Del James on Eddie Bravo

[Lumikki]

Based on this interview and the op-ed pieces he's written towards the fans, I can't think of one nice thing to say about this guy.

If I were Slash or Duff (or anyone else) I would have told him the exact same thing. The guy doesn't think he needs to pay taxes, blows all his money on drugs and alcohol while he's got two kids at home, and walks hand in mouth to each band member looking for a bailout. Pathetic.

Then he has the gall to accuse fans of being thieves for downloading music that will likely never get an official release. He clearly doesn't get the music industry today - leaks are part of the business. It happens to every artist. If your music is damn good it will not hurt sales, in fact it most likely help an artist's bottom line. There are many acts out there today who have their stuff leaked well before its official release date and still sell millions and draw tens of thousands to individual shows. To whine and bitch about it, when you're supposedly part of the GNR operation, is ridiculous.

Good post. I couldn't agree more, especially the bolded.

Del seems like a pathetic waste of space to me, I can't find anything to like about him.

[Nick85]

Thanks for the link. I'm not finished watching it but...

Del talks about leaks: 36m15s

talks about Slash and Duff: 54m35s

He's telling a story about him in Germany at around 1h10m40s.... I don't know if I heard right but did he say "nazi" when talking about the police? Pretty stupid to use that term....

About the release of CD: 1h13m10

About autobiographies: 2h19m20

About the new band: 3h05m37

Thank you for doing that! I think it's kind of amusing how he's harping on people stealing music yet he thought he didn't need to pay taxes.

Based on this interview and the op-ed pieces he's written towards the fans, I can't think of one nice thing to say about this guy.

If I were Slash or Duff (or anyone else) I would have told him the exact same thing. The guy doesn't think he needs to pay taxes, blows all his money on drugs and alcohol while he's got two kids at home, and walks hand in mouth to each band member looking for a bailout. Pathetic.

Then he has the gall to accuse fans of being thieves for downloading music that will likely never get an official release. He clearly doesn't get the music industry today - leaks are part of the business. It happens to every artist. If your music is damn good it will not hurt sales, in fact it most likely help an artist's bottom line. There are many acts out there today who have their stuff leaked well before its official release date and still sell millions and draw tens of thousands to individual shows. To whine and bitch about it, when you're supposedly part of the GNR operation, is ridiculous.

Agreed. If team GNR ever wonders why, to many fans, they are a walking joke, they should look to times like these. Sicking lawyers and Del James on fans who are simply starving for new music from a band that's seemingly utterly apathetic about releasing the tons of unreleased material they have is retarded, plain and simple.

Funny how this "band" spends more time and energy preventing fans from hearing new music than working to actually release it.

Edited August 20, 2013 by sofine11

[November_rain]

I´m not going to say anything about Del since I don´t know him but I kind of agree with what has been mentioned here about the leaks "theft". I understand that we are all eager for new music but stealing it and leaking it from the band we are fans of is wrong, and using the excuse that leaks are part of the business to justify a theft is ridiculous. How would you feel if you were a writer or a singer and someon stole your work and leaked it before its release withut your consent? I don´t think you would like it.

[useyorappetite]

Del, Beta, Goldstein in the 90s and people like the Maynards exploited Axl's fragile mental state and shielded him from his real friends (Izzy, Slash, Duff).

i don't think they were his real friends either. maybe izzy. but they all did abandon him at a time. i can see why lets this people cling to him. he knows they're not going anywhere. it's just not out of love.

[T.wa.T]

I´m not going to say anything about Del since I don´t know him but I kind of agree with what has been mentioned here about the leaks "theft". I understand that we are all eager for new music but stealing it and leaking it from the band we are fans of is wrong, and using the excuse that leaks are part of the business to justify a theft is ridiculous. How would you feel if you were a writer or a singer and someon stole your work and leaked it before its release withut your consent? I don´t think you would like it.

I agree with your post, but Del made it seem as if a fan stole it and uploaded the songs. It had to first come from someone with access to the songs, an employee of the studio perhaps or a friend of a band member? Who knows.

[Mfegz]

I´m not going to say anything about Del since I don´t know him but I kind of agree with what has been mentioned here about the leaks "theft". I understand that we are all eager for new music but stealing it and leaking it from the band we are fans of is wrong, and using the excuse that leaks are part of the business to justify a theft is ridiculous. How would you feel if you were a writer or a singer and someon stole your work and leaked it before its release withut your consent? I don´t think you would like it.

But I wouldn't release 1 album in 20 years

[alfierose]

It is illegal and it is theft there is no way around this fact but if the band had a larger discography and were releasing on a regular basis the leaking of a few demo's would barely be news to them or us. Black markets are created when supplies are rationed.

[November_rain]

I´m not going to say anything about Del since I don´t know him but I kind of agree with what has been mentioned here about the leaks "theft". I understand that we are all eager for new music but stealing it and leaking it from the band we are fans of is wrong, and using the excuse that leaks are part of the business to justify a theft is ridiculous. How would you feel if you were a writer or a singer and someon stole your work and leaked it before its release withut your consent? I don´t think you would like it.

I agree with your post, but Del made it seem as if a fan stole it and uploaded the songs. It had to first come from someone with access to the songs, an employee of the studio perhaps or a friend of a band member? Who knows.

Jarmo!!!

Case closed

[useyorappetite]

Thanks for the link. I'm not finished watching it but...

Del talks about leaks: 36m15s

talks about Slash and Duff: 54m35s

He's telling a story about him in Germany at around 1h10m40s.... I don't know if I heard right but did he say "nazi" when talking about the police? Pretty stupid to use that term....

About the release of CD: 1h13m10

About autobiographies: 2h19m20

About the new band: 3h05m37

Thank you for doing that! I think it's kind of amusing how he's harping on people stealing music yet he thought he didn't need to pay taxes.

Based on this interview and the op-ed pieces he's written towards the fans, I can't think of one nice thing to say about this guy.

If I were Slash or Duff (or anyone else) I would have told him the exact same thing. The guy doesn't think he needs to pay taxes, blows all his money on drugs and alcohol while he's got two kids at home, and walks hand in mouth to each band member looking for a bailout. Pathetic.

Then he has the gall to accuse fans of being thieves for downloading music that will likely never get an official release. He clearly doesn't get the music industry today - leaks are part of the business. It happens to every artist. If your music is damn good it will not hurt sales, in fact it most likely help an artist's bottom line. There are many acts out there today who have their stuff leaked well before its official release date and still sell millions and draw tens of thousands to individual shows. To whine and bitch about it, when you're supposedly part of the GNR operation, is ridiculous.

I agree 100%.

Also I would add that it was kind of funny to hear his opinion about rock biographies, that it's often history revisionism, that the story is told in a manner that it's never their fault (the one who writes the book)...

Another funny thing is he felt the need to name all of the current bandmember to tell that they were Guns N Roses...

Yeah, I guess he's never bothered to read Axl's posts here. Still waiting for Axl to admit fault for even the smallest mistake in his life... Is there a tumbleweeds emoticon???

i agree with that biography thing to some extent. axl never admits to his fault but other members don't do it either. no one really comes to media confess their sins. reading their biography's it's either axl or just the situation and they make it sound like they couldn't do anything about it. slash has a lot more class about it than axl but none of them are taking any responsibly .i think axl at least should apologize for calling slash a cancer but even if he thinks he did something wrong he's not going to come here and say it.

[T.wa.T]

I´m not going to say anything about Del since I don´t know him but I kind of agree with what has been mentioned here about the leaks "theft". I understand that we are all eager for new music but stealing it and leaking it from the band we are fans of is wrong, and using the excuse that leaks are part of the business to justify a theft is ridiculous. How would you feel if you were a writer or a singer and someon stole your work and leaked it before its release withut your consent? I don´t think you would like it.

I agree with your post, but Del made it seem as if a fan stole it and uploaded the songs. It had to first come from someone with access to the songs, an employee of the studio perhaps or a friend of a band member? Who knows.

Jarmo!!!

Case closed

Haha, that rat bastard !!!

[Mastodonny]

Del, Beta, Goldstein in the 90s and people like the Maynards exploited Axl's fragile mental state and shielded him from his real friends (Izzy, Slash, Duff).

i don't think they were his real friends either. maybe izzy. but they all did abandon him at a time. i can see why lets this people cling to him. he knows they're not going anywhere. it's just not out of love.

So they all abandoned poor axl? That kinda tells me it's not them, it's axl.

[downzy]

The whole argument over whether it's theft kind of misses the point of where we are in music today. As correctly pointed out, "fans" didn't leak these tracks. It was someone associated with the band. His bone to pick is with that person, and not the fans, who are doing what they're suppose to be doing: wanting music. And let's not kid ourselves, does anyone seriously think that these leaks would hurt sales of an upcoming GNR album? Is anyone here not going to buy it despite having downloaded a few tracks already? Moreover, with the positive press Going Down has been getting, isn't the leaks doing more good for the band than harm? You can sit in a corner and cry "theft" all you want but the truth is that leaks of good songs likely helps an artist far more than it hurts them. Now, leak of shitty songs will hurt an artist, but I have no sympathy for said artists. They should have written and recorded better songs.

Great songs, whether leaked or not, will sell and draw fans. This is the point that guys like Del miss. People who downloaded these tracks were likely going to buy the next album or not. The leaks themselves weren't going to change that. If you're music is great, I'll likely buy the album. If I'm in love with an artist, I'll likely buy the album. Even if I like the music and end up downloading it for free, it's likely I'll pay the exorbitant concert prices when you come to town, hence the artist makes it up otherwise.

Del is so stuck in yesterday with his thinking it's laughable. He pines for the good old days when artists and labels fucked over their fans by releasing eleven shit songs with one good song.

He laments the invention of MTV forgetting that MTV made GNR a star. Nobody gave a fuck about Welcome to the Jungle until the video got played on MTV.

He bitches about revisionist history while he spews his own.

His story on how Axl got him out of a jam illustrates less how good of a friend Axl is and more how shit of a person Del is.

Del a walking joke that points fingers at others.

Del, Beta, Goldstein in the 90s and people like the Maynards exploited Axl's fragile mental state and shielded him from his real friends (Izzy, Slash, Duff).

i don't think they were his real friends either. maybe izzy. but they all did abandon him at a time. i can see why lets this people cling to him. he knows they're not going anywhere. it's just not out of love.

So they all abandoned poor axl? That kinda tells me it's not them, it's axl.

Yeah, people fail to comprehend the common denominator principle.

Edited August 20, 2013 by downzy

[useyorappetite]

point is they were not as close as some people think. and no one likes being abandoned..

[Mastodonny]

And on the other hand, no one likes being pushed aside and devalued.

[November_rain]

point is they were not as close as some people think. and no one likes being abandoned..

People tend to think that band mates are a synonym of close, real,soul friends when the truth is that in most of the cases they are just mere mates.

[useyorappetite]

i just don't understand how some people think if the axl reunited with slash beta would go away and everything will be okay in axl land. were there when beta and dell
started leaching axl. axl was still late, delayed albums, made cheesy videos than most people beside him thought were ridiculous, put my world on UYI and was surrounded by yes men. the only difference would be slash playing instead of bumble.

[alfierose]

I bet backstage on the UYI tour was like lunchtime in a high school girls bathroom. All smoking fags, bitching and faffing around with your hair in the mirror. Hardly surprising it all went wrong. :-D

[Dariablue]

Downzy, I thought the same thing when he was saying his MTV hurt artists. AFD was dead in the water and the label wanted the band to make another record before MTV played Jungle. Then everything blew up. Just goes to show that everyone remembers things differently, I suppose.

[Amir]

Summed it up for people who can't be bothered to watch:

Complaints, complaints, complaints.

Seriously, the guy just comes up with all sorts of excuses to justify everything. Downzy's post is spot on. Zach Waldman's the only one in the interview calling him out on his shit.

[Ali]

Thanks for the link. I'm not finished watching it but...

Del talks about leaks: 36m15s

talks about Slash and Duff: 54m35s

He's telling a story about him in Germany at around 1h10m40s.... I don't know if I heard right but did he say "nazi" when talking about the police? Pretty stupid to use that term....

About the release of CD: 1h13m10

About autobiographies: 2h19m20

About the new band: 3h05m37

Thank you for doing that! I think it's kind of amusing how he's harping on people stealing music yet he thought he didn't need to pay taxes.

Based on this interview and the op-ed pieces he's written towards the fans, I can't think of one nice thing to say about this guy.

If I were Slash or Duff (or anyone else) I would have told him the exact same thing. The guy doesn't think he needs to pay taxes, blows all his money on drugs and alcohol while he's got two kids at home, and walks hand in mouth to each band member looking for a bailout. Pathetic.

Then he has the gall to accuse fans of being thieves for downloading music that will likely never get an official release. He clearly doesn't get the music industry today - leaks are part of the business. It happens to every artist. If your music is damn good it will not hurt sales, in fact it most likely help an artist's bottom line. There are many acts out there today who have their stuff leaked well before its official release date and still sell millions and draw tens of thousands to individual shows. To whine and bitch about it, when you're supposedly part of the GNR operation, is ridiculous.

I don't agree with the interpretation that he was "looking for a bailout" from Slash, Duff or Axl. I think he was just using that story to illustrate what a good friend Axl has been to him. While Duff and Slash empathized with him and felt for the predicament he was in (which was of his own doing), he was impressed that Axl went out of his way to get him some assistance in dealing with the IRS through Axl's business manager. There is no indication that a "bailout" is what he was looking for, he was just impressed that Axl helped him out. Furthermore, the term bailout is not really appropriate as he was not given any money anyway. He just had someone help him get on a payment plan for the back-taxes he owed in order to unfreeze his accounts.

Ali

[Ali]

I'd also like to add that Del explicitly states that Axl put out Chinese Democracy when he felt Chinese Democracy was ready. So for all of you who have argued with me in the past that it was the label's fault for the delay, guess you've got some explaining to do.

I also disagree with this interpretation of his remarks. Context is important, and the discussion came up in the context of whether or not the time it took to put Chinese Democracy out (on Axl's side) had to do with a shift in popular music tastes, specifically in the declining mainstream popularity of heavy metal. He never made any statement that the ONLY reason Chinese Democracy came out when it did was because that was when Axl felt it was ready. He didn't exclude any other contributing factors to the total time it took to put the album out.

Ali

[downzy]

I'd also like to add that Del explicitly states that Axl put out Chinese Democracy when he felt Chinese Democracy was ready. So for all of you who have argued with me in the past that it was the label's fault for the delay, guess you've got some explaining to do.

I also disagree with this interpretation of his remarks. Context is important, and the discussion came up in the context of whether or not the time it took to put Chinese Democracy out (on Axl's side) had to do with a shift in popular music tastes, specifically in the declining mainstream popularity of heavy metal. He never made any statement that the ONLY reason Chinese Democracy came out when it did was because that was when Axl felt it was ready. He didn't exclude any other contributing factors to the total time it took to put the album out.

Ali

"He put out Chinese Democracy when he felt Chinese Democracy was ready. It was as simple as that."

Sorry, I'm all for conjecture and interpretation, but when someone explicitly states, "it was as simple as that," not sure there's much room for debate. If Axl had felt the album was ready in 2001, it would have been out in 2001. I really don't see how you're going to get around this one. I see Del as a bit of douche, but I take him for his word on this one.

But I have no doubt you'll try to bail out your buddy once again. You'd make a great campaign chief if Axl ever ran for politics. "Axl's Never Wrong! 2013!" would likely be your campaign slogan if I had to give a wager.

Thanks for the link. I'm not finished watching it but...

Del talks about leaks: 36m15s

talks about Slash and Duff: 54m35s

He's telling a story about him in Germany at around 1h10m40s.... I don't know if I heard right but did he say "nazi" when talking about the police? Pretty stupid to use that term....

About the release of CD: 1h13m10

About autobiographies: 2h19m20

About the new band: 3h05m37

Thank you for doing that! I think it's kind of amusing how he's harping on people stealing music yet he thought he didn't need to pay taxes.

Based on this interview and the op-ed pieces he's written towards the fans, I can't think of one nice thing to say about this guy.

If I were Slash or Duff (or anyone else) I would have told him the exact same thing. The guy doesn't think he needs to pay taxes, blows all his money on drugs and alcohol while he's got two kids at home, and walks hand in mouth to each band member looking for a bailout. Pathetic.

Then he has the gall to accuse fans of being thieves for downloading music that will likely never get an official release. He clearly doesn't get the music industry today - leaks are part of the business. It happens to every artist. If your music is damn good it will not hurt sales, in fact it most likely help an artist's bottom line. There are many acts out there today who have their stuff leaked well before its official release date and still sell millions and draw tens of thousands to individual shows. To whine and bitch about it, when you're supposedly part of the GNR operation, is ridiculous.

I don't agree with the interpretation that he was "looking for a bailout" from Slash, Duff or Axl. I think he was just using that story to illustrate what a good friend Axl has been to him. While Duff and Slash empathized with him and felt for the predicament he was in (which was of his own doing), he was impressed that Axl went out of his way to get him some assistance in dealing with the IRS through Axl's business manager. There is no indication that a "bailout" is what he was looking for, he was just impressed that Axl helped him out. Furthermore, the term bailout is not really appropriate as he was not given any money anyway. He just had someone help him get on a payment plan for the back-taxes he owed in order to unfreeze his accounts.

Ali

So you're telling me that if one of the bandmates offered him some money to cover his baby's milk he would have turned it down? LOL. Nice try. This guy has lived off the teet of GNR for the last twenty years. No way this guy is not looking for help when he's going to each band member individually. I'll admit this is conjecture on my part, but it's one that I stand behind.

Edited August 21, 2013 by downzy

[DieselDaisy]

I´m not going to say anything about Del since I don´t know him but I kind of agree with what has been mentioned here about the leaks "theft". I understand that we are all eager for new music but stealing it and leaking it from the band we are fans of is wrong, and using the excuse that leaks are part of the business to justify a theft is ridiculous. How would you feel if you were a writer or a singer and someon stole your work and leaked it before its release withut your consent? I don´t think you would like it.

I agree with your post, but Del made it seem as if a fan stole it and uploaded the songs. It had to first come from someone with access to the songs, an employee of the studio perhaps or a friend of a band member? Who knows.

Jarmo!!!

Case closed

Jarmo did not do that. He is a prick. Whoever leaked Going Down is a cool dude.

[Apollo]

I'd also like to add that Del explicitly states that Axl put out Chinese Democracy when he felt Chinese Democracy was ready. So for all of you who have argued with me in the past that it was the label's fault for the delay, guess you've got some explaining to do.

I also disagree with this interpretation of his remarks. Context is important, and the discussion came up in the context of whether or not the time it took to put Chinese Democracy out (on Axl's side) had to do with a shift in popular music tastes, specifically in the declining mainstream popularity of heavy metal. He never made any statement that the ONLY reason Chinese Democracy came out when it did was because that was when Axl felt it was ready. He didn't exclude any other contributing factors to the total time it took to put the album out.

Ali

"He put out Chinese Democracy when he felt Chinese Democracy was ready. It was as simple as that."

Sorry, I'm all for conjecture and interpretation, but when someone explicitly states, "it was as simple as that," not sure there's much room for debate. If Axl had felt the album was ready in 2001, it would have been out in 2001. I really don't see how you're going to get around this one. I see Del as a bit of douche, but I take him for his word on this one.

But I have no doubt you'll try to bail out your buddy once again. You'd make a great campaign chief if Axl ever ran for politics. "Axl's Never Wrong! 2013!" would likely be your campaign slogan if I had to give a wager.

Thanks for the link. I'm not finished watching it but...

Del talks about leaks: 36m15s

talks about Slash and Duff: 54m35s

He's telling a story about him in Germany at around 1h10m40s.... I don't know if I heard right but did he say "nazi" when talking about the police? Pretty stupid to use that term....

About the release of CD: 1h13m10

About autobiographies: 2h19m20

About the new band: 3h05m37

Thank you for doing that! I think it's kind of amusing how he's harping on people stealing music yet he thought he didn't need to pay taxes.

Based on this interview and the op-ed pieces he's written towards the fans, I can't think of one nice thing to say about this guy.

If I were Slash or Duff (or anyone else) I would have told him the exact same thing. The guy doesn't think he needs to pay taxes, blows all his money on drugs and alcohol while he's got two kids at home, and walks hand in mouth to each band member looking for a bailout. Pathetic.

Then he has the gall to accuse fans of being thieves for downloading music that will likely never get an official release. He clearly doesn't get the music industry today - leaks are part of the business. It happens to every artist. If your music is damn good it will not hurt sales, in fact it most likely help an artist's bottom line. There are many acts out there today who have their stuff leaked well before its official release date and still sell millions and draw tens of thousands to individual shows. To whine and bitch about it, when you're supposedly part of the GNR operation, is ridiculous.

I don't agree with the interpretation that he was "looking for a bailout" from Slash, Duff or Axl. I think he was just using that story to illustrate what a good friend Axl has been to him. While Duff and Slash empathized with him and felt for the predicament he was in (which was of his own doing), he was impressed that Axl went out of his way to get him some assistance in dealing with the IRS through Axl's business manager. There is no indication that a "bailout" is what he was looking for, he was just impressed that Axl helped him out. Furthermore, the term bailout is not really appropriate as he was not given any money anyway. He just had someone help him get on a payment plan for the back-taxes he owed in order to unfreeze his accounts.

Ali

So you're telling me that if one of the bandmates offered him some money to cover his baby's milk he would have turned it down? LOL. Nice try. This guy has lived off the teet of GNR for the last twenty years. No way this guy is not looking for help when he's going to each band member individual. I'll admit this is conjecture on my part, but it's one that I stand behind.

LOL.

Don't you know that Ali finds a reason to defend Axl in every situation?

Even adding positive spins to actual quotes from Axl or hanger-on types like Del.

You are right, he'd be a great public relations man for Axl and GnR. They should hire him to do all their press conferences and interviews.

[Axl_morris]

I'll give Del credit in being Axl's friend before the fame, so he didn't just cling to Axl because of his money and fame, because he had none when he first me him. Axl certainly sorted his life out though, early days crediting him on November Rain - one of the most popular videos of all time - certainly landed Del his other jobs and writing projects. Also the example he gives about him unfreezing his unpaid taxes. Later being promoted to Tour Manager.

So, from axl's point of view, he has hired a friend who has proved loyal to him for years - perfect employee. What does he offer Axl for Axl to give him all this? No idea, which is probably why he is hated on this forum, he's a background worker who is probably never credited for his work in the community and seen a hanger-on.

Some people might not like his attitude, but he's been hanging around/working fo GNR longer than I've been alive so he's going to have some pride and authority in his job and Axl likes him, so I don't see the problem.

Youtube theft? I think this is old school thinking and remember Chinese Democracy was streamed on myspace for a month or so before it was released. Technically, you could say, GNR legally leaked there own album. How fucked up is that? Perhaps GNR could use social media/youtube to there advantage when releasing a new album rather than having the opinion that it is theft.

Edited August 20, 2013 by Axl_morris