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Guns, no poses


volcano62

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Guns, no poses

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Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba knows there is no point trying to whitewash the reality of life in one of rock'n'roll's most contentious bands.
''It's the craziest roller-coaster ride you'll ever be on,'' laughs the 40-year-old, ''but I wake up every day grateful to be in the position I am. I don't know many guitar players out there who wouldn't kill to be in my spot, so I refuse to take it for granted.''

Ever since the original Guns N' Roses line-up emerged from the Los Angeles club scene with their incendiary debut album in 1987, Appetite for Destruction, extravagant rumour and hedonistic scandal have routinely accompanied the band's 100 million album sales. In the 1990s, reclusive singer Axl Rose took over the group and there was a 17-year gap between studio albums before 2008's Chinese Democracy was released.

The difference, Ashba believes, is that since the current line-up came together in 2009, when he joined with several others, Guns N' Roses have been a band again.

''We're a solid band now,'' Ashba says. ''Before that, members were coming and going and it was a different time. We've toured for four years almost constantly and we haven't missed one show since I've been in the band. All that stuff has come to an end and Axl is very inspired.''

Ashba and fellow guitarist Ron ''Bumblefoot'' Thal have become the band's public face, giving interviews and attending meet-and-greet events with fans. It is a small price to pay for being able to play the iconic lead guitar parts for tracks such as Sweet Child O' Mine, a song that a teenage Daren Jay Ashba practised religiously on his first guitar.

Ashba's ease within a notoriously fractious band may also stem from his outside business interests.
Instead of perpetually obsessing over Guns N' Roses, he plays shows and then focuses on his media consultancy, fashion line and automotive detailing group.

''I always joke that I play guitar for a hobby and that really I'm an entrepreneur,'' he says. ''If you hung out with me at my house you would never know I played in Guns N' Roses. I'm not the guy sitting around patting myself on the back. I don't even like the word 'rock star'.''

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/guns-no-poses-20130228-2f6va.html

Edited by volcano62
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Instead of perpetually obsessing over Guns N' Roses, he plays shows and then focuses on his media consultancy, fashion line and automotive detailing group.

''I always joke that I play guitar for a hobby and that really I'm an entrepreneur,'' he says. ''If you hung out with me at my house you would never know I played in Guns N' Roses. "

Wouldn't it be better if he focused more on GnR and less on his media consultancy, fashion line and automotive detailing group?

Edited by Groghan
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He doesn't even like the word rock star? That's ironic. He's always name dropping Axl, smoking in hotel rooms etc. You wouldn't even know he's in GNR? That's all he ever seems to talk about. I wrote 12 tracks that Axl loves etc.

They are a real band now? This line up since 2009? Then write and release some damn music, since Axl is so 'Inspired.'

Sometimes I don't get Axl... he didn't like anything Slash was bringing to the table in 1996 because it wasn't good music. And then he releases songs like 'Scrapped' and 'Rhiad' songs that aren't on the level of Slash's worst work.

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What do you want him to do, go sit in the studio 24 hours a day waiting for Axl to never show up?

I guess it would make more sense for him to spend more time working on his fashion line and auto detailing company than to work on creating new GnR music. That's like an average NBA player spending his off season fishing and running a used car lot rather than improving his basketball skills. I wish GnR was his number one priority.

Appetite is one of the best rock albums of all time because the guys in the band were living GnR 24/7. Sadly, today, GnR seems to just be a way for people in the band (including Axl) to make money.

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What do you want him to do, go sit in the studio 24 hours a day waiting for Axl to never show up?

I guess it would make more sense for him to spend more time working on his fashion line and auto detailing company than to work on creating new GnR music. That's like an average NBA player spending his off season fishing and running a used car lot rather than improving his basketball skills. I wish GnR was his number one priority.

Appetite is one of the best rock albums of all time because the guys in the band were living GnR 24/7. Sadly, today, GnR seems to just be a way for people in the band (including Axl) to make money.

I expect if he had more of a stake in Guns he would but that is the difference between being a contracted band member and a band partner. I'm sure Axl listens to the guys to some extent but I doubt they have any say in the future direction of the band. I can't blame him for doing his own stuff because the Guns job in theory could end at any time.

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