2006.08.31 - MTV - Interview with Axl at the VMAs

Transcript:
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Interviewer: All right, backstage here on Overdrive. And while Sarah Silverman is on stage, I actually lucked out, I think, because I’m here with a man that I haven’t seen in a long time. Axl, how are you doing, man?
 
Axl: Doing great, man. How are you?
 
Interviewer: Good to see you! Good, good. You had a good summer. I know you’ve been in Europe a lot, right?
 
Axl: Yes.
 
Interviewer: And this tour has been going really well, right?
 
Axl: It was a blast. Everything went really, really smooth.
 
Interviewer: Right. And are you feeling okay? Because wasn’t there one show where you, like – did they want to put you in a hospital or something?
 
Axl: Yeah, it was just a little bit of exhaustion near the end, but-
 
Interviewer: A temporary thing.
 
Axl: Yeah, just overdoing it.
 
Interviewer: And I keep hearing that there’s gonna be dates in the U.S. this fall, maybe, or... Are they set yet?
 
Axl: Yes, yes. We’ll start the tour around October 24^th, but we’re doing some shows before that.
 
Interviewer: Cool. Well now, anyone who is a regular viewer of the VMAs remembers just a few years ago, when that was the big moment of the night; it was you guys on stage. It was a big surprise. Few of us knew that was going to happen, but not many people out there watching you. What are your memories of that night?
 
Axl: Catastrophe (laughs).
 
Interviewer: (Laughs) Yeah, really? It didn’t go as well for you as...?
 
Axl: It was a lot of fun. It was a tough one. The crowd, though, was great. The audience was amazing and once we got rolling, it was good. But, you know, there was the whole new band thing and it took everybody a little bit to get going.
 
Interviewer: Right. Have you gotten to see a lot of the show tonight so far or...?
 
Axl: No (laughs).
 
Interviewer: (Laughs) No, really? Just getting here or...?
 
Axl: I was hanging out in the green room.
 
Interviewer: Ah, okay. Okay. And you’re gonna be introducing someone tonight, right?
 
Axl: Yeah.
 
Interviewer: Okay.
 
Axl: A little bit of presenting.
 
Interviewer: Right. Can you say who, or is that too early (?)
 
Axl: I don’t know. You have to tell me if I can say who.
 
Interviewer: You know what, they don’t tell me these things. I was told it was the Killers, but...
 
Axl: Yes, absolutely.
 
Interviewer: Okay, cool. Are you a fan of theirs?
 
Axl: Yeah. And then, you know, I really wasn’t sure how I felt about the presenting thing. I just don’t really feel that’s, like... I don’t think I’m the best at that kind of thing. But then I met the guys this weekend in L.A., and they were just really great guys. So that kind of changed things, “Okay, okay, I’ll get my butt on a plane, and get out here and do it.”
 
Interviewer: Right. You know, a lot of us here in New York remember just a couple of months ago you guys did shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom that were just the absolute talk of the city. Was that a good time for you? Did you have a good time with that?
 
Axl: Yes. We had a great time. We also did a little private party, a birthday party for Rosario Dawson, and did a lot of the old kind of acoustic-electric thing, and that was new for all of us to do, so that was really fun. It was like, you know, standing-room only, and people were trying to shove onto the stage, so that was pretty fun.
 
Interviewer: Excellent. Well, I’m gonna take these guys around the house in just one second. But first I gotta ask you the question. Of course, the question is Chinese Democracy and, you know, I mean, I...
 
Axl: It is this year.
 
Interviewer: It is this year. Okay.
 
Axl: It is this year.
 
Interviewer: Okay. Can you give a month (?)?
 
Axl: Of course not. Of course not (laughs).
 
Interviewer: (Laughs) Of course not. Keep them guessing. But it will happen before democracy comes to China (laughs).
 
Axl: (Chuckles) Probably, unfortunately.
 
Interviewer: I know this is an old tired joke. I just heard it after it became tired.
 
Axl (talks over): Unfortunately (laughs).
 
Interviewer: Okay, man. Good to see you. Have a great night. Definitely thanks for being here, man.