New Duff interview in Classic Rock (vague about new music - addresses the Izzy issue)

[double talkin jive mfkr]

14 minutes ago, downzy said:

Again, you're speaking as though you know that's what actually happened.  Unless you're Izzy or Axl, that's just conjecture.

Keep in mind that Axl made it pretty clear long before the reunion that he didn't think Izzy would be involved because Izzy wasn't a fan of large-scale touring.  As someone pointed out, that comment was made not too long after Izzy had just played with Axl and well before Axl had made up with Slash.  

So again, I'm not saying that money wasn't a factor, but considering what GNR has done in the last four years and what Axl and others have said about Izzy's commitment to touring (in addition to Izzy's own record on the matter), it's not fair to say that money was the only factor.  There's just not enough for anyone, you or I, to make the kind of unequivocal statements that you keep making.

Well, who knows if what Adler says is true.  I have heard from people who were close to both Izzy and Adler that Izzy wanted absolutely nothing to do with Adler back in the late 2000s because of Adler's addiction issues.  Granted, that's a long time ago so perhaps things have changed.  So again, I don't know what the current status is between the two.  Maybe that's something Izzy said to Adler to make Adler feel better for being left out?  Maybe Izzy really did want it to be the five of them but Axl, Duff, and Slash knew that the kind of touring schedule wouldn't have worked for Adler's addiction challenges.  

Look at it another way: a GNR reunion tour is a massive operation.  There are millions of dollars on the line.  Not just potential revenues, but up-front millions for production costs, travelling, insurance, cancelation penalties, legal, etc.  And that's to say nothing about fan frustration and disappointment if they have to cancel because of some personnel issues.  

Can you blame Axl, Duff, and Slash for not wanting to gamble that kind of operation on their former drummer who had yet to show any deep commitment to his sobriety?  Or to the former rhythm guitar player, who walked out on them in the early 90s and hadn't shown much interest in large-scale tours?  I realize GNR use to be called "the most dangerous band in the world," but they're not dumb.  

its two different visions with $ being the deciding factor - i think izzy would've wanted to make a lot of $ with the guys and pursue new music asap so thats my conjecture, do i think he would've stayed on 3-5 years of non stop touring and no new music with no new releases prob not, cause hes sober, has a creative itch and that would bore and depress the shit out of him, hence making the money thing not the biggest reason for him probably and Axl is the boss so hes out and he prob hates CD too (another deal breaker which axl lied about saying duff and slash approached him about what songs?!), i get it about quitting once and you cant expect to come back full time, however it would be a very nice story if they came to terms  

also, sorum would've been a much better option but axl hates his ass cause he maybe feels threatened by him, im gonna assume izzy aligned himself a lot more with sorum than adler due to them being seen together once NITL took off

Edited December 24, 2019 by double talkin jive mfkr

[GnR Chris]

2 hours ago, FuriousStyles said:

To quote the great poet Arnold Schwarzenegger

Axl is seemingly offered a cool million (plus?) by Paul Tollett to reunite with Slash at Coachella....Out of the kindness of his heart, Axl reunites with Slash to perform as "Guns N' Roses" at Coachella

Slash pulls a power play at the 11th hour (allegedly) to secure a higher percentage of the split, Duff concedes his percentage (allegedly)

After Izzy's absence and some half-baked excuse by Axl and Duff, Izzy responds on Twitter by saying they didn't want to split the loot

This whole thing has been about money, plain and simple. Any other reason is a slight of hand to make this "reunion" and subsequent tour look organic.....

I don't buy this theory at all. There's no way Slash would pull some power play in the eleventh hour and risk having the entire thing blow up in smoke due to a lack of honest communication. It's just showing right off the bat that Slash doesn't wanna go into this thing in good faith and then what's to stop him from pulling off similar "power moves" as more tour dates were added? 

This is precisely what broke up the Illusions lineup: the power struggle within GNR. I'm not sure after finally resolving their past conflict that they'd so wantonly go down that same road.

As for the entire Izzy fiasco, again, I have zero firsthand knowledge of anything. But I will just assume the guys knew Izzy would never be all in on a worldwide tour and it's just not a good look to have Izzy show up for the first few dates then dip. You'd have this media narrative that the reunion was already splintering.

 

I've given up hope Izzy will pop in randomly for a show to do a few songs, or that he will show up in studio and lay some guitar work  down. That would be dopest of all.

Edited December 24, 2019 by GnR Chris

[double talkin jive mfkr]

3 hours ago, FuriousStyles said:

To quote the great poet Arnold Schwarzenegger

Axl is seemingly offered a cool million (plus?) by Paul Tollett to reunite with Slash at Coachella....Out of the kindness of his heart, Axl reunites with Slash to perform as "Guns N' Roses" at Coachella

Slash pulls a power play at the 11th hour (allegedly) to secure a higher percentage of the split, Duff concedes his percentage (allegedly)

After Izzy's absence and some half-baked excuse by Axl and Duff, Izzy responds on Twitter by saying they didn't want to split the loot

This whole thing has been about money, plain and simple. Any other reason is a slight of hand to make this "reunion" and subsequent tour look organic.....

top post makes perfect sense 

[MYWIFEMYLIFE]

Izzy is more GNR than Duff in every way.

[megaguns1982]

As I’ve said before, absolute bullshit when it comes to a new album, they constantly act all secretive. Why?   Either you’re releasing an album or you’re not.   FFS

[PatrickS77]

6 hours ago, Axlr0s37 said:

I for one am glad Fortus is still in the band. He has more than earned his place. He always made Guns his priority. Even cooler to hear he and Slash get on really well. 

He would be an idiot not to.

[downzy]

2 hours ago, double talkin jive mfkr said:

its two different visions with $ being the deciding factor

Not really.  If money was the sole factor why did Slash and Axl involve Duff?  They could have easily left Duff out of the venture and collected millions more.

2 hours ago, double talkin jive mfkr said:

i think izzy would've wanted to make a lot of $ with the guys and pursue new music asap so thats my conjecture, do i think he would've stayed on 3-5 years of non stop touring and no new music with no new releases prob not, cause hes sober, has a creative itch and that would bore and depress the shit out of him, hence making the money thing not the biggest reason for him probably and Axl is the boss so hes out and he prob hates CD too

Izzy hates CD?  Kind of strange considering he appeared on several CD tours.

Again, these are all assumptions on your part.  You might very well be right.  But that doesn't discount the other factors like logistics, interest, and Axl, Slash, and Duff's interest in running an operation that would rely on a rhythm player that has left them flat before.

2 hours ago, double talkin jive mfkr said:

also, sorum would've been a much better option but axl hates his ass cause he maybe feels threatened by him

Sorry, again, where are you getting this from?  I've yet to read or be told by anyone that Axl is intimidated by Matt.  

2 hours ago, double talkin jive mfkr said:

im gonna assume izzy aligned himself a lot more with sorum than adler due to them being seen together once NITL took of

I thought you said that Izzy wanted it to be the original five?  Sorry, I'm getting confused.

[2020_Intensions]

The money thing is just so silly to me ... On one hand why should Izzy care about what he gets paid if his only intentions are a few shows? Shouldn't he good on the money end? And if it's just about playing with the boys again the money is irrelevant.

On another hand, I saw someone make a point that they've made millions without him, but I have to point out yes, they've made millions without Izzy, but have done so by playing a lot of the songs he wrote.

[shotsfired cro]

where the fuck did that idiotic myth come from that everyone keeps repeating about 'Iz not wanting to tour'?

LOL, Axl's mouth!

Pay the man what he is worth and he will be there tmw.

[jacdaniel]

I personally think the guys made the right choice. I haven’t seen any evidence since 91 to suggest that Izzy would be into a huge world tour and long term commitment. He might have been into doing a few shows but I doubt he would have stuck around. 
 

Same applies to Steven. Whether it’s drugs, drink, back injury, stabbing himself by accident, saying the wrong things publically, Steven is just not reliable. 
 

As pointed out above, Axl mentioned this as far back as 2011. The big 3 have all worked very hard and remained somewhat relevant in the music industry. 
 

While Axl may well have hated Slash, no doubt he respected his work ethic. 

4 minutes ago, shotsfired cro said:

where the fuck did that idiotic myth come from that everyone keeps repeating about 'Iz not wanting to tour'?

LOL, Axl's mouth!

Pay the man what he is worth and he will be there tmw.

Probably more because he’s barely toured in 30 years. And certainly not full time. 

[GnR Chris]

3 minutes ago, shotsfired cro said:

where the fuck did that idiotic myth come from that everyone keeps repeating about 'Iz not wanting to tour'?

LOL, Axl's mouth!

Pay the man what he is worth and he will be there tmw.

How many major worldwide tours has Izzy been on since he left GNR and the Illusions tour? How many tours of any kind has Izzy embarked on since he was with the Ju Ju Hounds (which ended in I think 1994)?

We don't need Axl to tell us Izzy doesn't like touring. Izzy left GNR 'cause he didn't want to tour, and Izzy hasn't done a tour in 25 years.

[shotsfired cro]

1 minute ago, GnR Chris said:

How many major worldwide tours has Izzy been on since he left GNR and the Illusions tour? How many tours of any kind has Izzy embarked on since he was with the Ju Ju Hounds (which ended in I think 1994)?

We don't need Axl to tell us Izzy doesn't like touring. Izzy left GNR 'cause he didn't want to tour, and Izzy hasn't done a tour in 25 years.

and what does that say about him not wanting to tour being fullfledged GNR member?  NOTHING!

it is one thing playing 200 cap clubs and pulling the band on your back, and totally other playing stadiums, earning millions and being significant part in a major puzzle

[jacdaniel]

1 minute ago, shotsfired cro said:

and what does that say about him not wanting to tour being fullfledged GNR member?  NOTHING!

it is one thing playing 200 cap clubs and pulling the band on your back, and totally other playing stadiums, earning millions and being significant part in a major puzzle

He hated the Illusion tour. He hated that Guns got so big. He only lasted a year on the UYI tour. 
He didn’t want to stick around when VR got serious. 
He’s barely toured or done any media in 30 years. 
 

Several accounts from people that knew him well ALL state that he likes to do his own thing and isn’t into big commitments.

[double talkin jive mfkr]

fuck another 12 rounds on the izzy shit 

what the fuck is everyones point? duff is right? 

duff is the only reason axl was able to make the reunion possible cause he diluted his shares, he has no credibility other than being ultra defensive in diluting further for izzy's inclusion 

izzy didn't dillute his shares in 91 and sold them, very smart move and fuck em he said 

for that reason after the novelty of slash and axl together in 2016 it was apparent that there was nothing calling for it to be worth it to buy tickets beyond the first mini leg which was the only leg worth going to cause axl actually prepared and it wasn't for guns it was for acdc 

 

just a music level duff is on par with steven, in steven's heyday i would say he was better than duff and on par with axl slash izzy 

duff is a good worker and since he got sober very $ oriented so that one dimensional thinking is coming out in the interviews 

adler fucked up with all the interview bull shit and him never moving forward, sorum has proved himself as a drummer with dynamic experience, he should be in along with izzy and dizzy and the rest can call it if they aint gonna release music from a business stand point they will take a massive nose dive after 1 more year of these hurting festival nu era headlines 

 

Edited December 25, 2019 by double talkin jive mfkr

[Tom2112]

3 hours ago, GnR Chris said:

I don't buy this theory at all. There's no way Slash would pull some power play in the eleventh hour and risk having the entire thing blow up in smoke due to a lack of honest communication. It's just showing right off the bat that Slash doesn't wanna go into this thing in good faith and then what's to stop him from pulling off similar "power moves" as more tour dates were added? 

This is precisely what broke up the Illusions lineup: the power struggle within GNR. I'm not sure after finally resolving their past conflict that they'd so wantonly go down that same road.

As for the entire Izzy fiasco, again, I have zero firsthand knowledge of anything. But I will just assume the guys knew Izzy would never be all in on a worldwide tour and it's just not a good look to have Izzy show up for the first few dates then dip. You'd have this media narrative that the reunion was already splintering.

 

I've given up hope Izzy will pop in randomly for a show to do a few songs, or that he will show up in studio and lay some guitar work  down. That would be dopest of all.

I agree with this. I also agree that they didn't want to give him as much money as he wanted. Both sides couldn't agree, but whether you like it or not it all comes down to money! Each member on that stage has a $ sign. May not be your interpretation of music/art but it is the reality if the music business and current day gnr... not classic 1985-1987 GNR.

Who knows if he was in the right or if they were in the right. All we do know for sure is that Izzy has not done any touring that resembles what current gnr have done, since at least 1991... there has been nothing since then that has suggested he has or has had any interest in anything further than sporadic touring.... so! When you come at the rest of the original current members and paint them as the only reason why Izzy isn't there, it's very one sided. And yes, those guys have their share of blame and of course they are trying to lay the blame towards Izzy! But, Izzy is doing the same to them.

[FuriousStyles]

3 hours ago, GnR Chris said:

I don't buy this theory at all. There's no way Slash would pull some power play in the eleventh hour and risk having the entire thing blow up in smoke due to a lack of honest communication. It's just showing right off the bat that Slash doesn't wanna go into this thing in good faith and then what's to stop him from pulling off similar "power moves" as more tour dates were added? 

This is precisely what broke up the Illusions lineup: the power struggle within GNR. I'm not sure after finally resolving their past conflict that they'd so wantonly go down that same road.

As for the entire Izzy fiasco, again, I have zero firsthand knowledge of anything. But I will just assume the guys knew Izzy would never be all in on a worldwide tour and it's just not a good look to have Izzy show up for the first few dates then dip. You'd have this media narrative that the reunion was already splintering.

 

I've given up hope Izzy will pop in randomly for a show to do a few songs, or that he will show up in studio and lay some guitar work  down. That would be dopest of all.

I think there is enough evidence/innuendo/conjecture out there to fly a Boeing 747 through the "we don't know why Izzy isn't here" nonsense...

Axl himself, during the Globo interview, explains that it was Paul Tollett's offer to play Coachella that got the ball rolling. He (Axl) then sought out Slash to discuss the "reunion". Reading between the lines, it's obvious that Tollett's offer would only be extended if Axl and Slash shared the stage. We know that there are seemingly two entities known as Guns N' Roses. The original business partnership that was amalgamated through the 90's that now only includes Axl/Slash/Duff, and then the "band known as Guns N' Roses," which Axl holds power over and has seen every hooker this side of Sunset be a part of.

The real power lies in the partnership trinity of A/S/D; survived through the original band's breakup. This is important because, Axl, Slash and Duff have their own management and counsel...so everything negotiated and agreed upon leading up to Coachella was done with separate counsel.

If a new partnership was formed in light of Coachella/NITL tour, it would be super interesting to know the details of.

This ties into Izzy because he is the odd man out. He has no leverage. He is no longer in partnership with A/S/D after he left the band, having to sell off his stake, as per the Steven Adler fiasco.

So it's in the best interest of A/S/D to work together now, because they all see profit between the three moving forward. Izzy does not (outside of royalties). It's apparent that some sort of conversation occurred, whether it was just a guest spot or a full return with a diminished share, we don't know. But Izzy's tweet says it all. Once the NITL became a success, all of Izzy's leverage evaporated.

Now, my axe to grind with Duff is this......His comments were insincere and seemingly slanted. It's fine if he he offered Izzy a nickel, and Izzy said fuck off. But don't pretend that's not the reason, and don't tell me you don't think much of it and then go fucking 'round splashing AFD5 iconography everywhere and give me fucking Frank Ferrer and Richard Fortus.

Spoiler

 

[megaguns1982]

Why even try to argue the point, Izzy said they didn’t want to split the loot evenly. 
open and shut case. anything else duff/slash or Axl says otherwise is just saving face.

[GnR Chris]

2 minutes ago, megaguns1982 said:

Why even try to argue the point, Izzy said they didn’t want to split the loot evenly. 
open and shut case. anything else duff/slash or Axl says otherwise is just saving face.

Why should we take Izzy at face value versus Axl? I'll freely admit Duff and Slash have been known to bend the truth in the past, but Axl has always pretty much been straight up with anything he's offered to the media. There is more to the story than "they didn't wan to split the loot."

[megaguns1982]

2 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

Why should we take Izzy at face value versus Axl? I'll freely admit Duff and Slash have been known to bend the truth in the past, but Axl has always pretty much been straight up with anything he's offered to the media. There is more to the story than "they didn't wan to split the loot."

Izzy has no reason to lie. The others do.

why would Izzy come out and say something like that to begin with?

he could have just said nothing or “we couldn’t reach an arrangement”

[double talkin jive mfkr]

1 hour ago, megaguns1982 said:

Izzy has no reason to lie. The others do.

why would Izzy come out and say something like that to begin with?

he could have just said nothing or “we couldn’t reach an arrangement”

exactly, its baffling no its not baffling its out right borderline obvious and slanderous to just pick a team that has all the $ to shift media spins how they see fit 

izzy has fuck all to gain - hes right, hes never fucked off anybody which was them fucking him off but he doesn't say shit and if it weren't for his tweet he'd honestly be the most under a rock former rock star of all time, but the tweet said it all along with the song he sang on camera to display his feelings - fucking incidents such as the sign incident say why TB and GNR don't like izzy, they don't want him getting attention, or questions asked and if questions are asked they tell duff to throw him under the bus cause they think somehow duff has rock credibility, duff did business school why won't he just say izzy wouldn't accept peanuts for his inclusion - that would make their current cash grab look like what it is 

any other spin, is not only derogatory and at the very least ill informed and fucking beyond weird, the ex die hards are in the know - uh why isn't izzy in? ask him - well yeah what was it? touring yeah touring sooooo scary 

uhh yeah, most records sold under his leadership, yeah not in, alive and well - just say it - honesty goes a long way, if it was a business decision just fucking say it what the fuck, there wouldn't be anything wrong with just saying it, izzy wouldn't have tweeted otherwise but they chose to try and say he was somehow an absentee, just BS full on BS, if you don't sign shit, theres no deal plain and simple, he didn't sign our agreement - its like they're scared of the public knowing that its the bucks who gives a shit, everyone with a half a brain knows 

[The Holographic Universe]

9 hours ago, nycgunner said:

Thanks for the interview. I don’t get why these guys are so fucking coy with the album talk. You’re either doing it or not.  It’s fucking childish and, in the grand scheme of things, not that important. This isn’t a matter of national security!

100% agree. 

[downzy]

3 hours ago, megaguns1982 said:

Izzy has no reason to lie. The others do.

why would Izzy come out and say something like that to begin with?

he could have just said nothing or “we couldn’t reach an arrangement”

It’s not an either or situation.

He might have received a less than fair offer while Axl, Duff, and Slash didn’t think it was wise to pay someone who wasn’t going to be there for the long haul. 

People can write this and that, but the truth is there are valid reasons for why Axl, Duff, and Slash opted not to make Izzy an equal, or key, partner to the new venture. 

1 hour ago, double talkin jive mfkr said:

exactly, its baffling no its not baffling its out right borderline obvious and slanderous to just pick a team that has all the $ to shift media spins how they see fit 

izzy has fuck all to gain - hes right, hes never fucked off anybody which was them fucking him off but he doesn't say shit and if it weren't for his tweet he'd honestly be the most under a rock former rock star of all time, but the tweet said it all along with the song he sang on camera to display his feelings - fucking incidents such as the sign incident say why TB and GNR don't like izzy, they don't want him getting attention, or questions asked and if questions are asked they tell duff to throw him under the bus cause they think somehow duff has rock credibility, duff did business school why won't he just say izzy wouldn't accept peanuts for his inclusion - that would make their current cash grab look like what it is 

any other spin, is not only derogatory and at the very least ill informed and fucking beyond weird, the ex die hards are in the know - uh why isn't izzy in? ask him - well yeah what was it? touring yeah touring sooooo scary 

uhh yeah, most records sold under his leadership, yeah not in, alive and well - just say it - honesty goes a long way, if it was a business decision just fucking say it what the fuck, there wouldn't be anything wrong with just saying it, izzy wouldn't have tweeted otherwise but they chose to try and say he was somehow an absentee, just BS full on BS, if you don't sign shit, theres no deal plain and simple, he didn't sign our agreement - its like they're scared of the public knowing that its the bucks who gives a shit, everyone with a half a brain knows 

There’s just so much wrong in your post that I don’t know where to start.

So I won’t...

[megaguns1982]

16 minutes ago, downzy said:

 

He might have received a less than fair offer while Axl, Duff, and Slash didn’t think it was wise to pay someone who wasn’t going to be there for the long haul. 

 

There. You said it.

and regardless of whether it was a crap offer he received or not or if he didn’t want to be in it for the long haul, it all boils down to that they “didn’t want to split the loot equally”

izzy may have wanted the big pay day without being involved in the same capacity as the others and A/S/D told him to take a hike.

 

[jacdaniel]

I can’t believe it’s almost 2020 and some people still think that Izzy would have been up for a long term commitment including lots of touring for several years. 
 

Had he been part of the reunion, When he walked away, the band would have had all kinds of negative press about breaking up again and been disfunctional.

 

He walked away in 91, barely 1 year into the UYI tour. He had a chance to be a co founder of VR but walked away when the band got serious. 
 

Izzy is a talented songwriter, but by all accounts from people that knew him well, he never enjoyed touring, doing the media rounds, putting in the effort required to be a key member in a huge band. 

[Sydney Fan]

In terms of new music with duffs answer....i dont know why its hard to say "yes we are recording tracks at the moment" etc like tge old days where they would be vocal on what recording they are doing. My view is either whatever album is done or in the process.

"“Let’s make these songs the best we can make it.” It was fun for Slash and I to tear those songs apart and play them with aggression. We made them our own."

Sounds like duff and slash wernt exactly interested in the original recordings and wanted to redo them. Which sounds like the approach for the next  record.....just rerecoded CD2 stuff.