2013.03.01 - The Age - Guns, No Poses (DJ)

Guns, no poses

Date March 1, 2013
CRAIG MATHIESON

Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba knows there is no point trying to whitewash the reality of life in one of rock'n'roll's most contentious bands.

''It's the craziest roller-coaster ride you'll ever be on,'' laughs the 40-year-old, ''but I wake up every day grateful to be in the position I am. I don't know many guitar players out there who wouldn't kill to be in my spot, so I refuse to take it for granted.''

Ever since the original Guns N' Roses line-up emerged from the Los Angeles club scene with their incendiary debut album in 1987, Appetite for Destruction, extravagant rumour and hedonistic scandal have routinely accompanied the band's 100 million album sales. In the 1990s, reclusive singer Axl Rose took over the group and there was a 17-year gap between studio albums before 2008's Chinese Democracy was released.

The difference, Ashba believes, is that since the current line-up came together in 2009, when he joined with several others, Guns N' Roses have been a band again.
Advertisement

''We're a solid band now,'' Ashba says. ''Before that, members were coming and going and it was a different time. We've toured for four years almost constantly and we haven't missed one show since I've been in the band. All that stuff has come to an end and Axl is very inspired.''

Ashba and fellow guitarist Ron ''Bumblefoot'' Thal have become the band's public face, giving interviews and attending meet-and-greet events with fans. It is a small price to pay for being able to play the iconic lead guitar parts for tracks such as Sweet Child O' Mine, a song that a teenage Daren Jay Ashba practised religiously on his first guitar.

Ashba's ease within a notoriously fractious band may also stem from his outside business interests.

Instead of perpetually obsessing over Guns N' Roses, he plays shows and then focuses on his media consultancy, fashion line and automotive detailing group.

''I always joke that I play guitar for a hobby and that really I'm an entrepreneur,'' he says. ''If you hung out with me at my house you would never know I played in Guns N' Roses. I'm not the guy sitting around patting myself on the back. I don't even like the word 'rock star'.''


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/guns-no-poses-20130228-2f6va.html#ixzz2MHQH21tO

"...I don't even like the word 'rock star'."

Yes you do. You're good at it and by the way, 'rock star' is two words.
I've read quote of DJ talking about the birth of the automotive detailing group and I'm going to look for a picture.

Wow

Did anyone see the film Harold and Maude?

and then, there is this:


The newest vehicle advertised as available from DJ's automotive detailing group is a Dodge Challenger.
It was a fine old American muscle car but these vehicles are for flatlanders. I'd have one of these beached on a hill crest in Vermont in no time.

Give me a restored 60's model Dodge Dart with plenty of road clearance beneath, a slant-6 under the hood, bench seat with springs and a bit of chrome. DJ's no stranger to chrome I'm thinking. Just some ideas for future projects from the automotive group.