Izzy Stradlin comments on reunion

[Mararoyce]

5 hours ago, Radio flyer said:

Every original member of Guns n' Roses is in their 50's. Slash is in the middle of a divorce and desperately trying to sell his house. I'm sure Axl doesn't want to play Vegas residencies anymore and has a Malibu mansion, psychics, therapists and lawyers to pay. Duff is an astute businessman first- a musician second. 

We all would prefer to have Izzy and Steven in the band, but the band makes more money without them and if it doesn't affect ticket sales to 99% of their demographic one way or the other, then their management and business advisers would urge them to go out without them. 

 What I'm saying is...there is no Santa Claus. There is no Easter Bunny. And Axl, Slash and Duff reunited in their 50's to play stadiums for customers paying hundreds (and for some thousands) of dollars to witness it for one reason and one reason alone: To make a LOT of money. 

I have no expectations of new music from this partial reunion. This version of GNR will simply keep playing these songs (90% of which are from at least 25 years ago) until people stop going. 

Ironically, the only members of GNR to put out new music in 2016 are Izzy and Matt with a song bitching about the GNR reunion. 

 

 

 

I was at the Toronto show, it was nice to relive my teenage years and watch my band (most of them anyways) perform. I left the stadium with a feeling of sweet satisfaction but on the other hand, I don't know how many shows I would continue to go to, if they don't have any new material. Again, who knows what the time line will be...will they finish off this tour and that's it? Will they continue to tour for the next 5 years? 10 years? 1 year?

[EvanG]

Can't they all just get along like grown men and let the music be the focus, so that we internet nerds can finally be happy and not having to make another crazy ass thread filled with arguments and speculations? Pretty please with sugar on top?

[Heisenberg]

17 minutes ago, Modano09 said:

And Axl was hurt to discover afterwards the only reason Izzy played with GNR in 2006 was because he demanded and received a large sum of money to do it.

Source?

[Modano09]

Just now, Heisenberg said:

Source?

Axl interview, I can't remember which one. The gist of it was Izzy went to Team Brazil demanding more money and they quietly gave it to him without telling Axl at the time. 

[Mararoyce]

2 hours ago, Eddie Money said:

keep in mind that this tour has a payroll of nearly $300,000 per month, $550,000 in hotel expenses, $110,000 in per diem, and so forth. This doesn't count truck and bus rental, airfare, fuel costs, band member salaries, and more. It is quite possible that it would take 25% of the income to cover all of this. If all of this income is dispersed through a management company controlled by Axl, a 50% cut seems plausible. 

I was thinking about the astronomical expenses, they have a large road crew who eat, stay n hotels, salary, transport, etc...after all of this, the boys might not be pulling in as much as we think.

[Original]

My respect/love of Izzy just went down a notch.  Axl n Slash are GnR, so they get equal, Duff (it's pretty much known) was the reason the reunion happened between Slash n Axl, so he on that basis alone deserves equal.  Izzy- I'm not a big Fortus guy, but Fortus (or preferably Gilby) fill in just fine...and Izzy if he were on board FT woulda been likely to flake out again at any moment.  It is what it is now....Slash, Axl n Duff an dI'm happy as hell. 

[Italian girl]

Why wasn't he at the rock n roll hall of fame induction? not enough money to split?

[guitarpatch]

13 minutes ago, Italian girl said:

Why wasn't he at the rock n roll hall of fame induction? not enough money to split?

Actually it's quite opposite. The band ends up "donating" to the hall with their table/vip purchases. 

[dally]

wooooohey... Loook at all the drama one single but hurt tweet from izzy and people go apeshit over it

get over it, the dude never liked the touring life anyway.

[Ace Nova]

2 hours ago, Slosh13 said:

 

[Modano09]

30 minutes ago, Italian girl said:

Why wasn't he at the rock n roll hall of fame induction? not enough money to split?

He'd have to travel to get there. Not his thing!

[RussTCB]

1 hour ago, Tom-Ass said:

I think people are being too harsh to each other over this..

Couple quick points that came to mind after reading the last couple pages. and then I gotta go to work..

It is comical now watching the Axlites denounce Izzy now and try to discredit his contributions to the band. He was there during there from the beginning. The hard years and worked just as hard as everyone else to get this band off the ground. When he left the stage was set for them to go as far as they were gonna go. He is far more important than Duff ever was and I love Duff. Watching people trash him is just laughable. Reaching at things to make him look like this evil, over rated, untalented piece of Gn'R history.. A lot like what people did to Slash over the years. "Slash is a disgusting liar because he said he didn't like Sweet Child O Mine 30 years ago but likes it now" when he said in the Rockumentary in 89 that he learned to like the song when playing live.

Does Izzy deserve an equal amount? Who knows and who knows what he was offered.. I would say he he should get every bit as much as Duff anyway.. We still don't know what happened or the details.. Both sides are obviously going to have their side of it. Izzy was probably an afterthought and the offer was a slap in the face. 

I am not taking sides... I do think they probably low balled him and for someone that remained friends with them all through the years it was probably pretty insulting. At this point in my life I am not going to hate anyone on either side over it. 

The reunion has been great.. It could have been better if Izzy, Steven (more than 6 songs a tour) or even Matt and Gilby were involved instead of the line up that is out there but it has still been good. 

I have felt the whole time that Izzy probably got dicked over. Most people did. Does this one tweet change anything from how things stood a week ago? It is still an awesome reunion that has room for improvement. 

I never stated my few quick points and now I am late for work lol..

Everyone just chill the fuck out... Let the guys speak for themselves.. If we have learned anything with this band it is never say never..

Duff, work your magic.. Weren't you just writing and releasing music with Izzy just a few months ago for your book?  Does this feel right to you? It is just sad that they have all come this far to reconcile and now there is an odd man out..

Sorry to ramble.. So much to say but I need to get the fuck off my couch and get to work hah.

 

Post of the thread. 

[Mararoyce]

4 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Post of the thread. 

@RussTCB Thanks for your post....now where were we...

Edited September 8, 2016 by Mararoyce
.

[Ace Nova]

In reference to people thinking that all the expenses of the tour come out of the $3,million the band gets....

 

I don't think it works that way for tours of this magnitude.

Pretty sure the production expenses are taken out of the gross from the concert, not the band's cut.  At least that's how Billboard reported it.

Basically, if they get $5 million gross per show, $3 million goes to the band, $1.5 million for production and $500k to the promoter.

So the transportation, trucks, stage setups, road crew, etc would all be considered production costs.

So out of the $3 million the band gets, they would pay for the other members of the band and their personal expenses...the rest goes to the big 3...however which way they agreed to split it.

 

[Nikki_Sixx]

I knew it.

Them motherfuckers.  That's it, I'm done.

Guns N' Roses R.I.P. 1996.

Thank you for the memories.

[Tom-Ass]

1 hour ago, melonhead87 said:

 If Slash and Duff walked off a tour, the tour would be cancelled. 

Duff? That may be a stretch.

[DieselDaisy]

The Axlites were very pro-Izzy when Izzy appeared with Nugnr in 2006 and 2012, saying things like, ''I always saw Izzy as more important than Slash; Axl and Izzy are childhood buddies and have that connection''. It was the Axl fans who liked to point out the multiple Stradlin/Rose songwriting credits (to the detriment of Slash, then labelled a 'cancer').

Axl fans are sheep.

[nelsontod]

sorry.  GNR need izzy for me to care really.

[sjlgnr]

Truth is, stuff like this happens with so many reunions.   First, from an equity perspective, I agree with Izzy that he should get an equal split.  Izzy wrote as much or more of the Appetite, Lies and Illussions material than anyone else.  Izzy also is responsible for helping to craft the band's musical persona.  When you think about what gave the band it's identity, it's very much Izzy:  Punk, Stones & Hanoi Rocks influences.  Also, Izzy is the guy who started it all by leaving Indiana for L.A.  Axl followed Izzy!   There is also the de facto point that Guns n' Roses ended as a band that made new material when Izzy left.

Second, on the other hand, squabbling over money happens with many major bands, especially with reunions.  Zeppelin tried (and succeeded) to cut out Jon Paul Jones from one reunion.  The Eagles made original member Randy Meissner an employee.  Brian Jones was the original leader of the Rolling Stones, but ended up dead in a pool.  When you add to that the fact that Izzy freely walked away from the band, partially because he had to get sober due to an arrest -- albeit partially because of the same Axl power-play business we are seeing now.  Indeed, the reunion tour we just saw is pretty much the Illusions lineup from 92-93 -- minus Tracy & Roberta and the horns :)).   Having abdicated his role with the band, Izzy has given up some of the moral high ground.  

Finally, my vote is of course that I want more Izzy.   Any real fan of GnR knows that Izzy is a major part of the band and the band's history.  There is a strong argument that he is the most important member -- and he's at least top-3.  So it is a major loss not to have Izzy on board.    

[rocknroll41]

2 hours ago, DieselDaisy said:

Since the 'reunion' all of the Axlites have suddenly decided to support Slash (also, have you noticed how all the Adler hate died down after Adler's appearances?)

They are like brainless sheep.

Somebody has to be the new cancer I suppose so it may as well be Izzy?

It's human nature to want to have something to complain about, I guess. Maybe social media and Internet communities like this one have just made the general mob hate mentality more prevelant and noticeable now than it had been in previous generations, or something.

[BOSSY78]

13 hours ago, DexAxl said:

Well pretty sure a lot of fans just started hating Axl more than ever.

Why hate Axl? 

First off there's no proof it was Axl alone who didn't want to share equally.

Second off why would Izzy get an equal share? Axl, Slash and Duff are business partners Izzy walked away. Axl pleaded with him not to. You can't walk away and 25 years later expect to be paid equally. 

No matter his reasons for walking away Izzy is no longer apart of that partnership. 

As a fan it sounds like Izzy is being greedy to me. He expects more then he's given.

Edited September 8, 2016 by BOSSY78
autocorrect sucks

[EvanG]

Do people seriously have to type for the 34985234095890435834905834908593485349543 time why Izzy was so important? There's almost NO THREAD on this forum where there's not at least one fanboy explaining why Izzy was so important. YES, WE GET IT, NO ONE EVEN REALLY DISAGREES. STOP SAYING IT FOR THE 3434343242345353453453453453454 TIME. 

Edited September 8, 2016 by EvanG

[MillionsOfSpiders]

7 minutes ago, BOSSY78 said:

Why hate Axl? 

First off there's no proof it was Axl alone who didn't want to share equally.

Second off why would Izzy get an equal share? Axl, Slash and Duff are business partners Izzy walked away. Axl pleaded with him not to. You can't walk away and 25 years later expect to be paid equally. 

No matter his reasons for walking away Izzy is no longer apart of that partnership. 

As a fan it sounds like Izzy is being greedy to me. He expects more then he's given.

Axl wanted Izzy to sign a contract demoting him and his share in the band, because LOL he didn't move around as much as him and Slash on stage and he didn't want to do those god awful videos. 

He can plead all he wanted, but doesn't sound like he offered Izzy his fair share again, so he went. 

He did the same to Adler didn't he, demanding he was paid less when he was a full member of the band. Adler gave in and relinquished some of his share to appease the greed of Axl Rose. 

Edited September 8, 2016 by MillionsOfSpiders

[ksks12]

5 hours ago, Asia said:

If Izzy is the most important songwriter of the band, give me one notable hard rock song that he has ever released outside of Guns. Guns on the other hand have written plenty great songs without him, Slash has at least a few on his own, so does Axl. The Izzy being most crucial to GNR sound is such bullshit, I still can't believe I'm reading this king of shit all of the time.

Oh really? While I agree with Axls obvious talent and if course Slashs ability to make a guitar sound like it hasn't come out if this planet, Izzys contribution is by far the most important one, hence acknowledged by both Duff and Slash in their books. 

As far as i know the writing process went sth like this:

izzy came up with a riff and lyrics

axl added his own lyrics and sone melodies 

slash put inhis trademark solos and griff

 

But the point is Izzy came up with an idea. And those ideas obviously lacked after he left. IMO

[guitarpatch]

5 minutes ago, sjlgnr said:

Truth is, stuff like this happens with so many reunions.   First, from an equity perspective, I agree with Izzy that he should get an equal split.  Izzy wrote as much or more of the Appetite, Lies and Illussions material than anyone else.  Izzy also is responsible for helping to craft the band's musical persona.  When you think about what gave the band it's identity, it's very much Izzy:  Punk, Stones & Hanoi Rocks influences.  Also, Izzy is the guy who started it all by leaving Indiana for L.A.  Axl followed Izzy!   There is also the de facto point that Guns n' Roses ended as a band that made new material when Izzy left.

Second, on the other hand, squabbling over money happens with many major bands, especially with reunions.  Zeppelin tried (and succeeded) to cut out Jon Paul Jones from one reunion.  The Eagles made original member Randy Meissner an employee.  Brian Jones was the original leader of the Rolling Stones, but ended up dead in a pool.  When you add to that the fact that Izzy freely walked away from the band, partially because he had to get sober due to an arrest -- albeit partially because of the same Axl power-play business we are seeing now.  Indeed, the reunion tour we just saw is pretty much the Illusions lineup from 92-93 -- minus Tracy & Roberta and the horns :)).   Having abdicated his role with the band, Izzy has given up some of the moral high ground.  

Finally, my vote is of course that I want more Izzy.   Any real fan of GnR knows that Izzy is a major part of the band and the band's history.  There is a strong argument that he is the most important member -- and he's at least top-3.  So it is a major loss not to have Izzy on board.    

The thing is Izzy had all of that. He was an equal partner and was rewarded for all of his songwriting, influences, and being there from the start. He then made the business decision and left. He didn't want the risk/liability that came with the reward. Now the other 3 stuck around, and have maintained the brand for nearly 20 years so that this scenario of a stadium sized reunion show is even possible. Izzy wasn't there making branding, merchandise, synch deals, and running the business side of the GNR catalogue during those times. Think about all the lawyers those guys had on retainer over the years, to help control their interests. Time spent thinking not only but the brand, but about the other parties involved.  By no means is he entitled to now just walk in and demand equal equity on this pay day. This is the other guys payoff for all that work.  I'm sure the other 2 could of sold their rights to Axl if they didn't want the headache. They were just smart enough to stick around.