1988-The Rockline interview (when Slash "had eaten a bad artichoke")

[Blackstar]

In July 1988, when SCOM was just released as a single and a few days before GnR went on tour with Aerosmith, Slash, Izzy and Duff, all hammered, did this live interview on the Rockline show at KLOS FM, which was being broadcasted across all North America through affiliated stations.

(A transcription of the interview can be found here: http://www.a-4-d.com/t3156-1988-07-dd-interview-on-rockline-slash-izzy-duff)

Bob Coburn, the DJ who hosted the Rockline show, remembers:

Izzy, Duff and Slash from GNR came on the show absolutely smashed and a ridiculous feud broke out between the band, the label, KLOS and anyone else within earshot, including the L.A. Times.
https://www.allaccess.com/rock/10-questions/archive/22025/10-questions-with-bob-coburn

As a result, after that interview, KLOS stopped playing SCOM.

From Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1988:

Guitarist "Flash" ate a bad artichoke  

-----------

Axl, who wasn't there at that interview, went to that same show 3 years later, in 1991, and, according to Bob Coburn, hadn't forgotten about the "feud":

That led to a show where halfway through, Axl Rose confessed to me he came to Rockline listening to NWA on 11, parked in a median on Cahuenga Blvd. and was going to kick my ass for messing with his "Boys." He didn't, he said, because I was too nice and "a lot bigger" than he is. The dust on that fiasco settled long ago.

That was the Rockline show with Axl:

At the end, around 1:00:27 mark, Axl says he had gone there "psychotic" after listening to NWA and hoping for an argument, and Coburn says he was prepared for that because of the history between Rockline and GnR, but it all went well.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Blackstar

[Ratam]

6 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

In July 1988, when SCOM was just released as a single and a few days before GnR went on tour with Aerosmith, Slash, Izzy and Duff, all hammered, did this live interview on the Rockline show at KLOS FM, which was being broadcasted to all North America through affiliated stations.

Bob Coburn, the DJ who hosted the show, remembers:

Izzy, Duff and Slash from GNR came on the show absolutely smashed and a ridiculous feud broke out between the band, the label, KLOS and anyone else within earshot, including the L.A. Times.
https://www.allaccess.com/rock/10-questions/archive/22025/10-questions-with-bob-coburn

As a result, after that interview, KLOS (which until then supported the band) stopped playing SCOM.

From Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1988:

Guitarist "Flash" ate a bad artichoke  

-----------

Axl, who wasn't there in that interview, went to that same show 3 years later, in 1991, and, according to Bob Coburn, hadn't forgotten about the "feud":

That led to a show where halfway through, Axl Rose confessed to me he came to Rockline listening to NWA on 11, parked in a median on Cahuenga Blvd. and was going to kick my ass for messing with his "Boys." He didn't, he said, because I was too nice and "a lot bigger" than he is. The dust on that fiasco settled long ago.

That was the Rockline show with Axl:

At the end, around 1:00:27 mark, Axl says he had gone there "psychotic" after listening to NWA and hoping for an argument, and Coburn says he was prepared for that because of the history between Rockline and GnR, but it all went well.

FLASH!!

[soon]

Huh, they didn't seem too out of control during the interview to me. The LA Times piece says about the interview being an issue. I can imagine the puking and off air stuff causing a feud, but not that interview?

On a different note, Izzys comments on business and money have always stood out to me, even before "the Loot" tweet. At one point they say that the band has been touring for a year and Izzy's heard correcting, something along the lines of 'we've been on tour for the fiscal year.' I think in this case he may have just been having fun with the concept. Or maybe he's always had an eye on the bottom line, as any skilled heroin dealer and pimp would?

[Blackstar]

3 minutes ago, soon said:

Huh, they didn't seem too out of control during the interview to me. The LA Times piece says about the interview being an issue. I can imagine the puking and off air stuff causing a feud, but not that interview?

There are moments where they're yelling (is it Izzy the one who shouts "hi, hi!" in high-pitched voice to a girl who called? I can't tell for sure) or sound uneasy and the interviewer tells them to calm down. But yeah, I guess the incidents mentioned in the L.A. Times article happened off air.

9 minutes ago, soon said:

On a different note, Izzys comments on business and money have always stood out to me, even before "the Loot" tweet. At one point they say that the band has been touring for a year and Izzy's heard correcting, something along the lines of 'we've been on tour for the fiscal year.' I think in this case he may have just been having fun with the concept. Or maybe he's always had an eye on the bottom line, as any skilled heroin dealer and pimp would?

From early articles and interviews it seems that Slash and Izzy handled most of the band's business then. Later Izzy started phasing out, but Slash continued through the 90s.

It's also worth noting how Izzy reacts to bootlegs in this interview.

[soon]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

There are moments where they're yelling (is it Izzy the one who shouts "hi, hi!" in high-pitched voice to a girl who called? I can't tell for sure) or sound uneasy and the interviewer tells them to calm down. But yeah, I guess the incidents mentioned in the L.A. Times article happened off air.

Yeah thats true. Mocking the caller is not only mean spirited and kinda irresponsible, but a call-in show cant gain a reputation for encouraging the guests mock the callers. That could end a call in show pretty fast, I guess.

 

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

From early articles and interviews it seems that Slash and Izzy handled most of the band's business then. Later Izzy started phasing out, but Slash continued through the 90s.

It's also worth noting how Izzy reacts to bootlegs in this interview.

Oh right, the bootleg comment too. The caller talks about SOYL being on the bootleg and the conversation leads to acknowledging Izzy as the songwriter. Izzy makes sure to share the SOYL writing credit with Axl, but no mention of Paul. A cowrite that I think Weber also sued over.

Interesting about who took care of business in the early days.

[Fourteenbeers]

10 hours ago, soon said:

 skilled heroin dealer and pimp 

this is the text I should've had printed on my Izzy T-shirt before going to the Gn'R concert last year.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Fourteenbeers

[Blackstar]

3 hours ago, soon said:

Oh right, the bootleg comment too. The caller talks about SOYL being on the bootleg and the conversation leads to acknowledging Izzy as the songwriter. Izzy makes sure to share the SOYL writing credit with Axl, but no mention of Paul. A cowrite that I think Weber also sued over.

Yeah. The funny thing is that Axl was asked too about SOYL in his Rockline interview (at 53:30 minute mark) and he said he had written it with Paul Huge without mentioning Izzy as a co-writer (could it be because Izzy had left the band recently?). He added though that Paul was the guitarist in the band he and Izzy were in back in Indiana (earlier in the interview he mentioned that Izzy played drums in that band).

Edited September 15, 2018 by Blackstar

[Azifwekare]

3 hours ago, Ratam said:

FLASH!!

A-AH!

[MillionsOfSpiders]

3 hours ago, Blackstar said:

In July 1988, when SCOM was just released as a single and a few days before GnR went on tour with Aerosmith, Slash, Izzy and Duff, all hammered, did this live interview on the Rockline show at KLOS FM, which was being broadcasted to all North America through affiliated stations

 

Axl not being at this interview matches up with the timing of Niven’s story about when Axl locked himself in his bedroom because he didn’t want to do the Aerosmith tour. Nobody could get an answer from him through his door, so Niven told Izzy to climb a tree outside Axls bedroom window, which he did - Niven says Izzy was hanging there in the tree trying to talk to him through the window - but Axl told him to fuck off! 

Wonder why Steven wasn’t at the interview though 

 

[Gnrcane]

Relevant passage for the modern day "clean voice" in concert.  I'm sure Axl could recover much better in 1988:

Interviewer: And he had what, laryngitis is that?

Izzy: (?)

Slash: You know, one of those things that singers get. You know, it’s (?)

Duff: I mean, a guy... A guy can’t go...

Interviewer:  You can’t (?) it down, yeah (laughs).

Slash: We got on the road for almost two year, so...

Duff: A guy can't go around screaming every night like he does, you know.  The guy puts out, you know, it’s like.. I...

Izzy: I think he’s really (?). I’m sorry, I’m stepping...

(Giggles)

Duff:  I just had people tell me, you know, from gigs, after the gig, you know, how does he do that. So yeah, the guy cannot go a whole tour, and you know, with, like, singing that way, you know...

[Blackstar]

7 minutes ago, MillionsOfSpiders said:

Axl not being at this interview matches up with the timing of Niven’s story about when Axl locked himself in his bedroom because he didn’t want to do the Aerosmith tour. Nobody could get an answer from him through his door, so Niven told Izzy to climb a tree outside Axls bedroom window, which he did - Niven says Izzy was hanging there in the tree trying to talk to him through the window - but Axl told him to fuck off! 

Wonder why Steven wasn’t at the interview though 

Lol, I had forgotten about that story. Yeah, it probably explains why Axl wasn't there

I just remembered I have the interview on mp3, and there is a part in the beginning that is missing from the youtube one, where Bob Coburn announces the interview for later and says it will be Slash, Izzy and Axl. Maybe Izzy had climbed that tree right before they went to the studio

It seems that Steven's appearances in interviews became scarce after 1987. Could it be that he didn't want to go? He didn't seem to be the type that didn't like interviews though. Maybe they just stopped taking him with them in interviews?

[janrichmond]

56 minutes ago, Azifwekare said:

A-AH!

Saviour of the *universe

*GnR universe 

[Ratam]

Ohhh, great Slash excuse.....he eat bad artichoke.. .Mmmmm......

 

[dgnr]

30 minutes ago, janrichmond said:

Saviour of the *universe

*GnR universe 

My 12 year old brother always sings 'Slash' instead of 'Flash' while listening to the Queen song. No wonder why 

 

59 minutes ago, MillionsOfSpiders said:

Axl not being at this interview matches up with the timing of Niven’s story about when Axl locked himself in his bedroom because he didn’t want to do the Aerosmith tour. Nobody could get an answer from him through his door, so Niven told Izzy to climb a tree outside Axls bedroom window, which he did - Niven says Izzy was hanging there in the tree trying to talk to him through the window - but Axl told him to fuck off! 

I don't think I've ever heard of this story  That's so funny!! I miss that band!

[MillionsOfSpiders]

1 hour ago, dgnr said:

I don't think I've ever heard of this story  That's so funny!! I miss that band!

https://www.lessergodsbooks.com/blog/2017/07/28/toxic/

The way Niven tells it is hilarious and when Axl finally turns up for the tour is priceless 

2 hours ago, Blackstar said:

It seems that Steven's appearances in interviews became scarce after 1987. Could it be that he didn't want to go? He didn't seem to be the type that didn't like interviews though. Maybe they just stopped taking him with them in interviews?

Well, he certainly doesn’t seem like someone who doesn’t like interviews now so I’m sure he didn’t mind them back then too. Maybe it was to do with how he said the band started splitting - with Slash and Duff always together and Axl and Izzy doing their own thing and he was always left out? 

Edited September 15, 2018 by MillionsOfSpiders

[DeadSlash]

What's funnier to hear now?  Them calling Slash "Flash?" 

Or "People over 25 just don't like Sweet Child o Mine, those listeners are important to us, we just didn't want to risk it."  

Both are pretty El Oh Fucking El imho.

[Gnr forever]

Damn I’ve listened to the Axl interview a bunch of times but I never knew about this one or the story behind it

[ludurigan]

On 15/09/2018 at 2:35 PM, Blackstar said:

In July 1988, when SCOM was just released as a single and a few days before GnR went on tour with Aerosmith, Slash, Izzy and Duff, all hammered, did this live interview on the Rockline show at KLOS FM, which was being broadcasted across all North America through affiliated stations.

(A transcription of the interview can be found here: http://www.a-4-d.com/t3156-1988-07-dd-interview-on-rockline-slash-izzy-duff)

Bob Coburn, the DJ who hosted the Rockline show, remembers:

Izzy, Duff and Slash from GNR came on the show absolutely smashed and a ridiculous feud broke out between the band, the label, KLOS and anyone else within earshot, including the L.A. Times.
https://www.allaccess.com/rock/10-questions/archive/22025/10-questions-with-bob-coburn

As a result, after that interview, KLOS stopped playing SCOM.

From Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1988:

Guitarist "Flash" ate a bad artichoke  

-----------

Axl, who wasn't there at that interview, went to that same show 3 years later, in 1991, and, according to Bob Coburn, hadn't forgotten about the "feud":

That led to a show where halfway through, Axl Rose confessed to me he came to Rockline listening to NWA on 11, parked in a median on Cahuenga Blvd. and was going to kick my ass for messing with his "Boys." He didn't, he said, because I was too nice and "a lot bigger" than he is. The dust on that fiasco settled long ago.

That was the Rockline show with Axl:

At the end, around 1:00:27 mark, Axl says he had gone there "psychotic" after listening to NWA and hoping for an argument, and Coburn says he was prepared for that because of the history between Rockline and GnR, but it all went well.

Flash!!!