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About Izzy


Babooshka

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Marc, these are a lot of questions, I didn't mean to ask so much. I initially wanted to only ask the first one, but any answers are appreciated. I guess I just want your thoughts on Izzy and his role in the band because I find that interesting.

When asked about Izzy's departure, Axl said this;

We were filming "Don't Cry," and he had to be there. Instead, he sent a really short, cold letter and didn't show up. We got this letter saying, "This changes, this changes, and maybe I'll tour in January." And they were ridiculous demands that weren't going to be met.

Do you know what Izzy's demands were? Did he ever express his concerns to you or let them be generally known?

Did Izzy ever try to rally Duff and Slash, and make a concerted effort to challenge Axl as a band? When reading Duff and Slash's books, I was surprised by the extent of the band's lack of communication regarding internal issues. It seems there were many missed opportunities to confront the band's deterioration.

What does Izzy think about how he handled things? Has he even said he could have done things differently, or that he's glad he got out when he did?

Did he believe that he was vital to the band's dynamic and creativity? When he walked did he think they could go on, or did he see the writing on the wall?

Is there anything of that event that you can tell us? What was the reaction of those around the band at the time, label, management etc.?

What were your thoughts at the time? Did you see Izzy's departure as the beginning of the end, or did you think they could go on?

For me, the band was finished when Izzy left.

Would you agree with this statement from Duff?

The perception in popular culture is that the singer and the lead guitar player are generally the artistic brain trust of any band. In our case, Izzy was probably the most significant force—without his initial vision and his songwriting cues, there would have been no Guns N’ Roses.

Those are strong words of praise from Duff. It's interesting that Izzy is so aloof when he's so important to the band. Why do you think he's like this?

What was the relationship between Izzy and Slash like? I believe in the beginning there was some tension, but they went on to form an amazing creative dynamic imo.

What are the chances of Izzy ever writing a book?

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Marc, these are a lot of questions, I didn't mean to ask so much. I initially wanted to only ask the first one, but any answers are appreciated. I guess I just want your thoughts on Izzy and his role in the band because I find that interesting.

When asked about Izzy's departure, Axl said this;

We were filming "Don't Cry," and he had to be there. Instead, he sent a really short, cold letter and didn't show up. We got this letter saying, "This changes, this changes, and maybe I'll tour in January." And they were ridiculous demands that weren't going to be met.

Do you know what Izzy's demands were? Did he ever express his concerns to you or let them be generally known?

Did Izzy ever try to rally Duff and Slash, and make a concerted effort to challenge Axl as a band? When reading Duff and Slash's books, I was surprised by the extent of the band's lack of communication regarding internal issues. It seems there were many missed opportunities to confront the band's deterioration.

What does Izzy think about how he handled things? Has he even said he could have done things differently, or that he's glad he got out when he did?

Did he believe that he was vital to the band's dynamic and creativity? When he walked did he think they could go on, or did he see the writing on the wall?

Is there anything of that event that you can tell us? What was the reaction of those around the band at the time, label, management etc.?

What were your thoughts at the time? Did you see Izzy's departure as the beginning of the end, or did you think they could go on?

For me, the band was finished when Izzy left.

Would you agree with this statement from Duff?

The perception in popular culture is that the singer and the lead guitar player are generally the artistic brain trust of any band. In our case, Izzy was probably the most significant force—without his initial vision and his songwriting cues, there would have been no Guns N’ Roses.

Those are strong words of praise from Duff. It's interesting that Izzy is so aloof when he's so important to the band. Why do you think he's like this?

What was the relationship between Izzy and Slash like? I believe in the beginning there was some tension, but they went on to form an amazing creative dynamic imo.

What are the chances of Izzy ever writing a book?

I don't know for sure what Izzy's demands were. I do know that he didn't want to spend a million bucks to make a video. So thats probably why he was a no show that day. Izzy left for many different reasons and I don't think he would have done it differently if he was to go back in time. As far as did Izzy think he was breaking up the band? No he knew that they could come up with songs without him. I think that if Izzy didn't leave the band would have put out a record in 1995/1996. deciding on a replacement guitar player was a big part of why Slash didn't stick around.

The band was not happy with Izzy leaving and how he went about it. I thought they would be able to make it work without Izzy and I also thought that Izzy would still be a part of the song writing for the next record. I think they were pissed at Izzy and didn't try to include him until it was too late.

All the people in the band were important on how songs were put together. Izzy fit well between Slash and Duff. Izzy was the rock n roll duff was the punk and Slash was the hard rock Axl was all of the above Steven was the grove. It was a team effort some were more important than others. Izzy leaving was a big blow but Slash or Axl would have also been a big blow and Duff still a blow but not as big same with steven even less. The truth is that for the AFD days Izzy was a great song starter but still needed the rest of the band to change and add things. Slash and Izzy's relationship. in 1984 it was nothing but 1985 they clicked and worked together very well. Neither one will ever be able to work as well with other people. Slash knew what to change to make Izzy's song work well and Izzy knew how to ad structure to Slash's riffs. Izzy will never put out a book that chances are zero.

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Thanks Marc. Its a shame Izzy will never write something, but I figured as much.

I also thought that Izzy would still be a part of the song writing for the next record. I think they were pissed at Izzy and didn't try to include him until it was too late.

Did you ever contemplate managing the band? It's understandable if you didn't.

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