Paul Tobias

Biography:
The first known collaborations by Tobias and childhood friend Axl Rose can be traced back to 1984 and the formation of Hollywood Rose. The band's demo tape featured two songs co-written by Rose and Tobias; Shadow of Your Love and Back Off Bitch.

In 1985, Rose moved on to form Guns N' Roses. Several tracks on the band's debut album, Appetite for Destruction, were written beforehand and originally intended for earlier projects. While the Hollywood Rose track "Shadow of Your Love" was re-recorded during these sessions, it didn't make it to the album. However, it was released as a B-side of the album's first single, "It's So Easy". Tobias was also thanked in the album's credits.

The third Guns N' Roses studio album, Use Your Illusion I, was released in 1991, featuring a re-recorded version of "Back Off Bitch". At the time, Rose stated in an interview that the song was roughly ten years old.

In late 1994, Tobias replaced Gilby Clarke and played rhythm and lead guitar on the band's cover version of Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil". While Tobias contributed to the song on Rose's request, his inclusion is known to have caused friction between Rose and the band's then-lead guitarist Slash, because of an overdub made by Tobias of Slash's solo on the song.

Tobias is known to have worked and recorded with Guns N' Roses in 1996, when the band started working on their sixth studio album. His role in the band was not clarified publicly at the time. According to Rose, this was due to the uncertainty on whether Tobias would eventually be featured on the record and subsequent tours as a rhythm guitarist. While former band members Slash and drummer Matt Sorum have publicly stated that Tobias' involvement strengthened their respective decisions to resign from Guns N' Roses, Rose has stood by his associate.

   "The public gets a different story from the other guys – Slash, Duff, Matt – who have their own agendas. The original intentions between Paul and myself were that Paul was going to help me for as long as it took to get this thing together in whatever capacity that he could help me in. So when he first was brought into this, he was brought in as a writer to work with Slash.".

In 1997, Tobias began working for Guns N' Roses full-time in a studio setting, jamming and recording song ideas with, among others, the band's keyboardist Dizzy Reed and former lead guitarist Robin Finck. During this time Tobias and Reed wrote a song called "Oh My God". In 1999, the band recorded the song and released it on the soundtrack of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film End of Days.

In January 2001, when Guns N' Roses played their first concerts in eight years at Las Vegas's House of Blues and Rock in Rio III, Rose introduced Tobias on stage in both shows as someone who had helped him in keeping the band together during the past years. In Las Vegas, Rose also noted that Tobias had previously played live in only a handful of shows. The band would play their next two concerts in December 2001, again in Las Vegas. They proved to be Tobias' last appearances as a band member.

Tobias was replaced in the band by Richard Fortus in the summer of 2002 due to his aversion to touring.[1] At the time it was not officially stated that Tobias had left Guns N' Roses although neither his name or work was mentioned for several years. When the band released Chinese Democracy in 2008 it became evident that despite his lack of touring, he had recorded several guitar and piano pieces and wrote songs for the album along with the other band members, and features heavily on the final product. [Wikipedia, August 2016].

Quotes:

Coming from Indiana I used to play with this guitar player named Paul and I learned about blues and emotionalism through him and he was a big Page fanatic[Interview with Axl and Slash, 1988]

I never liked that guy from day one. That's one of the biggest, most personal things that Axl and I have gone through. It really pissed me off that he brought in an outside guitar player without ever telling me. [...] While we were doing it (recording the song), we had to write down how many bars each section was, because without vocals you don't know where the next change is going to come. But we got it done and the guitar solos on and everything, and then Axl went in to do vocals... and the next thing you know, there's this "answer" guitar going on during my guitar solo! It's Paul Huge! I will probably never forgive Axl for that. [Kerrang! January, 1995].

[...] we had this friend of Axl's, Paul, who really couldn't play that well. He played on 'Sympathy for the Devil.' Fuckin' asshole. I hate that guy. He didn't work out, so I am not really sure where the fuck that shit's headed. I'll deal with it when I get off the road [The Michigan Daily, April 1995].

September 1996: I'm going to confront it. Either Paul goes, or...[Q Magazine, May 2001]

Matt: Then Paul Huge walked into the studio and made a bad comment about Slash. I said, "You don't say that when I'm in the room." Then Axl laid in, I argued with him and it was over. Huge followed me out into the parking lot and said, Come back. I said, I can't come back, he's fired me. Do you feel good about breaking up one of the greatest bands that ever lived? [...] Paul Huge is the Yoko Ono of GN'R [Q Magazine, May 2001]

[Axl] had hired his best friend for the band. I couldn't play with him. Paul Huge, that was the guy! He's a friend of Axl, he's a 'yes man.' [...] Man, you can't be in Guns N' Roses just like that. That was a real band. [...] Well, imagine you and I grow up together and you're my best friend. OK, I'm in Guns N' Roses and I tell the rest you're going to join the band. "OK, Slash, Axl, Matt, guys, this guy is in the band". "Duff, you got a minute?" "No, he's in the band" "Well, no. Everyone in the band has to vote it, Duff, so no way!" "Fuck you, this guy is in the band! I'm not doing anything unless this guy is in the band" "OK, you know what? We'll try and play with him, since you're that much interested in it. Hey Duff, the guy can't play" "I don't care" "Well that's not very reasonable." "I don't care". At that point, what would you do? I came to a point where I couldn't even look at [Paul Huge]. If I were in such a situation, if I were the friend joining the band, I'd say "Hey guys, you've done very good yourselves alone, I'm not going any further. Hey, Duff, thanks for the offer, but I'm breaking your band." But he didn't say it [Popular 1, July 2000]

Then Axl wanted to bring in a guy named Paul Huge. "You want to bring in your buddy from Indiana?" Slash said incredulously. "Look, he'll just jam with us and maybe it'll work out," Axl said. "No," both Slash and I said. "Yes," said Axl. This wasn't some wedding band you could just bring friends into. If I wasn't going to bend for the sake of one of my best friends - Slash , and his Southern-rock songs [which Slash wanted to use for GN'R's next record] - I sure as hell wasn't going to let a stranger come in and fuck around with Guns. "Fine," Axl said. "How's this: you guys try him out on your own, give him a few days." We let him come in. Gave him a couple of days. It was hopeless [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 242]

Axl wanted to bring a friend of his in that I didn't like [Slash - Welcome to the Snakepit, Metal Edge Magazine, April 1995]

Paul is in my mind completely useless. I hate that guy. I’m sorry, I’m sure he’s very nice but in a rock n roll context he’s pathetic, and as far as his relationship with Izzy, they’re Indiana kids, I can understand he feels comfortable, but I refuse to ever play with him again. I have to go home and deal with that, but as far as I know he’s out [Spin, Kerrang! July 1995]

I hate that guy. Paul's just a friend of Axl's, and he brought Paul in without telling me and I got really angry [French TV, 1995]

Axl then [after firing Gilby in 1994] insisted on hiring Paul Huge, this guy he knew from Indiana who, for whatever reason, also calls himself Paul Tobias. They had history: the two of them cowrote 'Back Off Bitch' among other songs. I was open to the idea...until Paul showed up: he had no personality whatsoever and no particular guitar style or sound that I could identify with. He was, without doubt, the least interesting , most bland guy holding a guitar that I'd ever met. I tried my best to work with him, but it went nowhere. It was even more awkward then it sounds because our stilted interaction took place at rehearsal with everyone else watching us (...). No, it was useless; the guy was irredeemable. It was like talking to a wall,  a wall with a bad attitude. He was totally arrogant and gave off the vibe that he was Axl's boy, that he was in, and that everyone else had to deal with it [Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York, p.377-378]

Someone who's worked very hard to be here, through all the opposition, and worked very hard with the former band, tried to help things work out, and has worked solidly basically every single day for the last seven years to try to help me have a god damn band. The original guitar player, that I met when I was 12 years old and we argued who's cooler, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Kiss or Aerosmitt. Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Paul Huge. The question mark, who the fuck is Paul, and what's he look like, and now you all know [Las Vegas January 01, 2001]

This is my friend Paul Tobias. He has worked through the darkness underground for the last seven years to be able to be here today. I think this makes his fourth or fifth show altogether in his life. Without Paul there would be no more Guns N' Roses [Rock In Rio, January 15, 2001]

Paul helped us a lot in the writing and the recording of [Chinese Democracy] and to me was a vital part of not only the band but also my life. The world tour really wasn't his cup of tea whereas he's much more comfortable in a studio setting [August, 2002]

The public gets a different story from the other guys ­ Slash, Duff, Matt - who have their own agendas. The original intentions between Paul and myself were that Paul was going to help me for as long as it took to get this thing together in whatever capacity that he could help me in. So when he first was brought into this, he was brought in as a writer to work with Slash. At the time those guys never suggested one name. Nobody else. Ever. Paul was one of the best people we knew who was both available and capable of complimenting Slash’s style. You could bring in a better guitar player than Paul. You could bring in a monster. I tried putting Zakk Wylde with Slash and that didn’t work. It brought out some interesting things in Slash but it was a different approach that ended up being overpowering and didn’t bring out the best in Slash. It brought out some interesting things and it would’ve worked to do some songs. But Paul was only interested in complimenting Slash, laying down a foundation of a riff or something. That would accent or encourage Slash's lead playing. Now whether or not Paul was going to be officially on the album or on the tour that really wasn’t an actual consideration at the time. It was in the air as a possibility but Paul was a friend trying to help us and he had a huge respect for Slash. He is and this is the bottom line a good man and that's the reality behind things. That doesn't change what took place with old Guns. I feel that some of the recordings we did in that limited amount of time had some of the best playing that Slash had done at least since Illusions. I was there. I know what I heard and it was pretty exciting. [...] Paul helped us a lot in the writing and the recording of this record and to me was a vital part of not only the band but also my life. The world tour really wasn’t his cup of tea whereas he's much more comfortable in a studio setting [GN'R press release with Axl interview; gnronline.com, 2002]

Paul helps out all the time and is on a lot more material. Paul helped get a lot of the base credits etc together which were extensive. He's always had a good memory on that stuff and it's generally important to him to be as ethical as he's capable which is invaluable [chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008]

Chris: Buckethead and Paul Tobias are truly awesome [Facebook, January 2012]