"Prostitute" Re-Mix (Official)

"Prostitute" Re-Mix (Official) youtube.com/watch?v=e86zoq… #GunsNRoses

— Guns N' F'N Roses (@gunsnfnroses) November 3, 2012

"I'm not the one who created this war."

USA Today Exclusive Interview with Axl Rose: "I had to deal with so many other things that don't ha... bit.ly/V7g4PP #GunsNRoses

— Guns N' F'N Roses (@gunsnfnroses) October 31, 2012

The Shocking Truth Behind GN'R's Vegas Residency

This November, GN'R will play their first-ever Las Vegas residency.

 For the 12 shows, spread-out over a 25-day period, and titled ironically enough, Appetite for Democracy, Axl Rose has promised to play a "special set-list" comprised of songs from the brand's multi-platinum debut, Appetite for Destruction, and their much-maligned, 2008 offering, Chinese Democracy.

The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has been pulling-out all the stops promoting these shows -- GN'R branded elevators, airport shuttles and poker chips -- Axl Rose is even making a (very) rare television appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show a week before his Vegas stay.

What has led Axl Rose to set-up camp in Vegas?

Is this a last-ditch attempt to get his brand back in the black after 10+ years of mis-steps, no-shows, and disappointments? Was Axl's refusal to participate in Guns N' Roses' induction to the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the behavior of a bitter has-been, or was the "last true rock star" simply keeping it real?

   

If you haven't been following Guns N' Roses closely since they ruled on MTV, here's the short version: Axl Rose is the sole-remaining member of the once-great band that included Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler.

Following the departure of his band-mates in the early to mid-1990s, Axl has toured intermittently under the Guns N' Roses banner with a rotating line-up of session musicians.

Even the (somewhat) interesting personalities -- Buckethead, Robin Finck, Paul Tobias, Josh Freese and Bryan "Brain" Mantia -- who worked on Chinese Democracy have abandoned Axl and his touring cash-grab/nostalgia/karaoke act, leaving him with a bland group of faceless mercenaries who cover 2 different decades/versions of GN'R over the course of a single, drawn-out evening.

The truth is: Axl hasn't really done anything new in over 10 years. The new show that he debuted in Vegas on 01-01-01 leaned heavily on Appetite and Chinese, just like the special set-list these residency shows promise. In fact, that's all he's really been doing since 2001. Touring Appetite and Chinese.

Is this residency finally going to be Axl's last gasp? Or will he continue to circle the drain as long as songs like "Sweet Child" and "Paradise City" put asses in seats?

GN'R's new management team (known officially as "Team Brasil"), is led by Axl's former housekeeper -- an elderly Brazilian woman named Beta Lebeis -- and her son Fernando.

Although, they occupy prominent positions on Axl's payroll, he considers them family -- his mother and his little brother respectively.

Their latest schemes for Axl include selling V.I.P. "meet-and-greet" packages (which Axl does not attend), and the auctioning-off of their old clothes dryer(!), and other used equipment. They are even charging gullible fans to visit their official website.

It all seem like a Bust-Out to me.

For years, Axl posed as the guardian of the Guns N' Roses name. The narrative was that Rose was a true artist who was protecting the band's songs from exploitation. Really, Axl was just too scared and too uninspired to release anything new. Now that his housekeeper and her son are managing the brand, crass commercialism is suddenly job #1. I expect Team Brasil to lower the franchise's value even more before they metaphorically "torch the joint and walk away."

Slash Unveils Animated Video for "Bad Rain"

via Loudwire
Slash is once again delving into the animated world, but this time with a more sinister turn in the video for "Bad Rain."

The Riff Lord & his co-Conspirators turn up as the house band at a strip club that holds a dark secret.

In the video, an older gentleman enters the club and is immediately transfixed by the fetching redhead with the snake tattoo dancing upon the stage while Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators play in the background. The woman has seemingly every man in the place glued to her every move, but the latest arrival is the one garnering most of her attention. As she continues to mesmerize the gentleman in the front row, he starts to notice that the people around him are not what they seem. But we won’t give any more of the video away. Watch for yourself below.

This isn’t the first time Slash has been involved with animation, as Velvet Revolver‘s "Dirty Little Thing" clip had animated elements. The rocker also appeared in animated form for Disney’s Phineas and Ferb film. 

"Bad Rain" appears on Slash’s latest album, Apocalyptic Love.

In other Slash news, the guitarist and his band will perform on TBS’ Conan on October 4. The guitarist has been a longtime supporter of the late night host, famously donning a "I’m With Coco" pin while performing on Jay Leno’s late night show.

 

Slash - "Live in Sydney" Video Available Online

Watch Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators and other great gigs on Moshcam.

Slash & Conspirators are a BETTER Live Band Than NuGnR

"Slash has the best live rock band on the planet"

New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas. A Tuesday night in Adelaide. After just three songs, they are neck-and-neck.

This reviewer did not set out to compare the Slash show at Thebarton Theatre last night to Guns N' Roses all-bells-and-whistles outing at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino which rang in my 2012.

That had probably been my personal gig of the year to date, with Axl Rose’s wailing version of AC/DC’s “Riff Raff” a spine-tingling highlight, and this was ... well ... a Tuesday night in Adelaide.

But given the pulsating, compelling, crushing delivery of “Halo,” “Nightrain” and “Ghost,” the comparison had quickly grown unavoidable. Slash’s new album may be a little too modern rock for these ears but this is already a visceral, life-affirming spectacle.

By the time “Standing In The Sun,” “Back From Cali” and “Mr Bownstone” flash by as songs four, five and six respectively, it’s official:

Tuesday night in Adelaide is actually BETTER than New Years in Las Vegas.

Myles Kennedy, replete with understated dark buttoned shirt and chain wallet, is as close to perfect as any vocalist you could hope to be. He doesn’t try to imitate Axl or any of the other singers he is “covering” tonight – but makes every single tune (aside from the two sung by vocalist Todd Kerns) his own.

Slash is like a footballer who has become a tennis player. Before, you could only glance at him occasionally – now he is the centre of attention despite uttering barely a word into the microphone all night.

And he stands up to the scrutiny. To say his is a God-like presence as he grimaces, smiles and plays classic riff after classic riff is the suggest you expected anything else – and I didn’t.

Here is what does surprise, delight and entrance:

Slash has decided to stick with a band – The Conspirators – rather than continue down the purely solo path. As I said, the recorded result of this is not quite to this writer’s taste.

But live, the punkish aesthetic of Appetite for Destruction, born out of squalid camaraderie, has been gloriously resurrected. Axl once once said an early 2000s incarnation of GnR could “play the shit” out of the early songs. Well the Conspirators can play the #!#% out of them – with all the subtlety of a rhinoceros on Viagra.

“Rocket Queen,” “Nightrain,” “Mr Brownstone”, these guitar-driven anthems from 1987 get their most anarchic, authentic renditions from this band. The current GnR, on the other hand, leans heavily in style and feel towards the over-blown but magnificent Use Your Illusion albums – into which Slash did not delve at all last night.

Pauses between songs while pianos and the like are wheeled out – and the number of slower tunes – suck the momentum away from current GnR.

It’s only the Blues Jam and “Godfather Theme” which do that to Slash’s gritty set.

Ultimately, Slash gets out of the DeLorean from scummy 1988 where this was the size of venue Guns were playing. Axl is from still from 1992, when they were in stadia. That’s the difference.

Current GnR are not cabaret – but compared to Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, they are.

Both bands, morally, could convincingly call themselves “Guns N’ Roses”. Both finish with “Paradise City”, shooting confetti into the stalls. But the Conspirators can’t afford to give away a mic every night when their singer throws it as far as he can.

When Velvet Revolver’s “Slither” ends the main set and the same band’s “Fall To Pieces” starts the short encore, something else is glaringly apparent.

The idea of reassembling VR with a new singer to replace Scott Weiland is patently ridiculous. Slash already has the best live rock band on the planet right now.

Triple MMM

Appetite for Destruction 25th Anniversary Contest Winner Announced

#gunsnroses #AFD25

Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction

HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY TO APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION!

And the winner is ...

It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since Appetite for Destruction was released. When Guns N' Roses bust onto the scene in 1987, the musical landscape was changed forever. Finally, a band that seemed "real."

Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction spoke to kids in 1987 with it's raw honesty, and as a result, it shot straight up the charts. Selling over 30 million copies worldwide since it's release, "Appetite" contains the hit songs that still strike a chord with generations of rock fans today.

To celebrate this monumental anniversary, we're giving away a copy of Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction.

Reckless Road is not only the best book written about Guns N' Roses, it is one of the best rock books ever. Author Marc Canter had unlimited access to the band during their genesis, and the photos and information contained in this book are priceless.

''When Guns N' Roses formed, Marc became like the sixth guy in the band. He was always around and had unlimited access to the band, especially in the early days... He believed in us from the beginning and had a much broader view of what the band was about than we had from the early stages. He documented the whole thing, tirelessly.'' --Duff McKagan, on Marc Canter, Author of Reckless Road

When teenager and amateur photographer Marc Canter set out to document his best friend Saul Hudson's rise as a rock guitarist in 1982, he never imagined he was documenting the genesis of of the next great rock 'n' roll band. His friend became the legendary guitarist Slash, and Canter found himself witnessing the creation of Guns N' Roses front and center. The candid shots contained in Reckless Road, taken as the band toured in 1985-1987 and made the legendary album Appetite for Destruction, capture their raw, blood-sweat-and-tears performances as well as their intimate moments. Containing original gig memorabilia including show flyers, ticket stubs, set lists, press clippings, and handwritten lyrics as well as in-depth interviews with band members and the people closest to them, Reckless Road offers an explicit, first-person perspective readers won't find anywhere else.

http://recklessroad.com/