10. 1989: THINGS UNRAVEL

On January 17, 1989, Axl was allegedly arrested for "disorderly conduct and public drunkenness" with his brother Stuart when partying at Slash's apartment. They were detained in the drunk tank for six hours but no charges were filed [People Magazine, February 1989].

The band's publicist, Arlett Vereecke, would bail them out and also use the incident to spin some PR:

Success is a double-edged sword and the band had to adjust to being famous:








And talking about hos his oldest brother John had not been impressed with his new lifestyle:



Duff would also talk about how other bands and people started copying them:



Duff would also tell a harrowing tale of people wanting to fight him just because he was famous:





Another issue was the fear of audience members storming the stage:



They also had to get used to being considered legends:










With the success, the band could escape their poverty. During the touring in 1987 and early 1988 they had lived out of their suitcases. When asked about how they were doing in an interview released in June 1988, Izzy would say he didn't expect to see any money in a couple of years still and Duff would elaborate:



Duff would discuss this period in 2018 and mention how he had to borrow money from McBob for food:



Despite this, and probably because of their explosive success, after ending the Iron Maiden tour in June 1988 the band was paid out $160,000 or "something like that" in total [Kerrang! July 1988]. And by August 1988 they had paid back Geffen what they were owed [Screamer, August 1988]. In Duff's biography, he indicates that they were handed their first check from record sales when they returned from tour: $80,000 each. Three weeks later they got another check [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 143].

Just as he had planned [RIP Magazine, June 1988], when Duff did get a windfall he bought himself a "nice little place" in Studio City, away from the Hollywood where everybody "dressed like us, in bandannas, and trying to sound like us. […] We all bought right on the main road or just off it. Obviously, in thinking accessibility would be a plus, we failed to recognize the way our lives were about to change. We'd soon want to be out of this fishbowl" [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 144].

He could also afford, for the first time, to fly back home to Seattle to celebrate Christmas of '88 with his large family, a family he otherwise only got to see when they came to see him after shows in Seattle [Circus Magazine, February 1989].




In 1990, Duff bought a new home in the Hollywood Hills:

Paradise City was the fourth single released from Appetite for Destruction and came out in January 1989.






The band would again hire Nigel Dick to direct the music video:







Talking about the black-and-white shots to be featured in the 'Paradise City' video:



Riki Rachtman, owner of the Cathouse in Hollywood, would get to see the video before it was aired on TV:



In 2010, Slash would say it is the only Guns N' Roses music video he likes, and that's because it was shot live:

The first show of 1989 was an appearance at the American Music Awards on January 30. Steven would be convinced by his techie to go in rehab in January 1989 [Steven's biography, "My Appetite for Destruction", 2010, page 187], which caused him to miss this show. Instead the band had Don Henley sitting in for their performance of Patience.



At the time the band would claim, through their fan club, that Steven was suffering from "a bad case of the flu" [Conspiracy Incorporated Fan Club Newsletter, March 1989].

In 1990, Henley would talk about having played with the band and that it had happened after Axl had added vocals to one of Henley's songs [see later chapter for more on this]:




Henley would also talk about Guns N' Roses in general:

Already back in 1987 did Axl and Slash muse on the follow-up to Appetite for Destruction and discuss how it would include heavier songs/sound:




And in early 1988, he would talk about how the riffs he was writing were heavier:



Axl would also have ideas on the progression of the band, including for the band's third album, indicating that he wanted the band to evolve:



In addition to exploring more heavy sounds, Axl would mention the eight ballads they had:



November Rain, Don't Cry and Patience account for three ballads, and then we have Estranged, Yesterdays and So Fine that were released on the Use Your Illusions, making six ballads in total, meaning there are still two ballads missing. Possible Axl considered Used To Love Her or One In A Million as ballads, possible in earlier versions, or Dust N' Bones, 14 Years or The Garden, or there are unknown and unreleased ballads pre-dating 1988.

They had music left over from Appetite that was ready to be released:



Axl would even indicate that the next record could become a double album and say they had as much as about 40 songs ready, while Slash would say they had about 40 songs when they recorded Appetite:





With about 40 songs to choose from when recording Appetite that mean that they had about 25 unreleased songs after Appetite and GN'R Lies.

A follow-up to their debut record was something the band looked forward to, especially as they toured extensively after the release of Appetite in 1987 and were getting fed up by their old material. But also because they wanted to show the word a different side to themselves:



But with the success of their debut LP, the pressure was on:




Although Duff was unfazed:



There was also a question on how their success would impact their music which had been so rooted in their gritty and vagrant lifestyles. As Jon Bon Jovi Would say, "I think Guns n' Roses are a great band. But what will happen to them when they lose their street feel? I worry for them at that point" [Raw Magazine, May 1989]. Still, all they could do was their very best:






Axl had long admired different musical styles, and bands who would be able to master them:





But getting the follow-up album out would turn out to be a very laborious process and plans and release dates would ne continuously delayed for different reasons.

In mid-1987, before the release of 'Appetite', Axl talked about wanting to have Dan McCafferty (from Nazareth) guest vocal on their second record. They had already figured the song out [Unknown UK source, June 1987] which was 'November Rain':



This did not happen and it is not known what song Axl had in mind, but likely a cover of Nazareth's 'Hair of the Dog' which would later be recorded for the The Spaghetti Incident.

After having released 'Appetite' in November 1987, the band spent most of their time touring until the end of 1988. During this time they did not have much time to properly work on their follow-up (although they did record for the EP 'G N' R Lies'). Still, Axl made some thoughts on how the second record could turn out:





Axl would also talk about the specific songs that might end up on the follow-up:



And as for who the producer would be:



Axl would also indicate that the band might start using synthesizers:



and that they would explore different styles:



Not even his band mates seemed to expect the extent of variation that Axl wanted to express, and the inclusion of November Rain, a piano-driven ballad, was discussed between the band members:



In June 1988, Slash would comment on the status:




When asked about any song titles:



Slash would also say they he thought they would start recording in October 1988 [Kerrang! July 30, 1988] or October/November [Mick Wall, GUNS N' ROSES: The Most Dangerous Band in the World, Sidgwick & Jackson, U.K. 1991, 1993; interview from June 1988]:



This would be corroborated by Axl, who in August 1988 said they planned to release their second album in the first half of 1989. Again, Axl shed more info on what the next record would be like:



In the second half of 1988, Slash and Axl would say they already then had enough material for a double album [Melody Maker, March 1989] and looked forward to touring it in 1989:



But when October came around the band had not visited the studio yet. When asked about this, and if they were anxious to work on the follow-up to the by now very successful debut record, Slash would respond:




And when asked when he now thought they would start recording:



This would be confirmed by Circus Magazine, who, in September 1988, would state that the band intended to start working on their second LP after coming back home from their shows in Japan in December 1988 [Circus Magazine, September 1988].



Uncertainties in whether the band would actually succeed at releasing a second album came through in an MTV interview with Slash and Duff that also took place in October 1988, when Duff said they "hoped" they would make a second record and Slash insisted they would [MTV, October 1988]. Slash claimed they expected to have the album out by the summer of 1989, and start touring in the fall that year [MTV, October 1988]. Slash would also emphasize the amount of material they already had:



In late 1988, Slash would mention one song he had written, Not Dead Yet, and which he was trying to write lyrics for:



In December that year, Duff and Slash said they were going to start recording in January 1989 [Interview with Steve Harris, December 1988; Kerrang! December 1988] but Duff doubted they would have the album ready for the summer that year [Interview with Steve Harris, December 1988].



In February 1989, Duff commented on what they had so far:



And Slash would talk about the record:



He would also say that they had finished ten songs while having a two-month break, likely in October-November 1988:



In March 1989 Slash would again talk about where they were in the process of making the new record:



And comparing the process to when they made 'Appetite':



In fact, to make sure they were together the idea to rent a house for everybody to be in, had been considered:



When asked when they would start recording the album:



Still, Axl would continue talking about his ambitions for the record:




Slash would indicate he wasn't too concerned with meeting people's expectations:



In the beginning of 1989 the band was supposed to rehearse and write, but apparently things weren't going as planned. Slash would also say they had "the rehearsal studio block-booked 24-hours-a-day so we can hang out there whenever we want" [Kerrang! April 1989]. Around the same time, the Beastie Boys had relocated to Los Angeles to work on their second album and booked studio time at the Record Plant where they would later say they recorded in a studio next to Guns N' Roses [Q Magazine, November 2018].



In April 1989, Slash would also indicate they had the material ready for recording:



In April 1989 Duff said to MTV that they might go in the studio "in about a month in an effort to record, but it could take about five years" [MTV, April 1989]. The same month, New Musical Express would publish an article where it would be said the band was working on their new LP and intended for a summer release with touring in the fall [New Musical Express, April 1989].

Axl, on the other hand, would say they would "possibly" make a new record [Unknown Source, April 1989], either in jest or revealing that thigs were not all going according to plan.

Slash would again point out the amount of material they had:



In May 1989, Slash allegedly had started teaching the other guys the songs he had written:



And Axl would shed light on his approach to lyric-writing:



The idea now was to start recording in the studio with Mike Clink as the producer in September 1989 [RAW Magazine, May 1989]. This could imply that a trip to Chicago (June-July) was planned by this time and that they would immediately enter the studio afterwards.

In February 1989 [insert quote from Stern interview], Riki Rachtman, owner of the Cathouse in Hollywood and friend of Guns N' Roses, would audition for a job as VJ at MTV's Headbanger's Ball in New York. Axl, likely through his connections at MTV, would be instrumental in helping Rachtman get the job:








Axl helping Rachtman get the job at MTV is just one example of what Axl would do for his friends, more examples in separate chapters.

As a sidenote, while in New York, Rachtman would introduce Axl to Gary Sunshine from the band Circle of Power:



Sunshine would later work with Axl and add guitars to Oh My God.

While in New York, Axl would buy a gag ball and a paddle to be used in the recording of the music video for It's So Easy [see later chapter]:

__________________________________________________________

Although trying to keep sober while touring in 1988, the heroin habits picked up again at the very end of the tour when the band travelled in Australia in December:





Duff and Izzy would confirm that the drug problems escalated after returning to Los Angeles in early 1989:








Looking back at this dark period in their lives, Slash would say:



Slash would also say the band's drug problems had continued well into 1990 when Matt joined the band:



Duff, on the other hand, would in early June of January indicate the drug use was over:



And that Axl's "Mr. Brownstone speech" was partly responsible for that:



Truth is likely found somewhere between these two statements from Slash and Duff. Compared to the worst periods of 1989, the start of 1990 was better: Izzy had quit heroin (likely before the shows with Rolling Stones) and was soon to quit alcohol, Slash was trying to stop using heroin (partly because of Axl's speech), Duff was fighting his alcoholism. Unfortunately, Steven was still a hardcore junkie and this made him the odd man out when the rest of the band was trying to take responsibility. More on this in later chapters.

During the court trial following Steven's suit against the band in August 1993, Axl would be asked about the band members drug use in the period from the band's formation until Steven's firing, and say that every band member at times had drug problems [Excerpt from Axl's testimony at the trial for Steven's lawsuit, August 23, 1993]. Axl would more specifically say that Duff had been using cocaine and various pills; that Izzy had been arrested for heroin use (likely prior to the touring in 1987-1988); that Axl himself had occasional used heroin; and that Steven, Izzy and Slash used heroin [Excerpt from Axl's testimony at the trial for Steven's lawsuit, August 23, 1993].[/right]

In mid-1988 Slash had said the following:


_____________________________________________

Yet, in late 1988 and onwards, the band's tightness started to splinter. Adjusting to wealth and popularity was difficult for guys who had been living together for years and suddenly found themselves having to adjust to celebrity status.



The band members found themselves separated:





Axl would talk about how money had made it harder for them to stick together and that the challenge forward was finding ways to do that:



Marc Canter would later talk about how the band's song writing suffered from band members living separately:



In fact, in early 1989, to make sure they were together to facilitate song-writing for the follow-up to 'Appetite', the idea to rent a house for everybody to be in had been considered but apparently Slash had not been to eager to live with Axl:



Although Slash would be quick to point out that this separation didn't mean they weren't as close as before, rather the opposite:



In 1990, Axl would comment on the band members growing apart but that they had found a way to make it work:



In late 1989 or early 1990, rumors spread that Axl considered quitting the band [Hot Metal Stars, 1990].

The press would report that the band was on so bad terms that they had to record their studio parts at separate times [New Musical Express, November 1990].

In 2012, Axl would discuss why the old lineup fell apart and what could have been done differently, and suggest that if they had worked more closely together things could have been different:





As the band members grew apart in 1989, not living together, not writing together, everybody in their own world of drugs, anxiety, and mental issues, they stopped talking to each other. When they lived together, even a band of strong individuals, would be forced to communicate, to share, and talk things out.

Instead resentment grew and festered. Instead of confronting Axl with his lateness and his growing megalomania, the band fled into bottles and syringes. Instead of confronting Steven and Slash with increasing drug use that started to affect the band, Izzy distanced himself and Axl became more convinced he was the only one that could hold the band together. And instead of confronting Duff and Slash with avoiding him, Steven would keep quiet and to himself.





These problems would ebb and flow, but steadily grow. What broke the band apart can always be discussed and there were many factors, but a lot could possibly have been solved if the band had just communicated directly, honestly and with care.

Especially Slash was struggling with adjusting to the more sedate life between tours, as he had done previously too [see previous chapter]:






As he would tellingly say:



Slash got back on heroin "right away" [Melody Maker, August 10, 1991].



In May 1991, Slash would also indicate that he had coped with the weirdness of suddenly being a celebrity through drugs:



In August/September 1991 he would talk more about it:






In 2004 Slash would look at how he had balanced being a musician and an addict and how the down-time had been hard on him:





Steven would recall a haranguing story that likely took place before October 1989:



Slash would also start to hallucinate:




Duff was also mention Slash's hallucinations around this time:



Slash also had numerous OD's:




When the band relocated to Chicago in mid-1989 to get work done [see other chapter for more information], and Slash, Duff and Steven had to wait for the arrival of Axl and Izzy, Slash's drinking got really bad:



He would later describe his drinking:



While in Chicago Duff and Slash went to a The Cult show and met Matt Sorum. Matt would describe them this way:



In August 1989, Izzy was asked about how Slash was doing:



In 1989, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith would also call up on Slash to hear how he was doing [Musician, December 1990]. And Slash would later comment on David Bowie having a talk with him:



In September 1991, Izzy would describe an incident that happened "about a year and a half ago", which would indicate it happened in late 1989 or early 1990, but more likely it happened before October 1989:



Slash's escalating drug and alcohol abuse led to Axl's famous "Mr. Brownstone" speech at The Stones show in October 1989 [see separate chapter for more information]. In a retrospective perspective in 1991, Slash would shed light on the incident as reported by The Los Angeles Times:



So again, it was the isolation that he felt after returning from the extensive touring in 1988, caused by newfound celebrity, little to do, and band members who drifted apart, that fueled Slash's addiction and ultimately leading to Axl's ultimatum.

Slash would not deny his problems, in Rolling Stone he would describe it as a "really serious heroin problem" in the period leading up to the shows with The Stones in October 1989, and that he promised to quit smack after these shows [Rolling Stone, January 1991]. From Steven's biography and Axl's "Mr. Brownstone" speech, it could seem like Slash actually promised to quit smack before the shows with The Stones.

Regardless, after the shows with The Stones, Slash promised to clean up.

In the beginning of the band Izzy was an immensely important piece in the puzzle that was Guns N' Roses:



But as the years went by, Izzy started to separate himself more and more from the band. This happened already after the Appetite touring in '88 and '89, partly to get some distance from the partying when he himself was trying to sober up, but also because he generally likes solitude:

"[Izzy] is the closest thing in the band to a loner; when he's on tour he likes to wander the streets by himself, and his girlfriend mentions he'd like to buy a house in the desert" [Musician, December 1988].

During the touring in 1988, Izzy got reacquainted with his estranged father. When telling about this in late 1988 to Musician magazine, he sounds wistful about Indiana and the simpler life he once had:



And not long after, as described in a previous chapter, Izzy had bought a home in Lafayette partly to get away from the toxic LA scene.




In 1989 he started to drift more away from his band members as they fell into pits of addiction and exaggerated behaviors



In 2006, Axl would tell a story about Izzy from this period that indicates Izzy spent lots of time in Indiana:





With the free time in 1989, and possibly from enjoying the touring and travelling in 1988, Izzy started travelling extensively. In August 1989 he was travelling Europe, visiting both France and Germany, where he had an appointment with a dentist to "have all this new scientific shit pumped into my gums so my teeth won't keep fallin' out" [The Face, October 1989].

Until 1989 Slash had fiercely avoided burdening himself with a permanent residence, except for renting an apartment that seemed to have been more intended as a crash pad for partying than actually settling down (see previous chapter). Then at some point before before March of 1989, Slash had bought himself a house in the hills overlooking Laurel Canyon [Musician, December 1990].

Describing the house he had bought:



Since the house was styled after the "Patience" video, it must mean he bought the house in 1989.



The rented house was precariously situated but it didn't stop Slash from having plenty of visitors:



In March 1989 Slash expected it would still take some time before he could move into his own place and that he would very soon have to find himself another temporary place to live:



While the house was being decorated Slash moved in with the band's publicist, Arlett Vereecke [see earlier chapter].

He shared the house with his guitar tech, Adam Day:

____________________________________________________

Steven was in increasingly worse shape as Duff would recount:



And while in Chicago in the summer of 1989:



The episode with the shotgun might have happened in 1990, though, as the band was trying to get Steven off drugs so he could perform in the studio [see later chapter].

Steven would be convinced by his techie to go in rehab in January 1989 [Steven's biography, "My Appetite for Destruction", 2010, page 187], which caused him to miss a show on American Music Awards. It would be the first of many attempts at sobering up. As Izzy would phrase it, "Stevie has probably been on several of those missions, yeah" [The Face, October 1989]. Axl might have been referencing this, when he in February 1989 said that "Stevie's got a way like, things just come up in his life" when explaining why they split the revenues almost equally between the band members, implying that he had a costly habit [Howard Stern, February 1989].

In 2011, Alan Niven would mention an episode when he tried to send Steven to Hawaii to sober up (as Niven had done with Slash, too):

The media increasingly wrote about the friction in the band. To them, the battle was between Axl and Slash, with Axl slowly gaining the upper hand, as it would be phrased in Raw Magazine in May 1989:



Maybe because of this, in the first half of 1989 Slash started jamming with Dave Mustaine and there were rumours that they would start a separate band together. It is also likely that Slash might have found the music of Megadeth more aligned with his own aspirations than the more piano-driven music that Axl had started to focus on and Axl's ambitions to evolve Guns N' Roses into a more diverse band like Queen.

Slash's involvement with Megadeth went as far as Mustaine inviting Slash to join the band [Blast! April 1989]; a "joke offer" according to Slash:



This implies a growing frustration with Slash and how things were developing in Guns N' Roses.



The story was picked up by other media outlets as well: Axl and Slash was developing frontman-lead guitarist syndrome [MTV, 1989].

In 2018, Mustaine corroborated this story when he mentioned that he and Slash had recently talked about how they, in the 80s, had talked about "[Slash] joining Megadeth and leaving Guns N’ Roses and we were jamming together a lot" [Metalhead zone, October 2018].

Duff considered Slash and Mustaine jamming as frustration on Slash's part with the "directionless path that GN'R was on" [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 148].



According to RAW Magazine from May 1989, Slash also "talked about getting involved with other outside projects [beyond Megadeth] simply to let off certain creative instincts that don't fit into The Gunners' style." This was allegedly not so much a frustration borne out of a "directionless path" as Duff would claim in his biography, but frustration arising from increasing musical differences between two uncompromising musicians, Slash and Axl, that resulted in Slash having to yield and compromise [Raw Magazine, may 1989].

Axl would be frank about conflict issues in the band:



The friction between Axl and Slash would be magnified when Axl called out the band for doing too much heroin during their shows with The Rolling Stones in October 1989, and demanding that Slash addressed the crowd and apologized. In December 1989, media would report that both Axl and Slash played with Michael Monroe, but not together suggesting that "their unwillingness to appear on stage together may be another indication that relations between the two band mates are still not completely thought out" [MTV News, December 1989].

In 2018, Slash would look back at having played with Mustaine:



Mustaine would also mention that some of the riffs they worked on ended up on Megadeath's Rust In Peace:

Like Slash, Izzy and Steven were into heroin, too. Duff would remark that Izzy's and Slash's extensive drug abuse may be linked to coping with the tragedy at Donington, but that they at the time of the interview (July or before) were now "cleaned out and revved up" [Raw Magazine, July 1989]. As seen from the quotes in earlier chapters, this was likely not correct for Slash although Izzy might have been in the process of cleaning up [see later chapter on Izzy getting sober]. That Izzy was trying to clean up is also implied from him buying a house in Lafayette in 1988, likely partly to get away from the temptations of Los Angeles.

Steven Tyler, who knew the band after they had opened for Aerosmith in 1988, would talk to Izzy:



This phone conversation was likely from late 1988 because about half-a-year later, in mid-1989, Izzy was still hard at it:



At the end of 1989, Izzy went to Indiana to clean up [see later chapter on Izzy getting sober].

After having released a few singles and music videos in support of Appetite the band would only release one single and accompanying music video from GN'R Lies, for the song Patience. It was released in April 1989 in the US and in June 1989 in the UK.  






The Patience music video would be mentioned in the fan club Conspiracy Incorporated newsletter from March 1989:



Pater Baron, former video production executive for Arista Records and Geffen Records, would talk about having commissioned the music video:



In the words of Nigel Dick:



And Alan Niven would talk about Izzy's drug problems at the time:




Talking about the new video and whether he liked making videos in general:



In 1995, Slash would talk about the snake scene:

While Steven was becoming less and less important to the band, and the band was starting to splinter during the downtime in the first half of 1989, Axl was increasingly taking a leading role:



When famous radio host Howard Stern called Axl in February 1989, he wasn't merely whispering in Axl's ears, he was repeatedly telling him that Axl was the one writing all the songs in the band and should have a bigger share of the revenue [Howard Stern Radio Show, February 1989]. In this same radio interview, Axl would mention that he had been "very, very mad at Slash" but not explain why [Howard Stern Radio Show, February 1989].

Axl would also imply that he was in charge:




Yet, when asked in March or April 1989, Slash would deny that they were growing apart:



And Axl would also emphasize that they made decisions together as a band:



When asked explicitly if he considered himself "the leader of the band," Axl would reply:



When recounting how the rest of the band would consider him a dictator when they worked on songs in Chicago, Axl would dismiss that:



Axl would also state that he was gradually taking over more aspects of running the business side of the band after having seen how Jagger steered The Rolling Stones:



One of the issues between band members were differences in approach to working, and especially frustration with Axl's attention to detail:

From an early age, Slash became an animal lover. His fascination with snakes started early:





Marc Canter would remember an early incident that didn't go well:



Slash would tell a story from likely 1984 or 1985 when Axl was living with him:



When Slash moved into his house in early 1989, he started with a serious approach to collecting snakes and other reptiles, and also bought a pair of Rottweilers [Musician, December 1990].

In an interview released in February 1990, he would describe his snake collection:



He would also mention the snake from the 'Patience' video:



In late 1990 he was considering getting a bigger house to accommodate even more snakes [Musician, December 1990].





In September 1991 Slash would describe his snake collection:



In October 1991 it was reported he owned "23 snakes, 2 dogs and 12 cats" [Conspiracy Incorporated Newsletter, October 1991]. In December 1991, when Slash bought a home off Mulholland Drive [Los Angeles Times, December 29, 1991] he still kept his other house in Laurel Hills for his "16 snakes, eight cats and two Rottweilers" [Los Angeles Times, December 29, 1991].

During the touring of 1991-1992, Slash would have two friends, Jim and Larry, who would take care of his extensive collection of snakes [MTV Headbanger's Ball, May 1992].

By late January 1994, Slash would say he had about 50 pets, listing "a lot of reptiles", "a lot of cats" and a mountain lion called Curtis [97.7 HTZ_FM, January 1994].




Talking about the cougar:



The snakes were kept all over the house:



Being asked if his then-wife Renee likes the snakes:



Slash's animal hobby had been gradually growing and in 1995 he would talk about the reptile conservation efforts he was involved in:




He would also mention one of his snakes taking one of his cats (he would later owning having twelve domestic cats [Online chat, October 16, 1996]):



And Duff would mentioned an episode with a poisonous iguana:



In early 1995, Slash had reduced the number of snakes from around 300 to around 260:





And that he had recently bought some "stupid expensive" snakes:



By October 1996 he had about 180 snakes:



By 2004 he had got rid of the snakes:





Then he got a baby anaconda:




In connection with taping a commercial for Los Angeles Zoo, together with Betty White, Slash would talk about his snakes:

A story that went the rounds in mid-1989 was Axl shooting a pig. As told by New Musical Express:



NME mixes stories up. The event with the pig happened earlier and had been told by L.A. Weekly already on April 21, at least a week before the Depeche Mode show [L.A. Weekly, April 21, 1989]. Here is L.A. Weekly's story which likely started the rumour:



The pig shooting story would be confirmed by Mike Miller in February 2021, when he responded to someone commenting on a picture he had posted of himself holding a gun:







Interestingly, the press would later also talk about another incident that happened while Axl was partying with Mike Miller at his place:



Later in April, as Axl attended a Dogs D'Amour (with Mother Love Bone as the opener) concert at Club With No Name on April 28, Axl got in a fight and was thrown out, as told by Tyla J. Pallas, the lead singer of Dogs D'Amour:

In May 1989, it was reported that Axl had gotten in a fight with a woman at Club With No Name [L.A. Weekly, June 2, 1989]. The woman allegedly had a knife and Axl kicked her in the stomach [L.A. Weekly, June 2, 1989]. After investigation the police decided to not press charges [L.A. Weekly, June 2, 1989].

Similarly to his band mates, Duff's drinking would increase after returning from the touring in early 1989.



The drinking and drug abuse escalated while Steven, Duff and Slash were holed up in Chicago in the summer of 1989 waiting for their band mates to join them.






After returning to Los Angeles after their ill-fated Chicago trip, Duff was able to cut back on his excesses, he started exercising a bit and rarely did coke or took pills [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 155]. Steven, on the other hand, would claim that both Slash and Duff's addictions caused them to show up to rehearsal drunk, or not at all [Steven's biography, "My Appetite for Destruction", 2010, page 192].

All the abuse caused troubles for the band and their plans to work on a follow-up to 'Appetite'. In his biography, Duff would relate how he and Axl were worried about their comrades:



When the band started rehearsing for the Rolling Stones gigs in October 1989, the heroin use started to affect the band professionally, with some of them coming in late, or leaving early, or not meeting at all [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 156]. Duff would probably be discussing this period in the quote below:





By late 1989 Duff's alcoholism was starting to affect his appearances. Duff would describe how he looked "a couple of months" after the Coliseum gigs with The Stones:



This would imply that Duff quit drinking some time in early 1990, yet, when Mick Wall interviewed him in January 1990, Wall would describe Duff as "half-cut" so at best Duff had only cut down on his drinking by this time. Wall would also describe Duff's looks:



[The implication Wall makes of Duff having cried was related to Duff and his wife just breaking up.]

Some time in 1989 Axl added vocals to Steve Jones' I Did U No Wrong [The Munster Times, November 12, 1989] which would be included on Jones' Fire and Gasoline album. Jones would describe how the collaboration came to be:

Axl's desire to move from Los Angeles in 1988/1989 might have partly stemmed from his struggles in Hollywood at the time. In early 1989 it would be reported how Axl wasn't able to find a place to live in Hollywood, because no one wanted to sell to him.




But in July 1989 it was reported that Axl was living in a spacious Spanish bungalow together with his girlfriend Erin Everly [Juke, July 1989], and he would comment that he was "very happy with it" [Kerrang! June 1989].

According to Cheryl Lynn Swiderski, at the October 20, 1987, gig at the Trocadero, Philadelphia, Fred Coury would introduce her to Steven. About two years later, Steven and Cheryl would get married in a private ceremony in Las Vegas on June 6, 1989 [The News Journal, June 1989].

It is doubtful the relationship between Steven and Cheryl was well-known among the band members, as this quote from Izzy attests to:



The couple planned a proper church ceremony sometime in 1990 after the follow-up to 'Appetite' was recorded [The News Journal, June 1989].

Unfortunately, Steven's drug use would ruin the relationship:




The same date as Steven was getting married, Duff, Slash and Axl would go to a show with The Angeles at the Whisky and Axl and Slash would join the band on the song Rock N' Roll Outlaw. The guys might have joined for more songs.

As an approach to fight the accusations of the band being homophobic, in early 1989, David Geffen arranged for the band to take part in an AIDS Benefit Concert called "Rock and a Hard Place" that was to take place in New York City in June [Circus Magazine, May 1989]. In April 1989, it was reported that Guns N' Roses was billed above Whitesnake and Aerosmith [L.A. Weekly, April 21, 1989].



The band agreed to do it, probably mostly to create awareness of a new disease that was causing fear in the music scene:





But then, on the demands of the sponsor, Gay Men's Health Crisis, the band was kicked off the event [L.A. Weekly, April 21, 1989; Journal and Courier, March 1989; Arizona Republic, March 1989; Daily News, March 1989].





As a consequence of being kicked off the event, Axl was reported to consider doing an AIDS benefit of his own [L.A. Weekly, April 21, 1989].



The homosexual friend Axl mentioned in the quote above is likely Joseph Brooks or Henry Peck, whom Axl had mentioned when he was discussing homosexuality on a previous occasion:





The event did not happen in June 1989, but was postponed to March 1990 and renamed to That's What Friends Are For [New York Times, March 17, 1990], still without Guns N' Roses on the bill.

In 1988 or 1989, Axl was asked by Don Henley to provide backing vocals on the song I Will Not Go Quietly to be included on Henley's third solo album.



The song would be featured on Henley's The End of Innocence album which was released in June 1989.



Not long after Axl went into the studio to sing with Henley, Guns N' Roses would ask Henley to return the favorite by sitting in on drums for Steven during the 1989 American Music Awards while Steven was in rehab [see earlier chapter].

________________________

As discussed previously, Axl had wanted the band, or eat least Slash and him, to live together for a while to work efficiently on the next record. Nothing had come out of this. Instead, in the summer of 1989 the band moved to Chicago for two-three months to try to write for their follow-up record.



According to Duff in his biography, Axl was the guy who had originally suggested to relocate the band to Chicago. The idea was partly to get the band back together again (similar to their Gardner Street days when they had lived together and been efficient at writing songs), and partly because Axl wanted to be closer to his roots in Lafayette, Indiana. In Duff's words, the band "bowed to Axl's wishes" [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 149].

He would also mention this in an interview from 2006:



Slash would say both Izzy and Axl wanted to get away from LA and be closer to Lafayette, and that it was he, Slash, who chose Chicago:



In 1990, Duff said the idea was to try to get some of the songs they already had down on tape [Kerrang! March 1990].



Exactly when the Slash, Duff and Steven, who where the first to arrive [Kerrang! March 1990], got to Chicago, and how long they stayed is not known. In December 1993, Duff would claim Slash, Steven and him were there for three months [Metal Express, December 1993]. Steven claims in his biography that the stay in Chicago took place already in March 1989. But from an interview with Duff in March 1990, it can be implied they arrived in April/May [Kerrang! March 1990].

It is also clear they didn't stay there constantly throughout the summer, since Slash and Duff went back to Los Angeles at least for the period June 16-19 when Slash took his mother to a David Bowie show in LA (June 16 or 17) and Slash and Duff went to a Faith No More show at the Roxy (June 19) [L.A. Weekly, June 30, 1989]. If Steven is correct in them going to Chicago before April 1989, then he too, likely left Chicago for a while when he got married in Las Vegas on June 6 [The News Journal, June 30, 1989].

The band would use the vacant Top Note Theatre above Cabaret Metro on Clark Street [Chicago Tribune, May 1991].

Steven claims in his biography the rest of the guys avoided him when they were in Chicago:

The band members wanted little press attention while in Chicago, presumably to concentrate on working on the music, but this didn't work out since they made little attempts to hide and were spotted around town. One place they visited was Kelly's pub where three of the band members (highly likely Steven, Duff and Slash) was immediately recognized as GN'R band members by the proprietor's daughter [Chicago Tribune, February 15, 2019].

On June 24, New Musical Express would report that the band was in Chicago "rehearsing for a US tour" [New Musical Express, June 1989]. And The Chicago Tribune deciding to run a story on the band being in their city with an article being published on June 26. According to L.A. Weekly, the Tribune tried to get an interview with members of the band, but when they refused the Tribune retaliated by publishing the band's Chicago address.

As part of that story the Tribune also contacted Doug Goldstein, one of the band's managers, to get a comment:



In complete disregard to Goldstein, The Chicago Tribune published their story. As part of the article they also asked Geffen Records to comment on the band being in Chicago, with a spokesperson from Geffen saying:



The Tribune also talked to Tom Mayhue, the band's stage manager, who would claim the band had only been in Chicago for four days for the National Association of Music Merchandisers convention [Chicago Tribune, June 1989].

Duff and Slash would later comment on the press attention they received when supposed to be laying low:

Slash, Duff and Steven got resentful when Axl and Izzy did not come as expected to Chicago where they were waiting, especially since the whole idea had been Axl's idea [Steven and Duff's biographies]. Duff would later say the three of them (Duff, Steven and Slash) sat in Chicago for three months waiting for Axl and Izzy, and that it got "kinda suicidal" [Kerrang! March 1990].



According to Steven, Axl arrived "seven weeks and five days" after Slash, Duff and Steven, with only "two days left of studio time" [Circus Magazine, October 1991; Steven's biography, "My Appetite for Destruction", 2010, page 192]. This is remarkably precise to be from Steven, and perhaps not accurate considering his heavy drug use in the period.

When Axl finally arrived, Duff would recall that the rest just "wanted to go home" [Kerrang! March 1990].

We know that on May 12, Axl was still in California since he introduced Queenryche at a show at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre [Santa Ana County Register, May 15, 1989]. We also know that Axl got inspirations for the lyrics to the song 'Civil War' from an article that was published in Chicago Tribune on July 9, where he basically lifted a quote from a Peruvian guerilla officer. In addition, rock journalist and friend of the band, Lonn Friend would state that he had been with Slash and Axl at the cinema in Chicago watching Batman [Lonn Friend, Life On Planet Rock; July 2006]. Batman premiered on June 23. All this implies that Axl was in Chicago in late June until at least July 9, possibly longer.

Axl would explain his late arrival on "weird timing schedules" and having to drive his "truck to Chicago from LA", and that he spent at least a couple of weeks in Chicago:








According to Slash, it took "like three months or something" before Izzy arrived [Raw Magazine, March 4, 1992]. Duff writes than when Izzy arrived he saw the mess Axl had made, the drugs that floated in the place, and left [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 149]. Steven does not mention in his biography that Izzy would show up and hastily leave when he saw the mess and drugs, as Duff claims in his biography.

Izzy talking about traveling to Chicago:



In March 1990, Duff would comment on Axl and Izzy's late arrivals:





The band members would have different opinions on the success of the Chicago stay, with Slash being particularly negative:



Axl and Izzy would disagree:




Although years later Izzy would also say the following:



Duff would also argue that they "got a lot of shit done" [Kerrang! March 1990] although that was possibly referring to the period before Axl and Izzy showed up. So perhaps Duff, Slash and Steven got work done in the period before Axl and Izzy arrived, and then Axl and Izzy got some work down after Slash, Steven and Duff left?

In 2018, Duff would talk about how they worked on songs while in Chicago and recorded songs to be worked on later:



Looking back at the time in Chicago:

According to Steven, when Axl arrived he got into a fight with a girl they had befriended, thrashed the place, and left [Steven's biography]. That Axl came and immediately left is contradicted by quotes above and by another part from Steven's biography, where Steven claims Axl wasn't interested in the songs Slash, Duff and Steven had worked on when they presented them to him:




Although Steven is wrong when he claims Axl immediately left, that Axl thrashed the place at some point seems likely based on Nick Kent, who interviewed Izzy extensively, writing hat the Chicago stay "culminated in Axl destroying the group's apartment building there and staying in the rubble while the rest returned west in disgust" [VOX, October 1991].



According to Musician Magazine, Slash got so furious about Axl that he "scribbled a goodbye note and flew back to L.A" and that he and Axl "didn't speak for a long time after that" [Musician, December 1990]. This is confirmed by Slash:



In 2007, Slash would say that Axl did something to a girl which resulted in Slash leaving:



When Howard Stern pushed Slash to give details on what had happened, Slash replied:





Entertainment Weekly would report that Axl thrashed the apartment, but remained in Chicago as the rest of the band members left [Entertainment Weekly, August 1991]. That Axl left while the other three returned to L.A., is also confirmed by Slash [RIP, February 1990].



That this incident, and the fight between Axl and Slash, almost pushed Slash out of the band, is implied in the following quote from Slash. But Slash rallied around:





In his biography, Duff would mark their stay in Chicago as a turning point as far as Izzy's involvement with the band:




It also was a stay where Steven's issues became really obvious to the band:



In late 1990, Slash would talk about the stay in Chicago, but not mention the serious problems they had as a band, instead focus on the media problems: