DJ Ashba was approached to join the NITL Tour

[Free Bird]

I think the recordings they use for the Selects Slash does a pretty awesome job.

TIL, Sorry an even TWAT sound great imo. Especially the Bucket solos are being played better technically in the studio versions of course but Slash managed to Slashy-fie them and turn this virtouoso-esque playing in a more loose, hard rockin style without moving too far away from the original. He put alot of feel in them and I love the result tbh, but both solos on its original form are already great of course. 

 

15 minutes ago, Sosso said:

I would love to see a three guitar player Band with Slash, Robin and Richard.  

Robin and Richard could split the lead guitars for the CD songs (like they did before Bumble joined) and Slash could still have the spotlight for the other songs. 

If you are lucky, maybe you get to hear Richard on the next release, but I doubt it

...

[Cosmo]

GnR in an alternate timeline:

 

[Blackstar]

I take from Fernando's answer that Ashba was not asked to be part of the reunion

[Coma16]

3 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I take from Fernando's answer that Ashba was not asked to be part of the reunion

bro...

[ZoSoRose]

3 hours ago, RussTCB said:

The only song DJ did really well on IMO is Sorry. I know it's not the most techinal Bucket solo, but DJ nailed it every time from what I remember. 

Crazy you posted that. I have been on a GNR kick and listened to parts of Tokyo 2009 for the first time in probably 10 years. Sorry was one of the tracks, and he did really well on the solo. He was tolerable in 2010 and got worse as the band went on. Still a very bad choice

Edited August 24, 2021 by ZoSoRose

[MaskingApathy]

1 hour ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

I still think Slash not writing a proper solo for TiL was one of the saddest parts of the reunion. DJ was able to get the general feel of the solo better than Slash, but his guitar tone or just feel was so off to me for some reason. As stands on TiL, I'm Finck>Ashba>Slash. It shouldn't be that way though. If Slash wanted to write a solo for it he would easily surpass Ashba. I wonder what it was for Slash that made him just use it as a solo spot- did he not like the song? Was it laziness? Was it a F U? 

He had some really good solos for that song earlier, like in 2016. I think after a while he just got bored with it though.

1 hour ago, Sosso said:

I would love to see a three guitar player Band with Slash, Robin and Richard.  

Robin and Richard could split the lead guitars for the CD songs (like they did before Bumble joined) and Slash could still have the spotlight for the other songs. 

Ew no

9 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I take from Fernando's answer that Ashba was not asked to be part of the reunion

What did Fernando say?

[ZoSoRose]

1 hour ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

I still think Slash not writing a proper solo for TiL was one of the saddest parts of the reunion. DJ was able to get the general feel of the solo better than Slash, but his guitar tone or just feel was so off to me for some reason. As stands on TiL, I'm Finck>Ashba>Slash. It shouldn't be that way though. If Slash wanted to write a solo for it he would easily surpass Ashba. I wonder what it was for Slash that made him just use it as a solo spot- did he not like the song? Was it laziness? Was it a F U? 

Vegas and Detroit 2016 are pretty fucking good for TiL. Tremendous solos

[Blackstar]

2 minutes ago, MaskingApathy said:

What did Fernando say?

 

[MaskingApathy]

13 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

 

Omg I can't believe I missed this. I'll go look now.

[Voodoochild]

53 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I take from Fernando's answer that Ashba was not asked to be part of the reunion

Do you know which of @ZoSoRose posts was he referring to?

[Blackstar]

1 minute ago, Voodoochild said:

Do you know which of @ZoSoRose posts was he referring to?

 

[GNFNRUK]

3 hours ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

I still think Slash not writing a proper solo for TiL was one of the saddest parts of the reunion. DJ was able to get the general feel of the solo better than Slash, but his guitar tone or just feel was so off to me for some reason. As stands on TiL, I'm Finck>Ashba>Slash. It shouldn't be that way though. If Slash wanted to write a solo for it he would easily surpass Ashba. I wonder what it was for Slash that made him just use it as a solo spot- did he not like the song? Was it laziness? Was it a F U? 

Agreed.

At least Ashba used the original Robin solo as a blueprint, only making minor changes. It’s a very long section and what Slash is (over) playing on that part just bores me tbh.

I don’t understand why Slash refuses to learn the solos for the CD stuff or why the band don’t just let Fortus play them? Imagine if it was the other way around and during the ‘NUGNR years’ Robin etc just played improv solos for the Illusion and AFD songs?! I realise those songs are way more popular and iconic but still... Don’t even get me started on what Slash did to TWAT live, that should be considered a crime! It’s like because it’s Slash he just gets a pass though…

I’ll end by reiterating that I love Slash for his work on AFD and the Illusion albums but I just can’t defend his butchering of CD era solos.

[Nick85]

On 8/22/2021 at 7:55 PM, ZoSoRose said:

Having DJ in the band with Slash and Duff is both hilarious and horrifying. I forced myself to like the guy in the band and I was a teenager at the beginning so I thought some of his BS was cool at the time. I have a lot of good memories with the 09-14 lineup, and he was a part of that

Dude is atrocious, though. He is a tacky, show boating, hack that puts out horrendous music now. I really enjoyed his 2 latest songs because they make me laugh. Some of the worst music I have heard in a long time, with videos to match

It might be a blessing in disguise ChiDem2 didn’t come out, as there’s no way he is good enough to be on studio released GNR music

 

Spoiler

@Fernando endorses this post.  

 

[metalavenger99]

1 hour ago, GNFNRUK said:

Agreed.

At least Ashba used the original Robin solo as a blueprint, only making minor changes. It’s a very long section and what Slash is (over) playing on that part just bores me tbh.

I don’t understand why Slash refuses to learn the solos for the CD stuff or why the band don’t just let Fortus play them? Imagine if it was the other way around and during the ‘NUGNR years’ Robin etc just played improv solos for the Illusion and AFD songs?! I realise those songs are way more popular and iconic but still... Don’t even get me started on what Slash did to TWAT live, that should be considered a crime! It’s like because it’s Slash he just gets a pass though…

I’ll end by reiterating that I love Slash for his work on AFD and the Illusion albums but I just can’t defend his butchering of CD era solos.

I agree, but I prefer him actually trying to copy BH like in TWAT instead of playing nonsense bluesy shredding like he always does, that's not feel or emotion, it's just laziness IMO

Edited August 24, 2021 by metalavenger99

[metalavenger99]

Or at least make new solos in his own style which is perfect, and actually using them every night, cause he recently dropped the solo in Better he made that used to be great.

[MaskingApathy]

1 hour ago, GNFNRUK said:

Don’t even get me started on what Slash did to TWAT live, that should be considered a crime! 

I don't agree, I was listening to some of the leaks recently and comparing whichever version of TWAT I had playing to the version in the last Selects video you can tell that Slash was trying to do some of the same melodies and licks. It ends up being "in his own style" but if he wanted to do something completely different he could've.

[GNFNRUK]

1 hour ago, metalavenger99 said:

I agree, but I prefer him trying to actually copy BH like in TWAT instead of playing nonsense bluesy shredding like he always does, that's not feel or emotion, it's just laziness IMO

I just gave the NITL Selects version of TWAT another listen and honestly, I think it sounds like a train wreck. Anyone saying they prefer that to the Bucket studio version or Ashba/Bumble live version is clearly lying to themselves.

When he started playing Robin’s part I thought, ‘oh he’s gonna play it like on the album’ but then he started making a mess of it. That solo obviously isn’t out of his realms of ability so I’m assuming it’s just laziness and he can’t be bothered learning it. Then the Bucket solo (which should probably be handled by Fortus really), well, it wasn’t as bad as the first recording I heard of him playing it and at least he’s trying to play it similar to the original but yeah, he just hasn’t got the chops that Bucket has to pull that one off. Iirc it even took Bumble a few years before he started nailing that one live.

Edited August 24, 2021 by GNFNRUK

[Ixtlan]

3 hours ago, Blackstar said:

I take from Fernando's answer that Ashba was not asked to be part of the reunion

I didn’t see his comment, but who really believed this claim? DJ Ashba would never be allowed to play next to Slash on stage. 

[Blackstar]

Just now, Ixtlan said:

I didn’t see his comment, but who really believed this claim? DJ Ashba would never be allowed to play next to Slash on stage. 

I never believed it and neither did most people, I think, yet some did.

[GnR Chris]

I really wish I remembered more about that time between the Vegas residency and the reunion. The little I can recall has been brought up earlier in the thread. The band sort of splintered off and was "done," at least for a while. As Tommy stated, Guns wasn't active and had no immediate plans to be active after the Vegas residency. Ashba putting out a press release about walking away from GNR was simply a calculated move for some pub.

I also seriously thought the band was close to releasing an album before the departures and then the reunion talk heated up. In retrospect, I'd really rather Ashba not be on any studio material, so I'm glad a record didn't drop right before that lineup dissolved. I never cared much for that Bumble/Ashba lineup, but as a band they were very good live. The House of Blues Chicago show (UCAP) is still one of my favorite GNR shows ever. And by the way, yes, they were asking people to turn their Slash shirts inside out (2011). 

The Pitman thing ... again, my memory is trash so I can't recall what I was told happened there (by someone from another forum who we can't name around here). Definite something between Duff and Pitman. Maybe Duff/Slash and Pitman. But in any event, he brought the firing upon himself, best of my recollection, And since I just said I can't really remember shit, I'll just say: I love Melissa. Her backing vocals and what she brings to the table is infinitely better to me as a fan than what we got from Pitman. 

TLDR: Ashba was probably told he could be a part of the new group, but in a diminished role, and he read the room. So instead he put out a press release to give his own future project some publicity.

[MaskingApathy]

45 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

The Pitman thing ... again, my memory is trash so I can't recall what I was told happened there (by someone from another forum who we can't name around here). Definite something between Duff and Pitman. Maybe Duff/Slash and Pitman. But in any event, he brought the firing upon himself, best of my recollection, And since I just said I can't really remember shit, I'll just say: I love Melissa. Her backing vocals and what she brings to the table is infinitely better to me as a fan than what we got from Pitman. 

 

I think it was something about how after his social media posts he went to rehearsal and Duff shoved him against the wall and asked him wtf was going on and then after that sometime he was fired. If that's really what happened then I wish I could've been there to see it. He was already in hot water because he had posted about Coachella and then posted about not being allowed to post about Coachella.

[Bitchisback]

20 hours ago, Towelie said:

It is unfortunate for Ron that his tenure in the band was marred by Ashba's mediocrity. I have a feeling if Finck had remained or if they had found a better replacement, 09-14 would be remembered a lot more fondly by the fanbase than it currently is. Ashba single-handedly managed to make the band look cheap and tacky. 

 

I agree.  I liked Bumble.  He could play his ass off, did the songs justice... Whether he was playing Slash or Bucket's parts, seemed to love being in the band in the beginning and I think he really tried to push Axl forward.  It was so cool how he would play Don't Cry in his solo and the crowd would sing along.  And then when Axl started coming out and it was just the two of them was so good.  

 

Bumble was probably as good of a replacement for Bucket as Axl could have had.  Like you said, it's just unfortunate Ashba came along lol

[AxlRoseCDII]

Did Duff really shove Pitman against the wall? I remember hearing that in 2016 but I struggle to imagine woke Duff getting physically violent with someone nowadays.

[Sosso]

2 minutes ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

Did Duff really shove Pitman against the wall? I remember hearing that in 2016 but I struggle to imagine woke Duff getting physically violent with someone nowadays.

I've heard that Pitman has sabotaged his own position in the band. He played extra loud during the rehearsals and added weird sounds just to disctract Slash & Duff. 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Sosso

[Ak1nney]

11 minutes ago, Sosso said:

I've heard that Pitman has sabotaged his own position in the band. He played extra loud during the rehearsals and added weird sounds just to disctract Slash & Duff. 

Can you imagine actually pulling that childish shit with Slash and Duff?