Your Thoughts and Feelings as the Reunion Draws Near

[SoulMonster]

4 hours ago, Philipm787 said:

Ahem, the not in this lifetime reunion?

I meant change when it comes to making music. He was hard to work with back in the 90s, and hard to work with in the 00s and presumably in the 10s. Of course he could have mellowed out and become a superprodutive collaborative guy who is good at team work and meets when he should, but I don't think we know that, or has any signs pointing in that direction.

[sanity_lost]

For me it is all about the build up. The ever so slowly mounting anticipation as it draws nearer and the contagious excitement of others who are going.

Watching as other fans leave no stone unturned in trying to divine what is going to happen in the future. Of course, we are more wrong than right, but when we are right is like finding a gold among all the pyrite.

I am just having a lot of fun and I hope everything goes well and I can keep on having fun.

 

 

[kanudo19]

Fuck axl and the sellouts.

[RussTCB]

6 hours ago, sanity_lost said:

For me it is all about the build up. The ever so slowly mounting anticipation as it draws nearer and the contagious excitement of others who are going.

Watching as other fans leave no stone unturned in trying to divine what is going to happen in the future. Of course, we are more wrong than right, but when we are right is like finding a gold among all the pyrite.

I am just having a lot of fun and I hope everything goes well and I can keep on having fun.

 

 

The build up over the last week has made this one hell of a lot more exciting for me. Just the billboards and tour announcement have done that for me. It just shows how little they actually have to do to keep the fans happy haha.

[Philipm787]

5 hours ago, kanudo19 said:

Fuck axl and the sellouts.

Look who's back?

[Original]

My thoughts as the reunion draws closer- I'm having a really hard time functioning on anything else.  I'm basically consumed by all things GnR...and I love it.  

[DieselDaisy]

Well I'll tell you one thing which summarises my feelings. I used to have a little Guns poster above my computer - the black and white Appetite picture. It has been there years. When this reunion happened I yanked it down. Corporate cash grab.

 

[starlight]

It might be a cash grab but at this pont in time you just have to wait and see hoping for the best.I'll reserve my judgment untill Axl goes on stage

[Tom-Ass]

28 minutes ago, starlight said:

It might be a cash grab but at this pont in time you just have to wait and see hoping for the best.I'll reserve my judgment untill Axl goes on stage

I don't care if it is a cash grab if Axl sounds good.

[3rd Wheel]

The OP did a great job summarizing how I feel about this, but here's another long-winded version of it. Even though I wrote an Illiad, it's still difficult for me to properly describe how I'm feeling. I don't think I did a proper job with this. That's the best way to describe it. Maybe people can relate. 

 

 

First, let's talk about being 16 years old.

That's a weird time for us -- at least it was for me. You have a driver's license, car and all the freedom that comes with it. Yet, you're still under your parents' thumb and still go to this "high school" crap each day while dreaming of the next step, college, adulthood, careers, sex, choices and whatever else is out there. You're either introduced directly or introduced to the thought of alcohol, drugs, parties. You handle your peers, bullies, mood swings, the opposite sex, and more.

 

It's rough.

 

At the same time, it's so important. So many things can influence and stick with you for quite some time.

 

I became friends with someone (Stephen Ledet) who I still am best friends with and will remain so until one of us dies.

 

I relaunched my fandom for my favorite childhood sports team (Chicago Bulls). I grew to love writing just as much as sports -- and planted seeds of being a sports journalist when I grew up.

 

And, for the first time, I listened to a sound. It wasn't the first time I heard it, thanks to my dad's Credence Clearwater and U2 cassette tapes. It was the first time I truly listened to it, though, even if that sound was long gone (or long evolved, whichever side you pick).

 

Rock 'n' roll, first in the form of AC/DC. Then in the form of Aerosmith. Then it was "Paradise City" while driving in Stephen's car to baseball practice. Then it was a kid at high school named Adam D-something telling me AC/DC sucks and this other band is better. Then it was buying "Appetite for Destruction" at Best Buy and seeing the "Paradise City" music video.

 

As if I actually took that sip of alcohol or inhaled marijuana fumes, I was hooked. Adam was right. Guns N' Roses was much better -- to me -- than anything else I had heard.

 

While the fandom has gone in waves -- as anything does over the course of 12 years -- it still is part of me. It still holds residence, just as the "Guns N' Roses" tattoo remains a fixture on my right shoulder. I was and always will be hooked to the sound of a band I never thought I'd get to experience as it was knocking the music world on its ass.

 

Let's not forget how much of a tragic comedy it is to first hear Guns N' Roses in the 21st century. "Appetite" was released in 1987, one year before I was born. "Use Your Illusions" hit when I was 3. The band -- Axl, Slash and Duff -- played their last show together when I was 5. Guns N' Roses broke up when I was 8.

 

You can go and find people's recounts of their first time listening to "Appetite." They heard it in 1987 or 1988 or whenever the band was at its apex. Me? I heard it 17 years later, but my experience mirrors others.

 

These five dudes -- and especially the one dude singing and the other dude with the loud guitar -- sounded PISSED. And not whiny pissed like Nirvana or forced pissed like death metal or passively pissed like most 80s hair bands.

 

These dudes were just angry, at whatever. And it was real. It didn't sound concocted. That's why "Sweet Child" and "Rocket Queen" and "Paradise City" were there. The fury took a break for moments describing emotional relationships (Sweet Child and RQ) and the mixed emotions of big city life compared to the Midwest (PC). The things Axl was saying -- "they let him say that word?" -- the adrenaline of Adler's drumming, Duff's baseline, the slick and smooth (the only smooth part) Izzy rhythm guitar and Slash's vibrant and engulfing lead. It sounded like they were forming these musical aspects into one emotional "**** off" to the entire world, without actually saying it (Well, Axl said it once).

 

Now, remember the description of being 16 years old? Yeah, you see how this gels. If I heard a wash-over hybrid of Guns N' Roses songs for the first time today, I'd probably disregard them as a "good, not great" rock band. But things influence us as 16-year-olds.

 

(FYI, just go listen to that album. Whole way, start to finish. Taking away the mentality of a irked and mentally wild teenager, that album is still a freakin' super monster cyborg. Those guys are insane. Axl sounds like he just left the insane asylum.)

 

Then there's "Patience" and "One in a Million," thought-provoking lyrics tapping into your perception of self. Then "Use Your Illusions" and the back-and-forth rabid nature between fast-paced rock and emotional sap. Most of it great, some of it unnecessary. Still, the same addictive sound persevered.

 

Regardless of all this, the aforementioned "tragic comedy" description remains true. I was a 16-year-old fan of a band that split into two factions years ago. Axl on one side with his "New GNR" and Slash, Duff and "replacement drummer" Matt Sorum in Velvet Revolver. And the two sides hated -- at least "strongly disliked" -- one another. Y'all know the story.

 

Fun times, right? Well, it had its moments for a silly teenager to get lost in.

 

I let myself get excited in 2006, when 18-year-old me discovered Axl and his new band were returning that summer. I frequented -- five or six times a day -- GNR forums in search of news about this "Chinese Democracy" album. I let my high school crush return in 2009, when I skipped class my junior year of college to buy two copies of Axl's "Chinese Democracy/Here is proof I can write amazing lyrics" album. One copy was a CD. The other was a vinyl, and I don't have a vinyl player.

 

Just wanted it.

 

Still have it.

 

So yeah, now is a pretty surreal time. And on April 8, I'll be there.

 

I always said I wish I was born in the late 1970s or early 1980s so I could have the memory of experiencing Guns N' Roses madness at its peak and seeing the band play live. I always assumed it'd never happen. I always figured Axl's "New GNR" and old YouTube videos were the the closest I'd get.

 

But on Friday, I'll see it. History. Axl. Slash. Duff. Maybe even Izzy and Adler (here's hoping). Together as "Guns N' Roses." It's surreal.

 

I just know it doesn't matter if the band sucks or rocks. Doesn't matter if it's a glorious or a glorious dumpster fire. The only way I leave unhappy is if they don't show up. I just want to see it. I want to say I got to see my favorite band. I want to connect -- even from 80 yards away and a flight of stairs up -- with an integral fabric of who I am and how I evolved from a 16-year-old mess to a 27-year-old "adult" who is extremely thankful for the road fate has taken so far.

 

It's going to be one of the greatest nights of my life.

 

They're back.

 

Finally.

[Intercourse]

The silly old romantic in me wanted the original 5 with Sorum together from day 1.

I have found the hard focus on the cash a bit off putting, especially as all the main men have plenty of the stuff anyway.

I would love for them to be doing this for the band, its name, fans, music and unique place in history but part of me fears that its a little of these things but mostly for the cash.

Still...Slash, Duff AND Axl on stage together again...fuck me!!

 

 

 

[Tourettes2400]

My thoughts and feelings are that I wish they would announce the dates and sell the tickets so I can go back to my boring life without constantly thinking about this reunion and checking forums. Oh , almost forgot, so I can actually work while at work.

[starlight]

2 hours ago, Tom-Ass said:

I don't care if it is a cash grab if Axl sounds good.

That's what I think as well

[emybdc]

I can't really put into words how I feel about this - guess the fact that I'm flying all the way from Brazil says it all. 
The crazy thing is GnR was the band that got me into music. Nobody really listened to music at home and I have no idea why I bought Live Era in the first place. But that was my first CD ever (I was about 13) and changed my life completely - not exaggerating. Everything I've done since then has a GnR influence - my friends, my kind of music, my trips to see bands play. 
I got into GnR circa 2003, so the band didn't exist with the original lineup anymore. For some silly reason I ALWAYS believed I would see them together again. People laughed at me sooo many times because of that lol but here we are, one week away from my biggest dream coming true 
I love reading how everyone feels about this and knowing I'm not the only who gets emotional when it comes to GnR.

[Tourettes2400]

Almost the same story except for I was about 8 and saw them on MTV in the 80s. I still remember watching  Slash break into that last solo on Sweet child of mine in the video and thinking he was the coolest thing I had ever seen. Loved Guns ever since so seeing them almost all together has been a dream of mine for a long time.

[DieselDaisy]

4 hours ago, Oldest Goat said:

If they're making new music will you put the little poster back up?

Nah. It should have came down long ago haha. My Neil Young/Crazy Horse 2001 UK tour poster still stands proudly.

In truth I think I just had all my passion and interest for this band beaten out of me due to all the soap opera bollocks and secrecy. The original five could regroup and release a raw masterpiece and I probably would be still cynical. The period 1993 onward, the death knell being the truly embarrassing 2011-14 period, just made me file away Guns N' Roses circus as surplus to requirements. Those final cashgrabs by Axl in Vegas in 2014! Even Gene Simmons was embarrassed for them! A levitating piano haha. just embarrassing.

[James Bond]

It's kind of funny seeing people dismiss this as a cash grab. It is, don't get me wrong, but then what were the endless Appetite/Greatest Hits tours that Axl has been doing the past decade? One studio album in twenty years and endless concert tours. I enjoyed all the 2006-2014 era shows that I attended, but it got to the point where the consistent lack of new music made things a lot less exciting. By the end of the 2014 shows with the future of the band in doubt I figured Axl had two options - reunion or a new album. Going on tour with yet another set of replacements for replacements just wouldn't make sense. If all he wanted to do was tour the hits, why not get a couple of the guys who helped write them in the first place?

There were a few times I sensed something was up behind the scenes. After the 2010 Duff encounter I started to think that maybe Duff could finally be the answer/solution to the Axl/Slash dilemma. Then there was that video of Axl talking with fans about Slash passing out with girls. The vibe in that video was that of someone recalling fond/funny memories with a friend rather than the hatred we had come to expect. Then ahead of the 2012 shows, Axl flat out name dropped Slash when he said he'd only work a reunion with Duff and Slash in that LA Times interview. Just seeing "work with" and "Slash" in the same sentence from Axl was pretty huge. Then, of course, the 2014 "reunion set in motion" comments and whatnot. It all seemed to signal that it was no more just a fantasy - it was actually possible.

2015 started very bleak until the now infamous Slash comments about being cool with Axl. Fast forward a bit later and here we are. I couldn't be more excited. As someone who never had the chance to see Axl and Slash share the same stage, this is huge for me. I hope we do get new music and I would have been just as happy if Axl had been releasing music all along, but a tour with Slash and Duff? I'll take it. For a long time it seemed like it would never happen and now it's right here in front of us.

I'll continue to hope that we hear new Guns N' Roses music someday but for now I'll be too caught up in the excitement of the tour. Bring it on I say!

[Sprite]

3 minutes ago, James Bond said:

It's kind of funny seeing people dismiss this as a cash grab. It is, don't get me wrong, but then what were the endless Appetite/Greatest Hits tours that Axl has been doing the past decade? One studio album in twenty years and endless concert tours. I enjoyed all the 2006-2014 era shows that I attended, but it got to the point where the consistent lack of new music made things a lot less exciting. By the end of the 2014 shows with the future of the band in doubt I figured Axl had two options - reunion or a new album. Going on tour with yet another set of replacements for replacements just wouldn't make sense. If all he wanted to do was tour the hits, why not get a couple of the guys who helped write them in the first place?

There were a few times I sensed something was up behind the scenes. After the 2010 Duff encounter I started to think that maybe Duff could finally be the answer/solution to the Axl/Slash dilemma. Then there was that video of Axl talking with fans about Slash passing out with girls. The vibe in that video was that of someone recalling fond/funny memories with a friend rather than the hatred we had come to expect. Then ahead of the 2012 shows, Axl flat out name dropped Slash when he said he'd only work a reunion with Duff and Slash in that LA Times interview. Just seeing "work with" and "Slash" in the same sentence from Axl was pretty huge. Then, of course, the 2014 "reunion set in motion" comments and whatnot. It all seemed to signal that it was no more just a fantasy - it was actually possible.

2015 started very bleak until the now infamous Slash comments about being cool with Axl. Fast forward a bit later and here we are. I couldn't be more excited. As someone who never had the chance to see Axl and Slash share the same stage, this is huge for me. I hope we do get new music and I would have been just as happy if Axl had been releasing music all along, but a tour with Slash and Duff? I'll take it. For a long time it seemed like it would never happen and now it's right here in front of us.

I'll continue to hope that we hear new Guns N' Roses music someday but for now I'll be too caught up in the excitement of the tour. Bring it on I say!

Great post. Never understood the cash grab thing but goes with the territory. I guess some fans think Izzy's approach is the only way to do it but when you've sold over 100 million albums, you're going to be able to do some promotion and make some money. I wonder if the people complaining of a cash grab have a job? Do they do it to pay the bills? It's just a cash grab if so. But why is that ok for them but not for some people that have more money and the ability to make more money? Money doesn't fix your problems anyway so what's the big deal? They are capitalizing on what they can make. Good for them. I do the same thing when I look around at job postings. 

[DieselDaisy]

29 minutes ago, Sprite said:

Great post. Never understood the cash grab thing but goes with the territory. I guess some fans think Izzy's approach is the only way to do it but when you've sold over 100 million albums, you're going to be able to do some promotion and make some money. I wonder if the people complaining of a cash grab have a job? Do they do it to pay the bills? It's just a cash grab if so. But why is that ok for them but not for some people that have more money and the ability to make more money? Money doesn't fix your problems anyway so what's the big deal? They are capitalizing on what they can make. Good for them. I do the same thing when I look around at job postings. 

What a thoroughly depressing and unromantic way you look at music acts.

In the words of Neil Young, on the subject of performing

Quote

''I like it when the sound is right and the audience is into it and the music is relevant. If one of those elements is missing, you are screwed. You are killing yourself slowly...I need to perform new songs...for me to feel anything other than ancient history up close...We need to be sure the new songs and music are ready and are meaningful to us. They are our ticket, our vehicle to the future, and without the new songs we are just reliving the past''.

- Neil Young, Waging Heavy Peace (2012), p. 90.

I concur.

[Sprite]

1 minute ago, DieselDaisy said:

What a thoroughly depressing and unromantic way you look at music acts.

 

You should know Mr. Negativity! 

[DieselDaisy]

5 minutes ago, Sprite said:

You should know Mr. Negativity! 

Well, I'm only negative about things I dislike. I am actually extremely positive about things I do like. One only needs to go through a certain 'last full album...'' thread in the my world section to find evidence of me being extremely positive about musical acts. Look! Albums! Remember them?

[BadApples87]

If Axl shows up...on time.....and sounds great then this will be epic.  If he fails to be punctual and/or sounds bad then this is going to go down the toilet.

[PsychoKiss344]

Gets more exciting every day

[starlight]

Money is ok but they need to put passion and effort into what they're doing especially Axl. Having Slash and Duff back may not be enough, this is a huge comeback in rock history plus there is the lack of music throughout these past years it would be better if GNR debuted some new material. If they can make this reunion better with all the original members why not?

[xBrownstonex]

Vegas will be the highlight of my life. Nothing more, nothing less.