izzy92

The hole he dug is just too deep and his pride way too bullet proof to even contemplate making amends with Slash in his own head let alone dismantling his comfortable new perception and rapport with Guns N' Roses and rework old wounds and scarred territory, I don't know what motivation could make him scale that mountain because it wouldn't be monetary, Duff and Izzy are about five tiers below Slash's tainted pedestal in his head imo, they're small time accumulation of dirt and blood, Slash is like his heart being ripped out by a rusty chainsaw, with Steph at least he only shared one aspect of himself with her and there are expectations in fiery relationships, Slash's relationship with him is so layered and convoluted.

It's sad to think it went this far. I think if CD had been released in the late 90's and done equally as poorly he would have just said forget it and gotten the band back together. It's also sad to think that these people forget where they came from. To have the ability to one day wake up, call Slash, and create the biggest event the music industry has seen in 25 years is a heck of a lot of power. I think Robert Plant is the only other person on the planet with that kind of musical power.

The other shame is Axl's worries that management just wants their commission of a GNR reunion. Maybe that's another motivator for him...they've done nothing for him, why should he let them reap the rewards of his failure? Another reason I believe they just need to get this record deal over with a.s.a.p and move on.

Maybe he was as deluded about how nuGuns would be accepted as we are about how great a reunion would be? Back when those chats took place, I think he had some hope, as the endgame always seemed to be to get this band to the level of old GNR, destroy the old band's legacy/wipe Slash from everyone's memory, and demonstrate that he had something to say by producing quality music.

Unfortunately, along with his self-created issues, everyone except him shows up to the Hall of Fame as Guns n Roses, the release of ChiDem is barely supported and sells MAYBE to 20% of expectations, audiences continually diminish, fans are harsher and harsher, and he has no opportunity or desire to go through that again. I don't think he's achieved what he's worked for, and I can only hope he realizes that sooner than later.

Axl has said he'll be dead in a box before even TALKING to Slash again.

Is there a more definitive statement he could make?

If he actually believes that, why would he say he tried to make it work with the Hall of Fame? Unless his definition of "trying to make it work" was stipulating that Slash couldn't be at the event which would just be laughable.

I decided to put a list together of everything we know about the potential for a reunion, and based on this I really believe it's going to happen one day:

1) Axl said in his 2011 L.A Times interview "If a reunion were to happen, it would be Duff and Slash really, no offense to the other guys". Clearly referring to the fact that Steven can't stay on the road for more than a couple months without starting up on the drugs and that Izzy hasn't done a tour in almost 20 years. The fact that he'd even mention that Slash/Duff are two people he could potentially reunite with was a good clue.

He didn't mean he could potentially reunite with them, this statement has been misconstrued repeatedly. His point was that a 100% reunion was impossible anyway, "so it's not even a full reunion", Nothing in that statement indicated he would ever be willing to reunite with Slash, just that not everyone would even be capable of participating in a reunion if he was willing to, so clamoring for one is pointless.

The fact that he's even talking about it like it's no big deal is a big deal in itself. To say "even if it did happen, it would only be with the person I'll never talk to again" in such a carefree way really caught my attention. In the past, it's always been "never in a billion years, Slash is a cancer, I'll be dead before I talk to him again." Not "If there was a reunion, it'd only be me, him, and Duff." Very different tone to me.

I decided to put a list together of everything we know about the potential for a reunion, and based on this I really believe it's going to happen one day:

1) Axl said in his 2011 L.A Times interview "If a reunion were to happen, it would be Duff and Slash really, no offense to the other guys". Clearly referring to the fact that Steven can't stay on the road for more than a couple months without starting up on the drugs and that Izzy hasn't done a tour in almost 20 years. The fact that he'd even mention that Slash/Duff are two people he could potentially reunite with was a good clue.

2) Axl was willing to reunite with the old band at the hall of fame IF the new band was also able to perform. This doesn't sound to me like he'd never be willing or able to deal with Slash again.

3) Izzy has said he would do a reunion tour if it was the original five guys, and has played with the current lineup on numerous occasions.

4) Duff has said he would do a GNR reunion, and has also played with the current lineup on numerous occasions including an entire SA tour.

5) Slash has said "never say never", and was clearly willing to reunite at the RNRHOF and wished Axl would show up for the fans.

6) Steven is Steven.

7) The highlight of Matt's life was being in GNR, and as he says now, "at least with Axl we sold out stadiums instead of hockey rinks".

Here are some things I don't understand:

1) Alan Niven said Izzy waited in L.A to meet Axl to discuss the RNRHOF induction but Axl never showed up.

2) Dizzy said in the interview posted last week that he, Axl, and Izzy made the decision collectively not to go to the Hall of Fame. What loyalty does Izzy have to Axl that he wouldn't show up to the induction? After all, Duff showed up to the induction and got invited to play on an entire tour...it clearly didn't burn any bridges or harm their relationship.

I think the first step in this will be Izzy/Duff both guesting in Las Vegas during the residency, and possibly playing on one or two songs together. Duff is all but confirmed for a few shows, and Izzy has been known to pop up in Vegas in the past. Considering that the three of them are all on great terms with each other, I see no reason why this wouldn't/couldn't happen.

My prediction: Axl/Slash/Duff/Izzy/Matt/Dizzy do a reunion show in 2015. It won't be for money, and there won't ever be an album, but I believe the early Illusions lineup WILL get together for at least one more show.

Was just thinking...if they owed Universal 2 albums...would Chinese Democracy and Appetite for Democracy count as two albums? Maybe they just need to get this released and then go independent?

Not sure if this is part of a master plan or what the deal is but it seems really bizarre to me for a few reasons...

1) They've filmed quite a few shows after the last number of years and by no means is this the highest quality show they could have put out for a DVD.

2) With all the holdups with release, this must have had something to do with the record company.

3) Pure speculation, but maybe Axl refused to put out another album with a record company he feels doesn't care about him (Chinese Democracy release fiasco) and was able to get around this by putting out a live album?

Not sure at all, but might make sense to keep everything under wraps until this deal with Universal is up, then go full steam ahead with something new. I just have a hard time believing that Axl, anyone in the band, or the management could realistically look at declining attendance, non-stop questions about new music with no answers, and the 13th year of the Chinese Democracy tour and say that this is their plan for success. There's got to be something more to it than just pure laziness on Axl's part....

Sorry if this has been asked before!!

It says in Slash and Duff's book that they had to edit 100 drum takes of Civil War into a useable drum track as Adler was out of it and could barely play drums at that point.

After all of the delays in recording, and the fact that it's a double double album, why wouldn't they just get Matt to play the drums on it, and either add it to the other parts (I'm assuming this was click track), or just re-record the entire song?

Anyone heard about this? Apparently Axl Rose's former personal assistant Craig Duswalt is coming out with a book on May 13th about his time with GNR on the Illusions tours. Seems interesting!!

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/axl-roses-former-personal-assistant-craig-duswalts-unauthorized-account-of-touring-with-guns-n-roses/

After seeing the festival date in Quebec City announced, I emailed the Ottawa Bluesfest director to ask if Guns N Roses would make an appearance. Here's his response:

"While the Bluesfest lineup is 95% finalized, we do still have a few major acts to announce. Stay tuned and you may be in for a surprise".

Sounds pretty promising! Fingers crossed!

All I'm saying is I get the vibe that Axl's open to the idea of a reunion with some obvious conditions such as Slash apologizing. I think if at all possible Axl would rather have all this fun, promotion, and good times with the classic GNR lineup. It probably feels like a lost dream to him, but I'm certain he'd rather be playing stadiums instead of areans, writing new music without any "piecemeal, one person here, one person there" b.s, and overall once again being in the biggest band in the world. If classic GNR reunited the band would immediately become the Led Zeppelin/Stones caliber story of the year. I can't see any reason why he would rather have fun with this lineup than old guns. The only reason he's "content" with being the "king" of the operation is because he has nobody else to lean on and doesn't really have a choice.

With all due respect Axl wanted to be King in old Guns well which is part of the reason Duff, Izzy and Slash quit so I think you are wrong thinking Axl does not want to be the man in charge and, if you believe him, Slash would never work with Axl under those conditions...Marc Canter even has said Slash would never work with Axl unless it was as equals.

He may have wanted to be in charge, but is this not likely due to the fact that when Illusions started, the following had happened:

1) Izzy got clean and couldn't deal with the other guys in the band. He kept to himself and didn't take an active interest in the band. Why? Probably because he knew he wasn't an iconic member of the band to the general public; that space belonged solely to Axl, Slash, and to a lesser extent Duff.

2) Axl kept totally to himself and distanced himself from the other guys issues.

3) Slash was a full blown alcoholic and heroin addict on the verge of death.

4) Duff was a full blown alcoholic who from the looks of it couldn't hold a conversation.

5) Steven had already been removed from the band for drug addiction and Axl personally witnessed his descent into drug abuse and addiction. This couldn't have been easy.

6) It fell on Axl's shoulders to maintain the image of the band that was so successful. Badass, don't give two fuc*s about anything, appetite for destruction. He probably felt like he couldn't tell anybody in the media what his actual feelings were, and this definitely came back to hurt him.

The proof is in the pudding. We all know now how sensitive Axl really is...how one comment can send him into complete withdrawal for days. In 1991, did anybody see that side of him? It was all anger, which is probably the only way he knew how to channel that energy at the time. If Izzy hadn't slacked off and been so flakey and Axl was actually willing to talk, there's no way things would have shaken out the way they did. Axl probably felt really threatened that he could lose the only thing he had left: the band. Nobody knows the truth except the guys in the band, but everybody has a different version of the truth. With Slash trying to reunite in '04, with Steven wanting to reunite for almost a decade, and with Izzy and Duff both joining Axl on stage how can we really believe anything those guys say about the breakup of the band? They were as much to blame as Axl was. I don't think it's the fact that Axl wanted to be king in old guns, its just that everybody else was either so out of it on drugs/booze or just had a total disinterest that it ended up working out that way.

No actually if you read the old interviews Duff, Izzy, Slash and in some cases Gilby and Matt all have pretty much the same version of the "truth" Axl is the only one with a different version..........

All I know is if I went downtown and got mugged by 5 junkies or alcoholics chances are people would believe me instead of them. You're trying to look at the big picture through a microscope. I'm sure there's a lot more that happened to break up guns then the only thing you're interested in which is supposedly the "signing the name over" incident. Nice to blame everything on that but the argument loses weight when it takes Slash 4 years to quit the band, and Duff even longer after that situation. There's a lot more to the truth of the breakup of GNR than one incident that didn't seem to matter to anyone until Slash, Duff and Matt were trying to break free of the reigns of Axl/GNR to sell more copies of Contraband. They said at the time Scott was an unbelievable singer and the perfect guy for the band, 4 years later he was never supposed to be there and the only reason he was brought in was because of record company pressure. You can figure it out.

All I'm saying is I get the vibe that Axl's open to the idea of a reunion with some obvious conditions such as Slash apologizing. I think if at all possible Axl would rather have all this fun, promotion, and good times with the classic GNR lineup. It probably feels like a lost dream to him, but I'm certain he'd rather be playing stadiums instead of areans, writing new music without any "piecemeal, one person here, one person there" b.s, and overall once again being in the biggest band in the world. If classic GNR reunited the band would immediately become the Led Zeppelin/Stones caliber story of the year. I can't see any reason why he would rather have fun with this lineup than old guns. The only reason he's "content" with being the "king" of the operation is because he has nobody else to lean on and doesn't really have a choice.

With all due respect Axl wanted to be King in old Guns well which is part of the reason Duff, Izzy and Slash quit so I think you are wrong thinking Axl does not want to be the man in charge and, if you believe him, Slash would never work with Axl under those conditions...Marc Canter even has said Slash would never work with Axl unless it was as equals.

He may have wanted to be in charge, but is this not likely due to the fact that when Illusions started, the following had happened:

1) Izzy got clean and couldn't deal with the other guys in the band. He kept to himself and didn't take an active interest in the band. Why? Probably because he knew he wasn't an iconic member of the band to the general public; that space belonged solely to Axl, Slash, and to a lesser extent Duff.

2) Axl kept totally to himself and distanced himself from the other guys issues.

3) Slash was a full blown alcoholic and heroin addict on the verge of death.

4) Duff was a full blown alcoholic who from the looks of it couldn't hold a conversation.

5) Steven had already been removed from the band for drug addiction and Axl personally witnessed his descent into drug abuse and addiction. This couldn't have been easy.

6) It fell on Axl's shoulders to maintain the image of the band that was so successful. Badass, don't give two fuc*s about anything, appetite for destruction. He probably felt like he couldn't tell anybody in the media what his actual feelings were, and this definitely came back to hurt him.

The proof is in the pudding. We all know now how sensitive Axl really is...how one comment can send him into complete withdrawal for days. In 1991, did anybody see that side of him? It was all anger, which is probably the only way he knew how to channel that energy at the time. If Izzy hadn't slacked off and been so flakey and Axl was actually willing to talk, there's no way things would have shaken out the way they did. Axl probably felt really threatened that he could lose the only thing he had left: the band. Nobody knows the truth except the guys in the band, but everybody has a different version of the truth. With Slash trying to reunite in '04, with Steven wanting to reunite for almost a decade, and with Izzy and Duff both joining Axl on stage how can we really believe anything those guys say about the breakup of the band? They were as much to blame as Axl was. I don't think it's the fact that Axl wanted to be king in old guns, its just that everybody else was either so out of it on drugs/booze or just had a total disinterest that it ended up working out that way.

And the reason they're less popular is because the people playing the music had nothing to do with creating the music. They play it like notes on a page. You don't get to see the guys who wrote it from their heart on stage playing it out in front of your eyes. That's the magic of GNR, it was all about the fan-band connection. Images, the difference in personalities, the lyrics, the way the music came together, and the way the music was presented with five guys putting their lives out for the whole world to see. That was the magic. Not an out of shape Axl Rose with a band of replacements playing notes on a page.

All I'm saying is I get the vibe that Axl's open to the idea of a reunion with some obvious conditions such as Slash apologizing. I think if at all possible Axl would rather have all this fun, promotion, and good times with the classic GNR lineup. It probably feels like a lost dream to him, but I'm certain he'd rather be playing stadiums instead of areans, writing new music without any "piecemeal, one person here, one person there" b.s, and overall once again being in the biggest band in the world. If classic GNR reunited the band would immediately become the Led Zeppelin/Stones caliber story of the year. I can't see any reason why he would rather have fun with this lineup than old guns. The only reason he's "content" with being the "king" of the operation is because he has nobody else to lean on and doesn't really have a choice.

So does everyone acknowledge now that a Guns reunion is possible? In this interview, along with the RNRHOF letter, he clearly says the ball is not in his court for a reunion. If Slash put out a press release saying "I apologize for these 5 things, I hope Axl apologizes for some things too. I'm sorry to Axl and the fans who I've offended, and I want to rejoin GNR", I would say 99% chance there would be an Appetite-GNR reunion within 6 months. That in itself is doing all Axl asked him to do. Say sorry for the lies he told, and make it known publicly that he'd like to rejoin GNR. And how about the other interview where he said "If there was a reunion, it'd probably only be me, Slash, and Duff". The door is clearly open, hopefully Slash is paying attention and realizes how simple this all really is.

Jimmy: Is vegas a good idea for you?

Axl: Yeah it will be a challenge in a different way.

Jimmy shows quote: "Punctuality is the thief of time".

Axl: Its an oscar wilde quote. (laughs)

Jimmy: What time will you guys really go on?

Axl: Probably what time we're supposed to as soon as i find out what that is.

Jimmy: If it says 9 on the ticket, then they think you'll show up late, they may not get there till well after 9.

Axl: We've been a lot better lately.

Jimmy: You should have an opening comedian you can torment by leaving him on stage for 90 minutes.

Axl: At the rose bar we had dice clay.

Jimmy: Who's in the band?

Axl: Bumblefoot, dj ashba, tommy stinson, frank ferrer, chris pitman, richard fortus, and dizzy reed.

Jimmy: Of those guys, who will be the first to go?

Axl: Probably Pitman. Neil Pitman i'm calling him after the neil young shows.

Jimmy: How was it?

Axl: It was great to meet him, it went really well. We did a song with him and he agreed to sing it with us. He's the real deal and he's so strong.

Jimmy: Who did you listen to growing up?

Axl: Queen and sweet, beatles and stones. I was raised on elvis.

Jimmy: I remember everyone being surprised that you listened to Elton John.

Axl: Elton john was my favourite or one of my favourites. Bernie Taupin's lyrics are still my favourite.

Jimmy: Well thanks for coming, when we set this up I was worried i'd be the only one talking.

Axl: I think we have some tickets under people's seats.

Axl: I wanted to bring everyone something, so i brought a Tommy's burger truck. Everyone can have something to eat.

Jimmy: Axl Rose is like santa clause everybody. Thanks so much for being here.

Jimmy: How are you doing?

Axl: Good.

Jimmy: You're right on time, it's unbelievable.

Axl: It's a miracle.

Jimmy:

Axl: I was asked to and you wanted me to come here.

Jimmy: We're happy that you're here. I hear your sick

Axl: I'm doing better now. On a bunch of things.

Jimmy: Part of me would like me to tell people I got strep throat from Axl Rose.

Axl: I feel better today.

Jimmy:

Axl: A while ago, but not in a little while.

Jimmy: How old were you when you came out here?

Axl: 18 years old. I hitchhiked.

Jimmy: Were you wearing the codpiece when you came here.

Axl: Yeah, when I wore the codpiece I got a ride a little quicker.

Jimmy: How long did it take you to make money as a pro musician?

Axl: A few years after we got appetite going.

Jimmy: How did you make money?

Axl: I worked jobs here and there. I became a manager at Tower records for a short period of time. I let everyone have beers after work.

Jimmy: I think every video store employee thinks they'll be a rockstar, you're the only one that did.

Axl: I hired everyone from the old lineup and we had a great time for awhile.

Jimmy: As you were a manager, did you have to scold people for being late?

Axl: I was more lenient. (laughs)

Jimmy Shows flyer: was this your first band, rose?

Axl: That was one of the first ones.

Jimmy: Did you guys make this yourselves?

Axl: Yeah Izzy and I made it.

Jimmy shows picture: This appears to be a halloween tree.

Axl: This is one of the most evil things I've ever done. We have these halloween parties and I decided to have a halloween tree. We'd invite kids to put presents under the halloween tree and I'd say "you don't have a halloween tree?" The kids were thrilled and I got called by their parents for three months.

Jimmy: Have you ever dressed up for halloween?

Axl: I went as a corn for halloween because we have a saying when someone's going to get yelled at in guns n roses, they'll get the corn. So i dressed up as the corn.

Fan questions.

"Do you think it's weird that my teacher has a son named after you"/

Axl: No I think that's a good thing unless I know the teacher intimately. (laughs)

"If you could go back and redo a year which year would you pick?"

Axl: Somewhere in the last 5 or 6.

"Do you regret your cornrows/do you still have them?"

Axl: No. Do I save them? (laughs)

"Why does axl run backstage all the time during a song."

Axl: I feel like an idiot during the solos. I'll change clothes, anything that needs to be taken care of, figuring out next song etc

"Who will you vote for".

Axl: I haven't really voted. I'm in california and they're usually democratic so its normally a landslide anyway. I normally lean democrats. I'd lean Obama.

That's about 95% of it! Missed a couple sentences but this is pretty much it so far.

HAHAHA that was awesome!!!!

Ready to go with transcript! I'll update here as it goes along.

I can transcribe it if you want. I'm a really fast typer and I'll be watching the interview live here in Canada. I can post between each commercial break...he should be on for about 3 5-minute segments AFIAK.

Hey Marc, saw this topic a few pages in and thought it was a great question. Any other info on Izzy would be appreciated too, he's done by far the fewest interviews of anybody in gnr. Whats he like as a person?

Thanks!

Well right off the top November Rain had the botched ending, then you have Whole Lotta Rosie and Dead Flowers to be cut. If you take out the solos as well that has to be at least 30 minutes right there. Hopefully this plays in Canada!!

cut dead flowers?are you seroius?

dead flowers with Izzy stays.

I'm just saying due to the royalties on un-recorded cover songs. I'd love more than anything if that was kept in the set, I'm a diehard izzy fan.

Well right off the top November Rain had the botched ending, then you have Whole Lotta Rosie and Dead Flowers to be cut. If you take out the solos as well that has to be at least 30 minutes right there. Hopefully this plays in Canada!!

Also to Marc. I'll be in LA in a couple of months and I'd fucking love to buy a signed copy of Reckless Road and say hi if possible?

Just let me know when you get here and I will meet you at Canter's Deli.

Marc

Dazey - your'e in for a treat ! Marc's an absolutely sensational Bloke and I cant thank him enough for my catch up with him at Canter's Deli. I still drool over my signed copy of RR and love wearing my Canter's Deli T-shirt Enjoy dude!

Oh, and Marc - Welcome to the Forum. We got Fun' n' Games...

Were you at Canter's back in January? I met Marc in January at Canter's and remember some Aussie's sitting at a booth beside me who were very anxious to talk to him about GNR hahaha. Would be a crazy coincidence.

I've got one from the North American Tour in 1992 when they played with Metallica. The shirt is from the Montreal Riot show. One side is Metallica and the other side is GNR, with all the dates over the continent down the back.

I really believe they'll play a few songs. But also, having never seen the original band before itd be nice to say im one of 2000 peiple thats seen axl and slash grace the same stage in 20 years.

Wow now this is really seeming legit as every post from when he came on here to when he left is now deleted. There's a gap of an hour in the timeline of posts