Richard Fortus Interview with Celestion

[Tom2112]

2 minutes ago, DoMw94 said:

He probably wasn't a fan because he was dismissive of them without hearing them. Now he knows the music and has heard it coutless times, his viewpoint's probably different, regardless of his employment situation. He basically admits it was the image he thought of that he didn't like.

I've been similar with bands I'm a fan of now – I didn't like them because I thought I wouldn't. Then I actually heard them and became a fan.

It's that old saying, 'you don't know until you try it'. Let's face it, regardless of money (he'd make a fine living playing for everyone else if he wasn't in GN'R), if he didn't like the music, he wouldn't be there.

He'd do just fine out of gnr, but it would be far more of a hustle and keys face it, the guy probably has enjoyed knowing that for the last 15+yrs gnr are basically always touring and he can count on that... And I'd imagine his pays is reflected in his tenure, so you can't underestimate that. 

But yeah I wouldn't say he's only there for the money, but it certainly greases the wheels. But who knows? He might have a really good relationship with Axl too, so he wants to be loyal. There's a lot of things in play

[EvanG]

22 minutes ago, mystery said:

Doesn't apply to everyone but people who age into their 40s-50s very much see their 20 something selves as a kid. I wouldn't be surpised if Axl, Slash or Duff cringe at some of the stuff they used to do in their 20s.

I think it also depends on the language. In some languages it’s not common to still refer to people above 20 as ‘kids’ but in the English language it’s quite normal to call young adults that without being patronizing. 

Edited February 12, 2023 by EvanG

[Powderfinger]

I’m 44 and if I were to speak about myself at 22, I’d probably describe myself as a kid. In years, 22 is only a few in. There’s another 50 to go (hopefully) 

Strange he lumped them in with the Posions etc, the thing that made GnR instantly different from the rest back then was their sound and he definitely would have heard that. GnR were all over the radio by 88-89. 

 

[merryfnchristmas]

On 2/12/2023 at 12:30 PM, Tom2112 said:

If he was out of the band I almost guarantee he would be less than flattering. 

I like the guy, but I also appreciate that gnr to him is a comfy gig that pays well so he is quite happy to toe the line.... But I don't think he would be listening to gnr if he wasn't being paid, and I still think if you were a trusted friend he'd tell you the same. Gnr aren't cool, and he likes all those cool/hip 80/90s bands. End of the day as long as he's pulling the gig off who cares! And he definitely is doing that, without question!

to be fair to Richard, they had pretty big hair! As does he..but maybe more in the classic Faces/Izzy/Rooster styling.

[jacdaniel]

While he might not love Guns, I'm sure it's more exciting than Enrique Inglesias or doing session work for anyone like that. 

[vloors]

5 hours ago, Powderfinger said:

I’m 44 and if I were to speak about myself at 22, I’d probably describe myself as a kid. In years, 22 is only a few in. There’s another 50 to go (hopefully) 

Strange he lumped them in with the Posions etc, the thing that made GnR instantly different from the rest back then was their sound and he definitely would have heard that. GnR were all over the radio by 88-89. 

 

In 88-89 Richard was too busy loving Milli Vanilli to notice a band like GNR 

[rumandraisin]

23 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

There are often little correlation between how big of fans they were and how well they have fitted with the band in various ways.

Richard was no fan (and was "vehemently opposed" to the scene from where GN'R originated), but is a great guy for the band live and possibly also in the studio.

Bumblefoot was a fan of the band, very good at playing the songs live, but most fans seem to not appreciate what he did in the studio (to be fair to Bumble, he didn't have much time to work on the parts that were recorded).

DJ was a big fan of the band, fans are divided on his live performance but seems to be somewhat optimistic about what he could have done for the band recording-wise.

Tommy was absolutely not a fan, but did a good job in the studio and a very good job live. 

Robin was likely not a big fan, did a dividing job live but mostly a great job in the studio.

Buckethead was...who knows, did a great job live and a marvelous job in the studio.

What seems to be the case for all of them is that regardless of what they felt about GN'R prior to joining, they really enjoyed the salary and they seem to have bought into the vision Axl had for the band (and some eventually left in disappointment when the vision did not come to fruition).

I just think Bumblefoot spent a lot of time openly criticising the band online and in interviews. Which how he got away with that I don't know, TB or Axl should never have put up with that. He was getting paid and was lucky enough to be in the band which funded his solo stuff and tours yet he bitched about them non stop. 

It also seemed apparent that song writing and work had carried on he just wasn't invited. It never occurred to him they might not want to work on his stuff. 

[Lethalis]

Well... I never liked Marilyn Manson until I met my girlfriend and she made me listen to him.

I still don't like Manson's image, still don't like his live performances... but I can appreciate the music itself. It's a typical "I don't like the image, but like the music" thing.

Maybe that's where Richard is coming from as well with Guns.

[SoulMonster]

2 hours ago, Lethalis said:

Well... I never liked Marilyn Manson until I met my girlfriend and she made me listen to him.

I still don't like Manson's image, still don't like his live performances... but I can appreciate the music itself. It's a typical "I don't like the image, but like the music" thing.

Maybe that's where Richard is coming from as well with Guns.

This reminded me of Brain. He disregarded GN'R initially, but when he had to dive deeper into the music, he realized it was great:

 

[Sweersa]

On 2/12/2023 at 5:07 AM, rumandraisin said:

I've often thought that. Bumble was unnecessary and his contributions to the album just cluttered it. I think that's pretty apparent as it seems the majority of fans lean towards the 2006 leaks of Better, Twat etc that came from 2003ish

I really wish we would have gotten two albums (released or leaked) before Bumblefoot made contributions. Not that he was bad, I just like the Bucket stuff. 

On 2/11/2023 at 10:34 PM, Tom2112 said:

 I also think it was ultimately better having a guy like Bumble in the band as Richard/Robin would have not done justice to Buckets parts

I understand where you're coming from, but Richard seems to handle Bucket's parts very well when he does play them live. (Like the second solo on CD) I wish they utilized him more for the CD song solos.

[Spaghetti4twenty]

2 hours ago, Sweersa said:

I understand where you're coming from, but Richard seems to handle Bucket's parts very well when he does play them live. (Like the second solo on CD) I wish they utilized him more for the CD song solos.

Completely agree. In my opinion, Richard is the best NuGuns player, his playing style combines the nu with the old much better than Bumblefoot did. I’m happy he’s been in the band this long and got a little spotlight on Absurd 

[SoulMonster]

The only GN'R guitar tracks I am not sure Richard would handle flawlessly is the outro to Shackler's, which was Bumblefoot's work. Everything else, including Bucket's guitars, could have been done easily by Richard. 

[Tom2112]

4 hours ago, Sweersa said:

I really wish we would have gotten two albums (released or leaked) before Bumblefoot made contributions. Not that he was bad, I just like the Bucket stuff. 

I understand where you're coming from, but Richard seems to handle Bucket's parts very well when he does play them live. (Like the second solo on CD) I wish they utilized him more for the CD song solos.

Isn't that not a Bucket solo?

I actually think he plays it a bit stiff. It's not really his style. He's perfect in that bluesy world but when it comes to tapping and sweeping I don't think he cares for it. Which is fine of course! He still does a decent job on the solo! 

And I think the song in general suffers because bumbles rhythm part isn't being played. It's kinda suggested to, but Slash is basically ad-libbing and it makes the song really loose. To me that's the hook 2nd to the vocal

 

[Tom2112]

24 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

The only GN'R guitar tracks I am not sure Richard would handle flawlessly is the outro to Shackler's, which was Bumblefoot's work. Everything else, including Bucket's guitars, could have been done easily by Richard. 

Easily is a stretch. There's parts on a lot of those songs with a lot of double hand tapping as well as other fretless guitar work that I think would take Richard a while to get stage ready. Could he play it? Yes, but with a lot of work and the question would be if he'd be willing to do that work especially considering he has basically said he didn't like bumble/bucket in gnr.

[Rovim]

37 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

Isn't that not a Bucket solo?

that is a Bucket solo. Confirmed by Bumble as well.

33 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

Easily is a stretch. There's parts on a lot of those songs with a lot of double hand tapping as well as other fretless guitar work that I think would take Richard a while to get stage ready. Could he play it? Yes, but with a lot of work and the question would be if he'd be willing to do that work especially considering he has basically said he didn't like bumble/bucket in gnr.

Bumble called Bucket's Chinese parts "finger breakin'" iirc in an interview and sarcastically thanked him for leaving him with the task of recreating Bucket's guitar parts live, so I think it wasn't a breeze even for Bumble, who is the most technical guitar player Gn'R has ever had, but Bucket is very close. It's just that you have to sit down with it and practice to get it right like you said., on the condition that you have the physical potential to play like that.

the thing is, when you play shit by other players, the challenge is not just the technical side of it, but also if your style is different to theirs, you also gotta capture the ballpark vibe of it, make it sound convincing. Richard does a good job, but imho, you can tell it's not his forte, he does not come from that world that Bucket and Bumble belong to, or has that kind of technical ability. Still technically very impressive, it's just that there are a lot of levels of a player's ability on the instrument.

I think Richard does a convincing job, he's no slouch. Also did a good job on Robin's Street Of Dreams solo (second half of it) so he also knows how to replicate many different styles of playing. 

sidenote: I think Robin, Bucket, and Bumble all have a more unique lead style of playing compared to Richard. (still a great player though with a style of his own)

Edited February 13, 2023 by Rovim

[Sweersa]

31 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

Isn't that not a Bucket solo?

I actually think he plays it a bit stiff. It's not really his style. He's perfect in that bluesy world but when it comes to tapping and sweeping I don't think he cares for it. Which is fine of course! He still does a decent job on the solo! 

And I think the song in general suffers because bumbles rhythm part isn't being played. It's kinda suggested to, but Slash is basically ad-libbing and it makes the song really loose. To me that's the hook 2nd to the vocal

 

The second guitar solo, which takes place right after Robin's solo, is played by Buckethead on the album for the title track.

I don't mind Bumble's playing on that song, I just wish they would have utilized him on new material and not on old songs. 

[Free Bird]

On 2/11/2023 at 10:26 PM, Draguns said:

Interesting that he said as a kid he wasn't into GNR. He's in the same age range as Slash, Duff and Axl. Axl is 4 years older than Richard.  To me, that's an odd statement.  

May I ask how old you are?

I think being in their 50s they'd consider their 25 year old self to be a kid. I do and I'm not even 40.

[Legendador]

On 2/11/2023 at 2:36 PM, Shacklermyrye said:

https://celestion.com/blog/guns-n-roses-guitarist-richard-fortus-reflects-on-his-storied-career-and-celestion-speakers/

Not as much to do with GN'R as I would like but still, relevant parts to do with band below... Not a Poison fan it seems.

 

How did you get the gig with Guns N’ Roses?

I got called to audition. I was scheduled to be in L.A. anyway working on an album. So that lined up, they sent me some music, we went back and forth, but then as I was departing for L.A., I couldn’t reach them. I get to the album session, and Tommy Stinson and Josh Freese, who were in Guns N’ Roses at the time, were on it, too! They said, “Oh, you’re the guy from New York!”

What had happened was, Axl Rose had found the guitarist Buckethead and called off all auditions. Nonetheless, Tommy and I became very good friends. Cut to a couple of years later. I was on tour in Europe with Enrique Iglesias. Tommy called me and said, “Would you audition for Guns? We need somebody.” I had a break of two days in my schedule. After three shows at Royal Albert Hall, I flew straight to L.A., auditioned, listened to new material with Axl in his car all night, flew back to Ireland, and finished the Enrique tour. Right after, I started rehearsals with Guns.

As a guitarist, what is it like working with Slash?

Slash and Duff and I all come from similar musical backgrounds and have a lot of the same influences. We get along very well, and the funny thing is, I wasn’t that into Guns N’ Roses as a kid because I lumped them in with all the other ’80s hair metal. I supposed I realized they were more legit than bands like Poison, but they weren’t on my radar then. Once I got into the band, I realized how much we have in common.

Uuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh somebody's gonna get the corn for the "I lumped them in with all the other ’80s hair metal".....

[Draguns]

4 hours ago, Free Bird said:

May I ask how old you are?

I think being in their 50s they'd consider their 25 year old self to be a kid. I do and I'm not even 40.

I don't think a 20 something is a kid in the context that Richard stated in the article.  I'm in my 40s.  

[Tom2112]

4 hours ago, Sweersa said:

The second guitar solo, which takes place right after Robin's solo, is played by Buckethead on the album for the title track.

I don't mind Bumble's playing on that song, I just wish they would have utilized him on new material and not on old songs. 

Yeah, both players were largely wasted opportunities for GNR. I think Bumble played the solo almost identical to Bucket like, he just give it a little wider vibrato to bring out the RNF'NR🤘

[Frankfurt93]

this pretty much sums the problem why Guns are creativly dead since 1993.

Fortus/Frank are not only nothing more than 'reliable, but are not in it for any other reason but financial (not saying that Axl or Duff are in 2023).

BUT, Stradlin/Gilby/Adler/Sorum despite enjoying their checks would not be in it solely for the checks and I can argue that one wholeheartedly.  When those guys speak about those days, there is a certain spark, they were building this band together before being ditched. That is why there is no new fuckin' album, not today, not tmw, not in forseable future. When Axl fugures out a band needs much more than 'reliable and chep' guitarist/drummer, they will deliver something better than Absurd or Hardskool.

bottom line, Guns music is not only not those guys style, but not even their music of preference.

[Tom2112]

4 hours ago, Rovim said:

that is a Bucket solo. Confirmed by Bumble as well.

Bumble called Bucket's Chinese parts "finger breakin'" iirc in an interview and sarcastically thanked him for leaving him with the task of recreating Bucket's guitar parts live, so I think it wasn't a breeze even for Bumble, who is the most technical guitar player Gn'R has ever had, but Bucket is very close. It's just that you have to sit down with it and practice to get it right like you said., on the condition that you have the physical potential to play like that.

the thing is, when you play shit by other players, the challenge is not just the technical side of it, but also if your style is different to theirs, you also gotta capture the ballpark vibe of it, make it sound convincing. Richard does a good job, but imho, you can tell it's not his forte, he does not come from that world that Bucket and Bumble belong to, or has that kind of technical ability. Still technically very impressive, it's just that there are a lot of levels of a player's ability on the instrument.

I think Richard does a convincing job, he's no slouch. Also did a good job on Robin's Street Of Dreams solo (second half of it) so he also knows how to replicate many different styles of playing. 

sidenote: I think Robin, Bucket, and Bumble all have a more unique lead style of playing compared to Richard. (still a great player though with a style of his own)

I agree with all of this. To me, Richard is an exceptional player, but he has a less identifiable style. Bucket and Bumble I could almost pick out after a bar, especially Bucket/Bumble who have very identifiable tones and vibrato. Robin I'm the least familiar with outside GNR so it's hard to say. With Richard I've heard him in and out of GNR. I guess the best way I could describe his style is blues/metal shred. I really like his solo on Nightrain, and parts of what he does in Heavens door and I loved his solo spot in 2012, but I would struggle to hear on a record and guess it was him if I was wasn't reading the credits.

[Dacroix]

Wow wow wow...where's the there's-a-lot-of-material-that-could-be-released-soon part? Bring old interviews back!

[Spaghetti4twenty]

21 minutes ago, Dacroix said:

Wow wow wow...where's the there's-a-lot-of-material-that-could-be-released-soon part? Bring old interviews back!

Real emphasis on the COULD part 🤣

 

 

[Spaghetti4twenty]

2 hours ago, Frankfurt93 said:

When Axl fugures out a band needs much more than 'reliable and chep' guitarist/drummer, they will deliver something better than Absurd or Hardskool.

 

Idk, they delivered an amazing record with cheap and reliable in 2008. 
 

They might have the same problem when it comes to writing new stuff that they had in 96. As far as we know they’re a touring band and that’s it