Has Tommy paid his dues?

[GnRDuff1]

Has Tommy paid his dues in the band? He came on board 7 months after Duff left and has been GnR's bassist ever since. He is the only original replacement left (no oxymoron jokes, you know what i mean). Hell, he was even in a band called the Repla lcements. Are these facts meaningful to you as a modern-day Guns n Roses fan? I would argue that he has paid his dues in full, and thus deserves a certain level of recognition, even from those who would otherwise be critical of newGunz. What do you think?

i agree with the sentiment here. He's been in the band longer than Duff was now (although his tenure has not been nearly as productive) and seems to enjoy what he does. I dislike the alleged bullying of Buckethead though, so that takes him down a few pegs imho. However I do feel that the length of his tenure alone garners him more true member status than someone like Frank.

What bullying?

I said alleged, and it's all in the "Why did Buckethead leave" thread. I don't know if any of it's true, but if it is, it bothers me, and makes me like him less. I would have been fine with NuGuns being the Bucket n Axl show. If Tommy and Del slowly forced Bucket out, then I lose a little respect for Tommy (don't really have any for Del as it is). If it's not true, then oh well I give him just as much respect as I did before.

[Apollo]

Has Tommy paid his dues in the band? He came on board 7 months after Duff left and has been GnR's bassist ever since. He is the only original replacement left (no oxymoron jokes, you know what i mean). Hell, he was even in a band called the Replacements. Are these facts meaningful to you as a modern-day Guns n Roses fan? I would argue that he has paid his dues in full, and thus deserves a certain level of recognition, even from those who would otherwise be critical of newGunz. What do you think?

He has played on one GnR album - which is an album that I loved.

He has played in three GnR shows that I attended - and all three were great shows.

So yes.

But, it would be nice to hear more music from Tommy and any version of GnR that has Axl singing. One album in 15 years is crazy.

[OJones90]

I often think of saying to people that "some of the new members have actually been in the band longer than the original members ever were" but I stop when I compare their success. It ain't such a good thing to say that when a lot of people haven't even heard CD. Yet everyone in the world knows their classic hits lol.

[maynard]

it's like janick gers on maiden. he's been there since the late 80's but almost all the fanbase would love having the Smith-Murray combo again. the fact tommy didn't "quit" is not something to be proud of, as we all can see there's no artistic reason, he has contributed to 14 songs in almost 20 years. i wouldn't mind if he left, we can barely hear the bass anyway.