D.Z.I.

1 minute ago, soon said:

If someone only knows strippers who are from the gutter, then one can't be too far away from said gutter, themselves.

Oh I would never debate that. But still, hang out with strippers, give them your singles for those sketchy lapdances, fuck them if they are up for it, take them to Disneyland and buy them shit... just-don’t-marry-one. Ever.

1 hour ago, appetite4illusions said:

That is so...bizarre...but so Hollywood.

A sad thing that his son is right there in the middle of it, celebrating? 

That's going to be one fucked up family, for now and a long time.

Moral of the story? Never EVER marry a stripper.

And don’t ever dare call a spade a spade. That’s a no-no.

Nowadays, with the deplorable QC in Gibson, you would have to be insane to pay more than $1000 for one of their guitars.

I don’t know if their Custom Shop is. A bit more strict with their QC, but I wouldn’t hold my breath considering how bad it has been for their regular lines of guitars.

Blind Melon, and Soup are 2 flawless albums. So sad about Shannon though, he was a great artist and it seems he was a happy fun guy to be around... until coke happened.

2 hours ago, Sydney Fan said:

I wondered if izzy left because of scotts still drug use at that time, and fearing VR going tits up because of any impending issues of scotts drug use and that potentially impacting on izzys health.

I don’t think at this point Izzy is afraid of relapsing, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that with all the red flags things would get messy pretty fast.

3 hours ago, killuridols said:

How can anyone ask for X amount of money from someone else and just get it, just like that, because she wanted to?

Stephanie was not his wife and Erin was divorced already.

They both had proof, otherwise, the case would have been dismissed. There were witnesses and there were police reports from the times Axl beated up Erin. There were probably other proofs like hospital bills, photographs, audios.... just because they are not public it doesn't mean they don't exist.

If Axl had been so convinced about his innocence he wouldn't have paid one single buck.

Hey, I’m not defending Axl or saying he didn’t do it. That was never my point.

My point was that not one of the things you mentioned (or all of them piled together) constitutes solid proof of anything. And that one of the arguments you used could be easily flipped the other way around.

For proof and circumstances to be valid, they must leave no room for doubt, and this is not the case.

That’s all. 

3 hours ago, killuridols said:

So, basically, no crime in this world and no people could be judged or jailed because YOU WERE NOT THERE?

Your opinion on her makes 0 point to Axl's accusation. She could be the worst person on earth and still be beaten up by a violent man.

Personal values and morals have nothing to do with FACTS.

You've been proven wrong when Axl settled those lawsuits out of court. If he was innocent, there would be nothing to pay for.

You don’t know they are facts unless you have undeniable proof to those claims.

We could say the same about the other side: she received the money and didn’t insist to continue the trial because she just wanted money and she knew that if she kept the ball rollin in court she would lose.

 People settle cases out of court the whole time just to stop once and for all with the mess involved. The fact that it happened doesn’t mean anything.

4 hours ago, EvanG said:

Do you have any idea how hard it is to commit to anything when you haven't committed to anything in such a long time?

Izzy has been living life on his own terms since he left GnR. He's been the boss of the system and has only done things on his own terms. That's a long fucking time. It's so hard to go back to living life partly on someone else's terms, which is what happens when you join a band. Axl said it best when Izzy was joining them on tour before... if he shows up it's great, but if he doesn't it's fine too, because they don't have to rely on him, the show can still go on without him. 

I think it's hard for anyone, let alone someone like Izzy, to go back to a huge machine like GnR or any other band, and committing to a two year tour when you've been living your life in freedom and doing whatever you want to do without really committing to anything for over 25 years, except making music on your own terms. I don't see it happening.

One of my points is that if it had been a project at a smaller scale with a non-narcissistic leader (or at least one who was somewhat normal), maybe he would have stayed there.

But the guys didn’t want that, they wanted to make it big again, and decided to go at it with a troubled mess of a leader –again.

Another point is that some users try to make it look as if Izzy was a total unreliable flake, unable to commit to anything, as if the whole VR thing seemed perfectly normal from day one and that it was going to be all good and healthy fun and rock & roll.

When we are in the position when we have to make a decision, we evaluate the circumstances, weigh the pros and cons and determine if it’s worth it or not. And those measures are different for everyone. I guess in Izzy’s case, his own personal stability was more important than making it big again, and why would he choose anything else when he made that same decision before and turned out for the best? Slash and Duff have different parameters and priorities. The rest is history.

And I wouldn’t take Axl’s word for shit when it comes to commitments, reliability or anything in that domain. 

7 hours ago, jmapelian said:

Yeah,  that happens when you have 5 personalities in a band.  And  yet everyone is clamoring for Izzy to rejoin guns?

Izzy stuck around with 4 of those personalities without a problem, in fact he was very active and prolific while that lasted. Then Scott came around and Izzy wasn’t willing to put up with that bullshit.

And I don’t really want Izzynin GNR. I mean, if it happens, it’s alright I guess, it wouldn’t bother me, but considering what this band has become –and for my own egotistical wishes– I’d rather have him away from the band as a regular or official member.

7 hours ago, jmapelian said:

There was no red flags yet,  he bailed long before there was any drama in the band. Those came after the 1st album and tour cycle. 

I guess showing up really late (or not showing up at all) at the bery beginning are no signs of anything going wrong, it’s standard r&r spirit.

32 minutes ago, jmapelian said:

They wrote an album's worth of material as the project, and Izzy bailed like a bitch once they decided to go with Scott as he singer

 

Bailed like a bitch? Show some respect.

The guy knew what it was like to have a narcissistic egomaniac as a singer/leader. Why would he put himself through that AGAIN? He saw the red flags and acted accordingly based on his own experience.

On the other hand, Duff and Slash wanted to be big at all costs... and look at what happened, drama from the get go, turned a blind eye to it, Duff got addicted to painkillers and Slash was hitting the bottle... They were too dumb to see the red flags, or too blinded by the idea of making it big again that they decided to ignore the coming shitstorm.

Very smart move from Izzy.

1 hour ago, Free Bird said:

It's not about what you like, nor about what I like. Just look at the facts.

50 songs compared to ... I don't even know... 12 or 14 songs, depends on how much tracks are on CD + Oh My God.

4 records,  3 of them are being considered classics, compared to 1 record which many people don't even know exists.

So regardless of your preference. What period of time was Axl's most creative one? The fifteen years he made one record + OMG + some myths and legends or the 6 years when GNR became the biggest bsnd in the world?

 

And I just told you why I couldn’t care less about those points (including popularity, which AGAIN isn’t an indicator of what matters to me) in my previous post.

You are confusing being creative and actually releasing that to the public. And I don’t consider the size of the output (as in number of songs) relevant. I doubt everyone agreed to lie about the amount of material that Axl recorded and worked on for 15 years. It’s sad that we haven’t got to listen to it, and that’s why I wish he decides to release those songs in some shape or form.

So, yes, the numbers are facts, nobody i denying that. But, again, that means nothing to me when I’m experiencing someone’s creative work.

Also, the work involved in the AFD-UYI era is by no means the same that went into CD. Which is a departure and explores new territory. Although UYI are great albums, a lot of it is derivative of AFD, and I don’t mean it in a bad way, but at a composition and production level CD is a beast of its own, and to a music nerd like me that is very valuable and requires a more demanding creative process.

2 hours ago, Free Bird said:

To me it doesn't make sence at all. In the classic era he managed to write history and release 50 songs, many good ones, a lot great ones and a good amount of them are even classics. All that in 6 years.

On the other side you have a poorly produced record along with some myths and legends, all that written in round about two decades. 

Sorry, but that insultes GNR's legacy 

I won’t talk about the quality of the production because it doesn’t matter how technical i get and what i say, in the end you will say “but i don’t like it, it’s a personal preference, it’s an opinion and i’m entitled to one”, and you are totally right, but your opinion doesn’t mean the production is poor.

I don’t care about that “legacy”, to me it is an absurd idea. I love artists, period, because their art gets me on a deeper level than mere entertainment or pleasure. I dig that connection, it’s magical, and i just follow the artists creations as representations of his inner self, his life journey expressed to the world in the form of art.

Axl was prolific until his ghosts started to get at him. During the Illusions recording he was already “unstable”, not showing up, etc... we all know the story, but he had a band. From then on it just got worse, he started going crazy(er), and it all went to shit.  I don’t mean this in a mean way, I have much sympathy for his pain and suffering and going through that kind of emotional and mental rollercoaster.

Anyway, he had something to prove, and that became his drive, but he was so insecure about it that the fear of failure froze him and pushed him into overperfectionist mode, and that’s an endless trip, it’s never good enough. But still, something came out of it, and that’s what it is, a snap of Axl’s interests at the time, his focus, his pain, his views, etc.

And it also happens that I love the sound on CD. I couldn’t care less that “it doesn’t sound like guns” or that it isn’t straight rock & roll, or hard rock. I get bored when bands get stuck in a style or formula. That stagnant state starts to stink quickly. And most of the artists I admire have that characteristic: their art changes according to what they are going through and their influences at the time. And I like being surprised, and I also love layered music and that kind of production, the instrument separation, discovering new layers... it makes for very entertaining listens. And there is hidden stuff there that “gets lost in the mix”, and maybe that’s how it was intended to be and it was done like that for a reason, it’s not like professional producers and mixers didn’t know what they were doing and fucked up.

So, based on that, and considering the bulk of material recorded, I’m very interested to listen more because of technicalities, preference for the style and what it means as an expression of the Axl of those years.

2 hours ago, RONIN said:

The way I see it, Axl needs the original lineup to get anything done. And the original lineup needs Axl to turn out anything good that stands the test of time. Buckethead and Brain are way too creative to be tied down to a band like GnR - especially since they seem to be firmly stuck on AFD for the last 20 years.

The problem we have is that Axl's interest in pushing himself forward musically has been extinguished by the failure of Nu Guns. He's accepted the deafening clamor to just rehash 1980's GnR because it is a financial bonanza. You see that manifested in his interest in AC/DC. I don't think Rose cares anymore - he has chosen the path of least resistance. And you throw in an older Slash who was already lazy when it came to how much he pushed himself outside of his comfort zone - and now has established himself as a brand outside of Guns with very little to prove - can anyone see these two doing anything worthy of the older material given their current approach to music? There's no interest or fire in these guys to top the old material or even match it. They're coasting. Add in a shit drummer and a session guitarist with no writing chops and you have a future album from this lineup that does not inspire much confidence. At best, we might get something along the lines of Contraband I imagine.

Great points, and the way you put it makes perfect sense.

i just hope that we’ll get to listen to the rest of CD sometime. I consider that era to be Axl at his most creative and fearless (if that makes sense). I find it exciting when an artist steps outside of his own boundaries and dares to explore new territory and for me, being exposed to the outcome of that process (whatever it is) is a way more enriching experience than getting a 2.0 version of previous work.

Given the circumstances, I fear that an album of new material will be a derivative collection of songs that will be made to please the crowds. I’d rather not get a single new song from GNR ever again.

4 hours ago, El Guapo said:

What about Robin's solo album, is it ever coming out? Does anybody have any infos on that? I always thought that might be very interessting since Robin's studio work for Chinese was so good and creative.
While he was in Guns I pretty much hated him back then. He was really, really bad with Slash's stuff plus the goofy stage moves, skullets and all that.
Ashba was the worst, doesn't even matter how or what he played. Shame.
 

I gave up on robin’s album, but i think it would be an unusual mix of soundscapes, synths and electric guitar, not straight rock, no standard structures.

He clearly is a very creative guy, but in a non-stadard way if that makes any sense. I love his stage presence, it is magnetic and authentic, it’s not a pose or a fabricated persona, the guy is “weird” in a cool unique way.

In contrast, Ashba seemed like he was trying too hard to be liked and look cool. The make up, the way he dressed, the way he behaved on stage seemed fabricated and not authentic at all. To his favour, the guy was always super nice, friendly and approachable to fans.

1 hour ago, adamsapple said:

Yeah, probably. But ain't that a shame? You could give Slash or Richard an album and they might or might not play it or even add their own ideas to it that might or might not complete the whole thing. You give Izzy four chords and you have an album. That's the difference. I don't know about Axl's modus, but I suppose when he sits down at the piano for one night without the intention to rule the world and reinvent wheel, he might have an album too - and not a shabby one. It's just so depressing to see all this great talent and potential going nowhere because everyone cares more about the packaging and fireworks to sell it. Someone call Rick Rubin - he might be the only one to ever get us a new GNR album.

No, PLEASE keep Rick Rubin as far away from GNR as possible. I don’t know what happened to him, but it has been a while since he has done good production. The latest Smashing Pumpkins songs he was involved in seem like a total waste. Lots of potential in those songs, but the production brings them down, when it’s supposed to do the opposite.

9 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Someone mark it down! I believe this is the FIRST and ONLY time we've ever been accused of being too positive! 

I meant it the other way around. It seems that being a Slash fan means you can’t have much of an appreciation for any other guitar player that has been in gnr.

1 hour ago, janrichmond said:

It's a forum!! People have opinions and voice them.

This place would be pretty bland without them 

That’s fine, but it seems a bit extreme in the fanboy-ism.

Jesus, how did we get from Slash being appreciative of Buckethead’s skills to this ridiculous need to take sides and see everything in black & white?

On 2018-10-09 at 5:39 AM, El Guapo said:

I heard Axl has been working really hard on his vocal delivery and sounds like he did in 2016 again and that they will open with a new song. Locomotive replaces Coma and the shows will be shorter (less solos and bloat).
Then I woke up.

That’s just mean 

45 minutes ago, Free Bird said:

I'm not hurt. Opinions differ. You don't like it and that's fine. But I do.

I didn’t say I didn’t like Slash’s solo –which is what you pointed out when you posted the video. As I said, I think he did a good job there, it’s the rest of the song that is a total mess.

5 hours ago, Free Bird said:

Thanks for sharing

Don’t be so hurt and defensive, I was talking about the whole performance, which is atrocious in more ways than not.

to your point, Slash’s solo at the end is not bad... fast picking going up the neck, that’s as close as he’ll get to Bucket’s version. The rest of the song isn’t quite there. I don’t know... maybe this was one of the first times they played TWAT? It really sounds like they showed up unprepared. The timing is awful in general, but Slash got to do his thing at the end with the noodling. The rest is pretty forgettable.

2 hours ago, thunderram said:

You're missing the point. GN'R wouldn't have ever happened with Buckethead instead of SLASH. Despite whatever technical prowess Buckethead has, he's not now nor has he ever been a mainstream draw. SLASH's sound and style appeals to a lot more music fans than Buckethead. Period. Just as GN'R's music appeals to a lot more fans than say Dream Theater. Dream Theater are among the best collection of musicians I've ever seen or heard in a band. But they are niche. They aren't what the mainstream or majority wants to hear.

The music GN'R produced with Buckethead in the band was niche. It had nowhere near the following the previous music did with the previous lineup. While there are a faction of fans on this site that like it better, they are in the vast minority (for the record I like CD). If it didn't carry the GN'R name along with it, it would have had even less of a following. Nothing close to what 'real' GN'R was or is.

So, no, Buckethead and Dave Navarro would never have become the biggest names in rock guitar history. Because the music would have been much different than the music that did appeal and speak to the masses. If either Navarro or Bucket were destined for what SLASH has accomplished, they would have done it already. Saying so is just as silly as suggesting GN'R would have been just as big with <insert name of any obscure vocalist over the past 30 years> on vocals rather than W. AXL Rose. It wouldn't have been the same.

23 hours ago, D.Z.I. said:

I never said that, and that wasn’t my point at all.

My point was if Slash would have become as big if it wasn’t for GNR.

For the record, GNR wouldn’t have been GNR with any of its parts missing.

31 minutes ago, Lio said:

I don't agree. GNR wouldn't have been GNR without Slash.

I never said that, and that wasn’t my point at all.

My point was if Slash would have become as big if it wasn’t for GNR.

For the record, GNR wouldn’t have been GNR with any of its parts missing.