themadcaplaughs

I've never been 100% clear on what happened at that Detroit show that pissed Axl off so much. What exactly went down?

Dizzy looks very...weird. Has he had some plastic surgery?

Maybe when he passes away, he can be one of those guys that installs a video camera in his coffin. That way there will still be threads about if his decomposing body looks good.

It was an Axl fantasy.

He had megalomanic success earlier combining a great song he had to a blockbuster movie that coincidentally had mr. schwarzenegger on it.

He just wanted to redo that little thing to introduce his new band.

Little did he understand that the Arnold movie in question was not that great and wouldn't bust out his song no matter how good the song was. All the demo shit he wrote up after has to be one of Axls most pathetic and miserable lies ever. I see right through it and it still makes me feel sorry for him. Sorry for the whole damn completely whacked letter he wrote to "explain it away", blame canada and whatever the fuck.

The song in itself is amazing though. Axl shouldnt shy away from it just because it wasn't his You Could Be Mine success story for Nu-GNR.

But thats nineties Axl for you. completely caught up in public perception, success... fuck.

I'd say this was probably close to the version of events that happened. My personal timeline of events (and this is all speculation):

1. Movie studio probably realized it was a fairly weak movie, and wondered if there was any way to get "word of mouth" going about it. Someone probably brought up how huge "You Could Be Mine" was for Terminator 2, and brought up the idea. Guns N' Roses hadn't been heard from in a while, what better way to get buzz going again than putting together the Arnold/GN'R combo again.

2. Arnold and various movie producers probably sweet talked Axl into it, convinced him it would be a perfect opportunity for him to release a new song to the general public. It would be a teaser for the new Guns N' Roses album, and people would be into it who remembered "You Could Be Mine" from 1991. At this point, Axl had not been told that his work was not good enough to be released (by studio, RTB, Ezrin, etc.), and was even probably excited about the prospect.

3. Axl specifically chooses a song that is more of a "throw away" and not one of the "big songs" like "There was a Time" or "Catcher in the Rye." As Robin had bailed by this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he specifically chose a song that Robin had little to do with (it was written by Axl, Dizzy, and Paul).

4. As deadline got closer and closer, the notorious "perfectionism" kicks in. We've heard that Iovine had to stay up with Axl to the 11th hour mixing it, he probably had to do everything he could to get it sent in by the deadline needed.

Which I would say did not rest well with Tommy or Dizzy.

From what I've heard from people on Buckethead's team, Tommy and Robin were the only ones in the immediate band who had a problem with Buckethead.

But to answer the OP, it is definitely DJ. Dude is the one who knows how little he has to contribute, so he buddies up with Axl.

But he's so fucking chummy with him

I think that's largely because Dj is crucial to another Slashless GNR record happening.

Not for artistic reasons, obviously. Think about it, who could they have marketed from the 'freak show'? All of those people were art driven.

Robin from 2006-2007 would have been fine as he had a more traditional look about him then. Hell, by the time Chinese Democracy came out, Buckethead had gotten pretty big off of the song "Jordan" in Guitar Hero. I was always surprised that was never banked on in any way.

Skwerl estimated there are about 10 songs floating around, completely done (or extremely close) that no one has heard.

Someone claiming to be Earl posted a response to 20 questions on some blog a while back. The blog later retracted the whole thing claiming it was not actually Earl, but the answers where extremely specific and checked out, so it was either Earl (who got in trouble for talking about Axl and Guns N' Roses) or it was someone who took a lot of time to research what Axl's private bodyguard would have said.

This might be the check out point for me for a while. Not saying anything dramatic like I don't like Guns N' Roses anymore, just that it's time to set the GN'R community aside for a few years. I did it from 2005-2007, and made it that much more satisfying when Chinese Democracy came out.

That does not sound like a definite maybe.

Beat me to it by just a few seconds. Pretty much answers all of our questions at once. Wonder if this was spurred on by the letter sent to Team Brazil?

From the Guns N' Roses twitter:

"Generally speaking, we have no information on tours, albums, or DVDs. When things get confirmed we'll let you know. Thanks for your patience."

His career isn't significant or successful enough to warrant him replacing Slash/Izzy.

Slash was replaced by Robin Finck who was replaced by Dj. Izzy was replaced by Gilby Clarke who was replaced by Richard Fortus. Dj plays the GNR parts in a typically GNR style and Richard is by far a superior player to Gilby.

Also, you're wrong to say Dj hasn't done any GNR songs yet. He's demoed 12 songs.

Wouldn't it go Izzy --> Gilby --> Paul --> Richard?

Izzy is a class act all the way.

Incredible setlist. Axl was too raspy during the show. Slash sounded pretty good on Locomotive.

Real Guns at its finest.

Hard to believe how times change. So how did Tokyo in 2009 become so known as the longest Guns N' Roses show. It seems obvious to me this would be longer.

Faith No More just did reunion tour for the money then diappeared. Blur come back sporadically. Oasis broke up. Nirvana milk the legacy. Zepp cant even write a new album or tour.

Only The Stones get the fully potential out of their pussies.

Reunion tours may just be quick cash grabs, but most everyone seemed completely satisfied with those shows in terms of lineup, song choice, and performance quality. Oasis broke up, but they have put out a good bit of music, and at the very least one album that will be considered one of the best of the 1990s. Furthermore, both brothers chose to take their music to different projects, not try to continue under the name Oasis. I do not know how you can say Nirvana has "milked" their legacy. I know they have released a lot of sets and reissues over the years but I (and every other Nirvana fan I know who bought them) was more than content with the bonus content that was included. Led Zeppelin played a show that many considered the definitive end to the career of the band, which was eventually released and received overwhelmingly positive reviews.

I love Guns N' Roses in all incarnations, but let's look at the facts shall we...

-We got a live album which, for all accounts, is almost entirely comprised of re-recorded vocals

-We got a song for a soundtrack (which I loved) but has been described by Axl as an unfinished demo

-We got one tour that was cancelled (if you count 2001) and one that was scrapped half way through (2002). And while I appreciate Axl talking about in Philly last year, we still have not gotten a 100% clear answer on why it happened.

-We got an excellent album, but one that received minimal promotion or fanfare

-A year long gap between said album being released and any shows being played, during which there was NO word from anyone in the band or management

-Bumblefoot's constant melt downs both online and to fans in venues

-Defensiveness whenever the topic of new music is brought up.

-Two shows (Rock in Rio in 2011 and Bridge School Benefit) that topped a task that was once thought impossible, being worse than 2002 VMAs.

-Abandoned music video ("Better") that, even if it had been released, featured band members that had been out of the band anywhere from one to four years

-Live show (London 2011) that was scheduled to be aired, aired once with only one new song, taken down, and eventually linked online

-Las Vegas Blu-Ray which seems to be in indefinite hiatus

The only one I can think of that comes close is Michael Jackson, as was mentioned earlier.

I have never heard that he was kicked out of the band in 1996/1997. Has this ever been verified?

Going past all the yes man stuff, I would guess because his role isn't that big in terms of the studio process. I know it's been said in 1996-1999, he was helping write a lot of songs with Paul, but I would guess in terms of the real nitty-gritty of studio time and recording, Dizzy came in, recorded his parts, and left. Point being, he probably did not hang around a lot and have opportunities to make Axl mad. This is complete speculation, but interviews he did from 2003-2005 all seem to show that he was more or less disconnected from the process of mixing the album and choosing what songs would be on it (he talked about not knowing the track lists and not even knowing if Axl would put all his parts on the album).

As for live shows, as others have said, it's a great gig. I'll even give Dizzy the benefit of the doubt and say that he probably really does love playing GN'R music. I just laugh at all the people recently who've posted about how Dizzy somehow made this drastic difference on the sound on the Use Your Illusion albums. They act like if Dizzy hadn't been around, those parts wouldn't have ended up on the albums.

"Welcome to the Jungle" music video.

I'm going to be realistic and assume no three hour long shows, and while I'll throw a few dreams in, I'll try to keep it mainly to songs that would realistically be played by a reunion lineup (that is what they'd be willing to play and what Axl could handle). I'm not good at sequencing a set list, so I'll just go by albums.

Appetite for Destruction:

1. Welcome to the Jungle

2. It's So Easy

3. Nightrain

4. Mr. Brownstone

5. Paradise City

6. Sweet Child O'Mine

7. Rocket Queen

Lies

1. Patience

2. You're Crazy (either Lies version or AFD)

Use Your Illusions

1. Live and Let Die

2. Don't Cry

3. Perfect Crime

4. Double Talkin' Jive

5. November Rain

6. Dead Horse

7. Civil War

8. 14 Years (assuming Izzy would be in this reunion; this is the song he seems comfortable playing these days)

9. Yesterdays

10. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (NOTHING like it's been played anytime from 1991 on)

11. You Could Be Mine

That's it. If a reunion happened, I'd want to keep it bare bones. No 10 minute "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," no needless solos (MAYBE a brief one for Slash and Izzy jamming together), only one "epic" song (I'd take "November Rain" over "Estranged"), and no covers. If there was one song on here that is truly a stretch, it would be "Perfect Crime."

Used to like it a lot more than I do now. Whoever brought up that cruise ship comparison is on the money. You love it because Duff is clearly having a great time, yet you are still a tad embarrassed for him. That being said, it's in a good place. A nice breather between the more experimental (for Guns N' Roses) "Locomotive" and full on grandiosity of "Estranged." It's a good little breather before plunging into the last part of the album. I'd compare it to a James Iha song on a Smashing Pumpkins record or a Rolling Stones song where Keith sings. It's just nice to have a reprieve.

I suppose it's also a sneak preview of what we would get on The Spaghetti Incident. I've always gotten the vibe it was kind of thrown on simply for the mere fact that Duff was ousted from singing "Get in the Ring."

The very fact that we have a three page thread dedicated to this crock of shit is only encouraging BBA. If you want him to leave and never come back, just stop paying attention to him.

Thanks for the update.

Bumblefoot knew his place when he joined in 2006, he was a poor man's Buckethead. I'm not saying that as an insult at all, but it's true. Bumblefoot was hired because Axl was not comfortable with the two guitar lineup and needed someone who could learn all of the crazy Buckethead parts ASAP.

As High Voltage pointed out (and for the record, I'm the guy who's posted about Buckethead in the past. In full disclosure, however, I do not know Buckethead personally, just numerous people on his "team") Ron has really adapted to the GN'R sound (notable exception being "14 Years" which he sounded horrible on) and was extremely lucky that he got to play as much as he did on Chinese Democracy. It's not every guitarist who gets to replace a well-liked Brain May solo. But at the end of the day, Ron's role was to be part of the live act and fill in the holes on the CD-era songs.

I remember the vibe being positive mainly because the shows (in the scheme of things) were somewhat spur of the moment and the band debuted a good handful of new songs, as well as much more fleshed out versions of Chinese Democracy songs that had been played in 2001-2002. People were happy to see that Axl seemed somewhat back to normal (no shoulder length braids, no jerseys, no isoteric rants between every song) and his voice sounded substantially better than it did in 2002.

That being said, from the word go, everyone complained that Finck was still messing up Slash solos and Bumblefoot was a poor man's Buckethead who messed up "There was a Time." I will agree with NGOG though; Bumblefoot hardly had time to prepare, and if I remember later interviews, did not even get to play on the gear he normally used.

It's been so long since it happened, how exactly did Slash get caught? If I remember correctly, Slash initially denied ALL involvement in this. He said he never showed up to Axl's house, never talked to Axl, never said anything about his band mates. Was it the book where he then admitted he turned up to Axl's house drunk (with Perla driving) and left a note with Beta?

I honestly cannot remember. Even if Scott is right, his "rant" sounds like something written by a twelve year old who think he's being really bad ass over email.