TMZ Runs Story About Leaks, GN'R Management Publicly Responds

[GnR Chris]

1 hour ago, Towelie said:

 

Guns N Roses 2001-2020 has been Axl's solo project. There is no democratic band scenario where everyone contributes and everyone has a say in what the band does. It's all about Axl Rose, and as it transpires, he really doesn't have a lot to offer by himself.

I think this is untrue. Axl was paying his band money to go to the studio, collaborate and come up with ideas. Even dating back to the Illusions records, the guys all brought in their own ideas and then everybody else worked on it. Sometimes together, mostly separately. A band all in the same room organically creating new music sounds lovely, but it isn't always reality. I can name a slew of bands with one primary songwriter. Doesn't make them less of a band, and it certainly doesn't make it a solo project. Look at the long list of songwriting credits on Chinese Democracy. That's not a solo effort. That's an entire band creating music.

Edited January 4, 2020 by GnR Chris

[username]

8 minutes ago, Rovim said:

Axl is a brand leader. 

A lot of that comes down to surrounding yourself with the right people. And Axl most definitely has done a truly terrible job there. 

[Rovim]

5 minutes ago, username said:

A lot of that comes down to surrounding yourself with the right people. And Axl most definitely has done a truly terrible job there. 

but what is the goal? if it's to make money, I'd say the Gn'R camp is doing pretty well for themselves. The hardcore fans are not happy. A small group of people on the internet heard some leaks. No one gives a fuck or at the very least it doesn't really affect Axl and his money making machine.

edit: I think Axl surrounds himself with people he can trust to protect his interests. If he wasn't happy with their approach, he would make adjustments.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Rovim

[username]

2 minutes ago, Rovim said:

but what is the goal? if it's to make money, I'd say the Gn'R camp is doing pretty well for themselves. The hardcore fans are not happy. A small group of people on the internet heard some leaks. No one gives a fuck or at the very least it doesn't really affect Axl and his money making machine.

All true. And if that's really all they care about (which seems to be the case) this band is practically dead. There is no creative urge, artistic integrity, ambition or anything of the sort left. That's sad. 

[Rovim]

Just now, username said:

All true. And if that's really all they care about (which seems to be the case) this band is practically dead. There is no creative urge, artistic integrity, ambition or anything of the sort left. That's sad. 

I don't think that's the case. This is just a guess but I believe it's possible Axl's focus is on touring and making as much money as possible, striking the iron while it's hot and he is not concerned with going into a studio until this phase is complete. It doesn't mean he won't focus on completing and maybe releasing an album at a later time, but maybe he is in no hurry to get there. I think this year is another touring year. I don't like it, I just think that could be the way he sees it.

[Edward Nygma]

GNR will complete the upcoming dates & do a fall tour, I'd be very surprised if they release an album this year. Hell the release date for CD will be eclipsed by the time NITL ends. 

[Bucketbot25]

On 1/3/2020 at 10:01 AM, TheSeeker said:

Yeah the leaks exposed that Axl fudged the number of completed songs he had banked - he bluffed for 20 years and got away with it

 

Who's to say that there isn't way more songs recorded post the year 2000?

[GNRfanMILO]

2 minutes ago, Bucketbot25 said:

Who's to say that there isn't way more songs recorded post the year 2000?

Lol, you can even question if the CDs that Tom Zutaut had in his locker represent the whole batch of songs and ideas that they did in those years. There can be 10 or 15 more CDs of stuff that we have no idea about.

Just because we got to hear some of the stuff  doesn’t mean that it is the whole thing. 

[TheSeeker]

4 minutes ago, Bucketbot25 said:

Who's to say that there isn't way more songs recorded post the year 2000?

Bumblefoot

[Rovim]

4 minutes ago, TheSeeker said:

Bumblefoot

Can you please provide proof that he said that or confirmed it? cause I highly doubt he did.

[Towelie]

Just now, Rovim said:

Can you please provide proof that he said that or confirmed it? cause I highly doubt he did.

Bumblefoot did confirm that the 06-14 lineup didn't record any music together.

[Rovim]

3 minutes ago, Towelie said:

Bumblefoot did confirm that the 06-14 lineup didn't record any music together.

yeah but that doesn't mean that what we've heard is all the existing unreleased material that Axl has managed to accumulate. From the way Duff and Slash described it and others as well there is way more unheard unreleased material.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Rovim

[GnR Chris]

18 minutes ago, Rovim said:

yeah but that doesn't mean that what we've heard is all the existing unreleased material that Axl has managed to accumulate. From the way Duff and Slash described it and others as well there is way more unheard unreleased material.

Exactly. Bumblefoot sucks. So does Ashba. Personally, I'm glad they didn't get to write anything for GNR. The locker room CDs aren't everything. I am sure there are different mixes of those songs, and other songs with vocals that we don't know about. 

[Blackstar]

It seems that the 2006-2014 lineup didn't write anything new together, as Bumblefoot said that Axl showed no interest in any ideas brought to the table by that lineup. They did work on and finished pre-existing material, though.

Personally I wouldn't care much about music written by the Bumblefoot/Ashba lineup (and I understand why Axl wasn't interested). And I wouldn't care about early 00's songs re-worked by them either, so I don't mind much that that lineup didn't release anything. I think these songs should have been released when they were supposed to, in the early 00's, by the lineup that contributed to them, but since they weren't, I totally prefer to hear them reworked by Slash and Duff than by Bumblefoot and DJ Ashba.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Blackstar

[Azifwekare]

3 hours ago, GnR Chris said:

This is a false though. Chinese Democracy wasn't a "best of." There were other A-list songs held off the record, partly due to what had leaked, and partly because they planned a follow-up record. 

 

2 hours ago, ZoSoRose said:

I didnt believe this until this year. 

The leaks make me think I would have preferred a finished CD2 to CD. Its all killer hard rock

Yep. The leaks showed that CD2 would have totally kicked CDs ass, and would easily have gone up against any of the classic material. But if Axl doesn't want to release it and prove he had what it takes, whatever. He can spend the rest of his life as a yoyo and jigsaw merchant for all I give a fuck.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Azifwekare

[Rovim]

9 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

It seems that the 2006-2014 lineup didn't write anything new together, as Bumblefoot said that Axl showed no interest in any ideas brought to the table by that lineup. They did work on and finished pre-existing material, though.

Personally I wouldn't care much about music written by the Bumblefoot/Ashba lineup (and I understand why Axl wasn't interested). And I wouldn't care about early 00's songs re-worked by them either, so I don't mind much that that lineup didn't release anything. I think these songs should have been released when they were supposed to, in the early 00's, by the lineup that contributed to them, but since they weren't, I pretty much prefer to hear them reworked by Slash and Duff than by Bumblefoot and DJ Ashba.

I like Bumble and the added flavor he brought to Chinese but I remember Axl said something like he thought the old band members (writing members like Robin and Bucket) were right for the album and current members at the time were right to what they were doing now (I guess the tour)

I suppose Bumble and DJ were not his first choices and he needed them to keep it going. The work was already done and now that Slash and Duff are back in Gn'R, the ideal musicians are there to rerecord. Before he had no incentive to rerecord the work of Robin and Bucket. Weird how the original replacements for Slash are probably going to be replaced by Slash lol

[Silent Jay]

On 03/01/2020 at 7:11 AM, downliner said:

Has UMG actually filed a lawsuit against Rick?

UMG claims 97 tracks were leaked. When in fact mostly are alternate version songs from the Chinese Democracy album (an album that UMG couldn't care less).

There are nearly twenty unfinished instrumentals, that will never see the light of day, and a bunch of cast aside songs with "vocals" (basically Axl singing on his couch) that didn't make the cut.

The recordings were obtained from a storage unit auction, it says it all!

The settlement agreement made by UMG was ludicrious! 15k bucks! 15 like the total number of songs the band has released since 1993!

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Silent Jay

[Rovim]

2 minutes ago, Silent Jay said:

and a bunch of cast aside songs with "vocals" (basically Axl singing on his couch) that didn't make the cut.

Atlas, Hard School, and Perhaps got proper vocals though. (more or less) we know Axl wanted to release Atlas and that Hard School was added as a possibility to the set list.

[CAFC Nick]

8 minutes ago, Rovim said:

Atlas, Hard School, and Perhaps got proper vocals though. (more or less) we know Axl wanted to release Atlas and that Hard School was added as a possibility to the set list.

Agreed. Considering the vocals for all of the other songs that made the final cut for CD are identical to these, there’s nothing to suggest that Atlas, Hard School, Perhaps and arguably even State of Grace aren’t final.

[Rovim]

9 minutes ago, CAFC Nick said:

Agreed. Considering the vocals for all of the other songs that made the final cut for CD are identical to these, there’s nothing to suggest that Atlas, Hard School, Perhaps and arguably even State of Grace aren’t final.

yeah State Of Grace got what could pass as all the final vocals but maybe not all of the lyrics. Some gibberish there if I'm not mistaken sung by Axl.

[Silent Jay]

1 minute ago, Rovim said:

Atlas, Hard School, and Perhaps got proper vocals though. (more or less) we know Axl wanted to release Atlas and that Hard School was added as a possibility to the set list.

More or less exactly. Three songs with somewhat coherent lyrics and vocals that seem profesionnally done.

Bumblefoot once said Atlas didn't make the cut because of its lenght. The leak we have is four minutes long, I don't see a problem there. Atlas must have been re-recorded.

Hard School was added in the setlist only after the leak. They did the same thing with Better and There Was A Time in 2006 if I recall correctly. I don't think they will ever attempt to play the song. Back in 2012 when fans were sick to death of the setlist, the band added Silkworms and Oh My God on the shortlist like carrots on a stick.

[Rovim]

6 minutes ago, Silent Jay said:

More or less exactly. Three songs with somewhat coherent lyrics and vocals that seem profesionnally done.

Bumblefoot once said Atlas didn't make the cut because of its lenght. The leak we have is four minutes long, I don't see a problem there. Atlas must have been re-recorded.

Hard School was added in the setlist only after the leak. They did the same thing with Better and There Was A Time in 2006 if I recall correctly. I don't think they will ever attempt to play the song. Back in 2012 when fans were sick to death of the setlist, the band added Silkworms and Oh My God on the shortlist like carrots on a stick.

yeah I just meant more or less proper vocals cause Hard School feels a little empty like another verse will improve it. Do you really believe Axl will put tunes on the set list just to fight boredom by a small group of hardcore fans? I doubt it but if true that would be hilarious.

[Silent Jay]

30 minutes ago, CAFC Nick said:

Agreed. Considering the vocals for all of the other songs that made the final cut for CD are identical to these, there’s nothing to suggest that Atlas, Hard School, Perhaps and arguably even State of Grace aren’t final.

The "mananah naah naaah" parts during State of Grace are kinda hard to decipher, don't you think?

Edited January 4, 2020 by Silent Jay

[Silent Jay]

2 minutes ago, Rovim said:

yeah I just meant more or less proper vocals cause Hard School feels a little empty like another verse will improve it. Do you really believe Axl will put tunes on the set list just to fight boredom by a small group of hardcore fans? I doubt it but if true that would be hilarious.

Oh My God was rehearsed instrumentally during the soundcheck of RIR 2011, I give them the benefit of the doubt.

Silkworms was on a list Bumblefoot had that was shown by McBob and believe me that one was shown to us on purpose. 

Going Down was also on the shortlist in 2014, after the leak.

[GnR Chris]

1 hour ago, Silent Jay said:

a bunch of cast aside songs with "vocals" (basically Axl singing on his couch) that didn't make the cut.

 

 

Again, this is patently false. Stop perpetuating lies. The songs weren't "cast aside." There were songs specifically held over for a follow-up or third album to be released in close succession. Obviously that didn't happen. But not everything left off Chinese was considered B-side.

Edited January 4, 2020 by GnR Chris