Slash interview Classic Rock magazine

[Eddie Money]

Nice quote but time isn’t on their side.  If they’re serious, the side projects will cease and they’ll get to work soon.   I would love to see this band live with a current album that people actually listen to before going to the show, while Axl still sounds halfway decent.   I know it doesn’t happen with the legacy acts these days, but I feel that a lot of people would give a partially reunited GNR album or at least a few released tracks a chance.  

[jamillos]

11 hours ago, ironmt said:

When did Slash and Duff recover ownership In Guns N Roses and how much do they own? The fact of the matter Is, If this version of the band disintegrates, they better pack it in or plan on playing venues like The Hard Rock Hotel In Las Vegas which holds 4,000. I can't Imagine that a version of Guns N Roses minus Axl, Slash and Duff will be tolerated again after reuniting for 3 years. 

With the kind of money Slash and Duff are currently making, they would probably be willing to eat more shit than you think. 

I wasn’t really talking about ownership. On the other hand, I have no doubt that the loot gets split adequately, whatever it may be. Even though these guys would never make anything near the shit they’ve made during NITL had they decided to break up again, they could always easily get back to solo stuff, SMKC, Loaded, even renew VR, and all would be fine. In fact, it’s Axl whose existence would be jeopardized, because, as you said, Guns without Slash and Duff once the reunion happened would not attract enough people. 
And no one wants to see characters like Ashba there any more. 
So I believe they are amicable even in terms of money. Nobody needs to accept shit from anyone else. 

[Gem Archer]

He’s rattling the cage, i’m afraid this is not going to be well received in axl’s camp...the hype starts to grow even more now with this kind of statements on every interview..

[Gnrcane]

20 hours ago, tbaugerud said:

Same story since the last 20 years. The earliest possible scenario is christmas 2019. Maybe the year after. 

Not the same story since for 20+ years, Axl and Slash didn't even speak.  The fact that they are back on good terms and slash says they are getting along "fucking great" makes a difference.  Now, I still wouldn't bet my life's savings on new music from GNR but it is WAAAY more likely with Slash in the picture than it was before NITL.

[Nick85]

13 hours ago, Eddie Money said:

Nice quote but time isn’t on their side.  If they’re serious, the side projects will cease and they’ll get to work soon.   I would love to see this band live with a current album that people actually listen to before going to the show, while Axl still sounds halfway decent.   I know it doesn’t happen with the legacy acts these days, but I feel that a lot of people would give a partially reunited GNR album or at least a few released tracks a chance.  

Striking while the iron is hot has never been Axl's thing, sadly. 

[tbaugerud]

19 minutes ago, Gnrcane said:

Not the same story since for 20+ years, Axl and Slash didn't even speak.  The fact that they are back on good terms and slash says they are getting along "fucking great" makes a difference.  Now, I still wouldn't bet my life's savings on new music from GNR but it is WAAAY more likely with Slash in the picture than it was before NITL.

I promise you this:

 

Slash decides fuck all in GnR

Edited August 22, 2018 by tbaugerud

[Fourteenbeers]

12 minutes ago, tbaugerud said:

I promise you this:

 

Slash decides fuck all in GnR

Maybe, but if Slash decides to leave, then it's good fucking night Gn'R.  

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

On 8/21/2018 at 1:56 PM, bucketOtrouble said:

...Axl’s got a ton of shit that he got recorded already, so we’re just going to get in there and just start getting into that thing...

doesn't sound as if slash and duff are about to contribute significantly to the writing. so ain't no new gnr record but an axl solo #2 under the name of...

and thanks for the killer guitar melodies, slash

 

Perhaps- but it is at least a return to where things stood Post-UYI (only took 25 years!). Better than nothing.

As long as everyone’s now ready to proceed on this basis- could still IMHO get some killer stuff (admittedly more in a UYI/Chinese vein)... 

[Blackstar]

Some other interesting quotes from this interview:

--------

The GN’R live set includes a few tributes to fallen friends. Wichita Lineman was a tip of the cap to Glen Campbell, while Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun was added as a tribute to Chris Cornell. “It just became something that we don’t feel comfortable taking out of the set now,” Slash says. Their epic versions of Layla and Wish You Were Here, meanwhile, are in there just because they like playing them. “There’s no message there,” he says. “It would be brilliant if I had a real reason, but there isn’t.”

 

[...]

“The depths to which people go in social media... This is a phenomenon that has changed society completely. It’s deep, man. It’s a huge outlet for cowards, a fucking horrible way for people to distance themselves and to get further away from being able to communicate directly.

“It’s craziness, you know? Especially around a band like Guns. People tell me about [what people are saying] all the time, and I don’t even want to know about it, because it’s just too much. It’s overwhelming to me.

Almost to illustrate the point, I mention the rumour that Slash’s new partner, Meegan Hodges, and her friend (and Axl’s ex-) Erin Everly, somehow helped get Guns N’ Roses back together.

“Oh God, no,” he says. “See, this is what we don’t want to get into. Because there’s so much bullshit talk out there. Erin had nothing to do with anything. Are you saying that Meegan and Erin got Guns N’ Roses back together?”

The rumour came from Mick Wall’s Guns N’ Roses book The Last Of The Giants. Mick wrote that Meegan somehow started the conversation.

“I haven’t spoken to Mick in ages so he doesn’t know shit about anything”, he says. “I’m sorry, Mick, but... Because no one [in Guns] is doing any press, no one wants to talk about anything personal. I’ve spent the last... since two thousand and fucking eight or whatever, avoiding Guns N’ Roses questions, and my life has been a lot better because of it. So I am not about to get into that now, you know. But no, there’s no truth to that.”

Well’s let’s settle something else while we’re here. For years, Guns N’ Roses have been famous for appearing on stage late. Since you’ve rejoined, that problem seems to have been cured. What’s the difference? How is this Guns N’ Roses getting on stage on time?

“I don’t know, man,” he says. “Axl’s been fucking amazing. He’s been so professional that it blows my mind. I mean, he’s always been professional, but obviously we had some issues with a lot of different things back in the day, but there was a lot of reasons that I wasn’t really aware of... You know, there was such a divide-and-conquer thing going on around us by somebody who will remain mentionless, that we never could get to the core of that problem.

“When we went to do those Coachella gigs, in the back of my mind I was wondering how this was all going to go. But Axl’s been fucking unreal. We’ve been playing for the last almost two years without a fucking hitch. No matter what’s been thrown at him.

“But it’s not because of anything that was said. I think there’s a rumour going around that said that I would quit [if the band were late on stage], or that there was some contract. None of that. There was nothing even mentioned about it.”

[El Guapo]

If Slash speaks the truth here this is fucking awesome.

Maybe they really are in a much better place than we think and  new music is indeed on the way.

[RONIN]

51 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

Some other interesting quotes from this interview:

--------

“I don’t know, man,” he says. “Axl’s been fucking amazing. He’s been so professional that it blows my mind. I mean, he’s always been professional,

Good ol' Saul and his unique recollection of the past...

Quote

but obviously we had some issues with a lot of different things back in the day, but there was a lot of reasons that I wasn’t really aware of... You know, there was such a divide-and-conquer thing going on around us by somebody who will remain mentionless, that we never could get to the core of that problem. “When we went to do those Coachella gigs, in the back of my mind I was wondering how this was all going to go. But Axl’s been fucking unreal. We’ve been playing for the last almost two years without a fucking hitch. No matter what’s been thrown at him.

This sounds rather genuine - like a lot of the bad blood has been slowly dealt with over the past few years and the three of them are getting along really well. From these recent interviews, it almost seems like Slash and Axl are closer now on a personal level than back in '89-96. Like two ex's getting back together and rediscovering what they originally liked/loved about each other. 

Quote

“But it’s not because of anything that was said. I think there’s a rumour going around that said that I would quit [if the band were late on stage], or that there was some contract. None of that. There was nothing even mentioned about it.”

Here we go again. 

Possible, but highly unlikely given what Slash has said over the years (imho). There's just no way that wasn't a topic of discussion with Live Nation given the tens of millions on the line.

 

Edited August 22, 2018 by RONIN

[Sydney Fan]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

Some other interesting quotes from this interview:

--------

The GN’R live set includes a few tributes to fallen friends. Wichita Lineman was a tip of the cap to Glen Campbell, while Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun was added as a tribute to Chris Cornell. “It just became something that we don’t feel comfortable taking out of the set now,” Slash says. Their epic versions of Layla and Wish You Were Here, meanwhile, are in there just because they like playing them. “There’s no message there,” he says. “It would be brilliant if I had a real reason, but there isn’t.”

 

 

[...]

“The depths to which people go in social media... This is a phenomenon that has changed society completely. It’s deep, man. It’s a huge outlet for cowards, a fucking horrible way for people to distance themselves and to get further away from being able to communicate directly.

 

“It’s craziness, you know? Especially around a band like Guns. People tell me about [what people are saying] all the time, and I don’t even want to know about it, because it’s just too much. It’s overwhelming to me.

 

Almost to illustrate the point, I mention the rumour that Slash’s new partner, Meegan Hodges, and her friend (and Axl’s ex-) Erin Everly, somehow helped get Guns N’ Roses back together.

 

“Oh God, no,” he says. “See, this is what we don’t want to get into. Because there’s so much bullshit talk out there. Erin had nothing to do with anything. Are you saying that Meegan and Erin got Guns N’ Roses back together?”

 

The rumour came from Mick Wall’s Guns N’ Roses book The Last Of The Giants. Mick wrote that Meegan somehow started the conversation.

 

“I haven’t spoken to Mick in ages so he doesn’t know shit about anything”, he says. “I’m sorry, Mick, but... Because no one [in Guns] is doing any press, no one wants to talk about anything personal. I’ve spent the last... since two thousand and fucking eight or whatever, avoiding Guns N’ Roses questions, and my life has been a lot better because of it. So I am not about to get into that now, you know. But no, there’s no truth to that.”

Well’s let’s settle something else while we’re here. For years, Guns N’ Roses have been famous for appearing on stage late. Since you’ve rejoined, that problem seems to have been cured. What’s the difference? How is this Guns N’ Roses getting on stage on time?

 

“I don’t know, man,” he says. “Axl’s been fucking amazing. He’s been so professional that it blows my mind. I mean, he’s always been professional, but obviously we had some issues with a lot of different things back in the day, but there was a lot of reasons that I wasn’t really aware of... You know, there was such a divide-and-conquer thing going on around us by somebody who will remain mentionless, that we never could get to the core of that problem.

 

“When we went to do those Coachella gigs, in the back of my mind I was wondering how this was all going to go. But Axl’s been fucking unreal. We’ve been playing for the last almost two years without a fucking hitch. No matter what’s been thrown at him.

 

“But it’s not because of anything that was said. I think there’s a rumour going around that said that I would quit [if the band were late on stage], or that there was some contract. None of that. There was nothing even mentioned about it.”

"somebody who will remain mentionless", suppose this would be doug?.

[Blackstar]

4 minutes ago, Sydney Fan said:

"somebody who will remain mentionless", suppose this would be doug?.

I believe it would be him, yes.

[Georgina Arriaga]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

I believe it would be him, yes.

I agree with this.

Thanks @Blackstar for the quotes...there is another very interesting about AFD

[newusedillusion]

1 hour ago, Sydney Fan said:

"somebody who will remain mentionless", suppose this would be doug?.

I think both Slash and Duff both mention management, namely Goldstein, doing this in their books and largely blame their actions or inactions for band problems.

Thing is, I really don't see how they were responsible for Axl's stage antics back then. How is Doug making him show up late show after show and walking off stage? Rumor mongering, forming different camps, sure, but the stage crap, turning Slash, Duff and Izzy into employees, that was Axl.

[MaskingApathy]

"(Mick) doesn't know shit about anything"  Sums up how I feel.

[Blackstar]

14 minutes ago, newusedillusion said:

I think both Slash and Duff both mention management, namely Goldstein, doing this in their books and largely blame their actions or inactions for band problems.

Thing is, I really don't see how they were responsible for Axl's stage antics back then. How is Doug making him show up late show after show and walking off stage? Rumor mongering, forming different camps, sure, but the stage crap, turning Slash, Duff and Izzy into employees, that was Axl.

Although indeed Doug couldn't make Axl show up late, I could see him sucking up to Axl telling him "don't worry, go on stage when you feel ready, it's your health that matters" etc. and then going to Slash/Duff and going along with whatever they were saying.

Also I think the "turning them into employees" thing has been a perpetuated misconception. There were taking over/control issues, but no such thing as turning them into employees. Izzy's case was most likely about cutting his percentage in the partnership.

Edited August 23, 2018 by Blackstar

[Georgina Arriaga]

3 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

Although indeed Doug couldn't make Axl show up late, I could see him telling Axl "don't worry, go on stage when you feel ready, it's your health that matters" etc. and then going to Slash/Duff and going along with whatever they were saying.

Also I think the "turning them into employees" thing has been a perpetuated misconception. There were taking over/control issues, but no such thing as turning them into employees. Izzy's case was most likely about cutting his percentage in the partnership.

@Blackstar Axl has in speaking terms with Doug?

The headlines in those Slash's interviews are about Axl and GNR...I understand Slash feeling a little weary speak about GNR....Right now the focus is the new GNR album that "Axl is writing"....nothing about SMKC

Edited August 23, 2018 by Georgina Arriaga

[Blackstar]

19 minutes ago, MaskingApathy said:

"(Mick) doesn't know shit about anything"  Sums up how I feel.

Same. In this case, though, the (apparently false) rumour about Erin and Meegan being the catalysts for the reunion came from Alan Niven who told Mick Wall. I think it's likely that Niven has been telling stories based on unconfirmed things he has read or heard around to get attention to himself.

11 minutes ago, Georgina Arriaga said:

@Blackstar Axl has in speaking terms with Doug?

No, from what is known, including what Doug himself said, they aren't talking. Doug said Axl wants nothing to do with him and he hasn't talked to him since 2004, with the exception of 3 years ago when Axl had his lawyer call him and then called him himself telling him kindly to shut up.

Edited August 23, 2018 by Blackstar

[MaskingApathy]

7 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

Same. In this case, though, the (apparently false) rumour about Erin and Meegan being the catalysts for the reunion came from Alan Niven who told Mick Wall. I think it's likely that Niven has been telling stories based on unconfirmed things he has read or heard around to get attention to himself.

I never believed that rumor for a minute. It seemed too ridiculous compared to what we already knew. And Niven seems to not know that much either, like that bit about Izzy going to soundcheck.

[newusedillusion]

17 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

Although indeed Doug couldn't make Axl show up late, I could see him sucking up to Axl telling him "don't worry, go on stage when you feel ready, it's your health that matters" etc. and then going to Slash/Duff and going along with whatever they were saying.

Also I think the "turning them into employees" thing has been a perpetuated misconception. There were taking over/control issues, but no such thing as turning them into employees. Izzy's case was most likely about cutting his percentage in the partnership.

I could buy that once, but at some point you know the fans and other acts don't care for it... or after you've spent all your money paying fines. I believe Slash mentions that at some point, that the only time he knows of Goldstein getting on Axl was when it was costing him money.

Izzy has outright said the contract was to "demote" him, cutting his royalties being a part of it.

I do think Axl at that point was rather paranoid, not helped by coke and people around him. There were certainly parasites causing issues. But showing up late, you can't blame anyone but Axl for that. In fact, I think Duff (maybe it was Slash) mentions that after Izzy quit, Axl stopped showing up late for that leg of the tour.

Eh, all water under the bridge.

[RONIN]

27 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

Also I think the "turning them into employees" thing has been a perpetuated misconception. There were taking over/control issues, but no such thing as turning them into employees. Izzy's case was most likely about cutting his percentage in the partnership.

But wasn't this largely perpetuated by Slash and Duff's 90's/00's interviews where they mention being "demoted" essentially to employees?

My personal take on the current interviews with Slash/Duff is that they're giving a bit of revisionist history to let bygones be bygones and heal old wounds. Painting Doug as the primary villain (which he may very well be) and label execs/lawyers interfering as the main catalyst for the breakup is easier for them to rally behind at this stage than admitting their personal flaws that directly led to the breakup.  The latter would be much harder for the two big egos in the band to post-mortem (publicly). 

4 minutes ago, newusedillusion said:

I could buy that once, but at some point you know the fans and other acts don't care for it... or after you've spent all your money paying fines. I believe Slash mentions that at some point, that the only time he knows of Goldstein getting on Axl was when it was costing him money.

Izzy has outright said the contract was to "demote" him, cutting his royalties being a part of it.

I do think Axl at that point was rather paranoid, not helped by coke and people around him. There were certainly parasites causing issues. But showing up late, you can't blame anyone but Axl for that. In fact, I think Duff (maybe it was Slash) mentions that after Izzy quit, Axl stopped showing up late for that leg of the tour.

Eh, all water under the bridge.

Out of likes. Agreed.

Edited August 23, 2018 by RONIN

[Blackstar]

3 minutes ago, newusedillusion said:

Izzy has outright said the contract was to "demote" him, cutting his royalties being a part of it.

I remember he used the expressions "demote" and "cutting his royalties" but I don't think he said it like that exactly, i.e. as one being part of the other. "Demoting" can mean exactly cutting his royalties. They were equal partners at that time, and probably there was the issue of lowering Izzy's percentage. I also don't think the Izzy demotion was only an Axl thing and Slash/Duff weren't involved. Maybe not Duff, but Slash for sure.

9 minutes ago, RONIN said:

But wasn't this largely perpetuated by Slash and Duff's 90's/00's interviews where they mention being "demoted" essentially to employees?

My personal take on the current interviews with Slash/Duff is that they're giving a bit of revisionist history to let bygones be bygones and heal old wounds. Painting Doug as the primary villain (which he may very well be) and label execs/lawyers interfering as the main catalyst for the breakup is easier for them to rally behind at this stage than admitting their personal flaws that directly led to the breakup.  The latter would be much harder for the two big egos in the band to admit (publicly). 

Slash had blamed it largely on the lawyers at first in the 90s. Duff was talking about Axl becoming a dictator etc., but I don't remember him saying anything about employees.

There is this question we were discussing a while ago on whether Axl ever really quit the partnership and formed a new one. I have strong doubts that he did. But even if he did, there can't be a partnership with only one partner, right?

I agree that it's convenient for all of them at this point to blame it all on Doug.

[Ratam]

4 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Some other interesting quotes from this interview:

--------

The GN’R live set includes a few tributes to fallen friends. Wichita Lineman was a tip of the cap to Glen Campbell, while Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun was added as a tribute to Chris Cornell. “It just became something that we don’t feel comfortable taking out of the set now,” Slash says. Their epic versions of Layla and Wish You Were Here, meanwhile, are in there just because they like playing them. “There’s no message there,” he says. “It would be brilliant if I had a real reason, but there isn’t.”

 

 

[...]

“The depths to which people go in social media... This is a phenomenon that has changed society completely. It’s deep, man. It’s a huge outlet for cowards, a fucking horrible way for people to distance themselves and to get further away from being able to communicate directly.

 

“It’s craziness, you know? Especially around a band like Guns. People tell me about [what people are saying] all the time, and I don’t even want to know about it, because it’s just too much. It’s overwhelming to me.

 

Almost to illustrate the point, I mention the rumour that Slash’s new partner, Meegan Hodges, and her friend (and Axl’s ex-) Erin Everly, somehow helped get Guns N’ Roses back together.

 

“Oh God, no,” he says. “See, this is what we don’t want to get into. Because there’s so much bullshit talk out there. Erin had nothing to do with anything. Are you saying that Meegan and Erin got Guns N’ Roses back together?”

 

The rumour came from Mick Wall’s Guns N’ Roses book The Last Of The Giants. Mick wrote that Meegan somehow started the conversation.

 

“I haven’t spoken to Mick in ages so he doesn’t know shit about anything”, he says. “I’m sorry, Mick, but... Because no one [in Guns] is doing any press, no one wants to talk about anything personal. I’ve spent the last... since two thousand and fucking eight or whatever, avoiding Guns N’ Roses questions, and my life has been a lot better because of it. So I am not about to get into that now, you know. But no, there’s no truth to that.”

Well’s let’s settle something else while we’re here. For years, Guns N’ Roses have been famous for appearing on stage late. Since you’ve rejoined, that problem seems to have been cured. What’s the difference? How is this Guns N’ Roses getting on stage on time?

 

“I don’t know, man,” he says. “Axl’s been fucking amazing. He’s been so professional that it blows my mind. I mean, he’s always been professional, but obviously we had some issues with a lot of different things back in the day, but there was a lot of reasons that I wasn’t really aware of... You know, there was such a divide-and-conquer thing going on around us by somebody who will remain mentionless, that we never could get to the core of that problem.

 

“When we went to do those Coachella gigs, in the back of my mind I was wondering how this was all going to go. But Axl’s been fucking unreal. We’ve been playing for the last almost two years without a fucking hitch. No matter what’s been thrown at him.

 

“But it’s not because of anything that was said. I think there’s a rumour going around that said that I would quit [if the band were late on stage], or that there was some contract. None of that. There was nothing even mentioned about it.”

Great and deep interview.

[Gnrcane]

3 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I remember he used the expressions "demote" and "cutting his royalties" but I don't think he said it like that exactly, i.e. as one being part of the other. "Demoting" can mean exactly cutting his royalties. They were equal partners at that time, and probably there was the issue of lowering Izzy's percentage. I also don't think the Izzy demotion was only an Axl thing and Slash/Duff weren't involved. Maybe not Duff, but Slash for sure.

Slash had blamed it largely on the lawyers at first in the 90s. Duff was talking about Axl becoming a dictator etc., but I don't remember him saying anything about employees.

There is this question we were discussing a while ago on whether Axl ever really quit the partnership and formed a new one. I have strong doubts that he did. But even if he did, there can't be a partnership with only one partner, right?

I agree that it's convenient for all of them at this point to blame it all on Doug.

Legally it depends on the organization. I believe that an LLC has to have at least 2 partners but a corporation can be just one. So if it was Axl, Inc. then it could be just him but Axl, LLC would have to have Beta or somebody with at least a small share.