How much of the antipathy towards DJ is because of his style?

[Broskirose]

His playing style is much more of a problem then his dress style. He's got no soul to his playing. It's very workman, dumbed down, and generic.

WOW. Yeah im in the complete opposite side of the fence to this view! Have you actually seem him live and be honest!!

I've seen him live 6 times, 3 of which were front row on the rail. I've seen him from every angle. He's played so close to me I could easily touch him. I've had his guitar pick thrown right at me. And I can honestly say - he is not a good musician. He is extremely unimaginative, generic, soulless and frankly incapable. His tone is horrendous. His solo spots are uncreative. He has to cut corners to get through just about every solo (or just hand it off to Ron).

Add his personality and all the shit that comes with it to the mix and you've got one pretty undesirable band member as far as I'm concerned.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Broskirose

[kanudo19]

i simply don't like ashba because he's a phony sellout whore like slash who says anything to please everyone! Don't give a fuck about his style or lack of it.

[trqster]

DJ's whether you like the guy's style or not (I don't), there's no denying he's got a lot of charisma on stage and that always draws easy criticism and even hatred from some people.

I think it's great he's got a lot of chemistry with Axl onstage and I think he suits Axl's band just fine.

[SoulMonster]

How much of the antipathy towards DJ is because of his style? If DJ changed his style and look, would some of the more critical fans be more accepting of him?

I would think about 99 %. The remaining percent is divided between those that bash any GN'R member post 1996 and some guitar nerds who dislike how he bends certain tones.

[TeeJay410]

Hearing DJ play guitar made me go back to the 2006 shows and realize Robin wasn't that bad. Robin was a guitar player fucking up on purpose because he thought it sounded cool. DJ just fucks up on guitar. I also hate his tone, and I don't think any warm blooded guitar player could forgive him for what he does to the finish of his Les Pauls.

As far as fashion sense, I'd be lying if I said it had nothing to do with it. He just doesn't look like a guitar player in guns n roses should look like in my mind, which is basically anything *but* hot topic raiding post-emo kid. At 40.

[RussTCB]

Hearing DJ play guitar made me go back to the 2006 shows and realize Robin wasn't that bad. Robin was a guitar player fucking up on purpose because he thought it sounded cool. DJ just fucks up on guitar. I also hate his tone, and I don't think any warm blooded guitar player could forgive him for what he does to the finish of his Les Pauls.

As far as fashion sense, I'd be lying if I said it had nothing to do with it. He just doesn't look like a guitar player in guns n roses should look like in my mind, which is basically anything *but* hot topic raiding post-emo kid. At 40.

OH man, you reminded me of something I completely dislike about DJ. The burning his guitars with cigarettes on purpose thing! Guys like EVH had cigarette marks on their head stocks from leaving smokes in there that burned down. They didn't sit around backstage doing it to their guitars on purpose to try to make them look cool.

Oh and I greatly dislike his bedazzled LP.

[wasted]

I didnt have a problem with him live. I think its more of the diff between the stripped down uyi GNR and the glam metal Dj. But each to their own. I wear a fleece when its cold and look like shit at all times and cant play guitar so fuck me.

[Bobbo]

My view on DJ has really always been this. He's creatively boring, generic, and uninspiring. That's my central premise in criticizing him. And in a game of pick your poison, I rather have Robin IF and only IF Axl wanted to get creative and make music again.

But, DJ does more justice to the heyday songs everybody actually cares about than Robin ever did. So in a game of pick your poison, I rather have DJ IF and only IF Axl just chooses to do the nostalgic thing until he retires and/or dies. Which is the more likely scenario at this point.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Bobbo

[Rauschen]

Bejeweled GIbson LPs... Give me a fucking break.

[username]

How much of the antipathy towards DJ is because of his style? If DJ changed his style and look, would some of the more critical fans be more accepting of him?

Probably!

I can't speak for everyone, but for me it's like this. It's not all hate. For example I like that DJ seems productive and eager to make music. And I loved how he gave his guitar to that kid in the wheelchair. Stuff like that is really nice.

There's also a lot of things I don't like though. His 14 year old emo look is one thing, but he also acts the part. Boohoo I was bullied. Demented this and that. He seems like a crybaby trying to be badass on occasion. He seems like a bit of a poser, trying to copy rock Gods. Like the kid in school who tried to be very rock and roll but just...wasn't. It doesn't seem genuine. He's probably a real fan, but it doesn't come across that way to me. Lzzy Hale for example is a total fangirl as well, but to me everything with her seems genuine. Ashba doesn't have that though.

Another thing that pisses me off is his horrible and constant promotion of his overpriced emo AshbaSwag. Give it a fucking rest. I also hate his overuse of social media, as well as the way he uses it. #ashbaswag #demented I like how he wants to interact with fans and all. That's great. But at the same time he also seems to misinform them a lot and give people false hope.

He's already a sloppy player, but that's not my main problem with him. It's the kind of thing you can overlook when someone fits the band and breathes and oozes rock and roll and all. After all, we have Ron for the more technical stuff. And Robin (though imo much better than Ashba) could be sloppy too.

Then I don't like how he copies people's styles on stage. Mostly Slash's and Hulk Hogan's. But he never seems like his own man. Almost as if he's playing a rock star. And maybe because he wants to be a rock star. Or at least live a rockstar life. But somehow he just... isn't. But it's not any of those separate things. I guess when you put them all together my main problem with DJ is that I feel like there's a lack of heart and sincerity. It's something you can't quite put your finger on. Maybe I'm very wrong, but I can't help the way it comes across to me. And it's just something I really don't like.

Edited November 28, 2013 by username

[November_rain]

I don´t care what he decides to wear and to judge the quality of someone as a musician based on his image and the clothes he wears is ridiculous. Although I must admit I didn´t like Axl´s big clothes in 2002 and Slash´s sequin top hat in the Superbowl, both were awful imo and the same with Bucket´s KFC bucket but hey, they are free to do what they want. At the end of the day it´s all about music.

[wfuckinga]

Bejeweled GIbson LPs... Give me a fucking break.

They're a Dj Ashba sig LP. So enough people like them.

[EvH]

Why so #demented ?

[Cosmo]

If you manage to get past his god-awful style, you still have his ridiculous social networking agenda and if you get past that, he's the weakest technical lead guitar player Guns N' Roses has ever had.. And that weighs a lot especially now they're just a touring act.

[themadcaplaughs]

How much of the antipathy towards DJ is because of his style? If DJ changed his style and look, would some of the more critical fans be more accepting of him?

Probably!

I can't speak for everyone, but for me it's like this. It's not all hate. For example I like that DJ seems productive and eager to make music. And I loved how he gave his guitar to that kid in the wheelchair. Stuff like that is really nice.

There's also a lot of things I don't like though. His 14 year old emo look is one thing, but he also acts the part. Boohoo I was bullied. Demented this and that. He seems like a crybaby trying to be badass on occasion. He seems like a bit of a poser, trying to copy rock Gods. Like the kid in school who tried to be very rock and roll but just...wasn't. It doesn't seem genuine. He's probably a real fan, but it doesn't come across that way to me. Lzzy Hale for example is a total fangirl as well, but to me everything with her seems genuine. Ashba doesn't have that though.

Another thing that pisses me off is his horrible and constant promotion of his overpriced emo AshbaSwag. Give it a fucking rest. I also hate his overuse of social media, as well as the way he uses it. #ashbaswag #demented I like how he wants to interact with fans and all. That's great. But at the same time he also seems to misinform them a lot and give people false hope.

He's already a sloppy player, but that's not my main problem with him. It's the kind of thing you can overlook when someone fits the band and breathes and oozes rock and roll and all. After all, we have Ron for the more technical stuff. And Robin (though imo much better than Ashba) could be sloppy too.

Then I don't like how he copies people's styles on stage. Mostly Slash's and Hulk Hogan's. But he never seems like his own man. Almost as if he's playing a rock star. And maybe because he wants to be a rock star. Or at least live a rockstar life. But somehow he just... isn't. But it's not any of those separate things. I guess when you put them all together my main problem with DJ is that I feel like there's a lack of heart and sincerity. It's something you can't quite put your finger on. Maybe I'm very wrong, but I can't help the way it comes across to me. And it's just something I really don't like.

This about hits the nail on the head. I can understand (and even appreciate) his online presence, but the annoying Twitter stuff (#nicotinecansuckmycock) and stories of drinking excessively, screaming at hotel maids, and fighting guys in bars just seems like he is trying WAY too hard. What does Ron do in his spare time? He doesn't do "rockstar" stuff. He does online chats, give guitar clinics, and makes hot sauces, yet he seems much more genuine and "rock n' roll" than Ashba.

Honestly though, if the dude could play the songs well and/or with passion everything else would be forgiven. I know a lot of people do not like Buckethead's shtick, but he is a great guitarist. Robin was not always the most precise player, but no one could deny he brought passion and could at least make it through the guitar solos by himself. Ashba is, at best, a good guitarist who sounds like someone in a talent show trying to show off his chops but not quite getting it 100%

I compare DJ Ashba to that guy you know in high school who seemed like a good guitar player. He played in his room, could play famous riffs and guitar solos as they sounded on record, and could even show off a little technical prowess. Yet, inevitably when these guys tried to play in any kind of band scenario, the illusion fell apart, because live music is not static. That's DJ in a nutshell. He plays his guitar parts...adequately...I guess. He uses a lot of shortcuts and redoes really challenging parts to suit his "style" more, and just listening to him play by himself it would probably be passable. But live, it just seems awkward and unprofessional. Every time he messes up the intro to "Better," or has to hand of the end of the "Sweet Child O' Mine" solo to Ron, it just rubs in our faces that we've hit the bottom of the barrel.

[ARBeast]

He makes too many mistakes live and relies too heavily on showboating to conceal this IMO. I've seen him live... 8 times now.

Agreed 100%. Too much trying to pump up the crowd, and not enough emotion. Not trying to turn this into an Ashba v.s. Slash thread, but even with Bucket or Robin, I felt like they cared/respected the previous songs and how the notes were performed. Is Dj the antichrist? No. Do I hate him? No. I respect him. I really rooted for him and was pumped when he joined this band. Now though, I'm dissapointed. Until he releases a new album with this band that opinion won't be changing.

His playing style is much more of a problem then his dress style. He's got no soul to his playing. It's very workman, dumbed down, and generic.

WOW. Yeah im in the complete opposite side of the fence to this view! Have you actually seem him live and be honest!!

Yes. I saw them in Indy in 2011. He dumbs down all of the Chinese stuff. Of the few parts he does play note for note, he changes the phrasing and loses all emotion and soul. The Sorry solo is the biggest offender to me. He plays all the same notes, but he does it without any of the soul or energy. He came off to me as a bar band player who gets to play for big crowds. Everything about his stage presence was generic and calculated. I really didn't have that opinion of him until I saw them live.

Couldn't agree more if I tried.

The more and more Ashba talks about bar fights, drinking excessively, etc. It just sounds like he'sa Slash wannabe. You're either a bad ass or you're not, and Dj Ashba is far from a bad ass. He doesn't contribute to the most dangerous band in the world.

Edited November 28, 2013 by ARBeast

[rockerman]

no one in nuGNR is going to get the respect they deserve until they quit riding along on Slash and Izzys coattails...thats the most obvious.

DJ missed out on the 80's and hes in the ultimate band that closed out the 80's so hey let him live the illusion. His style of playing and his performance is just not that unique.. there are thousands of bar band guitarists that can play circles around him creatively toneally and technically....hes in the right place at the right time...Image wise Id take him in a hard rock band with street credibility over someone like BH. Music wise though BH hands down.... Thats if you believe that image and presentation are part of the whole beside the music itself. GNR 2013 doesnt have that honus anymore because its not a street band made good ..its a managment audition from a pool of available players who might be able to play the role(s)

if you take the formula of what GNR was and the mishmash of influences that propelled them to the top in 87-93 we see that Axl has attempted to update that in some manner and Dj and his image is there to remind us of the link. GNR didnt have to rely on vituroso performance and technical wizardry to define who they were...because they were just a band of misfits that stayed the course and navigated their music off the SunSet Strip . Whatever the sound was it made its mark in history. DJ and the rest can only replicate it in much the same way that people try to emulate great works of art...close but certainly not the real deal.

Ive said it before , perhaps its misguided but as musicians...this gig with GNR has got to be somewhat soul sapping but it must be pretty lucrative . I wouldnt want to languish in the shadows never being allowed to put my stamp on the legacy- never being known as anything more or less than a copy of a copy of the original. Its not disrespect for the talent as much as it is -"who the fuck are you and what can you do with the singer to make immortal iconic music???"

[Bulldog]

Hearing DJ play guitar made me go back to the 2006 shows and realize Robin wasn't that bad. Robin was a guitar player fucking up on purpose because he thought it sounded cool. DJ just fucks up on guitar. I also hate his tone, and I don't think any warm blooded guitar player could forgive him for what he does to the finish of his Les Pauls.

As far as fashion sense, I'd be lying if I said it had nothing to do with it. He just doesn't look like a guitar player in guns n roses should look like in my mind, which is basically anything *but* hot topic raiding post-emo kid. At 40.

OH man, you reminded me of something I completely dislike about DJ. The burning his guitars with cigarettes on purpose thing! Guys like EVH had cigarette marks on their head stocks from leaving smokes in there that burned down. They didn't sit around backstage doing it to their guitars on purpose to try to make them look cool.

Oh and I greatly dislike his bedazzled LP.

Ah yes! I was indifferent when I saw him do it onstage to put out his smokes, but when that video came out with him backstage with is les paul sitting on a clothed table with packs of cigs around him waiting to be burned on his guitar...what a joke.

Also his rig rundown videos... "This les paul is called leather face, and this one is sparkly, and this one is burned, etc" As opposed to Richard who pours out every technical phrase he knows and unloads drawers and drawers of guitar equipment and clearly has a defined sound he is going for. It just marks the difference between a guitar player who is all abut the soul of guitar and one who only cares about the image .

[Axlspants]

I do like DJ Ashba and I've seen GnR 4 times with him in and I think he does a good job. I've played guitar for 20 years and he sounds just fine to me. I think he does a good job of recreating the songs live.

He's a bit 'rockstar by numbers' though. Maybe he should trademark that! Almost like he goes through a ticksheet of what he has to bring to the rockstar table.

God bless him though, he's a trier!

And if he helps Axl write and record and release a new Guns record then he gets my vote!

[gunnari]

I think he is too old for his style..And I will show him some respects if he can write music with Axl and so far there is no new album in sight..

[Rauschen]

Bejeweled GIbson LPs... Give me a fucking break.

They're a Dj Ashba sig LP. So enough people like them.

Um.. Your defense is because they are made people must like them? Yes, thank god DJ was able to design a Les Paul that meets the high demand for bejeweled guitars in the musician community. I don't think it is right to ruin a masterpiece, I am allowed to have that opinion and DJ doesn't need you to defend his poor" demented TM" decisions.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Rauschen

[Crash Diet]

How much of the antipathy towards DJ is because of his style? If DJ changed his style and look, would some of the more critical fans be more accepting of him?

it's possible

but he can barely plays the SCOM intro, so...

he is an above average guitarist

His playing style is much more of a problem then his dress style. He's got no soul to his playing. It's very workman, dumbed down, and generic.

WOW. Yeah im in the complete opposite side of the fence to this view! Have you actually seem him live and be honest!!

I've seen him live 6 times, 3 of which were front row on the rail. I've seen him from every angle. He's played so close to me I could easily touch him. I've had his guitar pick thrown right at me. And I can honestly say - he is not a good musician. He is extremely unimaginative, generic, soulless and frankly incapable. His tone is horrendous. His solo spots are uncreative. He has to cut corners to get through just about every solo (or just hand it off to Ron).

Add his personality and all the shit that comes with it to the mix and you've got one pretty undesirable band member as far as I'm concerned.

great post, although he's got a very little soul in his guitar playing

Edited November 29, 2013 by Crash Diet

[Kush]

DJ is generic cock-rock at its finest.

Are there really people arguing that this isn't the case?

[volcano62]

DJ is generic cock-rock at its finest.

Indeed.

He's a Slash clone.

[Rustycage]

He sucks and he's fake.

Robin sucked but was genuine.

Buckethead was awesome and genuine.

BBF is technically good and somewhat genuine and nice to fans.

To say it's just because DJ isn't Slash is misinformed.