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Tommy Stinson: Chinese Democracy "kinda got yanked from Axl's hands a little bit prematurely"


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Was being in Guns N’ Roses the hardest gig you’ve had? Was the Replacements more difficult?

You know, all of them had their own bits. I wouldn’t say any were any harder than the other. In terms of the Guns N’ Roses record, only because it took so long to get done, at the end of the day it seemed like still Axl wasn’t happy with it and so it kinda got yanked from his hands a little bit prematurely. That’s kind of a disappointment to me more than anything. All things considered, I think we all did our best job, put our best foot forward, and there’s that record, you know?

You obviously played on Chinese Democracy and toured behind it. What’s your take on that record?

I think there’s some good stuff, I think there’s some not-so-good stuff and I think that probably could be said for all those Guns records. There’s some stuff that wasn’t my favorite but that’s just me. But that kinda goes with everyone’s fuckin’ records. I can’t even think of how many bands I like their entire fucking record. They are out there of course but I can’t think of one right now [laughing].

Did wanting to go back to basics like that maybe stem from your experience recording Chinese Democracy? You saw firsthand how that dragged on for years, right?

Yeeaaahhh. Anyone, any musician can fuckin’ overthink things in a fuckin’ heartbeat and just beat the shit out of a song. I’ve seen many a good song ruined in that fashion and sadly it just happens. Musicians are a quirky bunch. Some of us don’t come from the greatest places, aren’t in the greatest fuckin’ headspace all the time so you gotta try and capture that magic in a bottle when you can. It’s hard to accomplish because getting what’s in your head on a fuckin’ record is completely…[laughs]…it’s our hardest gig we’ve got as musicians is tryin’ to get the ideas in the brain on the fuckin’ disk.  It just takes a lot to pull that out and get it where they want it, exactly where they want it, where they fuckin’ think it’s supposed to be, the way it’s supposed to sound. All that.

Do you prefer just chilling out and touring without so much of the gear that comes with the huge Guns N’ Roses shows and Replacements reunion shows?

I like all of it for different reasons. I’ll be honest with you, I am stoked about the Guns N’ Roses reunion. All those guys are my buddies, except I don’t really know Slash. I don’t think I’ve ever met him. But all those guys are my friends and I’m glad they’re out doing it but I’d be lying if I said I missed that gig. I miss the people a whole lot and obviously you miss the fans and stuff like that. But where I’m at in life right now, that’s just a whole thing that…I’m not saying I’d never do it again but I’m kind of glad I moved on from that.

http://observer.com/2017/01/tommy-stinson-guns-n-roses-bash-pop-replacements-album/?curator=MusicREDEF

Edited by Silent Jay
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Evil record company released CD prematurely. Axl still wanted to spend 10 more millions on it before it was good.

I feel they'll use this excuse forever to justify the low quality of the music on that album.

It took a long time, it cost millions of dollars and still sucked. End of story. moveonnextquestion (That's a Wiseau reference)

Edited by maynard
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58 minutes ago, Silent Jay said:

You obviously played on Chinese Democracy and toured behind it. What’s your take on that record?

I think there’s some good stuff, I think there’s some not-so-good stuff and I think that probably could be said for all those Guns records. 

Bitch, please.

NO.

 

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32 minutes ago, sofine11 said:

I don't think it's humanly possible for me to roll my eyes hard enough at the idea of Chi Dem's release being "premature". 

It does sound like unfinished to me: Catcher In The Rye, Madagascar, Revenge, Riad, Scraped etc... It has more to do with recording issues and getting the mix to a good level like Bumble said once. Again just trickeries.

We already know that Axl was unhappy with the artworks and stuff. Here is Axl talking about that:

 

Edited by Silent Jay
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28 minutes ago, action said:

tommy stinson apparently wants to be the new pitman

why do all these ex-NUgunners turn into whining bitches?

Honestly, Tommy appears to handle the whole thing gracefully.

Without knowing anything, it looks to me he's still friendly with the whole group.

Pitman however, seems to have ended things on a sour note.

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1 hour ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

Well he's not that off...

Appetite: Anything Goes, You're Crazy

UYI I: Back off Bitch, LALD

UYI II: Get In The Ring, My World, Shotgun Blues, So Fine

Spaggheti Incident: 75% of the damn covers

The only real stinkers to me on CD are Riad and Scraped. But I like the badass riff on scraped. 

And taste is all subjective so who gives a shit anyways :shrugs:

Are you insane?

He is certainly way off (and so are you).

 @AxlRoseCDII meet @wasted you two have similar thoughts on this matter...

 

Edited by tsinindy
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7 minutes ago, PappyTron said:

Black Sabbath, the album, was recorded and mixed in two days. Two....days! Genius does not take years and years of twiddling knobs to get the right sound. Just plug in the guitars and mic and let it rip. Heck, Please Please me was recorded from start to finish in an afternoon. Love Me Do>Scraped.

Yes, and all of those Chuck and Elvis 45s were recorded in a hour. There is one Chuck Berry session where he recorded about three or four of his classic singles, plus b-sides, in one day! These are works which created the very fabric of rock n roll, and are still rock's greatest triumphs.

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15 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

What is interesting is that he has criticised Chinese and criticised every single old Guns album. This wouldn't have happened when he was in Guns N' Roses for fearing of upsetting the fuhrer.

Is he criticizing them though? He's basically saying that nearly no band has a "perfect" album.

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3 minutes ago, Wagszilla said:

The initial juvenile reactions are predictable as the sun rising but I'm curious what Tommy meant.

I'd really like to hear Axl speak about Chinese Democracy and the Chinese Democracy saga more. He's an interesting guy.

I get the impression that the 2006 tour was partly the "let's get funding to finish the album" tour. The Guns N' Roses business likely wasn't doing too well. The realities of business are cold and harsh, a reality often shielded from the fans, and you wonder how much of that was in play.

There were no doubt countless miscalculations and poor decisions by Axl as well but the truth is likely much more complex. 

I agree!

1998-2008 would make a really, really interesting documentary.

Although I do prefer the current line-up, and I'm glad Slash and Duff are back where they belong, the behind-the-scenes stories of CD must be something else..

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