Has you opinion on DJ Ashba changed since '09?

[Danker]

I think Axl will make DJ's musical ideas better. The man has a great ear for music. I think together they can make a very relevant but good, possibly great rock song.

Point me in the direction of something that shows Ashba's songwriting or technical chops?? I have yet to be convinced he is all that great.

Bumblefoot and Buckethead both had solo projects that spoke volumes. Richard Fortus and Finck have proven to be amazing talents within GNR ...... but where's the proof that Ashba is any good besides covering Slash and Finck's slower solos on this tour?

He's proficient at guitar, but like I said before, there are countless guitarists out there that can 'cover' Slash and Finck's slower solos (good point you made there). It's about something who can bring something new, a new character into a established band. Not something 'familiar' or cliched with his posturing and mannerisms which is rock and roll bedroom mirror pose 101.

I'm sorry but those solo pieces Ashba wrote are nothing special. They are listenable. But.. well this Finck solo I've linked below.. It's not technically perfect, but it just has so much feeling and emotion in it, and he bought that into songs like "This I Love". That's only the beginning. Axl has spoken of his work on things like "Soul Monster", and it is just going to be a crying shame to never hear any of that.

Anyway.. Robin's solo..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzEU_MnZdHg

That is amazing. I agree with everything you said about Robin. He's not a typical rock guitarist but thats why it worked. He brought something different...I hate speaking in philosophical bullshit terms but he truly did "bring something different"... I mean look at his November Rain solo. I LOVE that he didn't do it verbatim or even try to. He paid homages to Slash's riffs but for the most part he put his own flare into the old GNR songs like you said.

Even Fortus does this IMO- also Fortus is an incredible technical player that should be utilized more. He blew me away at the Seattle show and he's by far my fav current GNR guitarist.

All hail Finck!! i would have loved to see Finck play TIL live.. :-(

I WANT TO HEAR SOUL MONSTER AND THE GENERAL NOW!!!!

Edited December 25, 2011 by Danker

[Georgy Zhukov]

I wouldn't be surprised if Buckethead is all over The General and Soul Monster.

Is there any Finck material before he was in Guns N' Roses? All I can think of is NIN and most of the guitar parts were written by Reznor with some stuff written by Adrian Belew.

[WhazUp]

It seems like GNR was going through a heavy electronic phase in the late 90's/early 200's but now they have gone back to a harder rocking style (adding more guitars and less synth to CD, etc.) Frank and DJ give the band a harder, bluesier edge than Brain and Robin and even Ron is heading towards a more bluesy rock direction than Bucket did

My question is: Do you think Axl went back to a harder rocking style because he intentionally wanted to stray from the electronic influences or was it because the band just ended up being more harder rocking so he just rolled with it?

[Georgy Zhukov]

It seems like GNR was going through a heavy electronic phase in the late 90's/early 200's but now they have gone back to a harder rocking style (adding more guitars and less synth to CD, etc.) Frank and DJ give the band a harder, bluesier edge than Brain and Robin and even Ron is heading towards a more bluesy rock direction than Bucket did

My question is: Do you think Axl went back to a harder rocking style because he intentionally wanted to stray from the electronic influences or was it because the band just ended up being more harder rocking so he just rolled with it?

He may have felt he went too far into the experimental territory and needed to take a step back. Didn't he say the fans weren't ready for something like Silkworms?

I want to know your opinion on what Ron has brought to the band? I think he is the master shredder that also had the feel of the music that Buckethead had but not as extreme. Like he also brought the sound back from being too experimental.

[WhazUp]

It seems like GNR was going through a heavy electronic phase in the late 90's/early 200's but now they have gone back to a harder rocking style (adding more guitars and less synth to CD, etc.) Frank and DJ give the band a harder, bluesier edge than Brain and Robin and even Ron is heading towards a more bluesy rock direction than Bucket did

My question is: Do you think Axl went back to a harder rocking style because he intentionally wanted to stray from the electronic influences or was it because the band just ended up being more harder rocking so he just rolled with it?

He may have felt he went too far into the experimental territory and needed to take a step back. Didn't he say the fans weren't ready for something like Silkworms?

I want to know your opinion on what Ron has brought to the band? I think he is the master shredder that also had the feel of the music that Buckethead had but not as extreme. Like he also brought the sound back from being too experimental.

Yeah I agree, Ron took the foundation that Bucket brought but at the same time is able to incorporate a bluesier approach to the songs. Bucket, while a great addition to the band, definitely brought in the "weird" elements into the guitar solos as well as his general demeanor during shows

Like instead of Buckets weird nun chucks and shredding we get Ron playing a bluesy yet full-of-shredding rendition of the Pink Panther theme which is definitely less "out there" and something I think fits with GNR better.

Edited December 25, 2011 by WhazUp

[Georgy Zhukov]

It seems like GNR was going through a heavy electronic phase in the late 90's/early 200's but now they have gone back to a harder rocking style (adding more guitars and less synth to CD, etc.) Frank and DJ give the band a harder, bluesier edge than Brain and Robin and even Ron is heading towards a more bluesy rock direction than Bucket did

My question is: Do you think Axl went back to a harder rocking style because he intentionally wanted to stray from the electronic influences or was it because the band just ended up being more harder rocking so he just rolled with it?

He may have felt he went too far into the experimental territory and needed to take a step back. Didn't he say the fans weren't ready for something like Silkworms?

I want to know your opinion on what Ron has brought to the band? I think he is the master shredder that also had the feel of the music that Buckethead had but not as extreme. Like he also brought the sound back from being too experimental.

Yeah I agree, Ron took the foundation that Bucket brought but at the same time is able to incorporate a bluesier approach to the songs. Bucket, while a great addition to the band, definitely brought in the "weird" elements into the guitar solos as well as his general demeanor during shows

Like instead of Buckets weird nun chucks and shredding we get Ron playing a bluesy yet full-of-shredding rendition of the Pink Panther theme which is definitely less "out there" and something I think fits with GNR better.

I will always say Buckethead had the best guitar solos in nu Guns, maybe in Guns N' Roses but I don't want to start a debate. I will say they all did solos without sounding corny say...John Frusciante on Stadium Arcadium. I think he went a little overboard trying to replicate what he did with The Mars Volta. I mean when Bucket and Ron shredded on old and new GNR songs, somehow they made sense. John's felt random but Ron and Bucket managed to fit in in spite of Bucket's weirdness.

DJ, Ron, 4tus and Frank have brought many bluesy elements back to the band.

Edit: Bucket can play blues pretty well in IFW and Sorry

Edited December 25, 2011 by BirdCatcher

[Guest ben9785]

I think Axl will make DJ's musical ideas better. The man has a great ear for music. I think together they can make a very relevant but good, possibly great rock song.

Point me in the direction of something that shows Ashba's songwriting or technical chops?? I have yet to be convinced he is all that great.

Bumblefoot and Buckethead both had solo projects that spoke volumes. Richard Fortus and Finck have proven to be amazing talents within GNR ...... but where's the proof that Ashba is any good besides covering Slash and Finck's slower solos on this tour?

He's proficient at guitar, but like I said before, there are countless guitarists out there that can 'cover' Slash and Finck's slower solos (good point you made there). It's about something who can bring something new, a new character into a established band. Not something 'familiar' or cliched with his posturing and mannerisms which is rock and roll bedroom mirror pose 101.

I'm sorry but those solo pieces Ashba wrote are nothing special. They are listenable. But.. well this Finck solo I've linked below.. It's not technically perfect, but it just has so much feeling and emotion in it, and he bought that into songs like "This I Love". That's only the beginning. Axl has spoken of his work on things like "Soul Monster", and it is just going to be a crying shame to never hear any of that.

Anyway.. Robin's solo..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzEU_MnZdHg

That is amazing. I agree with everything you said about Robin. He's not a typical rock guitarist but thats why it worked. He brought something different...I hate speaking in philosophical bullshit terms but he truly did "bring something different"... I mean look at his November Rain solo. I LOVE that he didn't do it verbatim or even try to. He paid homages to Slash's riffs but for the most part he put his own flare into the old GNR songs like you said.

Even Fortus does this IMO- also Fortus is an incredible technical player that should be utilized more. He blew me away at the Seattle show and he's by far my fav current GNR guitarist.

All hail Finck!! i would have loved to see Finck play TIL live.. :-(

I WANT TO HEAR SOUL MONSTER AND THE GENERAL NOW!!!!

Yeah I've mentioned this in a number of recent posts.. Fortus should be given the 'Slash/Finck' stage left solo role. He is probably the most conventional rock/blues lead guitarist and brings alot of energy in his performance. When Finck was still in the band those two would play off each other perfectly, including their shared solos. Now Fortus is stuck with the James Bond theme and aside from his solo in "November Rain", unfortunately he doesn't get to take a prominent solo. I love what he does at the end of "Civil War" though, but again, that is the climax of the song vocally and his part can easily get passed over.

It's not the same without Robin though. I wish he'd come onstage even just to do one song as a guest.

Best we can hope for is a Finck solo album.

Edited December 25, 2011 by ben9785

[WhazUp]

It seems like GNR was going through a heavy electronic phase in the late 90's/early 200's but now they have gone back to a harder rocking style (adding more guitars and less synth to CD, etc.) Frank and DJ give the band a harder, bluesier edge than Brain and Robin and even Ron is heading towards a more bluesy rock direction than Bucket did

My question is: Do you think Axl went back to a harder rocking style because he intentionally wanted to stray from the electronic influences or was it because the band just ended up being more harder rocking so he just rolled with it?

He may have felt he went too far into the experimental territory and needed to take a step back. Didn't he say the fans weren't ready for something like Silkworms?

I want to know your opinion on what Ron has brought to the band? I think he is the master shredder that also had the feel of the music that Buckethead had but not as extreme. Like he also brought the sound back from being too experimental.

Yeah I agree, Ron took the foundation that Bucket brought but at the same time is able to incorporate a bluesier approach to the songs. Bucket, while a great addition to the band, definitely brought in the "weird" elements into the guitar solos as well as his general demeanor during shows

Like instead of Buckets weird nun chucks and shredding we get Ron playing a bluesy yet full-of-shredding rendition of the Pink Panther theme which is definitely less "out there" and something I think fits with GNR better.

I will always say Buckethead had the best guitar solos in nu Guns, maybe in Guns N' Roses but I don't want to start a debate. I will say they all did solos without sounding corny say...John Frusciante on Stadium Arcadium. I think he went a little overboard trying to replicate what he did with The Mars Volta. I mean when Bucket and Ron shredded on old and new GNR songs, somehow they made sense. John's felt random but Ron and Bucket managed to fit in in spite of Bucket's weirdness.

DJ, Ron, 4tus and Frank have brought many bluesy elements back to the band.

Edit: Bucket can play blues pretty well in IFW and Sorry

Bucket definately played blues well, but at the same time every guitar player GNR has ever had can play blues at least to some degree. And no doubt Bucket was part of the huge change in direction in the 2000's, but at the same time I am glad that they are going for a more straight ahead rock direction nowadays. This current lineup is my favorite post-96 lineup of GNR by far and I cannot wait to hear what this lineup can write

Edited December 25, 2011 by WhazUp

[Apollo]

With Bumblefoot in the band, why does DJ have to be the best shredded who ever lived?

With 8 people in the band, and Axl being the main songwriter, why does DJ have to be the best songwriter who ever lived?

Why can't DJ just be part of the team?

[Bruno P.]

I think Axl will make DJ's musical ideas better. The man has a great ear for music. I think together they can make a very relevant but good, possibly great rock song.

Point me in the direction of something that shows Ashba's songwriting or technical chops?? I have yet to be convinced he is all that great.

Bumblefoot and Buckethead both had solo projects that spoke volumes. Richard Fortus and Finck have proven to be amazing talents within GNR ...... but where's the proof that Ashba is any good besides covering Slash and Finck's slower solos on this tour?

He's proficient at guitar, but like I said before, there are countless guitarists out there that can 'cover' Slash and Finck's slower solos (good point you made there). It's about something who can bring something new, a new character into a established band. Not something 'familiar' or cliched with his posturing and mannerisms which is rock and roll bedroom mirror pose 101.

I'm sorry but those solo pieces Ashba wrote are nothing special. They are listenable. But.. well this Finck solo I've linked below.. It's not technically perfect, but it just has so much feeling and emotion in it, and he bought that into songs like "This I Love". That's only the beginning. Axl has spoken of his work on things like "Soul Monster", and it is just going to be a crying shame to never hear any of that.

Anyway.. Robin's solo..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzEU_MnZdHg

That is amazing. I agree with everything you said about Robin. He's not a typical rock guitarist but thats why it worked. He brought something different...I hate speaking in philosophical bullshit terms but he truly did "bring something different"... I mean look at his November Rain solo. I LOVE that he didn't do it verbatim or even try to. He paid homages to Slash's riffs but for the most part he put his own flare into the old GNR songs like you said.

Even Fortus does this IMO- also Fortus is an incredible technical player that should be utilized more. He blew me away at the Seattle show and he's by far my fav current GNR guitarist.

All hail Finck!! i would have loved to see Finck play TIL live.. :-(

I WANT TO HEAR SOUL MONSTER AND THE GENERAL NOW!!!!

Yeah I've mentioned this in a number of recent posts.. Fortus should be given the 'Slash/Finck' stage left solo role. He is probably the most conventional rock/blues lead guitarist and brings alot of energy in his performance. When Finck was still in the band those two would play off each other perfectly, including their shared solos. Now Fortus is stuck with the James Bond theme and aside from his solo in "November Rain", unfortunately he doesn't get to take a prominent solo. I love what he does at the end of "Civil War" though, but again, that is the climax of the song vocally and his part can easily get passed over.

It's not the same without Robin though. I wish he'd come onstage even just to do one song as a guest.

Best we can hope for is a Finck solo album.

Calm down. You guys make it sound like Fortus and Finck had 10 albums worth of (amazing) material which is not the case at all. In fact Robin had *ONE* song writting confirmed, and even then Axl worked on the song with him, while Fortus has not written any song. I'm not talking about studio solos, Finck had plenty of them and some of them are truly amazing. But you are exaggerating a lot.

Also Ron, Frank and Ashba are going to a more straight Hard Rock edge and not a blues-based rock. It's pretty obvious that Axl wants this way because he got Dj in the band. Correct me if I'm wrong, but GNR has always been a Hard Rock band, not a NIN kind of thing. Sure, some of the new songs have some industrial sound going on, but they're Hard Rock songs with Industrial influences.

Nobody can say that they'll do a more straight rock n' roll album when in fact we haven't heard any of their studio work. Live shows? You can't use that to judge their studio work and in fact I don't know what to expect from Ron at least. One day the guy releases a grungy tune with bluesy and metal moments thrown in (Invisible), the other day he writes a straight rock n' roll tune with Poc (Rock n' Roll baby) and then a sleazy Hard Rock-sounding song (Catfight) - and throw in between a guitar-driven cover of an old song with an epic guitar solo (There's a Kind of Hush) and another one punk-ish cover with a crazy guitar solo (Bernadette).

[Damn_Smooth]

Calm down. You guys make it sound like Fortus and Finck had 10 albums worth of (amazing) material which is not the case at all. In fact Robin had *ONE* song writting confirmed, and even then Axl worked on the song with him, while Fortus has not written any song. I'm not talking about studio solos, Finck had plenty of them and some of them are truly amazing. But you are exaggerating a lot.

Also Ron, Frank and Ashba are going to a more straight Hard Rock edge and not a blues-based rock. It's pretty obvious that Axl wants this way because he got Dj in the band. Correct me if I'm wrong, but GNR has always been a Hard Rock band, not a NIN kind of thing. Sure, some of the new songs have some industrial sound going on, but they're Hard Rock songs with Industrial influences.

Nobody can say that they'll do a more straight rock n' roll album when in fact we haven't heard any of their studio work. Live shows? You can't use that to judge their studio work and in fact I don't know what to expect from Ron at least. One day the guy releases a grungy tune with bluesy and metal moments thrown in (Invisible), the other day he writes a straight rock n' roll tune with Poc (Rock n' Roll baby) and then a sleazy Hard Rock-sounding song (Catfight) - and throw in between a guitar-driven cover of an old song with an epic guitar solo (There's a Kind of Hush) and another one punk-ish cover with a crazy guitar solo (Bernadette).

That is why Ron is my favorite guitarist that has ever been in this band, he is a master at anything he wants to play. I personally want an album written and recorded by this band more than any other possible scenario.

[ThinkAboutYou]

I think I'm just worried cause I'm not into the Sixx Am style and I didn't think Beautiful Creatures was anything special

Yes Ashba has written hits but have I enjoyed those songs no .....

Edited December 25, 2011 by ThinkAboutYou

[Damn_Smooth]

I think I'm just worried cause I'm not into the Sixx Am style and I didn't think Beautiful Creatures was anything special

Yes Ashba has written hits but have I enjoyed those songs no .....

I see your concern, but it's not like DJ will be writing everything. If there's one thing Axl has proven, it's that he can pull the best out of whoever he is working with.

[ThinkAboutYou]

I think I'm just worried cause I'm not into the Sixx Am style and I didn't think Beautiful Creatures was anything special

Yes Ashba has written hits but have I enjoyed those songs no .....

I see your concern, but it's not like DJ will be writing everything. If there's one thing Axl has proven, it's that he can pull the best out of whoever he is working with.

His fine live I have no problem with him playing the current song's. I just hope the future material is equal to Chinese Democracy let's hope Axl brings out DJ's best

Edited December 25, 2011 by ThinkAboutYou

[Damn_Smooth]

I think I'm just worried cause I'm not into the Sixx Am style and I didn't think Beautiful Creatures was anything special

Yes Ashba has written hits but have I enjoyed those songs no .....

I see your concern, but it's not like DJ will be writing everything. If there's one thing Axl has proven, it's that he can pull the best out of whoever he is working with.

His fine live I have no problem with him playing the current song's. I just hope the future material is equal to Chinese Democracy

I personally think it will be better. I think this band is a perfect combination of the classic and the CD era. I am expecting some amazing shit.

Edited December 25, 2011 by Damn_Smooth

[loko]

Nope, he still piss me off with his hands in the air and raping Finck's parts.

[Bruno P.]

Calm down. You guys make it sound like Fortus and Finck had 10 albums worth of (amazing) material which is not the case at all. In fact Robin had *ONE* song writting confirmed, and even then Axl worked on the song with him, while Fortus has not written any song. I'm not talking about studio solos, Finck had plenty of them and some of them are truly amazing. But you are exaggerating a lot.

Also Ron, Frank and Ashba are going to a more straight Hard Rock edge and not a blues-based rock. It's pretty obvious that Axl wants this way because he got Dj in the band. Correct me if I'm wrong, but GNR has always been a Hard Rock band, not a NIN kind of thing. Sure, some of the new songs have some industrial sound going on, but they're Hard Rock songs with Industrial influences.

Nobody can say that they'll do a more straight rock n' roll album when in fact we haven't heard any of their studio work. Live shows? You can't use that to judge their studio work and in fact I don't know what to expect from Ron at least. One day the guy releases a grungy tune with bluesy and metal moments thrown in (Invisible), the other day he writes a straight rock n' roll tune with Poc (Rock n' Roll baby) and then a sleazy Hard Rock-sounding song (Catfight) - and throw in between a guitar-driven cover of an old song with an epic guitar solo (There's a Kind of Hush) and another one punk-ish cover with a crazy guitar solo (Bernadette).

That is why Ron is my favorite guitarist that has ever been in this band, he is a master at anything he wants to play. I personally want an album written and recorded by this band more than any other possible scenario.

Same here. Would be stupid not to release an album with this band next year. Why? The momentum is the best since the 90's, they dont have ego fights as far as we know, they enjoy being together and they are truly talented. Finck, Bucket and Brain had great songs and solos but if they dont want to be here...why should their material be released first? That would be disrespectful to Fortus, Ashba and Ron. Get the old material released in 2 years or so.

My fear is Ashba's commercial riffs and playing but I trust Ron and Axl enough musically so Im sure they'll bring something special to every song. To be fair he had a fair amount of good and great solos with some brilliant moments with Sixx so I expect good songs and playing from him as well - Im assuming Axl wont use every idea he comes up with though.

Can you imagine a GnR song with a cat screaming and Axls piercing vocals matching it? lol. Or a Raygun shooting us in our faces. Or a grungy/bluesy/Metal song? Haha. We dont know what to expect really. I know we're in for several surprises with Ron in the band wait...we can even expect several ducks doing sex. Im laughing because Im sure that at this point Ron showed them some different ideas for songs and some abnormal riffs...Hahaha!

[Georgy Zhukov]

Everyone has to remember that Ashba is not the sole songwriter on Sixx AM.

[Bumble's Bridge Pickup]

Nah I still think he is mostly a cheesy and a bit boring guitarist and performer.

[DrBrownstone]

I like his playing style, I think he has the swagger and style to cover a lot of the old material, specifically the AFD stuff. But I agree with the others in this thread in that his whole look seems a little cheesy to me, like he's trying to look like Slash without "trying" to look like him...With his tophat, chuck taylors, even how he stands when he's playing. I don't dig all the make up and eyeliner...he looks like something between My Chemical Romance, and Nightmare before Christmas. I'd warm up to him a lot more if he didn't wear any makeup, and stopped wearing the top hat.

[Rem]

... wearing the top hat.

A small poll... how many of you think slash originated this look?

[Danker]

Be sure to check out DJ Ashbas site where there are dozens of pages where you can buy dolls, bandanas, and panties, but none that actually have music posted to show whether or not he can play guitar!!!! fail.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Danker

[bumblecool]

Be sure to check out DJ Ashbas site where there are dozens of pages where you can buy dolls, bandanas, and panties, but none that actually have music posted to show whether or not he can play guitar!!!! fail.

you can buy his albums and even Chinese Democracy on his website

[Danker]

Be sure to check out DJ Ashbas site where there are dozens of pages where you can buy dolls, bandanas, and panties, but none that actually have music posted to show whether or not he can play guitar!!!! fail.

you can buy his albums and even Chinese Democracy on his website

so...

there is no actual music posted. Sixx:Am and Beautiful Creatures music sucks and requires minimal guitar knowledge to play. He wasn't even on Chinese Democracy. I want to see proof the guy has chops as a guitarist and/or a songwriter. Everyone is going off about how he is such a great fit but not one person has provided proof that he is worthy of being in GNR. Yeah, maybe some shitty LA bar band or a band featuring ex-Motley Crue members would be a great fit for him, but we're talking about GNR here. If you step in the footprints of Buckethead and Slash you better be willing to bring some serious riffage and skill!!!!

All I know about Ashba is that you can buy panties on his site, he has an Iphone app, he's a nice guy, and he can do a standard rock version of the national anthem, something I was doing when I was 16.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Danker

[Cosmo]

... wearing the top hat.

A small poll... how many of you think slash originated this look?

LOL. It's OBVIOUSLY Mick Mars.