24. NOVEMBER 2002-APRIL 2004: THE TOUR BREAKS DOWN, THE END OF GUNS N' ROSES?

Before the fall tour commenced Axl would talk about the new lineup:





The firsts how took place at the Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, USA on November 8.

Before the show Axl would be talking about what to expect from the show:



This show was plagued with technical issues, including with Axl's microphone [MTV News, November 11, 2002; Rolling Stones, November 11, 2002].



After the show Dizzy, Buckethead and Tommy would talk about playing with the new lineup:





And later Tommy would discuss playing the old GN'R songs:



The next shows took place at the Idaho Center Arena, Nampa, USA on November 11 and at the Target Center, Minneapolis, USA on November 14.

In Minneapolis Axl would introduce the band:



Star Tribune would be unimpressed and ask why this took so long:



And Saint Paul Pioneer Press would not be any kinder:



The band then headed to Fargodome, Fargo, USA for a show on November 15, 2002 before coming to Mark Of The Quad Cities, Moline, USA for a show on November 17.

Before the show in Fargo Axl would summarize the tour so far, including the shows in August:



And discuss the new lineup:



Before the show in Moline Dizzy would again be asked to talk about the new lineup and compare it to the old band:



The band then travelled to Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL, USA for a show on November 18 and then to The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, USA on November 21.

In Rosemont Axl would again make fun of himself:



The reviews from the Rosemont show were mostly negative, but not all:



Before the show in Auburn Hills, Axl and Richard would be asked how the tour was going:





Richard would also share info on their three-guitar approach:



In 2004, Tommy would be looking back at the tour and highlight the show they did in Rosemont:

In July 1999, Lars Ulrich would also talk about the new Guns N' Roses and point out Axl's difficult position:



In 2002 Axl would be asked if he still thought Guns N' Roses were relevant:



As the new version of Guns N' Roses started to do shows in 2002, a consistent criticism would be that they were just a cover band playing Guns N' Roses songs. Band members would comment on this:



Richard would later talk about the music still being relevant:



In 2010, Bumblefoot would talk about fans refusing to accept the new band as "Guns N' Roses":



And in 2016, Dizzy would address the many lineup changes that the band went through, stating that with Axl singing it is Guns N' Roses:

When asked if Axl is misunderstood by the general public, Richard would confirm and explain this is because he doesn't defend himself in the media, something former band members had taken advantage of:



In 2015, he would specifically name Slash as one of the guys who had taken advantage of it:



And on the biggest misconceptions about Axl:

The next shows of the 2002 Chinese Democracy tours were at the Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, USA, on November 22 and the Gund Arena, Cleveland, USA on November 24.

Before the show at in Pittsburgh, Richard, Tommy and Buckethead would talk about the new Guns N' Roses:





In Pittsburgh, Axl would talk about the setlist:



At the show in Cleveland, Richard took over playing the first solo in November Rain from Robin, per Axl's request:



Richard would now play this solo through various incarnations of the band until Slash retook it in 2016.

In Cleveland Axl would discuss his choice of sports jerseys and his singing:




Reviews from the show in Cleveland:




Some of the shows at this part of the tour has not been sold-out, something reviewers would often mention, and Dizzy would discuss this:



The next show took place at the Nationwide Arena, Columbus, USA on November 25.

During this show Axl would talk about his choice of jerseys and joke about the lack of history between band members:



Axl would also reference recent riots in Columbus and joke about it:



The band then traveled to Pepsi Arena, Albany, USA for a show on November 27.

At this show Axl would discuss Slash and Duff:



The band then traveled to Canada for shows at the AirCanada Centre, Toronto, Canada, on November 29 and at the John Labatt Centre, London, Canada, on November 30, before returning to USA and a show at FleetCenter, Boston, USA, on December 2 where they went on two hours late [Worcester Telegram & Gazette, December 3, 2002].

Before the show in Boston Dizzy would talk about fans starting to know the new songs:



During the show Axl would talk about the new songs:



The next show was at Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, USA, on December 3.

Again, Axl would joke about the lineup:



And about people wanting them to fail:



Then the band travelled to Madison Square Garden, New York, USA, for a show on December 5, which would ultimately be the final show of the tour. The show had been sold out "in 15 minutes flat" [Classic Rock, February 2003].



Before the show Tommy would talk about Axl's vocals:



During the show, Axl would take the opportunity to discuss a review from playing in New York an earlier time:



And again he would talk about the songs:



During the show Axl would also hand out donuts and talk about Conan O'Brian, probably in response to Conan referring to the new Guns N' Roses as "Fatty McGoo and the guys who aren't Slash" after the MTV Video Music Awards appearance:



Dizzy would later refer to this show as "one of the best shows we ever played" [Rock Journal, August 2, 2004]. And he would again mention the show in 2005 when asked about his favorite show:



Brain would say that it wasn't until Madison Square Garden that the band started to feel like a proper band to him:



In 2006, Axl would look back at the importance of the show at Madison Square Garden:



Reviews in New York Daily News and Spin:




The band would not tour again until 2006.

__________________________________________

The next show in the band's 2002 Fall Chinese Democracy tour was planned for First Union Center in Philadelphia on December 6, but when the band failed to show up angered ticket-holders started a riot:



According to officials, the show had been cancelled when Axl became sick [Philadelphia Daily News, December 7, 2002]. As explained by Peter Luukko, president of Comcast Spectacor Ventures:



The announcement that the Guns N' Roses show was cancelled came an hour after the opening act was finished, at 11:15 [Philadelphia Daily News, December 7, 2002].



According to a report the band sustained damage to their equipment worth $ 2 million [Dallas Observer, December 19, 2002].

A commonly reported story was that Axl had been occupied watching a basketball game and hence missed the show, Gabbidon would deny this:



Blender magazine would later claim that Axl had been sulking and refused to travel to Philadelphia after hearing critical commentary of the band's show at Madison Square Garden [Blabbermouth, February 10, 2003]. The review of the MSG concert came from Doug Goodstein, a colleague of Howard Stern at the Howard Stern Radio Show [Blabbermouth, February 10, 2003]. The New York Times would much later claim that Axl had reportedly been denied access to a club in New York after the pervious show at Madison Square Garden, for wearing fur, and that this rejection had caused him to skip the next show [The New York Times, March 6, 2005].

In 2004 and 2005 Dizzy would be asked what happened in Philadelphia:




Tommy would also be prevented from talking freely about the incident due to legal issues, but make a small comment:



He would repeat this in early 2005:



In 2006, Axl would not say what had happened when asked why the tour had ended after the show at Madison Square Garden in NYC:



And would later again say legal reasons prevented him from discussing what happened:



Sebastian Bach would also be asked about what had happened:



Then in 2012, as Guns N' Roses returned to Philadelphia, Axl would finally address what had happened and apologize while also blaming their promoter at the time and management:



Looking back at the show:

Following the cancellation of the December 7 show in Philadelphia, the December 8 show in Philadelphia was cancelled and Ticketmaster would also list five shows additional shows as cancelled [The Province, December 8, 2002].

As a result of the commotion there were signs of backlash against Guns N' Roses with rock station WMMR-FM (99.3) announcing that the weekend would be “Guns N’ Roses Free” and the webside of Albuquerque rock station KZRR-FM showing the band logo with a big red slash accompanied by the headline “No Guns N’ Roses” [The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 10, 2002].

On December 11 it was confirmed from the promoter Clear Channel entertainment that the entire tour had been cancelled [MTV News, December 11, 2002]. No reason for the cancellation was given [MTV News, December 11, 2002].

Although there had been no official explanation for why tour dates were being cancelled, media would speculate it was due to poor sales [The Sacramento Bee, December 10, 2002] or that Axl was struggling with mental issues [Chicago Sun-Times, December 11, 2002].

Immediately after the announcement that the tour was cancelled rumours would say that Robin and Tommy had quit the band, but this was later denied by a spokesperson for the band [The Launch, December 19, 2002].

Later Tommy would blame the tour organizer:



Although Dizzy would not answer questions about the cancellation of the tour and infer there were ongoing legal disputes [Rock Journal, June 3, 2004].

Tommy would later shed a few more details:



In 2018, an interviewer would mix the postponement of the tour in 2001 [see earlier chapter] - which was due to Buckethead being sick - with the cancellation of the tour in 2002, and ask if it really was due to Buckethead being sick, to which Brain confirmed Clear Channel had ended the tour due to the band missing shows:



In 2019, Brain would indicate that there had been some friction between Clear Channel and Axl:

In contrast to the above, Axl would later say the tour hadn't been his decision but that despite it ending too early, the tour had been really good for the band:



Talking about playing new songs for the audiences:



Despite the tour being shortened, CKY would have good memories:

In the aftermath of the cancellation of the tour, the press would speculate that this was the end of Guns N' Roses, that Axl couldn't possibly come back from such a failure. Rolling Stone tried to get comments from band members and roadies but none would talk [Rolling Stone, January 6, 2003].

In a rare interview with Axl's bodyguard, Earl Gabbidon would give an update:



When asked if it was true that Axl is going to "check himself in to a psychiatric clinic due to exhaustion and other emotional problems", Gabbidon declined to comment [Metal Sludge, December 17, 2002; THIS INTERVIEW IS POSSIBLY FAKE].

Various industry professionals would give their advice to Axl:




On March 9, 2002, the following update would be found on the band's webpage:



In 2003 and 2004 other musicians would talk about Axl and Guns N' Roses:

With the tour in the fall of 2002 coming to an abrupt end it was speculated that the band was over and done for, but in March the following message would be posted to the band's website:



In March 2003, an interview with Tommy would be released where he described the process of making music in Guns N' Roses:



And speculate on the record's reception:



In April 2003, Richard would be asked if he could give a gift to the world what that would be:



In June, Axl would attend the release party for the new Led Zeppelin DVD [antiMUSIC, June 16, 2003]. when asked about the status of Chinese Democracy Axl would say he was hopeful it would be out this year, that he was co-producing it, and that he wanted it to be as perfect as possible before it was released [antiMUSIC, June 16, 2003].

Talking about work on the record and when it will likely be out:



Tommy would also say that the work they were to do in the fall of 2003 would likely be the finalization of the record:




In early 2004, Studio Expresso, a newsletter about studio work in Los Angeles, would mention Guns N' Roses recording new tracks together with "producer/engineer Caram Costanzo and Pro Tools engineer Eric Cadieux" [Studio Expresso, February 2004].

Later in 2004, the Village studio website would post the following picture:





In 2014, Robin would look back at recording his solos, including the solos to This I Love:







But in August 2003, Tommy would say the tour would take place in the summer of 2004 [Detroit Metro Times, August 20, 2003].

In March 2003 Dexter Holland, singer of The Offspring (who had later hired the services of Josh Freese) would announce they would name their next record Chinese Democracy and make a joke about Axl's new dreads:



But apparently this was a joke, because a few days later Noodles, the band's guitarist, would admit the new record did not have a name yet:



In September the new Offspring record would be confirmed to be named Splinter [ Official Offspring Website, September 9, 2003].



In 2006, Axl would be asked what he thought of the Offspring and indicate that the whole thing hadn't been an issue to him:



And a few years later, Holland would comment on the episode:

In early 2002, after having been denied entry to a Guns N' Roses - and a possible reconciliation with Axl - Slash would talk about not being negative towards Axl in the press:



But make an exception after Axl had badmouthed Slash and Duff from the stage at the December 31, 2001, show at Joint, Las Vegas:



Slash would keep getting questions about Axl:



In 2002, in addition to restating that Slash had tried to wrestle control over the band, Axl would call Slash a liar:



On November 20, 2002, Axl would also discuss how the other band members never wanted to really make it big:



In 2004 Slash would be contronted with this statement from Axl and respond:



Axl would also discuss Slash from stage:



In 2003, Slash would comment on the botched 2002 Guns N' Roses tour:



In early 2004, Slash would say he still hadn't talked to Axl since he 1996, but that Perla sends him Christmas cards:





Around the same time he would also admit he had been bitter about how it ended:



And that Axl "single-handedly ended" Guns N' Roses:



In June 2004, Slash would talk about how bad he felt for the fans of Guns N' Roses and reluctantly blame Axl:




Later in 2004, Slash would (partly) blame Axl for Slash's and Duff's alcoholisms:





Slash would summarize his time with Axl and how Axl had become crazier over the years:




"Yoda" is Sharon Maynard , the guru that Axl had accompany the band during the Use Your Illusion touring.

And Slash would talk about how Axl hadn't wanted to do anything:



He would also comment on the long process to release Chinese Democracy:

In 2003 Richard bought his first apartment at the Lower East Side in New York City together with his girlfriend, Jennifer Teichman, who was described as a model and photographer [The New York Times, August 17, 2003]. Guns N' Roses had wanted him to move to Los Angeles, but Richard had been reluctant [The New York Times, August 17, 2003].

In 2005, Richard would announce that he was expecting to become a dad in November:



Richard and Jennifer's daughter, Paisley Piper, was born on November 5, 2005 [Blabbermouth, December 6, 2005].



At some point Richard must have moved from Los Angeles, because in October 2010 it was announced that he was selling his house in Woodland Hills for $549,000 [Los Angeles Times, October 27, 2010]. The house was apparently not sold immediately, because in April 2012, Richard was again listing the house for sale, now for $429,000 [San Fernando Valley Blog, April 30, 2012].

Richard would continue to have a studio and company in New York working on music composing for movies and video games, but he realized that working remotely from Los Angeles didn't work:



By 2014, Richard had two daughters, Paisley and Clover [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 20, 2017] and had separated from Teichman as he revealed when he talked about what he missed when he was touring:




Talking about the greatest moment in his life:

 

In late 2016, Richard married his girlfriend, lawyer Stephanie Howlett [St. Louis-Dispatch, December 14, 2016].





In 2017 he would talk about his love for his daughters, Paisley and Clover:



And whether it was hard to tour as a dad:



Stephanie would also comment:



Paisley would also comment:



In 2019, Richard would talk about Clover making music:



Also in 2019, Richard would list his New York apartment for sale for $1.195 million [Blabbermouth, September 14, 2019].



With plenty of times on his hands after having played his parts for Chinese Democracy, Richard got involved with numerous other musical projects. Despite this, he would consider Guns N' Roses to be his main band:



In 2004 and 2005 he collaborated and worked on numerous different projects:



He also worked with the German singer-songwriter Nena:




And in 2005, Richard would tour with Nena:



In March 2008, Richard would guest with the Japanese band X Japan at their three reunion show sat the Tokyo Dome [Blabbermouth, April 6, 2008]:




Talking about how he got mixed up with X Japan:



In November, Richard would participate in Repo! The Genetic Opera, "a rock opera in which organ recipients need to pay their monthly medical bills or things get bloody" [Ultimate Guitar, November 26, 2008].

For the last part of 2008, Richard would tour with Rhianna [Ultimate Guitar, November 26, 2008].



Being asked what he was working on in 2009:



In early 2009, Richard recorded a version of the James Bond theme for Guitar Hero: World Tour:



Richard would later go on to play this song as his solo guitar spot at Guns N' Roses live shows.

In mid-2010, Richard would give an update on what he was currently working on:



Richard also played on Pagan's Bitter [Blabbermouth, August 11, 2010].

In 2019, Richard would talk about having collaborated with the electronic artist BT on a project called Fortran:





Being asked why he is such a popular session musician:



Talking about being a session musician in New York City:



Talking about and he had been asked to join but declined:





In 2009, Richard would reveal he likes to do long distance running:



Talking about what he does while on tour:






Being asked if every tattoo represents something:



And discussing his chest tattoo which was done with bamboo at the Tiger Temple in the north of Bangkok, Thailand:



Being asked if he regretted any tattoo:



And future tattoos:



Discussing the sleeve:





In early 2019, Richard would do a show with the "funk/rock/electronica/jam-band collective Headtronics" in St. Louis:




Talking about founding member Freekbass:




And member DJ Logic:



By May, Richard had done some shows with Headtronics:





In 2019, Richard was again working with the Furs, but now as a producer for Butler's next album:



Talking about producing an album for a band that he loves so much:

In 2002 Tommy and his former band mate from the Replacements, Paul Westerberg, had a little spat about the reasons Tommy had joined Guns N' Roses [see previous section]. Despite this, in early 2002 there rumours about Tommy joining the Replacements for a reunion tour but Paul Westerberg would insinuate that Axl had put a stop to it:



Tommy would later likely refer to this:



In 2003 Tommy would talk more about it:



And talking about a reunion of the Replacements:











In 2005, Tommy, Westerberg and Josh collaborated on a project and Westerberg would discuss Tommy:



And discuss a Replacements reunion:



And then in March 2006 it was official: The Replacements had reunited [Billboard, March 29, 2006]. The occasion was to record two new tracks for the upcoming retrospective release, "Don't You Know Who I Think I Was?: The Best of the Replacements" due on June 13, 2006 [Billboard, March 29, 2006].

In February 2009, Tommy would again discuss the possibilities of a reunion with The Replacements and suggest it was unlikely:

On April 28, 2003, long-time friend of Axl, Robert John, would sue Axl:



John would later discuss his fall-out with Axl:



In 2009, in Spinner Magazine, Axl would be asked what had happened to him and John:



Spinner Magazine would later remove this question and answer in its entirety from its website with a note that it had been edited on the request of the interviewer. Guns N' Roses would also post the interview on gunsnroses.com, but leave out Axl's comment on Robert John allegedly doing meth. This would suggest Axl was not happy with how this part of the Spinner interview had turned out, at the very least the reference to John doing meth, or that there had been some pressure to have it removed.

In March 2009, Adriana Smith would come with heated defense of Axl and basically reiterate Axl's words and then some, and claim John was threatening to sue Axl if Axl didn't apologize for what he had said in the Spinner interview [GNRTV, March 2009].



In December 2008, Robert John would launch a GN'R Home Movies channel on the Joost network with exclusive footage form his time with Guns N' Roses:

In 2003 Richard would get himself a baritone guitar from Tom Anderson:



And discussing its use with Guns N' Roses:



Discussing his guitars:



And being asked what his favorite guitars are:



And how he has slowly transitioned from Strats to Gibsons:



And what gear he uses for Guns N' Roses:




And being asked what gear who used when recording for Chinese Democracy:



And his favorite amps:



In 2012, Richard had cut down on his rig:





Discussing the equipment he used on Chinese Democracy:






Being asked if he uses Gibson guitars:



And on whether he used Les Pauls on a regular basis before joining Guns N' Roses:



And his favorite guitar and amplifier:



Being asked if he is much of a gearhead:



Talking about the gear used for the 2010 tour:




Talking about his rig in 2012:





Talking about his setup when they recorded Chinese Democracy:




And his live amps:



And talking about modifying his Fender guitars:





DJ had a smaller gig than Richard and Bumlefoot and when asked to describe their gear, Richard would prompt: "DJ should go first because he'll be the quickest!":



And in 2014 he would talk more about why he had such a small gear:





Talking about his first drum kit which he used all the way until he started in Guns N' Roses:



Frank's setup from after 2016:

Drums: DW Jazz series in custom silver sparkle finish with satin chrome lugs and hardware
A. 6.5×14 Collector’s Metal series Knurled Bronze snare
B. 9×13 tom (on 9399 snare mount)
C. 16×16 floor tom
D. 16×18 floor tom
E. 14×26 bass drum

Hardware: DW 9000 series

Heads: Remo Coated Emperor X snare batter, Coated or Clear Emperor tom batters, and Powerstroke P3 bass drum batter

Cymbals: Sabian
1. 16″ AAX X-Plosion hi-hats
2. 20″ HHX X-Plosion
3. 22″ AA Rock ride
4. 20″ AAX X-Plosion
5. 21″ AAX X-Treme Chinese
Not shown: 19″ HHX X-Plosion (above hi-hats)

Accessories: ButtKicker Concert series

Sticks: Vater Signature Power 5B

Percussion: LP Rock Ridge Rider cowbell and tambourines [Modern Drummer, January 2017].

_____________________________________________________

With his work done for Chinese Democracy, Tommy had idle hands in 2003:



So he decided to record a solo album and tour it in the US and England in June to August:







The 30 songs that Tommy recorded would feature Josh Freese, his brother Jason Freese on saxophone, Catholics guitarist Dave Philips, and  Richard and Dizzy [Billboard, June 11, 2003].








Tommy did not have a name for the album nor a record deal:




After these shows were finished Tommy set out on a new tour in August-September together with the band Figgs [Billboard, July 23, 2003]. Talking about the tour reception:




Tommy's plan was to have a solo career parallel to his activities in Guns N' Roses:






And Axl was supportive of Tommy's solo plans:




In January 2004 Tommy would announce that he had been signed to Sanctuary Records and that he had completed recording the record [Tommy Stinson website, January 16, 2004] and by February 20 he had finished mixing the record with Sean Beavan [Tommy Stinson website, January 26, 2004; Tommy Stinson website, February 20, 2004].





In August 2004, Tommy would plan to tour his record, with Seattle rockers Alien Crime Syndicate, in November [The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 8, 2004]. The tour started in September and ended in October, 2004. While touring, Tommy would be asked if he was surprised over all the Guns N' Roses fans that attended his shows:

In the first half of 2003, MCA Records would be merged with the more successful sister company Geffen Records (both owned by Universal Music Group), with Geffen taking over MCA Records' roster of artists [antiMUSIC, June 16, 2003].

On July 16, 2003, Axl would visit the strip club Crazy Horse Too in Las Vegas and play songs off Chinese Democracy to the "nearly empty" club [MTV News, July 16, 2003]. Allegedly, to gauge the effect the new music had on teh dancers [MTV News, September 2, 2003].

____________________________

In October 2003, Amazon would list a new Guns N' Roses product for release on November 25 and fans would speculate if it was Chinese Democracy, a greatest hits record, or the rerecording of Appetite for Discussion [mygnr.com, October 2003]. Then the magazine Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles would settle the matter by reporting it was a greatest hits record containing the following songs:  ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘Live And Let Die’, ‘Knockin' On Heaven's Door’, ‘Sweet Child Of Mine’, ‘November Rain’, ‘Patience’, ‘Paradise City’, ‘Civil War’, ‘You Could Be Mine’, ‘Don't Cry’ (original), ‘Yesterdays’, ‘Ain't It Fun’, ‘Since I Don't Have You’ and ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ [Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, October 20, 2003]. The very next day, a representative from Universal would state that the record had been pulled from the label's release schedule and would hence not be released on November 25 as originally reported [Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, October 21, 2003]. This would later be confirmed by MTV News [MTV News, October 27, 2003].

In February 2004 the release date had been pushed to March 23 but it would also be reported that the band had not given its consent for the record to be released and might pursue legal action against Geffen Records to block it [Billboard, February 18, 2004; Blabbermouth, February 18, 2004]. MTV News would cite a source claiming it was Axl who had a problem with the release [MTV News, February 19, 2004].



In March 2004 Guns N' Roses, together with Duff and Slash would file a lawsuit against Geffen Records to stop the release of the 'Greatest Hits' record [Press release from Sanctuary Group, March 15, 2004]. According to the suit, the band has not been given the opportunity to approve the choice of songs, the artwork, the release date, or the re-mastering done of the tracks included on the compilation [Press release from Sanctuary Group, March 15, 2004]. According to the press release from Sanctuary Group, Axl was "concerned that not only will their audience be misled into believing that the planned compilation is an authorized release, but that it will hinder the release of the band's long awaited new studio album CHINESE DEMOCRACY" [Press release from Sanctuary Group, March 15, 2004]. According to the press release, fans were also against the release for the aforementioned reasons, and "have flooded the offices of Geffen Records' senior executives with thousands of emails over the last few weeks expressing their dissent" [Press release from Sanctuary Group, March 15, 2004].

The lawsuit was dismissed for various reasons, including but not limited to the plaintiffs being Axl, Slash and Duff as individuals and not the partnership "Guns N' Roses" who held the trademark rights, the plaintiffs being unable to demonstrate irreparable damage from the record being released while UMG had been able to demonstrate significant loss from the release being stopped or delayed, the songs not being remastered as claimed by the plaintiff in the suit, and UMG having the right to release the record according to a license agreement signed between the parties, and that suit was submitted too late [Legal document, March 15, 2004].

Universal Music representative Peter LoFrumento would comment on the decision:



A source "familiar with the situation" would say that the only reason the Greatest Hits record was put out was Axl's failure to deliver Chinese Democracy as promised, and that Geffen had spend $13 million on the record so far [Reuters, March 15, 2004]:



Duff would comment on the court decision:

On August 29, 2003, the baseball player Mike Piazza would guest DJ Eddie Trunk's radio show "Friday Night Rocks ... With Eddie Trunk" at New York classic rock station Q104.3 and convince Trunk to play a track off a CD labeled "New GNR" [MTV News, September 2, 2003]. The song was I.R.S. and the CD allegedly also contained two other unreleased songs in instrumental form and with lyrics [MTV News, September 2, 2003].



Trunk would soon get a call from GN'R management giving him a verbal cease-and-desist order [MTV News, September 2, 2003].

Speculating on why Piazza received a CD with unreleased songs:




In June 2004, Dizzy would be asked if it really was a Guns N' Roses song:



In 2005, media would report that a version of "IRS" was spreading over the Internet [UPI, April 12, 2005]. This is most likely the same version that was played on Mike Piazza's show in 2003.

In September 2005, Dizzy would again be asked about the song:



Being told that rumours say Axl had given Piazza the CD as a birthday gift:



In May 2006, Trunk would host Axl on his show and apologize for airing the song to which Axl responded:



Later during the same show, Mike Piazza would call in and profusely apologize for his role in the leak [Eddie Trunk's Friday Night Rocks, May 5, 2006].

In 2002, Buckethead together with Brain had hooked up with bassist Les Claypool and funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell under the name Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (C2B3). Claypool and Brain had previously played together in the band Primus. Claypool would express dismay over Buckethead and Brain being unable to make music with C2B3 due to the touring schedule of Guns N' Roses:




In June 2003, with the 2002 cancelled and no new tour shaping up, it would be reported that Buckethead would indeed team up with Claypool, Worrell and Brain to record an album with C2B3 [Rolling Stone, June 26, 2003]. The record, The Big Eyeball in the Sky, would not be released until 2004, after Buckethead had left Guns N' Roses.



In early March 2004 it would be speculated that Buckethead had left Guns N' Roses when fans noticed that the Guns N' Roses section had been removed from Buckethead's official website.

On March 17 it was confirmed by MTV News:



This indicates that Buckethead left the band already in the fall of 2003.

Brain would later perhaps shed light on why Buckethead left:




In March 2004, Axl would send out a press release to announce the band would not play on Rock In Rio as planned, and blame Buckethead:



Those "issues" were probably what to do with Buckethead's contributions to songs on Chinese Democracy.

Buckethead would not comment on Axl's press release, but his manager, David Lefkowitz, would:



And Brain would also later comment on the letter and suggest it might not even have been written by Axl:



In June 2004, Dizzy would be asked if Buckethead was really out of the band:



When asked if Buckethead would be replaced:




And on why Buckethead left:



In late 2004, Tommy would be asked if the band was still together despite what had happened in the previous year:



The same year he would also talk more about Buckethead:



In 2008, Axl would talk about Buckethead's departure directly to fans at htgth.com:



Brain would talk about how he felt about Buckethead leaving:



Buckethead himself would not want to discuss his tenure in Guns N' Roses. Being asked how it was to work with Axl:



And whether it was frustrating that "you were a member of Guns 'n' Roses for four years and nothing really ever came of it besides a few concerts:



Looking back at Buckethead having been in the band and discussing his as a player:

Shit, this is going to be a long one... Definitely a work in progress.



Together with Brain, Buckethead would join Bootsy Collins' band, Science Faction:



Buckethead would also continue collaborating with Brain on other projects:




That "disk" would be the record "Best Regards":




The Best Regards discs would contain drawings made by Buckethead, Brain and the keyboardist Melissa Reese [NewGNRoldGNR, July 18, 2010].

In November 2003 Guns N' Roses would announce that they would play at next year's Rock In Rio, Lisbon edition, in May 2004 [Press Release, November 7, 2003; Billboard, November 6, 2003]. But in March 2004, Axl sent out a press release stating the band would not be there, blaming it on Buckethead's departure [see chapter below] [Press release, March 30, 2004]:



Robin would also express sadness over the cancelled appearance:

On February 2, 2004, Geffen released a letter stating "[h]aving exceeded all budgeted and approved recording costs by millions of dollars, it is Mr. Rose’s obligation to fund and complete the album, not Geffen’s" [The New York Times, March 6, 2005].

Brain would later talk about spending money on keeping his on a retainer while the band was dormant for two years 2002-2004:



According to The New York Times, the band now had to move out of the Village and finish recoding elsewhere [The New York Times, March 6, 2005].

One source would later claim Geffen pulled out when they had recovered some of their expenses from the Greatest Hits release and Live Era:

Despite Axl, Slash and Duff's efforts to stop Geffen Records release of the greatest hits album, it was released on March 23, 2004.









When asked if he was disappointed with the track list, Slash would reply:

With Buckethead having left the band they needed a replacement to keep the three guitar approach going.

In April 2004, Ajax Garcia (Ajax Garcia Jesus Mendez Jr.), guitar player in The Napoleon Blownaparts, an LA punk band, claimed to have reached out to Guns N' Roses to offer his services and talked to Tommy [The Napoleon Blownapart's website, April 3, 2004]. Guns N' Roses band management would later deny that the band, including Tommy, had any contact with Garcia [htgth.com, April 16, 2004]. Garcia would in response admit his original announcement had been part of a promotional campaign but insist he had talked to Tommy [The Napoleon Blownapart's website, April 23, 2004].

In October 2011, Dregen, guitarist in Swedish band The Hellacopters, would say he had auditioned for Guns N' Roses immediately after Buckethead left, but that the new Chinese Democracy material had not suited him [Café Magazine, October 24, 2011].

Nuno Bettencourt, from Extreme, would also claim he had been asked to join Guns N' Roses at some point, and according to "JoshRiot" from mygnrforum, he had been asked to replace Buckethead:





In late 2004, Tracii would be asked about the position for the upcoming, expected 2005 touring:



Tracii would likely mention this again:

Despite Geffen haven stopped financing the record in February 2004, the record was allegedly close to being finished:





In June 2004 Tommy would say that he thought the record is almost done and that the only thing holding back the release of the record was legal issues [MTV News, June 9, 2004]. In July, The Guardian would quote Tommy saying that the album is "almost done" and that the delay came down to "legal and other issues" including "ego management" and the "psychological mindgame" of keeping a large band "simmering but pulling in the same direction" [The Guardian, July 15, 2004].



Dizzy would be asked why it has taken so long:



Being asked if there's a timetable for the release?



Being asked if the track list had been decided:



Being asked if the older songs have changed much over time:



And on whether it can live up to the hype:



And if there is a reason to assume a release will be coming:



In June/July 2004, Slash would also discuss the album and claim that he knew that there were only "a couple" of songs with vocals:



This was not true, by 2004 they had multiple songs with vocals, including I.R.S., Atlas Shrugged, There Was A Time, Hard School, Eye On You, This I Love, and Madagascar.

In August and September, Tommy and Dizzy would again talk about how how close it was to be finished:





In late 2004, Tommy would explain the process and why it had taken so long to finish the record:



Tommy would also talk about his own contributions and bass playing on the album:

In April 2003 it would be reported that the two candidates in the lead were Sebastian Back and Stone Temple Pilot's Scott Weiland, and that Weiland was currently in, or about to enter, a 30-day rehab program [MTV News, April 14, 2003; Billboard, April 15, 2003].

In May two songs with Weiland on vocals would be chosen to be used on soundtracks, "Set Me Free" and a cover of Pink Floyd's "Money" [MTV News, May 13, 2003]. Despite this, the band would still not confirm that Weiland was part of the band:




Weiland would, though, in a comment to Rolling Stone when he and Matt attended a Marilyn Manson concert:



Although Matt would not confirm:



And the band would be right to be weary of Weiland's drug abuse because on May 18 he was arrested and charged with heroin and cocaine possession [Rolling Stone, June 3, 2003]. Weiland would later be sentenced to three years probation for this [MTV News, August 18, 2003]. Still, just a few days after his arrest the band would finally confirm that Weiland was indeed the new band's singer [MTV News, June 5, 2003; Rolling Stone, June 5, 2003].




As for Weiland's drug issues:







In October Weiland would be caught while drinking under the influence, a clear violation of his probation, and a judge would send him directly to rehab at Grandview in Pasadena for a six month residential program [MTV news, October 30, 2003].



Weiland would, though, be granted to leave the facility during "phase one" for a supervised four-hour block over a 10-day stretch between November 7 to November 17 to finish recording his vocals for the Velvet Revolver album, due next year [MTV news, October 30, 2003].



Weiland would praise his band mates for supporting him:



On joining the band:




Talking about how Weiland got the job:








The same day as Weiland was officially confirmed to be the band's singer, the band name was revealed to be Velvet Revolver [MTV News, June 5, 2003; Rolling Stone, June 5, 2003].





When confronted with the band name obviously being a play on "Guns N' Roses":






















Dizzy would also imply that Izzy was likely to quit soon:



He would also indicate that the music would be old-fashioned and that they weren't willing to evolve:



Steven would be asked about the band and whether he was bummed to not be part of it:




But in early in 2005, Steven would be less kind:



In another interview Steven apparently said Contraband sucks, because in February 2005 he would be eager to excuse himself:



In 2007, he would again be confronted by allegations that he had said the band sucked:



And in April 2005, he had seen the band live:



Then, in late 2005, Steven would say he was hurt for not being part of it:



Gilby would as always be gracious:




Yet, later in 2006 he would questions Slash's dedication:



When the interviewer pointed out that he sounded conflicted, Gilby responded:





The band planned to release their first concert, from El Rey Theater in Los Angeles in June, as an EP:



The plans of releasing an EP or DVD of the El Rey Theatre concert was later scrapped [MTV News, August 18, 2003].
















The band would sign with RCA [Guitar World, November 2003]. In a press release prior to the record's release, the band members would discuss the music:




And Slash would finally get to tour with a big band again:



Being asked if Axl had heard the album:




Duff would later say he hoped Guns N' Roses fans would be happy with the album:



Looking back at the album:





The tour started in St. Louis in May. Richard attended their May 26 show at New York's Roseland Ballroom [Blabbermouth, May 27, 2004].

At one of the shows the crowd would start a "fuck Axl" chant:



Velvet Revolver would regularly include a few Guns N' Roses songs in their set, and in 2008 Axl would be asked if it bothered him when former members played GN'R songs and give a general reply:



While touring in Europe in 2004, Izzy would join the band for a few weeks and play shows with them:



In around August 2005, Matt broke a finger while water skiing and he was to be replaced by Brian Tiskay for at least seven shows [The Albuquerque Tribune, August 19, 2005].







Already from the beginning there were signs of issues in the band:



In 2005 there were rumours that Weiland would be replaced with Mario Vasquez from American Idol. When confronted with these rumours, Duff recalled his response:



Later in 2005, Slash would make this ominous statement:



Weiland was still fighting with journalists he felt was treating him unfairly, in particular focusing on his addictions and not their music. In relation to an article which might have been interpreted as stating that he had auditioned for the position as singer in Velvet Revolver, and that the band ultimately "settled" on him [The Star-Ledger, May 13, 2005], he posted the following response:





In early 2005, there were reports that the band intended to start working on their second album this year while touring [MTV News February 24, 2005], or after touring [Billboard, March 4, 2005]. To tide fans over while waiting for the next studio recording, the band planned releasing a live album and a DVD [Billboard, March 4, 2005].

Talking about the DVD:



Talking about their second album:









Being asked if the new album is coming out before the end of 2005:





And when they would start recording:



But recording and release dates would be pushed back:



In December 2005, the forthcoming second album was said to be a concept album [MTV News, December 13, 2005] but this idea was later scrapped [Classic Rock, July 2007].

Studio time was now postponed till maybe February-March:



Discussing the next album:



In March 2006, Duff would say they would start recoding on April 10 [Blabbermouth, March 10, 2006; originally from Launch], and again mention the abundance of material they had:



In April, Duff would discuss the ongoing recording:



Some of the producers the wanted were Lenny Kravitz and Pharrell Williams:






In June 2005, Associated Press would announce that the ongoing European tour was cut short resulting in media speculating that the band was breaking up [Associated Press, June 9, 2005]. An official spokesperson would deny these rumours and claim the band cut the tour short to start working on their second album and because of "family obligations" [Associated Press, June 9, 2005]. The spokesperson would also deny that Weiland was back on drugs [Associated Press, June 9, 2005].




Weiland would also respond:



In 2006, rumors would spread that the tour had been cut because Duff needed to go to rehab, Duff would categorically deny these rumours [Blabbermouth, April 5, 2005].