Rolling Stone: "5 Reasons Guns N' Roses Will Reunite and 5 Reasons They Won't"

[ManetsBR]

Rumors are flying about a comeback for the classic 'Appetite' lineup, but can they be believed?

By Andy Greene

November 13, 2015

We lay out five reasons why the GN'R reunion is destined to happen, and five reasons why the prospect seems highly unlikely.

Rumors of a Guns N' Roses reunion have been swirling for months, but things went semi-nuclear earlier this week when an article on Dish Nation flatly said it was happening and Brandi Glanville, a friend of Duff McKagan's wife, blurted out "Guns N' Roses is coming back, motherfuckers!" in a video interview. Tweets from the official Guns N' Roses account fueled speculation: "Surely they'll read between the lines," "If only they could read lips ...," "Of course today everyone is a jouranlist [sic]" and "What ever happened to no news is good news?" And yesterday, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe chimed in with his own two cents.

To be very clear, none of this resembles confirmation. We aren't disparaging the good people at Dish Nation, and it's possible they have the rock scoop of the decade, but we'd like to know a little more about their reporting. Also, a random outburst from one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills never tends to mean much of anything. There's also that interview Slash gave a few months ago to a Swedish TV station where he was asked about a supposed report that he was speaking to Axl Rose again. "It was probably way overdue, you know," he said. "But it's very cool at this point to dispel some of that negative stuff that was going on for so long." Call us cynical, but the video looks a little fishy. It's possible the quote was either out of context or Slash didn't quite hear the question right.

So are G'NR on the verge of announcing a 200-date stadium tour, or will Axl Rose never appear in public again? Here are five compelling reasons why the reunion is a go and five just as sound reasons why it's not.

Why It's Going to Happen

1. The most recent lineup is kaput.

The new version of Guns N' Roses haven't played a concert since their Las Vegas residency ended in June of 2014, and in the interim, guitarists DJ Ashba and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal have left the band and bassist Tommy Stinson has said he has absolutely no idea what's happening with the group. Axl has let the latter-day lineup fall into tatters, which seems to suggest he's gearing up to bring back the classic configuration.

2. New Guns N' Roses had toured itself into oblivion.

When Guns N' Roses went out in 2002 and 2006, they packed arenas all over America, but eventually they were reduced to a theater and club act. You simply can't do the same show over and over and expect people to keep seeing it. Their last shows were part of a Las Vegas residency, and even that was starting to grow stale. The only logical move at that point is a reunion.

3. They'd get a nine-figure payday.

Axl Rose may not be the most rational person on earth, but even he would presumably have trouble turning down the insane money he'd get for a reunion tour. The guys in Aerosmith aren't exactly best friends, but they suck it up night after night and make a fortune in the process.

4. Nearly every band eventually reunites.

How many times did the Stone Roses, the Police and Van Halen say they'd never do it? It's simply the fate of nearly every band to re-form, especially when all the members are living. There are just simply too many forces pulling them together and nothing keeping them apart other than stubbornness and bitterness.

5. Nobody has truly denied it.

The Slash "probably way overdue" interview was in August. Since then, he hasn't stepped forward to dispute anything. The guy isn't exactly media-shy, but he's been suspiciously off-the-grid these past three months.

Conclusion:

There's more than enough evidence to think that something is happening in the world of Guns N' Roses. Any tour will involve a small army of lawyers, managers, promoters, more lawyers, publicists and even more lawyers. It might take a year-plus to hammer everything together, but this is going to happen.

Why It's Not Going To Happen

1. Axl hates Slash more than he loves money.

Nobody quite understands why Axl feels such venom towards his former guitarist, but it's undeniable that he does. Guns N' Roses played a ton of concerts during the past decade, and they put a ton of money into Axl's pockets. He might very well feel he's got enough cash to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

2. There's not a single credible report out there.

Despite the countless articles written about this over the past few months, nobody has produced anything concrete. That explanation could be pretty simple: There is nothing concrete about this. It's just rumor, irresponsible journalism and the fevered wishes of hardcore fans.

3. A legit reunion is no easy task.

The band is more than just Axl, Slash and Duff. That lineup would be enough to fill arenas, but the fans want the whole Appetite for Destruction lineup. Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin is just about the least reliable man on the planet. He hasn't gone on a real tour in well over 20 years. Something like this might be enough to make it happen, but we have our doubts. Then there's the drummer situation. Anyone with access to VH1 knows the Steven Adler story. He could certainly play the Appetite songs, but he's never done the Use Your Illusion material in concert and we can't imagine Axl letting him try. The obvious move would be to use Illusion drummer Matt Sorum, but Axl (for reasons that remain unclear) seems to hate him more than Slash. It makes all of this very complicated.

4. Axl has said he'll never, ever do this, and we should take him at his word.

Led Zeppelin never reunited for a tour. Joe Strummer went to his grave without a Clash reunion. Morrissey will certainly never re-form the Smiths. Sometimes we need to believe these guys when they say, "Never, ever, ever, ever."

5. We're talking about Axl Rose here.

He's never taken the easy path or done what everyone wants him to do. The guy had the biggest rock band on the planet, and he pissed the whole thing away after, essentially, two albums. He doesn't play by the rules, and a Hell Freezes Over tour with his old buddies Slash and Steven Adler isn't something he wants to do. In fact, he'd quite possibly rather die.

Conclusion:

It ain't happening. No matter how much we all want to see this show, it simply isn't going to happen. Axl is Axl, and he doesn't care about our happiness. There will probably be another 10,000 articles about this over the next few months, but it doesn't matter. It isn't happening.

Then again …

Rolling Stone

Edited November 13, 2015 by ManetsBR

[trev]

Laid it out pretty well.

[Słash]

They will reunite for

1). Honey

2). Money

3). Fun

4). Games

5). SHA NANANANANNANANANANNAA

[GNRfan2008]

Isn't their #1 reason for it not happening kinda blown out of the water based on Slash's comments? Why even put that in the article? A better point to make would be that these guys can be friends without working together. Happens all the time.

[ManetsBR]

Also they can work together without being friends. Happens all the time.

[Len Cnut]

4. Axl has said he'll never, ever do this, and we should take him at his word.

Led Zeppelin never reunited for a tour. Joe Strummer went to his grave without a Clash reunion. Morrissey will certainly never re-form the Smiths. Sometimes we need to believe these guys when they say, "Never, ever, ever, ever."

Joe Strummer was on the verge of one before he died, Zep couldn't cuz Bonzo had died (though they did do that one show). Morrissey however, is a man of his word.

[Russel Nash]

Who cares? Adele just got a new record out. Rolling Stone

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

In the reasons for it not happening I feel they framed Axl's relationship with Matt poorly. They said Axl hates Matt more than Slash and that (from what we know) isn't true. In 06 and 14 Matt said he's seen Axl and the two of them are cool

Matt said Axl even gave Matt a ride back to his place after Matt bumped into Axl at a club when Matt was visiting NYC or something like that in 2006

Edited November 13, 2015 by Caught_in_a_Coma

[Słash]

In the reasons for it not happening I feel they framed Axl's relationship with Matt poorly. They said Axl hates Matt more than Slash and that (from what we know) isn't true. In 06 and 14 Matt said he's seen Axl and the two of them are cool

Matt said Axl even gave Matt a ride back to his place after Matt bumped into Axl at a club when Matt was visiting NYC or something like that in 2006

Where did Matt see Axl?

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

In the reasons for it not happening I feel they framed Axl's relationship with Matt poorly. They said Axl hates Matt more than Slash and that (from what we know) isn't true. In 06 and 14 Matt said he's seen Axl and the two of them are cool

Matt said Axl even gave Matt a ride back to his place after Matt bumped into Axl at a club when Matt was visiting NYC or something like that in 2006

Where did Matt see Axl?

I believe at a club called 6 and 8s in NYC. Check out these links. Matt discusses his relationship with Axl and refers to the story I mentioned of them seeing each other

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/matt-sorum-says-he-would-have-no-problems-with-playing-with-current-version-of-guns-n-roses/

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/matt-sorum-hangs-out-with-axl-rose-in-new-york-city/

Billsfan posted these links the other day in one of the threads talking about a reunion

[Słash]

In the reasons for it not happening I feel they framed Axl's relationship with Matt poorly. They said Axl hates Matt more than Slash and that (from what we know) isn't true. In 06 and 14 Matt said he's seen Axl and the two of them are cool

Matt said Axl even gave Matt a ride back to his place after Matt bumped into Axl at a club when Matt was visiting NYC or something like that in 2006

Where did Matt see Axl?

I believe at a club called 6 and 8s in NYC. Check out these links. Matt discusses his relationship with Axl and refers to the story I mentioned of them seeing each other

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/matt-sorum-says-he-would-have-no-problems-with-playing-with-current-version-of-guns-n-roses/

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/matt-sorum-hangs-out-with-axl-rose-in-new-york-city/

Billsfan posted these links the other day in one of the threads talking about a reunion

Thanks for the links man, I dint know about the NY meeting of Matt and Axl. That is pretty cool.

[dalsh327]

I sort of agree that a reunion is no easy task but you're also talking about Duff and Slash who do a wide variety of shows and sign all kinds of contracts, so they know all the local promoters as well as Fermanager and Axl. The bigger question ties into the size of it, which techs and crew would be a part of it, the GNR crew's worked together for years, so when Slash and Duff are bringing some of their guys in, that could be the only issue out of anything.

The pyro guys have job security.

People think it's going to be tons of lawyers and arguments, but I just don't see that happening in this case.

[trev]

Final nail in the coffin to kill Axl's continuation of Guns n Roses. Axl and Slash never spoke. Axl never considered the reunion. ??? (speculation).

All the rumors and hoopla of late really does kill any chance at Axl doing anything successful with Guns from here on out without the old faces in the band.

[Patience 4 Axl]

I always think it's funny how Axl is given this sort of mythical super human power in which he can say something years ago and the possibility of him doing the complete opposite is somehow unimaginable. People can change their minds. Yes, even Axl Rose.

[SoulMonster]

That was a pretty good summary of the situation.

[maynard]

Who cares? Adele just got a new record out. Rolling Stone

Great post. Major contribution to the thread.

It was a nice article, sorry army of lunatics who dislike RS because the evil media is out ta get Axle.

[afterthebath]

Who cares? Adele just got a new record out. Rolling Stone

Her new song Hello is exactly how I picture the convo between Axl and Slash to have went.

[Axl_Fetish]

"... Axl Rose may not be the most rational person on earth..."

"Not in this lifetime..." "Reunion..." <----- Axl's mind

[Little EMO Annie]

I lost all respect for Rollimgstone Magazine when they put a picture of a terrorist on it's cover looking like a rock star. That was very irresponsible to reward evil with an accolade like that. Who knows if there will be a GNR reunion. All I know for sure that today as I feel really sad about what happened in Paris is that listening to GNR makes me feel a little bit better.

[Apollo]

I lost all respect for Rollimgstone Magazine when they put a picture of a terrorist on it's cover looking like a rock star. That was very irresponsible to reward evil with an accolade like that. Who knows if there will be a GNR reunion. All I know for sure that today as I feel really sad about what happened in Paris is that listening to GNR makes me feel a little bit better.

Scraped always cheers me up. Especially after world tragedies where hundreds of people die.

[Little EMO Annie]

I was thinking more along the lines of Estranged and Don't Cry.

[Billsfan]

Who cares? Adele just got a new record out. Rolling Stone

Great post. Major contribution to the thread.

It was a nice article, sorry army of lunatics who dislike RS because the evil media is out ta get Axle.

I agree. Although in the section of "5 reasons gnr won't do it", they could have pretty much combined reasons 1,4 and 5 all into one if ya think about it..

[gunsfanoldie]

I lost all respect for Rollimgstone Magazine when they put a picture of a terrorist on it's cover looking like a rock star. That was very irresponsible to reward evil with an accolade like that.

If thats what made you lose all respect for Rolling Stone I say thats the most idiotic thing I've heard. The magazine was a piece of shit for years before that incident Re-writing their opinions, giving pop sensations 4 and 5 star reviews among actually classic albums. Putting the boston bomber on the cover is such an incident that people like to latch onto. Its so easy to just jump on board with where you in no way have to defend it, and whether it was right or wrong of them to do that, its essentially like saying "Pour Some Sugar On Me is the best Def Leppard song". Get the fuck out of here. You don't know the history and you're just saying whatever everyone else is. If you want to hate them, hate them for making up a fucking rape story.

[Little EMO Annie]

Putting the Boston Bomber on the cover just totally crossed the line for me. Maybe cuz of that old song from the 70s about a rock group who couldn't get their picture on the cover of the Rollingstone. Never bothered to read the rape story. And yes that was horrible.

[-W.A.R-]

I always think it's funny how Axl is given this sort of mythical super human power in which he can say something years ago and the possibility of him doing the complete opposite is somehow unimaginable. People can change their minds. Yes, even Axl Rose.

yeah you just gotta have Patience 4 Axl