GN'R nominated for Hall of Fame - INDUCTED!

To: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern,

When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we've listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of Guns N' Roses, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists' comments weighing in publicly on Guns and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we've been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things... no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected.

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show not mine.

That said, I won't be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N' Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of "Guns N' Roses".

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp's perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I'm sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I'll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don't intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we've actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" scenario all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of "for the fans" or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in '06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in '06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in '11 along with his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that's enough.

There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn't room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Maybe if it were you it'd be different. Maybe you'd do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We're there for each other when the going get's rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense.

But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the "no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn't care about the fans" crap out of the way as quickly as we can and let's move on. No one's taking the ball and going home. Don't get it twisted. For more than a decade and a half we've endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball's never been in our court.

In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as ironic as it may seem, I'd like to sincerely thank the board for their nomination and their votes for Guns' induction. More importantly I'd like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we've had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N' Roses music.

I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

Sincerely,

Axl Rose

P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III

Johan wrote:Worst possible scenario. Why couldn't he just show up, accept the thing and share a stage with the rest for a couple of minutes and for the rest of the night sit in the crowd with his entourage?

And declining induction is just immature and ridiculous. What do you get Axl? Guns N' Roses inducted in the RNR HOF, but only the ex-members + Dizzy and no Axl with it.



Yes, I'm disappointed with this.

Eddie Trunk On The Axl Rose Controversy: “Knowing What I Know About The Hall, I Like Him Even More For Standing Up To This Whole Thing”

The buzz surrounding the rock royalty that will be in attendance for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame’s 2012 induction ceremony this weekend is currently being overshadowed by the buzz surrounding the one person who will NOT be in attendance. Of course, we’re talking about the one and only W. Axl Rose, who gave the Hall the proverbial middle finger last night with his open letter declaring his refusal to be inducted alongside his former bandmates in Guns N’ Roses.

This declaration has sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community of hard rock supporters, so we thought who better to reach out to help us contextualize these developments than the host of That Metal Show himself, Mr. Eddie Trunk. Eddie has been communicating with his fans through his official @EddieTrunk Twitter account ever since the news broke, but we were able to get him on the phone earlier afternoon for an extended conversation about these controversial events. We caught up with him when he was playing blackjack (and winning!) at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, and as you might expect, he had LOTS to share about Axl, the likelihood of an eventual GNR reunion, his interest in creating an institution to rival the RRHOF, and his disdain for the Hall’s inductee selection process.

EDDIE ON WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS SURPRISED BY AXL’S DECISION:
“I’ve got to say, I was not surprised at all. Anybody who has followed, listened or watched me knows that not only do I have disdain for the Hall and the way they treat rock bands, but I never thought there was a chance in hell that Guns N’ Roses would play. Reading his letter, of course there’s deeper things there. Axl’s a complicated guy, everybody knows that. I thought it was extremely remote that Axl would ever show up.”

EDDIE ON WHY AXL DECIDED TO BOW OUT OF THE CEREMONY:
“When we sat down to talk to him about it on That Metal Show, he seemed like it was at that point he wanted to take a look at it and see what was involved in it. Judging from his letter, he clearly did look at it, had conversations with them, and saw that it wasn’t for him. Here’s why I think that this happened: He had issues with the Hall. Listen, if he doesn’t even want to be inducted, obviously something really went wrong there in the discussions. Purely speculating, I can tell you that this is a guy, for right or wrong, completely wants to promote and embrace his current band. This induction is NOT about his current band; they’re not included. He saw this for what it really was. If he stands up on stage with Slash and those guys, it’s going to throw a huge gallon of gas on this reunion outcry, and it’s the last thing he wants. I know the fans want it, but I can tell you this: I know all of the original members of GNR better than Axl, and none of them, with the exception of maybe Steven Adler, ever talk about a reunion. They’re all focused on their other projects.”

EDDIE ON THE “REAL” REASON THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME IS INDUCTING GNR IN THEIR FIRST YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY:

“Looking at the Guns N’ Roses situation, let’s be honest here. This was about the Hall, who clearly need a boost in their turnstiles in Cleveland, serving their purposes: Stirring up some legitimate buzz from rock fans, getting ratings for HBO —their new broadcast partner— and all that. To put them on during their first year of eligibility? Van Halen didn’t even get that! This is about the Hall needing the boost that comes with the talk of a possible Guns N’ Roses reunion. Cutting to the chase, I’m just thrilled that the Hall didn’t get what they wanted. This was not about the Hall having some great love and respect for GNR. This is about the Hall needing to be able to say, ‘Look, we got all the guys on stage at the same time, and we’re the catalyst for the reunion.’ And that’s not gonna happen! The Hall has snubbed and continues to snub tons of iconic bands, it’s nice to see them get snubbed. For once, the Hall didn’t get their way.”

EDDIE ON THE FAN OUTRAGE:
“This thing about it’s Axl disrepecting the fans is total BS. I’m a fan of GNR, i don’t need the RRHOF to validate them. How someone would stop being a GNR fan if they are currently because Axl Rose decided not to stand on stage with a bunch of people he hasn’t played with in over 15 years and accept an honor that was not voted in by the fans is beyond my comprehension.

“I think the fans will get over it. Just looking at the people who have been tweeting me, there are fans that completely agree and love what Axl has done and agree 100% and get it, and there’s some that feel really offended. If you’re an Axl Rose fan —meaning, a current Guns N’ Roses lineup fan— and you’re going to these shows and you’re waiting 2, 3, 4 hours for him to come on, is this really going to change your opinion of him? I don’t think that. Because he doesn’t want to go to a private club’s party on their terms? At the end of the day, the people who are really upset about this, are the people who thought this was going to lead to a reunion. This has been, from Day 1, first and foremost that. Instigating a reunion of the original band, and the Hall getting the pop for being the catalyst doing that.”

EDDIE ON HOW THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME TREATS ROCK FANS:
“Let’s be honest here, it’s not about the fans. The fans don’t even get to VOTE for the Hall of Fame. That’s the thing that also gets lost in this. I think that the fans who are getting outraged about this are outraged for one reason — they thought it would be a spark for a reunion. I don’t need the RRHOF to validate that GNR is a great band. I certainly don’t need a private club to tell me that, and that’s what they are! The whole thing is a sham.”

EDDIE ON THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME’S CREDIBILITY AS AN INSTITUTION:
“I think it’s a joke. I have been as vocal about it as much as I can on radio and TV. Alice Cooper was ignored for 15 years before he went in last year. I do it to expose the hypocrisy and blatant disrespect they have for rock and heavy rock music. It’s gone on for decades and nothing has changed.”

EDDIE ON WHETHER OR NOT HE WOULD JOIN THE RRHOF COMMITTEE IF THEY INVITED HIM:
“I had the President of the Hall on my radio show not long ago. We discussed some of these things and they know exactly how I feel. Would I be opposed to it? No. But, I would only be open to it if it was going to give me an opportunity to make legitimate change to something that is so incredibly flawed. If it was only to shut me up, I wouldn’t waste my time. I have no stake in this, I’m just a fan who has a larger platform than most to expose the hypocrisy of this thing. That’s all it’s about for me.”

EDDIE ON THE POTENTIAL TO START A RIVAL TO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME:
“I’ve been urged by people forever to try and start a real Rock Hall of Fame. I’ve had some very, very preliminary discussions about doing it. Obviously, I can’t do it myself, but there are a lot of people interested in that. Who knows where this is going to do down the line.”

Stop teasing Axl Rose
The Guns 'n Roses frontman turns down the hall of fame, but no rocker in decades has had more influence. Kurt who?

Axl Rose may not want to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but his refusal to attend the induction ceremony is actually a fitting controversy — and explains why Guns ’n Roses deserve to be enshrined.

The debate has played out on the band’s Facebook page ever since the band’s induction was announced weeks ago. Jubilant congratulations alternated with fans imploring Axl Rose, the lone remaining member from the band’s late -’80s “classic” lineup, to reunite with his former bandmates to mark the occasion. Specifically, the diehards pleaded for the five ragtag hellraisers behind 1987’s landmark debut, “Appetite For Destruction” — Rose, guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler — to set aside their differences for at least one night.

On Wednesday, Rose quashed any speculation about a reunion with a two-page open letter in which he announced he wouldn’t be attending Saturday’s induction ceremony in Cleveland. Furthermore, he “respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N’ Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of ‘Guns N’ Roses.’”

In a puzzling contradiction, he closed the letter by “sincerely thank[ing] the board for their nomination and their votes for Guns’ induction.” (In response to this lengthy statement, the Rock Hall simply said: “We are sorry Axl will not be able to accept his Induction in person.” Rose’s refusal to play by the rules isn’t a surprise; the band built its legacy on flouting convention.

The mercurial personalities of the most popular GNR lineup boozed hard (and, in some cases, drugged hard), played hard and made rock & roll truly dangerous again. Musically, the band’s predilection for danger was also its biggest asset. “Appetite For Destruction” — which has sold over 18 million copies in the U.S. alone — was aggressive, hungry and subversive. A distillation of Aerosmith’s sleazy boogie, the Rolling Stones’ strut, AC/DC and Rose Tattoo’s jagged metal and L.A.’s ever-present glam-rock and punk scenes, “Appetite” was an antidote to the glossy arena-metal popular at the time and remains a landmark album. GNR set fire to complacency — and merged authentic punk attitude with hard rock’s swagger better than any other band to date.

“G N’ R Lies,” an eight-song EP released in late 1988, capitalized on the band’s meteoric rise. It also revealed their depth: “Lies’” single, “Patience,” was acoustic and subdued — the polar opposite of “Appetite’s” snarling fury. While nearly all hard rock bands in the ‘80s had a token sensitive tune, “Patience” was spare and vulnerable, and devoid of the self-indulgence found on other introspective songs.

Conventional wisdom goes that Nirvana’s 1991 major-label debut, “Nevermind,” and the ensuing alternative nation onslaught cemented hair metal’s extinction. But GNR inflicted the first wound; sonically, “Appetite” and “Lies” primed mainstream music to be open to Nirvana’s raw angst and metallic punk. (Ironic, given there was no love lost between Kurt Cobain and Axl Rose; YouTube teems with clips of each man disparaging the other.

Not that the mainstream welcomed GNR with open arms. Even after signing with Geffen, they weren’t instant superstars. In an article titled “Full Metal Racket!” which appeared in Billboard’s 1987 year-end issue, Bon Jovi, Poison and Whitesnake received generous write-ups, while Axl and Co. were merely described as an “up-and-coming band making a buzz,” along with MSG, Faster Pussycat and T.N.T. At that point, “Appetite” had been in stores for five months.

More important, according to the recent book, “I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story Of The Music Video Revolution,” MTV only started playing the “Appetite” single “Welcome To The Jungle” in regular rotation after David Geffen personally called the channel and asked them to play the video more. After “Jungle” and the more accessible “Sweet Child O’ Mine” video caught on with viewers, GNR exploded. And with that, their tenure as wildly creative video artists commenced.

In fact, the enduring legacy of 1991’s “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II” (both of which just so happened to be released a week before “Nevermind”) is their videos. Shot in stark black-and-white, “Yesterdays” splices photos of the band’s younger days with simple performance footage taken from a warehouse. The clip for the livewire metallic-punk blast “Garden Of Eden,” in contrast, is subtly funny: Shot from one vantage point, it features Rose motormouthing the lyrics with exaggerated movements, as his band shreds behind him. The hard-rock ripper “You Could Be Mine” is tied to the soundtrack of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”; footage from the movie and of a bad-ass Arnold Schwarzenegger heightens its impact. And “Dead Horse” and GNR’s version of Paul McCartney & Wings’ “Live And Let Die,” while somewhat pedestrian performance videos, demonstrate the band’s immense power as a live act.

“Illusion’s” best-known clips are for the trilogy of “Don’t Cry,” “November Rain” and “Estranged,” however. Mini-movies rather than simply music videos — and based around a short story by journalist/writer Del James, a friend of Axl Rose — they were some of the most elaborate clips ever filmed. Exotic, mysterious and expensive, each video reportedly cost over $1 million to make. Critics called the videos self-indulgent, and the imagery and plot points could be obtuse; see the presence of dolphins everywhere in “Estranged.” (Amusingly, “I Want My MTV” quotes the trilogy’s director, Andy Morahan, as saying, “I’ve been asked by students about the metaphorical imagery in those videos, and I’m like, ‘Fuck if I know.’”)

Sitting down to watch the nine-minute-plus videos for “November Rain” and “Estranged” took commitment, but it was something viewers anticipated; the clips’ appearances on MTV weren’t to be missed. They were must-see events, a shared experience — something not found in music videos again until the arrival of Lady Gaga. And like the latter, GNR used the medium in powerful, striking ways. Instead of acting out goofy or scripted storylines, the band kept things eerily parallel to their actual lives, making these videos touching personal documents.

In hindsight, the video trilogy feels like the closing of a chapter, the band looking back on their simpler days. But the original GNR seemed built for implosion, so intense they could only burn brightly for a few years. And now, it’s easy to forget how massive the band were between 1988 and 1993. They toured with Metallica and Aerosmith, headlined stadiums and hobnobbed with their idols; Elton John played piano on “November Rain” with them in 1992 and Queen’s Brian May opened for them on the “Use Your Illusion” tour. And GNR accomplished all this despite unpredictable behavior and ever-increasing internal (and external) conflicts, including riots at concerts in St. Louis and Montreal; uproar over lyrical content that was perceived to be racist, homophobic and violent; very-public bouts of intoxication and rude behavior; chronic lateness and lawsuits. GNR were never safe — and they were never boring.

Perhaps the biggest tribute to the band — and the testament to their singularity — is that nobody has ever managed to duplicate the essence of their music. Radio rock acts such as Buckcherry and Hinder, raunch-rockers such as Nickelback, and Japanese acts X Japan and Dir En Grey can trace their lineage to Axl & Co., and any mainstream band grafting punk’s aggressive tempos to metal’s thrashier side has GNR to thank for kicking the door down first. But the danger dished out by many of these groups is often cartoonish and calculated, a third-rate Xerox of hazardous behavior.

For the last 15 or so years, naysayers and disgruntled fans have viewed GNR the same way: a pale imitation of their former selves. Besides Rose, only keyboardist Dizzy Reed — who joined the band in 1990 — has a link to GNR’s salad days; the rest of the lineup includes superb players with impressive résumés. However, these newer musicians don’t have the notorious reputations — or drama-filled lives —of the golden-age lineup. To purists, the band’s continued existence with people who aren’t the classic-era quintet has spoiled the band’s legacy.

But the possibility of something unexpected, exciting and controversial remains omnipresent in GNR’s universe, especially because Rose is at the band’s center. The frontman is one of the last true rock & roll stars, a celebrity whose erratic behavior and grandiose gestures weren’t (and aren’t) calculated to get him a reality show. He’s not worried about how others perceive his actions; frankly, he courts bad publicity. And Rose is unique in the cult of celebrity: His life is shrouded in mystery, and his motives remain elusive, which is refreshing (and odd) in a society where life doesn’t happen unless it’s documented. Even his official Twitter, @axlrose, doesn’t give too much away.

It’s a shrewd stance, this secrecy, one which has kept the band compelling. Rose has guaranteed the myth of GNR still overshadows their reality. And isn’t the latter a hallmark of all great rock & roll bands? In fact, there’s something admirable about Rose sticking to his guns and refusing to give in to nostalgia. GNR never did what they were “supposed” to do — and still don’t — which is how they shook rock & roll out of the doldrums. Even if Rose chooses not to participate in formal recognition of his accomplishments, that doesn’t change how vital GNR is to the evolution of rock & roll.

To: Cleveland, Ohio, Guns N' Roses Fans and everyone who's shown support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I seriously didn't plan on or expect the overwhelmingly positive response and public support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With such a generous outpouring of solidarity from fans, media outlets, writers and other artists, I'm truly humbled, blown away and unbelievably relieved! To be honest, I thought it would go the other way and was just hoping to weather the storm. As I said, I sincerely didn't want to disappoint anyone. It gets old being the outlaw even if "it's only rock and roll".

It took a lot of focus and soul searching to be sincere and informative while making a genuine effort to be somewhat diplomatic. We made, what I feel, are real efforts to learn about the Hall and the Board, spoke as I said with the president and various members, and though I inducted Elton John and Bernie Taupin in '94 saying something to the effect of "I'm learning what the Hall's about..."

I still don't exactly know or understand what the Hall is or how or why it makes money, where the money goes, who chooses the voters and why anyone or this board decides who, out of all the artists in the world that have contributed to this genre, officially "rock" enough to be in the Hall?

This isn't an attack. These are genuine issues I don't have enough verified information on to have more than rough ideas. Certainly not enough information to make any judgments about.

I would like to apologize to Cleveland, Ohio for not apologizing to them beforehand for not attending [the ceremony] in their city. I think they know how much I genuinely love performing there. Cleveland does in fact Rock!!

Now that the smoke's cleared a little, any desperate, misguided attacks have been just that, a pathetic stab at gossip, some lame vindictiveness, the usual entitlement crap, he's obsessed, crazy, volatile, a hater. I once bought a homeless woman a slice of pizza who yelled at me she wanted soup. We got her the soup. You can get your own.

Again: HUGE thanks to the fans and to everyone for the incredible public support. My congratulations to the other artists inducted. And my apologies to the city and people of Cleveland, Ohio. I hope you'll forgive me and we hope to see you again soon!

Keep Rockin',

Axl

Unlike my open letter to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern this was written for GNR's official website, Facebook account and my personal twitter account and not intended as a press release. If anyone does choose to pick this up as has been done previously I'd appreciate if you'd run in full including this paragraph so as not to give a partial picture, have things taken out of context or to imply or inadvertently give the impression this was intended for other outlets.

Soulmonster wrote:Bumblefoot added some info to this:

Honestly, we tried to work it out with the Hall of Fame to come up with something but they had it in their mind that it was their way or no way. So they wouldn’t budge and they were just trying to force a situation that wasn’t good for everybody. We wanted it to be good for everybody. So… A lot of people should be in there that aren’t. Deep Purple isn’t in there. That’s a fucking travesty…[Hot Metal, February 2013]

puddledumpling wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:Bumblefoot added some info to this:

Honestly, we tried to work it out with the Hall of Fame to come up with something but they had it in their mind that it was their way or no way. So they wouldn’t budge and they were just trying to force a situation that wasn’t good for everybody. We wanted it to be good for everybody. So… A lot of people should be in there that aren’t. Deep Purple isn’t in there. That’s a fucking travesty…[Hot Metal, February 2013]

Yes, I saw that reference by BBF in the interview you'd posted. It was telling, especially as he used the "We" as if the whole current band was in on Axl's decision.

It very simply stands to reason that Axl, nor Izzy for that matter, will be dictated to. Seems to me like Axl's open letter made him the sole "bad guy" who spoiled the "GNR Reunion" and I think he knew it would go down that way.