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NEW Steven Adler interview with Mitch Lafon


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5 minutes ago, Sosso said:

Read the article again. Frank should have been played CD, some UYI songs and the covers. Steven should have played 3 or 4 UYI songs, not 10 lol.

 

I don't need to read it again. You're misunderstanding. I simply listed many of the other UYI songs that were written or performed when STEVEN was a member of the band, which means he was more than familiar with them and could play any of them. He wouldn't have been limited to just 3.

Furthermore, if you believe STEVEN's recent account, he was in line to play most if not all the Appetite and Lies material and a good deal of the UYI stuff. Not just 3 songs.

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11 minutes ago, thunderram said:

 

First, I don't disagree that part of it is a respect factor from IZZY's POV. Makes total sense. But to claim that $$ has nothing to do with it is wishful thinking and clearly goes against what has been said and actually transpired. That was the main point.

With respect to your point about what IZZY did 26 years ago, that was then and this is now. As we've clearly seen from ALL band members, time changes things. What any of the guys did a quarter century ago when they were in their 20's and early 30's isn't necessarily what they'd do today. Case in point, AXL, SLASH, and DUFF are running the band/tour in a manner today in which they wouldn't have done back in 1991. Just because IZZY didn't care about $$ as much back then doesn't mean he doesn't now. Time and circumstances change.

What we do know for certain is that he clearly stated that the reason he's not involved is because (according to him) the other members didn't want to split the $$ equally. We don't know what his role would have been or whether he's right to feel that way. Perhaps we never will. But the underlying point is that $$ is the reason he decided not to be involved. You're adding an additional layer of "respect" to it -- which may or may not be true (I tend to agree with you on that) -- but that still doesn't take the $$ factor out of the equation.

That's all I'm saying. Not judging or saying IZZY is wrong. Just keeping it real.

Oh definitely -- I think you're right on the money (no pun intended). Obviously everyone wants to get paid here. I'm sure Izzy in his heart probably deeply regrets leaving the partnership given how lucrative the brand is at the moment. Anybody would in his shoes. With that said, it would seem, given his track record -- money matters less to him than Axl, Slash, and Duff.

It's understandable why the others did not want to cut Izzy in for a share of the merchandising and touring profits. Could they have found a reasonable solution where everyone was happy? Probably. 

I think what is damning for Duff and Slash is that on the surface, it does not seem like they made much of an effort to reach out to Izzy and Steven. That's the part that's bothersome. Do we know the full details of how this played out? No -- everything here is conjecture, but it would seem that the outreach to these guys was done in a half assed way. Almost like they couldn't be bothered to include them.

 

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5 minutes ago, starlight said:

Everybody owes somebody something.

GNR is also Steven and Izzy's band. They wrote the music that made GNR famous unllke Frank and Fortus.

Indeed, so they can just get out of their homes and play it.

If Izzy can't reach to an agreement with Axl (no matter whose fault is), what bothers him to do his own shows and play the same songs? The fans will be there.

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14 minutes ago, WhenYou'reTalkinToYourself said:

Indeed, so they can just get out of their homes and play it.

If Izzy can't reach to an agreement with Axl (no matter whose fault is), what bothers him to do his own shows and play the same songs? The fans will be there.

1. He doesn't want to. 

2. He doesn't need to.

3. The idea was to have the 5 originals playing (with the extras) like in the good old days. 

4. If he ever feels like doing shows on his own, he has 11 albums to choose music from. 

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8 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Exactly.

I finally got to listen to this earlier and as suspected, I disagree with all of the crazy over reactions in the thread. Adler is such a saint huh? Then why does he go on about how rock doesn't sell and there's no money in him playing shows if it's not with a band that's already established? He can scream "FOR THE FANS!" all he wants, but it's clear that what he's really looking for is an easy payday. Same goes for Izzy IMO. Dude could be out there doing whatever he wants "for the fans" but he's not, is he? 

I'm not saying any of this makes Axl, Slash & Duff out to be saints but the way people are acting like their the worst people in the world over this is laughable to me. I'm not going to insult a person like Steven but I will say that I don't think he's the most reliable source and I wouldn't take what he says as an exact fact. Again, I wouldn't do that with any of the other guys either though. The truth is... none of know and we'll never know for sure what went on. 

All I know for sure is that I watched a great majority of forum users complain for a solid 15 years about how all they need in life is Axl & Slash to play together again. If Axl would only stop being such an asshole and just get back together, everything in the universe would make sense and world hunger would be solved. Well, they finally got their wish and a great majority immediately went to look for something else to complain about. Things like this Steven interview give them exactly the ammo they're looking for to support the faux outrage they seem to desperately need.

Exactly....great comments :lol:

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35 minutes ago, RONIN said:

Oh definitely -- I think you're right on the money (no pun intended). Obviously everyone wants to get paid here. I'm sure Izzy in his heart probably deeply regrets leaving the partnership given how lucrative the brand is at the moment. Anybody would in his shoes.

 

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. I'm quite certain IZZY has regrets, just like STEVEN. But they did what they did at the time because they were either fed up with what was going on and/or just didn't want to deal with it. Most everybody makes decisions in the moment without much thought to down the road. We never really understand how our personalities, interests, morals, tolerance, etc. will change over time. I often look back 5, 10 years ago and wonder what the hell I was thinking when I made a particular decision? But you couldn't have told me differently at the time. Hindsight is a helluva drug!

 

35 minutes ago, RONIN said:

It's understandable why the others did not want to cut Izzy in for a share of the merchandising and touring profits. Could they have found a reasonable solution where everyone was happy? Probably.

 

Agreed. As fans we're all disappointed for our own selfish reasons that they couldn't and still yet haven't found a way to make it work. Everybody is different, I get that. But we generally judge others by what we believe we would do in the same or similar situation. Like some others, I would like to think I would put my ego aside just enough to make sure everybody was involved in some manner -- even in a limited capacity. I wouldn't take a huge cut or give up % of my ownership stake because somebody realized they made a mistake years ago and now wants to be cut back in, but I would make some concessions to get my old friends back involved. We just don't know what concessions AXL, SLASH and DUFF were willing to make and what they weren't, or what demands IZZY may have made that might have seemed unreasonable.

 

35 minutes ago, RONIN said:

I think what is damning for Duff and Slash is that on the surface, it does not seem like they made much of an effort to reach out to Izzy and Steven. That's the part that's bothersome. Do we know the full details of how this played out? No -- everything here is conjecture, but it would seem, from what we know that the outreach to these guys was done in a half assed way. Almost like they couldn't be bothered to include them.

 

Agreed as well. While we don't know all the facts, on the surface it doesn't look great. When this all started to heat up, I thought IZZY's involvement (if he wanted to participate) would have been a forgone conclusion due to his multiple and even recent appearances with AXL and the band. It was STEVEN I was concerned or pessimistic about given how that split all played out and how long it had been since he last played w/ AXL. IZZY's involvement really shouldn't have become this complicated. And for that, shame on all of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by thunderram
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15 minutes ago, Jane M. said:

1. He doesn't want to. 

2. He doesn't need to.

3. The idea was to have the 5 originals playing (with the extras) like in the good old days. 

4. If he ever feels like doing shows on his own, he has 11 albums to choose music from. 

So for Izzy the famous " do this for the fans" does not apply...Just for the 3 evils, correct?

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First things first: having a different opinion or an opinion you don't like is not over reacting.

Second: If Izzy cared so much about the money he would be doing the tour don't giving a fuck about anything else, cause that way he'd be making some money at least. Staying home talking to his avocados he doesn't make any profit from the reunion. Of course, some people are gonna take the tweet literally and not read between the lines, it's crystal clear that this is not only about the money but about his place in the band he co founded 30 something years ago.

Edited by Darkenchantress
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22 minutes ago, Jane M. said:

The 3 evils are not doing this for the fans. LOL

I'm glad they don't. This "do this for the fans" thing it's a crap, IMO! They need to do what they wants and the way they wants. If I like I buy it if I don`t..I'm going to look for something that pleases me, life goes on...That`s a Rock N Roll band, not a  self-service restaurant.

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1 hour ago, RussTCB said:

Exactly.

I finally got to listen to this earlier and as suspected, I disagree with all of the crazy over reactions in the thread. Adler is such a saint huh? Then why does he go on about how rock doesn't sell and there's no money in him playing shows if it's not with a band that's already established? He can scream "FOR THE FANS!" all he wants, but it's clear that what he's really looking for is an easy payday. Same goes for Izzy IMO. Dude could be out there doing whatever he wants "for the fans" but he's not, is he? 

I'm not saying any of this makes Axl, Slash & Duff out to be saints but the way people are acting like their the worst people in the world over this is laughable to me. I'm not going to insult a person like Steven but I will say that I don't think he's the most reliable source and I wouldn't take what he says as an exact fact. Again, I wouldn't do that with any of the other guys either though. The truth is... none of know and we'll never know for sure what went on. 

All I know for sure is that I watched a great majority of forum users complain for a solid 15 years about how all they need in life is Axl & Slash to play together again. If Axl would only stop being such an asshole and just get back together, everything in the universe would make sense and world hunger would be solved. Well, they finally got their wish and a great majority immediately went to look for something else to complain about. Things like this Steven interview give them exactly the ammo they're looking for to support the faux outrage they seem to desperately need.

This is right on point.  Steven has quite the "unreliable narrator syndrome" based on various interviews throughout the years. I love the dude however I wouldn't necessarily take what he said to be 100 percent truth or at the very least not without a second side of the story to it all.

That's why you won't see me laying blame in regards to Steven or Axl or Slash or anyone.  Apparently there have been some behind the scenes disagreements that different people in the band see differently, and that's pretty much it.  As a fan I would love to see Steven up there playing drums more, however I am not going to waste time pretending like I know who is at fault here for that not happening

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14 minutes ago, WhazUp said:

This is right on point.  Steven has quite the "unreliable narrator syndrome" based on various interviews throughout the years. I love the dude however I wouldn't necessarily take what he said to be 100 percent truth or at the very least not without a second side of the story to it all.

That's why you won't see me laying blame in regards to Steven or Axl or Slash or anyone.  Apparently there have been some behind the scenes disagreements that different people in the band see differently, and that's pretty much it.  As a fan I would love to see Steven up there playing drums more, however I am not going to waste time pretending like I know who is at fault here for that not happening

 

I agree. It's too complicated for a Appetite reunion to happen. I don't blame any individual, everyone sees it from their POV and have their own reasons for what went down.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Jane M. said:

1. He doesn't want to. 

2. He doesn't need to.

3. The idea was to have the 5 originals playing (with the extras) like in the good old days. 

4. If he ever feels like doing shows on his own, he has 11 albums to choose music from. 

Maybe he doesn't want to tour? Maybe when they told him about touring the world doing 100+ stadium shows with a huge production he backed down?

Maybe when they told him that he will have to take his share of the responsibilities of the tour he said to them that "I'm not in your partnership, I just want to have my share of the loot"?

I could speculate all day and all night long, but I prefer to say that I don't know what happened and I want to hear the other side of the story as well.

Sometimes I think that if Duff was out of this and it was only Axl+Slash celebrating their personal reconciliation nobody in here would be so pissed off as now.

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1 hour ago, RussTCB said:

Exactly.

I finally got to listen to this earlier and as suspected, I disagree with all of the crazy over reactions in the thread. Adler is such a saint huh? Then why does he go on about how rock doesn't sell and there's no money in him playing shows if it's not with a band that's already established? He can scream "FOR THE FANS!" all he wants, but it's clear that what he's really looking for is an easy payday. Same goes for Izzy IMO. Dude could be out there doing whatever he wants "for the fans" but he's not, is he? 

 

I don't know how you got that out of what he said. He was basically just acknowledging there's no market for Steven Adler solo music. So if he's going to play it's going to have to be with an act that's already established. I thought that was refreshingly candid.

And when he's talking about the fans, he means the fans of Guns n Roses...the ones that would prefer to see the real band instead of 3/5 of the real band + a bunch of jobbers. Those fans aren't going to be any more satisfied with Steven Adler and a bunch of Sunset Strip randoms. So that's really irrelevant.

Same goes for Izzy. I'm sure a lot of people would love to see him solo, but that's not the same thing as seeing him in GnR.  

 

And what he says here: "That's what it should be, that's what it could be, but that's not what it is"  really sums it up. It's indisputable really. Whether or not all the details of the Argentina story are accurate, the bottom line is, this tour could have been something a lot greater that what it is.
 

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2 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Exactly.

I finally got to listen to this earlier and as suspected, I disagree with all of the crazy over reactions in the thread. Adler is such a saint huh? Then why does he go on about how rock doesn't sell and there's no money in him playing shows if it's not with a band that's already established? He can scream "FOR THE FANS!" all he wants, but it's clear that what he's really looking for is an easy payday. Same goes for Izzy IMO. Dude could be out there doing whatever he wants "for the fans" but he's not, is he? 

I'm not saying any of this makes Axl, Slash & Duff out to be saints but the way people are acting like their the worst people in the world over this is laughable to me. I'm not going to insult a person like Steven but I will say that I don't think he's the most reliable source and I wouldn't take what he says as an exact fact. Again, I wouldn't do that with any of the other guys either though. The truth is... none of know and we'll never know for sure what went on. 

All I know for sure is that I watched a great majority of forum users complain for a solid 15 years about how all they need in life is Axl & Slash to play together again. If Axl would only stop being such an asshole and just get back together, everything in the universe would make sense and world hunger would be solved. Well, they finally got their wish and a great majority immediately went to look for something else to complain about. Things like this Steven interview give them exactly the ammo they're looking for to support the faux outrage they seem to desperately need.

This. 1000%.

Seriously, did people just tune out of the part where Adler still claims that him being fired had nothing to do with his drug use, and he was using the least of anyone in the band? Or where he again blamed Axl for firing Izzy, Duff, and Slash? Or accused Axl of wanting to become Elton John or Billy Joel, and saying songs like November Rain "aren't Guns N' Roses"?

Steven is my favorite GN'R drummer, and I'd love to have a full reunion one day, but it cracks me up to see everybody kissing his ass and taking his words as gospel. If he really wanted a full reunion, he'd keep his goddamn mouth shut.

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He is act like crying baby the other kids don't play him and that's for 20 years now,he almost begging Axl all over the years,from the other hand Axl behavior rejecting him again and again like he is gonna steal his money or whatever it gets tiring and boring.Give the guy a chance to prove he still got it and if not,bring back frank ferrer.

When AC/DC did reunion with phil rudd at first place all worked normal,but when he arrested,he did drugs/got drunk,was bad mouth for the band,they fired him!

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1 hour ago, Gunner927 said:

This. 1000%.

Seriously, did people just tune out of the part where Adler still claims that him being fired had nothing to do with his drug use, and he was using the least of anyone in the band? Or where he again blamed Axl for firing Izzy, Duff, and Slash? Or accused Axl of wanting to become Elton John or Billy Joel, and saying songs like November Rain "aren't Guns N' Roses"?

Steven is my favorite GN'R drummer, and I'd love to have a full reunion one day, but it cracks me up to see everybody kissing his ass and taking his words as gospel. If he really wanted a full reunion, he'd keep his goddamn mouth shut.

Well. He didn't fire Duff and Slash, but he could as well have. He certainly drove them away and both wouldn't have left, had he not been such a diva and easier to work with. Both left out of frustration. If Slash had the ability to really put his foot down, there would be no keyboards and pianos in GNR. So why do you hold that sentiment against Steven? And at the time Steven got fired, all of them were pretty much wasted all the time, by their own accord. And really, none of us were there when Steven's firing really transpired, so who are we to say his pov is wrong?

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Another part that makes no sense to me is when he says they kept Frank because he's cheaper. Yet supposedly Steven was in on the rehearsals, with the plan being they would share duties. I really don't think they suddenly decided fuck that, we ain't paying both. Something else is at play.

The whole back injury thing just seems suspect to me. And obviously Steven has no agent or anything to explain what is or isn't being agreed to in the first place. Otherwise the whole showing up to gigs he wasn't supposed to play at thing... He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. He might get the totally wrong signals and get himself all worked up.

His stories make him sound 100% unprofessional to me. 

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38 minutes ago, PatrickS77 said:

Well. He didn't fire Duff and Slash, but he could as well have. He certainly drove them away and both wouldn't have left, had he not been such a diva and easier to work with. Both left out of frustration. If Slash had the ability to really put his foot down, there would be no keyboards and pianos in GNR. So why do you hold that sentiment against Steven? And at the time Steven got fired, all of them were pretty much wasted all the time, by their own accord. And really, none of us were there when Steven's firing really transpired, so who are we to say his pov is wrong?

Slash had the ability - he chose not to say anything. Just like Duff. They all let Axl take control of the band. And whether or not Axl helped drive Slash or Duff to their decision to quit, the fact remains, they chose to quit - they weren't fired. Just like Izzy.

And I'm going to say the multiple accounts that it took almost 40 takes from Adler to piece Civil War together, and the fact that he continued to have a massive habit after he was canned, kinda prove that his POV is wrong. Now, was it hypocritical of them to fire them when they all had their own habits? Perhaps. But at the end of the day, they were all still able to function enough to record.

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9 hours ago, RONIN said:

 

Read between the lines. It's about respect....paying someone what they're worth. What they offered was probably insulting and a giant F U to him so he walked. If Izzy cared only about money, he would not have sold his partnership in the band at the height of their fame. That one fact will always kill the argument that he's in it for the money. If money was that important he would have done what Duff did, and retain his ownership in the band but walk away. He chose to sever all ties. That speaks volumes about where his head was at and how he felt about the band.

This is about giving a co-founder in the band his fair dues and including him in a part of the decision making process and compensating him fairly which they didn't want to do. Steven Adler confirms this in his interview when he says they offered him a pittance. But in his case, it took the gang offering him 1 tour date out of a possible 3 to finally say enough is enough. Respect goes a long way. If they had treated these guys properly, the fans would have had their AFD reunion. 

Just for clarification:

Izzy didn't have a choice about that. He couldn't keep his ownership share even if he wanted to, because there was a condition in their partnership agreements that if a partner quit, he'd have to sell his share to the other partners. Slash and Duff were able to do it because Axl had quit the partnership and formed a new one, but the old partnership was never dissolved so they kept their ownership percentages in that one.

5 hours ago, PatrickS77 said:
6 hours ago, Gunner927 said:

This. 1000%.

Seriously, did people just tune out of the part where Adler still claims that him being fired had nothing to do with his drug use, and he was using the least of anyone in the band? Or where he again blamed Axl for firing Izzy, Duff, and Slash? Or accused Axl of wanting to become Elton John or Billy Joel, and saying songs like November Rain "aren't Guns N' Roses"?

Steven is my favorite GN'R drummer, and I'd love to have a full reunion one day, but it cracks me up to see everybody kissing his ass and taking his words as gospel. If he really wanted a full reunion, he'd keep his goddamn mouth shut.

Well. He didn't fire Duff and Slash, but he could as well have. He certainly drove them away and both wouldn't have left, had he not been such a diva and easier to work with. Both left out of frustration. If Slash had the ability to really put his foot down, there would be no keyboards and pianos in GNR. So why do you hold that sentiment against Steven? And at the time Steven got fired, all of them were pretty much wasted all the time, by their own accord. And really, none of us were there when Steven's firing really transpired, so who are we to say his pov is wrong?

Slash said that he didn't like keyboards, but he was cool with the piano (and organ). Maybe he didn't like the piano epics, but it doesn't seem he had an issue with the piano on Civil War for example.

As for Steven, he said in the Reddit AMA that the other instrument he would like to play is piano:

Steven, if you had to pick another instrument to play, what would it be and why?

Steven: Piano because Freddie Mercury is God! If I could do anything, I would do anything close to being Freddie Mercury. Even if I had to be gay. In fact, I wish I was gay but I just don't have it in me!

There's also this quote about the November Rain video from the book "I Want My MTV":

STEVEN ADLER: I think that video would have been better if I was a part of it. But I’d been kicked out of the band for partying—and the biggest irony is, I was partying with the guys in the band.

It doesn't look like the piano (or November Rain) would have been a real reason for Steven and Axl to clash.

Edited by Blackstar
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1 hour ago, FuriousStyles said:

In defense of those who reacted negatively towards the band in lieu of Steven's comments,

I think the underlying issues with Steven's comments are that it paint the intentions of the Big Three in "regrouping" as - perhaps not nefarious - but rather shallow.

The common conception was that these guys were willing to die on their swords - and that until they buried all the personal and emotional turmoil between them - that they would never reunite. And not all the money in the world would change that.

What Steven makes it sound like is that "the Big Three" came to an understanding that there was an opportunity to make $$$ and that they were willing to put aside their differences to make that $$$.  And that this wasn't about coming full circle, but rather cashing in on an opportunity to make coin.

Unfortunately for AFD5 fans, it also "looks" like the Big Three came to an understanding that a full-blown reunion was neither needed - nor seemingly wanted. Two original members were stonewalled from the reunion by the other three - if Izzy and Steven are to be believed.

Is that "EXACTLY" how it all went down? Probably not. But that's what it looks like. So I certainly won't begrudge fans who feel like they were cheated out of a full reunion - not by outside forces - but by actual members of the band.

I can see where their strife is coming from. Becuase if Axl and Slash reunited due to mutual understanding and respect - what's stopping them from crossing one more bridge and making amends with Izzy and Steven.

Maybe because that final bridge is made out of money.

 

I think that makes sense. Some of us don't get this view because we never saw the "Reunion" as anything more than Axl and Slash making amends. I know I was hopeful Izzy and Steven would show up, but at the beginning it was always only Axl, Slash and Duff together again on the stage. I didn't expect anything different and was happy when Steven showed up for a few shows. 

There is a considerable amount of money involved, but I think it looks like it is only all about the money if you want it to only be all about the money.


 

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