Axl Rose the often controversial front man of Guns N Roses finally breaks his silence and does his first real interview in almost a decade. Even though the interview with Billboard was done via e-mail, I guess that's as real as it gets for Axl who has been a recluse for years.
I have been a die hard fan of Guns N Roses since the beginning back in the 80's. I bought all their albums, been to their concerts [Believe it or not there was a time when Axl actually showed up, and did the concerts!] Guns N Roses was one of the best Rock Bands on the planet. In my opinion Appetite For Destruction is the best Rock album of all time. Unfortunately those days are long gone.
Chinese Democracy is a good album. Was it worth the 15 year wait? No. Is it as good or better than Appetite? No, it wasn't meant to be, and nothing Axl and company do ever will be.
Some GNR fans still hold out hope that one day the original members of Guns N Roses will reunite. All I have to say to that is cross your fingers, but don't hold your breath! It ain't never gonna happen!
After all the "he said, she said" Bullshit that has been going on for over a decade between Axl and Slash, it's time to finally move on! Slash is focused on his band Velvet Revolver, and Axl should focus on GNR. That being said, Axl needs to decide whether he wants to be back in the limelight and promote Chinese Democracy with some kind of tour, or go back to being a recluse in his Malibu mansion chatting on GNR forums, and doing the occasional online interviews.
After 15+years you finally gave Guns N Roses fans Chinese Democracy. Now shock the Hell out of everyone, and back it up with a tour! The shocker wouldn't actually be the tour, it would be if you showed up and did the shows.
Bottom line Axl, Shit or get off the pot!
In case you missed it, here is part of the interview. You can read the interview in it's entirety at Billboard.com
Are you planning to tour?
No plans, but there's talk. Management and our promoters are really excited with the offers coming in both here and worldwide.
Is there any chance you'll work with the former members of Guns N' Roses in the future?
I could see doing a song or so on the side with Izzy [Stradlin] or having him out [on tour] again. I'm not so comfortable with doing anything having more than one of the alumni. Maybe something with Duff [McKagan], but that's it, and not something I'd have to really get down into, as I'd get left with sorting it out and then blamed on top of it. So, no, not me.In regards to Slash, I read a desperate fan's message about, what if one of us were to die and looking back I had the possibility of a reunion now, blah blah blah. And my thoughts are, "Yeah, and while you're at the show your baby accidentally kicks a candle and burns your house down, killing himself and the rest of your family."Give me a fucking break. What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man.There are acts that, once committed between individuals, they are what they are. To add insult to injury almost day after day, lapsing into year after year, for more than a decade, is a nightmare. Anyone putting his own personal entertainment above everything else is sickening.
This is the first interview you've done in a long time. Why have you been so reluctant to do press now that the album is out?
Lots of reasons I've gone into elsewhere, but I can say why I'm doing this one. First, because in all this time it's one of the first actually formally presented: I was asked to consider it, I liked the questions and I felt it was a good time to address some of these issues publicly. Also, because it's my understanding that these answers may be "considered" for use with Billboard.com and Reuters [with which Billboard has a syndication deal] and this seemed like a wonderful opportunity to express myself accordingly.With Reuters, I get their reach. That said, they've been particularly ugly toward me and this band for years, with nearly everything they've written being condescending or negatively judgmental with the cute little press trick of using negative adjectives across the board whenever they've written anything. In our regard they're one of the media outlets that appear to continually attempt to set a tone for a negative mainstream public perception regarding either us or myself, at least in the United States, if not the world.I get freedom of the press, but I'm not clear in regard to their writers or those who choose to run their spin, why someone who no one's ever heard of with so little "real" information is deemed qualified -- let alone allowed so much corporate backing -- to promote negative and often completely inaccurate and purely opinion-based (at best, if that) shots in forums with so much exposure at the public's and our expense.Billboard.com has generally taken a pro-Slash and -old Guns position as well, and I don't recall having been particularly negative toward them previously either. In my opinion it seems a bit less professional than tabloid in nature. This is an attempt to begin sorting these things out when more than shots across the bow have been taken by both of these organizations -- but obviously much more so with Reuters -- if not a deliberate public stating of both position and intention, in my opinion.
