2004.03.30 - Press release from W. Axl Rose regarding RIRIII and Buckethead

Sanctuary Records Group

Guns N' Roses Not Able to Perform at Rock in Rio; A Message from W. Axl Rose

LISBON, Portugal--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2004--Guns N' Roses will not be performing as scheduled at Rock In Rio - Lisbon.

The band has been put in an untenable position by guitarist Buckethead and his untimely departure. During his tenure with the band Buckethead has been inconsistent and erratic in both his behavior and commitment - despite being under contract - creating uncertainty and confusion and making it virtually impossible to move forward with recording, rehearsals and live plans with confidence. His transient lifestyle has made it impossible for even his closest friends to have nearly any form of communication with him whatsoever. Last time I talked to Bucket, he called to tell me he had bought a bootleg DVD off EBay and how proud he was to be in Guns and how impressed he was with everyone's performance. Then, in February we got word from Brain that Bucket had called him and said he was back in Guns!? Apparently, according to Bucket he had been "Gone" but had turned himself around and was really excited to do Rio-Lisbon and a European tour. Somewhere in the following month things changed once again. According to those who have actually spoken with Buckethead it appears his plans were to secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records which I encouraged my management to make available to him, quit GN'R and to use his involvement in the upcoming Guns release to immediately promote his individual efforts...Nice guy!

There is not a member of this camp that is not hurt, upset and ultimately disappointed by this event, and more to the point - if not this individual, certainly this individual's choices. Regardless of anyone's opinions of me and what I may or may not deserve, clearly the fans, individuals in this band, management, crew and our support group do not deserve this type of treatment. We as a whole, definitely feel that we afforded Bucket every accommodation perhaps so much so that it may be that we or more precisely, I may have done Guns a disservice and unintentionally allowed Guns to be put in this position.

On behalf of Guns N' Roses and myself I apologize to the fans who planned to see us at Rock In Rio - Lisbon. The festival and its tradition mean a lot to me personally and I sincerely do not enjoy being robbed by one of our own of the opportunity to be the first artist to play it for the third time. I would also like to express my gratitude to those who chose to embrace Buckethead's role in Guns and support our new line up. We greatly appreciate Bucket's contributions and remain open to "discussions" as there are obviously several issues to resolve. In the meantime rather than dwelling on the negative, Guns will be moving forward and surprisingly (without giving away any details) this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further. Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months.

Sincerely,

W. Axl Rose

*The Festival will shortly announce the name of a new headliner to perform with EVANESCENCE, KINGS OF LEON and XUTOS E PONTAPES amongst others

Related article in MTV News, March 30, 2004:
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GUNS N' ROSES BOW OUT OF ROCK IN RIO - LISBON; AXL BLAMES BUCKETHEAD

IN STATEMENT, AXL ATTACKS HIS 'UNRELIABLE' EX-GUITARIST; PROMISES RELEASE DATE FOR CHINESE DEMOCRACY WILL BE ANNOUNCED 'WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.'

ARCHIVE-JON-WIEDERHORN
03/30/2004

Much to the surprise of, well, no one, Guns N' Roses have nixed their May 30 appearance at Rock in Rio - Lisbon.

In an official statement, singer Axl Rose blamed the cancellation on former guitarist Buckethead, who quit the band earlier this year.

"The band has been put in an untenable position by guitarist Buckethead and his untimely departure," Rose said. "I apologize to the fans who planned to see us at Rock in Rio - Lisbon. The festival and its tradition mean a lot to me personally and I sincerely do not enjoy being robbed by one of our own of the opportunity to be the first artist to play it for the third time."

Rose, who failed to show up at two of the band's gigs last year, forcing the cancellation of the remainder of the tour (see "It's Extra Official: Promoter Says GN'R Tour Totally Off"), called Buckethead unreliable, and claimed he was largely responsible for the band's inability to proceed with its decade-in-the-making album, Chinese Democracy.

"During his tenure with the band, Buckethead has been inconsistent and erratic in both his behavior and commitment — despite being under contract — creating uncertainty and confusion and making it virtually impossible to move forward with recording, rehearsals and live plans with confidence," Rose said. "His transient lifestyle has made it impossible for even his closest friends to have nearly any form of communication with him whatsoever."

Buckethead quit Guns N' Roses several times during his four years with the group, but he repeatedly returned. It got to the point, claims Rose, where the band wasn't even entirely sure when the puppet-toting guitarist was in and when he was out.

"In February, we got word from [drummer] Brain that Bucket had called him and said he was back in Guns," Rose said. "According to Bucket, he had been gone, but had turned himself around and was really excited to do Rio - Lisbon and a European tour. Somewhere in the following month, things changed once again."

Not only was Buckethead flaky, Rose claims, he was also underhanded — at least, that's what other people told him. "According to those who have actually spoken with Buckethead, it appears his plans were to secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records, which I encouraged my management to make available to him," Rose began. "[Then he was going to] quit GN'R and use his involvement in the upcoming Guns release to immediately promote his individual efforts."

Despite the harsh tone of his statement, Rose seems to have left the door open for Buckethead to again return to the GN'R fold. "We greatly appreciate Bucket's contributions and remain open to discussions, as there are obviously several issues to resolve."

Even if Buckethead's gone for good, Rose insists the guitarist's decision to bolt has sparked a creative burst from the band, and added that a release date for Chinese Democracy will be announced "within the next few months."

"Rather than dwelling on the negative, Guns will be moving forward and surprisingly (without giving away any details), this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further," Rose said.

Neither Buckethead nor his hand puppet were available for comment at press time.

http://www.mtv.com/news/1486053/guns-n-roses-bow-out-of-rock-in-rio-lisbon-axl-blames-buckethead/

The following message was posted on Robin Finck's website (via HTGTH) on April 1st:

dear friends,
i want to make this opportunity to comment on gnr's recent withdrawal from the rock-in-lisbon festival. i was disappointed, as were the lot of us, to come to grips that we won't be performing there as anticipated. my bags have been packed for some time awaiting such an event. i'm chomping at the bit to get out and really shake things up with gnr and look forward to the release of the new album and ultimately to tour and to tour.
'til then - love, r ob i n