Seb91

To be fair to Bucket, I get the impression that he's incredibly shy and is very much an introvert which is probably why he wears the mask and used the puppet to speak. I can really relate as I have social anxiety really badly. His demand for the coop, whilst odd, I think highlights his desire to have somewhere he could be alone and get some personal space. I think the thing with Bucket is that given his desire to be under the radar and not the centre of attention I doubt even if it was a regular band in terms of organisation that he'd have stuck around too long as doing big tours and being in the spotlight all the time like that seems to go against how his solo stuff has been organised. I have no doubt though that had he been properly cemented in the band he'd have been huge as his playing is second to none. The guy is without a doubt the best guitarist Guns has ever had (and I say that as a massive fan of Bumble and Slash). Bucket's the only guitar player who's able to get a really high emotional response out of me through their playing like David Gilmour and he's up there with Steve Vai technique wise and Bucket's the only player I think that could genuinely be said of. That's why the guy's so damn exceptional - he's got the melodic chops and soul in his playing like Gilmour paired with the technical ability of Vai to really go to town with the heavier stuff. A lot of his more experimental stuff also really reminds me of Robert Fripp/King Crimson. I used to listen to a ton of shredders as a kid - Vai, Bucket and Satriani are the only ones who I still listen to really regularly (if we're talking instrumental guys) because they know when to hang back. Malmsteen's cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps is just excruciating because there's no attempt to fit with the song - just neo-classical shred at a million miles an hour the whole way through. Was listening to a 2002 bootleg the other day and Bucket's Nightrain was certainly mindblowing - it was like Nightrain 2.0 with Bucket!

I feel the leaks and snippets of information throughout have been classic con tricks really - say stuff that seems believable as fact and use snippets of information to make it seem reliable. Now, it could be that some of the leaked info from 2010 onwards is true, I guess we'll never know. I mean there was the whole hacked Twitter thing in 2010 when it seemed Axl had cancelled the entire tour.

Tommy said in an interview that Axl wasn't happy when he told him he had to leave for family reasons so I imagine they were still pretty tight. I think Tommy was really the rock of NuGuns - along with Dizzy and Pitman, he was a constant during an ever changing lineup.

My guess is it'll be played live after it's dropped. I feel that the Perhaps thing showed us that's very much the m.o. as they could have played it yonks before it dropped if they wanted to. The streaming thing's an interesting question, the media outlets are saying October but that seems to be purely based on the vinyl release date so it could be any time really. My guess is they wouldn't want it too soon as Perhaps is still new. I do wonder if it will get some proper promo. In terms of a shirt, I'd love one as given how many times The General's come up on here over the years, it'd be amazing! There were some Absurd ones put out so there's a chance.

Dysfunctional for sure, I mean band members would work on stuff with no release date in sight and also have no idea when the bat signal would go up during the off periods. I'd say toxic is more attitudes/bullying etc. than anything else so I don't know enough to comment. I mean, I've made jokes about DJ but the other band members ripping on him during shows doing that sarcastic clapping must have gotten to him after a while. I mean, I don't know what he was thinking with that Patience solo he cooked up though. I mean, dude was playing like he thought he was doing the solo in the middle of Heartbreaker (and Jimmy Page he aint!). I got a sense that things started to go south band member relationship wise towards the end. Bumble obviously wasn't happy and there was that passive aggressive DJ tweet that seemed to be directed at Ron. Then the slow clapping Ashba stuff. I mean, I think re DJ he certainly grated more as time went on. In 2009/2010 he seemed fine and Robin used to get some flak for not being able to cover Slash's parts perfectly. Ashba seemed to get worse as time went on. I think part of it was me getting older as well though - I was a teenager when he joined the band but I look back at his antics now in videos and cringe. I'd still say it was more dysfunctional than toxic - people seemed to be having a decent time but the main question they would eventually ask themselves is 'do I want to cover classic GN'R stuff my entire life?' I think the band members that made peace with the fact it was obvious that was the gig after a while seemed to have a happier time. I think it was the classic money vs artistic expression dilemma. I mean, I did a course at a music college as a kid and one of the tutors turned down being Robert Plant's first guitar player post-Zeppelin because he decided he'd rather work on his own stuff.

Yeah, my reading of it is he picked a couple of classic rock bands to illustrate his point, he could have picked any really.

Myles is fine IMO - didn't think he was great on the Guns material but given Slash seems to just be doing solo stuff in the shows then that isn't an issue anymore.

Oh, I agree but I don't see the lack of there being a point to it meaning it's a barrier to it ever happening as it seems it was planned for a re-release at some point. Plus, if they were short of material then it would be one to put out if they wanted to put a compilation out or something. Personally, I'd much rather have some unreleased things come out, especially as, unlike Absurd, the updated Bumble version wasn't as big a rework and bar some great guitar work, it's still the same song.

To be fair, Silkworms was a song that was probably best forgotten but it got reworked and released as the first reunion single and that was eyebrow raising logic wise (although I do like the final version due to Slash's lead stuff). Axl got Bumble to add stuff to OMG and Silkworms/Absurd and NuGuns soundchecked OMG so I wouldn't be massively surprised if it's put out with Slash and Duff. Plus, whilst officially released, it's been forgotten in the wider world. Most people would probably still think it's a new song and a re-release seems to have been on the cards in the past.

Re Axl's voice I think part of it is that he's trying to sing exactly the same way he's always done and he's gotten older. Robert Plant's voice changed over the years and if you listen to him sing the Zeppelin stuff after he got to Axl's age it's obviously different and he's not trying to sing like he was in his 20s and 30s. If Axl changed register or the songs were detuned it may be better. The Tottenham show where Axl sang in his lower register sounded fine. I think working with a vocal coach to rethink how to approach the songs would have some decent results. Hard rock's a hard genre to sing, let alone for three hours a night! I mean kudos to Axl for not compromising though.

Ah! Thanks, yeah, sure I remembered it was. Main thing I remember after RIR was the discussion on here. It very much felt like watching your sports' team do a bad match. Indeed, there are parallels with following Charlton Athletic and GN'R Decided to relisten to OMG - absolutely love Axl's vocals on it - so angry and intense!

Yeah, plus Bumble did work on OMG like he did with Absurd so Axl was obviously still thinking about it and wasn't in soundchecked in the NuGuns era? Whilst it's already been released I could see them putting it out if the plan is to have enough singles to put out a compilation album. Really love Ron's OMG. Shame we didn't get a 'tour edition' of CD with a bonus CD with Bumble's OMG, Absurd and Going Down. Maybe some remixes as well.

When I heard the Village Leaks I was amazed at how they managed to really capture that classic GN'R vibe in Hard Skool and Oklahoma in terms of the riffing. They sound more like classic GN'R rockers than a lot of the VR stuff.

Yeah, it's interesting that he and Axl could have been working on new material in 2014. I also wonder why he got annoyed on social media. I mean, it would make sense if it was after he was fired but then no other remaining GN'R member had to leave. I'd love a full history of GN'R one day - it'd be a great book!

Thanks for the info! Yeah, it isn't too bad. Good to know for future reference! Ah! I wasn't dreaming. I was actually tempted to get one but didn't in the end. Hmmm, I haven't gotten around to wearing my Glasto one yet but it's a shame they're not up to snuff. I won't wear it too much. Think I'll pass on the Perhaps tour shirt then. I've had to get a fair amount of music gear so I'll be sensible and save the cash I think!

Yeah, it's probably all booked up. I think in terms of London Wembley's the best for sound though - seen Metallica and Roger Waters there. I think Crue were crazily over-optimistic re how much of a draw they are here. I mean, I went to see them on the 'farewell' tour and I got these sense that they sold out Wembley Arena quickly because it was billed as a final farewell and Alice Cooper was supporting. I imagine Def Leppard were as much of a draw, if indeed not a bigger one for the Wembley Stadium show. The Who's an interesting one. I think their decision to do multiple stadiums/outdoor events across the UK was probably a bit ambitious. I think ticket pricing had an impact as well as there's only so much demand when prices are that high and there's a lot of competition. I think Guns won't struggle to fill stadiums in 2025 though (if that's when they come back). They've always been huge here. I mean, they were able to headline Reading and Leeds twice in the NuGuns era and did Download in 2006. A year off will have built up demand as well I feel.

I hope so but can't see it happening due to finances. My favourite outdoor place is Hyde Park and so I was annoyed that wheelchair spaces sold out so quickly as I wouldn't have minded going to that! I'd love to see them at Wembley Stadium though - historic venue with lots of history.

I think the finished versions obviously sound more polished so the leaks haven't ruined my experience. Indeed, I was out the GN'R world for a bit so whilst I'd heard the Checkmate clip, the official Hard Skool version was the first one I heard all the way through. I then checked out the locker leaks but it was a couple of years after they dropped. I think the bottom line is that there are some things I prefer from the leaks (not a fan of the HS intro) but the listening experience in terms of quality is always higher with the finished versions IMO. In terms of Chinese my main criticism is how low Tommy is in the mix on the finished record but I feel the best version of the record is the remix a fan did when the multi-tracks came out. I can't remember who it was but I had a whole album of their remixes back in the day and things sounded a lot better. I lost them when an old laptop of mine laptop died though.

Yeah, I mean I did specify it was a rumour and that it was just my musings on it. I really wish the reality of what happened would come out at some point though. Axl seemed excited to be presenting the CD stuff that hadn't been played live before in 2009/10. Then absolutely nothing in terms of new music for four years. There's also an interesting Tommy comment in an interview where he said it was supposed to be a double album. "We did a lot of stuff that was supposed to be on Chinese Democracy – the record was meant to be more than one disc, but after spending so much time on it we just had to put an end to it." Doesn't mean they actually had enough good to go though.

I swear these social media posters just look on here, adapt our musings and then report it as fact

It's interesting to think about! There was that rumour that CD2 was good to go and the label rejected it which wouldn't surprise me. I mean, we know now that there was enough for a record (especially as Tommy had two lead vocal songs). I can imagine the label weren't particularly enthusiastic about more NuGuns music given Chinese didn't set the world on fire when it actually came out. In terms of NuGuns, I think Ron was the only one who quit due to the lack of material in 2014. Tommy left due to stuff in his family life and so I wonder if Tommy hadn't had to leave whether the reunion would have happened. I mean, I figure both Ron and Tommy going meant I wouldn't be surprised if Axl asked Duff to come back full-time and then he acted as a bridge to Slash as Axl needed a guitarist (I guess the band could have gone on with just DJ though...) and Slash was going through a divorce so was probably more amenable. I'm guessing the reunion wouldn't have happened if both Axl and Slash hadn't needed it to some degree. It seems really the reunion was really just another NuGuns lineup in practical terms as none of the members were told they had to leave. I mean, Pitman was fired wasn't he due to his social media comments? Ashba was invited to be part of the reunion but declined. It seems everyone that was still around could have been in the band still if they wanted to (or hadn't said anything stupid ).

What do people reckon the chances are of the Perhaps merch truck shirt making it over to the online store? It's my favourite design but to get it shipped to the UK will obviously cost extra.

Yeah. Going from what Axl said I reckon Seven, Soul Monster and Oklahoma could have vocals. There's also some sitar sounding stuff at the beginning of Oklahoma so that may be the mysterious sitar song Richard talked about. Add in State of Grace and Eye on You that'd bring it to ten so enough to release a compilation album. They've lifted stuff from Eye on You and it would be there as filler but there would be enough to bring it over the line. They could also re-release OMG as part of the album.

I can see the logic of releasing another single as the reaction to Perhaps has been much bigger than anticipated so it would make sense to strike when the iron's hot as it were. Catcher's similar to Perhaps and whilst it's a shame it seems The General isn't being released with more fanfare I imagine it wouldn't go down too well with a mainstream crowd. That being said, as always with GN'R rumours, I'll believe it when I see it. Seems to just be inferences based on the reaction to Perhaps and disproven rumours.

I’m not sure really, on the one hand I’ve always taken Axl’s comments about releasing new music with the same pinch of salt I take Jimmy Page’s comments about having new projects in the pipeline. However, I imagine releasing new singles to boost interest may have been on the cards anyway after a while. I guess we’ll never know really. It does seem leaks have always played a role in stuff getting released though.