Back in the AFD Days, Did You See Duff as the Third Most Important Member?

[ChristmasFnatic]

Like Slash > Axl > Duff > Steven/Izzy? Or was it just Slash > Axl >>>>>> other 3(like how Aerosmith fans see Aerosmith, mainly Steven and Joe, then everyone else). Or even Steven or Izzy over Duff?

These days, he is really seen as important, and I understand cuz he is one of the OG members. He even have his own Funko while other bands mainly just have the singer and the lead guitars.

Personally, I'm not a fan fan of him. As a collective, yeah, he brings authenticity to the current lineup. But if he is not there, as long as Slash and Axl are, I am fine with it.

[jamillos]

Funny how you always only provide the option Slash > Axl...
Anyway, I think back in the day it was Izzy (as simplifying as it is), now it’s obviously Duff. 

[Stress Fracture]

In the AFD days I was too young to see beyond Axl and Slash. I didn’t find out about Steven no longer being in the band until I saw the You Could Be Mine video on TV. Izzy came to the fore with his vocal duties on UYI but that didn’t last long. Duff effectively took over as one third of a trio during the UYI tour and for The Spaghetti Incident but of course that lacked anything in the way of songwriting.

 

 

[SoulMonster]

To me, the only thing that was interesting was the lead guitar and the vocals, hence Slash and Axl. The other three were less important. 

[KURT19]

The amazing and lasting trait about AFD and it’s success was that it was five guys…a band.

Axl, Izzy, Slash, Steven and Duff.  In that order yet all together as one.

[BillConnor_1982]

We need new music bad

[Rovim]

the songs wouldn't be the same without his punk conducting skills, his bass tone, the note choices, and his chemistry with Slash. All 5 of them were important but for me Izzy's songwriting ability made him more imprtant compared to Duff. Each one got unique musical traits that made Appetite and beyond possible.

[t-p-d-a]

All were importent at the time and the only time they feel like a band. Same with Paul, Gene, Ace & Peter or Freddie, Brian, Roger & John.

It was magic

[Atlas19]

Axl, Slash and Izzy where the big 3 back in the AFD days

[Walapino]

To me in the AFD all 5 were important, it was a band!

[Trin9498]

I think everyone else was tied for third. It was the Axl/Slash show. 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Trin9498

[DTV88]

1. Izzy

2&3. Axl & Slash 

🤷🏻‍♂️

[Ratam]

To me Izzy, and very next to Izzý is Duff.

[SoulMonster]

Maybe I misunderstood the question, but I thought it was a question to us who were around back in the AFD days how we looked on the members back then. Not a retrospective question about what we think of the members of the AFD lineup today. I mean, today I appreciate Duff's song writing skills and his bass lines, today I appreciate all Izzy brought to the band, today I appreciate Steven's swing, but back then I was more focused on the lead guitar and the vocals. But maybe I misunderstood the OP?

[EvanG]

Sound wise, Duff was more important. Songwriting wise, Izzy was a bit more important.

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

I was in 7th grade at the time- but my memory is that Izzy was viewed 3rd most important during the AFD-era. Just a "guitar more out front than bass"-type thing. Duff really came to the fore (IMHO) as part of "The Big Three" on the UYI Tour/TSI?- when suddenly Matt/Dizzy/Gilby were all new Members w/no involvement on AFD. 

Of course, today, Duff is very high profile (VR, Columnist, his Seattle rep, model wife, etc.) on his own.

Edited January 20, 2023 by AXL_N_DIZZY

[janrichmond]

Early days is was Axl for me that was the most important, his voice and stage presence drew me in. Then it was Slash and still is for me. I don't remember feeling much about the others at first, only that Duff was the 'ugly' one and Izzy was the cool quiet one and Stephen was the grinning one

[History2010]

How many members on this forum were actually around for AFD? I feel like most members here discovered the band during Illusions or later. I'm sure there is a few on here who have been fans since the very beginning.

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

9 minutes ago, History2010 said:

How many members on this forum were actually around for AFD? I feel like most members here discovered the band during Illusions or later. I'm sure there is a few on here who have been fans since the very beginning.

I became a fan in September 1988. Definitely not the very beginning- but do have some pretty vivid memories of the lattter AFD-era.

[matt1313]

4 minutes ago, History2010 said:

How many members on this forum were actually around for AFD? I feel like most members here discovered the band during Illusions or later. I'm sure there is a few on here who have been fans since the very beginning.

I was around.  If you want the short answer, it was the Axl and Slash show.

If you want more context about that era, read below.

 

When WTTJ aired on MTV, it literally changed the landscape of rock music and MTV.  Back then, for live broadcast music or music news, you either had your analog radio, or MTV.   There wasn't the internet... no streaming services.  Hell, CD's weren't even a thing yet.  Cassette tapes were cutting edge tech.  

So MTV was it.  Top of the mountain.  Anything they aired started trends.  If you weren't on MTV, you didn't exist.  

That said... GNR and the music video for WTTJ really changed the landscape back then.  It was so raw... the lyrics and imagery so shocking... it really normalized the smutty side of rock.  Aerosmith was pushing the boundary with the music video for 'Dude Looks Like a Lady'.  WTTJ/GNR blew up the boundary and, really, took the world by storm.

Compared to what's available today, WTTJ looks like a child's cartoon.  But I digress.

Back on topic... I felt the need to give some context into GNR's impact on TV and culture in the late 80's.   That said, the star of all music videos are the lead singers.  Axl was the face of GNR.  Plain and simple.  Slash was unique in that he got some of the screen time during guitar solos and, his hat was so iconic.   So, the two of them (and Slash's hat) were Guns N' Roses.   Nobody cared who wrote the music or what was done behind the scenes.  

It was Axl and Slash.  The other three didn't matter.  

That's not how I perceive it now, but that's how I perceived it back then.  

My perception now, like others have pointed out, is that it was clearly a collaborative effort.  The original AFD5 was and will always be Guns N' Roses, the band.   Illusions was its own incarnation of the band and cool in its own way.   

After that, it's been one big mess.  1997-2014 was the Axl solo project.  Nothing will convince me otherwise.  Super cool in a lot of ways... but the GNR name made it so difficult for that band to function.   I really think it would have been better and healthier for Axl to have dropped the GNR name making it easier to actually release music during that time.  Back then though, I defended Axl's use of the name GNR and was a proponent of it.  But, perceptions change.  It was a solo act, no doubt. 

2016 was promising.  It was just great to see Axl and Slash back together.  Duff was necessary, too.  His backing vocals alone are a trademark for GNR.   So it really gave the ILLUSION of it being GNR the BAND again.  

7 years later (I can't believe I'm saying that... seven years since the reunion), and it's super safe to say that GNR has gone full KISS.  A few special moments aside from 2016, but for all intents and purposes, this is GNR- the BRAND.  

The current lineup could change that with a solid, all original album.  Not some reworked songs from 20 years ago written by other artists.   They could still appeal to the masses live with a setlist heavy with classics.   But showing us hardcores that this lineup could churn out some killer tunes would go a long way in giving them credibility.  

I'm not holding my breath, though.  

GNR was truly one of the last acts to change the landscape of music, so I'm happy to have been around for that.   An argument could be made for Nirvana, too, ushering in the grunge movement.  But GNR's explosion onto the music scene was as shocking/earth moving as Elvis's hips... The Beatles on Ed Sullivan... Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk.  

Gene Simmons said it best... something like, 50 years from now, we'll still be listening to Elvis, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, GNR.... how many acts can you say that about that formed after the year 2000?  Coldplay... maybe?  

I saw Paul McCartney live last year, and it was amazing. It was witnessing history.... like being in a dream.   I would suggest to anyone, even if you're not the biggest fans of some of these legacy acts, to go see them if you can.   Billy Joel just announced a tour... try to see it.   It's history and the vast majority of the people at those shows know it, and it's a feeling like no other.  An amazing sense of one.   Go see GNR if you haven't... McCartney if he tours again.  Really, anyone that toured in the 60's to the 80's, they're worth seeing.    Those folks set the standard and their music will still be on the radio 50 years from now.   Enjoy them while they're still here!  Just in the last decade we've lost so many of them... Bowie, Prince, Petty, VanHalen.  Just lost Crosby this week.  

As frustrating as GNR is to us hardcores, we're really lucky to still have them around, despite how commercialized they've become.  They're not quite as old as the McCartney's and the Joel's of the world, but man, how did they survive the 80's and 90's?!  It's a flat out miracle!  Lol.   

When I went to see McCartney, I had my parents and my ten year old son with me.  Three generations in awe.   My son will be able to tell his kids that he saw a Beatle, live.

So cool!

 

Sorry for straying off topic... but I warned y'all at the top of my post.  Lol.  

 

 

 

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

Too young and my mom was busy with me and my brother so they never got to see GNR live, but loved seeing the videos on MTV.

Back in the 80's was when MTV actually played videos and a lot of rock/metal videos. GNR ruled those day.

My mom would video all the videos and as I grew up we would watch them. So cool. 

My brother learned to play drums listening to AFD. He even met Steven once when he was 17. Steven wasn't in such a good place but he was very cool to my brother. He got a pic and an autograph.

Maybe one day my brother will meet Axl. That would be so cool.

[GoBucky]

I was 11 when Appetite came out, and 6 months later, we were all Gn'R crazy in junior high school. At that age, Axl and Slash were all that mattered. 

[Karice]

I also think of Duff as one of the "Lesser," Original Guns N'Roses Members. Axl,Slash, Izzy, Duff, Steven. Steven is definitely the lowest on the Totem Pole for me of the Original Guns N'Roses. Duff is one step above Steven for me. Even on the Appetite For Discussion Album Cover, Duff and Steven are both on the outside. Slash is the Foundation, Izzy is the Head, Axl is the Center, and Duff and Steven merely balance the cross. 

[Rjuncajun]

I was around for AFD when it came out. My friend turned me on to the album though I really liked SCOM and WTTJ before listening to his copy of the album.   

 

It was Axl, Slash, Izzy, Matt, then Duff. I became much more of a Duff fan after watching the UYI Tour Videos from Tokyo. After watching those, I was more Axl, Slash,  Duff,  Matt and Gilby.   To me that's my fav lineup (all due respect to Izzy for his lyrics).  I just preferred Gilby's state presence and sense of style more.

 

 

 

 

[WhazUp]

I was not around during AFD, but I do think Duff adds a bit of authenticity and enough of the "old GNR" vibe to give what is basically to the mainstream audience the "Axl and Slash" show some extra credibility

I think it helps that Axl+Slash+Duff were also the core 3 that ended up finishing out the Illusions tour and so it is basically nowadays the Illusions lineup but with different hired replacements and an extra keyboard/background singer in place of Tracy/Roberta - if you want to think about it in such a roundabout way lol