"I wrote Mr. Brownstone in 5 minutes" - Izzy uncirculated, just-translated 1989 interview for German magazine [via a-4-d.com]

[ludurigan]

I should have asked permission to @Blackstar and @SoulMonster before posting this, but I just couldn't fucking resist.

Too many good quotes and too much good info!

To the best of my knowledge this interview was uncirculated (at least among english-speaking fans) and it is available now in english thanks to a german fan who sent it to a-4-d.com and to @SoulMonster who translated it.

Long story short: German magazine Metal Hammer spends months trying to do an interview with anyone from Gn'R but gets no answer. Then out of nowhere someone from the magazine finds Izzy in Germany (it's 1989) and does an interview with him, directly. Izzy seems to be drunk or stoned -- or both. Never mind that! He gives brilliant quotes -- and some lovely info on inside band stuff (songwriting, Chicago Sessions etc).

He even names a (Hollywood Rose?) song that was considered for the Illusions but left out of the album!

These below are just short and edited snippets of his quotes.

If you don't want "spoilers", go straight to the full thing here = https://www.a-4-d.com/t4501-1989-09-dd-metal-hammer-germany-revolution-calling-izzy

 

On writing songs

"I write a song in three minutes, it takes them two months. 'Mr. Brownstone’, for example, I wrote it in five minutes"
 

On LIES

"This LIES album was shit”

 

On New Songs (for the Illusion albums)

"(...) Rock 'n' Roll Rose (...) "

 

On America:

"There will be (...) a very violent uprising, carried out with baseball bat and firearms, cannons of all kinds. (..) The cops will be put in their place."
 

On Guns n' Roses (and his) future:

"This group will do their thing until each of us has died. (...) As long as we live, we'll keep going. (...) Guns N' Roses is my life. (...) It's like ... if this band dies, I die too".

here = https://www.a-4-d.com/t4501-1989-09-dd-metal-hammer-germany-revolution-calling-izzy

Edited March 3, 2020 by ludurigan

[SoulMonster]

For the record. as long as you just reference us and the work we do, then we are fine with you sharing. The whole purpose of A4D is to make information on GN'R available to everybody

[rocknroll41]

Funny that he thought Lies was shit, when in a rare 2008 interview he said he remembered the making of that album as “good times.”

Also funny that he thought he was gonna be in GnR until his death lol.

[ludurigan]

5 minutes ago, rocknroll41 said:

Funny that he thought Lies was shit, when in a rare 2008 interview he said he remembered the making of that album as “good times.”

Also funny that he thought he was gonna be in GnR until his death lol.

yeah

if you read the full quotes on that, i guess he was actually pissed with the song list and not the process of making the album

he appears to be really pissed that they had "30 demos" and none of them were included in LIES

he appears to be pissed with the fact that the Live Like a Suicide album was re-released in LIES

It seems to me that he would have preferred to have 10 new songs in Lies instead of having 4 songs from an EP that had already been released and just 3 new songs (as you're crazy was already in appetite)

 

from the interview...

 

(Izzy asks for a cigarette, lights it calmly and deviates unexpectedly and radically from the last topic after a few puffs.)
 
IZZY: This album was shit, this LIES album was shit
 
METAL HAMMER: If I remember correctly, the purpose of LIES was useful, because die-hard fans in the States for an original copy of your LIVE LIKE A SUICIDE EP, which was re-released on LIES, suddenly had to pay more than 100 dollars. At least that is what I was told in the Geffen office.

IZZY: 100 dollars is nothing, man. I was at a Stones concert in 1981 and they sold backstage passes for no less than $900. So what are 100 bucks? But you're right, that was one of the justifications for LIES. Still, the thing doesn't count for me. IT DOESN'T MATTER, do you understand?”
 
METAL HAMMER: Understand.
 
IZZY: Before APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION was produced, we recorded 30 to 40 songs as demos. I'm not going to say that the demos were better than LIES stuff, but ... let's just forget about LIES, OK?”

 

[SoulMonster]

Btw, if there are any German speaking members who who would offer to look over our translation, then that would be hugely appreciated. We also have a few other German articles that could benefit from some help with the translations, and also a Japanese interview from 1988 that still hasn't been translated. Thank you.

[Blackstar]

2 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Btw, if there are any German speaking members who who would offer to look over our translation, then that would be hugely appreciated. We also have a few other German articles that could benefit from some help with the translations, and also a Japanese interview from 1988 that still hasn't been translated. Thank you.

Yes, and I'd like to add that we've translated a few articles from French, Spanish and Italian, and there are some more articles in these languages that need translation. Any help in either translating or proof reading our translations would be welcomed and highly appreciated.

[DieselDaisy]

,,Dieses Album war Kacke, dieses Lies-Album war Kacke'' haha. 

Edited March 3, 2020 by DieselDaisy

[Ratam]

Interesting interview, i noted Izzy very apocalyptic about America.

[Zinia_29]

2 hours ago, ludurigan said:

 

 
IZZY: Before APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION was produced, we recorded 30 to 40 songs as demos. I'm not going to say that the demos were better than LIES stuff, but ... let's just forget about LIES, OK?”

 

Where are they?

[bikka]

3 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

Btw, if there are any German speaking members who who would offer to look over our translation, then that would be hugely appreciated. We also have a few other German articles that could benefit from some help with the translations, and also a Japanese interview from 1988 that still hasn't been translated. Thank you.

Is there a link to the Japanese one?

[Blackstar]

3 minutes ago, bikka said:

Is there a link to the Japanese one?

https://www.a-4-d.com/t3566-1989-02-dd-burrn-guns-n-roses-in-japan-axl-slash-izzy-duff-steven

[Tori72]

Thanks for posting. If you need help with a translation from German, I’d be glad to help.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Tori72

[t-p-d-a]

GN'R Lies still better than Chinese Democracy. I love the slow version of You're Crazy and Patience the strongest song of the studio record. Reckless Life, Nice Boys, Move To The City and Mama Kin don't need a fake crowd. Who had this idea? Overall good album. But i see the point why Izzy don't want talk about this record.. Izzy shines on UYI Stuff... Sadly the last time with GN'R.

Edited March 3, 2020 by t-p-d-a

[djones1225]

Maybe lies could've been this:

1. Patience

2. November Rain 

3. You're Crazy

4. Used to Love Her

5. Cornshucker

6. Jumpin Jack Flash

7. Move to the City 

8. One in a Million

Honestly GNR had the opportunity to mix shadow of Your Love, heartbreak Hotel & jumpin Jack Flash into the "live" mixes with lies, and of course move to the City, Cornshucker & a acoustic cover Jumpin Jack Flash, no idea why they didn't.

1. Reckless Life

2. Nice Boys

3. Jumpin Jack Flash

4. Move to the City

5. Mama Kin

6. Heartbreak Hotel

7. Shadow of Your Love

8. Patience

9. You're Crazy

10. Used to Love Her

11. Cornshucker

12. Jumpin Jack Flash

13. Move to the City

14. One in a Million

[ludurigan]

4 hours ago, Zinia_29 said:

Where are they?

izzy "answers" that question on the interview

 

[ludurigan]

5 hours ago, Ratam said:

Interesting interview, i noted Izzy very apocalyptic about America.

yes!

i think all americans that read the interview are happy that izzy was wrong on his intuitions!

[Powderfinger]

Good read...

Conflicts with the stories of him leaving Chicago having just arrived minus any input to the songwriting. 

I wonder what “rock n roll rose” became.... 

LA Riots happened a few years after this I guess? 

 

[ludurigan]

14 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Yes, and I'd like to add that we've translated a few articles from French, Spanish and Italian, and there are some more articles in these languages that need translation. Any help in either translating or proof reading our translations would be welcomed and highly appreciated.

If you need any translations or proof reading from Portuguese just let me know

[ludurigan]

9 hours ago, t-p-d-a said:

GN'R Lies still better than Chinese Democracy. I love the slow version of You're Crazy and Patience the strongest song of the studio record. Reckless Life, Nice Boys, Move To The City and Mama Kin don't need a fake crowd. Who had this idea? Overall good album. But i see the point why Izzy don't want talk about this record.. Izzy shines on UYI Stuff... Sadly the last time with GN'R.

 

I love all 8 songs on it.

The fake crowd is bullshit indeed and it shows how this band sold "Lies" to the fans from day one.

My take on his quotes about Lies is that he would rather do a proper second album instead of reissuing Live Live a Suicide with 4 (3) new songs on it.

He mentions the "30 demos" so it is like he is asking (hypothetical) why on earth would we re-release that EP that has already been released 2 years ago if we have so many songs to pick from and do a proper album?

And let's not forget that he didn't even mention One in a Million, and if my memory is correct he was one of the many that were not too happy about the lyrics of the song, right?

[ludurigan]

8 hours ago, djones1225 said:

Maybe lies could've been this:

1. Patience

2. November Rain 

3. You're Crazy

4. Used to Love Her

5. Cornshucker

6. Jumpin Jack Flash

7. Move to the City 

8. One in a Million

Honestly GNR had the opportunity to mix shadow of Your Love, heartbreak Hotel & jumpin Jack Flash into the "live" mixes with lies, and of course move to the City, Cornshucker & a acoustic cover Jumpin Jack Flash, no idea why they didn't.

1. Reckless Life

2. Nice Boys

3. Jumpin Jack Flash

4. Move to the City

5. Mama Kin

6. Heartbreak Hotel

7. Shadow of Your Love

8. Patience

9. You're Crazy

10. Used to Love Her

11. Cornshucker

12. Jumpin Jack Flash

13. Move to the City

14. One in a Million

I can NOT see an album having Cornshucker and November Rain on the same tracklist!

Remember the Axl quotes about November Rain saying "if this doesn't get record properly I am out of the music business" etc

You get a song where the singer is "baring his soul" and showing his deepest emotions etc and you put that side by side with fucking Cornshucker!

hahahahaha

Cornshucker is more of a joke song than anything, isn't it?

I don't think even fucking wackos like them ever considered actually releasing the song, at least not with those lyrics.

Nonetheless I am glad that we have that studio acoustic version with Axl joining in at the end. Thanks Alan Niven for that!

About the acoustic Jumping Jack Flash, I can see a lot of reasons for they not releasing it
It is too obvious of a cover, isn't it? Everybody knows the song. That can help "selling" the song at first but in can also make it harder to "sell" the song sometimes, because everybody would immediately put the song against the original version. Don't get me wrong, I think that acoustic cover is brilliant and much better than the original...

That kind of cover choice works pretty good when you are a bar band and you need to play instantly recognizable songs to please the audience in between your originals that no one knows...

I thinks for any proper band that is past the bar-band stage it is way cooler to pick unknown or semi-unknown songs that the band loves, like, say, Mama Kin or (specially) Nice Boys.

 

[ludurigan]

4 hours ago, Powderfinger said:

Good read...

Conflicts with the stories of him leaving Chicago having just arrived minus any input to the songwriting.

yeah it conflicts with a lot that we knew about the Chicago sessions

 

4 hours ago, Powderfinger said:

LA Riots happened a few years after this I guess?

Fuck!!!

I didn't remember that!

I thought Izzy sounded like a lunatic when I first read that but he basically predicted the LA Riots with three years advance!

 

[ludurigan]

5 hours ago, Powderfinger said:

I wonder what “rock n roll rose” became...

 

me too!

 

 

[Mendez]

19 hours ago, djones1225 said:

Maybe lies could've been this:

1. Patience

2. November Rain 

3. You're Crazy

4. Used to Love Her

5. Cornshucker

6. Jumpin Jack Flash

7. Move to the City 

8. One in a Million

Honestly GNR had the opportunity to mix shadow of Your Love, heartbreak Hotel & jumpin Jack Flash into the "live" mixes with lies, and of course move to the City, Cornshucker & a acoustic cover Jumpin Jack Flash, no idea why they didn't.

1. Reckless Life

2. Nice Boys

3. Jumpin Jack Flash

4. Move to the City

5. Mama Kin

6. Heartbreak Hotel

7. Shadow of Your Love

8. Patience

9. You're Crazy

10. Used to Love Her

11. Cornshucker

12. Jumpin Jack Flash

13. Move to the City

14. One in a Million

Considering the Matea Rehearsal was only 7 months after lies was released, the demos hes talking about could have also been

Locomotive

Garden of Eden

Dont Damn Me

Dust N Bones

and of course You Could Be Mine

[willl]

Thanks for posting, hadnt read this one before. Pretty funny that he's talking about escaping to Europe because USA is at boiling point and too violent then he says:

Quote

I was away for three days and these motherfuckers get in there and steal three guitars, my VCR and other things. If only I had been there! I would have shot them to pieces. I would have taken the gun and completely re-papered my walls with the guys.

ludurigan is correct though, the LA riots occured a few years later so Izzy wasn't wrong really.

[SoulMonster]

On 3.3.2020 at 9:32 PM, Tori72 said:

Thanks for posting. If you need help with a translation from German, I’d be glad to help.

That's great! I don't know if we have any untranslated German interviews/articles waiting, but @Blackstarwould be able to answer that. Regardless, this very interview could definitely help with the language.