Quotes on being inducted to RnR Hall of Fame

Slash Thanks for all the R&RHF mentions, Its quite an honor to be inducted. Cheers! Iii|; )' 3 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

bumblefoot rockhall.com 25 years of great music, great shows, and great fans Thanks to all who made it happen...! 55 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

gilbyclarke
it was cool the last couple months to be a part of 2 bands that were
nominated. now, i'm bummed for heart... happy for gnr ! 32 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Dj ASHBA™
IT'S OFFICIAL: Guns N' Roses WILL be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April 2012. My sincerest congratulations to Axl Rose and everyone else who has been apart of this bands history. Time To Deck The Halls With Destruction!
Like · · Share · 7 minutes ago ·

DuffMcKagan
Thanks 2 all of u for overwhelming # of 'congratulations' that I have
received 2day. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?Life is good! Killer! Duff
4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

axlrose I'd like to thank the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame and our fans. This is your victory. about 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Johan wrote:Matt, you idiot. It is in april.

DanyYo wrote:No quotes from Slash *hmpf*

Soulmonster wrote:

DanyYo wrote:No quotes from Slash *hmpf*

There is a quote in the first post. He also mentioned in his Eddie Trunk interview that he would show up at the induction ceremony but yesterday said he hadn't decided yet.

People keep asking me about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and I'm really like the last guy to ask,” says Matt. “I was the guy that joined Guns N’ Roses and I was lucky to get the gig. And I was sort of there to be of service to the rest of the band. And the band is Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin. Yeah, was I in the band? Sure. But when it comes down to making the decisions, I was the last guy to hear about it. So when people ask me [about Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame], I go, 'To be honest with you, I really don't know what's gonna happen.' I just don't know. Will I be there and be available for whatever happens? Yeah.”

“And at the same time,” Sorum continued, “I would like to see [original GNR drummer] Steven Adler up there. We [Steven and I] are getting along now, which is great, because there was a lot of years where, I think — and I've said this in the press before — I was sort of like the guy who was having sex with his ex-girlfriend, you know what I mean?! It's like, you don't like the guy at all if you don't know him, but it still pisses you off. It's like, 'He's with my old lady' kind of thing. But I think once he got to know me, he realized that I wasn't there to [screw] him over or whatever, and if it wouldn't have been me, it would have been some other guy. It's like he was out of the band. I think people maybe that are GNR fans of the original lineup have to kind of look at it that way. Guns N’ Roses would have either imploded completely after Steven, or someone would have come and replaced him. There was about three or four guys they tried out before me, and luckily, I was the guy that sort of stepped into that position.”

“After a lot of years and a lot of healing for Steven, he was able to accept the fact that that was the situation,” adds Sorum. “And I have always supported him in the fact that, I said in the press a few times, if Guns N’ Roses ever got back together, it would be cool if I played the 'Use Your Illusion' stuff and he played the 'Appetite' stuff, and if he was healthy enough to do that, I would support him on that. To me, it's not about the money, 'cause if it does come down, which, I don't wanna tell you what the offers have been, but I know they're in the multi-, multi-million-dollar range. Yeah, if I was asked, what would I say? Probably yes. But Steven's in line for that before I am. As far as GNR and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, me and him are gonna go there together; I said I'd meet him there. It's part of our lives, it's part of what we've done and what we accomplished. And he was there for the beginning and I was the guy that came in and, basically, went out there and helped send the GNR message to the rest of the world.

Slash confirms he will attend rock hall induction

TORONTO - Legendary guitarist Slash confirms he will be in attendance next month when Guns N' Roses is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — along with at least some of his former bandmates — but has mixed feelings about it.

He feels honoured but also a bit turned off given that the hall has overlooked so many other great rock bands.

"It's sort of a bittersweet thing too because there's so many artists that aren't inducted, that came way before Guns did, that really actually almost deserve more to be in there and they're not in there, the guitarist said in an interview Wednesday, listing off Canadian band Rush, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick and Kiss as examples.

"So it's really hard to sort of feel victorious ... that to me just doesn't seem right."

Slash wouldn't say much about the prospect of Guns N' Roses reuniting to perform for the hall induction. He quit the band in 1996 and drummer Matt Sorum and bassist Duff McKagan left a year later. But frontman Axl Rose continued to tour under the band's name and used the Guns N' Roses moniker for his long-delayed album "Chinese Democracy," even though no other original members were involved.

"It's on (April) 14th and I don't know anything about the details of it," Slash said about the hall ceremony.

"I'll be there and whoever else is going to be there — I'm pretty sure Duff will be there — we'll just sort of take it as it comes."

The other musical acts being inducted into the hall this year in the performer category are Red Hot Chili Peppers, Donovan, Laura Nyro, the Small Faces/Faces, Beastie Boys, the Crickets, the Famous Flames, the Midnighters, the Comets, the Blue Caps and the Miracles.

Slash's second solo album, "Apocalyptic Love," is due out on May 22. He's kicking off a tour on Friday in Toronto.

Slash not burning any GN'R bridges

Legendary guitarist Slash really didn’t want to talk about the April 14 induction of the classic Guns N’ Roses lineup into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame while in Toronto Wednesday, growing increasingly uncomfortable at questions about the event.

But he was willing to say, at least, it was “an honour.”

Clearly, he has mixed emotions.

“Either it hasn’t hit me yet or maybe it’s been so long since I had anything to do with Guns N’ Roses that I just don’t really get it,” the former GNR guitarist told QMI Agency on Wednesday while chatting about his second solo album, Apocalyptic Love, due May 22.

“And we’re not playing. I would imagine that they asked us to play but I know that we’re not playing.”

Still, Slash, 46, said he’s definitely attending the event in Cleveland, despite no fondness for dressing up.

“It’s a formal, I hate formals,” he said.

The guitarist also expects former GNR drummer Steven Adler, with whom he recently played with on a ballad off Adler’s new band’s upcoming album, to be there too.

“I could be positive Steven will be there. Steven wouldn’t miss it,” said Slash.

He just couldn’t speak to the attendance of the rest of the GNR classic lineup, specifically GNR lead singer Axl Rose.

“I don’t know. I would assume so but we haven’t talked about it,” he said.

Slash is in Toronto for Canadian Music Week, running March 21-25, and will give an interview on Friday afternoon at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel ballroom to TV news couple John Roberts and Krya Phillips.

He’ll also perform what he’s calling the first warmup show of the year at the Phoenix on Friday night before a sold-out crowd to lead up to a May tour in the U.S. with a Canadian theatre trek expected in July.

“It’s actually a mirror of the show that we did in L.A. at the Roxy when we first started that 2010 tour,” said Slash. “As long as we’re tight you know? We had a couple of days rehearsal.”

And finally, he’s performing the Canadian national anthem at the Monster Energy Super Cross event at the Rogers Centre on Saturday night.

“I’ve done it before,” said Slash. “I did it here for a (Toronto) Blue Jays game in 2006 or ‘07. We did both (the Canadian and American national anthems) ‘cause it was the Blue Jays against Boston.”

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

I think it’s disrespectful and we’ll leave it at that. I’m going to be there, Slash is going to be there, Duff is going to be there, because we appreciate our fans and the respect that we get all around the world. And it’s not just a letdown to us, it’s a letdown to the whole world, to all our fans. But that’s his choice.

I have waited up to this point to see what would become of the GNR induction into RRHOF. I would like to say THANK YOU and GRACIAS to RRHOF for the acknowledgement of our works over the years as a band. BIG THANKS to all my bandmates who helped get us to where we are today. And, of course, THANK YOU to all of the people on this planet (including, but not limited to, the entire universe and beyond, etc., etc., etc.) who have supported Guns N' Roses from day one. Adios, Amigos!

Izzy Stradlin

LONG LIVE ROCK N ROLL!

Dear friends and fans of GUNS N' ROSES,

"I am releasing this statement to bring closure to the night's events at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, and to all things GUNS N' ROSES. This will alleviate numerous press statements and interviews about the subject, which I have already addressed on my Twitter.

"In these last few months since getting notice about being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, many emotions and feelings have gone through my head and heart, as well as the original five members of GN'R: Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy and Steven. I was also chosen to be inducted, along with Dizzy Reed.

"It was slightly awkward for me in some ways knowing some fans have the original five in their hearts for a reunion. I chose to say to Slash and Duff, 'Please have Steven play, and let me know what you would like me to do.'

"Two days before the event. Axl made his statement known. And it was apparent he wouldn't be attending. In respect to him, that is his decision and should be honored. Also, Izzy declined. So I suggested Slash call Gilby, who was left out of the proceedings. Gilby was a member of the band and contributing to the 'Use Your Illusions' world tour, which took us around the globe for three years, as well as playing guitar on 'Spaghetti Incident' and 'The Live Era' albums. It felt like the right thing to do.

"In fairness to the rest of the original lineup and myself, we decided to go ahead and attend. This is an honor that is once in a lifetime and couldn't be missed, especially for fans of the band. To us, it was honoring them as well. Regarding playing live, we agreed that we would share the stage together, joined by Myles Kennedy as guest singer, who did a fine job filling big shoes. Steven graciously offered 'Brownstone' and played two other 'Appetite' tracks, and I sang and joined him near the kit on 'Paradise City'.

"It felt perfect for all involved.

"In my speech, I made references to drugs and Steven being dismissed from the band, in which I referred to, 'How could someone be fired from GUNS N' ROSES for doing too many drugs??'

"It was meant to be light-hearted. But knowing the struggles Steven has endured all these years. I felt I needed to clarify that Steven was onstage, healthy, and ready to rock.

"It is well known that the rest of the band has endured addiction and alcoholism and at this point in our lives, we are all healthy and sober.

"Not to make light of drugs and alcohol… we were all full-blown addicts when the band split. What started out as a party and what we believed was part of the makeup of the band turned on all of us in the end.

"Many years of soul searching and reconnecting with our inner selves have brought glorious gifts: VELVET REVOLVER with millions of records sold and a Grammy, Steven with his new band, and more. We are now all playing music and making records on our own that is truly what we love, before any of the business of music came into play. The music has always been the passion, before anything else.

"Steven's passion for GN'R is something that no one can explain but him: it's a true love gone, but never forgotten. How many people have felt that in their lifetime?

"I told Steven and the rest of the guys the night of the induction that night was for them and what they created on the streets of Hollywood, and it can never be taken away. The music will live on. And that's what counts. Not about who was there at the induction. That the music will always be theirs and no can ever take that away.

"Also, I have much respect for my former band, THE CULT. And all the musicians I have played with over the years. They have all taught me so much.

"I also need to thank my dearest and closest confidante, Ace Harper, who is my fiancée and has made me a better man. She has walked beside in times of darkness, and has been there for me when all the stage lights and backstage parties were over.

"This is where life is for all of us now survivors of a rock and roll era you will never see the likes of again: Married men Slash with two wonderful boys, Duff with two beautiful girls, Steven happy with a beautiful wife.

"Life is good, my friends…we are alive! God bless the fans of GN'R.

"Long live rock and 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.

Thanks in advance. Peace-