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Our Interview with Marc Canter - Talking Reunion, Axl Relationship & Old Days!


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5 hours ago, Blackstar said:

I think what a person says about something at a certain time, epresents how they feel about it at that time. Later they may say something different, because they have re-thought things and their feelings have changed. That doesn't make one version more real than the other (when it comes to thoughts/feelings, not facts of course); we just pick the one we like the most :)

 I don't have the impression that Duff has been showcasing his punk roots after 2002 more than he had before. He has played and has connections with a lot of people, not only from the ex-"alternative" scene. He has jammed with Sebastian Bach and he is friends with Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee.

There is an amusing story in a book on the history of grunge:

  Reveal hidden contents

TRACEY ROWLAND When the U-Men [80s garage band from Seattle] were in L.A. at the beginning of the tour, Larry couldn’t make it, so he talked me into going down—to keep ’em out of jail, I guess. [...] So the band, Mike T., Val, and me are all crammed into this Volkswagen Bug, and we pulled into this gas station to get gas, and we all piled out of this Volkswagen. And there’s Duff McKagan!

DUFF MCKAGAN I was coming home from work, and I ran into them. I was living in a cockroach-infested single-room apartment. L.A. at the time was Quiet Riot, Ratt, some really terrible bands. In L.A., Guns N’ Roses was considered a punk-rock band. We were huddled in this corner of Hollywood, snapping viciously at any gig we could get.

JOHN BIGLEY Tom goes, “That’s fucking Duff!” There’s this fuckin’ wanker wearing a bullet belt, with his pants tucked into his cowboy boots. His hair is all teased out and long and crazy. You know, Hollywood butt-rocker guy. “Duff, what’s goin’ on? Look at you, man!”

He goes, “Got this band goin’. It’s goin’ really well.”

“What’s it called?”

He sighs. “It’s the singer’s name …” He whispered it: “It’s called Guns N’ Roses.” Yeah, he was embarrassed. He used to be in a band called the Vains, man. Guns N’ Roses?! “The singer is calling himself Axl.”

Guns N’ Roses. Axl. We’re all laughin’. “Wow, how magnificent!” I go, “That sounds like fuckin’ shit. Good luck with that, you freak.” But he was super good-natured about it.

The band laughed about it for a couple of days. “Duff ’s doing metal!” Then, fuck, two years later: “Welcome to the jungle!”

Also there are a couple of quotes from Seattle musicians saying that when Duff left Seattle for LA he said he wanted to be a huge rockstar or to make it, but Duff denies ever saying that.

There is something strange about this quote, its wording. Slash starts by saying "with all due respect...". I'm not a native speaker, but I'm under the impression that this expression is usually followed by a disagreement or some criticism. I'm thinking that maybe there was some mistake in the transcription. Unless what he wanted to say was "with all due respect, they were wrong in slamming all of us, it was all Axl's doing".

Your story off the history of grunge is golden. Thank you for that. I always felt the same, by the way. The name Guns n Roses IS corny! :rofl-lol:

The thing about Duff and changing opinions and thinking it through... Well! I am probably biased negatively by his behaviour towards Izzy. I mean - making music with the guy on and off, working on his record, touring in Japan, sugar coating him in his book and whatnot - and then never to mention him again or having im in the reunion?! And now the interview with Jericho when he says that Izzy was not the unsung musician of GnR... Yeah right. Also, to me, the lying about his wealth firm and the obscure online classes that were not university as he always claimed are all really shady to me. Duff is trying to write his own history, that what he's doing. He's swapping his allies as he needs them.

 

51 minutes ago, RONIN said:

It doesn't seem far-fetched to suggest that he does not want to be lumped in with the hairmetal guys and feels kinship with the grunge era bands who get way more respect and artistic kudos from the press than GnR. How could he not have a complex about that given his Seattle roots and seeing GnR being painted as the antithesis of what 90's punk rock was about? 

That is exactly what I think. Also, if I was Duff, I'd feel the same. I hope I wouldn't namedrop as pathetically as Duff but yeah - the feeling I understand. :D

51 minutes ago, RONIN said:

What I'm saying is that GnR members are less than open about the inner dynamics of the band. And in the rare times they do reveal things, they either walk it back later or misremember it entirely later on. Most of what we know about GnR, especially in the mid 90's, is from Slash's interviews. Nobody else talks.

Slash has also been sugar coating about the real state of GnR. I remember an interview from August 96, I think it was, shortly before he left. And he said that they're working on it and he had had dinner with Axl and they sorted everything out and everythings great and they're working on the record. Slash has always always been very diplomatic and smooth with the media. He doesn't give anything away, really. Especially about Axl he was quite loyal in interviews, at least until he was still in GnR. We really should take anything they say with a huge grain of salt. 

Edited by Tori72
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Although I love a good theory as much as the next person, I feel compelled to point out that no one in Guns owes us an explanation. 

No one is obliged to reveal the band’s inner workings, justify or apologise for their choices or opinions, or even their treatment of one another, past or present.  Not to us anyway. 

Whilst everyone is entitled to their opinion of what went down,  the problem with examining their relationships and motivations through the narrow lens of mostly old interviews and quotes is that we risk reducing them to one dimensional characters. And they’re not. They’re complicated people like the rest of us. 

If they are now choosing to clam up instead of blurting out thoughtless, hurtful shit (that might later be spun into some pretty entertaining theories ^^) whilst wasted and/or royally pissed off with one another, then maybe that’s a sign they’ve learned from some of their mistakes. 

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19 minutes ago, MyPrettyTiedUpMichelle said:

Although I love a good theory as much as the next person, I feel compelled to point out that no one in Guns owes us an explanation. 

No one is obliged to reveal the band’s inner workings, justify or apologise for their choices or opinions, or even their treatment of one another, past or present.  Not to us anyway. 

Whilst everyone is entitled to their opinion of what went down,  the problem with examining their relationships and motivations through the narrow lens of mostly old interviews and quotes is that we risk reducing them to one dimensional characters. And they’re not. They’re complicated people like the rest of us. 

If they are now choosing to clam up instead of blurting out thoughtless, hurtful shit (that might later be spun into some pretty entertaining theories ^^) whilst wasted and/or royally pissed off with one another, then maybe that’s a sign they’ve learned from some of their mistakes. 

You sound like Duff now. :lol:

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As far as his handlers control over him and interest in his well being; I know there have been rumours that Axl had a breakdown in 2002 and his handlers convinced him not to seek in-patient treatment.  How much is actually known about this?  Is this just one fans speculation that turned into a rumour in the internet echo chamber?

All I could find from sourced reporting was:

Rumors began running rampant following Philly: One had Axl suffering a nervous breakdown at the prospect of returning to half-empty halls full of "hayseeds" following a sold-out Madison Square Garden performance on December 5. (According to Jon Pareles in The New York Times on December 9, Rose called the concert a reunion because, "I managed to get enough of myself together to do this.") An MTV newsperson allegedly heard Axl beat up one of his managers backstage. And the most likely story had Axl, still basking in the afterglow of the MSG show, remaining in his New York City hotel room to watch a basketball game on TV. Rose never did check into his Philadelphia hotel.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/gnr-whys-6389279

referenced in article :

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/09/arts/rock-review-no-longer-the-bad-boy-sex-symbol-but-still-light-on-his-feet.html

 

On December 4, 2017 at 6:04 AM, PatrickS77 said:

Sorry. But are you having a stroke each time you're posting? I have no idea what you're saying. How about gathering your thoughts before posting?

@Ratam is awesome and her posts are awesome, just how they are! :headbang:

Edited by soon
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1 hour ago, Gabrielaerojas said:

Hablo both! Hi from Miami. 

Yes in Miami se habla casi + spanish que english,yo no se si es tu nombre real, pero si  Gabriela Rojas is name y surname spanish,tu vives en lo mejor de 2 mundos☺

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5 minutes ago, Gabrielaerojas said:

I’m a US citizen. I speak mostly English. Pero mi español es perfecto. :headbang:

Si@Gabielarojas es perfecto y en cuanto al english es el lenguaje universal ,ademas que es casi el 90% en Internet , segun dicen en US la poblacion hispana habla spanglish 1 mix de ambos idiomas☺

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It's funny how we use quotes from 20 years ago to gain insight into a friendship/relationship. 

Just recently I was quite upset with a good friend and had some bad thoughts in my head, even said some negative things. 

Then we met up and everything was fine in no time. 

I believe the Axl slash issues probably just got blown out of proportion from media and people with agendas. 

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2 hours ago, Ratam said:

Si@Gabielarojas es perfecto y en cuanto al english es el lenguaje universal ,ademas que es casi el 90% en Internet , segun dicen en US la poblacion hispana habla spanglish 1 mix de ambos idiomas☺

Y vos cuando vas a aprender a hablar bien los dos idiomas? :ph34r:

:P

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12 hours ago, RONIN said:

Agreed. I miss the days when Axl was everyone's favorite punching bag and Slash/Duff would give yearly proclamations of how important the original 5 members were to the integrity and success of GnR. 

For me Guns have solely existed as a soap opera with little musical interest for such a long time, a constant source of merriment and amazement, that much is buggered-up now that they are a machine like corporate juggernaut. There is always Rose's voice to laugh about mind - there is always that.

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29 minutes ago, Tucknroll said:

I thought I was the only one who got sick of hearing the word punk rock every time duff speaks. Also, sometimes I think bands break up just so they can enjoy their success and then get back together a few years before retiring 

agreed, dave grohl uses the word punk a lot too 

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On 5.12.2017 at 7:22 PM, jacdaniel said:

It's funny how we use quotes from 20 years ago to gain insight into a friendship/relationship. 

Just recently I was quite upset with a good friend and had some bad thoughts in my head, even said some negative things. 

Then we met up and everything was fine in no time. 

I believe the Axl slash issues probably just got blown out of proportion from media and people with agendas. 

Actually it was Axl, who blew the issue out of proportion. Remember the cancer comment, 12 years after he had last seen Slash. Had he just talked to Slash earlier.

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