BEHIND THE CURTAIN WITH GN'R Discussion Thread

[Dead Flower]

Del said it as it is and if he's reading this a BIG thank you for taking the time to put this out.

*vomits*

[Longpig]

"I've noticed that during our first week on tour, there's a lot of pissing and moaning on the Internet by people who aren't even at the shows. This vocal minority are not what I consider real GN'R fans. They are obsessive pests (go ahead and flame) in need of a real outlet other than GN'R chat rooms and posting on fan sites because the real fans are at the shows having fun. When someone overanalyzes something as petty as Robin's beard, what Axl says to the audience, the set list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world."

Ok people this seems to have stirred up a little bit of a storm in a tea cup....

".... a lot of pissing and moaning by people on the internet who AREN'T GOING TO THE SHOWS..."

Does this mean EVERYONE on the forums.... nope. It means some people are criticising the shows that they didn't even go to. To say this is a bit strange is fair comment.

"....this vocal minority...."

Again people think he refers to the ENTIRE online GnR community.... he's just said MINORITY... do some of you not understand this word? He doesn't mean the internet is the minority, just that the portion of the internet users that piss and moan are a minority...

The over-analysing comment cannot be argued with surely. Everyone on a GnR forum must have been involved in some part of over-analysis over the years... which with the immense amount of inactivity cannot be criticised. However, I think the point is that there IS activity at the minute so maybe stop over-analysing now and enjoy what's happening.

The whole reconnect with the real world comment I guess means take a step back and think about things... like people have said we've not had what we've got now since 1993 (I'm not arguing about who's in the band etc... just talking of the amount of activity...).

Re. the set list, there's no new album so new songs won't go well with 95% of the audience who want to hear classics. I mean they're doing this set list now because people want to hear November rain, Jungle, SCOM, etc.... imagine if you got to see them once this tour and they didn't do nightrain, or Paradise City... but they did on every other date.... you'd be pissed. A bit like wat happened in Newcastle on the UK tour.... missed PC off, and everyone there was a bit annoyed. Well if they chopped and changed that much then a lot of fans would miss out on a classic song... that would annoy more of the audience than if they played Prostitute.

The time for major set list changes are when the album is out. The only change they can do is add different songs from their back catelogue. Which I'm sure they will do in time. Remember Ron is pretty new and it'll take time for the band to learn new songs. Let's hope for perfect crime on their next gig.... although as soon as that is done there will be "why don't they do Civil war...." and all that shit.

People are never happy and NO band on earth can please everyone. I agree with Del James, people need to appreciate what they have and stop being selfish and think about all the fans not on here 24/7 and let them have fun seeing GnR. It seems most people here have forgotten fun and are obsessive and twisted about new songs and "more, more, more".... just enjoy it...

LP

[dobadog]

"I've noticed that during our first week on tour, there's a lot of pissing and moaning on the Internet by people who aren't even at the shows. This vocal minority are not what I consider real GN'R fans. They are obsessive pests (go ahead and flame) in need of a real outlet other than GN'R chat rooms and posting on fan sites because the real fans are at the shows having fun. When someone overanalyzes something as petty as Robin's beard, what Axl says to the audience, the set list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world."

I'd say many people on these forums do got to the shows. This person is talking out of their backside.

[aussie_axl]

i agree they shouldn't change the set list, because most people going to the concerts arn't hardcore fans, us hardcore fans feel like we need a change, but you gotta think about whats best for gnr at this point, and it's to play those classics!

del just pissed me off ragging on us net fans! news flash delly! it's the only way i can keep up to date on gnr news! they haven't toured australia lately champ! assclown!.

[Longpig]

"I've noticed that during our first week on tour, there's a lot of pissing and moaning on the Internet by people who aren't even at the shows. This vocal minority are not what I consider real GN'R fans. They are obsessive pests (go ahead and flame) in need of a real outlet other than GN'R chat rooms and posting on fan sites because the real fans are at the shows having fun. When someone overanalyzes something as petty as Robin's beard, what Axl says to the audience, the set list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world."

I'd say many people on these forums do got to the shows. This person is talking out of their backside.

Stop not getting it you fucking idiot..... he's talking about people pissing and moaning on the internet that don't go to the shows. Not the people on the internet that DO go.... argh.... I can see why GnR are pissed about some people on here....

LP

[Leigh-Rok!]

That was truely beautiful.

Finally something positive and confimed, and who better to deliver the message... Del FUCKING James!

I liked this part...

No one in this band got into the music business to punch a time clock or worry about hangovers.

Oh and it's great to know they're all hanging out and having fun.

A fantastic read.

Edited November 1, 2006 by Leigh-Rok!

[axlsend]

I've 'shitted' my pants!!! Again..

You are definately going to the doctors!

Well......We wanted news, we got news and we are still bitching and moaning. They can't fucking win!

Edited November 1, 2006 by axlsend

[aussie_axl]

I've 'shitted' my pants!!! Again..

You are definately going to the doctors!

Well......We wanted news, we got news and we are still bitching and moaning. They can't fucking win!

well del bitches like a bitch, so hey, we learn from the best!.

[Spoon87]

Really cool article, a very good read.

This is the best of inside information we can get.

[rockstar81]

Del James is nothing in GN'R History. Who does he think he is to show so much disrespect toward Slash,Duff and the fans?

Edited November 1, 2006 by rockstar81

[Guest Matt13]

Maybe the article was pulled because they realized it sounded petulant and insulting to the fans who continually invest their money in Axl year after disappointing year.

And yet, your dumbass keeps coming back. Fuck off already. You've become tiring.

[droezle]

April, 1989

The world according to W. Axl Rose by Del James

RIP April 1989

My relationship with Guns N' Roses is a close one. I've been a roadie, roommate, confidant, reporter and a friend to each member of the group. My relationship with Axl is still very close. It's a friendship, and out of that friendship comes a shared trust. The following represents Axl's trust in me to report the unwritten truth about W. Axl Rose and the rock n'roll phenomenon known as Guns N' Roses. My job was rather easy: I just let Axl do most of the talking.

There are many different impressions of you floating around, everything from you being manic-depressive and suicidal to a drug-crazed genius. What makes Axl Rose tick and explode, and what are you about?

Well, because of Guns N' Roses' lifestyle, people who don't know us tend to be afraid or intimidated by us. After leading a life of girls, drugs and whatever, people draw a certain picture about me. I've toned it all down, because I have other things I have to do. I can't be doing drugs every night because, after selling six million records, the business I have to deal with is a lot more intense than most people's. Once you reach a point where you're platinum or projected to go platinum, all of a sudden you're dealing with major record executives and business people and MTV and everything else. You start becoming one of those people you thought you were against. You have to work with them. They're there for you and kicking ass, so you have to produce. Just saying fuck off for the sake of saying fuck off is cutting your own throat. It's hard to go out and have a thrashing time all the time when you have to deal with these types of responsibilities, and Guns N'Roses has had to deal with them since the day we were signed. Slash probably wouldn't drink so much if it wasn't for the fact that that's the way he's able to deal with all these people. He's able to quietly drink his bottle and talk. Me, if I'm drunk, I'll tell everybody to get the fuck outta my house. I can't get wasted because I react differently. As soon as I'm drunk, I realize 'Ya know, this past week of doing business has been really boring'. I want to fucking kill something [laughs].

When do the walls usually close in?

Usually when we're on the road. I'm very stressed about the shows, which are the most important thing to me. Nothing ever really works right for this band. Slash once said that God didn't want us to happen [laughs], and I somewhat believe that. When an interviewer comes in, and I'd rather be sleeping or they know I'm not in the mood, the impression left is 'He's losing it'. In a nutshell, that's why that happens.

Would you consider yourself a manic-depressive?

I'm very sensitive and emotional, and things upset me and make me feel like not functioning or not dealing with people, the band or anything. I went to a clinic, thinking it would help my moods. The only thing I did was take one 500-question test - ya know, filling in the little black dots. All of sudden I'm diagnosed manic-depressive. "Let's put Axl on medication". Well, the medication doesn't help me deal with stress. The only thing it does is help keep people off my back because they figure I'm on medication.

Ever since day one, you've continued to grow as a person, as a musician and now as a businessman. You've done things, to quote Frank, 'your way'. How do you view yours and the band's growth, and what have you learned over the past three years?

It's not like we're the most intelligent bunch, but as far as street sense - hanging out, doing drugs, partying, girls and shit like that - we know and understand a lot. It's like we purposely put ourselves through street school. I didn't know how to pick up ckicks, so I used to stand outside the Rainbow and watch how this goes down. I didn't know shit about doing drugs, so I learned what's safe and what's not, how to get it, how to do it properly and everything else that's involved. We learned how to survive. We learned who's who in the music business. We learned how to tell when someone's full of shit. We've learned some hard lessons and had to pay some out-of-court settlements. At least we're smart enough to talk straight business now. If someone in this band is like, 'Okay , we're up against a wall' we have people - lawyers, other lawyers and other accountants - so that any mess we manage to get into, we can get out of.

Guns N' Roses are approaching the seven million mark for copies of Appetite for destruction sold. Everybody in the band is shopping for houses, buying cars etc. What's it like to go from street survivors to millionaires?

We're not millionaires. The world, people outside of the music industry, seems to think that if you go platinum, one million copies sold, you're a millionaire. It doesn't work like that. It costs 200 grand to make an adequate video. You've got that debt. You've got the money it took to make the record, the money it took to promote the record in advertisements and crap like that. It's easy to work up a bill of, like, a million dollars, especially if you have a record that's sold six million copies. All the promotion and the money that keep going into it have to come from somewhere. Basically, we make around a buck a record. Twenty cents to each member for every copy of Appetite sold. That's not exact, but it's pretty close. By the time you each make a million dollars, five million copies sold, you'd have to sell around eight million copies, because you'll be, like, three million in debt. You have to pay the people that work for you - management, lawyers, accountants, roadies and so on. Out of the buck we make, we're paying all our debts back. Everything we've borrowed, used, broken or had on loan comes out of this. After doing a tour, there's a lot of past debts that need to be paid. To go out and do anything for less than $1,000 or $1,500 a show means you're paying to play. If you headline and go past eleven o'clock, then you're talking paying major overtime and fines. In New York I was late to the show at the Felt Forum because I'd passed out after drinking Nightrain and doing an MTV interview. I showered, did my vocal exercises and got dressed within 15 minutes and went to the gig. We got out of an $8,000 overtime debt because the barricades that separate the fans from the stage were set up wrong, and by the time they'd fixed it, I'd gotten there and everything was cool. People wonder why bands don't play longer. It has nothing to do with not wanting to play longer. There are nights where we want to play all night long, but we can't afford to.

Are you, as many people believe, a heavy drug user?

I have a different physical constitution and different mindset about drugs than anybody I've known in Hollywood, because I don't abstain from doing drugs, but I won't allow myself to have a fuckin' habit. I won't allow it. I'll have done blow for three days and my mind will go "Fuck no". I'll have the physical feeling of knowing my body needs it, and I'll just refuse to do coke that day. I'm not going to do it, because if I was going to do it, I know I won't be able to hit my goals with what I want to do with this band. I can't let myself get into coke as much as I'm into the band. The same thing with heroin. I did it for three weeks straight and had one of the greatest times in my life, because I was with a girl I wanted to be with in this beautiful apartment, and we just sat there listening to Led Zeppelin, doing drugs and fucking. It was great, 'cause at that time I had nothing to do but sit on my ass and make a few phone calls a day. I stopped on, like, Saturday, because I had serious business to attend to on Monday. I felt like shit, sweated, shook, but on Monday I was able to function. I can't hide in drugs. A lot of people can, but whenever I do any drugs - pills, booze, smack, whatever - to enjoy it, my life has to be perfect - no fuck-ups, nothing going wrong. Otherwise, when I'm high, I'll analyse the shit out of everything that's happening in my life and why things are going wrong. That's not enjoyable. And if I have shows to do, I won't touch drugs because it fucks up my throat. My advice is don't get a habit, don't use anybody else's needle and don't let drugs become a prerequisite to having a good time. Do things in moderation , and just be careful.

You've been portrayed in the media as everything from the most exciting musical personality since Elvis to the doped-out bastard son of rock n'roll. How do you feel about the way the press has treated you, and do you think you've been given fair treatment?

I'm not really worried about what people think of me. What bothers me is what certain things printed about me do to people who I care about. If I say something, and it gets twisted to where it seems like I'm saying my band's full of shit or something when it's not what I said, that bothers me. That's not fair. Writers have to understand where we're coming from and hopefully print it that way. I've tried to be very open. You know, you've just met the interviewer real quick, you try to answer their questions, try to be as friendly as possible and then you end up with this person looking at your life not through a telescope, but rather through a kaleidoscope. Everything's in pieces and distorted. I understand that everybody wants to print the dirt - that sells magazines - but you should first try to find out if the dirt is true. There are some magazines that we have some major problems with. I thought the Rolling Stone piece was very good from an outsider's point of view, but some of the things were exaggerated. Like the bus issue. First of all, it was Izzy's idea to get a separate bus, and secondly, after shows I can't afford to party out like the other guys. There's been several times when I had to leave the bus because of nerves. It's impossible to sit there completely straight, listening to someone who is annihilated go off about something or another. Also, it gives us more space. We all used to live together, but we've outgrown being crowded in together. Not because we don't like each other, but because we have different lifestyles. Also about the Stone article, Teresa Ensenat doesn't have anything to do with Guns N'Roses anymore, and she surely did not discover us. She did a lot of good things for the band and helped us get the first album cover distributed, but she did not do nearly as much as Tom Zutaut did. Tom's the first major record person we were able to talk openly with, and he's the main reason our record happened.

So you're not happy with the way the press has covered GN'R?

It seems to me that we're a spectacle, a freak show. Magazines are more interested in who fell over last night than the music. I'm to the point where I'm tired of being a spectacle. One of the things that make this band so controversial is that we tell the truth. We tell what really happens. I like being honest with the press. What bugs me is after reading something about me, people don't have the slightest clue as to what I'm all about. Isn't that what doing interviews is about? From now on, interviews will be very limited. That must sound like, 'Oh, he's being a rock star', but the truth is, I don't need the headache of not getting things across to the public the way I feel they should be. I'm only doing this interview because I believe in RIP and some of the friends I've made there.

There's been a lot of stories about who discovered you and so on. A name that's been popping up a lot is your ex-manager, Vicky Hamilton. What's her relationship with Guns N' Roses?

Vicky Hamilton was a woman who basically had a monopoly on booking bands at the Roxy and the Whiskey, and we needed to get those gigs. We also needed a place to live. Vicky offered us help. She said she'd get us $25,000 we desperately needed for the proper equipment to start getting close to the sound we wanted. She never came through with the money; so with an important gig coming up, we got Geffen to go for a $35,000 memo deal, which means that we didn't have to sign with them but we had to pay the money back. Now Vicky's claiming that she managed us and that we wouldn't pay her back. She claims she invested $100,000 and she should be party to any of the money we make. She says we all get along, but in reality nobody likes dealing with her. Nobody trusts her. She managed the band? We - Slash, Duff, Izzy, Steven and Axl - managed the band. A year later she sued us for one million dollars. We didn't want to go to court, pay lawyer fees, court expenses and shit, especially when I don't trust the law and judicial system. I don't need the hassle. I don't believe in the fuckin' law system. I don't believe in the fuckin' government. I do believe that America is the best country on the face of the fuckin' earth, but that doesn't mean that America isn't run by assholes. Poor Vicky might look great in front of a judge, and Guns N'Roses look like slime, so they should lose. We settled out of court for $30,000, 15 of which Geffen paid.

Why would a band like Guns N' Roses, whose main market is a hard rock/heavy metal market, release GN'R Lies, an extended EP where four of the songs on it are acoustic?

First off, we've been talking about the songs as 'acoustic', but on three of them there is electric guitar. That's the way we've tried to get people mentally prepared for the songs. We've written some mellow songs that seem to grab people's hearts. It's just something we planned on doing for a long time. We wrote some of the songs during or before the recording of Appetite and revised them until we felt they were strong enough to put out. The reason we did it is because we wanted to.

Do you like the slow stuff?

I think 'Crazy' sucks. The band's great but I think I sound like shit. It's a very special, magical song. Everytime we record 'Crazy' something happens. When it's really on, the band goes into a trancelike state. You leave everything else behind. I don't think I quite hit what I was looking for. I don't think there's a major problem with it, I just don't think we quite hit it, I think everything else kicks ass!

What's 'One in a million' about?

'One in a million' is about...... I went back and forth from Indiana eight times my first year in Hollywood. I wrote it about being dropped off at the bus station and everything that was going on. I'd never been in a city this big and was fortunate enough to have this black dude help me find my way. He guided me to the RTD station and showed me what bus to take, because I couldn't get a straight answer out of anybody. He wasn't after my money or anything. It was more like, "Here's a new kid in town, and he looks like he might get into trouble down here. Lemme help him get on his way." People kept coming up trying to sell me joints and stuff. In downtown L.A the joints are usually bogus, or they'll sell you drugs that can kill you. It's a really ugly scene. The song's not about him, but you could kinda say he was one in a million. When I sat down after walking in circles for three hours, the cops told me to get off the streets. The cops down there have seen so much slime that they figure if you have long hair, you're probably slime also. The black guys trying to sell you jewelry and drugs is where the line 'Police and hooray for tolerance!s, get out of my way' comes from. I've seen these huge black dudes pull Bowie knives on people for their boom boxes and shit. It's ugly.

There are some, shall we say, controversial lines in the song, aren't there?

The line about 'immigrants and hooray for tolerance!s' you mean? I don't have anything against someone coming here from another country and trying to better themselves. What I don't dig is some 7-11 worker acting as though you don't belong here, or acting like they don't understand you while they're trying to rip you off. [Axl mimics an Iranian] "Wot? I no understand you". I'm saying "I gave you a 20, and I want my $15 change!" I threatened to blow up their gas station, and then they gave me my change. I don't need that. I don't know what to think about gays. They're in a world of their own. I'm not too happy about AIDS. When I say I'm a small-town white boy, I'm just saying I'm no better than anyone else I've described. I'm just trying to get through life, that's all.

You have a new hobby, gun collecting. Among your prizes are a riot gun, a 9mm and an Uzi. Would you care to elaborate on that?

The reason I bought the Uzi is because this guy was going to rent me this house, then started dicking around, jacking up the price. He wanted more money than it was worth. I was so pissed off that I bought the Uzi. I've always wanted an Uzi. Everybody talks about machine guns and shit. I realized the only reason I didn't go for it was I thought I'd freak out with it. Now that I own a couple of guns, I also understand the responsibility that goes along with them. I never take them anywhere unlocked or loaded. Dig this : I saw this ad in Soldier of fortune magazine that said 'When the going gets tough, the tough get an Uzi.' Let's get tough!

It seems that every week or so either you or Slash are rumored dead. Tales of suicide, overdosing, murder. Some of the rumors are quite upsetting...

[laughing] The reason they bother you is because you [RIP] get all the phone calls asking "Is Axl really dead?"

No, what worries me is that one day it might not be a rumor. Why do you think these "Axl is dead" rumors continue to circulate as much as they do?

There's a few reasons. First off, it's a rumor that started a long time ago because I'll disappear for a few weeks at a time, and people presume if I'm not in the public's eye, something must have happened. I'll be right in Hollywood, laying low, not calling or wanting to deal with anybody; so no one knows exactly what happened to Axl. I just have to get away every so often to digest and understand all that's going on around me. A lot of these rumors started around the time when we were signed and have only surfaced recently. There's rumors about famous people we heard in junior high school that are still around today. Some very strange ones about Rod Stewart [laughs]. People go, "Yeah, man , did you hear that rumor da da da?" and they have fun spreading it, seeing the effect it has on their friends. Another reason is Guns N'Roses might be totally straight for a while, doing everything according the the norm, and then all of a sudden go, "Fuck it, I'm not gonna take shit anymore", and go off. We're always walking the edge. Since we're on this edge, it scares people - they freak out and so on. They think maybe this did happen, or they talk themselves into believing we're dead. Then they tell their friends. Another reason, this band means a lot to a lot of people. Bands that mean so much to their fans often get a lot of rumors about them. A lot of fans are afraid that their heroes might leave their lives. Nikki Sixx used to die all the time. Maybe people try to see what life would be like without their idols, or how they would handle it, and the next thing you know, it's a rumor. I'm dead again. What I figure with all the death rumors is that this band means a lot to the people out there, and we're important enough that it would upset them if we really were gone. I hope it's not a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Carne_asaDA]

The way he dissed Slash and Duff in that article, basically saying that those guys didn't think outside of the box. Del said that as if GnR had a dozen albums out there. And I will say that every "real" fan knows that AFD was the defining album of what GnR is. And AFD was a band effort and certainly not an individual effort. Naturally, Axl-ites are gonna bring up, what about Sweet Child O Mine. Slash hated that song. Well, personally, that song is cheesey pop and was only built for commercial success. I don't think that's one of the best songs in their catalouge. And it's the lead guitar that carries that song, not the corny lyrics that an 11 year old girl who's in puppy love could write. And whether or not Slash hated it or not, he still created that classic guitar riff and the facemelting solo. If Del thinks that Axl was the heart and soul of the band because he wrote Coma, November Rain, Estranged, Breakdown, and My World , then fine. But that's really unfair because those songs are only off of one album.(I'm counting UYI as one) And in theory, there's only 2 full lenghed albums. So essentially, Del is basically saying that UYI was better than AFD???

[Dead Flower]

Maybe this Christmas, eh Matty?

[avg_]

the real fans goto the shows?

i live in sydney australia, how the fuck am i gonna get to those shows?

del james - idiot

so pretty much, by me living in australia makes me a non gnr fan.

del james - tool

and i dont even think its his real name.. wank wank

[aussie_axl]

the real fans goto the shows?

i live in sydney australia, how the fuck am i gonna get to those shows?

del james - idiot

so pretty much, by me living in australia makes me a non gnr fan.

del james - tool

and i dont even think its his real name.. wank wank

yeah avg i live in brisbane, so i guess i'm not a real fan, hell maybe where just not important.

yeah del shut the fuck up!, i think it's time you logged off and surfaced from under your gnr shell!.

[Guest Matt13]

"I've noticed that during our first week on tour, there's a lot of pissing and moaning on the Internet by people who aren't even at the shows. This vocal minority are not what I consider real GN'R fans. They are obsessive pests (go ahead and flame) in need of a real outlet other than GN'R chat rooms and posting on fan sites because the real fans are at the shows having fun. When someone overanalyzes something as petty as Robin's beard, what Axl says to the audience, the set list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world."

Ok people this seems to have stirred up a little bit of a storm in a tea cup....

".... a lot of pissing and moaning by people on the internet who AREN'T GOING TO THE SHOWS..."

Does this mean EVERYONE on the forums.... nope. It means some people are criticising the shows that they didn't even go to. To say this is a bit strange is fair comment.

"....this vocal minority...."

Again people think he refers to the ENTIRE online GnR community.... he's just said MINORITY... do some of you not understand this word? He doesn't mean the internet is the minority, just that the portion of the internet users that piss and moan are a minority...

The over-analysing comment cannot be argued with surely. Everyone on a GnR forum must have been involved in some part of over-analysis over the years... which with the immense amount of inactivity cannot be criticised. However, I think the point is that there IS activity at the minute so maybe stop over-analysing now and enjoy what's happening.

The whole reconnect with the real world comment I guess means take a step back and think about things... like people have said we've not had what we've got now since 1993 (I'm not arguing about who's in the band etc... just talking of the amount of activity...).

Re. the set list, there's no new album so new songs won't go well with 95% of the audience who want to hear classics. I mean they're doing this set list now because people want to hear November rain, Jungle, SCOM, etc.... imagine if you got to see them once this tour and they didn't do nightrain, or Paradise City... but they did on every other date.... you'd be pissed. A bit like wat happened in Newcastle on the UK tour.... missed PC off, and everyone there was a bit annoyed. Well if they chopped and changed that much then a lot of fans would miss out on a classic song... that would annoy more of the audience than if they played Prostitute.

The time for major set list changes are when the album is out. The only change they can do is add different songs from their back catelogue. Which I'm sure they will do in time. Remember Ron is pretty new and it'll take time for the band to learn new songs. Let's hope for perfect crime on their next gig.... although as soon as that is done there will be "why don't they do Civil war...." and all that shit.

People are never happy and NO band on earth can please everyone. I agree with Del James, people need to appreciate what they have and stop being selfish and think about all the fans not on here 24/7 and let them have fun seeing GnR. It seems most people here have forgotten fun and are obsessive and twisted about new songs and "more, more, more".... just enjoy it...

LP

You're spot on Longpig. You're my new buddy around here.

I am completely appalled by reading the negative comments from some people on here about this article. There are your usual suspects... HisRoyalFuckness for one... who are just revveling in over-analyzing the shit out of this thing... just like they ALWAYS over-analyze anything GNR related. They're all negative and coming up with excuses as if DEFENDING THEMSELVES from something. Some clown mentions 'payroll', throws out a few big intelligent words and blah blah blah blah... THE SAME OLD SHIT... and everyone, including a lot of people I've grown to respect on here jump on the bandwagon and call it open season on GNR and Axl Rose.

So, let me get this straight, NOBODY IN THE GNR CAMP can write or talk about anything because they're on a payroll and whatever they say was strictly dictated by Axl so it's all completely fabricated and full of BS? Most of you people are exactly what Del claims you to be... fucking internet whores that hide behind a computer screen and every now and then some big words to build up your 'karma' and impress the vast majority of morons here on an internet fan forum and cause a big internet spur on that very forum because apparently, you have no real life of your own. Sad but fucking true.

The usual suspects and some new attention-getters are doing EXACTLY what Del speaks of in his article. The fact is, no matter what GNR does from this point on... and I mean NO MATTER WHAT... good or bad... these people are going to do anything and everything to over-analyze, degrade, insult and shit on GNR... all on a fucking fan forum. HOW MUCH MORE PATHETIC CAN A PERSON'S LIFE BE.

What's sadder, again, is the bandwagon of idiots following them off the side of the cliff. I'm APPALLED and utterly ashamed to have associated myself with some of you people for being such blind sheep of these idiots.

No wonder GNR or anyone in the GNR camp either won't or is afraid to say anything about the band. Look at the shit they have to read? What's more, it doesn't matter what they say or talk about... the same usual group of pathetic internet whores will twist it into a big internet shit storm, just like they're doing here. PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC.

I think a lot of you need to get your head out of your asses. I strongly suggest many of you take Del's advice:

Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world.

[Leigh-Rok!]

"I've noticed that during our first week on tour, there's a lot of pissing and moaning on the Internet by people who aren't even at the shows. This vocal minority are not what I consider real GN'R fans. They are obsessive pests (go ahead and flame) in need of a real outlet other than GN'R chat rooms and posting on fan sites because the real fans are at the shows having fun. When someone overanalyzes something as petty as Robin's beard, what Axl says to the audience, the set list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world."

Ok people this seems to have stirred up a little bit of a storm in a tea cup....

".... a lot of pissing and moaning by people on the internet who AREN'T GOING TO THE SHOWS..."

Does this mean EVERYONE on the forums.... nope. It means some people are criticising the shows that they didn't even go to. To say this is a bit strange is fair comment.

"....this vocal minority...."

Again people think he refers to the ENTIRE online GnR community.... he's just said MINORITY... do some of you not understand this word? He doesn't mean the internet is the minority, just that the portion of the internet users that piss and moan are a minority...

The over-analysing comment cannot be argued with surely. Everyone on a GnR forum must have been involved in some part of over-analysis over the years... which with the immense amount of inactivity cannot be criticised. However, I think the point is that there IS activity at the minute so maybe stop over-analysing now and enjoy what's happening.

The whole reconnect with the real world comment I guess means take a step back and think about things... like people have said we've not had what we've got now since 1993 (I'm not arguing about who's in the band etc... just talking of the amount of activity...).

Re. the set list, there's no new album so new songs won't go well with 95% of the audience who want to hear classics. I mean they're doing this set list now because people want to hear November rain, Jungle, SCOM, etc.... imagine if you got to see them once this tour and they didn't do nightrain, or Paradise City... but they did on every other date.... you'd be pissed. A bit like wat happened in Newcastle on the UK tour.... missed PC off, and everyone there was a bit annoyed. Well if they chopped and changed that much then a lot of fans would miss out on a classic song... that would annoy more of the audience than if they played Prostitute.

The time for major set list changes are when the album is out. The only change they can do is add different songs from their back catelogue. Which I'm sure they will do in time. Remember Ron is pretty new and it'll take time for the band to learn new songs. Let's hope for perfect crime on their next gig.... although as soon as that is done there will be "why don't they do Civil war...." and all that shit.

People are never happy and NO band on earth can please everyone. I agree with Del James, people need to appreciate what they have and stop being selfish and think about all the fans not on here 24/7 and let them have fun seeing GnR. It seems most people here have forgotten fun and are obsessive and twisted about new songs and "more, more, more".... just enjoy it...

LP

You're spot on Longpig. You're my new buddy around here.

I am completely appalled by reading the negative comments from some people on here about this article. There are your usual suspects... HisRoyalFuckness for one... who are just revveling in over-analyzing the shit out of this thing... just like they ALWAYS over-analyze anything GNR related. They're all negative and coming up with excuses as if DEFENDING THEMSELVES from something. Some clown mentions 'payroll', throws out a few big intelligent words and blah blah blah blah... THE SAME OLD SHIT... and everyone, including a lot of people I've grown to respect on here jump on the bandwagon and call it open season on GNR and Axl Rose.

So, let me get this straight, NOBODY IN THE GNR CAMP can write or talk about anything because they're on a payroll and whatever they say was strictly dictated by Axl so it's all completely fabricated and full of BS? Most of you people are exactly what Del claims you to be... fucking internet whores that hide behind a computer screen and every now and then some big words to build up your 'karma' and impress the vast majority of morons here on an internet fan forum and cause a big internet spur on that very forum because apparently, you have no real life of your own. Sad but fucking true.

The usual suspects and some new attention-getters are doing EXACTLY what Del speaks of in his article. The fact is, no matter what GNR does from this point on... and I mean NO MATTER WHAT... good or bad... these people are going to do anything and everything to over-analyze, degrade, insult and shit on GNR... all on a fucking fan forum. HOW MUCH MORE PATHETIC CAN A PERSON'S LIFE BE.

What's sadder, again, is the bandwagon of idiots following them off the side of the cliff. I'm APPALLED and utterly ashamed to have associated myself with some of you people for being such blind sheep of these idiots.

No wonder GNR or anyone in the GNR camp either won't or is afraid to say anything about the band. Look at the shit they have to read? What's more, it doesn't matter what they say or talk about... the same usual group of pathetic internet whores will twist it into a big internet shit storm, just like they're doing here. PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC.

I think a lot of you need to get your head out of your asses. I strongly suggest many of you take Del's advice:

Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world.

Both of you, bravo. An inspiring read to rival Del himself.

[aussie_axl]

"I've noticed that during our first week on tour, there's a lot of pissing and moaning on the Internet by people who aren't even at the shows. This vocal minority are not what I consider real GN'R fans. They are obsessive pests (go ahead and flame) in need of a real outlet other than GN'R chat rooms and posting on fan sites because the real fans are at the shows having fun. When someone overanalyzes something as petty as Robin's beard, what Axl says to the audience, the set list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world."

Ok people this seems to have stirred up a little bit of a storm in a tea cup....

".... a lot of pissing and moaning by people on the internet who AREN'T GOING TO THE SHOWS..."

Does this mean EVERYONE on the forums.... nope. It means some people are criticising the shows that they didn't even go to. To say this is a bit strange is fair comment.

"....this vocal minority...."

Again people think he refers to the ENTIRE online GnR community.... he's just said MINORITY... do some of you not understand this word? He doesn't mean the internet is the minority, just that the portion of the internet users that piss and moan are a minority...

The over-analysing comment cannot be argued with surely. Everyone on a GnR forum must have been involved in some part of over-analysis over the years... which with the immense amount of inactivity cannot be criticised. However, I think the point is that there IS activity at the minute so maybe stop over-analysing now and enjoy what's happening.

The whole reconnect with the real world comment I guess means take a step back and think about things... like people have said we've not had what we've got now since 1993 (I'm not arguing about who's in the band etc... just talking of the amount of activity...).

Re. the set list, there's no new album so new songs won't go well with 95% of the audience who want to hear classics. I mean they're doing this set list now because people want to hear November rain, Jungle, SCOM, etc.... imagine if you got to see them once this tour and they didn't do nightrain, or Paradise City... but they did on every other date.... you'd be pissed. A bit like wat happened in Newcastle on the UK tour.... missed PC off, and everyone there was a bit annoyed. Well if they chopped and changed that much then a lot of fans would miss out on a classic song... that would annoy more of the audience than if they played Prostitute.

The time for major set list changes are when the album is out. The only change they can do is add different songs from their back catelogue. Which I'm sure they will do in time. Remember Ron is pretty new and it'll take time for the band to learn new songs. Let's hope for perfect crime on their next gig.... although as soon as that is done there will be "why don't they do Civil war...." and all that shit.

People are never happy and NO band on earth can please everyone. I agree with Del James, people need to appreciate what they have and stop being selfish and think about all the fans not on here 24/7 and let them have fun seeing GnR. It seems most people here have forgotten fun and are obsessive and twisted about new songs and "more, more, more".... just enjoy it...

LP

You're spot on Longpig. You're my new buddy around here.

I am completely appalled by reading the negative comments from some people on here about this article. There are your usual suspects... HisRoyalFuckness for one... who are just revveling in over-analyzing the shit out of this thing... just like they ALWAYS over-analyze anything GNR related. They're all negative and coming up with excuses as if DEFENDING THEMSELVES from something. Some clown mentions 'payroll', throws out a few big intelligent words and blah blah blah blah... THE SAME OLD SHIT... and everyone, including a lot of people I've grown to respect on here jump on the bandwagon and call it open season on GNR and Axl Rose.

So, let me get this straight, NOBODY IN THE GNR CAMP can write or talk about anything because they're on a payroll and whatever they say was strictly dictated by Axl so it's all completely fabricated and full of BS? Most of you people are exactly what Del claims you to be... fucking internet whores that hide behind a computer screen and every now and then some big words to build up your 'karma' and impress the vast majority of morons here on an internet fan forum and cause a big internet spur on that very forum because apparently, you have no real life of your own. Sad but fucking true.

The usual suspects and some new attention-getters are doing EXACTLY what Del speaks of in his article. The fact is, no matter what GNR does from this point on... and I mean NO MATTER WHAT... good or bad... these people are going to do anything and everything to over-analyze, degrade, insult and shit on GNR... all on a fucking fan forum. HOW MUCH MORE PATHETIC CAN A PERSON'S LIFE BE.

What's sadder, again, is the bandwagon of idiots following them off the side of the cliff. I'm APPALLED and utterly ashamed to have associated myself with some of you people for being such blind sheep of these idiots.

No wonder GNR or anyone in the GNR camp either won't or is afraid to say anything about the band. Look at the shit they have to read? What's more, it doesn't matter what they say or talk about... the same usual group of pathetic internet whores will twist it into a big internet shit storm, just like they're doing here. PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC.

I think a lot of you need to get your head out of your asses. I strongly suggest many of you take Del's advice:

Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world.

matty matty matty hold the phone!

who hides behind the net!? i'd fucking let del know how i feel about his comments to his face! and anyone else for that matter!

no one has the right to say disconnect from the net and get a real life when there typing on the net LOL, like you or del know anything about these people, it's a cheap shot! not a great one either.

of course people won't be happy, you can't please everyone, it's life? you will have different people complaining about different issues!, just realise this? where the fuck you been?

[Guest Matt13]

"I've noticed that during our first week on tour, there's a lot of pissing and moaning on the Internet by people who aren't even at the shows. This vocal minority are not what I consider real GN'R fans. They are obsessive pests (go ahead and flame) in need of a real outlet other than GN'R chat rooms and posting on fan sites because the real fans are at the shows having fun. When someone overanalyzes something as petty as Robin's beard, what Axl says to the audience, the set list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world."

Ok people this seems to have stirred up a little bit of a storm in a tea cup....

".... a lot of pissing and moaning by people on the internet who AREN'T GOING TO THE SHOWS..."

Does this mean EVERYONE on the forums.... nope. It means some people are criticising the shows that they didn't even go to. To say this is a bit strange is fair comment.

"....this vocal minority...."

Again people think he refers to the ENTIRE online GnR community.... he's just said MINORITY... do some of you not understand this word? He doesn't mean the internet is the minority, just that the portion of the internet users that piss and moan are a minority...

The over-analysing comment cannot be argued with surely. Everyone on a GnR forum must have been involved in some part of over-analysis over the years... which with the immense amount of inactivity cannot be criticised. However, I think the point is that there IS activity at the minute so maybe stop over-analysing now and enjoy what's happening.

The whole reconnect with the real world comment I guess means take a step back and think about things... like people have said we've not had what we've got now since 1993 (I'm not arguing about who's in the band etc... just talking of the amount of activity...).

Re. the set list, there's no new album so new songs won't go well with 95% of the audience who want to hear classics. I mean they're doing this set list now because people want to hear November rain, Jungle, SCOM, etc.... imagine if you got to see them once this tour and they didn't do nightrain, or Paradise City... but they did on every other date.... you'd be pissed. A bit like wat happened in Newcastle on the UK tour.... missed PC off, and everyone there was a bit annoyed. Well if they chopped and changed that much then a lot of fans would miss out on a classic song... that would annoy more of the audience than if they played Prostitute.

The time for major set list changes are when the album is out. The only change they can do is add different songs from their back catelogue. Which I'm sure they will do in time. Remember Ron is pretty new and it'll take time for the band to learn new songs. Let's hope for perfect crime on their next gig.... although as soon as that is done there will be "why don't they do Civil war...." and all that shit.

People are never happy and NO band on earth can please everyone. I agree with Del James, people need to appreciate what they have and stop being selfish and think about all the fans not on here 24/7 and let them have fun seeing GnR. It seems most people here have forgotten fun and are obsessive and twisted about new songs and "more, more, more".... just enjoy it...

LP

You're spot on Longpig. You're my new buddy around here.

I am completely appalled by reading the negative comments from some people on here about this article. There are your usual suspects... HisRoyalFuckness for one... who are just revveling in over-analyzing the shit out of this thing... just like they ALWAYS over-analyze anything GNR related. They're all negative and coming up with excuses as if DEFENDING THEMSELVES from something. Some clown mentions 'payroll', throws out a few big intelligent words and blah blah blah blah... THE SAME OLD SHIT... and everyone, including a lot of people I've grown to respect on here jump on the bandwagon and call it open season on GNR and Axl Rose.

So, let me get this straight, NOBODY IN THE GNR CAMP can write or talk about anything because they're on a payroll and whatever they say was strictly dictated by Axl so it's all completely fabricated and full of BS? Most of you people are exactly what Del claims you to be... fucking internet whores that hide behind a computer screen and every now and then some big words to build up your 'karma' and impress the vast majority of morons here on an internet fan forum and cause a big internet spur on that very forum because apparently, you have no real life of your own. Sad but fucking true.

The usual suspects and some new attention-getters are doing EXACTLY what Del speaks of in his article. The fact is, no matter what GNR does from this point on... and I mean NO MATTER WHAT... good or bad... these people are going to do anything and everything to over-analyze, degrade, insult and shit on GNR... all on a fucking fan forum. HOW MUCH MORE PATHETIC CAN A PERSON'S LIFE BE.

What's sadder, again, is the bandwagon of idiots following them off the side of the cliff. I'm APPALLED and utterly ashamed to have associated myself with some of you people for being such blind sheep of these idiots.

No wonder GNR or anyone in the GNR camp either won't or is afraid to say anything about the band. Look at the shit they have to read? What's more, it doesn't matter what they say or talk about... the same usual group of pathetic internet whores will twist it into a big internet shit storm, just like they're doing here. PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC, PATHETIC.

I think a lot of you need to get your head out of your asses. I strongly suggest many of you take Del's advice:

Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world.

matty matty matty hold the phone!

who hides behind the net!? i'd fucking let del know how i feel about his comments to his face! and anyone else for that matter!

no one has the right to say disconnect from the net and get a real life when there typing on the net LOL, like you or del know anything about these people, it's a cheap shot! not a great one either.

of course people won't be happy, you can't please everyone, it's life? you will have different people complaining about different issues!, just realise this? where the fuck you been?

I'm waiving the white flag. Everybody here has lost their minds.

[cashpiles]

So Del is criticizing a minority of forum posters for posting negative information and over-analyzing things. Like others have already said, that is the nature of internet forums. Pick any forum on the internet, and you will find some people doing these things.

Maybe they wouldn't be bitching so much if Guns N' Roses would just fuckin' release the album already or give us a release date.

Anyways the closer something comes to happening, the more impatient the people who want it become. That includes me!

Release it motherfuckers!

[Longpig]

Argh too much quoting of posts.....

Anyway my point was he wasn’t slagging off everyone on the internet (or innernet if you’re American!) he was just saying there were a small percentage of people on the net with the intention of negatively criticising the band without ever having seen a show or giving the band a chance…..

TO THESE PEOPLE AND THESE PEOPLE ONLY DID HE ADVISE THEY DISCONNECTED FROM THE INTERNET AND RECONNECTED TO THE REAL WORLD.

That’s not everyone on the internet, what’s going on with people here?!! They’re like a tabloid newspaper that takes a sentence completely out of context and makes it into something else.

Nutters the lot of you.

[HOLDEN CAULFIELD]

list from one show to the next, or the tuning of Bumblefoot's fretless guitar, it's time to get a life. Disconnect from the Internet and reconnect with the real world.

My bus call is a few minutes from now. Time to pack my bags and reconnect with the real world of life on the road with Guns N' Roses.

FUCK YOU WHO ARE YOU?

YOU GOT NO FUCKING TALEN AND YOU TRY TOO RUBN IN THE FACT THAT YOUR WITH GNR.............YES I COME ON THE INTERNET BUT SOME IF US CANT AFFORD TO LEAVE THE FUCKING HOUSE AND JET OFF TO "STARDOM"

DEL FUCKING JAMES TRYING TO DISPAREGE THE LITTLE PEOPLK IS A REAL FUCKING LAUGH I WILL SPEN MY SPARE TIME DOING WHAT I WANT IF I WANT TOO COME H ERE COZ I AM EXITED ABOUT A SHOW I AINT EVEN AT ITS BECUASE I AM SUPORTING THE BAND YOU UGLY CUNT!!!!!!

I WILL DO WHAT I WANT IN MY SPARE TIME AND YOU ARE JUST LUCKY THATS ALL DONT GET ABOVE YOUR STATION YOU ARROGENT UGLY PRICK

[Kesseli]

i guess this is why his article was pulled out. HE PISSED EVERYONE OFF. bahahahahaha .; not me though. you people take everything so personal. so what he wrote all that stuff. you should all enjoy some of the news we had with the article and that setlist instead of bitching. that is eactly what he meant. its so annoying that everything that comes from GNR camp, being that good or bad news, everyone just start bitching about it.

I mean Cum on.

[Leigh-Rok!]

I mean Cum on.

Would you like a tissue?