When did Dizzy come into the equation?

[EvanG]

13 hours ago, DK6 said:

They have him on stage for the songs that obviously contain keyboard - like dark necessities. 

There was another bloke behind stage for tell me baby and some other songs.

Also there is a difference between being onstage and being considered a member of the band.

Obviously, it's not like Teddy or Tracy and Roberta were members of the band. And I can't imagine them hiding someone or that the audience can't know about some backing musicians. 

[Carburetta]

Dizzy was added by Axl as a band member, and I for one think it was pretty cool. The guy is the band shots for the Illusion albums that are in the album booklet, I think that makes him part of the band.

Axl didn’t add him because he felt sorry for him (I don’t think Axl is going to charitably put a guy as a band member of Guns N’ Roses, do you?). He felt they needed a keyboardist, Dizzy was that guy and fair play to him. I’m sure he has played one dud note in thirty years of playing to tens of thousands of people every night but I haven’t heard it. And his parts are generally good. He seems like a pro to me and I doubt he’s anything other than a highly skilled keyboard/piano player.

 

[mystery]

1 hour ago, Carburetta said:

Dizzy was added by Axl as a band member, and I for one think it was pretty cool. The guy is the band shots for the Illusion albums that are in the album booklet, I think that makes him part of the band.

Axl didn’t add him because he felt sorry for him (I don’t think Axl is going to charitably put a guy as a band member of Guns N’ Roses, do you?). He felt they needed a keyboardist, Dizzy was that guy and fair play to him. I’m sure he has played one dud note in thirty years of playing to tens of thousands of people every night but I haven’t heard it. And his parts are generally good. He seems like a pro to me and I doubt he’s anything other than a highly skilled keyboard/piano player.

 

Dizzy is kind of in a weird spot. He's one of the longest serving members having been with the band since 1990 and has had a part in songwriting as well. I think for most fans he seems so anonymous, I forget he even exists half the time and for a member of one of the biggest rock bands in the world, he seems to keep a pretty low profile.

I think its hard to grasp for some when the looks and personalities of the original members were so big and distinct. I think there's kind of an intrigue as well that he's been a constant for a band that has had so many immensely talented musicians come and go.

[Beto 22]

On 8/18/2021 at 12:22 AM, mystery said:

Not knocking the dude but the reason he's been there 30 plus years now is because he doesn't rock the boat. The reason there was a Nu GnR in the first place is because Slash, Duff, and Matt had some backbone and were tired of doing absolutely nothing for 3 years with Axl. 

And 19 years after rock the boat they come to do the same thing they said they wouldn't ... Being in a Guns N' Roses run by Axl.

 

The only one that seems to still have the backbone is Matt.

Dizzy was right all this time

[mystery]

5 hours ago, Beto 22 said:

And 19 years after rock the boat they come to do the same thing they said they wouldn't ... Being in a Guns N' Roses run by Axl.

 

The only one that seems to still have the backbone is Matt.

Dizzy was right all this time

I feel like that's ignoring that Duff, Matt, and Slash started another successful band in Velvet Revolver which is really hard to do. Yeah they're back again, and it's still run by Axl but it's the band those guys started and they're getting massive pay days for "the reunion".

It benefits all of them including Axl who was seeing attendance dwindling around 2014. I feel like it's also ignoring that it took a big reconciliation between Slash and Axl that many people (including themselves) never thought would happen hence the NITL tour name.

You can say they're at Axl's whims, but if they truly didn't want to be there they could leave and be perfectly fine. Slash is a big name on his own and could probably just tour and make more music with Miles Kennedy. Duff similarly could just tour with Loaded and be fine. Matt would be back in a heartbeat if he was getting paid equal to the other guys.

Dizzy could leave and be fne too. After 30 years in the band I figure he's set for life and could probably start his own band and tour as a hobby and not as a necessity.

Just a final point. The reason Slash, Duff, and Matt left was because they were struck doing nothing but really late night recording sessions for 3 years. Most musicians at that level have ambitions of creating new music and touring and it just wasn't going to happen with Axl then. Axl seemed lost quite honestly in that period. He even says himself that he was depressed. He really didn't start singing and writing songs again until 1998 or most likely 1999.

[Beto 22]

Matt didn't leave. Matt was fired. And Matt was invited to have a guest spot just like Adler ... He refused.

[Nice Boy]

He's a really good keyboardist tbf. Axl probably envisaged him having a role in GnR as the wider entity beyond being a 5 piece Aerosmith Rocks clone band. 

The bongos thing has always been joked about. But listen closely on Rocket Queen from Live Era. The bongos actually make a big contribution to the sound! Check it

Edited August 24, 2021 by Nice Boy

[mystery]

36 minutes ago, Beto 22 said:

Matt didn't leave. Matt was fired. And Matt was invited to have a guest spot just like Adler ... He refused.

I might be wrong but I don't think Matt cared either way by the point he was fired. He could've been like Dizzy and put his head down but it seemed like he had enough by that point.

Honestly he wasn't missing much. His replacement Josh Freese recorded parts for CD that eventually got recorded over. Freese got writing credits but even he was tired of the inactivity and left too.

Also if you're going by Adler's guest spot, he apparently didn't get paid for it and it was only for a few songs on a few tour dates which seems like an insult.