Do you REALLY believe this reunion was planned on a whim?

[Babooshka]

1 hour ago, Amir said:

I think there's a distinction between reconciliation between Axl and Slash and plans for the two to tour together again.

They're such an iconic duo, their professional and personal relationship tends to get muddied. Which is probably why they reconciled more privately, away from the glare and expectations. Just look, as soon as Slash announced they were talking, calls for the classic line-up reached new heights. Even now the idea of them reuniting as friends and bandmates, is being drowned out by the idea of a full GNR reunion. There is just more expectation that comes along with their relationship; more money, more interest, more everything. And I think they know this.

So how long their reunion has been in the works, none of us will know. What's happening now could have been planned as far back as 2006. When Lars blurted that a Slash in GNR would play Donnington/Download (?) with Metallica. Well now they play Coachella. So it could be the same plan that was first made for 2006, adapted a bit for 2016. Trunk did say the contracts have been lying there for ages, it's just a matter of Axl and Slash agreeing.

Maybe the better question is what happened to derail the reunion in 2006?

[wasted]

No one knows

[77Jesters]

Just when was that first 3 hour meeting?

 

[Gold top 78]

I think when axl decided to bring duff on tour in SA axl's thoughts might've been turning towards a reunion back then. I think plans between axl slash and duff would've been agreed early 2015 if not before then. Then it was a matter of sorting out legal side of things which I can imagine would've took a good few months. I get the impression that nothing was getting taken for granted and axl slash and duff just kept going ahead with their own schedules until terms could be agreed. 

Slash said at the end of the WOF tour in November that plans had changed so things must've only started going in motion then so it does seem rushed. I doubt the big 3 would have spoke to each other till probably just before the coachella announcement. 

[Chuzeville]

48 minutes ago, wasted said:

Hidden inthe branxhes of a poison cresote

Great song. Do you reckon Gn'R should cover it?

[Billsfan]

There is no question that the band had been planning to reunite since at least 2014. Axl knew in Vegas they were planning to reunite. Trunk said things were being put into motion in September of 2014, and like it or not he probably called it first. 

[shotsfired cro]

remember when Eddie Trunk first talked and Alan Niven said 'in 2 years...', well it was way before that, when was that 2013?

Matt posted UYI picture August 2014.

one thing nobody caught on that occured to me very long time, the lyric on Apocalyptic love - 'when your heroes talk to their enemies' and L came out 2012.

For all we know Slash and Axl maybe mend fences 4-5 years ago. After Duff first played with Axl, my guess within 6 months after that.

 

[Tom2112]

Slash and Duff have real management... People who are really good at their jobs, people who know how to deal with media, record labels and generally how to do the day to day without resulting in huge delays. 

6 months to put this together? Very, very doable. Old guns management are definitely involved though explaining the snail pace and secrecy... And any if the bad stuff. Slash and Duff management probably deserve the Pat on the back.

[action]

11 hours ago, Amir said:

I think there's a distinction between reconciliation between Axl and Slash and plans for the two to tour together again.

The reconciliation had to have happened in 2014 for them to sign off on each other's DVD releases, but I still don't think plans for Slash to rejoin GNR came into effect until some point in 2015, at least in Axl's mind. Whether people in his camp were negotiating it behind his back before then is another matter.

made in stoke DVD was released in 2011

that always struck me as "odd". In 2011, we hadn't seen too much official "GNR related" concerts released on video. but here it was, with all the familiar classics. i thought: hey these songs are owned by axl, who didnt even want GNR songs featured on guitar hero because it had a slash caricature on the front, and now slash is allowed to release this concert. the release, while forgettable as far as its content, very much hit my "reunion alert" radar.  i felt some strange vibrations then, that the cogs were slowly, very slowly starting to run again.

Edited March 4, 2016 by action

[Amir]

7 minutes ago, action said:

made in stoke DVD was released in 2011

that always struck me as "odd". In 2011, we hadn't seen too much official "GNR related" concerts released on video. but here it was, with all the familiar classics. i thought: hey these songs are owned by axl, who didnt even want GNR songs featured on guitar hero because it had a slash caricature on the front, and now slash is allowed to release this concert. the release, while forgettable as far as its content, very much hit my "reunion alert" radar.  i felt some strange vibrations then, that the cogs were slowly, very slowly starting to run again.

There were regional restrictions on the Made in Stoke DVD: the DVD bundled with the audio CD in the US only had non-GNR songs, but the UK Blu-Ray included video of them.

[action]

7 minutes ago, Amir said:

There were regional restrictions on the Made in Stoke DVD: the DVD bundled with the audio CD in the US only had non-GNR songs, but the UK Blu-Ray included video of them.

yes, i have the blu ray sitting in front of me, and it contains the following GNR songs:

- nightrain

- rocket Queen

- civil war

- patience

- sweet child o' mine

- mr brownstone

- paradise city

the appetite songs were credited as "guns n roses" in the ADF liner notes. Axl owns the name. i'm not an expert in these issues, but i figure if Axl needs to get legal agreement with slash on his appetite for democracy concert film, then the same goes more so for slash, releasing appetite songs which were credited as guns n roses.

the fact that there were regional restrictions is another odd thing. slash could release the GNR songs in the UK but not in the US. ok, someone, somewhere, sometime must have made an agreement on this and it HAD to involve axl.  i can see here the embryonical beginnings of some form of agreement between the two alumni.

Edited March 4, 2016 by action

[action]

made in stoke was released just 4 years after the slash bio was published. enough time for axl to read the book (which i'm sure he has done) and see slash's side of things.

the slash bio was a great opportunity for axl to read slash's version of the facts, without having to even face slash. curiosity must have gotten to him.

could the book have started it all? it's highly likely. theres a lot of explanation and self-relativism in slash's book.

[Billsfan]

26 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

Slash and Duff have real management... People who are really good at their jobs, people who know how to deal with media, record labels and generally how to do the day to day without resulting in huge delays. 

6 months to put this together? Very, very doable. Old guns management are definitely involved though explaining the snail pace and secrecy... And any if the bad stuff. Slash and Duff management probably deserve the Pat on the back.

Some people have a theory that axl is stubborn. Some people have a theory that he's even crazy. Weird huh?

You really think with those combined elements they could convince him overnight to just drop his beef with slash and reunite? Seems unlikely to me.. I still say they've been buds for a couple of years, they just knew if they revealed it that it would have buried slashs solo work and whatever axl had left for nuGNR 

[Amir]

The book almost certainly worsened things. Axl had the odd venomous rant or too during '01-'02, but even in '01 he told Canter he was open to Slash collaborating on the ChiDem project.

In Dec '08 chats:

Q: Did you already have a new lineup or a lineup change in mind at that time?

Axl: "I didn't see lineup changes, etc., back then — I saw it more as a crash and burn, goin' down with the ship. On one hand, I knew the band was over before we started touring 'Illusions' but you have hope… but I saw it more like the Titanic sinking than moving on or surviving. And in reality, I went the distance with each and every one in GUNS to where they felt for whatever reasons they either couldn't or wouldn't give what GUNS required. And I'm not talking change of styles or sounds etc. A lot of people bought that crap and me having gone in other directions seems to many to have verified that. Then you have the mind twisting equally as true horseshit in Slash's book, but I have the rehearsal tapes. There's nothing but Slash-based blues rock and he stopped it to both go solo and try to completely take over GUNS. I read all this 'if Axl would've put words and melodies on it could've…' That was denied and I didn't walk 'till several months after having 3-to-4-hour phone conversations nearly every day with Slash trying to reach a compromise. I was specifically told no lyrics, no melodies, no changes to anything and to sing what I was told or fuck off."

So I wouldn't say he was a fan of that book...

[action]

3 minutes ago, Amir said:

The book almost certainly worsened things. Axl had the odd venomous rant or too during '01-'02, but even in '01 he told Canter he was open to Slash collaborating on the ChiDem project.

In Dec '08 chats:

Q: Did you already have a new lineup or a lineup change in mind at that time?

Axl: "I didn't see lineup changes, etc., back then — I saw it more as a crash and burn, goin' down with the ship. On one hand, I knew the band was over before we started touring 'Illusions' but you have hope… but I saw it more like the Titanic sinking than moving on or surviving. And in reality, I went the distance with each and every one in GUNS to where they felt for whatever reasons they either couldn't or wouldn't give what GUNS required. And I'm not talking change of styles or sounds etc. A lot of people bought that crap and me having gone in other directions seems to many to have verified that. Then you have the mind twisting equally as true horseshit in Slash's book, but I have the rehearsal tapes. There's nothing but Slash-based blues rock and he stopped it to both go solo and try to completely take over GUNS. I read all this 'if Axl would've put words and melodies on it could've…' That was denied and I didn't walk 'till several months after having 3-to-4-hour phone conversations nearly every day with Slash trying to reach a compromise. I was specifically told no lyrics, no melodies, no changes to anything and to sing what I was told or fuck off."

So I wouldn't say he was a fan of that book...

lol, yeah i guess you're right on that part.

but Axl's opinions are like the wind; a mosquito farts in the amazon and a hurrican razes over texas. obviously he has changed his mind since then, and more obviously still it led to "some" form of communication between the two or their lawyers. made in stoke is blatant proof of that

[SSHGUNS]

7 minutes ago, action said:

made in stoke was released just 4 years after the slash bio was published. enough time for axl to read the book (which i'm sure he has done) and see slash's side of things.

the slash bio was a great opportunity for axl to read slash's version of the facts, without having to even face slash. curiosity must have gotten to him.

could the book have started it all? it's highly likely. theres a lot of explanation and self-relativism in slash's book.

He defo has read it or got someone to read it and write notes on some of the  chapters. He mentions the book below in the clip but who knows if that when it started. 

 

[Changes]

5 minutes ago, SSHGUNS said:

He defo has read it or got someone to read it and write notes on some of the  chapters. He mentions the book below in the clip but who knows if that when it started. 

 

Haha, the awkwardness when Axl starts joking about slash and you have no idea what comment is appropriate to follow up with 

[themadcaplaughs]

I would have to guess the idea started being discussed in earnest in 2014, and negotiations may have started around then. I remember, even in 2014, MSL saying the rest of the band were getting paranoid that Team Brazil was working on a reunion behind the (then) current band's back. DJ leaving probably put the final nail in the coffin. For what it's worth, I really do think Ashba's quitting was unexpected. 

[Tom2112]

43 minutes ago, Billsfan said:

Some people have a theory that axl is stubborn. Some people have a theory that he's even crazy. Weird huh?

You really think with those combined elements they could convince him overnight to just drop his beef with slash and reunite? Seems unlikely to me.. I still say they've been buds for a couple of years, they just knew if they revealed it that it would have buried slashs solo work and whatever axl had left for nuGNR 

Axl is stubborn, but I don't believe they were buds for too long. As recently as Slash's piers Morgan interview Slash said "he hates my guts" in 2013 Axl said not in this lifetime. I believe circumstances brought it back together quicker than you are ready to believe. 

Won't know for sure until they say otherwise though...if they say anything!

[Babooshka]

Yeah, the Morgan interview suggests things weren't really good until recently. Didn't Axl also respond with some harsh words?

Some things indicate there have been plans for a long time, other things suggest this has all developed fairly recent. Maybe it is just that. It's been an ongoing process, which means they were still estranged over some stuff, and in certain ways. But in other areas they were okay. Idk.

 

 

[ludurigan]

its not a reunion and its not GNR without izzy and adler

ok, give us izzy and you can call it a GNR reunion

[Billsfan]

3 hours ago, Tom2112 said:

Axl is stubborn, but I don't believe they were buds for too long. As recently as Slash's piers Morgan interview Slash said "he hates my guts" in 2013 Axl said not in this lifetime. I believe circumstances brought it back together quicker than you are ready to believe. 

Won't know for sure until they say otherwise though...if they say anything!

2012 but whose counting

Im just thinking it was well before July since they were signing off on each other's releases in 2014, plus by February of 2015 del James was tweeting/tagging slash in stuff and slash was tagging axl. I think the only facts we have there is that in early 2015 things were at least improving between the two. 

But ultimately your point stands. We can only speculate until they're ready to talk

[DownUnderScott]

No of course not - stupid fucking question. Something this big took a long time to plan. Its massive. It could last 5 minutes or 5 years - but Slash back in GnR - fucking wow!!!!!!'   :-)

[wasted]

23 hours ago, Chuzeville said:

Great song. Do you reckon Gn'R should cover it?

Nevermind by Leonard Cohen should be the new intro tape but they should cover Overnight Sensation by Motorhead. 

[stella]

This article also mentions that in May 2015 Slash alluded to the fact that he and Axl had ironed things out. http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6671188/slash-axl-rose-reconciliation

There were plenty of signs that things had thawed between the two of them well before the summer of 2015, as others have mentioned. If they were really trying to protect Slash's financial interests, it makes sense that they wouldn't have said it straight out before then, though.