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Hard to put emotion into singing when you're on what I suppose would be happy pills? Not that I want him to be unhappy, but he sounds fucking great when he's pissed. Also love the crooner style he does for Wichita Lineman, would prefer him going more towards a Ronnie Van Zandt vibe there (also for SCOM) but still a solid performance.

Drone put simple is playing a melody or scale on one string, while playing a single bass note underneath at the same time, i.e. low E tuned down to D then playing a d scale on the D string while playing the E string every time at the same time. Not good at explaining this but maybe you catch my drift. Think double stops but more sitar-ish, simple scales work best for this. Whatever works, be it a pedal or whatever trick or instrument, as long as you're happy with the result you've done something right.

I'd be more worried if people stop complaining. As long as people complain it means they are somewhat invested and care. An audience that does not complain is an audience that does not pay attention.

You don't have to have a pedal in the first place, just tune one string to a drone according to the piece/tuning you want to perform - voila. Doesn't work for everything, but that's the shortcut without any extra gear. As for the pedal Richard uses, could it be this one or something like it? https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RavishSitar--electro-harmonix-ravish-sitar-emulation-pedal I'm not on social media but maybe if someone who is asks nicely Richard might take a second and answer that question himself. He's quite a gear head after all.

If you're on a festival with artists like Muse and Guns N' Roses, I highly doubt you're a "new" band unless you're rich or in some relation to one of the stars performing. As for play to play "for the exposure", that never works as you never reach your actual audience. If "fans" won't spend a little money to have you perform so the promoter can at least cover your expenses and give you a proper presentation, chances are they all might as well give a fuck about who's playing what in the first place and you end up trying to find gold in a silver mine there. No musician who's toured for a bit will play "for the exposure" unless is a high profile gig with actual exposure to speak of. So yeah, maybe someone should break it to those "new" bands they just passed on a chance to be on a bill with Guns N' Roses. Or maybe the promoter fucked it up so badly they just don't care. Having one or two bands cancelling can happen for any festival, but that long list of acts? All at the same time? Without replacements? Gonna be an interesting gig for sure.

Don't know what Richard uses but sitar sounds on guitar can be done with a whammy / pitch shifter type of pedal, some multi effect units already have a sitar preset.

They could do something similar in Europe (sans the casino portion) rather than just playing festivals or the usual multi purpose arenas with shitty sound. Carre Theatre in Amsterdam would be a cool venue for a residency - good sound, amazing atmosphere and a great place to film for a DVD if that's what they want. Tons of tourists but in this case that would actually be a plus to sell out more shows.

Now that the tour is wrapping up, I think it's safe to say the band deserves rest and time with friends and family. When/if they tour again, what would you like to see? Care for a new album? I gotta give credit where it is due - tour has seen an improved set list with deep cuts and new songs, Axl giving it his all and using his baritone voice (I like it!) more prominently, Slash not completely butchering the CD solos anymore, plus we got a cool music video for "Perhaps" and even a new song "The General / Monsters". Either way, just felt like saying THANKS for these shows and the new songs (even though getting new music from this band is like pulling teeth sometimes).

Heard she's sick, wishing a speedy recovery and sending best wishes!

I wasn't aware she suffers from an eating disorder. She always looks perfectly normal and healthy on stage. I don't know why she's not there. And yes, it was a joke.

Rumor has it she ran out of proper candy smuggled from Europe and went back there to stock up supplies.

He sounds great in baritone, I like his normal voice just fine. Why he won't just sit down at the piano or grab an acoustic guitar and put four chords together doing music like a grown up instead of these pro tools pipe dreams is beyond me. I wonder why he even bothers putting that stuff out now in the first place. It's the end of the tour, he can't perform it live, no one except us hardcore fans gives a fuck. That track would have made perfect sense along with stuff like Oh My God some 20+ years ago, but now it's just too little too late.

It's one song and it sucks. Lousy production and meandering "songwriting". A nothing burger.

Just heard it. Not impressed. Sounds like something from late 90's/early 2000's GNR (Oh My God -ish) meandering too much and with absolutely horrible production. Some good vocal and guitar parts, but not enough to put this in my GNR playlist. Seems like he really put out the best songs on Chinese Democracy already and now it's just dripping and dropping the leftovers one by one because those motherfuckers just can't write a decent song anymore. Will give it another chance when they do it in concert. But it looks like this is the aftermath. Someone over there needs to mop the floor, open the windows and put some flowers on the table. Anyone getting excited over this must have real shitty taste in music.

General tonight or go home

True. Can't argue with that. Another truth is that in the US with all those mighty "casual" fans as the supposed key target audience, as of now towards the end of the tour they are basically playing 20k venues in Shittown, Nowhere. Ticket prices drop to less than half of the initial asking price right before the show but even then those shows hardly sell out anymore. But you're right, they don't care. They probably understand we're on the brink of WW3, so they pack in as many shows as possible, take the money and the memories and run - for they might not be able to tour again any time soon or worst case scenario ever. I don't give a shit about "The General" (or any of the "new" songs for that matter). I will listen to it when it comes out, but I'm not excited at all. I get the criticism of anyone being pissed about this though, it's not about some fans on a message board not getting what they want, it's about broken promises, crushed hopes and false advertising. People were looking foward to this for months. If the band had any class left, they'd perform the song at their next concert or just post a 30 sec teaser stream, a short note, something, anything. But yeah, again, you're right. They don't care.

So much ado about a fucking b-side with a 20+ year old outtake being released on a niche medium. I'll have a listen when it comes out. Until then this whole thing is just one big nothing burger to me. I'm not excited about the song at all.

This.

Waiting For Godot, Part X: Friday The 27th

I have a feeling plans changed but everyone is looking very seriously into all things considered regarding changed plans. Or something like that.

You don't need a contract to make a donation. You donate and get a receipt as proof of your donation and that's that.

They guy signs about 3 autographs per decade, the last thing I would rub under his nose is a contact to sign. Where do you get those figures anyway? I never said anything about 60 minutes or specific amount of money. I wouldn't put a time limit on such an interview and leave it up to him. If he felt like doing only 5 minutes that'll be fine and if he wanted to do 3 hours that'd be alright with me too.

At his level of material wealth, he probably has plenty beggars asking. If i was that rich, I would support charity but not brag about it in public at all or else there be 1000 more asking to help them too. These days, especially as a public figure, it's kinda tricky to support any organization in public as you never know who's behind and what dirty laundry they might have coming out later on you have nothing to do with and rather not be connected with at all. Plus, usually, the money never goes where it's supposed to end up. I'd just hand money straight to homeless people or go to a local animal shelter and help them pay for housing, vet bills and food for animals. And yes of course my idea is not too serious, it's just because I find the initial premise of any musician charging money to speak with fans laughable. So why not turn it around. If Axl wants to do it, I'm right here.

It is a good idea. The world just isn't ready for it yet.

Plot twist: I will interview Axl if he pays me 100 bucks, per minute that is. No curfew or time limit whatsoever, I can do this all night. I will donate 100% of it to a charity (I would pick something for homeless vets or an animal shelter in need) and I will put 200 bucks of my own money on top. I would do more but I'm poor, so for me that's a lot of money. But I'll do it. I understand he's busy touring right now, but I'm still offering. Could be on Axl time in the middle of the night or something I don't care.