Axl Rose: Humanitarian

The Epoch Times
Long Awaited Return of Guns N' Roses
Single "Chinese Democracy" takes humanitarian theme
By Chris Holehouse

All the controversy and chatterings of the reorganized mega-band Guns N' Roses aside, one thing is for certain — Mr. Rose still flaunts his rock and roll craft with a humanitarian undertone, keeping his consciousness neatly aligned with justice and human rights.

Millions of fans remember the epic, soul stirring 1993 Guns N' Roses piece "Civil War," where Rose and his platinum selling G N’R troupe painted a rallying anti-war protest that left even the most apathetic moved. Beginning with the famous line, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate," sampled from the film Cool Hand Luke, the song provoked strong introspection and an array of intense emotions. By the time Rose's gripping tone and the words "Peace can last forever" chimed, one would be hard pressed not to be totally immersed and laden with a full body chill.

It's been a long time since '93 and the GN’R sounds of old, and Guns N' Roses have taken on a few new reforms. The band released its first single and title track, “Chinese Democracy,” from the heavily delayed and strongly anticipated album of the same name, which slates to be made available exclusively through Best Buy retailers on November 24.

The song "Chinese Democracy," was inspired by the Martin Scorsese film, Kundun which documents the life and teachings of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dali Llama. Rose first played the song live in at a Las Vegas show in 2001 stating "…right now China symbolizes one of the strongest, yet most oppressive countries and governments in the world."

Past the Tibet situation, Rose brings to light yet another atrocity in China with his mention of the persecution of the spiritual practice Falun Gong with the lyrics "Blame it on the Falun Gong, they've seen the end and you [the Chinese Communist Party] can't hold on now."

The persecution of Falun Gong has been a reality in China for nearly ten years, starting in July of 1999, and the media outlets and news sources in both the East and the West, have been for the most part, tight lipped. Axl Rose has taken steps in a meaningful and honorable direction with the inclusion of real and breathing humanitarian content that takes aim at reaching the world's people through his tried and true medium of hard rock music.

Bumblefoot: "It Just Felt Like a Big Party"

Interview #2 with Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Written by Steve Angell

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal is a member of Guns N' Roses and will be featured on their new album Chinese Democracy, to be released on November 23. Along with rocking with one of the greatest rock bands of all time, he's also released his own music with his latest CD, Abnormal, soon available at a store near you. Ron has also lent his guitar skills to TV shows, video games, and many charitable causes.

You can learn more about this truly great guitarist at his website Bumblefoot.com, and can also order his CDs at Best Buy or Amazon.com.

Q: The last time we talked with you, you were planning to start work on your solo album, Abnormal. For fans that haven't heard it yet, what can they expect from the album?

BBF: Happy to say, I finished the album and released it digitally in July, hitting retail stores this month. I'm happy with how it came out, diggin' the tone of everything - better guitar sound, vocal sound, everything. Made some videos of recording the album, they're at Bumblefoot.com/videos.php.

Q: We hear that you're working on a line of hot sauces; do you already have a name for it, and should Joe Perry of Aerosmith be concerned that you might be competing with his hot sauce line?

BBF: Yeah, got the names and recipes ready to go, just gotta get it done. I'm lookin' to make some stuff that's gonna cause some serious pain. There's a bunch of guys with sauce out there, Joe Perry, Michael Anthony, Dizzy Reed; some real good stuff.

Q: You've had an opportunity to tour around the world both with Guns N' Roses, as well as with your own band; is there one venue or concert that jumps out to you as a particularly great performance, where all the stars seemed to be aligned?

BBF: One of my favorites will always be Madison Square Garden. Growing up in New York City and seeing my first concert there, it's a personal thing, ya know? We played there in November 2006; it just felt like a big party on that stage. Definitely a great time.

Q: What is your favorite classic and your favorite new GN'R song to play live?

BBF: "Down On the Farm," "Nice Boys," "Don't Cry." There are a lot of new songs I'm looking forward to playing. Of the ones we've done so far, I'd say "There Was A Time," "Better," and "Chinese Democracy."

Q: You've had the opportunity to perform with many great musicians throughout your career, but are there any you've yet to perform with that you'd like to?

BBF: Would love to jam with Les Paul one of these days.

Q: Of all the songs that you've written, which one holds the most meaning to you, and why?

BBF: "Shadow," off the Normal CD. Little things about it; the line "I can feel my face changing..." Weeks after getting off the meds, I didn't think anything was happening, and then people I knew started asking me "what's wrong?" Nothing felt like it was wrong, but people could see something happening. Some songs just hit the nail on the head; they say it just right, that song was one of them.

Q: When performing a guitar solo at a concert, do you usually have an idea of what you're going to play beforehand, or is it more of a spur of the moment type of thing?

BBF: They start as a spontaneous thing, and often develop into something structured. Long solos and jams are pretty spontaneous throughout.

Q: Have you played Guitar Hero or Rock Band, and if so, do you have a favorite between the two?

BBF: I suck equally at both.

Q: We hear that you recorded the theme music for VH1 Classic's new TV show That Metal Show, and that you're also going to be a guest on an upcoming episode. What day is your show scheduled to air, and do you have any other upcoming appearances on TV or radio?

BBF: Yeah, did the theme to That Metal Show, just did the music for the New York Islanders hockey team, been doing a bunch of radio shows; having a good time with that. Pretty sure That Metal Show will be premiering on November 15.

Q: We end all interviews with word association, so I say "wombat" and you say...

BBF: Drink Dr.Pepper.

Wicked Info

Video Coming "Soon"

Are you the UK's biggest Guns N' Roses fan? To celebrate the release of Chinese Democracy we're offering one of you the chance to win the UK's BIGGEST GnR PARTY in your town! You and 100 of your friends will be the first to hear the album in it's entirety. The winner will also be the official first owner of the album in the UK, with a platinum disc to prove it!

We want to see you're craziest, most innapropriate air guitar! Get creative, set it to Chinese Democracy if you want, the craziest one wins!

UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO TO THIS GROUP AND WE'LL PICK A WINNER ON MONDAY 17 NOVEMBER. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR CITY IN THE DESCRIPTION! THE MOST EXCESSIVE AND CRAZY VIDEO MESSAGE WILL WIN!

www.youtube.com/ChineseDemocracyUK
www.chinesedemocracy.co.uk

Slash Makes Promises in Oslo

Slash will lure music hungry fans to Kristiansand next summer.

The former Guns N' Roses guitarist will play his only European solo concert of 2009 at next year's edition of the Quart festival, set to take place June 30 - July 4 in Kristiansand, Norway.

Slash won't reveal who he'll be playing with before everything is ready, but he promises a big surprise.

After the Quart festival went bankrupt last summer, it was acquired for just over $400,000 by an investor group with former GN'R manager Tom Zutaut in the lead.

Slash will headline the event on the festival's opening day. He will be joined by a number of as-yet-undisclosed guests and promises to perform a mixture of old and new material.

This year's Quart festival, which was scheduled to take place July 2-5 in Kristiansand, was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Only 2,053 tickets had been sold through Billettservice (the biggest ticketing company Norway) as of early June, forcing the organizers to file for bankruptcy.

The guitarist is also working on a solo album, on which he plans to have several high-profile vocalists take turns singing.

Video

VG NETT
Blabbermouth

Izzy Stradlin: The Epitome of Cool

Bring Back Izzy for Guns N' Roses Tour
Tim Brouk, Lafayette Journal & Courier

Of all the four letter words Axl Rose has used in his life, there is one that can easily boost his uncertain rock star status: Izzy.

With Chinese Democracy set to hit Best Buy stores November 23, how pop culture will be affected by what was once one of the most anticipated rock 'n' roll records in history is a mystery.

Of course, a full-scale Guns N' Roses reunion would dispel any question that Rose could not reclaim his thrown atop rock 'n' roll. But bridges are burned and those bridge ashes have been buried and then blown up with dynamite between Rose and most former Guns members -- whether the original or the Use Your Illusion era.

However, fellow Lafayette native Izzy Stradlin (Jeff Isbell when he lived in Lafayette) has always seemed to handle Rose the best. Their relationship is dissected at length in the 2008 biographies W.A.R. -- The Unauthorized Biography of William Axl Rose by Mick Wall and Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N' Roses by Stephen Davis.

I interviewed both authors and they found Izzy to be the epitome of cool.

Izzy was always my favorite since I first saw GNR on videos, TV shows and in the pages of Circus and Rip magazines when I was in middle school. Izzy always hung in the back with his cigarette dangling from his lips, effortlessly strumming his guitar. His look was inspired by New York Doll Johnny Thunders, who influenced Izzy and a jillion other guitar players' styles in the 1980s. Izzy dressed differently and acted the most together of all the Guns, despite his battles with drugs and the occasional arrest (darn those long lines for an airplane bathroom).

Izzy has rejoined Axl for live shows since he left the band in 1991, right before the Rose circus reached its height. He filled in for Gilby Clarke in 1993 and then played numerous shows in 2006 with the 21st century Guns who barely resembled anything that crawled out of the Sunset Strip in 1986.

Living in Lafayette for the past eight-plus years, I sometimes forget that GNR's most rabid fans are not just in Lafayette. Guns' is somehow still a global phenomenon. If the band wasn't still thought of, Chinese Democracy would have been scrapped 10 years ago.

Even if Chinese Democracy is run through the mud by critics, a tour with Izzy in tow would be enough to satisfy fans. While not having Slash start those familiar chords to "Welcome to the Jungle" is tragic, having Izzy lead his classic "Mr. Brownstone" would be just as amazing to many fans.

Just like he did more than 20 years ago, Rose needs Izzy to get him to the rock god status again. He needs him now, perhaps, more than ever.

Lafayette Journal & Courier

O Boy! Obama!

9:50 PM ET: Mack Arillo Calls the USA for Barack Obama.

Barack Obama is projected to win Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

To say that the last 8 years have been an unbearably long and incomprehensible journey would be an understatement.

The Bush Administration was a bad dream where I kept waking up only to find that I was still in the nightmare.

Our national nightmare is over.

I'm proud to be an American.

30-Second TV Spot Airs

19 Days, 13 Hours, and 31 Minutes.

We are getting close.