STEVEN ADLER: "Izzy is just as heartbroken as I am that the three of them decided to leave us out and bring three strangers in–who are those people?"

[RONIN]

11 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Slash Guitar World, 1990 (about Steven's and Matt's drumming):

http://www.a-4-d.com/t2940-1990-10-dd-interview-with-slash-on-guitar-world#11472

Steven wasn't a technically great drummer, but we had been playing together for so long that we had a great collective feel. His meter, however, was always changing-up and down, up and down. So we had never really played with a great drummer. We didn't know what it would feel like. Not to say Steven isn't any good -- I don 't want to put him down -- but we never really played with anybody that was awesome. Duff and I started realizing how good Guns N' Roses could be after playing with some great drummers, like Kenny Aronoff from Iggy's band. We just looked at each other after playing with Kenny and went," Wow!" Then when Sorum came down and kicked ass, it confirmed things. The band sounds about 100 times better.

The difference is insane. At one point Duff thought it was his fault. We couldn't get a decent groove going, and we couldn't figure what was going wrong. Then we thought it was the whole band! You should've seen us! Y'know, long faces and shit ... [laughs]

The irony here is palpable. Years later, Axl would get technically proficient players as replacements to make his band "better" yielding mixed results. Slash didn't get it back then and he doesn't get it now.

I really think Axl and Slash were suffering from "grass is greener" syndrome. I don't think anyone in the band aside from Izzy and Steven really understood how special AFD 5 was. It's too bad really. No matter what anyone in this band does though, the only album they will be remembered for - the only album that really matters in the GnR canon is Appetite For Destruction. Whether Axl likes it or not, he's going to be associated with Steven for the rest of his career.

[RONIN]

9 hours ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

There you go

 

Great interview by @Gambit83. There you can hear Brain explaining how unique Steven's style is and how hard it was trying to learn it unlike Matt Sorum's as he's kind of a machine.

Fantastic - thanks for posting that.

If you think Steven wasn't important to GnR or that he wasn't a skilled drummer, listen to the interview below.

Brain breaks down Steven's playing ability (and Matt Sorum's):

@MyPrettyTiedUpMichelle

"One of the highlights (and there were many!) was Brain's description of trying to emulate Adler's drumming and how surprising and exciting Adler's style was to him, how he finally got the kind of spirit and energy Adler brought to AFD.  Hearing that from another drummer, and one as awesome as Brain, was really something special.  A great moment.  "

@ludurigan

"mandatory listen at...

1:07:36 - Brain tells how he started listening to GNR songs for the first time in his life, specially Appetite songs, and gets amazed by the quality of the songs, arrangements etc

1:09:10 - Brain tells about the "next level" when he started listening even more to GNR songs and gets even more amazed by the quality of the songs, arrangements etc, and also how he notices that he sorta needs to emulate/recreate Steven Adler way of playing specially in respect to the fans. Fantastic quote "Matt Sorum is a metronome and his shit was EASIER (to play)"

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by RONIN

[RONIN]

6 hours ago, Modano09 said:

Yeah, nobody wants to hear Guns N'Roses songs at a Guns N'Roses concert. 

Thought Axl wanted to move on though? Hasn't he been trying to bury Appetite since '89? 

Dude's been playing AFD heavy setlists since 2002. Clearly he favors Appetite material more than either Illusions or CD. Or he thinks audiences care most about AFD.

Either way, he's been stuck in mulletheadland just like Steven.

[shotsfired cro]

all this is trolling is useless.

it is what it is, despite the fact if we like it or not.I don't like this line up, can i change it!? Hell no.

Nonetheless, with Slash/Duff wishing Izzy happy birthday, with Meeghan posting a pic of Slash and Duff - somethng is rolling.

Nobody saw or heard from inside the band since the tour ended.

Maybe Fartus/Mel/Frank are long out? For all we know, their contracts could have ended Dec 31, 2017.  Who knows.

Would I be surprised to see Matt and Izzy on sage in June? Hell no.

Personally, I don't think Adlers problem is in playing,  I think his immature behaviour is something that they couldn't deal with 24/7. I mean, imagine if you had to be in the same room/bus/plane with him for a week...With all due respect to his playing.

[SoulMonster]

There seems to be an argument taking place behind the scenes, sort of. Something that isn't said straight out. Like we discuss something on the surface, while there is something else underneath that really drives the emotions. I get the sense of it when an argument sort of dies out, like when we seem to come to some agreement on what took place when he was fired, and someone ends with "but he was a great drummer," "but they never thought Steven sucked," or "no one could have been better for AFD than Steven." Like that's what they really mean. Like that's what they are defending. To them, this isn't about why, exactly, Slash, Duff and Axl fired Steven. Or how bad he got because of addiction. Or whether he is pathetic. This is about people feeling that Steven needs a defense, in general, and this is their way of doing it. It's about people who really like him and who get insulted on his behalf when people argue that he deservedly shouldn't be part of the pseudo-reunion, or that it was logical to fire him, or call him names. But I don't think there's a need for that, I am sure we all agree that he was great on APD. I think he was fantastic on early GN'R material. I just listened to Reckless Life live. I LOOVE his speedy intro. So we are kinda arguing different things.

[Padme]

3 hours ago, BlueJean Baby said:

You are entitled to your opinion, but I totally disagree. 😆

It would be interested if you explain what was so amazing about NuGN'R. All I saw was only one album, 20 years in the making that made little impact. Revolving door managers and members. Some of them not worthy of a band like GN'R. Philly riot and tour cancellations in the early 2000s. They perfomed Vegas and festivals. Axl was in bad shape and his voiced sucked. So maybe they were not an abomination. But it was very close to that.

[PatrickS77]

6 hours ago, shotsfired cro said:

all this is trolling is useless.

it is what it is, despite the fact if we like it or not.I don't like this line up, can i change it!? Hell no.

Nonetheless, with Slash/Duff wishing Izzy happy birthday, with Meeghan posting a pic of Slash and Duff - somethng is rolling.

Nobody saw or heard from inside the band since the tour ended.

Maybe Fartus/Mel/Frank are long out? For all we know, their contracts could have ended Dec 31, 2017.  Who knows.

Would I be surprised to see Matt and Izzy on sage in June? Hell no.

Personally, I don't think Adlers problem is in playing,  I think his immature behaviour is something that they couldn't deal with 24/7. I mean, imagine if you had to be in the same room/bus/plane with him for a week...With all due respect to his playing.

Wow. Lots of baseless speculation going on. As for the bolded. Then you just tell him to stfu and deal with it like a man. They only have to see him on the commute, soundcheck and show. Or do you think Axl, Slash and Duff spend that much time together or with the stand ins?

Edited April 18, 2018 by PatrickS77

[jacdaniel]

I don't think there is any big conspiracy against Steven and Izzy. Nu Guns was falling apart. Axl needed a permanent bassist and guitarist. He knew it would be a joke to hire a new batch of hired hands. They were already a Vegas act by then. He was already back friends with Duff. Duff and Slash are very close lifelong friends. Duff helped Axl to see that Slash wasn't evil and Axl reached out. 

Basically the same band with Slash replacing Bumble and DJ and Duff replacing Tommy. 

It seems like some effort was made to get Steven and Izzy involved. Izzy wanted more money. Steven wanted more involvement than he was offered. 

But Axl wanted to keep the band going with just Slash and Duff joining. 

[El Guapo]

Didn't Axl say in an interview years and years ago that he would only consider Slash and Duff back into Guns anyway?

[SoulMonster]

3 minutes ago, El Guapo said:

Didn't Axl say in an interview years and years ago that he would only consider Slash and Duff back into Guns anyway?

He also implied that any involvement with Steven would likely lead to more lawsuits.

[MildlyArtistic]

1 hour ago, jacdaniel said:

I don't think there is any big conspiracy against Steven and Izzy. Nu Guns was falling apart. Axl needed a permanent bassist and guitarist. He knew it would be a joke to hire a new batch of hired hands. They were already a Vegas act by then. He was already back friends with Duff. Duff and Slash are very close lifelong friends. Duff helped Axl to see that Slash wasn't evil and Axl reached out. 

Basically the same band with Slash replacing Bumble and DJ and Duff replacing Tommy. 

It seems like some effort was made to get Steven and Izzy involved. Izzy wanted more money. Steven wanted more involvement than he was offered. 

But Axl wanted to keep the band going with just Slash and Duff joining. 

Given how Duff toured with Axl and NuGuns briefly back in 2014, I'd say Duff would've definitely returned as a full-time member with or without Slash's involvement. But thanks to him reportedly getting Axl and Slash on amicable terms again, we have this tour that a lot of us never dreamed of seeing. 

[jacdaniel]

39 minutes ago, El Guapo said:

Didn't Axl say in an interview years and years ago that he would only consider Slash and Duff back into Guns anyway?

He did. Hatred aside, I think he respected Slash and Duff for working hard and having active careers as musicians. 

Whereas Steven and Izzy didn't do much after Guns. 

People will point to Izzy's albums, but he has barely done any PR or touring.  The albums are as low key as Izzy. He seems happiest in that environment.

[Derick]

59 minutes ago, El Guapo said:

Didn't Axl say in an interview years and years ago that he would only consider Slash and Duff back into Guns anyway?

Yeah he did..I think it was sometime around 2012.

[BlueJean Baby]

3 hours ago, Padme said:

It would be interested if you explain what was so amazing about NuGN'R. All I saw was only one album, 20 years in the making that made little impact. Revolving door managers and members. Some of them not worthy of a band like GN'R. Philly riot and tour cancellations in the early 2000s. They perfomed Vegas and festivals. Axl was in bad shape and his voiced sucked. So maybe they were not an abomination. But it was very close to that.

Like i said everyone is entitled to their own opinion....just as I am entitled to mine.  I have been a fan for 30 years, I simply stated my opinion based on how I feel about things, I shouldn't have to turn in an essay defending my feelings. 🙄

[Blackstar]

4 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

There seems to be an argument taking place behind the scenes, sort of. Something that isn't said straight out. Like we discuss something on the surface, while there is something else underneath that really drives the emotions. I get the sense of it when an argument sort of dies out, like when we seem to come to some agreement on what took place when he was fired, and someone ends with "but he was a great drummer," "but they never thought Steven sucked," or "no one could have been better for AFD than Steven." Like that's what they really mean. Like that's what they are defending. To them, this isn't about why, exactly, Slash, Duff and Axl fired Steven. Or how bad he got because of addiction. Or whether he is pathetic. This is about people feeling that Steven needs a defense, in general, and this is their way of doing it. It's about people who really like him and who get insulted on his behalf when people argue that he deservedly shouldn't be part of the pseudo-reunion, or that it was logical to fire him, or call him names. But I don't think there's a need for that, I am sure we all agree that he was great on APD. I think he was fantastic on early GN'R material. I just listened to Reckless Life live. I LOOVE his speedy intro. So we are kinda arguing different things.

I feel that, in some cases, it's even more complex than that and there's something underneath the underneath; which doesn't really have to do with being emotional about Steven (or even with loving AFD, for that matter), but with emotions about Axl.

[killuridols]

35 minutes ago, BlueJean Baby said:

Like i said everyone is entitled to their own opinion....just as I am entitled to mine.  I have been a fan for 30 years, I simply stated my opinion based on how I feel about things, I shouldn't have to turn in an essay defending my feelings. 🙄

But I guess you said you became interested in this band again once most of the hacks were gone, didn't you? 😏

And you never attended a nuGNR show, in spite of claiming you support them this much.

[BlueJean Baby]

9 minutes ago, killuridols said:

But I guess you said you became interested in this band again once most of the hacks were gone, didn't you? 😏

And you never attended a nuGNR show, in spite of claiming you support them this much.

I never lost interest in this band, I went through personal issues that prevented me from being online for several years, so no I never said that. My feelings never waivered in regard to this band. 

I did have tickets to 2 shows in 2002 and 2006 to shows that were cancelled. I don't  claim to support them, as you put it....I 100% support them and always will. 🙄  Just because I was not logistically or financially able to make it to the shows during that time, has no bearing on anything, and quite honestly, is none of your business 😣

 

[Padme]

58 minutes ago, BlueJean Baby said:

Like i said everyone is entitled to their own opinion....just as I am entitled to mine.  I have been a fan for 30 years, I simply stated my opinion based on how I feel about things, I shouldn't have to turn in an essay defending my feelings. 🙄

I'm not asking you to write an essay. I just wasnt to know what you like about NuGN'R. You like RIR 2011? You miss Pitman? You like Tommy more than Duff? You like Ashba and Buckethead more than Slash? You think Axl voice was better back in those days?

[Ratam]

8 hours ago, RazorGunner said:

Verbal diarrhea is an apt description 

I guess this will has continuation, already is page 25

[Lio]

Weren't we done discussing other posters?

God, I'll be happy when the tour starts again.

[BlueJean Baby]

4 minutes ago, Padme said:

I'm not asking you to write an essay. I just wasnt to know what you like about NuGN'R. You like RIR 2011? You miss Pitman? You like Tommy more than Duff? You like Ashba and Buckethead more than Slash? You think Axl voice was better back in those days?

I happen to like the majority of the songs on Chinese Democracy, I can relate to them. I never thought of that era of GNR as NuGuns, it is all GNR to me. It is not an issue of preferring certain members over others for me. I realize there were some rough times for the band back then, but I am not one to throw in the towel because of things not going perfectly during those times. 😏 

 

[DieselDaisy]

For all the lameness of Adler's salesmanship, a poster with Appetite lettering scheme and 1980s photo of Adler, ''performing Appetite for Destruction in full'' etc. - and trust me, I cringed at this stuff also - he is still apparently recording a new song ahead of the Australian tour which makes him that much less nostalgic than Rose. 

Edited April 18, 2018 by DieselDaisy

[EvanG]

25 minutes ago, BlueJean Baby said:

I happen to like the majority of the songs on Chinese Democracy, I can relate to them. I never thought of that era of GNR as NuGuns, it is all GNR to me. It is not an issue of preferring certain members over others for me. I realize there were some rough times for the band back then, but I am not one to throw in the towel because of things not going perfectly during those times. 😏 

 

I like about half of the songs on CD too. It's not GnR to me, but that's okay. I judge the music, not the name on the cover and a lot of people can't look past that. There are several bands I like that only have one original member remaining and I don't see them as the band they used to be, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the music if it's any good. It's kinda lame holding on to that name with only one original member left, but that's not my call.

I never listened to CD as the new GnR album, I listened to it as the music Axl had been working on for god knows how long with other musicians. And that is still what it is to me, and I happen to like about half of the songs on it.

[Kwick1]

Wow! I check the forum today and post read as members are under attack as to whether they're a big GnR fan. First, going to concerts does not make one a bigger fan than another. It only makes them fortunate to have been able to see GnR. From my short time here, there appears to be fans of AFD who may accept only that line up as GnR. People are entitled to that belief. However, for anything to survive it has to evolve.  I won't argue why GnR had to evolve as I'll never change any of your opinions. But GnR has survived for 30 years solely because of Axl Rose and I'm thankful for that. 

remember, we're all GnR fans. 

Edited April 18, 2018 by Kwick1
Grammar error

[beautifulanddamned]

7 hours ago, RONIN said:

I really don't think Izzy gives a shit either way.

Any interest he had in this was probably for the nostalgia of AFD 5 (something he's been into since the early 2000's) and a payday. I suspect he called out the band on twitter because Axl/Duff made him look like an unreliable flake when the real reason it all probably fell through was over money. Less hardball and more about setting the record straight imho. I can't imagine he's under any delusion about who the stars of the band are and who the audience is turning out for - he was always going to be at a disadvantage negotiating with the band. If there's residual disappointment there on Izzy's side, it's probably less about GnR and more about his personal relationships with Duff/Slash taking a hit. Izzy was closest to Duff and I can't imagine that relationship hasn't been bruised by what went down.  

As you said, he's probably moved on by now. I wouldn't be surprised if he's washed his hands of GnR completely. Izzy is content living his life on his terms. The real losers here are Axl/Slash/Duff (if they're going to be writing new material) and GnR fans.

I wasn't talking about the loot tweet at all. I was talking about the initial "You owe me one, bro," yo soy Axl Rose, Stuck in the Middle, people who enjoy April Fool's Day are asshole's extravaganza. Not the actions of a man who didn't give a shit at that time.