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Did DJ and BF leave because they knew about the reunion?


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Everyone who I would trust at both this forum and other forums made it clear that Ron and DJ left entirely of their own desire, and were in no way doing it to "avoid the inevitable" or "make way for a GN'R reunion." Ron pissed and moaned about the lack of activity from Guns N' Roses since 2010, and really started ramping it up and bad mouthing the band's decision (i.e. playing private gigs) in 2012. In 2013, he flat out stated that if the situation forced him to choose between Guns N' Roses and his solo career, the solo career wins. Clearly, the lack of definite plans and the fact that Axl did not seem to want to work with Ron-penned songs drove him to choose the solo career path. Luckily, Ron was not the type of guy to leave the band belly-up and chose to finish up touring through 2014.

All signs pointed that DJ was still fully invovled with GN'R, but when it came to choose between Sixx A.M. - who had two albums and a tour coming up in the wake of Crue ending - and Guns N' Roses - who had no definite plans following the final Las Vegas residency - DJ chose Sixx A.M. despite all his assurances that he "had Axl's back." He chose money - pure and simple. Any grandstanding he does that he stepped aside to let the old members back in remains him sucking up to the media; probably because he knows Axl would never set the record straight.

My guess would be the relationship between Axl and Slash started to thaw with the agreement to sign off on Appetite for Democracy, and things got even better when Perla (who everyone pretty much describes as a svengali) left the picture. As downzy said, when faced with the choice of hiring two brand new unknown guitarists (which would mean then having two of three guitar players who had NO relationship to Chinese Democracy-era music) or just calling it a day and getting back with Duff (who was already cool with Axl) and Slash (who seemed in a better place with Axl and has been so desperate to get back in the band that he would probably agree to just about any terms) Axl chose the easier and - frankly - more sensible option.

downzy:

Out of pure personal curiosity, what is the current relationship between Axl and DJ? Do they communicate at all? Does Axl feel betrayed and pissed at DJ the way he did when Izzy left the band in 1991 or Slash later down the road? Or is it more like Robin, where Axl is willing to just move down the line and, perhaps someday, meet up with DJ again? It seems like Axl and DJ got pretty close and DJ took over the "right hand man" function, so I cannot imagine Axl took his abandonment lightly. From what I've heard, Axl really dug Robin as a musician and friend, but Robin always kept a distance of sorts from the other band members so it was not as huge a blow when he jumped ship to Nine Inch Nails.

Great post.

As for your question, I have no idea. Like I said, I came into some information in July of last year that gave me a pretty good idea of what the game plan was for 2016. Obviously things have changed and my ability to get more information ended when all contacts stopped returning our questions. I completely understand the lack of communication considering the nature of what we now know was going on behind the scene with respect to Axl and Slash and a possible reunion. The last I heard was that DJ quit early to mid July and the news was met by Axl with disappointment and surprise. I have no idea whether they are still amicable or whether they still talk (I'd have a hard time believing they do, but again, that's just a guess). If I had to guess, DJ left for the reasons you stated and perhaps also felt as though his music contributions weren't be considered by Axl as much as DJ would have liked.

Alpachiris is the guy who runs that forum. I think he goes by GNRLA on here. They have very good ties with Bumblefoot over the years and always meet up with him when they go to South America.

I do not believe at all...that in 2 months they got this reunion set up, just counting the amount of time needed for the legal contracts and compromise to clear out of the way.

TB can say one thing today...and turn it around tomorrow...just like the Kimmel booking...."oh no no...it was not booked no no"

Well, why do you think the Kimmel booking fell through? Probably because there's still details that have yet to be confirmed. As Trunk argued in his blog post yesterday, they're likely still finalizing legal matters. Perhaps they were optimistic that everything would be sorted by Jan 5th to allow Axl to be a guest on Kimmel, but maybe it didn't pan out.

We also have members of the staff who have good ties and at no point did Ron tell any of them that he quit because he knew a reunion was going to happen.

I believe its been on for a while, the timing of Duff coming back the wheels where set in motion.

I don't disagree that there have been forces behind the reunion, but I firmly believe that Axl did not indulge in the idea until August of last year, or soon after he found out that he'd have to replace not one but two guitarists. Perhaps people associated with Slash and Duff were working towards this goal, but I don't think anyone with or in GNR was seriously considering it until this past summer.

So...they did in 4 months what they couldn't do in 20 years? Not buying it.

Lets see if someday the truth comes out from the horses mouth.

It was never attempted in the last 20 years. You're right, it's surprising they could pull this together (though, I still don't think everything has been finalized), but you're conflating the matter. Perhaps once Axl gave his permission to explore the possibility with Slash efforts were made to have everything settled to land the Coachella payday. Who knows. All I know with certainty was that as of July 2015, Axl's primary concern was releasing a new album with the band he thought he had.

Weiland said that contracts was on the table ready to sing while he was in VR. Also latter we learn that Slash presented some VR hits to GNR, and he was supposed to contribute in a couple of songs on CD.

Also, the GNRLA mod said that was TB who was after the reunion, not Axl.

Do you ppl remember the 2010 Duff incident at the hotel?

Bada bing!

Spot on...

TB controls Axl.

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Well From what I see, Ashba and Ron din't know about the reunion, They moved on to make music, they were not confident that Axl will actually release music in 2016.

A Question for Downzy, You have been saying that an album is in the works and you have your sources etc etc, IF that was the case then why Ashba quit? his main reason was that GNR was not moving forward. Be honest, did that friend of yours tell you that Ashba is going to quit?

You say that after august, this forum had all its ties disconnected with the management, can you elaborate on that? So that guy who were in contact with said he won't talk to you? and now since the past 2 weeks he is talking to you?

Again, when it comes to gauging people's motivations for why they acted, most of what I say is based on my extrapolation of what little I know. And as I said in a previous post, i surmise that DJ felt his musical contributions were given greater consideration with Sixx AM than they were in GNR, and he decided to go with the outfit that allowed him to be more involved in that area.

I never said that all ties were disconnected with management. I said that our questions went unanswered from our sources until very recently. As for who are sources are, that I will never clarify as we promise anonymity for anyone who shares information that we're allowed to share.

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Well From what I see, Ashba and Ron din't know about the reunion, They moved on to make music, they were not confident that Axl will actually release music in 2016.

I don't buy this, at all. If Todd Kerns (Miles Kennedy and the Conspirators) knew this was in the works for a 'long time', don't you think everyone in nuGNR did too? Even if Axl was more tight lipped than Slash with his band, these guys are all a part of the same brotherhood/industry. Surly the word was out there.

And someone mentioned 'who cares' about why DJ and BF left the band. From a GNR standpoint, I don't. I'm happier than a pig in mud with this reunion. Dream come true. But for people who were trying to figure out why things were the way they were with nuGNR last year, with DJ and BF leaving and Tommy pretty much doing the same... I mean, the reunion explains it all.

I don't buy BF leaving because of a lack of activity. He was getting a paycheck... and a damn good one. Arguably, all the guys in nuGNR couldn't do better on their own. Bumble to this day plays a heavy GNR set at his solo gigs. They were milking GNR for all it was worth and although maybe they wanted to leave their mark with new music, as long as that paycheck was steady that's all that really mattered.

I think Bumble never officially said anything either way because he knew GNR was putting food on the table and if Axl called, he'd be back in the fold in no time. I STILL think that's the case.

My hat is off to DJ. He obviously saw the reunion on the horizon and instead of being a drama queen like BF, he gracefully stepped aside. I was NEVER a big fan of DJ's, but now it seems he at least has dignity.

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Everyone who I would trust at both this forum and other forums made it clear that Ron and DJ left entirely of their own desire, and were in no way doing it to "avoid the inevitable" or "make way for a GN'R reunion." Ron pissed and moaned about the lack of activity from Guns N' Roses since 2010, and really started ramping it up and bad mouthing the band's decision (i.e. playing private gigs) in 2012. In 2013, he flat out stated that if the situation forced him to choose between Guns N' Roses and his solo career, the solo career wins. Clearly, the lack of definite plans and the fact that Axl did not seem to want to work with Ron-penned songs drove him to choose the solo career path. Luckily, Ron was not the type of guy to leave the band belly-up and chose to finish up touring through 2014.

All signs pointed that DJ was still fully invovled with GN'R, but when it came to choose between Sixx A.M. - who had two albums and a tour coming up in the wake of Crue ending - and Guns N' Roses - who had no definite plans following the final Las Vegas residency - DJ chose Sixx A.M. despite all his assurances that he "had Axl's back." He chose money - pure and simple. Any grandstanding he does that he stepped aside to let the old members back in remains him sucking up to the media; probably because he knows Axl would never set the record straight.

My guess would be the relationship between Axl and Slash started to thaw with the agreement to sign off on Appetite for Democracy, and things got even better when Perla (who everyone pretty much describes as a svengali) left the picture. As downzy said, when faced with the choice of hiring two brand new unknown guitarists (which would mean then having two of three guitar players who had NO relationship to Chinese Democracy-era music) or just calling it a day and getting back with Duff (who was already cool with Axl) and Slash (who seemed in a better place with Axl and has been so desperate to get back in the band that he would probably agree to just about any terms) Axl chose the easier and - frankly - more sensible option.

downzy:

Out of pure personal curiosity, what is the current relationship between Axl and DJ? Do they communicate at all? Does Axl feel betrayed and pissed at DJ the way he did when Izzy left the band in 1991 or Slash later down the road? Or is it more like Robin, where Axl is willing to just move down the line and, perhaps someday, meet up with DJ again? It seems like Axl and DJ got pretty close and DJ took over the "right hand man" function, so I cannot imagine Axl took his abandonment lightly. From what I've heard, Axl really dug Robin as a musician and friend, but Robin always kept a distance of sorts from the other band members so it was not as huge a blow when he jumped ship to Nine Inch Nails.

Great post.

As for your question, I have no idea. Like I said, I came into some information in July of last year that gave me a pretty good idea of what the game plan was for 2016. Obviously things have changed and my ability to get more information ended when all contacts stopped returning our questions. I completely understand the lack of communication considering the nature of what we now know was going on behind the scene with respect to Axl and Slash and a possible reunion. The last I heard was that DJ quit early to mid July and the news was met by Axl with disappointment and surprise. I have no idea whether they are still amicable or whether they still talk (I'd have a hard time believing they do, but again, that's just a guess). If I had to guess, DJ left for the reasons you stated and perhaps also felt as though his music contributions weren't be considered by Axl as much as DJ would have liked.

Alpachiris is the guy who runs that forum. I think he goes by GNRLA on here. They have very good ties with Bumblefoot over the years and always meet up with him when they go to South America.

I do not believe at all...that in 2 months they got this reunion set up, just counting the amount of time needed for the legal contracts and compromise to clear out of the way.

TB can say one thing today...and turn it around tomorrow...just like the Kimmel booking...."oh no no...it was not booked no no"

Well, why do you think the Kimmel booking fell through? Probably because there's still details that have yet to be confirmed. As Trunk argued in his blog post yesterday, they're likely still finalizing legal matters. Perhaps they were optimistic that everything would be sorted by Jan 5th to allow Axl to be a guest on Kimmel, but maybe it didn't pan out.

We also have members of the staff who have good ties and at no point did Ron tell any of them that he quit because he knew a reunion was going to happen.

I believe its been on for a while, the timing of Duff coming back the wheels where set in motion.

I don't disagree that there have been forces behind the reunion, but I firmly believe that Axl did not indulge in the idea until August of last year, or soon after he found out that he'd have to replace not one but two guitarists. Perhaps people associated with Slash and Duff were working towards this goal, but I don't think anyone with or in GNR was seriously considering it until this past summer.

So...they did in 4 months what they couldn't do in 20 years? Not buying it.

Lets see if someday the truth comes out from the horses mouth.

It was never attempted in the last 20 years. You're right, it's surprising they could pull this together (though, I still don't think everything has been finalized), but you're conflating the matter. Perhaps once Axl gave his permission to explore the possibility with Slash efforts were made to have everything settled to land the Coachella payday. Who knows. All I know with certainty was that as of July 2015, Axl's primary concern was releasing a new album with the band he thought he had.

Weiland said that contracts was on the table ready to sing while he was in VR. Also latter we learn that Slash presented some VR hits to GNR, and he was supposed to contribute in a couple of songs on CD.

Also, the GNRLA mod said that was TB who was after the reunion, not Axl.

Do you ppl remember the 2010 Duff incident at the hotel?

Bada bing!

Spot on...

TB controls Axl.

Don't know about that, especially in the medication issue(i don't see nothing wrong with Axl) but one thing is for sure. TB has accomplished a lot of things that were unthinkable.

Edited by Russel Nash
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In Duff's book he says Del tried to stop him from seeing Axl when he knocked on his hotel door in London in 2010, but Axl heard his voice and told him to come in. I really doubt the TB camp wanted the reunion to happen, this is Axl's choice after being ditched by yet another guitarist. Playing with Duff again while Stinson was playing with The Replacements at Coachella probably started Axl thinking about the old days again but even in the Revolver interview he says he was happier with his new band (and the "new Duff") than playing during the UYI days.

Todd Kerns' "knowing about this for a while" could just mean since July/August 2015, doesn't have to be longer.

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Well From what I see, Ashba and Ron din't know about the reunion, They moved on to make music, they were not confident that Axl will actually release music in 2016.

A Question for Downzy, You have been saying that an album is in the works and you have your sources etc etc, IF that was the case then why Ashba quit? his main reason was that GNR was not moving forward. Be honest, did that friend of yours tell you that Ashba is going to quit?

You say that after august, this forum had all its ties disconnected with the management, can you elaborate on that? So that guy who were in contact with said he won't talk to you? and now since the past 2 weeks he is talking to you?

Again, when it comes to gauging people's motivations for why they acted, most of what I say is based on my extrapolation of what little I know. And as I said in a previous post, i surmise that DJ felt his musical contributions were given greater consideration with Sixx AM than they were in GNR, and he decided to go with the outfit that allowed him to be more involved in that area.

I never said that all ties were disconnected with management. I said that our questions went unanswered from our sources until very recently. As for who are sources are, that I will never clarify as we promise anonymity for anyone who shares information that we're allowed to share.

Im not interested to know your "Sources". But did that person tell you that Ashba was going to quit? Did you know from beforehand?

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Ron knew it was on the cards 100%.

You must to be nuts to quit GNR unless you are going to rejoin NIN or if you are some iconic guitar player like Slash.

I think some they knew that there was no room for them in the future. Look at all the interviews DJ has done since he left. He's marching to the shadows again.

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Everyone who I would trust at both this forum and other forums made it clear that Ron and DJ left entirely of their own desire, and were in no way doing it to "avoid the inevitable" or "make way for a GN'R reunion." Ron pissed and moaned about the lack of activity from Guns N' Roses since 2010, and really started ramping it up and bad mouthing the band's decision (i.e. playing private gigs) in 2012. In 2013, he flat out stated that if the situation forced him to choose between Guns N' Roses and his solo career, the solo career wins. Clearly, the lack of definite plans and the fact that Axl did not seem to want to work with Ron-penned songs drove him to choose the solo career path. Luckily, Ron was not the type of guy to leave the band belly-up and chose to finish up touring through 2014.

All signs pointed that DJ was still fully invovled with GN'R, but when it came to choose between Sixx A.M. - who had two albums and a tour coming up in the wake of Crue ending - and Guns N' Roses - who had no definite plans following the final Las Vegas residency - DJ chose Sixx A.M. despite all his assurances that he "had Axl's back." He chose money - pure and simple. Any grandstanding he does that he stepped aside to let the old members back in remains him sucking up to the media; probably because he knows Axl would never set the record straight.

My guess would be the relationship between Axl and Slash started to thaw with the agreement to sign off on Appetite for Democracy, and things got even better when Perla (who everyone pretty much describes as a svengali) left the picture. As downzy said, when faced with the choice of hiring two brand new unknown guitarists (which would mean then having two of three guitar players who had NO relationship to Chinese Democracy-era music) or just calling it a day and getting back with Duff (who was already cool with Axl) and Slash (who seemed in a better place with Axl and has been so desperate to get back in the band that he would probably agree to just about any terms) Axl chose the easier and - frankly - more sensible option.

downzy:

Out of pure personal curiosity, what is the current relationship between Axl and DJ? Do they communicate at all? Does Axl feel betrayed and pissed at DJ the way he did when Izzy left the band in 1991 or Slash later down the road? Or is it more like Robin, where Axl is willing to just move down the line and, perhaps someday, meet up with DJ again? It seems like Axl and DJ got pretty close and DJ took over the "right hand man" function, so I cannot imagine Axl took his abandonment lightly. From what I've heard, Axl really dug Robin as a musician and friend, but Robin always kept a distance of sorts from the other band members so it was not as huge a blow when he jumped ship to Nine Inch Nails.

Great post.

As for your question, I have no idea. Like I said, I came into some information in July of last year that gave me a pretty good idea of what the game plan was for 2016. Obviously things have changed and my ability to get more information ended when all contacts stopped returning our questions. I completely understand the lack of communication considering the nature of what we now know was going on behind the scene with respect to Axl and Slash and a possible reunion. The last I heard was that DJ quit early to mid July and the news was met by Axl with disappointment and surprise. I have no idea whether they are still amicable or whether they still talk (I'd have a hard time believing they do, but again, that's just a guess). If I had to guess, DJ left for the reasons you stated and perhaps also felt as though his music contributions weren't be considered by Axl as much as DJ would have liked.

Alpachiris is the guy who runs that forum. I think he goes by GNRLA on here. They have very good ties with Bumblefoot over the years and always meet up with him when they go to South America.

I do not believe at all...that in 2 months they got this reunion set up, just counting the amount of time needed for the legal contracts and compromise to clear out of the way.

TB can say one thing today...and turn it around tomorrow...just like the Kimmel booking...."oh no no...it was not booked no no"

Well, why do you think the Kimmel booking fell through? Probably because there's still details that have yet to be confirmed. As Trunk argued in his blog post yesterday, they're likely still finalizing legal matters. Perhaps they were optimistic that everything would be sorted by Jan 5th to allow Axl to be a guest on Kimmel, but maybe it didn't pan out.

We also have members of the staff who have good ties and at no point did Ron tell any of them that he quit because he knew a reunion was going to happen.

I believe its been on for a while, the timing of Duff coming back the wheels where set in motion.

I don't disagree that there have been forces behind the reunion, but I firmly believe that Axl did not indulge in the idea until August of last year, or soon after he found out that he'd have to replace not one but two guitarists. Perhaps people associated with Slash and Duff were working towards this goal, but I don't think anyone with or in GNR was seriously considering it until this past summer.

So...they did in 4 months what they couldn't do in 20 years? Not buying it.

Lets see if someday the truth comes out from the horses mouth.

It was never attempted in the last 20 years. You're right, it's surprising they could pull this together (though, I still don't think everything has been finalized), but you're conflating the matter. Perhaps once Axl gave his permission to explore the possibility with Slash efforts were made to have everything settled to land the Coachella payday. Who knows. All I know with certainty was that as of July 2015, Axl's primary concern was releasing a new album with the band he thought he had.

Weiland said that contracts was on the table ready to sing while he was in VR. Also latter we learn that Slash presented some VR hits to GNR, and he was supposed to contribute in a couple of songs on CD.

Also, the GNRLA mod said that was TB who was after the reunion, not Axl.

Do you ppl remember the 2010 Duff incident at the hotel?

Contracts may have been written up, but were they written at the request of Axl or anyone connected with GNR? I highly doubt it.

It's my understanding that the guitar parts for the song Fall to Pieces was created by Slash way back in the mid 90s with the idea of being a GNR song. I've never heard anything that any of Slash's compositions were presented to Axl post 1996.

There were reports in the early to mid 2000s that suggested that Axl was open to Slash contributing to a couple of songs. But it was also reported that such an opening slammed shut after Slash's autobiography came out.

I have a hard time believing that TB was pushing a reunion, but I could be wrong.

I've read that Duff's "accidental" run in with Axl in London wasn't as accidental as it was made to appear (to both fans and Axl). But again, who really knows the truth at this point.

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Well From what I see, Ashba and Ron din't know about the reunion, They moved on to make music, they were not confident that Axl will actually release music in 2016.

I don't buy this, at all. If Todd Kerns (Miles Kennedy and the Conspirators) knew this was in the works for a 'long time', don't you think everyone in nuGNR did too? Even if Axl was more tight lipped than Slash with his band, these guys are all a part of the same brotherhood/industry. Surly the word was out there.

And someone mentioned 'who cares' about why DJ and BF left the band. From a GNR standpoint, I don't. I'm happier than a pig in mud with this reunion. Dream come true. But for people who were trying to figure out why things were the way they were with nuGNR last year, with DJ and BF leaving and Tommy pretty much doing the same... I mean, the reunion explains it all.

I don't buy BF leaving because of a lack of activity. He was getting a paycheck... and a damn good one. Arguably, all the guys in nuGNR couldn't do better on their own. Bumble to this day plays a heavy GNR set at his solo gigs. They were milking GNR for all it was worth and although maybe they wanted to leave their mark with new music, as long as that paycheck was steady that's all that really mattered.

I think Bumble never officially said anything either way because he knew GNR was putting food on the table and if Axl called, he'd be back in the fold in no time. I STILL think that's the case.

My hat is off to DJ. He obviously saw the reunion on the horizon and instead of being a drama queen like BF, he gracefully stepped aside. I was NEVER a big fan of DJ's, but now it seems he at least has dignity.

I don't know why fans think DJ's departure was so classy. He was basically saving face. He knew he'd be out on his ear when the reunion came around and wanted to make it look as if he decided to leave rather than being pushed to one side. That handwritten open letter he put out was farcical. Do you really think Axl would've held off on the reunion because of DJ fucking Ashba? Seriously? I don't believe for one second that DJ "bowed out" to make way for the reunion, I think he was told by TB that his services were no longer needed and then pretended that he'd made the decision to leave the band.

Ron may have been tight-lipped about his status in the band, but that's because he was leaving his options open. At least he didn't try and make it out to be something it wasn't like DJ did.

Edited by Towelie
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In Duff's book he says Del tried to stop him from seeing Axl when he knocked on his hotel door in London in 2010, but Axl heard his voice and told him to come in. I really doubt the TB camp wanted the reunion to happen, this is Axl's choice after being ditched by yet another guitarist. Playing with Duff again while Stinson was playing with The Replacements at Coachella probably started Axl thinking about the old days again but even in the Revolver interview he says he was happier with his new band (and the "new Duff") than playing during the UYI days.

Todd Kerns' "knowing about this for a while" could just mean since July/August 2015, doesn't have to be longer.

I guess Marc was right when he said things are cool after Del wished Slash happy birthday.

Del din't even let enter Steven back in 2006, Marc was the one who talked with Axl and then Axl allowed Steven. Similar thing with Duff as you mentioned.

So by the look of it, this thing has been going on since July or so.

I guess even Tommy din't know about this. He said he will be there whenever he gets the call. But well thats not going to happen now lol

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Everyone who I would trust at both this forum and other forums made it clear that Ron and DJ left entirely of their own desire, and were in no way doing it to "avoid the inevitable" or "make way for a GN'R reunion." Ron pissed and moaned about the lack of activity from Guns N' Roses since 2010, and really started ramping it up and bad mouthing the band's decision (i.e. playing private gigs) in 2012. In 2013, he flat out stated that if the situation forced him to choose between Guns N' Roses and his solo career, the solo career wins. Clearly, the lack of definite plans and the fact that Axl did not seem to want to work with Ron-penned songs drove him to choose the solo career path. Luckily, Ron was not the type of guy to leave the band belly-up and chose to finish up touring through 2014.

All signs pointed that DJ was still fully invovled with GN'R, but when it came to choose between Sixx A.M. - who had two albums and a tour coming up in the wake of Crue ending - and Guns N' Roses - who had no definite plans following the final Las Vegas residency - DJ chose Sixx A.M. despite all his assurances that he "had Axl's back." He chose money - pure and simple. Any grandstanding he does that he stepped aside to let the old members back in remains him sucking up to the media; probably because he knows Axl would never set the record straight.

My guess would be the relationship between Axl and Slash started to thaw with the agreement to sign off on Appetite for Democracy, and things got even better when Perla (who everyone pretty much describes as a svengali) left the picture. As downzy said, when faced with the choice of hiring two brand new unknown guitarists (which would mean then having two of three guitar players who had NO relationship to Chinese Democracy-era music) or just calling it a day and getting back with Duff (who was already cool with Axl) and Slash (who seemed in a better place with Axl and has been so desperate to get back in the band that he would probably agree to just about any terms) Axl chose the easier and - frankly - more sensible option.

downzy:

Out of pure personal curiosity, what is the current relationship between Axl and DJ? Do they communicate at all? Does Axl feel betrayed and pissed at DJ the way he did when Izzy left the band in 1991 or Slash later down the road? Or is it more like Robin, where Axl is willing to just move down the line and, perhaps someday, meet up with DJ again? It seems like Axl and DJ got pretty close and DJ took over the "right hand man" function, so I cannot imagine Axl took his abandonment lightly. From what I've heard, Axl really dug Robin as a musician and friend, but Robin always kept a distance of sorts from the other band members so it was not as huge a blow when he jumped ship to Nine Inch Nails.

Great post.

As for your question, I have no idea. Like I said, I came into some information in July of last year that gave me a pretty good idea of what the game plan was for 2016. Obviously things have changed and my ability to get more information ended when all contacts stopped returning our questions. I completely understand the lack of communication considering the nature of what we now know was going on behind the scene with respect to Axl and Slash and a possible reunion. The last I heard was that DJ quit early to mid July and the news was met by Axl with disappointment and surprise. I have no idea whether they are still amicable or whether they still talk (I'd have a hard time believing they do, but again, that's just a guess). If I had to guess, DJ left for the reasons you stated and perhaps also felt as though his music contributions weren't be considered by Axl as much as DJ would have liked.

Alpachiris is the guy who runs that forum. I think he goes by GNRLA on here. They have very good ties with Bumblefoot over the years and always meet up with him when they go to South America.

I do not believe at all...that in 2 months they got this reunion set up, just counting the amount of time needed for the legal contracts and compromise to clear out of the way.

TB can say one thing today...and turn it around tomorrow...just like the Kimmel booking...."oh no no...it was not booked no no"

Well, why do you think the Kimmel booking fell through? Probably because there's still details that have yet to be confirmed. As Trunk argued in his blog post yesterday, they're likely still finalizing legal matters. Perhaps they were optimistic that everything would be sorted by Jan 5th to allow Axl to be a guest on Kimmel, but maybe it didn't pan out.

We also have members of the staff who have good ties and at no point did Ron tell any of them that he quit because he knew a reunion was going to happen.

I believe its been on for a while, the timing of Duff coming back the wheels where set in motion.

I don't disagree that there have been forces behind the reunion, but I firmly believe that Axl did not indulge in the idea until August of last year, or soon after he found out that he'd have to replace not one but two guitarists. Perhaps people associated with Slash and Duff were working towards this goal, but I don't think anyone with or in GNR was seriously considering it until this past summer.

So...they did in 4 months what they couldn't do in 20 years? Not buying it.

Lets see if someday the truth comes out from the horses mouth.

It was never attempted in the last 20 years. You're right, it's surprising they could pull this together (though, I still don't think everything has been finalized), but you're conflating the matter. Perhaps once Axl gave his permission to explore the possibility with Slash efforts were made to have everything settled to land the Coachella payday. Who knows. All I know with certainty was that as of July 2015, Axl's primary concern was releasing a new album with the band he thought he had.

Weiland said that contracts was on the table ready to sing while he was in VR. Also latter we learn that Slash presented some VR hits to GNR, and he was supposed to contribute in a couple of songs on CD.

Also, the GNRLA mod said that was TB who was after the reunion, not Axl.

Do you ppl remember the 2010 Duff incident at the hotel?

Contracts may have been written up, but were they written at the request of Axl or anyone connected with GNR? I highly doubt it.

It's my understanding that the guitar parts for the song Fall to Pieces was created by Slash way back in the mid 90s with the idea of being a GNR song. I've never heard anything that any of Slash's compositions were presented to Axl post 1996.

There were reports in the early to mid 2000s that suggested that Axl was open to Slash contributing to a couple of songs. But it was also reported that such an opening slammed shut after Slash's autobiography came out.

I have a hard time believing that TB was pushing a reunion, but I could be wrong.

I've read that Duff's "accidental" run in with Axl in London wasn't as accidental as it was made to appear (to both fans and Axl). But again, who really knows the truth at this point.

I heard the same. Not accidental at all, at least for Duff and TB.

See, everyone is mocking TB cos they think they are better at cleaning toilets or something. They don't realize that got a lot of things done, impossible to other big names in the industry and managements. Fuck, they got Slash back after Appetite for Democracy... that's big big in my books.

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Everyone who I would trust at both this forum and other forums made it clear that Ron and DJ left entirely of their own desire, and were in no way doing it to "avoid the inevitable" or "make way for a GN'R reunion." Ron pissed and moaned about the lack of activity from Guns N' Roses since 2010, and really started ramping it up and bad mouthing the band's decision (i.e. playing private gigs) in 2012. In 2013, he flat out stated that if the situation forced him to choose between Guns N' Roses and his solo career, the solo career wins. Clearly, the lack of definite plans and the fact that Axl did not seem to want to work with Ron-penned songs drove him to choose the solo career path. Luckily, Ron was not the type of guy to leave the band belly-up and chose to finish up touring through 2014.

All signs pointed that DJ was still fully invovled with GN'R, but when it came to choose between Sixx A.M. - who had two albums and a tour coming up in the wake of Crue ending - and Guns N' Roses - who had no definite plans following the final Las Vegas residency - DJ chose Sixx A.M. despite all his assurances that he "had Axl's back." He chose money - pure and simple. Any grandstanding he does that he stepped aside to let the old members back in remains him sucking up to the media; probably because he knows Axl would never set the record straight.

My guess would be the relationship between Axl and Slash started to thaw with the agreement to sign off on Appetite for Democracy, and things got even better when Perla (who everyone pretty much describes as a svengali) left the picture. As downzy said, when faced with the choice of hiring two brand new unknown guitarists (which would mean then having two of three guitar players who had NO relationship to Chinese Democracy-era music) or just calling it a day and getting back with Duff (who was already cool with Axl) and Slash (who seemed in a better place with Axl and has been so desperate to get back in the band that he would probably agree to just about any terms) Axl chose the easier and - frankly - more sensible option.

downzy:

Out of pure personal curiosity, what is the current relationship between Axl and DJ? Do they communicate at all? Does Axl feel betrayed and pissed at DJ the way he did when Izzy left the band in 1991 or Slash later down the road? Or is it more like Robin, where Axl is willing to just move down the line and, perhaps someday, meet up with DJ again? It seems like Axl and DJ got pretty close and DJ took over the "right hand man" function, so I cannot imagine Axl took his abandonment lightly. From what I've heard, Axl really dug Robin as a musician and friend, but Robin always kept a distance of sorts from the other band members so it was not as huge a blow when he jumped ship to Nine Inch Nails.

Great post.

As for your question, I have no idea. Like I said, I came into some information in July of last year that gave me a pretty good idea of what the game plan was for 2016. Obviously things have changed and my ability to get more information ended when all contacts stopped returning our questions. I completely understand the lack of communication considering the nature of what we now know was going on behind the scene with respect to Axl and Slash and a possible reunion. The last I heard was that DJ quit early to mid July and the news was met by Axl with disappointment and surprise. I have no idea whether they are still amicable or whether they still talk (I'd have a hard time believing they do, but again, that's just a guess). If I had to guess, DJ left for the reasons you stated and perhaps also felt as though his music contributions weren't be considered by Axl as much as DJ would have liked.

Alpachiris is the guy who runs that forum. I think he goes by GNRLA on here. They have very good ties with Bumblefoot over the years and always meet up with him when they go to South America.

I do not believe at all...that in 2 months they got this reunion set up, just counting the amount of time needed for the legal contracts and compromise to clear out of the way.

TB can say one thing today...and turn it around tomorrow...just like the Kimmel booking...."oh no no...it was not booked no no"

Well, why do you think the Kimmel booking fell through? Probably because there's still details that have yet to be confirmed. As Trunk argued in his blog post yesterday, they're likely still finalizing legal matters. Perhaps they were optimistic that everything would be sorted by Jan 5th to allow Axl to be a guest on Kimmel, but maybe it didn't pan out.

We also have members of the staff who have good ties and at no point did Ron tell any of them that he quit because he knew a reunion was going to happen.

I believe its been on for a while, the timing of Duff coming back the wheels where set in motion.

I don't disagree that there have been forces behind the reunion, but I firmly believe that Axl did not indulge in the idea until August of last year, or soon after he found out that he'd have to replace not one but two guitarists. Perhaps people associated with Slash and Duff were working towards this goal, but I don't think anyone with or in GNR was seriously considering it until this past summer.

So...they did in 4 months what they couldn't do in 20 years? Not buying it.

Lets see if someday the truth comes out from the horses mouth.

It was never attempted in the last 20 years. You're right, it's surprising they could pull this together (though, I still don't think everything has been finalized), but you're conflating the matter. Perhaps once Axl gave his permission to explore the possibility with Slash efforts were made to have everything settled to land the Coachella payday. Who knows. All I know with certainty was that as of July 2015, Axl's primary concern was releasing a new album with the band he thought he had.

Weiland said that contracts was on the table ready to sing while he was in VR. Also latter we learn that Slash presented some VR hits to GNR, and he was supposed to contribute in a couple of songs on CD.

Also, the GNRLA mod said that was TB who was after the reunion, not Axl.

Do you ppl remember the 2010 Duff incident at the hotel?

Contracts may have been written up, but were they written at the request of Axl or anyone connected with GNR? I highly doubt it.

It's my understanding that the guitar parts for the song Fall to Pieces was created by Slash way back in the mid 90s with the idea of being a GNR song. I've never heard anything that any of Slash's compositions were presented to Axl post 1996.

There were reports in the early to mid 2000s that suggested that Axl was open to Slash contributing to a couple of songs. But it was also reported that such an opening slammed shut after Slash's autobiography came out.

I have a hard time believing that TB was pushing a reunion, but I could be wrong.

I've read that Duff's "accidental" run in with Axl in London wasn't as accidental as it was made to appear (to both fans and Axl). But again, who really knows the truth at this point.

I heard the same. Not accidental at all, at least for Duff and TB.

See, everyone is mocking TB cos they think they are better at cleaning toilets or something. They don't realize that got a lot of things done, impossible to other big names in the industry and managements. Fuck, they got Slash back after Appetite for Democracy... that's big big in my books.

It was accidental, how do you think it was not accidental? like what could have happened? Fernando called Duff and said Axl is living at this hotel and stay there?

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I heard the same. Not accidental at all, at least for Duff and TB.

See, everyone is mocking TB cos they think they are better at cleaning toilets or something. They don't realize that got a lot of things done, impossible to other big names in the industry and managements. Fuck, they got Slash back after Appetite for Democracy... that's big big in my books.

It was accidental, how do you think it was not accidental? like what could have happened? Fernando called Duff and said Axl is living at this hotel and stay there?

Common, you are on the same boat that thinks Axl have a netnanny on his laptop, a "secure" access to internet.

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I heard the same. Not accidental at all, at least for Duff and TB.

See, everyone is mocking TB cos they think they are better at cleaning toilets or something. They don't realize that got a lot of things done, impossible to other big names in the industry and managements. Fuck, they got Slash back after Appetite for Democracy... that's big big in my books.

It was accidental, how do you think it was not accidental? like what could have happened? Fernando called Duff and said Axl is living at this hotel and stay there?

Common, you are on the same boat that thinks Axl have a netnanny on his laptop, a "secure" access to internet.

ok you tell me how it was not accidental?

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I heard the same. Not accidental at all, at least for Duff and TB.

See, everyone is mocking TB cos they think they are better at cleaning toilets or something. They don't realize that got a lot of things done, impossible to other big names in the industry and managements. Fuck, they got Slash back after Appetite for Democracy... that's big big in my books.

It was accidental, how do you think it was not accidental? like what could have happened? Fernando called Duff and said Axl is living at this hotel and stay there?

Common, you are on the same boat that thinks Axl have a netnanny on his laptop, a "secure" access to internet.

ok you tell me how it was not accidental?

why? im just a regular guy in a GNR message board.

Use you imagination.

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I heard the same. Not accidental at all, at least for Duff and TB.

See, everyone is mocking TB cos they think they are better at cleaning toilets or something. They don't realize that got a lot of things done, impossible to other big names in the industry and managements. Fuck, they got Slash back after Appetite for Democracy... that's big big in my books.

It was accidental, how do you think it was not accidental? like what could have happened? Fernando called Duff and said Axl is living at this hotel and stay there?

Common, you are on the same boat that thinks Axl have a netnanny on his laptop, a "secure" access to internet.

ok you tell me how it was not accidental?

why? im just a regular guy in a GNR message board.

Use you imagination.

You are the one who said it was not accidental, so use your illusion and tell me what could have happened?

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Well From what I see, Ashba and Ron din't know about the reunion, They moved on to make music, they were not confident that Axl will actually release music in 2016.

I don't buy this, at all. If Todd Kerns (Miles Kennedy and the Conspirators) knew this was in the works for a 'long time', don't you think everyone in nuGNR did too? Even if Axl was more tight lipped than Slash with his band, these guys are all a part of the same brotherhood/industry. Surly the word was out there.

And someone mentioned 'who cares' about why DJ and BF left the band. From a GNR standpoint, I don't. I'm happier than a pig in mud with this reunion. Dream come true. But for people who were trying to figure out why things were the way they were with nuGNR last year, with DJ and BF leaving and Tommy pretty much doing the same... I mean, the reunion explains it all.

I don't buy BF leaving because of a lack of activity. He was getting a paycheck... and a damn good one. Arguably, all the guys in nuGNR couldn't do better on their own. Bumble to this day plays a heavy GNR set at his solo gigs. They were milking GNR for all it was worth and although maybe they wanted to leave their mark with new music, as long as that paycheck was steady that's all that really mattered.

I think Bumble never officially said anything either way because he knew GNR was putting food on the table and if Axl called, he'd be back in the fold in no time. I STILL think that's the case.

My hat is off to DJ. He obviously saw the reunion on the horizon and instead of being a drama queen like BF, he gracefully stepped aside. I was NEVER a big fan of DJ's, but now it seems he at least has dignity.

I don't know why fans think DJ's departure was so classy. He was basically saving face. He knew he'd be out on his ear when the reunion came around and wanted to make it look as if he decided to leave rather than being pushed to one side. That handwritten open letter he put out was farcical. Do you really think Axl would've held off on the reunion because of DJ fucking Ashba? Seriously? I don't believe for one second that DJ "bowed out" to make way for the reunion, I think he was told by TB that his services were no longer needed and then pretended that he'd made the decision to leave the band.

Ron may have been tight-lipped about his status in the band, but that's because he was leaving his options open. At least he didn't try and make it out to be something it wasn't like DJ did.

I wouldn't say it was classy. But at least was straight forward. Something very rare in the GNR world.

Yeah, bumble was keeping his options, and being evasive as fuck.

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OK, rereading the relevant part in Duff's book, it wasn't Del at Axl's door, and while he didn't initially know about the gig, Axl's management called him when they found out he was in the hotel:

I remember reading this, thanks for taking out the time to post it, it was a good read.

Edited by Slash787
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From MSL, who I believe does have a source within or close to the band, and he is typically pretty reliable with his information.

He says that DJ quit because Nikki basically gave him an ultimatum. Sixx AM had two albums a world tour planned. GnR was - of course - still waiting on the follow up to CD from 2008.

So DJ had to choose - guaranteed albums/tour with Sixx AM, where he would also be guaranteed creative input on the albums. Or stay with GnR and hope that someday Axl decided to record and release music again.

DJ took the sure thing. And bowed out of GnR. I can't stand the guy, but I think his resignation letter was very sincere and he wasn't grandstanding at all.

MSL also said that Duff and Slash have been "begging" to return to GnR for years and years.

So when DJ quit and GnR needed two guitar players and a bass player.....that begging paid off. Axl had two spots to fill. Duff and Slash were the easy and logical choice.

That's why it isn't a full scale reunion. Just Axl reloading the band with a couple all stars.

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I don't think anyone gives a flying rats fuck to be honest. Not being rude, i quite like Bumble (Ashba was a total quim tho!), just stating facts, most GnR fans would not object to most of the members of NuGuns being rounded up and shot in the streets by firing squad if it meant some semblence of a reunion, which is apparently what we have here.

Yeah, I don't think "most GNR fans" are that psychotic.

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I keep reading posts about lots of speculation about why DJ and BF left the band when they did in multiple threads for the last few months. It baffles my mind how so many people don't see the connection between the reunion and their departures.

My theory is, Slash and Axl have been friendly for some time now. Maybe going back as far as 2014. No question their relationship was cordial by summer 2015. Surly the guys in 'nuGNR' were privy to this and saw the writing on the wall (that a reunion was inevitable at that point). I believe DJ bowed out gracefully, making the decision for Axl to work with Slash again in GNR all the more easier. I also believe that Bumble was so cryptic about everything because, although he suspected a potential reunion, he wanted to leave the door open in the event it didn't actually happen or GNR decided to retain 3 guitarists (Fortus, Slash, Bumble... for example). I can't blame the guy, either. GNR was a good paycheck for them and with Slash on board, an even bigger payday would be in play for them.

What do you think? Did DJ and Bumble leave on their own accord not knowing about a reunion (IE- tired of GNR inactivity and lack of releasing new material)? Or do you believe they saw a reunion coming and stepped aside?

If it's the latter... I commend DJ for bowing out like he did, stepping aside so something bigger than him could take place. And find it a little crappy on Bumble's part... leaving everyone guessing and milking the GNR name. Last time I checked, DJ wasn't playing gig's full of GNR songs that he didn't write. BF really has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Eddie Trunk said the idea of this was silly a few months back...but I never ruled it out.

I always suspected there was a little more to it than met the eye. Honestly, why would DJ quit? If GNR were to be inactive, he could've gone out on tour with Sixx AM and then come back if they needed him? Why turn down the opportunity for a potential paycheque? This again applies to Ron, which is why I suspect he has kept quiet.

And even at the time of DJ quitting, I gained a lot respect for him. Was never his biggest fan (but didn't exactly trash him like a lot of people here did ha!) but I actually thought it was pretty classy to be open and gracefully quit.

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