2015.03.25 - Rolling Stone Brazil - Interview with Doug Goldstein

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TRANSLATED EXCERPTS FROM MusicFeeds:
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Michael Jackson Is Now Being Blamed For Guns N’ Roses’ Split

Written by Emmy Mack on March 27, 2015

Michael Jackson was accused of a lot of things in his time (and since), but here’s a brand-new one: breaking up Guns N’ Roses. According to the band’s former manager, Doug Goldstein, the deceased King of Pop could be partially to blame for the split that robbed GNR of their Appetite For Destruction.

As most fans well know, the hard-rockin’ world conquerors have never been the same since core member, Slash, quit the band in 1996 following personal tensions with frontman, Axl Rose. Now, in a new interview with Rolling Stone Brazil, Goldstein claims the straw that broke the camel’s back actually occurred when everyone’s favourite Les Paul-slinging top hat wearer agreed to perform with MJ at a tribute concert.

“I told him not to do it because Axl was molested by his father when he was two and he believed the charges against Michael Jackson,” Goldstein says. “So I asked Slash, ‘How much are you receiving?’ … and he said, ‘I’ll just receive a big screen television’.”

“When Axl found out Slash was going to play with Michael Jackson and that the payment was a big screen TV, he was devastated. He thought Slash would support him and be against all abuse. From Axl’s point of view, that was the only problem. He could ignore the drugs and the alcohol, but never the child abuse.”

Goldstein doesn’t mention whether Rose took issue with Slash recording two songs with Michael Jackson on his 1991 album Dangerous, including Give In To Me (which he also appeared in the video for) and the intro shredding to chart-incinerator Black Or White over four years previous. However he does claim that, should Slash apologise for performing with Jackson, a classic Guns N’ Roses reunion could happen, like, for realz.

“I really believe that for how much I love the band, I’d be the manager to reunite them,” he said. “I don’t think anyone else could do it.” We’re not going to hold our breath.

https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/michael-jackson-is-now-being-blamed-for-guns-n-roses-split/#hdbpctGmWR76v3ga.99

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN PORTUGUESE:
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Exclusivo: ex-empresário do Guns N' Roses diz que Michael Jackson foi motivo da separação da banda

Em entrevista à Rolling Stone Brasil, Doug Goldstein afirmou que Axl Rose não teria perdoado parceria de Slash com o Rei do Pop

Lucas Borges

[...]

Em entrevista à Rolling Stone Brasil, no entanto, um importante personagem da história do desmanche do quinteto norte-americano garantiu que pode colocar Axl Rose e Slash lado a lado novamente. O autoproclamado salvador da pátria é Doug Goldstein, empresário apontado pelo guitarrista como o pivô da separação do Guns N' Roses.

"...[ Goldstein ] estivera galgando os degraus estrategicamente. Era como um predador numa emboscada. Embora ninguém tenha sido mais responsável pela dissolução do Guns do que o próprio Guns, Doug Goldstein foi um catalisador. Suas técnicas para dividir e conquistar foram um instrumento para a chegada do nosso fim”, escreveu Slash em livro homônimo de 2007, publicado no Brasil pela Editora Ediouro.

Ainda segundo o artista, Goldstein se aproximou de Axl Rose para substituir o ex-agente do grupo, Alan Niven, e sempre foi “permissivo” com o bandleader, que poderia fazer o que bem entendesse. Rose, inclusive, continuou sendo agenciado por Goldstein até 2002, quando teriam se separado por um novo entrevero.

Por telefone, o acusado negou tudo e se defendeu. “Adoraria encontrar Slash e esclarecer isso porque a verdade é que nós fomos por sete anos as pessoas que cuidaram dos negócios da banda. Eu dobrei o valor das comissões que eram pagas a eles. Amo Slash até a morte, é uma das minhas pessoas preferidas no mundo inteiro e por alguma razão ele está com essas ideias”, disse.

Um dos motivos da rejeição a ele seria o antecessor Niven, que teria chegado ao ponto de contratar um especialista em magia negra na cidade de Nova Orleans depois que foi dispensado do cargo.

"Todos os dias depois do trabalho ele ia para o quarto, colocava uma capa preta e praguejava contra Axl e eu. Eu estava no Havaí, levando minha vida e Niven surgiu, fez amizade de novo com Slash e Duff [McKagan, baixista original do Guns] e tomou crédito de tudo que eu fiz. Depois, Slash me disse que Niven tentou transar com a namorada dele”.

Goldstein também teria levado injustamente a culpa pelo contrato que os ex-membros do grupo assinaram passando o nome Guns N’ Roses para Axl Rose. “E naquele dia meu filho nasceu, a gente não estava nem no mesmo continente, eles estavam em Barcelona e eu estava na Califórnia, eles me confundiram com o empresário da tour porque andavam bebendo bastante naquele tempo e não lembram”.

A despeito de tudo isso e de uma suposta ideia de Rose de acrescentar um terceiro guitarrista, nada teria sido mais importante para a separação da parceria musical do que um fator que, afirma o agente, passou despercebido pelo público: uma parceria com Michael Jackson.

"Em 1991, estávamos na estrada, Slash foi até minha sala e falou, ‘estou partindo amanhã para tocar com Michael Jackson em um show de tributo'. Disse para ele não fazer isso porque Axl foi molestado pelo pai quando tinha dois anos e acreditava nas acusações contra Michael Jackson. Todo mundo sabia que Eddie Van Halen recebeu US$ 1 milhão pela participação em 'Beat It'. Então, perguntei ao Slash, ‘quanto você vai receber, posso negociar isso para você?’ e ele disse, ‘eu só vou receber uma televisão de tela grande”.

"Ele ficou arrasado. Ele achou que Slash iria apoiá-lo e ficaria contra todo o abuso. Do ponto de vista do Axl, esse era o único problema. Ele poderia ignorar as drogas e o álcool (com os quais o guitarrista teve sérios problemas), mas nunca poderia ignorar o abuso infantil". Slash gravou participações em várias músicas do Rei do Pop, entre elas, "Black or White".

Bastaria, portanto, algumas palavras para juntar o velho Guns. “Slash teria que se desculpar pelo episódio com Michael Jackson. E realmente acredito que pelo tanto que amo a banda eu seria o empresário que os reuniria de novo, não acho que alguém mais poderia fazer isso”.

Determinado a refundar o ícone do final do século 20, o empresário fez até um pedido à reportagem. “Sou um cara muito amoroso, espiritual e me magoa que em vez de me perguntar como eu sinto e perguntar sobre essas coisas que Niven criou, Slash simplesmente acredite que elas são verdadeiras e me jogue para os leões. Amo Slash como a um irmão, ele é o irmão mais novo que eu não tive, faria tudo por ele. Faça um favor, diga que espero muito sentar com ele onde ele quiser para contar meu lado da história”.

https://rollingstone.uol.com.br/noticia/exclusivo-ex-empresario-do-guns-diz-que-michael-jackson-foi-motivo-da-separacao-da-banda/#imagem0

I wonder if this is the interview that made Axl get his lawyers to call Doug and then he himself called him to ask him to shut up?

Misfit79 wrote:I wonder if this is the interview that made Axl get his lawyers to call Doug and then he himself called him to ask him to shut up?

Yeah, it was probably this one and the other one Doug did a little later with Mitch Lafon where he repeated the allegations about MJ.

Do we have an complete English translation of this interview?

Soulmonster wrote:Do we have an complete English translation of this interview?

No, but I think the automatic translation (with some minor corrections) will do (I pasted the original quote from Slash's book):

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Exclusive: Former Guns N' Roses manager says Michael Jackson was the reason for the band's split

In an interview with Rolling Stone Brasil, Doug Goldstein stated that Axl Rose would not have forgiven Slash's partnership with the King of Pop

Lucas Borges

[...]

In an interview with Rolling Stone Brasil, however, an important character in the history of the dismantling of the North American quintet assured that he can put Axl Rose and Slash side by side again. The self-proclaimed savior of the homeland is Doug Goldstein, manager pointed out by the guitarist as the pivot of the separation of Guns N' Roses.

"...[Goldstein] had been strategically moving up the ladder from the beginning. He was like an ambush predator. Though at the end of the day no one is more responsible for the demise of Guns N’ Roses than Guns N’ Roses, Doug Goldstein was a catalyst. His divide-and-conquer techniques were instrumental in achieving our end", wrote Slash in a book of the same name in 2007, published in Brazil by Editora Ediouro.

Still according to the artist, Goldstein approached Axl Rose to replace the group's former manager, Alan Niven, and was always “permissive” with the bandleader, who could do whatever he wanted. Rose even continued to be managed by Goldstein until 2002, when they would have separated due to a new conflict.

Over the phone, the accused denied everything and defended himself. “I would love to have a talk with Slash and clarify this because the truth is he and I were the band's business people for seven years. I doubled the amount of commissions that were paid to them. I love Slash to death, he's one of my favorite people in the entire world and for some reason he has these ideas,” he said.

One of the reasons for his rejection would be Niven, his predecessor, who went so far as to hire a specialist in black magic in the city of New Orleans after he was fired.

"Every day after work he would go into his room, put on a black robe and cast curses on Axl and me. I was in Hawaii, going about my life and Niven came out, made friends again with Slash and Duff and took credit for everything I did. Afterwards, Slash told me that Niven tried to have sex with his girlfriend."

Goldstein was also alleged to have unfairly taken the blame for the contract that the former members of the group signed over the Guns N' Roses name to Axl Rose. “And that day my son was born, we weren't even on the same continent, they were in Barcelona and I was in California, they confused me with the tour manager because they were drinking a lot at that time and they don't remember”.

Despite all this and a supposed idea by Rose to add a third guitarist, nothing would have been more important for the separation of the musical partnership than a factor that, according to the manager, went unnoticed by the public: a collaboration with Michael Jackson.

"In 1991, we were on the road, Slash came into my office and said, 'I'm leaving tomorrow to play with Michael Jackson at a tribute show.' I told him not to because Axl was molested by his father when he was two and he believed in the allegations against Michael Jackson. Everyone knew Eddie Van Halen got $1 million for his part in 'Beat It'. So I asked Slash, 'How much are you getting paid, can I negotiate that for you?' and he said, 'I'm just going to get a big screen television.'

"He was devastated. He thought Slash would stand by him and stand against all the abuse. From Axl's point of view, that was the only problem. He could ignore drugs and alcohol (which the guitarist had serious problems with), but could never ignore child abuse". Slash recorded guest appearances on several of the King of Pop's songs, including "Black or White".

Therefore, a few words would suffice to bring the old Guns together. “Slash would have to apologize for the episode with Michael Jackson. And I really believe that with as much as I love the band I would be the manager to bring them back together, I don't think anybody else could do that."

Determined to refound the icon of the late 20th century, the businessman even made a request to the reporter. “I'm a very loving, spiritual guy and it hurts me that instead of asking me how I feel and asking about these things that Niven made up, Slash just believes them to be true and throws me to the lions. I love Slash like a brother, he's the little brother I didn't have, I would do anything for him. Do me a favor and tell him I look forward to sitting down with him wherever he wants to tell him my side of the story.”

The claim that the contract about the band name was signed over in Barcelona was made in Duff's first book. That was the first known public mention of Barcelona as the place where it happened, however it was likely also mentioned in court documents before that and that's why Axl responded to it in the 2008 chats (although without naming Barcelona):



The tour manager Goldstein says Slash and Duff confused him with is John Reese.