Nobody

Looks like I was wrong about the Marquee, I found this quote from Ross Halfin

...never did them live, I was too lazy. I remember the first time I shot them they came in with an entourage of fifty hangers-on. It was a bit like the Rolling Stones, which I suppose they were. A photo from that session is on the cover of Greatest Hits. Still friendly with all of them except Axl.

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He did take one of the most famous/recognizable GNR pictures ever though.

https://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com/photo/default.aspx?photographID=10718

I'm pretty positive that's Ross Halfin, early GNR photographer. He took a lot of (now) famous pictures of GNR early in their career. I believe he started shooting them during their first UK trip at the Marquee and then continued to do so for years after.

Hey everyone,

I've got a couple of official GNR jerseys that I'm looking to sell. They're beautiful jerseys and heavy duty fabric, direct from the Guns n roses offical store.They're really amazingly well made but I have extras so I don't need them.I purchased them brand new and have never worn them at all .They remain in pristine condition and have been stored the whole time in a smoke free environment. I'll post a link for the official GNR page if you'd like to take a look.I have the Star logo Hockey Jersey which is double sided, it's a limited edition design and it states it right on the label, I believe it was made for the 2006 tour (Not positive though). I also have the bullet logo hockey jersey with the classic two guns design . The Star Logo is a 2XL and the Bullet logo is an XL . I'm asking for $50 each for them. If anyone has any interest you can send me a PM. Thanks!

Here's the link http://gunsnroses.shop.bravadousa.com/Dept.aspx?cp=1158_56622#

It's a little disingenuos to say that 50% of his setlist is cover songs. True , they might be songs that he released in different incarnations/bands but they were all songs that he wrote with those said groups. Don't know if you can really truly play a "cover" of your own songs. But by your logic I'm sure you'd totally agree then that since 2000 Axl is definitely just the singer of a GNR covers band because none of the musicians he's worked with since 2000 have had ANY involvement in creating any of the songs that make up most of their careers and setlists since then.

It's a pretty stupid topic question if you ask me, just trying to stir up the same extremely old and tired Slash Vs. Axl feud bs. Both Duff and Slash still regularly express how proud they are of what they accomplished in GNR so just because they might've lost any hope of ever doing a reunion gig with AXl doesn't mean they never want to play the songs that they created back then ever again.Axl on the other hand constantly shits on his old bandmates, wants to deny his own history and the people who helped him have the career he still enjoys now ( remember the days when he always used to claim how Slash and the guys were his favorite band and musicians in the world etc.) and wants to be totally seperated from anything GNR prior to 2000 and yet continues to constantly tour and has no problem performing the songs that all those old traitorous scumbags created for him to sing to all those years ago. If anything, Axl is the one who is wholly in denial about "moving" on. If he moved on he would perform a full show of the entire CHinese Democracy album with some covers and a handful of old GNr songs mixed in but he's never done that.

If you listen to any of the early Use Your Illusion shows Axl again and again tells the audience that if they just got up there and played all of Appetite songs and didn't debut any of the new stuff "It would be just like jerking off" . That's right from the man's mouth, so I guess over the past decade or so Axl's gotten a lot more comfortable with just jerking off on the crowds that come to see him.

Wow ! Thanks so much Marc, you just made my week!!!

It's great news to get during work on a monday

Thank you also to PITBOSS!

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and detailed answer Marc, it's fascinating learning about all the details that went into your crafting such an amazing book .I feel like I have a more complete picture now of your journey in creating something we all love so much. It's a real piece of art . I can't thank you enough for all your hard work and the great gift you've given all of us !

The original 2,000 photo first draft edition must've been amazing!!

Hi Marc,

I know you've spoken a little bit about putting money into the band in various ways and I was just wondering based on looking through the Reckless Road book and seeing the volume of pictures you took (I'm sure there were MANY more you left out too), if it's not too personal, how much money and TIME do you estimate you were putting into the band in those early days? I imagine that just the act of buying tons of rolls of film, then developing them etc. would have to have taken so much time and dedication on your part , not to mention the monetary aspect. How many hours do you think you put into the archiving of your photographs. Was it ever hard for you during those times to come up with the money to continue to document the band the way you wanted to (and did)? Did you develop the pictures yourself?

Also, in terms of the actual layout of the book, how many hours/weeks /months/years did it take for you to "complete" it ? Was it incredibly hard for you to select the pictures you used for the book, or have you always had favorites that you really wanted included?

Sorry, I realize that's a bunch of questions , so feel free not to answer but I'd be interested in hearing any info on your behind the scenes contribution and creative decisions that ended with you creating such an amazing book and document of the band.

Thanks!

I'm pretty positive it's a bootleg, so not sure how much it's worth. That being said, I haven't seen it very often at all myself.I have the same one but it has a different back picture. Pretty cool looking shirt either way.

Edit: I just looked at mine. MIne has the Appetite photo of the guys sitting against the wall and says Appetite For Destruction on the bottom with the 2 guns symbol. I think I like the back of yours better, nice that it has some extra live photos. Definitely a bootleg though, not sure how old it actually is or how much they're worth.

I personally find it really hard to believe that Slash opened up to Beta at the door and said all those things. It would be one thing if he actually spoke to Axl that night and then Axl came out and said Slash said all those things to HIM but do we really believe that Slash (who apparently wasn't even allowed in the house) told Beta at the door, " Uh Beta... could you tell Axl that Duff is spineless, Scott's a fraud and I hate Matt Sorum and it's clear to me now that he's the stronger man, Thanks! " That scenario just seems totally retarded and unbelievable to me. Even if Slash truly believed all those things I can't see him telling Stephanie Seymour's former babysitter all of that in hopes that she would pass the message on to Axl at some point. Then again, that's just my opinion, doesn't make any sense to me though.

I have the Hall of Fame cd and mine is opened. It's basically a "best of" mix of the bands that were inducted, with a couple songs from each band. The cd starts off with Welcome To the Jungle and Sweet Child is also on it too. It's got Give it Away & Under the Bridge from the Chili Peppers etc.

Yes , it is.

The best years for Axl's voice were 1986-1990 . By the Use Your Illusion tour his voice was already showing signs of wear and tear and was getting ruff during some of the shows.As far as I'm concerned , it's been nothing but downhill since 2001. I don't even really agree with the whole "raspy" argument or that his voice was somehow better in 2010.You can obviously find or pick out some shows or songs from youtube where it might not sound horrible but unless you want to hear him sing the Chinese Democracy songs or the covers than you're much better off listening to his performances from the 80's -90s. I've listened to every boot show from 2001 til now and it's not that I've never enjoyed any of them but for me it's too often painful to hear what's happened to his voice .Even the Chinese songs now, I was originally so looking forward to hearing him sing This I love because it's one of my favorites from the album but his voice is just so harsh for the most part when they perform it live, it never comes close to touching the vocal performance on the album and is just sad to hear .

Marc,

Axl himself and others over the years have expressed how important Axl's tattoo's are to him and how they all have deep meaning for him. By looking at your book we can see that you have photos of a few of these in their early unfinished stages, which was very interesting to see.Is there any info you can tell us about what they meant to Axl, when he got them/finished them etc.? Are there other photos you have that aren't in the Reckless Road book that document the different stages of the tattoos ? Also, do you know about some of the newer tattoo's he got after the original group dissolved ? We've seen a few pictures of his later day tattoos but I'd love to hear the background on some of the new one's too if you have any insights on the matter. Thanks for your time!

It's really too bad. It would've been amazing to get Izzy's insight on those early formative years and his creative input into the band. I've always thought that he was such a huge important part of Guns n Roses as a songwriter and he never fully gets recognized. I think that's partly due to Axl and Slash being such huge personalities but also because Izzy never really chooses to express himself in anyway. I agree, that he could've atleast done some interviews off the camera for you Marc. While I sort've understand his reluctance to not speak about/promote his former "lifestyle", I think it's clear to any fans who know Izzy that he's been clean for many years now (since 1990?) and that's really not important to us. I'm only speaking for myself but I never thought Izzy,Slash etc. were cool because they were heroin addicts.

He has so much more to offer in terms of delving into the dynamics of his and Axl's relationship and the beginning years of the band. I think he sells himself short by thinking that everyone will just be interested in rehashing the heroin subject. To me, that's the least interesting thing about him, I'd love to hear more from him on pretty much any subject except that. The fact of the matter is the drug use is very well known and for better or worse was part of the bands legacy/infamy so Slash or anyone else speaking about it or denying it isn't going to change anything at this point. I think if he just spoke a little more he'd realize that people really don't care about the drugs at all, let's be honest, if he did interviews 90% of the questions would be about Axl/Guns and probably no one would really care about his addiction from 30 years ago.

The books still amazing though Marc!!!

I obviously don't mean that literally, was just using it as an example to continue along with the marriage/divorce analogy. For the record, I don't think Axl and Slash are my parents either. Cheers!

Marc,

Thanks for your important insight once again ! I don't know if you believe it would betray Axl to speak about some of the things you guys spoke about in private but I desperately wish someone (even Axl) could stop being completely cryptic after all these years (almost 20 now!) and finally give some type of real explanation as to what "all the terrible things Slash has done to him" are . I believe Axl even said in some 2000-2006 interview that he would explain at some point but he really never has. We always hear about how terribly he was treated by everyone around him but with no real explanation or substance as far as I can see. Sure Slash left the band and said some unflattering things about him later but so did everyone else.

Izzy has called Axl a dictator, said he was a ginger who couldn't get any pussy in high school and then a got a big head later when he finally did etc. and yet Axl hangs out and plays with him still. Duff said some of the same things Slash has and got to play with and open up for Axl a few years back. Steven sued him and left with total bad blood and Axl still spoke to him when he saw him, and he also hung out/spoke to Matt Sorum after the break up too.I'm sorry ,but this complete venom and vendetta he's had and continues to have towards Slash has just never been properly explained or given any sort of substance behind it. If Axl truly believes Slash has ruined his life since the moment he "made him go on the Illusions tour" then why doesn't he finally man up and explain to all of us how exactly he was wronged. He's used the marriage/divorce analogy before and stated something to the effect that life doesn't owe any of us a happy ending but opening up and giving an explanation to all of the "children" of the Guns N Roses marriage is really the least he could do for us at this point after 16 years. I honestly don't need our "parents" (Axl and Slash) to get back together but it's still very confusing for a "child" who loves BOTH his parents to just be told, "We're getting a divorce because your mother did tons of horrible things to me, but you can never ask me about those things or get any explanation as to what they are.... get over it."

I think Axl was pretty open about it back then. If I remember correctly , he said he did it for a week with some girl and they had a great time fucking and doing heroin but he just made himself stop after that because he wouldn't allow/didn't want to become addicted.Slash has also said on more than one occasion that Axl was never addicted to anything. I don't see why either one of them would have a reason to lie, it's not like they had to protect a squeaky clean image or anything, the other guys drug use was very well known even back then.They weren't exactly into hiding their chemical intake or addictions at the time.I think Axl probably tried or dabbled with every drug but as far as anything I've ever heard, he was never an addict of anything.

Simply amazing Troccoli !!! Is there any chance of you transfering those demo tapes so we could actually hear a first generation copy of them off of the original masters? Just curious, have you been able to listen to them to compare the quality to what's circulating ? Are those even the same demos that have been circulating forever in the GNR bootleg circles or are they uncirculated? Thanks in advance for any info you have about them!

Yawn! Who really even cares? It may seem like an open insult but I don't think it's such a huge deal either way. I personally find it hard to believe that STP, Slash and Duff all got together and said ," Let's all play one song together and it will totally shame and humiliate Scott, that'll show em! " . If that's what really happened that I would just find it silly and childish because that's all it would be. I don't believe Slash and Duff were ever feuding with the guys in STP even when VR was going on. Pretty sure they even rehearsed or recorded albums in the same studio at that time and spoke together and Slash and DUff have played with Chester Bennington many times before in Camp Freddy and other venues so they're obviously on good terms with him. I'm just saying I don't personally believe this was solely a conspiracy to shame Scott.And in terms of who Slash will play with, I always compare him to Hendrix (hold on) in the sense that Hendrix just wanted to play guitar ALL the time, he would jam with ANYONE he ever had the chance to play with, he'd sit in on jams in clubs with unknown musicians or anyone. I think Slash is the same way, though there are a bunch of people he's played guitar for over the years that I never wanted to "see" him with (Puff Daddy to name one) I don't think he cares about that shit, I'm sure there are some people he really hates that he wouldn't play with but I think he'll basically show up (almost) anywhere as long as he can play his fucking guitar.

All that being said, if it was all a ploy to screw Scott I still just think it's just childish and stupid more than vengeful, evil and horrible.I'm so tired myself of the BS and "beefs". I may get torn apart for this but I really don't mind because I just can't stand the childish bs and hate speech anymore. I truly think it's completely ridiculous for anyone to hate Slash so vehemently just because Axl does. Axl's a wealthy, succesful, grown man who doesn't need us to fight his battles for him. Even if Slash was the most evil ,vengeful, hurtful Satan to AXl in his entire life (which I also think is crazy and ridiculous), what difference does it make to any of us really? What did Slash do to you in your private ,personal life to ever damage your psyches so much that you have to despise him ? I for one can think for myself and would never hate someone so strongly just because some other guy does. If a normal person (besides Axl) spoke the way he does about Slash you'd probably just call it like it is and say he's nuts. Really, if I said Gilby was actually the antichrist and by replacing Izzy originally he destroyed my life completely and made me lose everything I had and in a past life also, he tried to murder me when we both lived in Rome, what would you all truly think? Would I also get some converts to start calling Gilby the antichrist too, or would you worry about my mental stability and grasp of reality?

Maybe I'm totally crazy or reading things wrong but I've always felt that deep down Slash and Duff still really care a lot for Axl. To me, Slash and Duff have always gone sort've light on Axl or atleast they couch their statements by saying things like , "This is just my opinion, Axl's is also valid ..., etc" . Even when they say things that might piss Axl off or when they're speaking about things that they were angry at AXl for you can still get the sense of the love or atleast respect that they have/had for the guy. I've never really felt the type of venom coming from them that you get with some of Axl's statements (especially about Slash) . I don't know if Slash would ever come out and say it but I think he would still love to be able to atleast speak to Axl again, even if they never collaborated again. All those guys shared and worked together to create something so special and it's too bad they can't even speak together now. I'm really not for a reunion at all but do wish they could atleast make up so there wouldn't have to be all the drama, name calling, accusations etc. I honestly think even if they never worked together again it would be very healing for Axl to put all the pain and toxic feelings behind him.All that being said, I've never even heard Slash and Duff REALLY bad mouth Axl before, they mostly speak about how going on late all those shows was really hard on them during the illusion tour and how Axl could be very controlling and difficult to work with but c,mon all of that's pretty well known stuff anyway, I don't really consider that bad mouthing him per say but just stating how some of his behavior effected the other people around him.

Could you tell us what's on the Paradise , Under My Heel and The alternates and unreleased sides cds? By any chance, are the Paradise cds the same as the Boot LP of the same name , I notice they have the same cover as the vinyl? Thanks!

Just curious, did anyone contact this guy to see what he wants for the unedited tape? I assume he put his info on the clip because he's trying to sell it.

I have no idea how you would contact the person who made them and don't even know if that's availiable info . I'd assume in the kind of business where you sell these type of recordings you usually don't go around promoting or telling people your name. Then again , I really don't know . Marc said he's never heard them before which I definitely think is telling if they were pre illusion era demos, seems like he would've heard them then in some format (live/rehearsal etc.) . Maybe he can give us his educated guess as to whether he thinks that sounds like Duff, Slash, Steven or anyone else to him. I'm still wary about them but we're really just guessing. Anyone else know something about the tracks?

I agree with your point about Aces High, once again , don't take my word for it as "fact , it's just my opinion . I'd honestly like to have more info on them myself to either confirm or deny their authenticity.

Slash mentioned it during some interview when they recording the Illusion albums so it would've been easy enough for some bootlegger to slap a name that GNR fans might've heard about as an unreleased song on some generic instrumental . It would be like getting an instrumental now and calling it The General or Jackie Chan. Until Marc told us, I think everyone just assumed that was a "lost" song, don't know how many people knew that it actually was released in some format as "Speed Parade" later. I sure was happy for Marc letting us in on that little bit of previously unknown info!

Nightcrawler is a legit song but that's not it . Marc told us there was a song called Nightcrawler but it was later renamed Speed Parade when Slash ended up recording it for the second Snakepit record.