themadcaplaughs

It cracks me up how people like MSL Mojo/Warchild made their name speaking in this vague, Axl/knock-off style of writing/speaking, and now @Pele comes in and does a knock-off of their knock-off. 

In all seriousness, I know Guns N' Roses questions would likely be a no-go. I do want to see if he will autograph my red hand copy Chinese Democracy. 

On 12/29/2021 at 10:19 AM, Dean said:

There's a few users on here that were at both shows, one of whom said that both shows don't compare to the House of Blues 01.01.01 show, but even still, it deserves it's mythical status and I'd love to hear how Axl was vocally as there is a considerable change from the two circulating shows from 2001 to what he sounded like in '02. The last performances of Silkworms for 20 years too, how ABSURD?! 

I have the shirt from those two December shows and it ranks high in my favorite ever designs I've seen for a GNR tee. That said, 90% of the merch from 2001/02 was top tier IMO, I'm not really keen on much before it or anything after 2006 either.

Funny, the few accounts I have read here all say that, despite the technological hang-ups present in both shows - the band (particularly Axl) seemed much more "fired up" than they had during the 01/01/01 show and Rock in Rio. I always said that I long considered the 01/01/01 show my "holy grail" GN'R item, and we have it now, but I would definitely be intrigued to see anything footage/audio from the two shows at the end of 2001. All in all, crazy to remember there was a time (no pun intended) when technology was so different that two shows like this -at the height of Axl's "wilderness" years - could occur with little more than a few still photographs. Hell, I remember how insane it seemed in 2006 when 30-second cell phone video clips were the pinnacle of technology, and that was how most of us were initially exposed to the 2006 band and Axl's voice in that era (I can remember people thinking there were two new guitarists in '06 as Robin looked so different than he did in 2001/2002).  

I listen to them both about the same way I listen to all Guns music these days; if it pops up on the shuffle of songs by my favorite bands, I'll listen and enjoy. "Hard Skool" popped up on my Amazon Music shuffle the other day and really enjoyed it removed from all the hype and in-depth analysis. 

On 12/29/2021 at 11:39 AM, Pele said:

I can imagine energy and enthusiasm might have been pretty high initially but it quickly fell of a cliff.

It says A LOT that Josh Freese chose to leave in 2000 because he didn't think it was going anywhere. 

Finck left in 2002, seemingly sick of working on instrumentals.

Buckethead left in 2004 with his manager citing 'inability to complete an album'.

Brain left in 2006, and I presume learnt that submitting his demos to Axl basically meant they were dead songs.  

All of these people left BEFORE the album was forced out of his hands, suggesting there was little to no optimism of this being an actual 'band' that releases albums.  One by one, they realized they were wasting their career unless they were happy touring GNR greatest hits.

I think after the productive writing in the late 90s, he got himself into shape and his creativity was sparked a little 05-06, and he knew he had to knuckle down and finish the album.  He did vocals for Shacklers, Better and Scraped (and whatever else he may have recorded in that period) and they eventually got something released to close out the chapter.

He said a lot of things.

His narrative mainly was they worked on a lot of other songs, some were finished and others needed vocals adding.

We know this to be true.

You know....this is all new and insightful material from you Pele. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. 

The point of my post was not to go down this rabbit hole; just to say that despite what some people said, I never got a sense of "embarrassment" from Tommy about Guns N' Roses. On his website, he still lists Chinese Democracy among his discography. 

18 hours ago, Blackstar said:

And Brain doesn't even remember the 2001 House of Blues show (or at least that it was before Rock in Rio). He's been always saying that RIR was the first show the band played with Axl.

People's memory can be subconsciously selective through complicated mechanisms, so it may be deceptive.

This. All the various members of GN'R have seen more faces, venues, and locations than 99.9% of the population. Memories get even foggier when lots of partying occurs. Understandable that things get jumbled in your brain. Not different from how Slash seems to mix thigs up occasionally (see his recent comments about a 1989 concert being in the UYI box set). Honestly, I've always admired that Axl seems to have the best memory of all of them for those type of things. I remember back in the chats, he remembered specific details about individual shows when fans mentioned them. 

In Brain's case, I would imagine it was a mix of the above, combined with the fact that the HOB show got added at the last minute, it seems all the rehearsals prior to that show had been "full" rehearsals to test all of the pyro etc. from a festival show, and that the band played two more shows in Las Vegas at the end of that same year.

Also, I've noticed Tommy seems to really like "Riad". He's mentioned it in numerous interviews and podcasts over the years more than any other song on the album. 

Always assumed 

On 12/1/2021 at 7:25 PM, Blackstar said:

Yes, he said that the drums on AFD were "dated" - I agree though that the criticism wasn't directed at Steven. He did mainly criticize the drumming on UYI in that same interview:

Axl: With 'Appetite,' for me the parts, playing, etc., timing flaws, whatever, are perfect, and as a moment in time for me, the whole record is. That said, the sound of the drums, which at the time in our niche of the woods was a bit of a bold statement and a somewhat successful effort to change things from the current flow at the time, and so may have been necessary but for me sound the most dated of anything there sound-wise.

With 'Illusions' several years ago, something came on the radio and I realized how the energy in the drums, though solid and consistent, brought me down in a way I feel damaged the material in the long run, if not from the get-go. Maybe it's there with some, most or all of us in ways, but I specifically notice it more with the drums. And when listening in that sense of analyzing how something feels to me in regards to its involvement or inclusion in the song, whether anyone disagrees I'm somewhat capable of removing myself and events from the picture.

https://www.a-4-d.com/t6-2009-02-27-axl-rose-interview-with-spinner-magazine

He was generally very bitter in that interview, though

To be fair, Axl's next comment after this is "to actually have a drummer that could play at the time, though, was a bit too overwhelming," I always took this to mean that his issues were not with Matt's playing so much as their inability to record/mix the drums properly with such a technically proficient drummer. I actually agree with Axl that the drum sound on the Use Your Illusion albums is atrocious (slightly better in The Spaghetti Incident), and ironically has a more "1980s" drum sound than Appetite for Destruction; the album from the 1980s! 

Before this interview, you'd see the occasional audiophile bring this up, but people were always quick to defend Matt. After this interview, I saw the whole "Matt may not have been a great fit for the band" argument start to increase (still not a widely held belief, but he seems to be held in much less regard than, say, fifteen years ago). I also find his drum sound on the Contraband album to be dated to the early 2000s in an equally noticeable way. It's a shame because he's a monster drummer, but his drums sometimes get the short end of the stick. I did like the sound of his drums on the Snakepit albums, Libertad, and - of all things - that random Izzy song he played on in 2016. 

Serious question, as I gave up following this book some time ago. Has this been officially released yet? If not, what prevented the release this time? 

18 hours ago, mystery said:

Did anyone actually get free Dr. Pepper from that promotion? That thing was completely botched.

I managed to squeeze my order in before the website completely crashed. Something like two or three weeks later, the voucher arrived in an unmarked envelope. I think I almost threw it away. I went to the QT down the street from my house and used the voucher. Looking back, it was quite possibly the last time I drank a Dr. Pepper. 

Day of the album release, I went to the Best Buy three miles from my house and picked up a copy on CD. I was the only one in the store, but I do remember they had a cardboard cut-out almost immediately when you entered the store. I looked over the album booklet in my car, and remember the weird mix of satisfaction of actually holding the thing in my hand and the bittersweet feeling that a good number of the people in the album art no longer played with the band. Obviously a bit anti-climactic as I had already heard almost half of the album through leaks, but remember being genuinely floored by "This I Love" and wondering when the doom metal riffage in "Sorry" was going to start...

Was a very handsome cat. My condolences to Axl. 

On 10/1/2021 at 9:36 AM, James Bond said:

Yes. I've spent $0 on Guns since the Appetite remaster was released so I figured a $6 CD was perfectly justified.

Cut and pasted old songs or not, the band is putting out something and it's exactly the type of thing I want to support. I ordered the CD and the Vinyl.

These were my thoughts. For years, I was among the fans whining for them to release literally anything and I'd buy it up. They did just that, and I will stick to my word. While I cannot say I am particularly enthused for these releases (although I am happy, if that makes sense), I figured it's a "vote with your wallet" type thing. Hopefully if they feel they have good response with this release, it will encourage more new music down the road. 

I am sorry this offended you so much you decided to make a comment. I guess we'll just make the forum completely silent. Even better, we can go back to talking about whether or not Axl Rose recorded vocals after 1999. Perhaps you can throw some good suggestions. Let us know! 

In all seriousness, I have made my fair share of "we need new music" jokes on threads, but this  seemed a little extreme. 

Really fun and informative interview. I am glad to hear he and Axl are back on good terms. A few years back, Josh mentioned that he heard Axl was mad at him for playing on the 2010 Slash album. 

7 hours ago, Blackstar said:

There's been a lot of wild speculation regarding Axl's face and how he looked different in the '00s compared to the '90s. Personally I don't think he had facial surgery. I lean toward to it being due to a combination of chemical peels (and maybe bottox), age, and likely some health issues, physical (?) and mental.

As for the '00s, with the exception of the video from the NBA finals in June 2001, where there was something very off and unhealthy about him (not only his face, but his body language and general demeanour), his face didn't really change between 2001 and 2006/07. The "strangeness" in 2002 was mostly the result of the cornrows, how he dressed and some bad pictures (the one in @Neider's collage is not representative of how he looked that year - he looks more like himself in pictures and videos from the 2002 shows). It's just that, as he grew older, he couldn't look great in every picture regardless of face expression, light, etc., like he did when he was young. In 2006, the beard, what he wore and his more extroverted and confident demeanour made all the difference. In 2006 pics where he's clean-shaven, his face doesn't look different than it did three years before:

I agree that he looks absolutely sickly in the NBA 2001 interview. I'd argue, however, it's actually one of the more laid back interviews he's given. Knowing how these sports interviews typically go, I would be willing to bet that the interviewer either: a) didn't even know who Axl was (someone on the crew told him right before they approached him) or b) he knew it was the lead singer of Guns N' Roses, but had no idea this was essentially the equivalent of getting an "on the street" interview with the music industry (at the time) equivalent of Howard Hughes or J.D. Salinger. Axl remains active enough now that even when he disappears for a minute, we assume he'll be back. At this time it still seemed like every live performance could be his last. 

If I had to guess why Axl seems so uncomfortable in the NBA interview, I would imagine he really did not know how the interview would go, and was probably bracing himself for Guns n' Roses related questions he wanted to evade. You can see him lighten up as the interview goes on, and I'm willing to bet it was because he realized it would be a sports only interview. It's not dissimilar to how Axl got pissy/defensive at points when people asked him GN'R questions in the 2008 forum chats, but he actually gave very humorous and self-effacing answers to more "silly" questions unrelated to music. 

On 10/10/2021 at 5:58 PM, Blackstar said:

He did only three interviews in early 2009: Spinner with Del James, Billboard and The Oakland Press (the latter was not known and was only discovered recently). Billboard and Oakland Press were via email. Only the Del James one seems to have been in person (or on the phone, more likely).

How was it that the 2009 interview with The Oakland Press did not get discovered until recently? Did they just post it this year? I Googled it and read it. It may be the most down-to-Earth and laid-back Axl sounded in 2008/2009 between the forum chats and other interviews. Admittedly, the interviewer asked some softball questions, but still, some of his other interviews were downright venomous. 

52 minutes ago, Neider said:

The photos in the lost un the jungle post are all from the show you say, at the end of 2001 (December 29 and 31, I think), but it was not at HoB but at The Joint, also in Las Vegas. In HoB they played on 01.01.01, and above I put some photos of that show.

That is the post. It says the photos are from HoB but no, they really are all from The Joint exactly one year after HoB:

My apologies. I meant The Joint: bran lapse. 

Also, this was in one of the review of the end of 12.31.2001 show (the one mentioned earlier where the reviewer discussed talking with Axl): 

@Peleto thread 

He also said that they recorded 4 new versions of Knockin' on Heavens door. He said one was reggae, one was "eclectic," and the version they played in concert, which is a much more slowed down version, which I actually like better than the version on Use Your Illusion II

Also, legitimate question here. How do we know the "2003" pics were not from 2002 (when he had the same style braids)? How do we know the "2005" picture was not form 2003/2004? Just curious. I'd always heard the "2005" picture was 2004. 

Shame we have nothing from the late 2001 House of Blues shows. According to people who were there and other media reviews, he was on fire and confident in a way he had not been at the January 2001 HOB show and RIR III. 

I was thinking a "pussy full of maggots" theme sex toy...

Just now, gavgnr said:

I’m disappointed with how little new music was released this year. The EP has two new songs (which I really like) and two live (old) songs. Would have been a lot more palatable if there had been 4 new songs. Part of me is hoping we’ll see more single releases between now and when the tour kicks off again mid next year, but then I realise this is GnR and we’ve got more chance of platting shit. Hate to sound like I’m ragging on the band, but I’m all honestly the ‘EP’ is too little too late. I’m still gonna see ‘em in London next year but I know this will be the last time for me. So many wasted opportunities. This band is so frustrating. Sorry just venting 

Complaints, complaints, complaints 

Also depends on if you're talking music, lyrics, or both. If I remember correctly, DJ Ashba said Axl would occasionally play the band instrumental demos he'd made.