If Axl And Slash Can (Maybe) Get Along, There Is Hope For Us All

Houston Press
When it was announced that Guns N' Roses were to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame back in December, a kind of hush went all over the world as everyone pondered whether or not lead singer Axl Rose and former lead guitarist Slash would share a stage, or even a podium together.

This was after everyone cried into their mugs of Moosehead after realizing Rush and the Smiths were snubbed yet again.

But according to some sources, it may happen. Keyboardist Dizzy Reed, the lone holdout from the Use Your Illusion days revealed that the original members of the classic GN'R lineup -- Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler, and Adler's replacement Matt Sorum -- will all attend the awards show in April. Now, if this means there will be a solemn nod and handshake when they receive the honor, or a balls-out onstage reunion the likes of which will liquefy the world's faces remains to be seen.

Of course, this would be a great coup for rock fans the world over, and if Slash and Axl, -- who have helped cultivate the best odd-couple tale in the history of the music industry -- could put animosity from their twenties aside and weave together again, then there is hope for everyone: Ex-wives and ex-husbands of the world, Morrissey and the rest of the Smiths. Maybe even the Gallagher brothers of Oasis, Liam and Noel, could hug and reunite, if only for one night of ecstasy.

​The rest of the band -- Adler, McKagan, and Stradlin -- have all seemed to have made peace with Rose since the '90s blow-up, even playing with the singer's new GN'R touring lineup.

But does the rock world really want Axl and the Top Hat to get along again? It seems better for business that they don't, and it propels the band's image of this angry organism of miscreants and artists that could only get shit together for a few years before imploding.

I have always had this fantasy that behind closed doors they are still the best of friends, and text and email each other when they can and have crazy Google Talk sessions like I have with my friends on the regular, and they both laugh at their own mythology.

"Did you hear what Rolling Stone said I thought about you? LOL!" Slash would type, to which Axl would reply with that clip of the monkey putting a finger up his ass, smelling it, and falling out of a tree. Standard music industry talk.

Let's all wait with bated breath for the April 14 induction ceremony to see what happens. Personally, I am praying for a wicked pissah version of "Welcome to the Jungle" with a sweaty Axl and Slash hug at the end.