Fun n' Games

zeppelin = most overrated ever

This was just what I was about to say.

But I will also give you this beautiful version of "Dyer Maker", courtesy of Lady Gaga; it's a great song and I wish Axl covered it!

Let Brad Pitt be Axl.

Sandra Bullock is Slash.

Pam Anderson is Duff in his prime.

Izzy: Adrian Brody (nose!).

Steven is brought onto the screen by Flipper, the lucky dolphin.

Gunsguy comes to you courtesy of Sponge Bob.

After one listen of King Nothing, you know all you need to know. That song was written about Axl.

Not so sure about that. The song was recorded in 1994, while Axl was still the king of the castle.

November Rain PRO-SHOT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U4WiIIifDI&feature=player_embedded

So Slash is back and now on lead vocals?

from @gunsnroses (twitter)

Hey guys, sorry for the delay this evening. I was/am a bit under the weather and appreciate your hanging with us. peace - Axl

14 minutes ago via web

Wow, just wow!

Was it really supposed to start at 21:00?

The show itself in vienna was great, including setlist, there was absolutely no problem at crowd. great show.

I agree a 100%!

Me too, whatever that means!

When reading newspaper articles, I rarely know that much about the background it comes from, and never before had the politics of an article been that cristal clear to me instantly.

Keep it in mind from now on when you get "informed" by the media. :xmasssanta:

I will.

And now excuse me, I gotta go watch the evening news.

It is the same way with Chinese Democracy reviews. It is almost as if nobody ever even listened to the album and couldn't wait to blast it. I genuinely understand the criticism of Axl and the desire to characterize this band as some sort of imitation Guns 'N Roses.

It got good reviews. This band isn't a tortured soul , so stop it.

However, I don't get what seems to be an incredible bias against the music and an unwillingness to even give it a chance. I think Chinese Democracy is a fantastic album. If I had never heard of Guns N Roses and this album came out, I would think it was awesome. I have attempted to listen to many albums from many bands over the last 10+ years, and to me this is one of the most complete, ambitious and awesome albums in recent memory.

Could it be that some people just don't like it. **shrugs**

So I go to the concert in Vienna, it's really great, it's 2 and a half hours long, people love it, the crowd goes crazy. .........

great!! that's the best thing, that can happen to an artist

why do you care about the stupid press?

It's not like I hid in my attic today for 5 hours to cry about the press Axl gets - I just find it really interesting. When reading newspaper articles, I rarely know that much about the background it comes from, and never before had the politics of an article been that cristal clear to me instantly.

You ever stop to think that maybe you might be a little biased.......since you are a fan.

Nah.

Again: 0 reviews positive = interesting thing

So I go to the concert in Vienna, it's really great, it's 2 and a half hours long, people love it, the crowd goes crazy. .........

great!! that's the best thing, that can happen to an artist

why do you care about the stupid press?

It's not like I hid in my attic today for 5 hours to cry about the press Axl gets - I just find it really interesting. When reading newspaper articles, I rarely know that much about the background it comes from, and never before had the politics of an article been that cristal clear to me instantly.

the general public obviously still thinks slash is in the band

Yeah, some people seem to be really surprised, it's funny, isn't it?

"Uh.. duuuude... why does the guy with the hat suddenly have this asian touch to him...?"

You enjoy wasting your time, good for you!

You enjoy coming up with stupid scenarios.

Take this further: What if Axl met Slash at a club, would he:

A. Storm out.

B. Say hi and leave.

C. Sit down for a conversation.

D. Physically attack him.

Whaddya think?

E. Say hi and enjoy his night with whoever he was with.

I can see literally EVERYTHING happen, but not E.

Axl doesn't like the press. Press don't like Axl and see him as an easy target.

Thread over.

You summed it all up very well: A+

But it ain't over till it's over...

I doubt you'd find a time in GNR's history when magazines, tabloids or broadsheets ever liked Axl.

He's never really played ball with the press has he

Didn't he do interviews till 1990 or 1991? Also, they were almost the biggest band on the planet back then - today, he is an easier target.

However I've been talking with people who were actually at the Paris show, and they hated it. They were fans, mostly fans of the old line up, but they did appreciate Chinese Democracy, but obviously, they have a problem with the 3 guitarists, and especially the missing guitarist. It's not just the press, most people talk shit about the band because they can't stand Axl got the name on his own and just hate without any objectivity. It's very sad, but no matter how good this new band is, they'll always get trashed. And it pisses me off.

But still, shoudn't there be a single newspaper to be found with a different opinion? Cause I can't find one... I feel like I'm living under some dictatorship in a third world country here, really...

Obviously, the press is on a mission here, and the goal is to make Axl look bad.

It's working.

Of course it's working for the broad public, it has always worked, the media are just very powerful.

It's not working with people who went to the concert though, thank god! At least they don't have enough power to convince you that what you just saw was bad, when you really just thought it was good!

So I go to the concert in Vienna, it's really great, it's 2 and a half hours long, people love it, the crowd goes crazy. Then I come home and read the reviews: They are not bad, they are aweful! Almost all of them are full of negative stuff, in fact they are not even written in an halfway objective way; in many newspapers the way of writing reeks of hate. The comments to these online articles again, are almost all against the writer and for the band ("You went to the wrong concert!", "This reporter got no idea!"). The best articless are so-so, and I have yet to see a really positive one. Apparently, as you can see on the board, the same thing has happened in other cities too.

So what's the deal here? - Don't reporters like Rock? Are they all Slash fans?

Obviously, the press is on a mission here, and the goal is to make Axl look bad. Let me tell you, if you go to the concert and then out of 10 reviews read 8 aweful ones and 2 so-so ones, and in most of them you can really read hate between the lines, then it suddenly becomes really obvious what's going on here. If GnR haven't been to your city lately, or you don't read the reviews, or you haven't been to the concert, well then you might be saying: To each their own opinion. But if you have been there and read it all, it suddenly becomes VERY obvious what's going on. This is not about opinions, this is about completing a task, a task they had set out to long before this concert took place. I wouldn't be surprised if most of these articles had been written long before the band hit town...

Possible reasons for the press to make Axl their target: He hardly does any interviews - also, I have heard from someone close to the media that there are very rigid restrictions for them: You can only take photographs from very few points, etc etc.. So if Axl gives the press a hard time, they want to give him a hard time back...

I don't even know when that happened. I don't remember if Axl ever told me anything about it and Slash never said anything about it until I saw it in his book. Slash felt that if he didn't sign it, that Axl wouldn't go on stage. That doesn't mean that Axl made that threat Slash and Duff just assumed that Axl wouldn't go on stage or record again if they didn't sign. So Axl didn't blackmail them. Also Slash and Duff may have not have had the best advice by their management regarding signing the name over, but if they didn't sign the name over the band would have broken up anyways in 1995/1996 when they didn't agree on who was going to be replacing Izzy and what songs they would record. No one would have the name GUN N' ROSES. If that was the case Axl would have had a lot more music out by now but, under a different name, but probably with the same guys that worked on Chinese Democracy and that record would have been out in 1998/1999 with new music from Axl every few years. There was a lot Axl had to deal with to keep GUNS N ' ROSES going when Slash and Duff left and it took many years to deal with. Plus some law suits. Slash would have done the same thing as he did anyways with out Axl, 2 Snakepit records 2 VR records and 1 solo record and still there would be no reunion. So who is lying? Maybe no one, maybe just a bunch of miscommunication and why does it matter anyway? They wanted different things so going their own way was the only way they could get what they wanted. It was sad for me to see that split but thats life, shit happens and we lick our wounds and move on.

Marc,

First thanks for coming on here and giving us your insights. I have a question.

You comment that Axl would have more music out if he didn't use the GNR name. Why is that?

Because he wouldn't have had to spend so much time and energy on keeping the and dealing with the name Guns n Roses and on some law suits.

Cool moment: Axl introduces BBF as "The Situation"

Bumble is a bit sick at the moment, he was writing about green stuff coming out of his lung or so and hardly left his hotel room in Vienna.

Don't Cry sounded beautiful, I especially love the screeching in the end.

I don't even know when that happened. I don't remember if Axl ever told me anything about it and Slash never said anything about it until I saw it in his book. Slash felt that if he didn't sign it, that Axl wouldn't go on stage. That doesn't mean that Axl made that threat Slash and Duff just assumed that Axl wouldn't go on stage or record again if they didn't sign. So Axl didn't blackmail them. Also Slash and Duff may have not have had the best advice by their management regarding signing the name over, but if they didn't sign the name over the band would have broken up anyways in 1995/1996 when they didn't agree on who was going to be replacing Izzy and what songs they would record. No one would have the name GUN N' ROSES. If that was the case Axl would have had a lot more music out by now but, under a different name, but probably with the same guys that worked on Chinese Democracy and that record would have been out in 1998/1999 with new music from Axl every few years. There was a lot Axl had to deal with to keep GUNS N ' ROSES going when Slash and Duff left and it took many years to deal with. Plus some law suits. Slash would have done the same thing as he did anyways with out Axl, 2 Snakepit records 2 VR records and 1 solo record and still there would be no reunion. So who is lying? Maybe no one, maybe just a bunch of miscommunication and why does it matter anyway? They wanted different things so going their own way was the only way they could get what they wanted. It was sad for me to see that split but thats life, shit happens and we lick our wounds and move on.

EXTREMELY interesting and insightful post!

But I have to add: If Slash and Duff hadn't signed the name away, with Axl being the only original member left in the old band, wouldn't the two of them own the rights of the name (as they are 2 members)? Imagine if Velvet Revolver went by the name of Guns n' Roses today, and the band called GnR today would go by a completely different name.

What would have gone differently with Slash's and Duff's band then?

(Not that it would make a huge difference, I can see that..)

I'm considering going to this show, where do I best get tickets for the fan pit?

Can anybody give me any info about the venue, transportation, where the band will be staying, etc?

Thanks!

No Shackler's or Catcher. But IRS is a nice surprise.

Seems like they don't want to raise the number of CD songs, they just exchange one for another one. It's either Maddy or Catcher, either Shackler's or IRS.

Don't Cry is a big and very pleasant surprise though, can't wait for the video to surface!

I guess they were all trying to be Hanoi Rocks:

Ha, the top hat and the curly black hair, it's amazing indeed!

Slash is so original!!

They all were "original".. Axl used to tease his hair and wear lipstick.. even copped Mike Monroes stage persona Izzy had a little hat like that and duff wore a bolo tie..

First time I ever saw Axl I thought he was a chick and this was before Appetite was going..late 85' my guitarist was going to MIT in Hollywood and I flew out and went to the sunset strip with him..My guitarist goes thats Axl from the band Guns and Roses- I thought Axl was a drag queen or something. basically they were to lazy and stoned to keep the make up thing going.

Hey, that sounds really interesting, care to share a bit?

What was the name of your band, how long did you stay out there on the Strip? (And what's MIT?) Any other experiences with Guns?

Bowie, where were you in Vienna?

legal documents don't define rock bands

Well, that's a pretty naive statement. Do you really think those 'rock bands' aren't concerned about legal documents, aren't defined by them? Do you think they don't fret over every lyric, note, sample, song, album, rider, etc? Even you're precious AFD lineup - your so-called real GnR - came up with an interesting point system on the distribution of profits based on member and contribution.

Without legal documents, you don't have rock bands.

If I remember right, you are in the legal buisness yourself, aren't you?

Trying to explain that the world is really made up of paragraphs..