China Exchange: 60 Minutes with Axl Rose

[Lumikki]

I want that autobiography as well. As soon as possible.

I don't think it's impossible to write one without pissing everyone off. There are ways to word things (even about disagreements and differences) in a respectful and non-judgemental manner. Slash even tried to do that (he wrote "That's just my view of the story, I'm sure Axl's could be completely different, but no less valid" etc about a million times in his book). So did Duff. But obviously straight-up fabricating and lying about things (as opposed to just having a different/view opinion on something) still didn't sit well with Axl.

[starlight]

But which are exactly the lies Slash wrote on his book...? Everytime Axl has the opportunity to tell his version of the events he refuses to do it.

Anyway Slash has been pretty positive about Axl in his book and I don't think the fact that he said Axl was being late to the shows or didn't take part to rehearsals were lies. However there are always positive aspects of Axl's life he can focus on if he doesn't want to be too negative.

[Babooshka]

Axl will never tell his side. He'll just continue to insinuate that events told by Slash are "lies", despite them being backed by numerous people.

The book is so tame and overly cautious. I think it's like Marc said, he's angry that Slash spoke at all.

[Live Like a Suicide]

27 minutes ago, starlight said:

But which are exactly the lies Slash wrote on his book...? Everytime Axl has the opportunity to tell his version of the events he refuses to do it.

Anyway Slash has been pretty positive about Axl in his book and I don't think the fact that he said Axl was being late to the shows or didn't take part to rehearsals were lies. However there are always positive aspects of Axl's life he can focus on if he doesn't want to be too negative.

I don't think there are any lies... Slash was drug fucked during the collapse of GN'R, and Axl wasn't exactly in the right state of mind either. I don't think any of them have an objective and clear perspective on what actually happened...it's probably all half-truths and subjective memories.

[Russel Nash]

At this point i am not interested in his autobiography. Let's move on and focus on now, focus on new music etc. That's what i want.

[Bumblefeet]

46 minutes ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

I don't think there are any lies... Slash was drug fucked during the collapse of GN'R, and Axl wasn't exactly in the right state of mind either. I don't think any of them have an objective and clear perspective on what actually happened...it's probably all half-truths and subjective memories.

 

[Italian girl]

4 hours ago, Frey said:

That woman is Sasha Volkova (and yes that's her in both pictures). She's Axl's alleged girlfriend/friend with benefits/cat sitter/female escort for public appearances/beard. No one knows for sure.

 

I hardly believe she's his girlfriend..

a girlfriend is a woman you kiss, you take by hand, you stay always with and talk about.. etc.

 

she actually seems more like a simple friend..

Edited June 9, 2016 by Italian girl

[TheSeeker]

3 hours ago, Kenan said:

I really hope Axl doesn't write his own biography i.e. version of events, at least not in the near future. It would be very hard to write that book without rubbing Slash or Duff the wrong way..and we don't need that shit right now..

I think the easiest thing to do would be to make an official "Oral History of Guns N' Roses: 1985-1995" book where an interviewer asks Slash/Axl/Steven/Izzy/Duff/Matt/Gilby/Dizzy/Niven/Goldstein/Vicky/Huge/Marc Canter/Del/Robert John all the same questions and then presents their answers together so you can see what each person thought of every situation, and then the readers can judge for themselves as to what happened.

[killuridols]

8 hours ago, ACP said:

Do any of you guys know who the woman is in on the right of the photo where Axl is outside China Exchange?  And is she the same woman in the group photo which looks like it was taken in a hotel?  Also, she was sitting next to a short older lady lady with tattoos up her arms who spoke with what sounded like a South American accent.  Would that be the lady called Beta? Cheers guys

Hi

You may want to visit our exclusive thread for this kind of "female" topics of interest. These pictures have been largely discussed over there.

 

[Sprite]

6 hours ago, wasted said:

also Axl has said he sees a record as or should have the spirit of the band that made it. With that in mind, with Ron and Frank coming in maybe he wanted them on the record. And maybe there were bits he wasn't happy with. I think Ron improved Chi dem and his Shackler's solo was iconic. Ron played rythmn on every track on CD. He made CD more rock n roll, as hard as that is to believe. The final version is the best version. 

For all the criticism the album gets for over production or too much tinkering, Ron's parts in the song CD put it over the edge. It's perfect. When I listen to the demos or live versions from 00-07 I feel empty.

[Apollo]

2 hours ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

I don't think there are any lies... Slash was drug fucked during the collapse of GN'R, and Axl wasn't exactly in the right state of mind either. I don't think any of them have an objective and clear perspective on what actually happened...it's probably all half-truths and subjective memories.

Exactly 100%

Its just funny that some people on here automatically assume  that Axl must be telling the truth and that Slash lies more than he tells the truth. 

1 hour ago, Russel Nash said:

At this point i am not interested in his autobiography. Let's move on and focus on now, focus on new music etc. That's what i want.

Sharing music with his fans should be his first priority. 

*********

Axl is dating a prostitute? That can't be true. 

Edited June 9, 2016 by Apollo

[wasted]

DC just have a more feelgood rocking set. I watched a few vids. Civil War with Slash recently and it was good. Nightrain with Bucket was pure danger. Then Highway to Hell was just so awesome it's hard to reslly describe it. Guns just don't have as many straight ass kicking songs. Jungle, YCBM, Chi dem. mostly they have a bunch of ballads. They could probably put together a ACDC style setlist but all these songs like Nov rain, Don't cry, Patience, Civil War, Estranged, This I Love just aren't as badass as Hell's Bells, Shoot to thrill, Highway to Hell. 

[wasted]

27 minutes ago, Sprite said:

For all the criticism the album gets for over production or too much tinkering, Ron's parts in the song CD put it over the edge. It's perfect. When I listen to the demos or live versions from 00-07 I feel empty.

I think most of the songs are perfect. It's just the difference in production between Shackler's, Sorry and IRS is a lot to take in. The demos are just demos they just don't have the punch of the final versions. But if you find CD too glitzy then maybe the demos are less annoying. They sound like potential UYI tracks. The songs are still great. But there's much less to enjoy sonically. Which is part of the fun of CD. CD is just rammed with stuff to wank over. But there's still great songs underneath it all. 

[killuridols]

50 minutes ago, wasted said:

They could probably put together a ACDC style setlist but all these songs like Nov rain, Don't cry, Patience, Civil War, Estranged, This I Love just aren't as badass as Hell's Bells, Shoot to thrill, Highway to Hell. 

I hate the ballads with the exception of Estranged, which I don't consider ballad.

I wish Axl would stop including This I Love in the set list. It's a downer for a rock show.

[Sprite]

1 hour ago, wasted said:

DC just have a more feelgood rocking set. I watched a few vids. Civil War with Slash recently and it was good. Nightrain with Bucket was pure danger. Then Highway to Hell was just so awesome it's hard to reslly describe it. Guns just don't have as many straight ass kicking songs. Jungle, YCBM, Chi dem. mostly they have a bunch of ballads. They could probably put together a ACDC style setlist but all these songs like Nov rain, Don't cry, Patience, Civil War, Estranged, This I Love just aren't as badass as Hell's Bells, Shoot to thrill, Highway to Hell. 

For me there is a time and place for ACDC's style of music. I love it, but after awhile the repetition really gets to me and I have to turn it off. But like a bad cold my listening to them lingers on for weeks. And that's also why I love GNR because they're a 6 course meal, there is usually something for everyone and for me their music isn't as tiring. 

I don't want to or expect Guns to have a set like that. I don't even know if that's possible with their catalog. ACDC perfected hard rock pop. Simple song structures for the most part, light hearted lyrics usually. A lot of Guns songs are just too nitty gritty to be compared with ACDC and that's not a knock against ACDC whatsoever. You need the tongue-in-cheek writing style for ACDC. Used to Love her would work with a few tweaks. Out to get me could have made it on Back in Black sans the swearing. But the ACDC influence is pretty clear when looking at GNR as a whole.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Sprite

[The Archer]

3 hours ago, Italian girl said:

I hardly believe she's his girlfriend..

a girlfriend is a woman you kiss, you take by hand, you stay always with and talk about.. etc.

 

she actually seems more like a simple friend..

The truth is that we don't know. The only indication was an off hand quote from Beta, from one of the forum members.

Anyhow, some women (and men) just don't like PDA, many long term 'couples' don't display PDA and have healthy and varied interests and areas of focus, and people in 'fwb' relationships are for all practical purposes, just friends when it comes to how they display themselves to the public.

Friend, fwb, or girlfriend, it's good that Axl has long term associations with people in his personal life (despite the cries of hangers-on, leeches, blah blah from many on here) and that can only be healthy for him.

[xBrownstonex]

11 hours ago, ACP said:

Do any of you guys know who the woman is in on the right of the photo where Axl is outside China Exchange?  And is she the same woman in the group photo which looks like it was taken in a hotel?  Also, she was sitting next to a short older lady lady with tattoos up her arms who spoke with what sounded like a South American accent.  Would that be the lady called Beta? Cheers guys

Fernandos wife

[Blackstar]

4 hours ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

I don't think there are any lies... Slash was drug fucked during the collapse of GN'R, and Axl wasn't exactly in the right state of mind either. I don't think any of them have an objective and clear perspective on what actually happened...it's probably all half-truths and subjective memories.

I totally agree. There are stories in the books, particularly Slash's, that can be easily checked and found inaccurate. These are not lies, but the result of bad/confused memory and/or lack of information. Here is a good example from Slash's book: Slash says that there were no horn players or any other musicians in the Illusions recordings and that what we hear as horns in LALD is the product of Axl's keyboard effects. This contradicts what anyone who's read the credits knows, which is that there are horn players in LALD, among them Duff's brother! So, unless Slash wants to say that the band committed fraud by crediting people for work they didn't do (which is unlikely), it's obvious that either he doesn't remember or he didn't know.

Even if they weren't fucked up and they remembered everything, autobiographies are subjective by default and reflect more the writers' current state of mind than their past feelings and thoughts. For example, Duff's book is written from the viewpoint of his sober and balanced self; it would be a different book if he'd written it when he was still an alcoholic. Memory of past events with other people is affected by how one feels about them today and by what has happened in-between; if he is now in good terms with a person, he'll probably depict this person with brighter colors. It isn't conscious, it's the way that human mind works. Therefore it's inevitable, at least to a certain degree, and even if someone honestly tries to be objective, he just can't be. In Slash's case, I don't think he really believes that Axl's version is as legitimate as his.

That said, an Axl book intended to be a tell-all autobiography about his childhood, the band, his personal relationships. his dark years etc would be fascinating. If, on the other hand, it'll be focused on his version regarding the breakup, it isn't the right time for it, as he himself said.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Blackstar

[SWINGTRADER]

This interview was pretty sad. It pretty much confirms the doubts we had about the band. The guy is still fixated on Chinese Democracy and we will never see Steven and Izzy in the band again. He enjoys playing CD songs the most? This is still Axl Band with Slash as guest. One thing that I noticed in the interview(which speaks volumes),is that when a guy commented on how he believed AFD is one of the greatest records ever, Axl seemed bothered and immediately interrupted him and said "what is the question"?. He still seems to resent that record after all of these years. I bet that had the guy said that about CD, Axl would not have reacted in that way.

Axl is still very much the "dictator" he was in the 90's and I don't see any new material in the future. I think Axl/DC is more of a cohesive band than GNR at the moment. New material will come from them, not GNR.

I seriously do not see a future for GNR beyond 2017. Slash and Duff will go their own way. 

[Blackstar]

8 minutes ago, SWINGTRADER said:

This interview was pretty sad. It pretty much confirms the doubts we had about the band. The guy is still fixated on Chinese Democracy and we will never see Steven and Izzy in the band again. He enjoys playing CD songs the most? This is still Axl Band with Slash as guest. One thing that I noticed in the interview(which speaks volumes),is that when a guy commented on how he believed AFD is one of the greatest records ever, Axl seemed bothered and immediately interrupted him and said "what is the question"?. He still seems to resent that record after all of these years. I bet that had the guy said that about CD, Axl would not have reacted in that way.

Axl is still very much the "dictator" he was in the 90's and I don't see any new material in the future. I think Axl/DC is more of a cohesive band than GNR at the moment. New material will come from them, not GNR.

I seriously do not see a future for GNR beyond 2017. Slash and Duff will go their own way. 

He doesn't resent Appetite; he never did. On the contrary, he's said it's perfect

Quote

"With 'Appetite,' for me the parts, playing, etc., timing flaws, whatever, are perfect, and as a moment in time for me, the whole record is."

(2009)

He was just being humble. It's the same as when a site voted him as the best singer and he said that there loads of better singers than him.

[SWINGTRADER]

13 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

He doesn't resent Appetite; he never did. On the contrary, he's said it's perfect

He was just being humble. It's the same as when a site voted him as the best singer and he said that there loads of better singers than him.

I thought it was rude. 

 

And he resents it because he will always be defined by that album. He had just got done talking about how much he loves Chinese Democracy and then someone praises AFD. Make no mistake about it, it pissed him off a little.

[IncitingChaos]

12 minutes ago, SWINGTRADER said:

I thought it was rude. 

 

And he resents it because he will always be defined by that album. He had just got done talking about how much he loves Chinese Democracy and then someone praises AFD. Make no mistake about it, it pissed him off a little.

He also said that the best way to make music is to write lyrics and melody first then add instruments, he said the last time he got to do this was on AFD. 

and I thought it was that David guy saying what's the question

[DieselDaisy]

I see Axl has been on the wife-beater,

Makes sense.

[Sprite]

3 hours ago, wasted said:

I think most of the songs are perfect. It's just the difference in production between Shackler's, Sorry and IRS is a lot to take in. The demos are just demos they just don't have the punch of the final versions. But if you find CD too glitzy then maybe the demos are less annoying. They sound like potential UYI tracks. The songs are still great. But there's much less to enjoy sonically. Which is part of the fun of CD. CD is just rammed with stuff to wank over. But there's still great songs underneath it all. 

I think the demos, especially Catcher and IRS, had that organic sound that people really like. Maybe this is an avenue Axl still wants to explore? Going Down kind of fit that mold too with the "Earthy" vibe. But I guess it's a little too late with CD material unless the thought is an Anthology release where you get the kitchen sink and then some.

I usually weave in and out of what I'm listening to. The core artists are always the same for the most part, but I might binge on AC/DC for a couple weeks, then on to Christmas music, then back to STP or Lennon. But CD is the only constant for me. I can find something new with headphones on with each listen. It really is a masterpiece and the fact it's so hated or rejected almost adds to the mystique. 

I worry with the return of Slash and Duff and the willingness to play CD material, more and more are starting to accept it. I hope it keeps that mystique for me though throughout. It's almost like once cannabis is legalized federally it's going to lose it's luster to a degree because you lose the "doing something you aren't supposed to be doing" aura. 

CD is like a fine wine though. It's getting better with age.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Sprite

[ACP]

5 hours ago, killuridols said:

Hi

You may want to visit our exclusive thread for this kind of "female" topics of interest. These pictures have been largely discussed over there.

 

That sounds cool, sorry I'm new to this forum and didn't know we discussed things elsewhere. I just wanted to know because she was there during the discussion with Beta.  The guy with the moustache (to her left in the above picture) was a right grouch - didn't lie him at all!