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Was Steven Adler wrongly fired from GnR?


RONIN

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As per Steven, do you feel that the band ganged up and made an example of him to get his publishing and also because of the Erin/speedball incident where she apparently lied and blamed her overdose on him? Yes his drug abuse was heavy, but every member was out of control and Izzy was the first one who had the most serious problems. Slash was so bad he was called out at the rolling stone concerts. Was it simply because Steven had the bad luck of becoming a drug fiend as they were trying to get UYI done? In other words, Axl sat on his ass for two years and then when he finally decided he was ready to finish UYI, Steven was a mess and they wouldn't wait for him to get clean.

The theory is that Axl did not like popcorn because he was the only one who stood up to him and the final nudge came with the Erin incident and he basically orchestrated the firing. Then you have contrary evidence where Axl is the only band member who visited Steven in the hospital when he was injured/ill and he's also apparently the last person who voted to kick Steven out after the rest of the band had made up their minds. It makes logical sense to think that because Izzy, Duff and Slash would be dealing with Steven more regularly, they would be the ones who would be fed up with him first rather than Axl. Hard to see Izzy signing off on Adler getting kicked out -- Izzy is also nowhere in the picture around this time, it's mostly Axl, Duff, and Slash running the band.

Lastly, we have the key performance at Farm Aid where Steven claims he was set up to fail by the band who sprung Civil War and Down on the Farm at the last minute on him. It's unclear when watching this performance whether that's the case, but Axl seems particularly pissy and his vibes toward Steven don't look good.

According to Steven, the band dynamics had already fallen apart with Axl and Izzy off in their own worlds and his friendship with Slash deteriorating as Slash became tight with Duff. It seems like Duff and Slash pretty much alienated Steven towards the end even if you read some of the older press articles like the Chicago sessions where Adler is ditched by Duff and Slash even when they're partying. 

I don't know what the deal is as far as Steven's drumming on the Illusion tracks, the jury is out whether he could have pulled it off. I do love his drumming on Civil War -- it just sounds so much better than Sorum's drumming on UYI. If I had to describe it, Adler's drumming feels really wild and almost like it could fall of the rails at any minute and miss the beat -- there is something really unpredictable and edgy about it. There's more energy compared to Sorum's more powerful plodding drums.

Edited by RONIN
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That's a good set of questions Ronin. 

I drum and Steven's drumming is awesome to play. But the issue was more than who got along with who. If you were able to keep your shit together and play while drinking or shooting up, well, then you were all right. The problem is that drugs really took hold of Steven and his playing became off. There are stories of rehab, of the band members trying to be there, of issues with Axl's wife been put into a hospital by Adler drugs and other f/up stories. So the probabilities of what happened and how it all went down its really for them to say. But at the end i really think that it all boiled down to been able to play. If Steve  wasn't able to keep tempo and/or rythim while at the studio during the UYI years - live, well the shows would have been shit. One thing is playing guitar or bass when another instrument can cover you up. But singing or drumming, you fucking up and everyone will know. And they had planned this massive tour and having a loose ends may had fudge them up royally both legally and economically. Once they were rolling a decicion had to be made.

I don't dislike Sorum. He put his 5 cents and hold it very nicely during his tenure. He is an amazing drummer. He is behind finishing a few songs like November Rain and would love to see him back as well.

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17 hours ago, RONIN said:

Izzy's response to Kurt Loder about what Matt Sorum brings to the band is hilarious :lol: Fast forward 52 seconds. No way this guy voted out Steven.

 

Yeah Izzy is such a carefree guy I mean, I certainly don't think it was his idea. I really believe it was more of a Slash Duff and Mike Clink idea since they spent most of their time in the studio with him. 

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I don't know.. In retrospect if I knew then what I know now... It was a little hipporitical considering the rest of the band minus Izzy weren't exactly saints but, at least they kept it together enough to finish the illusions records. Adler also costed the band a lot of money in wasted recording. I'm gonna say they made the right call, but I'm glad Steven finally sobered up and he's back on a part time basis. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
On 7/12/2016 at 11:25 PM, DieselDaisy said:

It was very hypocritical, the sacking of Adler.

sure if you simply boil it down to him being kicked out for being an addict.

however it seems he was outta control and it was affecting his performance. Slash and whoever else may have been high as Aladdin's carpet, but they were composed enough to get work done. I don't think he was unjustly fired, but i wished it never happened and he was able to keep his addiction under control to some degree like all the other members.

Edited by -W.A.R-
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Of course he was wrongly fired. Same sort of shit like when dave was in metallica. Neither band gave enough of a fuck to try and help the fuckers. This is why slash apologized to steven. I think guns just wanted to continue with band activities and it sure as fuck didn't help matters with how axl viewed steven at the time. This is while slash and duff are still fuckef up. They could have found more than one way to keep steven in, but pethaps they didnt want to deal with him anymore or thought he was not needed. That was a mistake imo. Should have kept him as at least on some live performances and in the studio.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/1/2016 at 11:54 PM, Rovim said:

Of course he was wrongly fired. Same sort of shit like when dave was in metallica. Neither band gave enough of a fuck to try and help the fuckers. This is why slash apologized to steven. I think guns just wanted to continue with band activities and it sure as fuck didn't help matters with how axl viewed steven at the time. This is while slash and duff are still fuckef up. They could have found more than one way to keep steven in, but pethaps they didnt want to deal with him anymore or thought he was not needed. That was a mistake imo. Should have kept him as at least on some live performances and in the studio.

agreed, although the band says they tried to do everything to save him 

they should have locked him up and dried him out - then off to studio

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  • 4 weeks later...

No he wasn't wrongfully fired. Many types of druggies out there. Some can still work and go about their business. Some can handle themselves. Some can be helped. And some you just can't be around and fuck shit up. Some can't be helped no matter how hard you try. I love Adler to death, but he seemed to be in the latter category. I've had to cut off people in real life because of shit like this. Sometimes as bad as it sucks, you gotta do what you gotta do, even when you love someone.

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On 7/11/2016 at 1:14 PM, RONIN said:

As per Steven, do you feel that the band ganged up and made an example of him to get his publishing and also because of the Erin/speedball incident where she apparently lied and blamed her overdose on him

Lied according to whom? That version of the story is backed up by Andy McCoy and Angela Nicoletti wife who found her. I know he feuded with them over the Blabbermouth article where Angela recounted it but I didn't know he directly accused Erin of lying?.

Edited by Angelica
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