ShacklerBucket

I like all of the songs and feel that the album is something of a grab bag of accomplishments BUT the only song that I kind of feel indifferent to is This I Love. It isn't the song itself as it has good things going for it but the orchestration on it feels too much like a lame Broadway musical.

While I do recall Mysteron on HTGTH talking a lot of mumbo jumbo that never materialized I also recall an interview with Tommy where he says that Bucket "wasn't a nice guy". So take that for what it is worth. I too saw Bucket as the best thing that happened to the band after the original lineup so of course the mystery or not so much mystery as to why Buckethead left and calls GNR a dirty word is beyond interesting.

For Gene to say that Kiss is bigger now than in the 70's is pure delusional hogwash.

While it would be awesome to see Bucket play a show doing his contributions to the album it will never happen unless incredible sums of money were offered. And the albums sound is more Bucket than Finck even if Finck has more songs. Listen to the earlier pre-Bucket versions of IRS or TWAT. Those earlier ones may have been more Finck but the albums sound is total Bucket, with Bumble thrown in on top.

Rumors of what went down are better than nothing. Certainly better than so called insiders coming in and saying that it isn't so and providing nothing else

So Finck and Bucket had a blowup at MSG the night before Philly? I would imagine that there was a lot of head scratching going in letting Finck handle half of the solos while Bucket just stood there or played rhythm. I think Axl may have thought of Finck as more of a Slash replacement as his bending style seems kind of Slash-like. With the amount of projects and albums that Bucket puts out I could see him getting tired of sitting around with no activity going on but who else would build a chicken coop for him to play in?

Well Damn the recorded album version aside from the solo and Bumble fretless parts on there it is totally a Buckethead tinged song. Played live without Bucket it is just a mess and they can't get the Bucket tone as much as they try, like the beginning of the song. Of course that is all subjective but that's my thought. I like Bumblefoot enough but to me even with his talent he can't compare to Bucket and until I hear a Guns album that's sound is partially influenced by Bumble then I may change my mind.

I recall a Kurt Loder piece on Bucket where he said that Guns wasn't completely Bucket's thing. I believe it was the article that came along with the video on the MTV website. Bucket said how he was really excited about the future with Guns and compared it to being a loaf in the oven. While Bucket has been gone for years I think his departure shadows this new touring band. Whenever someone else plays Shacklers or Sorry live it's a pretty bad scene. But that is just my opinion.

Maybe Tommy has paid his dues with the Replacements but aside from the passage of time with Axl I just don't see it. Sure Duff can come out and play a song but even if Tommy wasn't down for it I am sure that it wouldn't matter.

I would read Axl's book for sure. Geez I read Slash's and that was kind of bland. I do think Axl is honest but at the same time he may have a one sided perception of things instead of looking at things through the eyes of other people.

The only thing Stinson has paid for is a bottle of booze. Yes he has been on Axl's side since Duff's departure but is that due to talent as a bass player or just being a yes man? I wouldn't say the bass is inaudible on CD but the bass lines were hardly as present as any other Guns album. I'd like to like the guy as the Replacements were decent but lets be honest in the fact that Tommy has an incredibly easy gig.

I also found the idea of Bucket not promoting Chinese Democracy odd as it would have been a feather in his cap instead of his remix albums like Forensic Follies and Needle in a Slunk Stack. Even if he had hard feelings on the band and what he went through he should have at least associated himself with it somehow as it showcased a lot of his talents. One thing that I have always liked from the Cornbugs dvds was seeing a framed poster from the Guns Vegas shows hanging at Bucket's house. Even if Axl puts out a new album I hope Bucket and Finck's work is in the same capacity as CD and I could handle little sprinkles of DJ Ashba and Bumblefoot.

Thanks for anyone who provides legit info to this topic. If what Madcap says is true then screw Tommy Stinson and that hack writer Del James. Seems like Bucket came to the table with legit stuff to contribute even as Guns really wasn't a fave band of his as well as inspiring Axl and he just got treated badly by band members and people in the studio. Who wouldn't be burned by that along with a prolonged release date for the album and an aborted tour. I could see why Axl had the set list as it was for the 01-02 shows as it showed a few CD songs but most importantly showed that the then new band was a force with the songs, mainly Appetitie, that everyone knows and loves. Still I'm sure Bucket would have departed sooner than later as their shows have been pretty much the same. Hope his stuff is on any other released material.

I'd like to know why there was hate between Bucket and Finck too. As much as Bucket seems to appreciate his fans I cannot see him walking away from someone just for mentioning GNR. Can you imagine someone going up to him and going "Your solo in There Was a Time" is epic and amazing and him just walking away? For me, Bucket seemed liek a new hope to the post-Slash band and everything that we saw as a public was just the beginning. And yes I am too bummed out that it never fleshed out the way that it should have. At least I got to see them live in 2002 and even then going to the show I didn't think it would happen.