The Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver Thread

[Bong-Man]

http://www.macombdai...8b309658256.txt

Guns N’ Roses – late as usual – still rocks the Fillmore

Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012

by Gary Graff

For Journal Register Newspapers

ggonmusic@gmail.com; Twitter: @graffonmusic

Click to enlarge

Axl Rose is the sole remaining member of the original Guns N' Roses.

DETROIT — The question before a Guns N' Roses concert is usually what time Axl Rose will finally lead the group on stage.

On Tuesday night at the Fillmore Detroit, it was whether he would make it to the stage at all.

Rose — the sole remaining member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-bound hard rock band's original lineup — raised a red flag early Tuesday evening when he tweeted he was "sick as a dogg!!" He didn't indicate the show was at risk, but a fissure of doubt ran through the Fillmore nonetheless.

The concern was unnecessary, however. Rose and the band — although unconscionably late, as is its habit — rocked the Fillmore well into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, delivering a slamming, 25-song set that had all the impact of an arena show and the sense of event that comes from seeing a group like that in such an intimate venue.

It was, in fact, the smallest place GNR has played in the area since it performed at the then-State Theatre in May 1988. The group's debut album, "Appetite For Destruction," went stratospheric shortly after that, and GNR moved on to places like the Pontiac Silverdome and the Palace, where the group played Dec. 1.

That Tuesday's show did not sell out in the 3,000-capacity Fillmore was surprising, and it was certainly the one that got away for anyone who missed it — even in a big week for rock shows that also includes Van Halen, Korn and Jane's Addiction. Even if he was feeling "drowned in the gutter," Rose rose to the occasion, his larger-than-life Rock Star persona even more pronounced in the smaller environs and his vocal swoops and banshee wails intact, if a bit hoarse at times.

GNR's production jammed a flashy, arena-size light-and-sound rig into the Fillmore, with a short ramp jutting out from the front of the stage so Rose could press the flesh with fans beyond the front row. Guitarists Richard Fortus, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba — the latter sporting a top hat ala original GNR guitarist Slash — exchanged lead and rhythm roles smoothly, while the set list, nearly identical to the December show at the Palace, wove together hits such as "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Patience," "Don't Cry" and the show-closing "Paradise City" with six selected tracks from GNR's 2008 album "Chinese Democracy" and covers of Wings' "Live and Let Die" and Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door."

The only damper on GNR's electric, and electrifying, show was, as usual, the hour. Rose's penchant for late starts and long shows is pretty much accepted at this point; certainly a chunk of the Fillmore faithful didn't even bother showing up until homeboy opener Sponge was into its 25-minute set. But plenty of folks also trickled out as GNR's show wore on, and by the time the confetti flew during "Paradise City," a good one-third, and probably more, were already out the door. Could be why GNR only drew 8,000 to the Palace and still had tickets left to sell on Tuesday.

It truly was, as Rose tweeted afterwards, "a f***ing Blast!!" But it would be a better time for more of the faithful if his unique internal clock could become a bit more fan-friendly.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Bong-Man

[Anjin-san]

Duff interview:

http://bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1061119751&srvc=edge&position=3

“In the ’90s, I began mountain biking to help me stay clean, and some pros I rode with told me they partied like rock stars last night,” he said from his home in Seattle. “I asked what that meant, and they told me they drank, like, six beers each. I told them, ‘No, you guys partied like mountain bikers.’ ”

[SteveAJones]

Duff interview:

I bought Duff's autobiography - It's So Easy (and other lies) - in Seattle and found I had read it cover to cover without putting it down. It's

a great book!

[kenog]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/slash-axl-rose-hates-my-guts-20120402#ixzz1qy8S1wbZ

Slash: 'Axl Rose Hates My Guts'

Guitarist on why Guns N' Roses won't play their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction

By Andy Greene

April 2, 2012 11:10 AM ET

David Wolff - Patrick/Getty Images

When Guns N' Roses get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 14th, nobody knows exactly what else will happen – including Slash. "This is a subject I'm dead sick of talking about," the guitarist says. "Everyone has been asking me what's going to happen, and they know as much as I do. I feel you're totally obligated to be present and I would love to fucking play, but it's just something that's not gonna happen for whatever reason."

Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler are all committed to going to the Cleveland ceremony, but it's unclear whether guitarist Izzy Stradlin or Axl Rose will be present. One sticking point for Axl may be the presence of Slash, whom he called a "cancer" in 2009.

"He hates my guts," says Slash. "It's over a lot of different stuff; I don't even know. There's just no communication between us. I talk to Duff and Steven, but when it comes to old Guns N' Roses, there really isn't anybody that makes decisions."

Slash recently patched up his troubles with former Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland, to the point where the group was able to reform for a four-song set at a Los Angeles charity concert in January. "It was great to see Scott," says Slash. "I hadn't seen him in a while. He sang great, and afterwards we all shook hands and took off."

Besides that one-off show, Velvet Revolver have been completely inactive since Scott Weiland quit in 2008. "We've been looking for singers and we talk on a regular basis," says Slash. "Every so often, Duff and I get together behind the scenes, reconvene and audition people and so on. So it's still active."

The rehearsals have been conducted largely in secret, though the fact that they considered Slipsknot's Corey Taylor did leak to the press. "There was a rehearsal with Corey," says Slash. "It was a songwriting session and nothing really came of it. It's more my fault than anybody's because I was like, 'I don't know if this is the right thing.' Corey is obviously a fucking awesome frontman and he's a great singer, but it's just a different style than what I had in mind for Velvet. I was the odd man out on that one."

In the meantime, Slash is focused on his new solo album Apocalyptic Love, which hits shelves on May 22nd. Unlike his 2010 debut Slash, which was recorded with a rotating cast of all-star singers, Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy sings on every track on the LP. They first met just a few years ago, when Kennedy was recruited to sing a track on Slash. The guitarist called him up when he learned that Kennedy had auditioned to sing on Led Zeppelin's planned (but ultimately aborted) 2008 tour. "I was like, 'This guy's gotta be fucking good,'" says Slash. "Jimmy Page was calling him up!"

In 2010, Slash went on a grueling world tour with Kennedy, bassist Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz. "I didn't know any of them at the time," says Slash. "It turned out to be this one in a million thing. They were one of the most bitching rock and roll bands and groups of musicians that I'd ever worked with. So I thought, 'Fuck, if I'm gonna make another record, I'll just do it with these guys.' And that's what happened." The group wrote the songs for Apocalyptic Love during downtime from the tour. "If I had any ideas, I would record them in the middle of the night in my hotel room or bus," says Slash. "I would e-mail them to Myles, and either in sound check or in the dressing room or whatever, we'd start honing in on some of these ideas. By the end of the tour we'd have, like, 20 songs." They recorded the album in late 2011 and early this year, after Kennedy finished up a tour with Alter Bridge. "He's got a great work ethic," says Slash. "He doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not busy."

The group kicks off an American tour this May, and if their March 23rd warm-up show in Toronto was any indication, expect a lot of Guns N' Roses classics mixed in with solo material and cuts from Velvet Revolver and Slash's Snakepit. "There's a lot of Guns stuff that has so many lyrics per measure that it's not worth getting into," says Slash. "Some stuff is very signature Guns, to the point where I don't want to go there. We know 'Welcome To The Jungle,' we played it before, but I don't feel comfortable doing it. But there's other Guns standards that I really feel at ease playing every night. It's the same with Velvet Revolver."

After going through extremely tumultuous breakups with Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, Slash is thrilled to be in a group that functions peacefully. "I didn't know it could be as easy as this, because it just really hadn't ever been like that for me," says Slash. "The inspiration for me to play and go out and kick ass every night is very strong with these guys. That's all anybody wants to do. So the hassles of the road are totally tolerable when there's not a lot of unnecessary baggage that we have to navigate every fucking day."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/slash-axl-rose-hates-my-guts-20120402#ixzz1qy8S1wbZ

[Lake of Shadows]

I'm looking forward to hearing the new album by Slash and I'm tickled that Miles Kennedy is the vocalist on the upcoming album. I enjoyed the "rotating vocal cast" used on the first album, but I particularly liked Miles Kennedy.

So... yay!

I bought Duff's autobiography - It's So Easy (and other lies) - in Seattle and found I had read it cover to cover without putting it down. It's

a great book!

I also didn't know he'd written a book. Thanks for the heads up.

Now if y'all will excuse me, I need to meander over to Amazon...

Edited April 4, 2012 by Lake of Shadows

[SteveAJones]

Player (May 2012) (Japan)

[The Pagemeister]

http://youtu.be/0mRqvCKvFrA

[SteveAJones]

Slash's second solo album, Apocolyptic Love, debuted at #4 on the Billboard chart, selling more than 100,000 copies during it's first week of release.

[SteveAJones]

Kerrang! (April 21, 2012) (UK)

Burrn! (June 2012) (Japan)

Player - Young Mates Music (June 2012) (Japan)

Young Guitar (June 2012) (Japan)

Guitar World (July 2012) (USA)

Scans courtesy Steve A. Jones Archive

[Jahfin]

Guns N' Roses ban fans from wearing Slash t-shirts to their UK gigs (New Musical Express)

Edited June 3, 2012 by Jahfin

[Anjin-san]

Guns N' Roses ban fans from wearing Slash t-shirts to their UK gigs (New Musical Express)

Is that legal in the UK?

[Otto Masson]

Guns N' Roses ban fans from wearing Slash t-shirts to their UK gigs (New Musical Express)

What a joke.

[Jahfin]

It makes me wonder how and why this band even has any fans. According to that article, G n' R are also still keeping their fans waiting for several hours before they even take the stage.

[Lake of Shadows]

I bought Duff's autobiography - It's So Easy (and other lies) - in Seattle and found I had read it cover to cover without putting it down. It's

a great book!

I found it recently at Books A Million and bought it. I didn't quite read it cover-to-cover without putting it down, but I came as close as circumstances allowed. I agree it was a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Guns N' Roses ban fans from wearing Slash t-shirts to their UK gigs (New Musical Express)

Poor poor pouty jerk.

I wanna wear a Slash t-shirt and yell Freebird... wait a minute... that would mean I'd have to attend a G-n-R concert. Nevermind.

Edited June 24, 2012 by Lake of Shadows

[2bitnogoodjive]

New G 'n R album in the works?

'There's a lot of stuff recorded', promises guitarist.

Considering how long it took for Chinese Democracy to be released, I would expect to hear it no later than 2027.

[Strider]

G n R are about as relevant as Taco these days...maybe even less.

[SteveAJones]

Axl has given his first televised interview in more than 20 years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7gjUa1y99g

Edited October 27, 2012 by SteveAJones

[luvlz2]

[PlanetPage]

After celebrity party in Mumbai and Tribute to Freddy Mercury, Guns and Roses pay tribute to R. Shankar.....

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/guns-nroses-dedicate-gurgaon-concert-to-ravi-shankar-555389.html

[jabe]

So Scott Weiland is talking Velvet Revolver lately.

I wonder if Slash and Duff are up on this.

[Old Shep]

I useto be a big Guns and Roses fan, I downloaded all the VR stuff but i have never lsitened to it, should I? I also like Stone Temle Pilots

[DewieCox]

I useto be a big Guns and Roses fan, I downloaded all the VR stuff but i have never lsitened to it, should I? I also like Stone Temle Pilots

The first album is pretty great. I dig STP quite a bit as well, but the second went too far in that direction and didn't play towards Slash's strengths.

[ZEPFAN17]

I have always liked Guns and Roses,Appetite For Destruction being my favorite album.

[Walter]

I once thought neither would ever be willing to give him a second chance, but the RnR HoF performance suggests anything is possible.

Are you referring to the Axl/Izzy-less GnR performance there this year?

I was surprised VR did a charity gig/set with Scott either this past year or last. I saw he just got married again. Do you think there is a chance VR would record/play with Scott again?

[jabe]

I've seen STP five times and VR twice.

I much prefer STP to VR live and studio wise.

Weiland's a helluva front man for a band, that's for sure.

Last VR concert I attended, it was like you could see Slash pissed as shit during the show. Weiland made some smart ass comment toward a young concert goer that was in poor fucking taste. Of course, they were not punctual, a good hour or more post AIC.

Anyway, Alice In Chains blew their ass off the stage.

Fuck it. I'd pay to see VR live again.