Lumikki

2 hours ago, Asia said:

People here talking about this being pure business are delusional. These people have a past together that will never ever make it possible for them to have a pure business relationship. You don't just forget all the emotions and feelings that you had for years and do business as usual. This just doesn't happen. They didn't meet yesterday. They have a long rocky relationship that has cost them more emotionally than can ever been put in words, even though a lot was put in words actually.

Axl was in great pain for endless years because of the split, Slash was in great pain too, he even wanted to kill himself because of how hurt and mistreated he felt by Axl, he made an album about him, he spent years getting high as a kite (his lost year that in reality lasted much longer). Do you really think they just forgot all of this and decided to make some money? That's utter bullshit. Does anyone really think they could have a pure business relationship, emotions aside, with their ex with whom they had the nastiest dovorce ever?

This reunion was all about personal in the first place. They wanted to reconcile with each other because they were and always will be each other's close family. The reunion just followed from mending personal bridges.

Of course they're adult and of course Slash doesn't need to participate in Axl's parties or whatever. In fact they never were the sort of buddies that hang out with the same people but still they were the closest people to one another. For this to work they need to be able to talk to each other the way they always have, they need to be able to share with each other what they think and feel, to discuss their plans and generally to spend time together on a personal level. They won't be like co-workers who don't like each other but work together. They have too much going on between them throughout their entire lives for it to be possible. I don't think they will ever reach the point where they can't hurt each other on a personal level and this means that whenever someone behaves like real asshole this will fall apart within a second.

Plus keep in mind Slash has always said he cannot work in a band with somebody he is not or cannot be friends with. It just doesn't work for him. And I'm not surprised. A band is not an office. It engages emotions in a way in which filling out invoices never will.

 

I'm out of likes, but this is a great post and I agree 100%. Very well put.

6 minutes ago, killuridols said:

If they couldn't handle Axl back then, when they were more tight and younger, there are no chances of them saying anything to Axl now.... He's got a full camp of enablers, servants, assistants and hanger-ons who will sweet talk him until lights go off.

You're probably right, but they're so much more mature nowadays. Not to mention sober. They've got their shit together and Duff especially seems like an intelligent guy who seems to think a lot about his relationships with the people around him (at least that's the impression I got from reading his books and other stuff). Part of me thinks that should count for something at least...

7 minutes ago, killuridols said:

It looks to me Duff and Slash just go to their job, do what they are paid to do and that's it. There's no friendship anymore, this is business. Axl built an entire circle when they left and it seems difficult for them to get back in. So I guess this is the price to pay.

But as long as they deliver wonderful shows and Axl can keep his voice in shape, then I suppose none of this matter, even if it hurts us as fans..

Yeah, the problem is that over the years of following that band, you kind of start to care about these morons as people and want them to be happy. At least I do, and that's why the whole situation irritates me

5 minutes ago, killuridols said:

Yeah I said Lana del Rey just to name one of the big list of useless people hanging around this band AGAIN.

I dislike them as well, I feel none of them are real about their feelings for Axl. They are around now because the band is back, getting lots of press, so having their pic taken with the "legend" (like those silly models called him) is the thing they have to do to keep their Instagram accounts full of likes and shit.

 

I was wondering about that too... Haven't seen one single pic of them or the whole band together backstage, only when they say goodbye at the end of the show. It looks like after they leave the stage, they go to each other's room and leave the venue inmediately. Axl goes to parties with the posers and Slash and Duff with their families.

Slash must have accepted that Axl will not change so he will just go there, do his job, deliver a good show and when the time is over he simply disappears from the scene. They don't hang out after the show apparently :/

 

Yeah. I had kinda hoped that Slash and Duff would get Axl away from the useless people and remind him again who his real friends and family are. Now that it's not the UYI era anymore and Slash and Duff aren't constantly high/drunk anymore, it would be nice if they actually spoke their mind and put their feet down in regard to certain things they like to complain about. But instead it seems like they still ignore whatever is going on with and around Axl and keep their mouth shut while steadily growing more annoyed. I really hope I'm wrong, but I can see things heading that way.

2 hours ago, killuridols said:

In his book Slash complained about Axl throwing those aftershow parties and having an extended camp of people who were not needed, yet they were flying all over the world with them for free.

Don't know how Slash feels about that now but seeing Lana del Rey wearing a GN'R jacket, like she's some member of the crew, I dont know whats her role in the crew...?

Not just Lana Del Rey, but also Nur Khan, Sasha Volkova and various other people. Like, what exactly is the point of them being there? What kind of job are they doing since they are apparently all part of the crew (or "Family" as that creepy Khan guy put it urgh).

I kinda get why Slash doesn't like these types of people. They already annoy me and I'm not the one who has to be around them/pay them/etc. Really can't blame Slash for his hate of all the "beggars and hangers-on".

2 minutes ago, starlight said:

Me too. I whish he would come to Europe with GNR instead. People have been waiting for years to see Axl and Slash together

Yeah, I'm from Europe as well and I would totally go to the concert in Vienna if it was GnR instead of AC/DC. But money is tight right now and I can't really see myself paying for AC/DC tickets just because Axl will be there.

4 hours ago, Asia said:

Oh, fuck, I'm double pissed! First it was not an album he was talking about with Eddie but stupid ACDC shows and second he's going with AC/DC even before he goes with Guns, Guns could be in Europe at the time as well, fuck that, who cares about AC/DC when everyone wanted GNR reunion for 23 years.

Not to mention that yeah, he can blow his voice and that's gonna be it for the GNR tour. He's gonna get lot's of hate from the AC/DC fans and generally what a shitty idea. Well, whatever.

Yeah, this is how I feel as well. I am not thrilled at all by this shitty development and couldn't care less about ACDC.

Only positive thing I can say about this is that I'm happy for Axl if that is some life-long dream of his or whatever, but who knows how long his happiness is gonna last if he really should get bombarded with bottles during the concerts like some ACDC fans are already threatening. Historically speaking, Axl isn't all that great at reacting to that kind of thing...

12 minutes ago, Babooshka said:

When did Duff say that? He's not wrong. 

In his first book, I think. He was talking about the psychologist(s?)/therapist(s) Axl was seeing back during the UYI days. He felt these people took advantage of him.

And I totally agree. Axl was (maybe still is, I don't know) an emotionally vulnerable, fucked-up guy and he attracted crazy people who filled his head with all kinds of bullshit and used his pain to fill their own pockets.

I always enjoyed listening to his rants. They were always amusing and sometimes he even had something insightful to say. I wouldn't mind him doing that again.

I love Duff as well. He's such a geat guy.

Yeah, same. I also get major creep vibes from that guy. Why can't Axl ever surround himself with normal people?

I think Duff said it best when he said that he felt some of the people of Axl's entourage were downright predatory.

It's not just Axl who doesn't get along with Matt.

Even Duff (who is well-liked by everyone and gets along with everybody) admits in his newest book that he has found it hard to deal with Matt in the past. He contributed a lot to the tension in VR. Basically, Matt Sorum is full of himself and has a giant ego and I think his inclusion in the line-up would cause difficulties pretty quickly. And the current band realises that and that's why he wasn't even asked. With Axl and Slash you already have two people difficult people with big egos in the band, no need to add a third. I'm sure Duff already had/has his hands full making these two get along.

And let's not forget, Slash also "hates Matt Sorum" (if Axl is to be believed)

Personally, I've disliked Sorum ever since I discoverd GnR (about 12 years ago), so I really don't give a shit about him not being included.

2 minutes ago, Nosaj Thing said:

Haha, I don't know if those songs are about Axl per se, but you have a point.

I just want him to sing those songs because most of them were being considered to be Gn'R songs at some point by himself.  Hell, you can even hear Axl whistling on the Beggars And Hangers-On riff in those 'Making the Fuckin' Videos' documentaries.

I always thought "Back and forth again" (and also "What do you want to be?" for example) definitely were about Axl specifically because the lyrics just fit perfectly. And they also fit with various things Slash has said about Axl over the years. Then Slash went ahead and confirmed he'd more or less written the entire album about Axl and now I can't hear these songs without thinking of Axl, Slash and all their... break-up drama.

But yeah, I agree with you, these songs are way more GnR than endless covers of songs by other artists.

3 hours ago, Nosaj Thing said:

I never considered myself a fan of Velvet Revolver.  I don't think their music was bad, but it never connected with me.  I actually enjoyed Snakepit I, II and Slash's solo music more.

In an ideal scenario for me, they should drop all the cover songs so, no more CD songs or ACDC, Rose Tattoo, The Who songs.  But if they're going to perform them anyway, I would love to see them add to their setlist songs like Back And Forth Again, Set Me Free, Let It Roll, Slither, Fall To Pieces, Beggars And Hangers-On and Starlight.  Not only they're vastly superior songs than Chinese Democracy songs, but Axl would kill them vocally.

Totally agree with this.

But hearing Axl sing songs about himself like "Back and Forth Again" or "Beggars And Hangers-On" would be equal parts hilarious and awkward.

Still, Back and Forth Again would actually be my top choice (because I love that song), followed by Slither, Starlight etc. Just drop all the damn covers (plus Chinese Democracy and TIL) already and replace them with content that actually is GnR-related.

17 minutes ago, Wagszilla said:

Baz is obnoxious but that My Michelle duo is the hotness.

I agree Lumikki about the drummers and Izzy needing to be back in some capacity. 

Yeah, I agree actually, Baz is a good frontman and singer, but I can't stand his personality.

My preferred line-up would be Axl, Slash, Duff and Izzy, plus whatever halfway decent drummer they can find. Since Steven is a mess and Sorum has an ego the size of a small continent and even Duff finds it hard to get along with him (not to mention Axl...), I'd prefer they stick to Ferrer, if they can't find anyone better.

Baz is an obnoxious douchebag and so is Sorum. I want neither of them around or in GnR. Adler is completely fucked-up and totally unreliable.

The only guy I want to see back is Izzy. And I agree, some of the songs and stuff he posts on his Twitter are digs at GnR (not just the Sunshine song though).

We don't really know anything, but I could imagine a scenario where Slash/Axl/Duff split the profits between them and the rest of the band gets some kind of salary. When they approached Izzy they maybe wanted to put him on a salary as well instead of him being given the same status Slash/Axl/Duff and Izzy basically said "Fuck this shit!" and was off. Being treated like a hired hand or second-class citizen in the band he founded would probably not go over well with Izzy.

But at this point, it's all just speculation. The only one who is clearly bitter about the whole thing is Matt Sorum

Not to mention that it's not true that Duff never wrote anything. Didn't Duff write "It's so easy" and some other stuff? As far as I'm aware the only one who didn't contribute anything to AfD was Steven (at least when it comes to song-writing).

Really, I have a lot of sympathy for Izzy and can understand his decisions only too well for the most part, but that's no reason to talk shit about Duff. Duff absolutely deserves to be where he is. He's a reasonable and good-hearted, caring guy. He's the one who manages to mend broken relationships and probably the one we have to thank for this whole reunion coming about in the first place. He's like the glue that holds everything together imo.

Isn't Slash jewish?

Axl wears a lot of crosses, but who knows if it's just for decorations or if he really believes in Jesus or God?

Slash is NOT jewish. Pearla once said they were not jewish when someone assumed the same in an interview. He mentions going to church as a child with his grandmother or something in his book, but nowadays he probably is not particularly religious at all.

Based on this interview and the op-ed pieces he's written towards the fans, I can't think of one nice thing to say about this guy.

If I were Slash or Duff (or anyone else) I would have told him the exact same thing. The guy doesn't think he needs to pay taxes, blows all his money on drugs and alcohol while he's got two kids at home, and walks hand in mouth to each band member looking for a bailout. Pathetic.

Then he has the gall to accuse fans of being thieves for downloading music that will likely never get an official release. He clearly doesn't get the music industry today - leaks are part of the business. It happens to every artist. If your music is damn good it will not hurt sales, in fact it most likely help an artist's bottom line. There are many acts out there today who have their stuff leaked well before its official release date and still sell millions and draw tens of thousands to individual shows. To whine and bitch about it, when you're supposedly part of the GNR operation, is ridiculous.

Good post. I couldn't agree more, especially the bolded.

Del seems like a pathetic waste of space to me, I can't find anything to like about him.

Mediocre. Could be a lot worse (and he has produced some things that have stuck with me or struck me on a deeper level), but could also be a lot better.

More impressive to me are these vocals from early Gn'R. It's also amazingo to watch how close Axl & Slash were back then...

I haven't watched that for so long. Thanks for reposting it. The beginning with the two of them is adorable.

I had forgotten this existed! I agree, it's so adorable. And quite depressing, in hindsight.

Can't believe some of you,

Axl said it wasn't him

It's not his handwriting

Most important of all, Erin said it wasn't him Now! It's been over between them for a lot of years and she has absolutaly no reason to lie.

So....just an idea....it wasn't him?

Yes, this.

I always thought that was Axl's doing because well... it would just be a very Axl-like thing to do.

But if Erin says it wasn't him, then I see no reason not to believer her. And yes, the handwriting really doesn't look like Axl's at all, either.

Is this some random photo, or do the other 3 have a connection ?

I have to agree, facially there is some resemblance between the kid in the photo and a younger Axl Rose.

That's Erin Everly and her three children.

And yes, there is a slight resemblance to the way Axl looked when he was a kid, but the numbers don't add up.

I think young Duff was pretty attractive as well. Actually, I think all of them, Axl, Slash, Duff and Izzy were good looking in the late 80s/early 90s. I never liked Steven though. I always thought he was pretty ugly and dumb looking (yes, mean, but it's the truth).

If I had to pick one, I'd probably have to go with Axl. He was just so cute and pretty back then (I'd still slap him if he grabbed my boobs though )

Nowadays... I'd say Duff is the best looking. Slash has a good day every now and then as well. Axl was still good looking in 2006, but recently... not so much. Izzy is barely ever seen.

No.