Question Before Joining GNR, Do You Think the Current Members Even Know Locomotive, Coma, Etc?

[ChristmasFnatic]

Who do you think knows all the GNR catalog? And who knows the least?

Do you think most of them even know those songs now or just the hits?

[RandallFlagg]

Didn't Stinson say he didn't even like GNR?

[ChristmasFnatic]

Didn't Stinson say he didn't even like GNR?

What trickery is this?!

[RandallFlagg]

He tells Spin: “What I do in Guns isn’t necessarily who I am. I’m not a heavy rock guy any more than I am a singer-songwriter guy like Paul Westerberg was with the Replacements.

“When I met Axl he told me that he and his tour manager had come to see us in some club – and they were not impressed. He and I both had a chuckle about the facts he wasn’t a Replacements fan and I wasn’t a Guns fan.”

[BangoSkank]

There was a post on here a while back saying that Bucket was a big fan (I'm betting Ron is too), but the majority of the other guys view it as a paycheck and are content doing "the hits" on tour.

He tells Spin: “What I do in Guns isn’t necessarily who I am. I’m not a heavy rock guy any more than I am a singer-songwriter guy like Paul Westerberg was with the Replacements.

“When I met Axl he told me that he and his tour manager had come to see us in some club – and they were not impressed. He and I both had a chuckle about the facts he wasn’t a Replacements fan and I wasn’t a Guns fan.”

Wait, why the hell would Axl hire him then?

[RussTCB]

I remember a fan meeting Ron back in 2006 and asking him if they'd ever consider playing Double Talkin' Jive. His reply was "Double Talkin' what now?"

[Nosaj Thing]

I bet most of them weren't even fans of Guns N' Roses. Some of them didn't like their songs either but money is money and, like everyone else in the world, they have bills to pay.

[maynard]

the only one i can see being a fan is dj.

[Lio]

DJ said in a recent interview he'd always been a huge GNR fan, so...

If Ron wasn't joking when he said that about Double Talkin' Jive, I'd find that pretty sad, him not knowing that one. I mean, it wasn't a hit, but it was played live a lot back in the day.

[Estranged Reality]

I remember a fan meeting Ron back in 2006 and asking him if they'd ever consider playing Double Talkin' Jive. His reply was "Double Talkin' what now?"

i remember that too.

let's be fair, though. axl initially almost certainly hired these guys because they weren't GN'R fans. He deliberately got Tommy for his punk background (a la Duff) but I'm sure the fact that he grew up in a scene that resented bands like GN'R was part of the appeal. he didn't have to worry about any of them harboring any love for the old bandmembers, resentment of the break-up, or hesitation about playing the parts with their own touch. buckethead wasn't gonna show up trying to emulate slash, you know?

of course, nowadays, that doesn't matter, since they're literally just playing mostly cover songs, but i think early on, when Axl was actually interested in moving this band forward, hiring non-fans of GN'R to replace the existing bandmembers was a smart and logical decision.

[RandallFlagg]

'Get on board, or fuck off, cause I fucking resent Guns N' Roses but am telling the fanbase what to do'.

In fairness tho Stinson's been competent and has some nice basslines on Democracy. Doesn't have to like what he's doing, the money helps.

Edited May 27, 2014 by RandallFlagg

[Heisenberg]

No, but since they became members of the band they would have to know how to play every GnR song.

[Lio]

I remember a fan meeting Ron back in 2006 and asking him if they'd ever consider playing Double Talkin' Jive. His reply was "Double Talkin' what now?"

i remember that too.

let's be fair, though. axl initially almost certainly hired these guys because they weren't GN'R fans. He deliberately got Tommy for his punk background (a la Duff) but I'm sure the fact that he grew up in a scene that resented bands like GN'R was part of the appeal. he didn't have to worry about any of them harboring any love for the old bandmembers, resentment of the break-up, or hesitation about playing the parts with their own touch. buckethead wasn't gonna show up trying to emulate slash, you know?

of course, nowadays, that doesn't matter, since they're literally just playing mostly cover songs, but i think early on, when Axl was actually interested in moving this band forward, hiring non-fans of GN'R to replace the existing bandmembers was a smart and logical decision.

That can very well be the case, but if you start working for a company, don't you go looking for more information about them ? I would think if you'd join a band, you'd at least listen to their work a few times. They only had five albums anyway. But then, probably I'm just not rock n' roll enough to understand these things.

[Apollo]

What is the point of getting people with all this mixed and varied experience in different types of music if you aren't going to utilize all that they bring to the table?

Every year it's starting to look more and more like Axl just wanted to put a touring band together and not a recording band. Which is totally his prerogative. It just would have been nice if he'd told the fans that instead of getting millions of die-hard fans hopes up that he was going to occasionally release new music for them to enjoy.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Groghan

[rockerman]

There was a post on here a while back saying that Bucket was a big fan (I'm betting Ron is too), but the majority of the other guys view it as a paycheck and are content doing "the hits" on tour.

He tells Spin: “What I do in Guns isn’t necessarily who I am. I’m not a heavy rock guy any more than I am a singer-songwriter guy like Paul Westerberg was with the Replacements.

“When I met Axl he told me that he and his tour manager had come to see us in some club – and they were not impressed. He and I both had a chuckle about the facts he wasn’t a Replacements fan and I wasn’t a Guns fan.”

Wait, why the hell would Axl hire him then?

Actually going back to 87-88 when BH was at MIT with my guitarist under the mentorship of Paul Gilbert.. BH despised the L.A. sound and saw GNR as everything that was wrong with it. He openly despised 80's sound and bands that were out. While he did like what Slash was bringing to the sound.. he also sniffed at the idea that idiots with little or no music training could get as huge as they were. I remember Jason telling me that BH lived 24/7 practicing and perfecting his art and studied constantly to master his craft and shitheads that knew 3 chords were signing record deals and touring making tons of money. When I heard he had teamed up with Axl I about shit myself .. either BH was going to lower his standards or Axl was going completely into a new sound and direction....I can imagine how boring it must have been for BH to be expected to play the same OLD catalog of songs night after night .

[spgunner]

He tells Spin: “What I do in Guns isn’t necessarily who I am. I’m not a heavy rock guy any more than I am a singer-songwriter guy like Paul Westerberg was with the Replacements.

“When I met Axl he told me that he and his tour manager had come to see us in some club – and they were not impressed. He and I both had a chuckle about the facts he wasn’t a Replacements fan and I wasn’t a Guns fan.”

You don't have to be a fan of a band to play in it. Specially when you want to build something new. Axl could probably find 1,000 bass players who were into GN'R and none of them would have Tommy's style and sound.

It's funny how people in general love to say the current band is in it for the money BUT how come they don't see it in Slash when he plays with everybody to cash some money in.

One more note: it's so good to have at least a few people telling the truth (Tommy saying he wasn't into GN'R for instance), in a world of so many lies. Maybe that's one of the reasons he's been around for so many years - he's not faking it.

[maynard]

spgunner

why do you hate slash so much? did he hurt your feelings?

[magisme]

I bet the guys in the current band didn't even go to shows.

[Laparka]

Seeing how Axl wanted (at that time...) to create something new and give GnR a new sound, it's not surprising that he did not go after die-hard Guns fans or Slash clones

I'm pretty sure DJ is a pretty big fan

BBF seems liek the guy who must have been a good fan, but not a die-hard one

4tus and Stinson grew up as punk-rock fans, 4tus becam interested in hard-rock later in his life

No idea about pitman or Frank

Dizzy, for sure

Anyway, it was a lose-lose situation for Axl. If he takes a Slash clone peopel would have shitted on him for that, so he took Buckethead and Finck, and people were shitting all over them becasue they were not Slash...

[Jordan Rose]

There was a post on here a while back saying that Bucket was a big fan (I'm betting Ron is too), but the majority of the other guys view it as a paycheck and are content doing "the hits" on tour.

He tells Spin: “What I do in Guns isn’t necessarily who I am. I’m not a heavy rock guy any more than I am a singer-songwriter guy like Paul Westerberg was with the Replacements.

“When I met Axl he told me that he and his tour manager had come to see us in some club – and they were not impressed. He and I both had a chuckle about the facts he wasn’t a Replacements fan and I wasn’t a Guns fan.”

Wait, why the hell would Axl hire him then?

Actually going back to 87-88 when BH was at MIT with my guitarist under the mentorship of Paul Gilbert.. BH despised the L.A. sound and saw GNR as everything that was wrong with it. He openly despised 80's sound and bands that were out. While he did like what Slash was bringing to the sound.. he also sniffed at the idea that idiots with little or no music training could get as huge as they were. I remember Jason telling me that BH lived 24/7 practicing and perfecting his art and studied constantly to master his craft and shitheads that knew 3 chords were signing record deals and touring making tons of money. When I heard he had teamed up with Axl I about shit myself .. either BH was going to lower his standards or Axl was going completely into a new sound and direction....I can imagine how boring it must have been for BH to be expected to play the same OLD catalog of songs night after night .

Really? Because I heard that Bucket still has his original copies of Illusions on vinyl and was the only NewGuns member at the time who was a fan. Whilst I can completely understand him loathing the LA scene in general in the 80s I can also see him seeing past the image and realising the level of artistry behind the lyrics, melodies and playing on some of the Illusions stuff. I mean, one of Bucket's biggest influences is Michael Jackson who couldn't play any instrument worth a damn.

In some alternate universe there are masses of videos on Youtube from the past decade of Axl and Bucket playing the absolute fuck out of Locomotive, Breakdown, Estranged, Twat, Prostitute, Atlas, Thyme, The General not to mention the incredible version of Twat they played at the MTV Awards and This I Love at The Grammys.

But more on topic: I think what's far more interesting than which members knew/liked the stuff beforehand is that absolutely everyone who came in to work on Chinese has all come away with really positive things to say about Axl as a serious artist. I mean, Tommy wasn't blowing smoke in 2004 when he repeatedly said 'Axl is an incredible lyricist and amazing singer and some of the stuff we've got coming out is epic..'

And whether Bucket did or didn't like Guns in the 80s he certainly believed he could do something great with Axl and don't forget that he bought a copy of one of the 2002 shows off Ebay and told Axl how proud he was of the band.

[Broskirose]

If I joined GNR I'd still post on the forums about how shit we are.

[spgunner]

spgunner

why do you hate slash so much? did he hurt your feelings?

I could begin with how disappointed I was with everything he did after he left Guns (musically speaking) and how he really became a musical prostitute. Or we could be here for hours and hours talking about the bad things he did to Axl - who's the only who stuck with us. I personally don't like his guitar playing anymore and I hate the things he has done to Axl for the past decades. For all the good moments Axl has given to us... i'm sorry I just can't stand that guy. I remember how great he was when I saw him with Guns in 1992 and I also remember how shitty he was with Snakepit in 95 (I watched both live). Coincidence or not when he was with Snakepit in Brazil he told a magazine here that he always hated playing Sweet Child. So for me he kinda died. Maybe some people feel like this towards the band in general or towards Axl. I personally feel that way as regards him. It's like... the bad guy who couldn't stand "Axl's ballads" is the biggest sell out of all times! The one who didn't like to play Sweet Child with his own band then plays the song at the fuckin' Superbowl with Fer-beeetch-gie ! I could spend days showing how much of a lying asshole he is but just this is enough and I rest my case. He'll do everything you want if you pay him. The guy moves his ass thinking about his pocket - if there was any soul in his music, let's be happy it was caught on tape when Axl was around to be able to work on it. Money is good and everybody wants it but being a blind greedy fuck... excuse me !

[Apollo]

spgunner

why do you hate slash so much? did he hurt your feelings?

I could begin with how disappointed I was with everything he did after he left Guns (musically speaking) and how he really became a musical prostitute. Or we could be here for hours and hours talking about the bad things he did to Axl - who's the only who stuck with us. I personally don't like his guitar playing anymore and I hate the things he has done to Axl for the past decades. For all the good moments Axl has given to us... i'm sorry I just can't stand that guy. I remember how great he was when I saw him with Guns in 1992 and I also remember how shitty he was with Snakepit in 95 (I watched both live). Coincidence or not when he was with Snakepit in Brazil he told a magazine here that he always hated playing Sweet Child. So for me he kinda died. Maybe some people feel like this towards the band in general or towards Axl. I personally feel that way as regards him. It's like... the bad guy who couldn't stand "Axl's ballads" is the biggest sell out of all times! The one who didn't like to play Sweet Child with his own band then plays the song at the fuckin' Superbowl with Fer-beeetch-gie ! I could spend days showing how much of a lying asshole he is but just this is enough and I rest my case. He'll do everything you want if you pay him. The guy moves his ass thinking about his pocket - if there was any soul in his music, let's be happy it was caught on tape when Axl was around to be able to work on it. Money is good and everybody wants it but being a blind greedy fuck... excuse me !

Except that about 90% of what you posted is either flat out wrong or a huge exaggeration on your part.

And there are several things you bash him for that you praise Axl for. Musical prostitute? How about Axl playing weddings? Being a blind greedy f*ck? Wouldn't that be every member of Axl's current band? And again.......Axl played a WEDDING.

And who cares if an artist likes or dislikes playing a certain song? What matters is if they give the fans what they want. LOTS of major rock stars have said that they don't like their biggest most iconic hits. That they were tired of playing them all the time. But they do it because they know their fans want to hear it.

You who have this warped sense of reality that is all based on worshipping Axl Rose and hating Slash. It really is said because most of your weird hatred is based on false information.

[spgunner]

You're funny - I give you that.

[Apollo]

He tells Spin: “What I do in Guns isn’t necessarily who I am. I’m not a heavy rock guy any more than I am a singer-songwriter guy like Paul Westerberg was with the Replacements.

“When I met Axl he told me that he and his tour manager had come to see us in some club – and they were not impressed. He and I both had a chuckle about the facts he wasn’t a Replacements fan and I wasn’t a Guns fan.”

You don't have to be a fan of a band to play in it. Specially when you want to build something new. Axl could probably find 1,000 bass players who were into GN'R and none of them would have Tommy's style and sound.

It's funny how people in general love to say the current band is in it for the money BUT how come they don't see it in Slash when he plays with everybody to cash some money in.

One more note: it's so good to have at least a few people telling the truth (Tommy saying he wasn't into GN'R for instance), in a world of so many lies. Maybe that's one of the reasons he's been around for so many years - he's not faking it.

LOL. So you hate Slash because he doesn't like SCOM but he plays it at shows.......but in your mind it's OK to play in a band that you weren't a fan of? Your weird double standards are hilarious.

And how come we don't see "it in Slash when he plays with everybody".............two reasons. One, because most sane people's feelings don't revolve around a silly feud between two rock stars. We don't see everything in life as a competition between Slash and Axl. And two, because most sane people think it's cool or a good thing when musicians branch out and play with other musicians, especially those in other genres of music. But you don't see that, because you live in this weird reality where everything Slash does MUST be constituted as being evil. If Axl did a duet with Lana Ray you'd come on here praising him and saying how cool it was to hear him branch out from his normal rock stuff. If Slash did it, you'd come on here calling him a sell out who only did it for the publicity and money.

Your double standards for the two musicians are ridiculous.