Gilby Clarke - a belated appreciation.

[Ant]

7 hours ago, Zinia_29 said:

He once came to our country and messed up scom. 

That’s an act of war. 

[The Holographic Universe]

On 8/11/2020 at 12:56 PM, themadcaplaughs said:

He was (and still seems) like a genuinely cool dude, and saved the band's ass on a moment's notice after Izzy left the band. In all honesty, I suppose it's entirely possible more people saw the band with Gilby than Izzy.

It would have been interesting to see how the guitar chemistry would have evolved had he stayed in the band. Gilby is a much "tighter" guitar player than Izzy when it comes to rhythm and close to Slash's level when it comes to lead (maybe even as good on a technical level. Slash just has such an immediately recognizable tone). Izzy's biggest contribution to the band was songwriting, but also brought a very loose and sleazy style rhythm guitar. Matt was spot on in his book when he said the "classic" Guns N' Rose sound came from Izzy's songs and looseness on guitar combined with Slash and Duff's more bombastic playing. I wonder if Gilby would have tried to continue that vibe, or if it would have become a situation like Slash and Richard where both got their big moments in songs and in concert. 

I believe because of the videos during UYI a lot of people associate Gilby as an original member. 
 

 

 

 

p

[The Holographic Universe]

On 8/11/2020 at 2:48 PM, Blackstar said:

Yes, Slash played both lead and rhythm guitar. There is also additional guitar by Mike Staggs, who was Axl's friend from Indiana and played in the band "AXL" they had there. 

I always wondered who Mike Staggs was. 

[The Holographic Universe]

On 8/12/2020 at 9:49 AM, Tom-Ass said:

Gilby was awesome.. Slash's has d natural chemistry with him as heard on Pawnshop Guitars, the first Snakepit album and obviously all those live Illusions shows.. Listen to those Acoustic performances of KOHD and Patience from Argentina 93 and compare them to the flat ass versions of the last few years. Gilby's background vocals are also greatly under appreciated and were a huge part of what made those Skin N' Bones acoustic sets work so well. 

A couple notes..

My first Guns show was also Gilby's first with the band.. I also remember exactly where I was when I heard he was fired. I was stationed out in CA at the time. I was waiting for a BART (Subway train basically) and they had a little TV monitor up on the wall that had little text news snippets or what not.. One popped up saying that Gilby Clarke was fired from Guns N' Roses...

As I recall Gilby was never officially fired. He stated one day he just stopped receiving checks. 

[Ericstacey]

I went to see my first Gilby show I think in 94 at a packed club in Canton Ohio (the local radio station had been playing Cure Me or Kill Me in heavy rotation).  I really loved that album. Went to see him 2 years later do an unplugged show in Columbus, there were maybe 20 or 30 people there-I was shocked. I probably went to see him 4 or 5 more times in various clubs-he always put on a good show-I will always have an appreciation for him because in the mid to late 90's he was touring a lot and putting out stuff when I was starved for anything Guns n Roses, and there wasn't that much.  The first 3 albums are really good, I didn't care that much for the last album he put out in 2001 or whenever it was. A really good album is the Col. Parker album he did with Teddy Zig Zag and Slim Jim Phantom. It's excellent. I'm also one of the few people on the planet who liked the Rockstar Supernova album.  Heard the 2 singles off the new album, really don't care for them, but I still might buy the album anyway. 

[Chewy2]

On 8/11/2020 at 12:58 PM, Snooze said:

So I’m pretty new to this forum and enjoyed reading through some of these threads. They are a welcomed distraction from slugging it out constantly it seems. 

Long story short, I lost my dad recently and have been on a huge nostalgia trip recently.

Hey man, I don't really have an answer to your actual question but I just wanted to say that I'm very sorry for your loss.  I lost my Father just a little over a year ago and it's been rough.  Everyone says it gets easier as time goes on and that is true but even after a year I still struggle some days.  I was just saying to my wife recently how there are still days where it hits me that I'm never going to be able to speak to him again.  Music is a great way to help deal with grief.  I hope you're doing okay, and it will get better.

[themadcaplaughs]

On 8/14/2020 at 11:05 PM, The Holographic Universe said:

I believe because of the videos during UYI a lot of people associate Gilby as an original member. 
 

 

 

 

p

That's what I always found when I talk to people who remember GN'R from the 1990s, but didn't know a whole lot about the band. He appeared in almost all of the Use Your Illusion videos, was in a majority of press and photos from the era, and played on their most well-known professionally released show (the Tokyo shows). I do not pay a whole lot of attention to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it did seem strange to me that they did not include a member who was in the band during the majority of the band's most famous period. Even going off the "we only induct people who play on records" standard, he played on one of their albums. Admittedly, it was a covers album, but it was still a multi-platinum album. 

[The Holographic Universe]

3 hours ago, themadcaplaughs said:

That's what I always found when I talk to people who remember GN'R from the 1990s, but didn't know a whole lot about the band. He appeared in almost all of the Use Your Illusion videos, was in a majority of press and photos from the era, and played on their most well-known professionally released show (the Tokyo shows). I do not pay a whole lot of attention to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it did seem strange to me that they did not include a member who was in the band during the majority of the band's most famous period. Even going off the "we only induct people who play on records" standard, he played on one of their albums. Admittedly, it was a covers album, but it was still a multi-platinum album. 

Yeah, he deserved to be indicted. Apparently Matt wasn’t going To be indicted either and made phone calls to people who run the RRHF and assured himself a spot. Gilby found out afterwards. 

[ShadowOfTheWave]

45 minutes ago, The Holographic Universe said:

Yeah, he deserved to be indicted. Apparently Matt wasn’t going To be indicted either and made phone calls to people who run the RRHF and assured himself a spot. Gilby found out afterwards. 

I agree that Gilby deserves to be indicted as he is an awful songwriter, but unfortunately our legal system hasn't caught up and that is not yet a crime.

[The Holographic Universe]

1 hour ago, ShadowOfTheWave said:

I agree that Gilby deserves to be indicted as he is an awful songwriter, but unfortunately our legal system hasn't caught up and that is not yet a crime.

Ha! Fucking auto-correct. 

[SoulMonster]

On 15.8.2020 at 5:07 AM, The Holographic Universe said:

I always wondered who Mike Staggs was. 

He was a friend of Axl from Indiana. I had written a bit about him here: https://www.a-4-d.com/t4926-04-background#18876

I just updated that chapter with some more information I have from talking to Mike earlier this year.

[thunderram]

On 8/14/2020 at 8:05 PM, The Holographic Universe said:

I believe because of the videos during UYI a lot of people associate Gilby as an original member.

That, and he is pictured & featured in the pinball machine, not IZZY. So I'm sure that only adds to the confusion for layman fans.

Count me in with those that really dig GILBY. He is just a very laid back dude. Makes perfect sense why he got along so well with SLASH. And he's a very good guitarist IMO.

I was fortunate to see the band during the Summer of 1991 prior to the release of the UYI albums. So I saw IZZY once before he left the band in October of 1991 (I missed an opportunity to see them in 1988). I saw them again in 1992 and again in 1993, so I saw Gilby twice.

As much as I dig IZZY, GILBY was an adequate replacement. Very laid back and cool just like IZZY.

I agree that he deserves more credit for his contributions than he gets. Same goes for Matt Sorum, too.

I really would have liked to have seen those guys included somehow in the NITL tour. We all know the reasons why they weren't. But I can still foolishly wish for things.

Edited August 18, 2020 by thunderram

[DownUnderScott]

23 minutes ago, thunderram said:

That, and he is pictured & featured in the pinball machine, not IZZY. So I'm sure that only adds to the confusion for layman fans.

Count me in with those that really dig Gilby. He is just a very laid back dude. Makes perfect sense why he got along so well with SLASH. And he's a very good guitarist IMO.

I was fortunate to see the band during the Summer of 1991 prior to the release of the UYI albums. So I saw IZZY once before he left the band in October of 1991 (I missed an opportunity to see them in 1988). I saw them again in 1992 and again in 1993, so I saw Gilby twice.

As much as I dig IZZY, GILBY was an adequate replacement. Very laid back and cool just like IZZY.

I agree that he deserves more credit for his contributions than he gets. Same goes for Matt Sorum, too.

I really would have liked to have seen those guys included somehow in the NITL tour. We all know the reasons why they weren't. But I can still foolishly wish for things.

I feel the same. Gilby seamlessly fitted into Guns and was more than an adequate replacement for Izzy. Slotted into the chemistry of the band and had that laid back persona that balanced out the madness of Axl and craziness of Slash & Duffs addictions.

I wish he rejoined the band for the three-union. Although I like Fortus too. 

 

 

[Sydney Fan]

3 hours ago, thunderram said:

That, and he is pictured & featured in the pinball machine, not IZZY. So I'm sure that only adds to the confusion for layman fans.

Count me in with those that really dig Gilby. He is just a very laid back dude. Makes perfect sense why he got along so well with SLASH. And he's a very good guitarist IMO.

I was fortunate to see the band during the Summer of 1991 prior to the release of the UYI albums. So I saw IZZY once before he left the band in October of 1991 (I missed an opportunity to see them in 1988). I saw them again in 1992 and again in 1993, so I saw Gilby twice.

As much as I dig IZZY, GILBY was an adequate replacement. Very laid back and cool just like IZZY.

I agree that he deserves more credit for his contributions than he gets. Same goes for Matt Sorum, too.

I really would have liked to have seen those guys included somehow in the NITL tour. We all know the reasons why they weren't. But I can still foolishly wish for things.

Yep and a photo of gilby is in the liner notes of the foldout of spaghetti incident. So if fans and casuals bought the CD they would think hes always been in the band.

[MaskingApathy]

Happy Birthday Gilby!

[Italian girl]

[marlingrl03]

Happy birthday Gilby! You rock....always have and always will. 

 

[Chris 55]

I only liked his debut album and none of the followups. I did like the EP Blooze though. That was pretty cool. 

[thunderram]

15 hours ago, DownUnderScott said:

I feel the same. Gilby seamlessly fitted into Guns and was more than an adequate replacement for Izzy. Slotted into the chemistry of the band and had that laid back persona that balanced out the madness of Axl and craziness of Slash & Duffs addictions.

I wish he rejoined the band for the three-union. Although I like Fortus too.

 

An anecdote I forgot to share about GILBY was one of the first behind the scenes documentaries I saw about him where he talked about preparing for his first show (the segment might be on one of the videos that was released, I don't recall for sure).

Anyway, he talked about getting ready for the gig and the start time being "around" 8:30pm. So he was ready to go at 8:30 not yet knowing that it would be a couple more hours til AXL was ready to go on stage.

I always found the strategic use of the word "around" to be funny. We all know what that means. But GILBY didn't quite yet.

Edited August 18, 2020 by thunderram