Matt Sorum's Autobiography

[Powderfinger]

1 minute ago, Blackstar said:

I don't think there has been such belief. What has been said by everyone who has known Axl is that he was never addicted to drugs, which is different.

Yup, always knew he did drugs, but I thought by the illusions tour it was down to weed and coke. I thought his dalliances with smack were over by 88-89. 

[Blackstar]

11 minutes ago, Powderfinger said:

Yup, always knew he did drugs, but I thought by the illusions tour it was down to weed and coke. I thought his dalliances with smack were over by 88-89. 

It doesn't seem that stuff was exactly smack though. It was raw (non synthetic) opium and it seems Axl dug that particularly.

[Georgina Arriaga]

1 hour ago, Dean said:

Disappointing if this is true, though Slash could have just been saying this to spare Sorum's feelings on the matter. 

But he is dying to join the band...isn't it? If he not operate that way why the demand to be there?

[PatrickS77]

6 hours ago, Blackstar said:

A part that I found interesting is when Matt offers an explanation on why Axl wanted to take control of the band, saying it had to do with Slash disappearing to play with Michael Jackson and other people and that Axl was kind of right to be pissed off about that. 

Which doesn't make any sense at all, but whatever.

[PatrickS77]

3 hours ago, timkerr37 said:

And the fact that we have not heard about any European tour dates being re-scheduled yet.

Right. Because you can only do one thing at a time and everything is done by Fernando.   Geez. Assumptions are strong in the fan world.

[Osiris]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

It doesn't seem that stuff was exactly smack though. It was raw (non synthetic) opium and it seems Axl dug that particularly.

 

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

I don't think there has been such belief. What has been said by everyone who has known Axl is that he was never addicted to drugs, which is different.

 

1 hour ago, Powderfinger said:

Yup, always knew he did drugs, but I thought by the illusions tour it was down to weed and coke. I thought his dalliances with smack were over by 88-89. 

Axl sympathizers have maintained for years he never did drugs. But we’re splitting hairs here. 

 

[Osiris]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

It doesn't seem that stuff was exactly smack though. It was raw (non synthetic) opium and it seems Axl dug that particularly.

In sorums book, he talks about a brick of heroin... 

Around this time, I got hold of a giant block of heroin. I discovered that I had it after one of the gigs, but I didn’t remember how I actually got my hands on it. It was a huge lump, the size of an extra-large Hershey’s bar, and it was pure opium. As I tried it on the plane one day, Axl noticed the smell. Slash loved heroin, so he was already with me. Duff was too, though he was sticking to his coco puffs—cigarettes in which the tobacco had been mixed with coke. Axl came over to join us. We had a piece of tinfoil and held a lighter beneath it, using a straw to inhale the smoke. It made us feel kind of calm and happy, and we decided to meet up the next day to do more of the same. This time we were in Axl’s hotel room, sitting in a circle on the floor and basically passing the piece of tinfoil around.
We were really chipping away at the block, but the thing about heroin is that it’s really addictive. A few days later, Axl called me. “Do you have any more of that shit? Would you come over?” I went to his room, and we spent the whole night talking. The bar of heroin lasted a few weeks, and since Axl was digging it, I managed to become really close with him. It didn’t affect his voice or anything, and we were getting along great. Or we were until he called me up one day, and asked, “Are we out?” “Yeah, I’m out.” He hung up on me without saying good-bye or anything. And that was it, the end of our bonding session. We went from being best pals—albeit with a friendship based on drugs—to me not being his buddy anymore.:"

[DieselDaisy]

This book is filth haha.

[Blackstar]

41 minutes ago, Osiris said:

In sorums book, he talks about a brick of heroin... 

Around this time, I got hold of a giant block of heroin. I discovered that I had it after one of the gigs, but I didn’t remember how I actually got my hands on it. It was a huge lump, the size of an extra-large Hershey’s bar, and it was pure opium. As I tried it on the plane one day, Axl noticed the smell. Slash loved heroin, so he was already with me. Duff was too, though he was sticking to his coco puffs—cigarettes in which the tobacco had been mixed with coke. Axl came over to join us. We had a piece of tinfoil and held a lighter beneath it, using a straw to inhale the smoke. It made us feel kind of calm and happy, and we decided to meet up the next day to do more of the same. This time we were in Axl’s hotel room, sitting in a circle on the floor and basically passing the piece of tinfoil around.
We were really chipping away at the block, but the thing about heroin is that it’s really addictive. A few days later, Axl called me. “Do you have any more of that shit? Would you come over?” I went to his room, and we spent the whole night talking. The bar of heroin lasted a few weeks, and since Axl was digging it, I managed to become really close with him. It didn’t affect his voice or anything, and we were getting along great. Or we were until he called me up one day, and asked, “Are we out?” “Yeah, I’m out.” He hung up on me without saying good-bye or anything. And that was it, the end of our bonding session. We went from being best pals—albeit with a friendship based on drugs—to me not being his buddy anymore.:"

Yes, this part in Matt's book was mentioned a couple of pages back and actually started the conversation about Axl and drugs.

My first post you quoted was in the flow of this conversation - you wouldn't need to quote me if you had read a couple of pages back  

Edited June 6, 2020 by Blackstar

[Axlr0s37]

I thought everyone agreed Axl did drugs but wouldn't allow himself to become addicted. In all fairness to the guy, he is probably the last of the great rockstars who can still party, have a drink n do a little coke without worrying about dying or becoming hopelessly addicted again. 

Didn't korn say Axl had a few parties after gigs that lasted a couple of days. No way thats just drink. 

[DieselDaisy]

There is more analyse on the workings of Rose's mind during these non-arrival riot shows than any other book I have read.

[chinese stew]

Wonder if Axl has read it already.

 

[KeyserSoze]

I wonder how much weed axl has smoked, or still smokes? Or is weed a ‘loser drug’ compared to all the crazy shit they were doing back then.. i cant see them smoking it nowadays trying to be clean and what not, no one ever talks about it in GNR land.. theres only that one picture with Axl looking stoned as fuck with a big ass bud during the UYI era

[DurhamGirl]

2 hours ago, Osiris said:

Please....

look at the guy. He looks like a strung out coke head. 

Why has there always been this belief that Axl never did drugs? 

If any of you have ever tried drugs or been around anyone who has used or abused them, take one look at Axl and there’s no doubt. 

 

I have some familiarity, if Axl had been strung out he would not have been able to perform in the way that he did. for as long as he did...

[DieselDaisy]

Paris PPV. Kravitz thing was meant to happen towards the end but it was done then because Rose had stormed off stage following the Warren Beatty speech/dtj. 

[DurhamGirl]

My cynical mind leads me to believe this is all one big PR stunt...

[Osiris]

5 minutes ago, DurhamGirl said:

I have some familiarity, if Axl had been strung out he would not have been able to perform in the way that he did. for as long as he did.

Please. 

Weiland, Staley, Richards, Sixx, Lee, etc all played strung out.

Axl got clean so he didn’t die, some of those other continued heavy use.

 

[janrichmond]

10 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

Paris PPV. Kravitz thing was meant to happen towards the end but it was done then because Rose had stormed off stage following the Warren Beatty speech/dtj. 

yeah, there was a bit of a wait before Lenny came out and Slash addressed the crowd saying they're trying to sort something good and be patient (or words to that effect)

[Gordon Comstock]

1 minute ago, DurhamGirl said:

My cynical mind leads me to believe this is all one big PR stunt...

 

A PR stunt that makes everyone involved look petty and burns any remaining bridges between Matt and Slash/Duff?

[D..]

3 hours ago, AtariLegend said:

Is there any evidence this was blocked and not just pulled, because someone suggested the girl system ect. might get him in trouble?

...Or maybe the publishers felt that it's structured more like a lengthy blog than a book despite it's promotion?

Also I doubt the Matt/Stephanie thing happened, just like Matt's account of the Duff meeting (where Duff buries Frank and Izzy) happened. Seems to me designed to cause tension in the band. His ego shines through alot and it's ultra bitter by the end. 

Matt's always being done hard, be it... Axl, Slash, Duff, Scott (doesn't even mention Scott passing). 

You'd think by the end that Matt wrote the uyi tracks (that he didn't get and thought were too long), was responsible for Snakepit and VR.

The fact that the book is cancelled tells me there must be a lot of truth to it. Why block the release otherwise, if it's just BS from someone who went mad?

Also, most things in the book make perfect sense to me. It matches the traits of personality of all the members.

Matt isn't just someone who was once hired in the GN'R security team or something. He was the drummer from UYI until Slash left, and Velvet Revolver's drummer. He isn't exactly a nobody. He doesn't seem crazy either, or someone who lost part of his mind, unlike Steven Adler for example. I still have Adler's book and it didn't look as genuine as Matt's.

He is also the only guy that has been in the band that seems to have as much ego as Axl, if not more, so he clearly, absolutely wanted to give his side of the story. He wants the truth out because he has that much ego. Doesn't mean he's a liar, just that he's full of himself. I don't see Izzy ever doing this for example. 

Duff may write a book on his future boat when he hits 80 years old, called "How to buy a giant boat: the truth & other illusions about my time in Gn'R".

But really, I don't find much reason why Matt would lie at this point in time, except messing with a band he's not in anymore and won't rejoin ever. Had this book come out during their time in Velvet Revolver or before the 2016 reunion, I'd have much more doubts, because at that point, there was a sense of competition and things at stake.

As of now, they're old, they're in the last period of their lives, it would be retarded to make shit up just to mess with Slash & Duff remaining years in Gn'R. Sure the book is very salty, there's bad blood with Slash, but when you look as his relation with Duff, it looks like he really loved him as a brother. He looks more disappointed by his lack of honor than envying his money. He also sees Axl as some kind of god, he doesn't really depicts him in a negative way. What he says about Fernando, I think it's a feeling shared by a lot of people, though I do find it harsh, I get why he feels this way.

That being said, maybe some things are completely made up, like that Stephanie Seymour story. But it just seems so over the top it could be true. Like it's not something that happened between the two of them in a private room, which he could have easily made up. 

Duff meeting with Sorum at the end of the book, that I totally believe. He must still have the text to prove it. What he wrote Duff said may be partly made up. Like it would really fit the "Slash & Duff don't like Frank's drumming" narrative we all speculated. Who knows. It fits though.

The best thing would be to invite him on a radio show or the discord and make him talk about all of this, and see if he's full of BS or if he's genuine. I tend to believe most of the book. In any case, this book is hilarious.

 

[allwaystired]

Been offline for a couple of weeks so out of the loop on things- is this book not getting released now then? 

I knew the release had been delayed, but assumed that was coronavirus related? 

[GnR Chris]

34 minutes ago, D.. said:

The fact that the book is cancelled tells me there must be a lot of truth to it. Why block the release otherwise, if it's just BS from someone who went mad?

Also, most things in the book make perfect sense to me. It matches the traits of personality of all the members.

Matt isn't just someone who was once hired in the GN'R security team or something. He was the drummer from UYI until Slash left, and Velvet Revolver's drummer. He isn't exactly a nobody. He doesn't seem crazy either, or someone who lost part of his mind, unlike Steven Adler for example. I still have Adler's book and it didn't look as genuine as Matt's.

He is also the only guy that has been in the band that seems to have as much ego as Axl, if not more, so he clearly, absolutely wanted to give his side of the story. He wants the truth out because he has that much ego. Doesn't mean he's a liar, just that he's full of himself. I don't see Izzy ever doing this for example. 

Duff may write a book on his future boat when he hits 80 years old, called "How to buy a giant boat: the truth & other illusions about my time in Gn'R".

But really, I don't find much reason why Matt would lie at this point in time, except messing with a band he's not in anymore and won't rejoin ever. Had this book come out during their time in Velvet Revolver or before the 2016 reunion, I'd have much more doubts, because at that point, there was a sense of competition and things at stake.

As of now, they're old, they're in the last period of their lives, it would be retarded to make shit up just to mess with Slash & Duff remaining years in Gn'R. Sure the book is very salty, there's bad blood with Slash, but when you look as his relation with Duff, it looks like he really loved him as a brother. He looks more disappointed by his lack of honor than envying his money. He also sees Axl as some kind of god, he doesn't really depicts him in a negative way. What he says about Fernando, I think it's a feeling shared by a lot of people, though I do find it harsh, I get why he feels this way.

That being said, maybe some things are completely made up, like that Stephanie Seymour story. But it just seems so over the top it could be true. Like it's not something that happened between the two of them in a private room, which he could have easily made up. 

Duff meeting with Sorum at the end of the book, that I totally believe. He must still have the text to prove it. What he wrote Duff said may be partly made up. Like it would really fit the "Slash & Duff don't like Frank's drumming" narrative we all speculated. Who knows. It fits though.

The best thing would be to invite him on a radio show or the discord and make him talk about all of this, and see if he's full of BS or if he's genuine. I tend to believe most of the book. In any case, this book is hilarious.

 

Or the opposite. There’s a lot of bullshit in it and they knew the book wouldn’t stand up against a lawsuit. 

[DieselDaisy]

Skimmed read it from Guns onwards. Loved it. Well done Matt. Full of shagging, soap opera politics and bitchiness.

[allwaystired]

2 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

Skimmed read it from Guns onwards. Loved it. Well done Matt. Full of shagging, soap opera politics and bitchiness.

So it's out? I'm confused here.....

[GnR Chris]

The more I read, the more it seems Matt has an axe to grind with both Slash and Duff. He probably thinks they should have advocated to bring him on for NITL. 

He paints Slash as a sneaky and greedy businessman and Duff as a coward or at least as someone afraid of confrontation. 

This book was made for the 2020 gnr fan who frequents message boards. Sorum is playing to us marks. He knows what he’s doing. 

Matt even went so far as to say Axl probably acted the way he did (controlling) due to Slash’s behavior. 

Just now, allwaystired said:

So it's out? I'm confused here.....

It leaked after publisher canceled the book.