Monday, January 30, 2012

GN'R Plan New York Takeover With Historic Return To The Ritz


via Blabbermouth
Seminal rock icons Guns N' Roses are set to invade New York during fashion week with a series of intimate shows then continue with additional stops through the northeast, announced today. Six shows confirmed so far including the historic return to The Ritz (now Webster Hall), 24 years after the filming of their heralded "Live At The Ritz" — the MTV concert continues to be one of the most sought after trades in bootleg circles. For the Webster Hall date, GN'R will celebrate their return by reclaiming the venue as The Ritz with signage and the name appearing on the marquee. The New York takeover in February marks the first time the band will appear at Roseland and Terminal 5, beginning on February 10, 2012. Full list of dates below.

Ticket presale is set for Tuesday, January 31 at 10:00 a.m. ET for the New York run, public on-sale is Wednesday, February 1. Chicago, Silver Spring and Atlantic City presale is Wednesday, February 1 at 10:00 a.m. EST, with public on-sale Friday, February 3. Tickets and VIP packages for all six dates will be available at GunsNRoses.com.

Tour Dates:

February 10 - Roseland Ballroom - New York, NY
February 12 - Terminal 6 - New York, NY
February 15 - The Ritz (Webster Hall) - New York, NY
February 19 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
February 23 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD
February 24 - House of Blues - Atlantic City, NJ

Saturday, January 28, 2012

In The Studio With Slash & Todd Kerns


glide magazine
The bad ass in the top hat is busy. He is hunkered down in the Barefoot Recordings Studio playing guitar, as his crackerjack band-mates – Todd Kerns on bass, Brent Fitz on drums and Myles Kennedy on vocals – surround him as they record the old-fashioned way: on two-inch analog tape, a wet dream to those who love the pristine sound that comes from using this method over pro-tools modernity.

Last week, Kerns called in to give us a scoop on what has been happening inside that studio in the heart of Hollywood. The Dominator has been laying down some heavy duty bass lines for the boss and, as he notes, some damn good songs are coming to fruition. “We started demoing, just playing around with songs and things, riffs that Slash had brought in,” Kerns explained about the tunes in their virginal stage. “We had started playing with those on the road last year at sound-checks and rehearsals, so those kind of started to morph and metamorphosize into songs”. When Kennedy came in around mid-September while on a break from touring with Alter Bridge, “we went in and did three songs completely, with bass, drums, guitars and vocals.”

They returned to the studio in December where they “managed to do about a song a day and most of it live off the floor, the four of us. We were trying to get all the drums and bass and guitars, including guitar solos, live in one pass. We recorded five or six different passes of the same song. Then Eric Valentine [producer] had some room to play with it and if there was anything glaring from one take, he could kind of find an alternate take.”

Kerns has nothing but praise for Valentine, who produced Slash’s previous CD which featured the guitar god playing alongside such top-notch vocalists as Chris Cornell, Lemmy and Kennedy. “He’s a very, very talented man,” Kerns reaffirms. “We went through an entire phase where the three of us – myself, Brent and Slash – were sitting around arranging and rearranging and tearing songs apart and putting them back together. Then Myles came in and we started that whole process again cause he’s sort of putting in his two cents and then Eric comes in and we start doing that process again (laughs) … But it all came together really fantastic; like it’s huge and aggressive and it’s multi-colored at the same time. It’s not sort of one vein or one flavor; it’s sort of an array, a rainbow of rock (laughs)”.

Having covered the Slash tour on several stops across the country, talking with fans along the way, there was one thing that I heard repeatedly: that they would love to see THIS band record an album. Well, their wish has come true as the band continues to lay down tracks for an anticipated April or May release. I asked Kerns if there was a song that was so good it gave him chills while they were creating it: “There is actually a few like that but there is one in particular that we kind of worked and worked and pulled it apart and rearranged it and took this section out and took that out and it was one of the first things we ever brought in,” he said excitedly.

“The funny thing is, the main riff that Slash was playing on that song is no longer a part of the song, which is totally bizarre cause it was the kind of riff that made you go, damn that’s great … but that particular song was written and rewritten so many times that we’d take a stab at it and the three of us – just Slash, myself and Brent – would stab at it and we’d come up with something and feel good about it and then Myles came in and, well, it doesn’t work on top of that so let’s change that and we kind of juggled it around,” explains Kerns. “Then Eric came in (laughs). Just before we started recording, we were still kind of dealing with that song, to the point that it was almost abandoned. Then it sort of ended up being possibly the strongest song on the record in a lot of ways”.

Although he wouldn’t reveal the title of that song, he did admit that many of the tunes were still in coded names, waiting for Kennedy to put the lyrics into place. When I talked with him for my column in September, Kennedy admitted to sometimes overthinking about the worthiness of what he writes. “He’s incredibly hard on himself,” agreed Kerns. “We’ve had this conversation a few times where he’ll sort of bounce something off me and I go, ‘It’s great’ and he’ll go ‘Well, I’ve been doing this and I’ve been doing that’. And it sort of changes and he’ll come back around to the very first thing he came up with”.

Continued Kerns, “He’s a very talented guy. He sort of cordons himself off in the green room in the studio and is hiding up there by himself, scribbling and writing, and he’s like ‘I didn’t sleep at all last night cause I was up all night writing lyrics’. And I’m like, ‘You’re still writing lyrics? I thought you were done’ (laughs) But that attention to detail is probably why he’s so successful”.

Slash is also very involved with the recording of his new CD. Although some may see him as the poster boy for rock & roll’s wild side, this is not 1991 anymore and the monster guitar player is a clean and sober father of two boys. “Slash is one of the most intelligent guys I know,” Kerns told me when I asked what Slash was really like. “I don’t think people think he’s not smart but I think they have this kind of image of him as this sort of rock & roll, smoking, drugs, rock & roll guy, like he’s some sort of a rock & roll animal. I think that’s the impression people have of him and that is somewhat true, although all those things I just mentioned he doesn’t do anymore. I’m always kind of terrified that I’m spoiling his image somehow by saying that he’s a very thoughtful guy."

But how is Slash in the studio? Is he very vocal about how he wants things or is he more on the quiet side, contentedly playing his guitar? Kerns explained that he was actually a little of both. “A lot of what Slash is all about is he just wants to play guitar. When you know Slash, it’s weird to see him WITHOUT a guitar in his hands. You see him all day long sitting somewhere with a guitar in his hands playing and then you see him onstage playing and then you see him later on playing guitar sitting in the bus (laughs). In the studio, it’s a lot more focus and a command to making it the best it can be and he’s absolutely tireless. We all kind of joke how like we’re all getting hungry or have to go pee and he’s still going, ‘Hey, let’s try this one’. He’s so very focused and very sort of driven. He is a very laid back guy but he also knows what he wants.”

Kerns has called the recording of this CD “magical” and is excited to be a part of it. “Slash has been nothing but awesome to me”, he explains. “He’s been very good to me. I didn’t expect us to have our photos in the live album, Made In Stoke. I didn’t expect us to have our photos in the DVD. I kind of thought, this is Slash’s band, it’s Slash featuring Myles Kennedy; that’s just the way it is. Over the duration of that I’ve watched my own profile get raised a giant percentage. So to me, it’s whatever Slash wants to do. If he decides tomorrow he’s going to get Paul McCartney to play bass, that’s just the way it goes (laughs). Initially, the whole thing about recording an album with Myles didn’t have to be that we’re going to record an album with Myles and Brent and Todd; we’re going to use some session guys in LA and it’s going to be Myles and Slash. But he was awesome about it and let us be on the record.”

So while there are still some overdubs and background vocals and Myles’ lead vocals left to lay down, Kerns believes they will be all done in February. And then “we’ll be out in the spring for sure. I haven’t heard anything official but that’s the plan. I’m assuming Europe and all will be the initial thing cause there’s all the festivals in the summertime and then after that, I haven’t heard anything concrete yet. But I know Slash well enough and he said the other day, ‘I want to be out on the road for at least a year’ and I was like, ‘cool’. I’m sure 2012 will be busy and then probably a chunk of 2013 as well”.

A date in Toronto for March 23 sold out in twenty minutes, proving that the fans are hungry for a new dose of Slash with his stellar band. Get ready, folks, they’re on their way.

Slash 2012 Tour Dates
SLASH: New Album (2012)

Matt Sorum on the Last Days of GN'R



More HERE

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

SLASH: Apocalyptic Love (2012)




"Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators"

13 songs on the record + 6 bonus tracks
Official tracklist:

"Apocalyptic Love"
"One Last Thrill"
"Standing in the Sun"
"You’re a Lie"
"No More Heroes"
"Halo"
"We Will Roam"
"Anastasia"
"Not for Me"
"Bad Rain"
"Hard & Fast"
"Far and Away"
"Shots Fired"
"Carolina"
"Crazy Life"

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/slash-talks-youre-a-lie-reveals-tracklist-for-new-album-20120305#ixzz1oIIqR0XU

Recorded: June 14, 2011 - February 6, 2012
Release date: May 22, 2012

The band: "Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators"

Slash (guitars),
Myles Kennedy (vocals, guitar),
Todd Kerns (bass, vocals)
Brent Fitz (drums, piano)
Eric Valentine (production, recording, mixing and mastering)



YOU CAN PRE-ORDER THE CLASSIC ROCK FAN PACK EDITION OF SLASH'S NEW ALBUM HERE.

"What happened to sex in Rock & Roll? It's pretty much disappeared. What up with that? This next record will be a shag-a-long record. And heavy too."

"We're just going for the one take that sounds good, so my solos are more raw, probably sloppier in a way, because they're very spontaneous to the point where it's in the heat of the moment."

"Everything is being played live with the music tracks -- the solos, everything. We're trying not to overdub extra bits. So if there's a solo, I'm playing on one side, Myles Kennedy's rhythm track is on the other."




Slash Twitter
Todd Kerns blog

Slash 2012 tourdates
Slash setlists
Slash 2010 album

Friday, January 20, 2012

Guns N' F'N Roses Finally Release "Estranged"

After many delays, GunsNFNRoses have finally released their cover of "Estranged," the first in a hopeful series of Guns N' Roses covers.

Before release, the track had been given the nickname as The Chinese Democracy of Internet Fan Forum Covers for it's large number of personnel and delays. We hope you enjoy the track, and any future releases.

Thanks are to be made to everyone involved, however big or small a part they played, and to evader for mixing the track.
Estranged (GNFNR Cover).mp3

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Monday, January 16, 2012

Axl Rose vs. Guitar Hero Court Date Moved to May 21


Thanks to FunkyMonky at HTGTH


Case Number: BC450057
W AXL ROSE ET AL VS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC ET AL
Filing Date: 11/23/2010
Case Type: Fraud (no contract) (General Jurisdiction)
Status: Pending

Future Hearings
02/08/2012 at 01:30 pm in department 23 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Mandatory Settlement Conference ((From Dept 33- Judge Palmer))

02/10/2012 at 08:31 am in department 33 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Motion (To Seal Documents)

02/28/2012 at 08:31 am in department 33 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Motion for Summary Judgment

05/11/2012 at 08:30 am in department 33 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Final Status Conference

05/21/2012 at 09:30 am in department 33 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Jury Trial (5-7 days time estimateC/F 1/23/12)

Dj ASHBA Has 12 Songs Written for New GN'R Album


via Blabbermouth
Mama's Fallen Angels recently conducted an interview with guitarist Dj Ashba. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

When asked how soon fans can expect to hear a new GN'R album, Ashba replied, "I can't give anybody a definite date, because I'm not gonna give anybody false hope. But what I can say is [making a new album] absolutely is our main priority. And I cannot wait to get [working on it]. I mean, Axl has tons and tons of stuff recorded as it is. I mean, he sits there in his hotel room and he'll play me hours of stuff. And I've written over ten songs — I think 12 songs now — for him that he really likes. And I think now that we're off tour, we're gonna kind of start talking about, 'Hey, let's start piecing together what we feel would be the next best GN'R record.' It's absolutely everybody's goal to get out an album within a reasonable amount of time. That is everybody's focus."



Sixx: A.M. — the band consisting of Nikki Sixx, Dj Ashba and James Michael — has begun writing material for its third album. According to Sixx, the CD will "probably [be] a 2013 release considering the body of work we're setting as a goal."

7, the latest EP from Sixx: A.M., came out last month and sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The effort contains acoustic versions of songs from the group's first two albums — 2007's The Heroin Diaries soundtrack and 2011's This Is Gonna Hurt.

Sixx: A.M. will be "doing a proper video" for its next single soon, according to Sixx. In addition, "tour options keep coming, but we haven't found the right fit yet to open up the conversations," Nikki writes on his Facebook page.

Sixx: A.M. recently revealed plans to film a video for the song "Skin" in the Los Angeles area. The band put out a casting call for people whom the song has affected personally because of their own scars — whether physical or under the surface.

In addition to Ashba and sole original member Axl Rose, the current lineup of GN'R includes guitarists Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer.

Chinese Democracy, the 2008 album released by the current edition of GUNS N' ROSES after a 15-year wait, was officially certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 3, 2009 for shipments in the United States in excess of one million copies.

Chinese Democracy was made available exclusively through Best Buy.

Discuss this article with other Guns N' Roses fans here.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Axl Rose vs. Guitar Hero Court Date Set for January 23


Radar Online
Universal Music Group is owned by Vivendi,the parent company who also bought Activision in a merger that created Activision/Blizzard in 2007. Activision/ Blizzard are also the makers of Guitar Hero III, which in breech of agreement/features Slash.

UMG/ Activision knows full well that recorded music is now in a seemingly irreversable decline,and it has actually led to so-called "360 deals" by signing bands in which the label gets a cut of everything,be it ringtones, itunes, merchandise, concert tickets etc.

The court date is set for January 23rd this month.

COURT DOCUMENTS: Axl Rose Suing Guitar Hero Makers ("save-as")

Guns N' Roses lead vocalist Axl Rose has filed a $20 million lawsuit against Activision for the company's unauthorized use of the song "Welcome to the Jungle" in association with former band member Slash.

In court documents filed in Los Angeles and obtained by Radar Online, Rose accuses Activision of using Slash and his new band Velvet Revolver in the game alongside "Welcome to the Jungle," despite Rose's objections over this juxtaposition and repeated promises from Activision that Slash and Velvet Revolver would not be included in the game.

"[Activision] began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and [Velvet Revolver] prominently in GHIII, but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N' Roses and the band's song 'Welcome to the Jungle,'" the court documents read.

The documents lay out a timeline of e-mails and personal assurances issued by Activision that Slash and Velvet Revolver would not be featured in the game.

At one point, Activision Executive VP of Music Affairs Tim Riley allegedly addressed online rumors of Slash's inclusion in the game by telling a licensing representative, "Come on... you can't believe everything you read on the internet."

Rose alleges that Activision continued to misrepresent its use of Slash's image and Velvet Revolver songs in Guitar Hero III through to the game's October 2007 release.

Rose also alleges that Activision's use of Slash's distinctive, top-hatted image in promotion of the game -- including a prominent appearance on the box art --was in violation of Rose's licensing terms.

After the game's release, Activision allegedly offered Rose a Guitar Hero game based around Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy to make up for the deception, which Riley allegedly apologized for, saying he "can't sleep at night" in a 2010 meeting with Rose.

Rose is seeking access to Activision's "wrongfully acquired profits ... in excess of twenty million dollars." Activision representatives were not immediately available for comment on the case as of this writing.

COURT DOCUMENTS: Axl Rose Suing Guitar Hero Makers ("save-as")

Saturday, January 14, 2012

RIP Critter


Jeff 'Critter" Newell died on New Year's Eve. He was one of the key engineers on Chinese Democracy.

You can check out a comprehensive discography of his work here.



Critter died at home. He was 45.

He produced the new Blink-182 album Neighborhoods, and was often considered the "fifth member of Angels & Airwaves," according to A&A lead vocalist Tom Delonge who said, "He was the most artistic and beautiful thing that could have ever happened to Angels & Airwaves. RIP Jeff 'Critter' Newell. AVA will never be the same...."

Friday, January 13, 2012

Axl Rose Performs His Civic Duty


People
Welcome to the legal jungle, baby!

A source tells People that Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has been serving jury duty on a civil trial in Santa Monica, Calif.

The rocker's rep confirms that Rose, 49, indeed has been performing his civic duty – having completed jury duty service on Tuesday "after serving four days of the trial process," says his rep.

"It was relatively painless," says Rose, who just completed a U.S. tour with his band last month. "I was fortunate that everyone in the courthouse and jurors were all really great, plus I got to see daylight from a different prospect."

Guns N' Roses will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, along with other artists including the Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

John O'Brien Benefit / Velvet Revolver Reunion






Thanks -- as usual -- to FunkyMonkey at HTGTH


Setlist: Sucker Train Blues, She Builds Quick Machines, Slither, Wish You Were Here

(Slash played "Gotten" with Maroon 5)

From Duff's blog today
I am playing a show at LA's House of Blues tonight with the original formation of Velvet Revolver, which includes lead singer Scott Weiland. It is a long story, really, but the crux of it is that we are playing a benefit, with proceeds going directly to a friend's wife and her two children. When it comes to the welfare of kids, old grudges or whatever, are put aside. But the fact is that the re-formation of the five of us has got a lot of people talking. Good. Just as long as they buy tickets to this show, right?
Update Thread



"Guns N' Roses Reunion: A Timeline"

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Slash 2012 Tour Dates


"We're playing at the Phoenix Concert Theater, Fri, March 23rd in Toronto. 1st show of the tour. We're doing some asst radio fest dates in May. Will post soon. Waiting for Summer Euro dates. & beyond."
"Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators"

Feb 18 - Las Vegas, Nevada

Mar 23 - Toronto, Ontario

Apr 11 - Golden Gods Awards, Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA

May 03 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
May 05 - Charlotte, NC - Carolina Rebellion, Rockingham Speedway
May 07 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
May 10 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Hard Rock Live
May 12 - Kansas City MO - Liberty Memorial Park
May 13 - Indianola, IA - National Balloon Classic Field
May 14 - Minneapolis, MN - The Brick
May 16 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theater
May 17 - Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room
May 19 - Columbus, OH - Rock On The Range, Columbus Crew Stadium
May 20 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
May 22 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza "Album Release Party"
May 25 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma
May 26 - Albuquerque, NM - Route 66 Casino

Jun 6 - London, UK
Jun 8 - Download Festival, Donnington Park, UK
Jun 10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Jun 11 - Mönchengladbach / Warsteiner Hockey Park (opening for Mötley Crüe)
Jun 12 - Berlin, Germany (opening for Mötley Crüe)
Jun 18 - Le Zenith, Paris, France (opening for Mötley Crüe)
Jun 20 - Bamberg / Stechert Arena (opening for Mötley Crüe)
Jun 21 - Basel, Switzerland (opening for Mötley Crüe)
Jun 23 - Milan, Italy

Jul 25 - Belleville, Canada
Jul 26 - London, Canada

Sep 04 - San Diego, CA
Sep 05 - Phoenix, AZ
Sep 07 - Austin, TX
Sep 08 - Dallas, TX
Sep 09 - Houston, TX
Sep 11 - New Orleans, LA
Sep 12 - Atlanta, GA
Sep 16 - Hampton Beach, NH
Sep 18 - New York, NY
Sep 19 - Cleveland, OH
Sep 21 - Cincinnati, OH
Sep 22 - Detroit, MI
Sep 23 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sep 25 - Indianapolis, IN
Sep 28 - Chicago, IL
Sep 29 - Springfield, OR
Oct 02 - Oakland, CA
Oct 03 - Los Angeles, CA

Nov 02 - Manaus, Brazil
Nov 04 - Brasilia, Brazil
Nov 06 - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Nov 07 - Curitiba, Brazil
Nov 09 - Porto Alegre, Brazil











OfficialPollstarFacebookMySpaceLiveNationTicketMasterEventful

2012 tour update threadnew album 2012Slash 2011 tour dates

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Guns N' Roses Chicago '92

A video of this show was stolen from GN'R's video crew. Special guest performance by Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon. Before 'Live And Let Die,' Axl talks about the things he said in his Rolling Stone interview about his upbringing. After 'Civil War,' Axl says that he always sees the 18-25 year old "potheads" in the audience! Before 'November Rain,' Axl says, "I'm gonna play this song like they write Spin magazine - I'm gonna blindfold myself and jerk-off and see what comes out!"





Friday, January 6, 2012

The Reason Behind Velvet Revolver's One-Night Reunion


Rolling Stone Exclusive
Guitarist Dave Kushner got the group back together to honor his late best friend
by: Steve Baltin

When Velvet Revolver – Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Dave Kushner and Scott Weiland – reunite for one show next Thursday at L.A.'s House Of Blues, it will be the result of Kushner. The band's guitarist brought the group back together to honor his best friend, musician John O'Brien, who was found dead at the age of 45 in his Chicago hotel room last August.

"I found out he passed away on August 20, and it was like out of nowhere," Kushner exclusively tells Rolling Stone. "Next day I was in shock and my wife said to me, 'You gotta have a benefit concert for his wife and you have to get Velvet Revolver back together.' That’s how it started."

He then approached the different band members. "We did a benefit show for this thing called Road Recovery – me, Duff, Slash and Matt – in New York, and that’s when I asked those guys individually if they would agree to do it," Kushner says. "Once they said so then I got in touch with Scott, and he agreed."

Kushner says the response was almost instantaneous from everyone, something he attributes to how loved O'Brien – a childhood friend of Kushner's – was in the industry. "[John] was just like a teddy bear. He was the most talented, softest, sweetest, most generous person I’d ever met. He was the brother I never had, and everyone knew him," he says. "I’ve known Scott for 22, 23, 24 years. So he’s known John since then, Duff and John had an amazing relationship, and Matt knew him too."

The concert will also feature Maroon 5, Sheryl Crow, Tom Morello, an appearance from Stephen Stills and more. That will take the pressure off all of the bands, including Velvet. "Because we hadn’t played with Scott in a long time I said, 'Look, let’s just do three songs.' It’s not too much of a commitment," he says. "So we just got a bunch of people, everyone will do three songs."

Kushner is well aware though that everyone will be watching the first time in four years that Weiland performs with the group. "I knew from the beginning it would be newsworthy, and that was kind of the plan," Kushner says. "If you’re gonna do this, you want to raise some serious money, then put all caution aside and say, 'Hey, will you do this?'"

All of the proceeds from the benefit will go to O'Brien's wife and family. "Unfortunately, John didn’t have life insurance at the time and he left behind a wife that's pregnant and a four-year-old son. That to me is the main focus of why I’m doing this," Kushner says. "I’m doing it so that this sells out and that money can go to her, period."

Although the guitarist is focused solely on next Thursday's gig, he understands that others are interested in what the future might hold for Velvet Revolver, but the five of them are taking a cautious approach to any further reunions. "We haven’t played together in four years, and so we’re really just like, 'Let’s see how this goes,'" he says.

And if Thursday's show does go well? "I know everyone’s got other commitments, but I think everyone’s like, 'Let’s get this thing done and get through this and then we’ll see.'”



Related Discussion: http://www.gunsnfnroses.com/index.php?/topic/10528-vr-to-perform-with-scott/page__view__findpost__p__128600

Axl Rose Talks Playing the Forum, Hall of Fame Gig, Reunion


Early Saturday morning in Seattle, Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose sat down for a long, freewheeling interview after his band's three-hour concert Friday night at Key Arena. You can read a story about the exchange here, but left on the cutting-room floor was an hour-and-a-half of fascinating conversation in which a sharp, well-spoken Rose tackled many topics that fans have been discussing for years.

Over the course of the interview, which took place from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. in his dimly lit dressing room, Rose talked about the past, present, and future without pulling any punches. (So much so that we edited out some of the more potentially libelous business-industry accusations Rose leveled.)

Pop & Hiss will have a few more excerpts of the conversation in the days to come. Check back.

Los Angeles Times: Can you talk about the L.A. show at the Forum on Wednesday night?

Axl Rose: Well, LA will be interesting. I’m looking forward to it. We had a great time in ’06. We did three nights at the Gibson. But this year was very weird because the industry was trying to force us into a smaller show — just one, and then make it two. But the real thing about it is that the sound’s not that good at the Palladium — and why are we going down, when we can draw more? So we’re doing the Forum, but it really wasn’t done right. We had to fight for that. [Rose goes into a long tirade about specific industry executives.]

This whole tour is part of — it’s not like there’s a lot of money going to Live Nation or anything, but it’s part of how we worked out the settlement [with former manager and Live Nation exec Irving Azoff]. And I could have gone on to court, but that was going to block other things, so Live Nation's not getting paid, we’re not getting paid, but we’re putting it out of the way, so we did this tour. Then we get on the tour and find out that everything that was supposed to be done wasn’t done, and managers and agents are selling a show that was supposed to go on at 8 o’clock. They knew I was never going to do that.

And this lack of promotion is one reason I’m here? [Laughter]

Yeah, well, the show’s already what it is, so it’s not really about that. The show’s already basically sold, so ...

And you were talking about adding a second show?

Well, we were talking about it, but I got different numbers at different times from different people, and some of those came from our latest former manager, and they were ..., so we basically decided that we’re going to wait until later to do it right and deal with L.A., because I want to deal with L.A. There’s places I want to play. I want to play some of the clubs, some of the nightclubs, different places for fun, and I want to play different venues like we’ve done in New York.

And I know we can do it in L.A., but what happens is people are really good at saying what you want to hear. So you go, yes, yes, yes, yes, and then they do something completely different. "That’s awesome. That’s a great idea!" And then they do everything they can to block it and make sure it doesn’t happen. That really happens. To me, they can’t ... do anything and they don’t want to do anything unless they feel that they’re getting away with a scam. They can’t feel they’re doing something that’s legitimate, and feel that kind of pride, they have to feel like, I got it, I ... them over, da da da. And that’s their victory.

All these managers, they know one thing. They know that they can at least ... sell a reunion tour and get their commission. It’s just a phone call. It’s a half a day’s ... work, or however long they want to keep the bidding war going. They get their commission and they don’t care if it falls on its face.

Because, really, you can get guys from the "Illusion" thing, but the only thing that would make it would be Duff and Slash, really. It’s nothing against Izzy and it’s nothing against Steven, or anything like that. Steven may want it, but these guys I’m working with right now, they work really hard and it’s hard work. I’ve toured with the other guys and I’ve also seen what they’ve done since, and I just know the difficulties.

I don’t have an excitement to work with people that joined in the "Illusion" time. There’s behind the scenes that was really, really difficult there with different ones. So it’s not really even a full reunion. And these guys have been here a long time, whether the public knows it or not because we haven’t done the media like that. Tommy’s been on 14 years, Richard’s going on 11. That’s as long as Duff was in the band. Chris has been in going on 11, Dizzy’s on since "Illusion," Frank’s going on six, and so’s Bumble. These guys have been here. And DJ’s going on three.

Plus, we can have our differences, and everybody in the band can be like, ‘I don’t understand that guy’ and point at one of us, you know? But at the same time, we get along. I don’t have to tell these guys what to do onstage. I can suggest something at times, but that’s very little.

But it’s also that you’re clearly the boss in this band — it’s your band. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that wouldn’t necessarily be the case with the original lineup.

With live, it’s not really any different, because there was never really a fight about leading it live, because for whatever reason they were fine with whatever song I was going to do next, singing.

Congrats on the rock hall of fame.

Yeah, that’s a trip.

It’s a trip that it’s 25 years.

Yeah, it’s a trip that it’s 25 years, that I’m here and alive.

Congratulations on that too. Can you talk about how you found out?

[Rolling Stone co-founder publisher and rock hall co-founder] Jann Wenner was excited about it 11 years ago. So I was pretty sure he wanted it, because he was very excited in — when did I do the Elton John thing, was that '93 or '94? He was excited then. And he’s always been a fan, and at the same time Rolling Stone has done some of the worst damage ever.

I’ve got mixed emotions about what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame actually really is, but at the same time, there’s a lot of people — the fans — that it just means something to them, and they’re happy. It’s like you won the Heisman or something. I have people of all ages — in Indiana, I hadn’t been there in 18 years, and you’ve got elderly TSA guys, a hundred pounds overweight, come up and they’re happy. So I don’t want to take that away from them.

I think about it in terms of ... when Michael Moore got up at the Academy Awards and said whatever about George Bush. People don’t want that associated with their awards shows, even if you have a big audience. In one way it might be right, but it usually backfires on whoever does it. So I really don’t want to spoil it for everybody else — and take the beating. [Laughs]

It is kind of a mixed blessing.

It’s a lot of people making money. Why do they get to decide? But it’s the same with Grammys or Academy Awards, who wins.

Full Article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/12/axl-rose-talks-playing-los-angeles-rock-hall-reunion.html
Related Discussion: http://www.gunsnfnroses.com/index.php?/topic/10352-best-news-in-a-long-time-for-those-of-us-who-want-new-music/page__view__getnewpost

Thursday, January 5, 2012

What Could Have Been: Zakk Wylde Talks Guns N’ Roses


Gibson
It could have been one of the most interesting heavy music collaborations in rock history: Zakk Wylde as a member of Guns N’ Roses.

And beyond that, it would have been a Les Paul-toting guitar dream team. And it very nearly happened in the mid-1990s. The rhythm guitar slot in Guns N’ Roses was in a state of flux after the departure of Izzy Stradlin, the tenure of Gilby Clark and the is-he-or-isn’t-he-a-band-member status of Axl Rose’s friend and former Hollywood Rose bandmate Paul Huge. Meanwhile, Zakk Wylde’s role as Ozzy Osbourne’s right hand man had officially come to an end when Ozzy’s No More Tours tour wrapped up in 1992 and the Ozzman entered a short-lived retirement.

Zakk released one album with his Southern rock-influenced band Pride & Glory before returning to Osbourne’s employ for the recording of the album Ozzmosis. But by the time Ozzy’s Retirement Sucks tour for Ozzmosis rolled around, Joe Holmes was in the lead guitar chair and Zakk was on the path that would eventually lead to the formation of Black Label Society.

So what would a Zakk/Slash guitar duo sound like in the context of Guns N’ Roses?

“It sounded like the riffs I write and the way I write, mixed in with the way the guys write, you know what I mean,” Wylde says. “It would have been like, when I was jamming with Slash and all the guys, even if I’m in the band there’s only one guy that’s playing the solos to ‘November Rain,’ ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ and all those classic songs. I’m not going to do anything there. But the future stuff that we would have been writing, it would have been cool! Because I love Slash’s playing and I’m buddies with him. It would have been cool, but with those guys there was nothing happening, so we were jamming but it wasn’t going anywhere.”

Slash ultimately left the band in 1996 to pursue his own path with Slash’s Snakepit (using songs he was working on for the next GN’R release), while Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum’s respective tenures in the band ended a few months apart from each other in 1997. The 2001 rebirth of Guns with players such as Buckethead and Robin Finck was still a few years off, but Wylde didn’t sit around waiting for another call from GN’R. And Ozzy moved on, too.

“That’s when Oz got Joe Holmes in the band, and I didn’t have anything going on,” Wylde says. “I just had all these songs lying around and I said ‘Y’know what? I’m just gonna start doing it. And that’s when Black Label was born. I decided to just do it myself.”

This story came full-circle in December 2011 when Black Label Society joined Guns N’ Roses on tour, and Zakk joined the band on stage at several shows to blast out an AC/DC cover.



“It was awesome, man,” Wylde says. “The first time we were there, Axl was like, ‘Dude, you wanna get up and jam? Look at the setlist, pick out the songs, whatever.’ I said ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ is pretty easy. Pretty much everyone all learns that one. So this way there didn’t have to be any band rehearsals, me sitting in with the band, you know. The GN’R songs are all already worked out, so I said why don’t I just get up there and jam out on ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’? And it was great, man. All the guys in the band are super-cool dudes, and I’ve known a bunch of them for a bunch of years. It was great seeing Axl again because I haven’t seen him since like 1995 when I was jamming with them. And he’s doing great. We had a couple of laughs talking about the same old ridiculous stuff about the music business, y’know. Music in general and just life in general. It was good catching up, and it was a blast playing on stage. And the crew guys were all super-cool dudes, so it was a good time, man.”

Wylde’s brief time with Guns N’ Roses in the mid-’90s didn’t lead to any material on the long-awaited Chinese Democracy album, but the guitarist appreciates what Rose achieved with the recording. “With Axl, I think that as far as the album taking so long, 17 years in between records, well if you don’t feel like putting it out, you don’t feel like putting it out. You can’t force anyone to do something they don’t want to do!”

Incidentally, Paul Huge (also known as Paul Tobias) eventually did go on to become a member of Guns N’ Roses for several years, playing on the band’s cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” on the Interview with the Vampire film soundtrack, co-writing “Oh My God” for the soundtrack to the film End of Days and playing live with the band in 2001. And Joe Holmes, a former student of Randy Rhoads, went on to serve as one of Ozzy’s longer-running guitarists, playing with the Ozzman for two stints: from 1995 to 1998, and again from 1999 to 2001.

MTV Rockumentary - Guns N' Roses [Full]


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Feist Covers “November Rain” In The Wackiest Way Possible


IDOLATOR
Don’t let Feist’s often subdued countenance fool you into thinking she doesn’t have a goofy side. While performing in Mexico City, not only did she bust out a cover of Guns N Roses’ epic “November Rain”, and not only did she bring along a Slash impersonator for the crazy guitar solo, but the Canadian songstress concluded the performance by whacking a giant pinata that descended from the ceiling. This is pretty much how every concert should end. Watch the insanity below.

Full Axl Interview with Eddie Trunk 2011


You can watch the FULL INTERVIEW here.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Axl Rose's Appetite is for Today's Guns N' Roses


Axl Rose is busy touring with the current Guns N' Roses as the upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony prompts speculation about a reunion.

By Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times Pop Music Critic

December 21, 2011

Reporting from Seattle


Axl Rose is wearing a white cotton bathrobe and white tube socks, relaxing on a couch backstage Friday night after a three-hour concert at Seattle's Key Arena, where he'd snaked his way through 34 songs with a version of the band he co-founded a quarter-century ago, Guns N' Roses. It's 3am, and the singer, the sole remaining original member, has shed the bad-ass sunglasses and flat-brimmed Stetson-style hat he wore onstage, pulled off the snakeskin boots and changed out of his faded bell bottoms.

It's been a whirlwind year for the notoriously unpredictable and polarizing Rose. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently announced Guns N' Roses' induction, 25 years after he and former core members Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler set the Sunset Strip, and then the world, on fire. The announcement prompted speculation that at the April 14 rock hall ceremony in Cleveland, the original Appetite for Destruction lineup — a historically acrimonious lot with the opinionated Rose at the center — might perform together for the first time in two decades.

But this positive ray comes amid a stormy 2011 that has seen Rose, 49, fire two managers in the last year, the most recent of which, Peter Katsis, was let go in early December. Since the dissolution of that first lineup, the iconic singer has released just one album, Chinese Democracy, which he spent 13 years and millions of dollars making. And his current tour is part of a settlement agreement with former GN'R manager (and Live Nation Entertainment executive chairman) Irving Azoff that dictated the band do a number of performances with Live Nation as the promoter, and Rose is worried that it's not being properly marketed. He and Guns N' Roses bring this tour to the Forum on Wednesday night.

It's the kind of negative energy that can sap a person's creativity, says Rose, sipping on a beer, his auburn hair hanging over his shoulders pretty much the same way it did in the old days, a horseshoe-shaped red mustache complementing it. "Once I get the next things sorted out with the label, then I feel I can get to that creative place that I've been fighting to get to, and to use Guns N' Roses to do so," he says.

The problem is that while he believes that he and his GN'R — some of whom, like bassist Tommy Stinson and guitarist Richard Fortus, have been with him for more than a decade — is hitting on all cylinders now, potential business partners are looking at other factors. "Every manager comes in and wants me to make things smaller," says Rose. Guns N' Roses, for example, requires twice as many tour trucks as the budget calls for, he says. Why no one else can understand the band's needs is an obvious frustration for Rose.

More important, he adds, most managers want the same thing that nearly every rock 'n' roll fan of the past quarter-century wants, and the one thing he stubbornly refuses to do: reunite with Slash, Izzy, Duff and the rest of the classic GN'R group for a tour. The constant question is an albatross and leaves Rose not only tired but wary of anyone in the business looking to work with him. "All these managers, they all believe in one thing: sell a reunion tour and get their commission. It's just a phone call. It's a half a day's … work, or however long they want to keep the bidding war going. They get their commission and they don't care if it falls on its face."

This mistrust is partially the reason why Rose's current management team is more family than business partner. It's headed by Beta Lebeis, a Brazilian woman Rose met when she was his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour's assistant; she began working for him after his tempestuous relationship with Seymour ended in 1993. Lebeis' two adult children, Fernando and Vanessa, round out the management group. Lebeis says that this arrangement is the result of an ultimatum she gave Rose after Guns N' Roses' most recent manager, Katsis, left the fold after less than a month on the job.

"We decided, 'No more managers,'" said Lebeis a few days after the Seattle concert. "Between me and Fernando and my daughter, we're dealing with the management." Lebeis added that she characterizes Rose as "more than a son to me," and that after Katsis' departure, "I told [Rose] if he hires another manager, I quit." One of the Lebeis three is almost always at Rose's side, be it in paparazzi photos or side stage during concerts, near the little makeshift dressing room that Rose frequently races into during guitar solos, or on that rare occasion when he actually sits down with a journalist.


As the clock pushes toward 4am, Rose's tone has shifted. He still has to do his regular hour-long vocal exercises before retiring for the night, and the venom of earlier in the evening he'd directed against various players in the music industry seems to have left his system.

Asked if music was still the driving factor in his life that it once was, Rose pauses. "Well, it wasn't for a long time. It was hard to make myself want to do the old songs again. It was like, I wasn't going around my house dancing to 'Jungle.' To even figure out how to even make myself move to those songs — and how I was going to move to them — that was a big thing to figure out in '06."

Based on the show earlier in the night, he's figured it out. Rose is proud of the big rock concert he and his band have created. Over the three hours, Rose (though a few pounds heavier than the lithe young rock star of Appetite days), moved quickly and deftly, sprinting from stage left to stage right, yowling with delight during "Shackler's Revenge" and "Sweet Child O' Mine," sitting at the piano for "November Rain." He offered classic cover versions of songs by AC/DC, Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan, and a solo piano rendition of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." And at points, he turned the stage over to his band members for solos and extended riffs. If his voice carried less grace and more heft at 49 than when he was gliding through the intro to "Civil War" two decades ago, he made up for it with sheer determination.

The enthusiasm he feels for this band is evident on his face, which lights up when talking about working with former Replacements bassist Stinson, guitarists Fortus, Dj Ashba, and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and the rest of the '11 Roses.

It's a far contrast to his demeanor when Slash's name comes up. Despite requests from Rose's publicist that he not be asked questions about the former GN'R guitarist, Rose himself mentions his ex-bandmate's name minutes into the conversation and locks onto the subject.

Slash was a late arrival into the Guns N' Roses fold, Rose loves reminding people, and apart from a few key riffs, says Rose, the guitarist was much less involved in the songs than Rose and Stradlin.

"It was really a fight with me and Slash," says Rose of the forces that took down the band. "Izzy was doing the same thing, but the fight with me and Slash started the day I met him. He came in, popped my tape out and put his in and wanted me in his band. And I didn't want to join his band. We've had that war since Day 1."

When he's asked the inevitable question — who will perform onstage as Guns N' Roses at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony? — Rose is circumspect. These kinds of honors, while special to him, are also complicated. "I've got mixed emotions about what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame actually really is, but at the same time, there's a lot of people — the fans — that it just means something to them, and they're happy. It's like you won the Heisman or something."

The last thing Rose wants to do, he stresses, is ruin it for others. He refers to Marlon Brando sending an American Indian activist to accept his Oscar and give a protest speech "and everybody getting … off, or when Michael Moore got up at the Academy Awards and said whatever about George Bush. People don't want that associated with their awards shows, even if you have a big audience. In one way it might be right, but it usually backfires on whoever does it. So I really don't want to spoil it for everybody else — or take the beating."

Then he said curtly of the induction performance: "There is no plan yet. There really is no plan. We're still busy with this lineup. We're gonna be busy — we're gonna be busy all next year. We'll be putting out new stuff as soon as we can figure out what our deal is with labels, blah blah blah."

As to whether he feels that he bears any responsibility for the state of limbo he's in, Rose says: "You can say it's my fault, but to me it's like if you're on a plane and somebody trips you and the air marshal arrests you for falling — like it's my fault for allowing somebody to trip me?"

Monday, January 2, 2012

CRACKED "Gets in the Ring" for Axl Rose


Cracked.com
One thing I do know though is that if Fergie had pulled that terrible Superbowl job with "Sweet Child O' Mine" back in his bad ass days. Axl would have feigned liking her, and the first moment of getting into her pants, he would have stuck his dick in her ass and immediately ended their relationship with a donkey punch. Then he would have gone bragging about it to "Circus" magazine...

Read more HERE

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Velvet Revolver Reunite with Scott for One-Off Gig


Loudwire
Scott Weiland is returning Velvet Revolver for one night only!

According to Blabbermouth, the former VR lead singer will perform with his ex mates for a good cause – the Love You Madly: A Concert for John O’Brien benefit show, which is set to take place Thursday, Jan 12, at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. In addition, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello will appear on the bill along with Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5′s Adam Levine and others.

Weiland split from Velvet Revolver four years ago amid much acrimony. The band is still looking for his replacement, with a report that they are currently auditioning Ours singer Jimmy Gnecco.

Despite the nasty breakup, Weiland and the boys eventually patched things up on a personal level and they are on decent terms. Weiland even mused to Classic Rock magazine, “Who knows, maybe we’ll do some shows some time,” earlier this year. Looks like he wasn’t kidding.

The Love You Madly show will pay tribute to ASCAP film composer John O’Brien, who was found dead at 45 in a Chicago hotel room in August. O’Brien worked on films like Iron Man, Pineapple Express and more. He was a special enough of a guy that a show in his honor is able to lure Weiland back in the Velvet Revolver fold, if only for an evening.

If you are gonna be in LA on Jan 12, nab your tickets now. This is sure to be a “can’t be missed” event.