Slash's infamous Malibu visit in 2005 - what do you think happened?

[SoulMonster]

One of the most controversial incidents in the history of GN'R is what went down when a drunken Slash made a visit to Axl's house back in 2005. On one side we have Axl's version where Slash badmouthed his band mates in Velvet Revolver to Beta, alledgedly to get back in GN'R. On the other side we have Slash's version where he went there to hand over a note regarding the ongoing court case they were having, and Axl (or Beta) made up lies about him dissing his bandmates.

But who do people here trust? What do you think actually happened?

It seems remarkably wicked for Axl to make up lies about what Slash said in an attempt at character assasination and sever his ties with VR, but it is beyond Axl (or Beta) to do it to hurt Slash? It also sounds rather weak of Slash to turn up at the house and in a drunken attempt at distancing himself from VR, say lots of bad stuff about them. So who's story do you believe, or is neither true?

For those who don't rememver this story, this is what we know:

- In October 2005 Axl made a visit at night/early morning to Axl's house. Confirmed by both.

- In March 2006 the visit is made known publicly in a press release by Axl.

- In the press release, Axl claims Slash came to his house to say Axl had "won" and "proven to be the strongest" among them in their long feud. Additionally, Slash alledgedly badmouthed Matt, Scott and Duff. Slash has never admitted this. He first was very ambiguous about even visiting, then, later on, he admitted to having visited but never to have said anything negative about his bandmates.

- Slash claims he was drunk and that Perla was driving. Axl claims he didn't appear intoxicated.

- Slash claims he handed a note to Beta pertaining to the ongoing court case. Axl has not commented on that part.

- After Axl's press release Slash stated he would respond with an announcement, that never really came. Instead, Slash sort of left Velvet Revolver for a while, before returning to the band. Confirmed and talked about in Slash's book.

- Slash has still not explicitly called Axl out for lying about the incident, despite the seriousness of Axl's claims.

Edited December 15, 2015 by SoulMonster

[SoulMonster]

To me, this is the most intriguing non-musical event in the history of GN'R. It encapsulates so much about all the extra-musical drama and probably divides parts of the fan base neatly into a pro-Axl and pro-Slash faction, regardless of how much I dislike such biases. Basically, one of the is lying. Either Axl is a lying cunt or Slash is a lying weasel. They can't both be heroes.

[Rovim]

bit of a side note is it bad I haven't read Slash's book?

I've really enjoyed it. It's a lot of fun to read. Duff's book is well written and a good read if you care about Gn'R, but it's mainly serious.

Slash runs away naked from tiny imaginary predators that are out ta get while being all fucked up and David Bowie is telling him to ease up on the drugs. I need to read it again, it's been years.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Rovim

[SoulMonster]

bit of a side note is it bad I haven't read Slash's book?

Nah. It wasn't very good. And how can you trust any of it

[maynard]

I seriously have no idea. On one side we have one guy who lies to make himself look cool, on the other, a guy who lies to always be the brutal victim of evil-doers out ta get him. All I know is, when there's bad blood and alcohol involved, it's hard to trust anyone's story.

[Lies They Tell]

Frankly, I don't really care who's lying. I'm just glad that they've buried their hatchets. I assume that the truth is somewhere between and neither one is blatantly lying. Slash might have said something negative about his band mates, but perhaps he didn't use exactly those words that Axl/Beta claimed that he used. Obviously Slash wasn't exactly honest when he originally said that there was no truth to the story at all. He made it seem like the whole story was just made up, even though he actually did visit Axl's house. He could have said that he did visit his house but everything else was made up. But for some reason he decided to deny everything, which is a bit strange. Not necessarily a lie, but not exactly honest either.

[Len Cnut]

They're all a bunch of snidey cunts.

[Słash]

Slash went there to record the solo of Atlas Shrugged

[Free Bird]

How can somebody believe Slash told all that to the housemaid

Lol the housemaid

Edited December 15, 2015 by Free Bird

[DieselDaisy]

If Beta is the only witness I'm inclined to believe Slash. Beta's an old hag with an intense loathing for all things Slash. It would serve her purposes for Slash to have said these things.

[wasted]

Those files are still sealed, huh? Shee-it.

[SoulMonster]

I assume that the truth is somewhere between and neither one is blatantly lying. Slash might have said something negative about his band mates, but perhaps he didn't use exactly those words that Axl/Beta claimed that he used.

One must only assume the negative stuff was said and not part of the note he assumingly handed over, so yeah, whatever he said could have been embellished by Beta and/or Axl.

If Beta is the only witness I'm inclined to believe Slash. Beta's an old hag with an intense loathing for all things Slash. It would serve her purposes for Slash to have said these things.

Supposedly she is. Unless Perla or Axl was eavesdropping.

Still, if Beta made it all up, why isn't it contested more hotly by Slash? It is pretty damning and really hurt him at a time when he was already struggling in Velvet Revolver. If it was me that was subject to such vile accusations, I would not let it rest.

[BangoSkank]

I really have no idea, but I do know this: while Axl has been known to be reactionary, he's never really been known to be a liar.

[SoulMonster]

Personally I am leaning towards believing Axl over Slash in this case. Mostly because Slash never seemed to fight the accusations properly, instead he just acted like he had been called out for manipulativelly trying to ingrain himself with Axl. But I don't know, either, and I can easily be wrong. As I stated somewhere else, I reserve the right to be wrong on this one.

[rocknroll41]

None of us are in a position to ever really know what happened there. Tho if I had to guess, I'd say the reality was somewhere in the middle of both descriptions. I know that sounds cliché and that Axl denied that there was no "middle trip" in that whole feud, but based on my own experiences, it's easy to become blindsided by your own viewpoint in these sorts of circumstances.

What I do firmly believe, tho, is that they never actually saw each other in person during that whole visit, and that Beta did in fact act as the liaison between them that night. Slash has firmly stated up until just earlier this year (before the whole "friends again" rumor fire started) that he and Axl still have seen each other, or communicated directly, in roughly 20 years. Axl doesn't do many interviews, but I do remember him telling Rolling Stone Mag. in 2006 "I haven't seen Slash in ten years." Mind you, this was before his camp released the press statement detailing the alleged visit from the previous October, so its possible that he coulda just been lying at the time to avoid reunion rumors while his current band was preparing for their tour. I'd assume Slash would cover that up for similar reasons over all the years. I don't know.

What is clear now, though, is that regardless of whether a reunion will ever happen or not, things certainly have changed. Make no mistake. They have communicated effectively in some form or another recently, and they have managed to get at least some bad blood out of the way. Going off Vicky saying so, and the new merch being all classic imagery, that much seems certain. Why were they only able to work things out now and not ten years ago? No idea, though I guess its cause back then Axl still saw NuGNR as having potential and someday standing on its own as a relevant band, and didn't want a repaired friendship with Slash getting in the way of that in case it lead to pressure to get them to reunite (which it certainly seems to be doing now).

I will say this, tho. Even though I obviously don't know either of these people personally, I seriously doubt Slash said the shit Axl claims he said like "you won the war" and "Velvet Revolver sucks" or whatever. I know he later admitted to hating VR, but at that time they had just won a grammy for fucks sake, while Axl's band only had one song out and hadn't even managed to complete a full tour by that point even tho they had already been around for like double the time VR was. How the hell is that "winning the war"?

Edited December 15, 2015 by rocknroll41

[SoulMonster]

None of us are in a position to ever really know what happened there. Tho if I had to guess, I'd say the reality was somewhere in the middle of both descriptions.

But how is that possible? There doesn't seem to be much room for the middle ground here. Either Slash did badmouth Scott/Matt/Duff or he didn't. It's a discrete variable, either or.

[Słash]

LOL at the people who are actually believing Axl and his Nanny in this case, seriously haven't you seen what Axl has been saying and doing since the past so many years.

[SoulMonster]

LOL at the people who are actually believing Axl and his Nanny in this case, seriously haven't you seen what Axl has been saying and doing since the past so many years.

I'll be the first to admit I am far from sure in what I think about this. But doesn't it strike you as odd that even Slash's buddies in VR believed Axl rather than Slash? That Slash basically left VR after Axl's press release? And that Slash never really spoke out against the vile accusations if they were false? What did he gain from not protesting? What did he gain from trying to conceal that he had visited Axl, if all he really did was just to try to fix the court case? In short, Slash acted like as if the accusations were true and that he had been called out when he attempted to distance himself from VR while ingratiating himself with Axl again. Not an awfully strong argument, I agree, but enough to tip the scales in Axl's favor, in my humble opinion.

Edited December 15, 2015 by SoulMonster

[Słash]

LOL at the people who are actually believing Axl and his Nanny in this case, seriously haven't you seen what Axl has been saying and doing since the past so many years.

I'll be the first to admit I am far from sure in what I think about this. But doesn't it strike you as odd that even Slash's buddies in VR believed Axl rather than Slash? That Slash basically left VR after Axl's press release? And that Slash never really spoke out against the vile accusations if they were false? What did he gain from not protesting? What did he gain from trying to conceal that he had visited Axl, if all he really did was just to try to fix the court case? In short, Slash acted like as if the accusations were true and that he had been called out when he attempted to distance himself from VR while ingratiating himself with Axl again. Not an awfully strong argument, I agree, but enough to tip the scales in Axl's favor, in my humble opinion.

Who said Slash left VR or VR was over after this? The fact is that Slash is still working with Duff and Matt, they are still friends, after this even Scott came out and said things regarding Axl.

You would seriously believe Beta? We all know she is totally against Slash and she made up shit and told to Axl. Like Slash would say that he has lost the War against Axl and blah blah? lol.

There was no need of Slash to come out and say things against Axl after the press release. After this whole "friendship" thing, None of them have come out and spoken regarding this and none of them have denied which is very weird.

If you see Axl's record of the past 15 years, you know what promises he made and what things he said and has not even done 10% of it.

If Slash was drunk that night or not, I don't know, he could be, I cant take any guarantee of that, why he went early morning is also weird, from what I heard is that he and Perla were on a drive and Perla forced him to stop by Axl's house.

If Slash and Perla were drunk then they would have shouted "COME OUT YOU FAT RED HEAD, STOP HIDING". But well then Beta would have called the Police, but that din't happen.

[JeanGenie]

I wouldnt necessarily say Axl lied but he has a way to see things that dont match anybody elses versions. He also said he wanted to make a blues record but Slash and the rest wanted control about the band. Seriously? I cant believe that. I just as well cant believe that Slash badmouthed his bandmates in VR by talking shit to the help.

[shotsfired cro]

who d'fuck cares!?

they might be having lunch reading this topic and laughing their ass off over a bunch of morons guessing he truth only they know, for all we now.

Slash went, Axl didn't show his face, Slash went home. Period.

Bottom line.

[SoulMonster]

LOL at the people who are actually believing Axl and his Nanny in this case, seriously haven't you seen what Axl has been saying and doing since the past so many years.

I'll be the first to admit I am far from sure in what I think about this. But doesn't it strike you as odd that even Slash's buddies in VR believed Axl rather than Slash? That Slash basically left VR after Axl's press release? And that Slash never really spoke out against the vile accusations if they were false? What did he gain from not protesting? What did he gain from trying to conceal that he had visited Axl, if all he really did was just to try to fix the court case? In short, Slash acted like as if the accusations were true and that he had been called out when he attempted to distance himself from VR while ingratiating himself with Axl again. Not an awfully strong argument, I agree, but enough to tip the scales in Axl's favor, in my humble opinion.

Who said Slash left VR or VR was over after this? The fact is that Slash is still working with Duff and Matt, they are still friends, after this even Scott came out and said things regarding Axl.

You would seriously believe Beta? We all know she is totally against Slash and she made up shit and told to Axl. Like Slash would say that he has lost the War against Axl and blah blah? lol.

There was no need of Slash to come out and say things against Axl after the press release. After this whole "friendship" thing, None of them have come out and spoken regarding this and none of them have denied which is very weird.

Slash says that after the press release his relationship with the rest of the band soured a lot, and that he took his gear and left for home to let things blow over. That's what I meant with "basically left the band". The whole band took a time out, not sure whether Slash would come back, and probably whether they would want him back, or if he was -- as media reported -- heading back to GN'R.

Yes, as I have stated before, I am inclined to believe Beta over Slash on this, for the reasons mentioned. I know of no other example of betae making up such vile accusations against Slash which would make it plausibel in this case either.

You are right, there was no NEED to come out and protest against the vile accusations, but there were numerous GOOD reasons for him to do so, including: repairing the relationship with the rest of the band which was really bad from before and becamse a lot worse after the press release, especially the relationship with Scott who actually did speak out against Axl and probably expected Slash to support him, and fixing his own public image which took a real hit as a result of his silence on the matter where Axl's press release was allowed to stand uncontested. No need, right, but enough good reasons, in my opinion. If you were a public figure and someone released a press release full of slander and awful accusations against you, wouldn't you protest and speak out against it? All Slash did was state he would make an announcement, but it never happened, try to dismiss him having talked to Axl (as if THAT was the crux of the matter) or even visiting Axl's house (something he would admit he did later), and then, much later, claim he just went there to fix the court case...and besides he was drunk. To this day he has never, as far as I know, actually explicitly said the press release was wrong on what he said about VR.

[shotsfired cro]

I wouldnt necessarily say Axl lied but he has a way to see things that dont match anybody elses versions. He also said he wanted to make a blues record but Slash and the rest wanted control about the band. Seriously? I cant believe that. I just as well cant believe that Slash badmouthed his bandmates in VR by talking shit to the help.

you mean Slash wanted to make blues record thatvAxl called 'south rock', while Axl wanted to make 'electro rock/prog rock' inspired by Nine Inch Nails

[DieselDaisy]

The key fact here is he was drunk. Slash himself probably cannot recall what Slash said.

Edited December 15, 2015 by DieselDaisy

[maynard]

The key fact here is he was drunk. Slash himself probably cannot recall what Slash said.

I don't thin SM is much of a drinker or knows how one's mind works under the influence, it's a variable he can't take into consideration when making his assumption. But yeah, you're right, dude was drunk, maybe Axl was drunk too? Beta?