Axl Rose not attending HOF

[p-man]

i don't understand why he keeps refering to his former bandmates wanting reunion?

who does? Duff is doing his thing, Slash is doing his thing, Izzy is probably not doing anything and doesn't want to do anything, it's just Steven who's failing at doing his thing.

it just seems he doesn't live the present and is stuck with the past, grudges and everything he's not moving forward and it actually is embarrasing to see for a "dude" his age.

i don't think it's necessarily former bandmates that he's referring to. it's the biz side that's wants one so badlly - managers, promoters, etc. there is a lot of money to be made from a reunion for those types of people, and i think that's who he's referring to.

[drtydane]

Just when I thought he couldn't stoop to a new low. Proof that Axl is the biggest douche bag in rock history. I hope the rest of the guys still attend and play.

[tomfriend]

Difference being, Axl has it his way. Steven whines endlessly about how it's not fair. One is living in the present, one in the past. Case closed.

Nah, living in the present usually means leaving things from the past behind. That includes grudges, and vast majority of a setlist you tour on...

Oh great, more 'Axl Rose shouldn't go out and sing songs that Axl Rose sang in the first place and co-wrote' bullshit. If going out and performing songs you made/helped make is your definition of living in the past, pretty much every touring band is doing it.

[Estranged Reality]

You are assuming he is insulted that the old band was picked for induction. I don't think that's necessarily it. It could be he feels Tommy should've been inducted as well, for example.

that was my entire point. whether or not tommy has been in the band for as long as he has been, whether or not he actually has recorded 70, 100, or 1,000 unreleased songs (wherever it's at by now)...because of axl's own actions (or, rather, lack thereof) over the years, nobody knows who the fuck tommy stinson is. he has more recognition from indie music fans for being in the replacements than from the general public for being in GN'R (sample comment from an article about this on another site: "whoa...stinson is in GN'R?? Weird!").

axl didn't tour his band, didn't release an album with them, didn't do much of anything for many years...and when the music finally came out, they couldn't even release an official publicity photo of the group. not a single still shot to announce to the world who was in the group. if GN'R had continued as a functioning unit after duff, slash, et al left; if they had produced more music; if they had continued to be a titan in the music world, then tommy and the others probably would have been included. but they didn't, and GN'R is known now for its shaky history and legendary status and the "what if?" surrounding a possible reunion than for being a band itself. so maybe tommy does deserve to be in that induction, but they're not inducting the hypothetical, maybe-they-recorded-good-music GN'R; they're inducting the members who created legendary albums that sold millions and millions of copies and that people grew up with and that hugely influenced pop culture in their time. not the guys who have been secretly recording for years and pop up once in a while to tour, regardless of how well they do so.

[MAXITO]

You all guys want Axl Rose to be just like you want.......by that he will stop being Axl Rose!

[W 23 Axl III]

He makes his jealousy and resentment towards Slash so obvious by acting the way he does. Imagine if Axl acted like Izzy, we wouldnt know what to think. Thanks Axl for making this mystery less and less of an actual mystery. By acting the way you do, its obvious you are incredibly jealous of Slash and cant stand to even be in the same room as him.

[sweetness]

The fact that so many who think they have a right to demand a reunion have decided Axl must be pissed about the old guys being honored, despite the fact that he SPECIFICALLY said he doesn't begrudge them their achievements or accolades just reenforces how deluded they are.

That's just Axl saying his piece before the onslaught of criticism he knows is already coming, the man words his press releases very carefully, its really not that hard to decipher. The message is there, and its very clear, if he had any respect for his former bandmates the silly request to completely remove his name from the induction would not have been made.

[Apollo]

Ali,

Do you give Axl a thumbs up or a thumbs down for his demanding that his name not be affiliated with GnR being inducted into the HOF?

And, do you think his overall letter shows Axl in a positive or negative light?

-Groghan

[GeetarMikey]

Obviously, we're not privvy to the inner workings of Axl's new GN'R, the ceremony etc etc...., but I honestly DON'T respect his desicion here.

With all the bullshit Axl's (very polite and fair to the old members) statement says, it would have just been so fucking cool to get up there, shake each other's hand, not even have to play, and be on his way. What exactly IS stopping him? I'm not suggesting AT ALL he owes it to us to attend a formal ceremony either, but seriously, it makes me so fucking annoyed to get ANOTHER stuffy pre-prepared statement when all the ex-members are just so cool about the whole thing. (Adler excluded of course) .

Oh well, another disappointment from the new GN'R era, you'd think we'd be getting used to it by now. Can't wait till CD2 comes out in 2025, maybe the next one might have some bass guitar on it.

[Estranged Reality]

yet Robert Trujillo was inducted with Metallica and Josh Klinghoffer with RHCP.

the context of GN'R's dissolution is the reason current members weren't inducted. guaranteed.

if RHCP had released their first two albums then disappeared for years, established a legendary and almost mythical status, and then only kiedis came back with klinghoffer and another whole new line-up with one record and a couple tours, they wouldn't have been inducted. flea, kiedis and the old guys would have been inducted.

to use your hypothetical example of a name again: if only tommy had been added since '94 and the rest of the band had remained the same - or even if the whole band had changed but they kept in the public eye and continued releasing music, touring, etc. - then i think he/they would have been acknowledged by the hall of fame. GN'R is in a unique predicament insofar as that people outside the forum pretty much don't give credence to the new line up, for reasons i outlined before. whether that's fair is debatable, but whether it's deserved isn't: not touring, not releasing music and not doing publicity for years on end while your older music ages like fine wine will tend to have that effect.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Estranged Reality

[WhazUp]

Even if Steven didn't say all those stupid comments it seems like it is just another excuse Axl gave to not attend. If it wasn't Steven it would be something else along with the other excuses he gave

[spunko12345]

Eddie Trunk

I've forever said someone needs to stand up to the Hall & not cave to them & I love @axlrose did! This sends a great message to them!

Like · · 4 · @EddieTrunk on Twitter · about a minute ago via Twitter

I know Eddie feels strong about this. I am glad Axl has some good support.

OK so now we can add the "Hall" as another enemy. Fucking christ almighty I thought it was pathetic when Dr Pepper was the bad guy. Is it possible for anyone to come into contact with Axl Rose and him not feel persecuted in some way or another.

[tomfriend]

Just when I thought he couldn't stoop to a new low. Proof that Axl is the biggest douche bag in rock history. I hope the rest of the guys still attend and play.

So saying he doesn't begrudge his former bandmates their accolades makes him a bigger douchebag than someone who said his current bandmates were 'scabs' and then expects him to get on stage together with him.

[Orsys]

I think it was a fair and respectful letter. Axl had no choices, really. He acknowledged the jabs of others without insulting them. He appears to have stated his position from the heart and shows incredible loyalty. He used integrity and it was well thought out.

He's right. He could not win in this situation, so he might as well stay true to his beliefs.

i don't think it's respectful. i just don't understand the concept of declining the induction. if he had laid out some reasons for not attending - that he wouldn't want to give fans the false hope of a reunion, that he didn't feel comfortable being in the same room with slash, whatever, that's fine. disappointing perhaps to some fans, but at least then he's forthright and honest about his reasons.

but he was clearly insulted by the hall of fame's decision to honor the ex-bandmembers, and for me that is both childish and disrespectful.to not attend is one thing, but to request your name be removed is, to me, a big middle finger - not just to the ceremony (which is, you know, just a ceremony - i couldn't care less about it) but to the idea of it, what it represents to fans and to the other bandmembers. he falls back on the whole "people get divorced" trick, which is true enough in the context of a reunion, but we're talking about simply acknowledging that maybe that marriage was good at one point - that before it got ugly it represented something amazing. for all his complaints of revisionist history, turning down an acknowledgement for the reasons he chose is not far from it.

again, i don't really give a damn about the RnRHoF by any means. but what it represents i can understand, and i think this is all sort of disheartening.

I don't agree. Axl was not insulted by the HOF's decision to honour ex-bandmembers and doesn't begrudge them the honour. And there is nothing wrong with him taking this position. And he laid out his position quite clearly, and without minimizing others' achievements or sinking to others' levels. He essentially said this is how he feels, speaking only for himself, and made his own decision.

It's like Axl keeps saying there will be no reunion, there will be no reunion,and fans keep saying yeah but when's the reunion?

Axl was as direct as he could have been about a number of items on record of late, without bashing or apologizing for his beliefs.My respect for the man just went up a notch.

[Evil Doer]

did anybody really expect axl to show up????? if you did, you're a fool.

[sweetness]

You are assuming he is insulted that the old band was picked for induction. I don't think that's necessarily it. It could be he feels Tommy should've been inducted as well, for example.

that was my entire point. whether or not tommy has been in the band for as long as he has been, whether or not he actually has recorded 70, 100, or 1,000 unreleased songs (wherever it's at by now)...because of axl's own actions (or, rather, lack thereof) over the years, nobody knows who the fuck tommy stinson is. he has more recognition from indie music fans for being in the replacements than from the general public for being in GN'R (sample comment from an article about this on another site: "whoa...stinson is in GN'R?? Weird!").

axl didn't tour his band, didn't release an album with them, didn't do much of anything for many years...and when the music finally came out, they couldn't even release an official publicity photo of the group. not a single still shot to announce to the world who was in the group. if GN'R had continued as a functioning unit after duff, slash, et al left; if they had produced more music; if they had continued to be a titan in the music world, then tommy and the others probably would have been included. but they didn't, and GN'R is known now for its shaky history and legendary status and the "what if?" surrounding a possible reunion than for being a band itself. so maybe tommy does deserve to be in that induction, but they're not inducting the hypothetical, maybe-they-recorded-good-music GN'R; they're inducting the members who created legendary albums that sold millions and millions of copies and that people grew up with and that hugely influenced pop culture in their time. not the guys who have been secretly recording for years and pop up once in a while to tour, regardless of how well they do so.

see guys, not all mygnforum members are out of touch with reality

[Birk]

Well I'm still going for the induction!!! Fuck the world!

[downzy]

Taking into consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make)

what he's basically saying here is that he doesn't think the have the right to claim what constitutes "guns n' roses." that they shouldn't be able to select certain members of the band for induction, as if he has the right to decide what guns n' roses is. and that because they did so, given the history of the band and its dissolution and how well-recorded that they didn't split amicaly, he's almost taking it as a personal insult that they would acknowledge those guys.

this is idiotic. while axl laboured over a single album for more than a decade and toured only a couple times (one of them ending in disaster), the world moved on. guns n' roses ceased to become a band, but they grew in legend, and now most kids from my generation would refer to them as 'classic rock,' and indeed, one girl recently told me she hated sweet child o' mine because she 'doesn't like classic rock.' there's a reason you hear these songs played by drunk people at bars alongside other classic rock jams. it's music people grew up on.

the line up being inducted into the hall of fame IS the line up that people by large consider to constitute guns n' roses. and not just a matter of perception: it is literally the line up that crafted their most popular record, which is now considered to be a classic and is often on best-of-all-time lists, and it includes a couple members of the line up that created two of their biggest commercial hits with the 'illusions.'

no one looks at the chinese democracy line up and considers that to be a legitimate version of guns n' roses - perhaps outside of the rabid online fanbase and axl himself - but that fault rests on his shoulders. i can understand axl's viewpoint in regards to this whole ordeal - that the guys he's been working with for the past decade-plus are, to him, the current band. but to the public eye they're just fill-ins for the "real" band, and that's really his own fault for not doing more press, publicity, promotions, and, y'know, releasing music.

by all accounts he's got a great set of musicians right now. he just doesn't seem to know what to fucking do with them.

declining the induction is childish. if you're not gonna show up, then be like izzy stradlin and just don't say anything. i guess he felt there was too much pressure and wanted to end all the hysteria, but frankly he comes off worse than he has in years here. for as well-worded and lengthy as it was, basically it amounts to a giant insult to everyone, including his current bandmembers.

edit: i think at the end of the day, the real reason this letter struck a nerve with me ISN'T because there won't be a reunion. i didn't think there would be and frankly i'm not one of those whining for one constantly, because i do enjoy the current line up (just wish they'd be put to use in the studio!). i think what bothered me is the fact that he's now more than a half-century old and, unlike duff, time hasn't given him a mature perspective on life. he's still the grudge-holding dude he was in 1994, or at least that is what could be gathered from the tone of his letter and his final decision to not attend. the fact that he actually declined the induction and can't just accept it as a recognition of how much his music has meant to people in the last 25 + years...it's just pretty sad, and kind of disappointing.

You are assuming he is insulted that the old band was picked for induction. I don't think that's necessarily it. It could be he feels Tommy should've been inducted as well, for example.

This does not insult the current band in any way. I disagree completely with that.

Ali

That's complete and utter bullshit. As much as I respect Tommy (had a fun night of drinking with the guy), what has he done to warrant inclusion under the Guns N' Roses banner? Other than help produce one album that few people noticed and smart enough not to piss off Axl enough to get fired and collect a check for 15 years, what has he done to be included with the likes of the all time greats?

If the current band wants to be considered equals to the AFD/UYI lineup, then start fucking releasing music. Do something! One album that no one paid attention to does not bequeath legendary status. Just because you play with legend doesn't make you one. Tommy might deserve consideration under the Replacements banner, but certainly not Guns N' Roses until there's a body of work to warrant such praise.

What I read in Axl's letter is that he was open to the induction ceremony process, but only under his own guise and permission. He thinks its his birthday party alone and unless his demands are met, he'll take his party hat and stay home. Not only that, he doesn't even want anyone else to celebrate him.

It's one thing to not want to show up or perform, it's another to disown your past and former bandmates because his conditions would not be appeased.

He's really shooting himself in the foot here; teeing the bawl up nicely for the members who do show up to really knock it out of the park.

If he took issue with what Adler said before the ceremony, just wait until that stroke-saddled idiot gets a hold the mic on Saturday.

[Ali]

You are assuming he is insulted that the old band was picked for induction. I don't think that's necessarily it. It could be he feels Tommy should've been inducted as well, for example.

that was my entire point. whether or not tommy has been in the band for as long as he has been, whether or not he actually has recorded 70, 100, or 1,000 unreleased songs (wherever it's at by now)...because of axl's own actions (or, rather, lack thereof) over the years, nobody knows who the fuck tommy stinson is. he has more recognition from indie music fans for being in the replacements than from the general public for being in GN'R (sample comment from an article about this on another site: "whoa...stinson is in GN'R?? Weird!").

axl didn't tour his band, didn't release an album with them, didn't do much of anything for many years...and when the music finally came out, they couldn't even release an official publicity photo of the group. not a single still shot to announce to the world who was in the group. if GN'R had continued as a functioning unit after duff, slash, et al left; if they had produced more music; if they had continued to be a titan in the music world, then tommy and the others probably would have been included. but they didn't, and GN'R is known now for its shaky history and legendary status and the "what if?" surrounding a possible reunion than for being a band itself. so maybe tommy does deserve to be in that induction, but they're not inducting the hypothetical, maybe-they-recorded-good-music GN'R; they're inducting the members who created legendary albums that sold millions and millions of copies and that people grew up with and that hugely influenced pop culture in their time. not the guys who have been secretly recording for years and pop up once in a while to tour, regardless of how well they do so.

As I said, "Another equally valid interpretation is that he is insulted that the new band wasn't acknowledged, like Tommy Stinson, yet Robert Trujillo was inducted with Metallica and Josh Klinghoffer with RHCP"

There is a clear inconsistency shown with those examples.

Ali

[Roy79]

Ring ring...

Aston Martin Hollywood, this is Michelle speaking. How can I do you forrrrrr?

Huh, yeah, this is Mr. Hudson speaking.

What can I do for you Mr. Hudson?

Yes, huh, all things considered, I would like to cancel that order I placed with you guys a month ago.

You mean the top-hat black DB9 with Les Paul claxon, leather pants interior, custom made Marshal Amp ashtray, enforced passenger seating to pick up really fat chicks, silver skull navigation, the one registered with license plate 'RE-UNION-$TART$-NOW'?

Yep, that's the one. Seems like my Easter bonus check won't be coming in after all.

OK Mr. Hudson, your order is cancelled. Is there anything else we can help you with?

Huh yeah, huh all things considered, do you have any Prius model in rental?

TuuutTuuutTuuuut.

[Snowmass]

With all due respect to Steven (his brain is half fried), Axl blaming/being pissed/irritated at Steven is like being pissed/angry at the special needs/Tourette’s neighbor kid for something he said. Most adults laugh it off and it’s all good the next day. Like Duff said- Axl, man up! And I wonder who really wrote that statement, it certainly wasn’t Axl.

[nancygirl]

I didn't really care about him turning up at the HOF, means nothing to me.

Really though, Axl is 50 year old, it's a bit embarrassing him still acting like a pissed off teenager.

[Guest]

Does Axl have beef with Matt sorum & Gilby?

I doubt it, but he probably sees them as 'hired hands' who don't deserve anymore right to be inducted than any of the other members of current GNR. I think Axl was trying to get at this in his letter, without right spelling it out and coming across as disrespectful, but to be honest isn't it disrespectful to members like Tommy, Chris Pitman and Fortus etc. who have been with the band for 10 years, played on the new album, yet not get recognised for their work? Gilby's input a few years of touring, and releasing an album full of covers. Not that Gilby doesn't deserve recognition, but it's a bit of a fuck you to Axl and the NuGNR if they won't even recognise the current lineup and it's efforts.

I think this is what irked Axl the most, and then along with the reunion steam train that certain members of GNR and the press have been on has made the situation impossible for Axl to see why he should show, or even have himself inducted.

[Axl4Prez2004]

I find it hard to continue to stand up for Axl in arguments with non-guns fans. Fair enough he wants nothing to do with the old band, but he seems unable to see that the only way he can fully achieve respect with nu-guns is to release new music. One album in roughly 20 years does nothing but enhance the 'hired hands' view point from anyone who isn't a guns fanatic, and sadly anyone who I talk to about them doesn't give a single shit about them. It's sad because we can all see the talent and potential of the current band, however without new music there is no way we can continue to stand up for Axl without looking like a brainwashed asshole

I'm sorry you feel that way. (the part about thinking when you are standing up for Axl you are a "brainwashed asshole.")

In my opinion, that's sad.

btw, I don't see the logic in "1 album in 20 years enhancing the "hired hands" viewpoint"... would Axl releasing 7 albums in 20 years with new members change the tired slanderings of reunionists? I think not. One album or 50 albums...it wouldn't change the same tired calls for something that was, that's never to be again.

Now, about the HOF, just when I thought I immensely respected Axl Rose...he goes out and makes me respect him even more.

Fuck the haters. Axl didn't bend one goddamned inch! LOVE IT!

To those saying "fuck you" to Axl, try putting yourselves in someone else's shoes for a change.

[Pingouino]

Ring ring...

Aston Martin Hollywood, this is Michelle speaking. How can I do you forrrrrr?

Huh, yeah, this is Mr. Hudson speaking.

What can I do for you Mr. Hudson?

Yes, huh, all things considered, I would like to cancel that order I placed with you guys a month ago.

You mean the top-hat black DB9 with Les Paul claxon, leather pants interior, custom made Marshal Amp ashtray, enforced passenger seating to pick up really fat chicks, silver skull navigation, the one registered with license plate 'RE-UNION-$TART$-NOW'?

Yep, that's the one. Seems like my Easter bonus check won't be coming in after all.

OK Mr. Hudson, your order is cancelled. Is there anything else we can help you with?

Huh yeah, huh all things considered, do you have any Prius model in rental?

TuuutTuuutTuuuut.

:rofl-lol: