzy wanted the band to stay smaller and have more videos like Paradise City (a live concert). Axl had pretty much been in charge of the band solely since the rest were too high to do anything. But then as soon as they got sober, they wanted a say. First Izzy, then Slash. This is where most of the problems started.

Izzy had been so badly addicted, that he played high all the time and they actually turned off his amp. But then he got sober and totally changed.

I've always had the hots for Izzy.

Without Izzy or Steven (who can still play) - it isn't a reunion.

I watched a video of Axl singing in 2011 and he sounded awful. If he can't sing better than that now I can't see how they'll pull this off. Of course they can have him basically lip sync at Coachella I guess.

I have this theory about why Izzy got cleaner faster and more successfully, R106. Imo because he was older than the rest, and dabbled before joining GN'R, by the time they recorded UYI Izzy's maturity hit and the drugs possibly lost the allure. Your body/mind gets tired after a point.

R108, Axl is notoriously hit-and-miss vocally and has been from the start, he's not the kind of singer you get flawless execution from. His style evolved from a blend of self-taught metal yells mixed with the improve, 'testify' stylings of Gospel, it's inconsistent but designed for emotion. There's been chatter that the handful of reunion shows they have booked could be Axl's farewell to performing, if that's of interest...

Cool other posters think Izzy's got something. I love his quiet controlled intensity, it's sexy. I never heard any Rats complain...;)

The Friday bills look better than Saturday tbh. On Friday you get LCD Soundsystem, Underworld, Foals, Ellie Goulding, St. Germain, Years & Years, Skepta, Joey Bada$$, Ibeyi, Louis the Child, Mavis Staples....

Why waste an expensive ticket just to see half of GN'R and James Bay?

I think the bigger story is why Calvin Harris got a higher billing than Ellie, and how mad is she about it?

Bitch, je suis Axl Rose and the party has just begun.

October 10th, 1989: Axl Rose Punches David Bowie

Axl Rose's short fuse made him plenty of enemies, but after he punched David Bowie, he somehow managed to make a friend. Bowie showed up on the video set of "It's So Easy," where he apparently paid too much attention to Axl's girlfriend Erin Everly. Axl handled the situation in the expected fashion, punching the Thin White Duke and throwing him off the set. Bowie quickly apologized, and the two went out for a long night of boozing at the China Club.

Bowie apparently also fucked Slash's mother.

Yeah. And in an Axl Rose book I read, before a GnR/Rolling Stones concert, Mick Jagger and maybe Keith Richards and Eric Clapton and Slash were talking about what an asshole Bowie was.

That's what I recall.

I'm looking for that David Bowie part, but while looking I came across the part of the Axl book where he gushes over Elton John, and saying how Elton should have been considered as great as the Stones and Beatles and Zepplin, and played much more on the radio.

Axl knew he wasn't the pianist that Elton was, but he did have grand ambitions

Axl Rose-November Rain 1987 very rare

Great article R112, it's hard to see from their antics how they stayed popular for so long. What kept them in the press was mostly weird shit Axl did, with the occasional gaffe from Slash & Duff and some legal brouhaha. No doubt Axl is a recipe for disaster, but I sometimes wonder if some of it was stunts? I can't believe Axl assaulted his neighbour, that's some messed up nonsense. That Kurt story has always tickled me, and I cite it to rock fans as an example of how bitchy and absurd both Cobain/Love and Axl were. Izzy is not mentioned on the list at all, you can bet once the fog cleared and he got sober, he was embarrassed.

Blind Melon were great, and Shannon (RIP) was sweet..how did he get mixed up with the Gunner's mess? If anything Melon were playing more contemporary, relevant tunes at the time, and the ethos they espoused was a peaceful, hippie-grunge vibe, totally the opposite to Guns violent, punky rockstar thing.

This was the only entry in that article that didn't turn my stomach, it's kooky but very cute:

[quote] During a June performance in Switzerland, a naked Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon delivered a pizza to the band on stage. After showing off his assets to 50,000 people, pizza in hand, Hoon casually sat down to play the bongos.

Weren't they all from the same Indiana town?

Nikki Sixx talked a lot about the drugtaking on Sunset in The Heroin Diaries. According to him when Motley toured with them, GNR would pass on the coke when on the road because it fucked up their playing. Not sure I believe it but ok (maybe they didn't want to mix coke with liquor?). Motley thought GNR were kind of weak and lame when it came to the partying, but Tommy Lee hung out with them a lot. Most interestingly, Tom Zutaut seriously considered asking Nikki to produce Appetite at one point, but at that time Nikki was too strung out to make a good job of it.

Nikki also wrote that he noticed Slash had a pattern of asking him to get high with him, but only when he was mad at Axl. Apparently it drove Axl completely batshit when Slash got really fucked up, so Slash's reaction to this was to get fucked up as often as possible. So much drama.

R117 Yes Axl and Shannon were both from Lafayette, Indiana and went to the same school.

When did Motley Crue tour with GnR? GnR's first big tour was as an opener for Aerosmith during which time they exploded in popularity to become headliners. Before that tour, they would have been way to unknown to open for a massive Motley Crue tour (Girls Girls Girls? Theater of Pain?) right? I'm not doubting that they know each other or hung out in LA, just that they toured together. Not attacking, just curious.

It's cool, no problem. I'm not a big Nikki or Motley fan, I just happened to be reading his book. It covers the year 1987, and GNR are mentioned in the second half, the first time being when Nikki mentions he asked Slash and co to tour the 'Deep South' with Crue (which they later accept). From a quick scan of their tour history I assume this was Girls Girls Girls!, but the book is sketchy and badly written so it doesn't confirm this. So possibly GNR joined them as a support act the end dates of the tour, but not the entire thing? It comes across like a casual and last-minute thing.

Nikki was pretty messed up when he wrote it, so he may even have remembered it wrong lmao.

I can't believe these xenophobic homophobes have any gay fans. Shame on you.

Oh and one entry kind of caught my eye while we're on the subject of Nikki's book. I legit thought he was talking about Axl first time I read it.

[quote] July 18th, 1987, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis IN: There's too much world to destroy to be sitting in your room playing the same shit you played when you were 15. [Whitesnake] put my ass to sleep. I can't wait for Guns N' Roses to come out with us. I gotta go, there's a redhead in my bed passed out.

r118 a different perspective from Sebastian Bach. He's a bit up his own ass, but this sounds accurate. Also, his impersonations of Anselmo's and Rose's voices is funny, and accurate.

Comment starts about 5:35 in.

Oops make that 3:35.

Thanks, I didn't think it was true either. Sounds like Nikki wanting to discredit GN'R's image by suggesting they were relatively straight edge (as if its a contest? or that anyone would believe him?). GN'R's issues with coke were painfully obvious to anyone who'd ever seen them play, even on tape, but it's funny there are still people out there trying to suggest it wasn't that big of a deal or wasn't even happening.

I found a comment from Tracii backing up Baz's claims :

[quote] “In the Guns N’ Roses/Mötley scene, even a little bit with guys like Ratt, weed was not a thing — it was more about cocaine and heroin. And there are no good, positive stories to tell about that. I once played guitar for Johnny Thunders in Long Beach, and this was when he was actually sober. But right before we walked out of the dressing room he goes, ‘Watch this.’ And he just puts the whole junkie persona on. That’s how glamorous it was in everybody’s heads. [...] But a lot of guys took it too seriously. A couple of them died. A few others carried it with them for 20 years. There was nothing pretty about it.”

Baz is a great storyteller, although I can take or leave Skid Row. Canadian rockstars or performers seem down-to-earth and personable to me. True, Baz is very loud and off-the-wall, but I gotta say I like that he can laugh at himself, and that he had the balls to tell Axl to shut up (other than him, only Slash and Tracii have ever gotten away with that, and they both got fired for the privilege in the end).

Plagiarism

Wow r127. Except without the fiddly beginning part that Slash claims was lime a practice scale to him, both songs are boring. I believe Axl would steal some shit. It's sad the Australian doesn't want to take their lawyers on.

R127 That's been proven fake. There's no way GNR could have known about some obscure song in Australia when they were poor musicians living in LA.

R127 That's been proven fake. There's no way GNR could have known about some obscure song in Australia when they were poor musicians living in LA.

R130 It was proven they knew of the Aussie band

....

"Reuniting For Coachella"

More like Roach-Coachella...

Hey, OP, dude i'm talking to ya

Why don't you make a poll on:

-Guns N' Roses songs -Iron Maiden songs -Black Sabbath songs

Move it, man.

It's bizarre. Never thought I'd see hipsters all over Guns. The boring Swatch Dogs that make fun of real metalheads want to see this...?

Cue backlash not 5 minutes after the show is done because Axl says something Axl-esque, and the kids go off on him on Twitter. Sure, he probably will deserve it, but they should know to expect this. If anyone's kids or nieces or whoever are going, make them skim-read the band history or watch some old concert tapings first, so they don't come back uppity because someone told a stripper tale or started a Libertarian rant.

I just can't believe they are demanding millions per show either, when decent rock acts classic AND current can't even make bank these days. I can believe Axl is running low on funds and that Adler sure as hell could use the money, but surely Slash made enough from the Rockband deal, and Duff from his columnists jobs and book tours...I doubt Ozzy or Alice or any legend you care to name would demand or get these fees.

R135, now that you mentioned Alice Cooper, a poll on his songs would be kewl too.

Just don't include the song they plagiarized

This is from last summer, but Corey's point still stands. These guys can't afford to have late start times this time around, lest people riot...

I love Anthony's comment.

[quote] "Men Without Hats wouldn't do that!" "They'd actually go on 3 hours early.." "And they can dance if they wanna!"

Corey's pretty sexy for a 44 year old rocker with bad ink and a history of substance abuse. I love his throaty voice and little smirk. Anyone?

anyone going to this? idk who's playing but it sounds like a good nite.

Slash wasn't that good. His sex appeal got him more attention that his guitar playing deserved.

I mean, this here is fucking awful.

from Metal Sludge (from 7/8 years ago, may not still be true to caution advised):

[quote] FAN: I was reading through my copy of Slash's autobiography yesterday and came across a part where he mentions LA Guns deputising for some shows on an Iron Maiden tour (Seventh Son I think) when Axl had lost his voice. Slash was saying that the deal was that members of GNR get up and jam with LA Guns, he says that LA Guns crew were turning down his amp and said that he thought it was Tracii's way of trying not to be upstaged by him, and that was the last time he and Tracii were ever civil to each other... What's your take on this Satan's Chicken (a.k.a. Tracii Guns)? Slash full of it? Or were you a jealous puppy? Would be interested to hear what you think of that, and also if you ever bump into Slash now, you guys pals or give each other the cold shoulder? Dish some dirt for us the way Slash has in his book..

[quote] SLEEK (L.A. Guns '80 Crew Guy): Ha. I'll handle this one, since I was the crew guy in question... Slash's amp wasn't turned down at all. They did that for two nights...at Irvine. The first night the GNR guys came in and jammed with L.A. Guns towards the end of the set. Slash used one of Tracii's amps (JCM 800), probably one of Tracii's usual 3 stacks at the time. The problem was, there was no soundcheck or anything, just plug Slash into one of the amps and run with it...I'm not sure anything was even confirmed beforehand...(it was 20 years ago), I think the GNR guys just kind of showed up. ...and of course, Slash wants everything on 10, and I'm stuck trying to not drown out Trace, who is after all, my employer. So, yeah, Slash wasn't turned down. It's just that if you put two guitar players amps side by side, one will always think that the other is too loud, and he's not loud enough...especially when it's two guys who have more-or-less been rivals since childhood. The second night, the GNR guys just did an Axl-less mini set on L.A. Guns gear with Izzy and Duff singing...there were no complaints from that night... Trace? Care to fill in any holes?

[quote] TRACII: Well....If you remember.....My gear wasn't there....It was a bunch of SIR rental stuff....there were 2 super lead heads and we had to crank them up to get any gain out of them and we did sound check with Slash.....so there was no question that everyone knew what it was gonna be like.... There used to be a recording of the jam floating around on Napster somewhere..... I'll put it this way..... One of us was in key and the other wasn't. Slash has never been civil to me my entire life until a few years ago while he was on a down slide before VR and he felt like we were in the same boat. I have always really dug Slash even when we were kids but, he was always a snotty motherfucker to me so, whatever.... I'll just keep enjoying his guitar playing and he will always be a dick to me....I accepted that when I was 11 years old....

True, R140. I'd say it helped their career immensely that they were all sexually confident young men on stage, it's the Boyband formula at work. Geffen tapped into that, as they did a few years on with Nirvana (co-opting an entire youth 'scene' for profit).

Reunion something to do with Slash's health? He had a pacemaker in his 30's after being clinically dead. 20+ years of intoxication means your 50's will be hell with no expensive medical care. Perla or Axl.....custody of Slasher went to whoever could more comfortably pay for his Doc?

Maybe Guns will compete to see who stays alive longest, next. My money's on Duff--fucker had his organs explode inside his body, and now 20 years on he's a lean, mean black belt Machine of (mostly) sound mind. He must have maxxed out his insurance many times over.

Before this was announced, I'd been hearing chatter about a biopic based on Reckless Road...I guess now it will get picked up.

Anyone got fantasy casting choices? I would definitely want Dominican actor Victor Rasuk (Lords of Dogtown, 50 Shades) for Slash. Although honestly he's a bit too pretty and the wrong nationality, I couldn't cast anyone better after seeing him play Tony Alva the way he did. It's a shame this project wasn't pitched and greenlit 10 years ago, Victor could have kept his long hair and played Slash in his teenage skateboarder years.

Then again, I also want Vic to play Drake whenever the inevitable Lil' Wayne/Nicki Minaj/CashMoney biopic comes out, so maybe not.

Slash was hot back then in a weird way R140. Like, you knew he was gross and probably kind of a snake, but you'd still hit that circa 1991 (not eagerly, or anything). Idk about guitar playing, is he really a hack?

Corey Taylor is hot like FIYAH R138, I mean look at those guns? He's got kids and a wife, though.

Rumor has it they aren't getting along at all, not even on civil professional terms. Without chemistry, this is gonna SUCK.

Coachella is next week, people! Let's look alive.

We have photos from GN’R Secret April Fool's Show last week, @The Troubador, their old haunt. Axl still feels some kinda way about Slash, good to see:

Last night at the T-Mobile Arena, Vegas. Axl has broken his foot! Dave Grohl kindly loaned him his iconic stage throne for the show, nice dude:

It's the end of the Civil War, I guess:

Slash ad-libbing a solo for 'This I Love' in Vegas. He gives the usually strident section a melancholy, strange bent. IIRC Axl wrote it with Slash in mind, both as the soloist for it and also possibly as the subject of the lyrics, in part (alongside his former lover, Erin). 'This I Love' could have made it onto UYI...

Axl's piano chops have come a long way. He's basically Elton, now:

Duff has encouraging things to say about the reunion. What a sweetheart.

He was the success in this band of miscreants, at least in conventional terms. As of 2016 he's the one with the best body, the hottest wife, the least burnt-bridges in the industry, and he didn't have to sell out to Guitar Hero or Taco Bell to keep playing on great records. He's also the only one with a stable family and college degree.

That said, I think their tour calendar looks over-booked, and very optimistic. Do LiveNation not know the volatile working history these guys have together? And do they realise this is no longer a band of hungry 20-something addicts? Axl has sustained an injury already, and they haven't even started yet.

GN'R North American Not In This Lifetime Tour:

June 23 - Ford Field - Detroit, MI 26 - FedEx Field - Washington, DC 29 - Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, MO

July 1 - Soldier Field - Chicago, IL 6 - Paul Brown Stadium - Cincinnati, OH 9 - Nissan Stadium - Nashville, TN 12 - Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA 14 - Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia, PA 16 - Rogers Centre - Toronto, ON 19 - Gillette Stadium - Foxboro, MA 23 - Metlife Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ 27 - Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA 29 - Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium - Orlando, FL 31 - Mercedes-Benz Superdome - New Orleans, LA

August 3 - AT&T Stadium - Arlington, TX 5 - NRG Stadium - Houston, TX 9 - AT&T Park - San Francisco, CA 12 - CenturyLink Field - Seattle, WA 15 - University of Phoenix Stadium - Glendale, AZ 22 - Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, CA

Elton was Axl's hero when Axl was a teen.

Has Axel gotten over his homophobia. Like any gay man would want to fuck his ugly ass.

is it true that Axl used to suck cock for money in his early L.A. days?

Duff was the only one working a steady paycheck during the early years, R155, and the only one with his own rented accommodation (he lived in the same tenement building as a very down-on-his-luck Sly Stone). The LA years were a dark time for the rest of the members. According to the bios I've read, in the late 80's Izzy was still dealing heroin; Steven was turning tricks for ca$h and sponging off his girlfriends (and later Duff); leaving Slash & Axl to figure out their shit and get to know each other better while looking for places to squat and conning strippers out of their grocery money. Axl did have a short-lived tenure at Tower Video on Sunset, at one point.

I remember reading in Reckless Road that drunk, handsy male clubgoers on the Strip often mistook a glammed-up Axl for pretty stripper, so there's that.

r156, yeah, and the cops in Indian mistook him for a hot redheaded chick all the time. They would whistle at him at night, thinking he was a chick, and then give him a hard time when they realized he was a dude.

looks like a female hooker

Take me down to Paradise City where my ass is wide and I got big titties...

Poor Axl. If he doesn't take his anti-psychotics he'll go bonkers, but when he takes them he gains tons of weight.

I give him a lot of credit for taking his meds and showing his face.

Axl was prettier than most rock vocalists of the time, but Baz was prettier than Axl.

Metal Edge magazine straight up did not like Axl. Wonder what he did to piss them off.

From 'Tales from the Stage' 2013:

TRACII GUNS: Axl was very easy to get along with. He was excited to play live music, and excited to write music. He was a good friend, and we all had each other’s back. Axl at that point in time was a real gentleman. He was a very smart and funny guy. The kind of guy you would want as a best friend.

MICHAEL TONEY: Izzy had joined the LA based band, London. Axl had a falling out with London’s singer, Nadir D'Priest, forcing Izzy to leave. What happened between Axl and Nadir?

TRACII GUNS: Actually, that was Axl sticking up for me. When Izzy joined London, we started doing a lot of shows together, as we were all supposedly friends. I am still friends with Nadir, which is weird. But Axl had seen Nadir detune my guitars before we went on, or so he claimed. Sure enough, when I went to put my guitar on that night it was out of tune. I put the next guitar on – it was out of tune as well. So when we went on stage, Axl ripped up a London poster. There is a photo of this in Marc Canter’s book. That was the beginning of all hell breaking loose between those two. Axl and Izzy were kind of humble guys, but growing up they had their share of street fights. So just because they were on the quiet side, didn’t mean they wouldn’t whip somebody’s butt. On the flip side, Nadir was a really tough guy. He had been in and out of jail, and was a pretty tough kid. A lot of the time I would pick up Axl at Tower Video, and a few times Nadir was waiting for Axl outside. They would have these quick little battles, then Nadir would run off. One day, Nadir was waiting outside with a gun! Axl is a tough motherfucker, man. He picked up a broken street sign and just whacked Nadir with it! As far as I know, that was the last time they tangled.

lol Worldstar

I think so by now, R154.

So Axl broke his foot and will be seated for the show, I guess R1 called it. Who did Calvin Harris fuck to get top billing?

R156 Duff and Stallone as neighbors in the same apt building back in the day? Ironically, they are both dads of kids in the same Valley private high school now.

R166, that's a beautiful image, but I wasn't clear. I meant 'Sly' as in music producer and bandleader Sylvester Stewart, of Sly & The Family Stone.

The R&B legend was near broke and heavily addicted when he and Duff shared a building, but he's doing well now. In fact, he successfully sued former managers of his group last year, claiming damages to the tune of $5mil. He still lives in a van by choice, which is all kinds of hilarious.

So all this basically happened because Slash finally divorced his greedy, crazy wife?

Tracii should crash this party. He's playing the Vegas musicals circuit right now, and he's still more of an authentic metal guy than Slasher.

Please put Coachella on a rocketship and send it to the moon. Soooo tired of all the shiny happy perfect celeb girlies going to Coachella to be seen there on social media wearing fringed bikinis.

#slaxl

.....

OTP tbh

They def smashed Fam

.....

....

.....

.....

.....

....

....

Sorry..I moved post to Clapton thread ..

Axl seriously looks like a girl at R178.

[quote]So Axl broke his foot and will be seated for the show, I guess [R1] called it.

The local news did a live remote from Coachella this morning, and interviewed some guy (a music journalist? didn't catch his name, ) who had seen The Troubadour show, and the shows in Vegas. He said the broken foot/cast may be actually be a blessing in disguise. Axl sounded much better in Vegas -- because he was NOT running & jumping all over the place, and getting winded.

I'm so fascinated by Perla. How does an old hooker get Slash?

Me too r185. No surprise, though, that Slash was attractive to her-he loves those big titted blowsy types. If I ,remember correctly, his first girlfriend fit that description.

My guess in addition to being his physical type, she was not imitimated by his fame and rock star status and led him around by the nose and took no shit from him.

Slash and Perla

It's a mystery why he married Renee in '92 then, R186. She was uptight & skinny as they come, and a white, fair-haired model to boot. I guess Slash's type changed over time, might explain why he left Axl.

He brought a snake to his first wedding, the whole event looked like a fucking hilarious trainwreck tbh.

It's cute Slash uses British slang. He must feel connected to his roots there, and not so much to WeHo?

It's a night for the generations to encounter each other..

3 GN'R vets play to a Millennial crowd at Coachella, while Guns' founder Tracii meets his new grandson.

GnR streaming right now. I can't look away - it isn't good.

R191, their short set was awesome, or at least the music was. They played well and Axl sang most of the time beautifully. Sure he's now a bit fat but his face wasn't as bad as I was afraid of, it looked almost natural there on the stage.

Jeez, Axl Rose and Sebasian "AIDS Kills Fags" Bach. Guess there's no homophobe too low to be worshipped on DL.

Didn't Axl used to make Stephanie Seymour shit in a cat box while he jacked off? No wonder she fucks her son now.

Izzy Stradlin doesn't give a fuck either, R193, and he was part of the group during its heyday.

Rock today, man. It's Clowns to the left & Jokers to the right....

Lana, u in danger Gurl...

[quote] Jeez, Axl Rose and Sebasian "AIDS Kills Fags" Bach. Guess there's no homophobe too low to be worshipped on DL.

We've had at least one guy here saying he had sex with Rose. I took a look at Rose's history with homophobia and it seems to come from the lyrics he wrote for One In A Million and the comments he made about being 'pro-heterosexual' at the time. Wikipedia says that "He later softened this stance, and insisted that he was not homophobic, pointing out that some of his icons, such as Freddie Mercury and Elton John, as well as David Geffen, the head of his record label, were bisexual or gay."

At least he seems to have evolved, I give him credit for that. BTW, in a way it's understandable that certain hard rockers and especially glam rockers have tried to underline their manliness by trying to distance themselves from us. Yes it's wrong but once again the world was a different place 20 years ago. When I was growing up in the 80s Boy George was my hero. Pop and glam rock were so full of men with big hair and wearing makeup that it was at times weird to see it as a gayling. I'm sure the glam rock scene had its fair share of homophobia. It is what it is. If Rose was truthful about what had happened to him, i.e. being bullied by cops for looking like a girl and then almost being raped by a man who'd offered him a place a to say, I sort of understand why he did what he did. In that same song he also wrote racist lyrics and he later said that on top trying to be controversial he said "I was pissed off about some black people that were trying to rob me. I wanted to insult those particular black people."

Rose has always been one step away from craziness with his antics. It's like he's a little devil. If he's not homophobic anymore I'm ok with him.

BTW, I googled Sebastian Bach's anti-gay thing as well and he had this to say. Yes he might be lying and it might be for the PR but at least he's not really coming off as a homophobe in this interview he did for Metal Hammer in 2006. We all know what rabid homophobes would say.

Sebastian: I never usually talk about this but I read so much misinformation about it that I'm gonna set the record straight. I never wore no fucking anti-gay t-shirt to an MTV press conference. It's not true. I wore that shirt once in my life. I came off stage in Irvine Meadows in California after PANTERA had opened up for us. When we finished, I was totally hot and sweaty. The guys from L.A. GUNS were all backstage, so I said, 'Gimme a fucking shirt to put on.' Gerri Miller from Metal Edge magazine is there asking for a picture of all of us, so I just pick up this hideous fuckin' shirt that some fan had thrown up onto stage and put it on. We all knew it was the worst shirt of all time. It wasn't some campaign that I went on.

Metal Hammer: How did the media react?

Sebastian: "Kurt Loder from MTV, who's gay (and I don't think I'm outing him) got hold of the picture and put in on MTV as a news piece with all the other guys cut out: 'In the land of homophobia, if Axl Rose owns the restaurant and PUBLIC ENEMY are the diners, we have a new bus boy.' It was like I was the anti-Christ. Then Revolver magazine in the States said, 'The most appaling moments in rock: even though Axl Rose got more press, generally Sebastian Bach behaved worse.' Then they said I wore this shirt at a press conference on TV. That's way different to being backstage with L.A. GUNS all drunk and shit and sticking this hideous shirt on. It's complete bullshit."

Seeing Axl getting off the bus at his destination - Hollywood - in the video for "Welcome To The Jungle", wearing a face full of pankcake, lipstick, teased candy floss hair, with a piece of straw in his teeth, looking like a white trash David Sylvian with rabies, was a queer rock moment. It doesn't matter if the players or fans involved were too addled or stupid to realize this.

No doubt Axl knew exactly what he was doing. The bigger question is, why? Whose attention did he want?

Did he just see it as his surest Ticket to Ride? A giant Fuck You to those harassing rednecks? Or...

R196 I used to hear the typical cliche, suggestive rumors about Axl making a deal with David G., but I never put stock in them. I'm interested in these tales about Axl's gay exploits...could you expand? Anything you remember would be a dish, now he's back in the headlines and back with his Old Guard....

There's a cute story in Duff's autobio about his arrival on Sunset, fresh off the bus from Seattle. At the time he's this 19 year old, single-guy metro-punk with blue hair and leathers, trying to hit on these girls he meets out on the Strip...who instantly assume he's gay and start trying to hook him up with guys. He was a beautiful young man, especially for a rocker (they're usually slightly grotesque) but he doesn't read gay to me. I always figured Axl or Slash was our guy (and Steven also, if gay-4-pay bisexuals count). Matt Sorum (the Illusions tour drummer) pings so hard, but apparently he used to run through girls, so idk.

interesting, r184, and it makes sense. Maybe from now on when the leg heals Axl will just stand still and sing, and sound good/great for another 10+ years.

R200, I found at least one guy telling about it. Obviously this is an anonymous site and it's easy to write complete bullshit so take it with a grain of salt.

Posts R549 and R552 here:

Wow, R202, thanks a million for trawling back through and finding that for me, you're a Mensch.

It's dated only a few years back (although the encounter took place about 20-30 years ago). I'm inclined to believe it, if only because the poster isn't at all histrionic, giving details that add credibility (Axl's bisexuality)...and that its a thot story is about the unlikeliest of guys told completely unprompted. 'I had romantic bareback sex with Axl Rose multiple times and he's a sweetie' is a freaky huge Jewel to drop in a long boring thread generally full 'I think I once got cruised by Richard Gere' type spiels. But you're right, grains of salt...it could just be a very deft and convincing lie. Odd thing to lie about, though.

What surprised me most was the admission that Axl is 'nice' and 'sweet', this unsure and somewhat romantic guy. If any of this is true, he's a hell of a lot kinder to his male lovers than his wives/gfs. Maybe his issues and anger management got worse with his success?

All I know is I liked his singing better before AFD, when he looked and sounded like a member of Heart.

R197 Bach's a liar. He defended wearing the shirt, then later somewhat made a joke of it, saying he understood why people were upset. "I'd hate it if someone wore a shirt saying 'AIDS Kills Grandmas."

But people made excuses for both of them at the time so it shouldn't be a surprise now.

r193 That story is the Danny Thomas Glass Coffee Table of rock-it's been said about so many rockers over the years one wonders if it was ever true.

So Axl is now the leader of AC/DC. What the high holy hell fuck is that shit?

Do any fans/insiders know WTF happened there? That's bizarre, as they are usually all business; Rose is....not.

[quote]That story is the Danny Thomas Glass Coffee Table of rock-it's been said about so many rockers over the years one wonders if it was ever true.

I read it years ago on a website that had great (mostly het) stuff from groupies. If anyone can remember the name, I can't.

It had much better stories than we get now on DL and many had a ring of truth--these were old groupies who'd fucked tons of no-name rockers once or twice. Fun stuff.

It wasn't like Pamela DB, these stories sounded believable.

I only read the cat box story regarding Axl but it could definitely be an urban legend. Still, I think Seymour is a mess.

Stephy-baby earned a DUI recently, back in January. Biatch got caught on an off-ramp backing her Range into someone, a bad call on an otherwise perfect day roaming around Greenwich stinkin a' liquor.

I feel truly bad for her, no schadenfreude here. It's sad she seems so unhappy. What is it with Axl?

Kurt Loder is gay? Why is this the first I'd ever heard of that?

There's no way that whole Axl/Slash issue wasn't gay panic.

No solid proof but I have a feeling Axl cut Traci Guns off back in 86 for similar reasons.

Izzy posted on Twitter that he turned down touring 2017 bc no one would pay him what he wanted (or needed?). Although he doesn't have a family or expensive assets, Iz probably needs the money more than Slash and his +$30mil. of endorsements, so why not give him a few clams? He'd draw old fans to shows.

Slash liking those Axl fanpix. Guess a cool few milli will sweeten anyone up after a decade of acrimony.

Axl's talent (whatever its limit) is wasted by his own insistence on creative autonomy, and I guess he's finally realised it.

Since the late 80s he's written mostly overwrought, proggy, clanging pancake-syrup for piano/orchestra, expecting his conveyer belt of rockers-for-Hire to just play along with it and not ask questions. Like a lot of songwriters, his work improves when forced into equal partnership to give him limitations (and when remembering his roots, writing sing-a-long country melodies instead of over-complex, meandering operatic lines). In trying to impress or emulate his idols (and in trying to 'do it all') Rose has rendered the GN'R oeuvre very inaccessible. ChiDem's saving grace was the speedmetal element, the primal screams of rock that GN'R always excelled at. The Dream Theater-esque noodling?....not so much.

His pre-GN'R work was fresh & sweet. He hadn't attacked any women or denounced any gays back then, either. What happened?

You have to imagine that the delinquent bisexual country-mouse Bill Bailey, fresh off the bus from Lafayette, would be embarrassed to know just what a nasty cliche he became just 10 years after his first recordings. Even if he did get to perform with Elton. A rose by any other name....

Tracii is always so nice about Axl, even after all we know now. They haven't been bandmates or even friends since 1985 and according to Tracii "haven't spoken since about 1988", but Tracii still takes time praising Axl in the media and sending him Twitter love a few times a year.

Why did Axl just cut each him off so abruptly back when Slash first showed up? Why doesn't Tracii give up on trying to get a friendship going? There's got to be something that isn't being dished.

Back in the early 1990's I saw several photos of Axel Rose wearing tight, white compression pants at his concerts. And they showcased his beautiful ass back in the day. Never forgot that. Wow!! Smokin'!

For you R215

They played Wellington New Zealand last night. A friend went. The weather was disgusting, torrential rain and gales. My friend said;"Nooooo. The rain actually made it more fun. It was more of an experience. It helped deflect from the fact that Axle is old and fat .. Duff and Slash carried the show and it was awesome!!"

Well, R34, who's railin' who?

[quote] Axl is old and fat .. Duff and Slash carried the show and it was awesome!

R217, they also have a large touring band that, arguably, have more chops than Duff & Slash combined. The original Guns have their charms, but new hires may have had a hand in an 'awesome' performance.

Also, Richard Fortnus.

R214 the story from both Axl and Tracii is that they fell out because of a guest-list misunderstanding for one of their earlier gigs together (back in 84/85, when they were playing keggers and strip clubs for change, and Slash wasn't in the band). The legend goes that Tracii forgot (he says accidentally, Axl says purposefully) to include the name of one of their rich-bitch friends Michelle (of 'My Michelle'). Axl was palling around with her a lot during 85 (they were heroin buddies), but stoner Tracii wasn't so into her or whatever she was peddling. Nevertheless he still maintains he didn't leave her off the list. Axl started a public fight over it, and Tracii left the gig that night pissed as hell and never came back. That's the meathead answer and it sounds legit, until you consider that during the mid-80s all the little girls that stanned Motley thought of Tracii & Axl as 'inseparable' (like how people viewed Axl & Slash later on)..

In reading between the lines, the problem is more likely that there was a jealous rivalry between the two over the musical partnership & friendship (or more?) of Izzy Stradlin, another mutual friend they had.

Izzy had left Axl in the lurch back in Indiana back in the early 80s to go and run his drugs and travel the world, and in two of those years he ended up sleeping on the floor of Tracii Gun's Mom's house. There's never been a reason given by anyone for this, but it's not a stretch to imagine Izzy was probably fucking one of them (Tracii or his Mom, that is), because what nice middle-class Jewish family allows a strange itinerant Pentecostal pusherman from Bumfuck that they don't know crash in their lounge for free? Izzy was around 21/22 at the time and never paid a dime in rent to the Ulrich family, so it had to be something like that. Izzy sleeping next to a member of the 'Guns' family would also explain Axl's nasty turn against Tracii, as it has always been understood in GN'R Lore that Axl has a possessive fixation on Izzy and sees him as a kind of kindred spirit/'soulmate' (presumably because they come from the same Hellhole). Axl even liked Tracii to begin with and even wanted to get serious about a band in partnership with him, but over the course of two short years quickly came to resent and mistrust him. All over a guest list? Nah.

R214 the story from both Axl and Tracii is that they fell out because of a guest-list misunderstanding for one of their earlier gigs together (back in 84/85, when they were playing keggers and strip clubs for change, and Slash wasn't in the band). The legend goes that Tracii forgot (he says accidentally, Axl says purposefully) to include the name of one of their rich-bitch friends Michelle (of 'My Michelle'). Axl was palling around with her a lot during 85 (they were heroin buddies), but stoner Tracii wasn't so into her or whatever she was peddling. Nevertheless he still maintains he didn't leave her off the list. Axl started a public fight over it, and Tracii left the gig that night pissed as hell and never came back. That's the meathead answer and it sounds legit, until you consider that during the mid-80s all the little girls that stanned Motley thought of Tracii & Axl as 'inseparable' (like how people viewed Axl & Slash later on)..

In reading between the lines, the problem is more likely that there was a jealous rivalry between the two over the musical partnership & friendship (or more?) of Izzy Stradlin, another mutual friend they had.

Izzy had left Axl in the lurch back in Indiana back in the early 80s to go and run his drugs and travel the world, and in two of those years he ended up sleeping on the floor of Tracii Gun's Mom's house. There's never been a reason given by anyone for this, but it's not a stretch to imagine Izzy was probably fucking one of them (Tracii or his Mom, that is), because what nice middle-class Jewish family allows a strange itinerant Pentecostal pusherman from Bumfuck that they don't know crash in their lounge for free? Izzy was around 21/22 at the time and never paid a dime in rent to the Ulrich family, so it had to be something like that. Izzy sleeping next to a member of the 'Guns' family would also explain Axl's nasty turn against Tracii, as it has always been understood in GN'R Lore that Axl has a possessive fixation on Izzy and sees him as a kind of kindred spirit/'soulmate' (presumably because they come from the same Hellhole). Axl even liked Tracii to begin with and even wanted to get serious about a band in partnership with him, but over the course of two short years quickly came to resent and mistrust him. All over a guest list? Nah.

Slash is such a Facebook frau.

Happy belated birthday to Duff, who is still hotter and richer than most 80s rockers ever hope to get. Hope it was a good one, doll!

[quote] ...in a way it's understandable that certain hard rockers and especially glam rockers have tried to underline their manliness by trying to distance themselves from us. Yes it's wrong but once again the world was a different place 20 years ago. Pop and glam rock were so full of men with big hair and wearing makeup that it was at times weird to see it as a gayling. I'm sure the glam rock scene had its fair share of homophobia. It is what it is.

R196 apparently Aerosmith's 'Dude, Looks Like A Lady' was written about Motley Crue's Vince Neil, or so the story goes accordingly to Steven Tyler anyway,

It's funny, all of the douchebro jocks who loved this music in the 80s, all seemed really, really gay to me. I guess I wasn't wrong.

Some of us were metalheads AND Smiths-heads, and probably really, really gay to anyone looking in. Weird but very fun times.

R10 Slash's efforts appear to drop drastically once Izzy left. Perhaps there was some sort of ego contest going on (for Slash, don't think Izzy cares) that made him try. Izzy was more integral to GNR than Slash, not just in writing but as some sort of psychologist, respected/loved by Axl and feared/loathed by Slash.

The UYI lineup trying to make a record without Izzy was a disaster.

Axl looks like a fat Nebraska housewife now.

Axl was beautiful when he was young, I met him before they made it big. And he seemed very wide-eyed and sweet. You could tell that both men and women would totally fall for him and he certainly used that to his advantage.

Really R229? That's rad. Could you expand on that story for us?

Axl totally fascinates me as a personality, even though I vehemently disagree with things he's said and done. He's a real enigma and everyone who's met him irl has a different story about him. I don't know if you've come across it but there's a famous DL tale from a guy who hooked with Axl (says he's bi). Did he strike you as a bisexual type? Was it obvious to you that he had issues with women and conflict? How/where did you meet him, what happened, how did you feel when around him? Tell us all.

R230

Hi, If I told you he seemed like a sweet boy with an angelic way about him would you believe me?

Because that's how I felt about him, he was very slight, gorgeous complexion, shy, and very kind. I met him in Hollywood in one of those old tenements that we all lived in. I can see how women wanted to protect him and coddle him.

And he had that look down pat, the rocker thing, he was poor (we all were) but he was very put together.

I think someone hurt him very, very badly and he didn't cope with it too well.

Axl was likely visiting the drug dealer in the building when I met him however, he really did have an incredible glow about him.

Don'y laugh, and I am not joking here, but Axl glowed like Marilyn Monroe did in her pictures. And it was a feminine aura too, and very luminescent.

I have never seen another man project that, aside from a few well-done drag queens. But Axl had it naturally, maybe it is something bipolars can generate, like a secret energy or something.

I did not pick up on any sexual vibe whatsoever towards men.

Whoa, thanks so much R229. That's a real eye-opener, shows how we can't always a judge at first sight.

I get what you mean about Marilyn, he does seem to have a mystical ability to draw people in and you can tell that even in film. I wonder how much of his success he owes to that skill? A lot of rock autobiographies from rockers on the Strip at the time confirm what you've said about his looks - his very feminine, delicate 'starlet' beauty and his shyness so at odds with his violent moods swings.

You mention his probable heroin habit at your time of meeting - that would put your story at sometime in around 1983-5, right? He's always maintained that when he first arrived in L.A. around 82/83 he had been physically attacked and violated a few times, could explain what was causing him so much pain. If it was in 85, he'd just had major fallouts with a couple close friends so that could be the culprit.

Did you meet any other GN'R members (early or classic?). Axl didn't meet Slash or Duff until he'd been around Hollywood for a few years, but he stayed in touch with Izzy and knew guys like Tracii early on.

Axl used to beat up Slash (in semi-public). Slash wouldn't fight back and would be cowering saying "stop it Axl, stop it" while Axl went off.

I saw them back in the day - they were the one hair band I was forced to like - but I won't be going now. It was their raunchy hardcore live energy I was drawn to and they will not have it now. They didn't even have it by the end of line then. I'm still sad I didn't see their early show(s)? at The Ritz.

r227 Slash had major substance abuse problems that for some reason he seemed to get a pass on compared to the others. Pissed a lot of his career away partying with people like Jagger and Lenny Kravitz. He was over-rated anyway, IMHO, but he was fucked up for a lot of his career. To his credit, he admitted it in an interview.

[quote] Axl used to beat up Slash (in semi-public). Slash wouldn't fight back and would be cowering saying "stop it Axl, stop it" while Axl went off.

yIKES.

Has someone already made a joke about Axl's old face not being able to attend? I don't want to read the whole thread.

This clip makes me howl, it's so fucking ridiculous how earnestly confused Slash becomes.

Youtube channel 5agge remixed every track on CHIDEM and it far surpasses the original. The compilation is called 'Chinese Democracy: Revisited', with the official tracks stripped down to just Axl's voice with riffs, fills & vocals from original GN'R members spliced in. Axl's lyrics are switched around, songs are cut short and some are retitled, but it all comes together. It sounds like early GN'R demos, in fact, punky & raw.

'Hurt', 'The Nightmareline Blues' & 'A New Beginning' are the best cuts. The do-over of 'Scraped' is way better than the official version, too. Shame these versions of the CHIDEM material will never be heard or played live.

Izzy didn't travel the world before they became famous. He didn't have any money for that. The furthest he went back then was Mexico to stock up on the black tar heroin. He was a heroin dealer in LA pre-fame, and a pretty well-known one. Sold to Joe Perry and Steven Tyler and he and his underage stripper girlfriend were the dealers for the Hustler empire. He's seen and done some shit which is probably why he become a bit of a recluse post-sobriety. Met him a few times. Hot in a lanky way.

Slash has always been a sloppy guitar player. He's lucky that the hair and the hat became an integral part of his image in his youth since the fact that you can never see his face has rendered him somewhat ageless.

Axl's a damn mess, but charismatic and used to be a great front man. One of the best. Too bad about his current voice. And face. And body.