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

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With time on his hands, Dizzy started a sideband called Hookers & Blow together with four other musicians including Alex Grossi [Rock Journal, June 3, 2004].





According to Brain, he was the one who had come up with the band name:



Dizzy would confirm he had been inspired by a friend and would explain how he wanted everything to be "opposite":



Hookers & Blow played their first show at the Cat House in late 2003 [Rock Journal, June 3, 2004]. The name of the band was according to Dizzy "an idea that's been floating around for awhile" and came as a result of him not wanting to name the band after himself [Fitchburg Sentinel, September 19, 2005]. Later on, though, the band name would temporarily be changed to Dizzy Reed's Hollywood Bulldozer [see below].





Being asked if they intend to record an album:




In mid-2004, the lineup would be comprised of Alex Grossi on lead guitar, Curtis Longfellow on bass, Troy Patrick Farrell on drums, and vocal duties split between guitar player Matt Starr and keyboardist Dizzy Reed [Rock Journal, August 2, 2004]. In early 2005, the lineup was "guitarist Scotty Griffin, singer/guitarist Matt Starr, bassist Tsuzumi Okai and drummer Troy Patrick Farrell" [Greenwich Time, February 3, 2005].

For their tour in 2004, the band would be renamed to Dizzy Reed's Hollywood Bulldozer:



The band would announce a new tour for November 2008, covering South America and Mexico, which would include Del James [Blabbermouth, September 4, 2008; Blabbermouth, September 9, 2008].

By 2012, Dizzy had ended Hookers & Blow, and implying it had become "too important for some people":




By mid-2013, the band was ramping up its merch sale and playing a number of shows in the LA area:



After Guns N' Roses went on touring hiatus in June 2014, Dizzy had more time for Hookers & Blow again:



And would organize a 10 year anniversary of the band on September 5 in Los Angeles and September 6 in Las Vegas [Billboard Magazine, July 9, 2014]:




And they would then join the Rock and Comedy tour:









Talking about touring with the Hookers & Blow bus:



Hookers & Blow would be the opener for the Dead Daisies' August-September 2018 tour [Press Release/antiMusic, May 8, 2018].



Despite the initial plan that Hookers & Blow would do everything opposite to normal bands and not release an album, by May 2019 they had signed with Golden Robot and was working on an album of covers [Rock Talk with Mitch Lafon, May 9, 2019]:




As for what bands the band had covered, Dizzy would not say:



In September, Dizzy would refer to the album as "surprisingly satisfying":

In 2014, being asked if he considered retiring:




He would also discuss his unconditional loyalty to Axl:



As for whether he ever feared getting fired:



In 2019, he would talk about the long tenure and comment specifically on the last years:

On April 29, 2004, Slash and Duff filed a lawsuit against Axl to try to stop him from "whimsically refus[ing] to license Guns N' Roses music and recordings". [Slash & Duff Vs. Axl lawsuit document, April 29, 2004]. Their argument was that Axl had left the legal partnership that had been established to govern and protect the assets of Guns N' Roses, and although that allowed his rights to the name "Guns N' Roses" it allowed him no right to veto any commercial use of the music [Slash & Duff Vs. Axl lawsuit document, April 29, 2004]. To substantiate their claim that Axl had left the partnership, the suit pointed to the letter sent by Axl in August 1995 where he stated he intended to leave the partnership by December that year [see previous chapter about the 1992 partnership agreement and see previous chapter on Axl's letter about an intended resignation]. In their argument, this made Slash and Duff the sole "Remaining Members" while Axl became a "Terminated Partner" [see previous chapter about the 1992 partnership agreement and its clauses] with no rights to participate in or make decisions regarding partnership business matters [Slash & Duff Vs. Axl lawsuit document, April 29, 2004].



More specifically, the lawsuit would list what Axl had done despite having left the partnership:



According to the lawsuit, Axl had vetoed licensing Guns N' Roses songs to half a dozen movies, including "Just Married," "We Were Soldiers," "Death to Smoochie" and "Old School" [Slash & Duff Vs. Axl lawsuit document, April 29, 2004]. Axl had also, according to the lawsuit, refused to license the original version of 'Welcome to the Jungle' to the movie "Black Hawk Down", instead wanted to license a rerecording of the song so as to not have to pay licensing fees to Slash and Duff [Slash & Duff Vs. Axl lawsuit document, April 29, 2004].

According to the lawsuit, Axl had vetoed licensing Guns N' Roses songs to half a dozen movies, including "Just Married," "We Were Soldiers," "Death to Smoochie" and "Old School" [Slash & Duff Vs. Axl lawsuit document, April 29, 2004]. Axl had also, according to the lawsuit, refused to license the original version of 'Welcome to the Jungle' to the movie "Black Hawk Down", instead wanted to license a rerecording of the song so as to not have to pay licensing fees to Slash and Duff [Slash & Duff Vs. Axl lawsuit document, April 29, 2004].

Slash and Duff sought a judicial declaration that Axl had no partnership rights:



When Duff and Slash guested the Howard Stern Show in May 2004, they were asked by a caller why they were suing Axl:







On May 26, Axl countersued Duff and Slash [Axl's counter-lawsuit document, May 26, 2004]. In the introduction, Axl would paint Duff and Slash as money hungry with no regard for the legacy of the band:



Axl would also attack Slash and claim that he had been the one who had been responsible for the end of the UYI lineup:



Axl would further go on to argue that he had the legal right to veto the commercial use of GN'R music since Slash and Duff had recognized this right over the years; that Duff's lawyer in June 1999 had acknowledged that any commercial use had to be agreed upon by all three, thus confirming that the partnership was intact; and that their "new position is directly contrary to the position they have taken thousands of times before" [Axl's counter-lawsuit document, May 26, 2004]. He would refer to the letter he sent in August 1995 where he expressed an interest in leaving the partnership as the "so-called departure", thus denying that he left the partnership [Axl's counter-lawsuit document, May 26, 2004]. Still being part of the partnership, Axl would claim that Slash and Duff had breached the provisions of said agreement by "among other things, attempting to approve licenses for Guns N’ Roses music over the express objection of Rose" and as such, that Axl "has been damaged in the sum of at least $250,000, the exact amount to be proved at trial" [Axl's counter-lawsuit document, May 26, 2004].







Finally, Axl requested a declaration of his rights and obligations form the court [Axl's counter-lawsuit document, May 26, 2004].



In March 2005, it would be reported that the case which was originally intended to be finalized in May 2005, was delayed to November 2005 [Sp1at, March 2, 2005]. While this was pending, Slash and Duff sued Axl again, now for missing royalties, on August 17, 2005 [see later chapter about this lawsuit]. In February 2006, it was reported that the case was delayed from March to May, with the trial set to start on May 16, 2006 [HTGTH, February 10, 2006; via Blabbermouth]. The lawsuit was then "dismissed without prejudice" on May 22, 2006, before it was to go to court.

With the lawsuits having been dismissed we have no legal conclusion on the parties' claims and positions, but Guns N' Roses assets seem to have been governed the same way going forward, with continued conservative and restrictive commercial use, which implies that Slash and Duff saw less interest in pursuing this legally or settled with Axl.

In early 2004 it would be announced that Cleopatra Records would release the album "The Roots of Guns N' Roses" in June 2004 containing old demos from Hollywood Rose, including some tracks remixed by Gilby and Fred Coury [Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, March 11, 2004]. Cleopatra had bought five old Hollywood Rose songs from Chris Weber and the record contained the original version of these songs as well as new mixes done by Gilby and Fred Coury.

Chris Weber would explain what happened:



And whose idea it was to use Gilby and Coury for remixing:



And Gilby would explain how he got involved:



Describing the music:



Cleopatra had also obtained "mechanical licenses" for three songs that had not been co-written by Weber which would result in sales royalties to Guns N' Roses [Court documents, July 2, 2004].



Being asked if Weber had more unreleased material:



Just a few days after release announcement, Cleopatra Records would state that the record was on hold and may not come out until November [Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, March 13, 2004]. But then on June 22, 2004, Cleopatra would indeed release the record.

Johnny Kreis, drummer in Hollywood Rose, would comment on the mixes:




On April 29, Axl sent a "cease-and-desist" letter to Cleopatra demanding they would halt the release and on May 11 the "mechanical licenses" would be withdrawn [Court documents, July 2, 2004]. On May 14 a letter from Guns N' Roses would clarify that the "mechanical licenses" were rescinded because the album was now titled "The Roots of Guns N' Roses" and not "The Roots of Hollywood Rose" [Court documents, July 2, 2004]. Cleopatra would argue that the title of the album did not infringe on the Guns N’ Roses trademark and that the pictures used did not infringe on Axl's right to publicity [Court documents, July 2, 2004]. On June 8, Guns N' Roses responded by claiming for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, right of publicity, and unfair business practices and they also filed the pending motion seeking a preliminary injunction [Court documents, July 2, 2004]. On June 21, Guns N' Roses filed an emergency motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the planned June 22 release of the album [Court documents, July 2, 2004]. The injunction was denied on July 2 [Court documents, July 2, 2004; AP/Indiana Gazette, July 9, 2004]. On May 23, 2005, the court ruled that Axl, Slash, Duff and Guns N' Roses Music (the defendants in the suit), would pay Cleopatra's legal fees of $24,175.38 [Blabbermouth, May 25, 2005; Court documents, May 24, 2005].

Johnny Kreis was also not happy about the release:



The album was released on June 22, 2004:

In June 2004, Tommy would say that Axl had now taken over as producer of the record [MTV News, June 9, 2004].

Tommy would later compliment Axl's work on Chinese Democracy:

Axl, Duff, and Slash's 2003 lawsuit against Geffen to stop the Greatest Hits; Duff and Slash's 2004 lawsuit against Axl; and Duff and Slash's 2006 lawsuit against Axl over royalties; are discussed in other chapters. This chapter deals with additional lawsuits beyond those.

The amount of lawsuits and litigation caused a substantial amount of articles in the media and the impression that Axl himself was quick to file suits. In late 2011, Axl would claim it was a misconception that he sues everybody:





In early 2006, Axl would sue Beverly Hills Classic Cars, claiming that the company owed him money [Associated Press, January 13, 2006]. Axl's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, would make a statement:





Also in 2006, on September 11, Axl was sued by a Los Angeles art dealer, Acquire d'Arte gallery, who said they had negotiated with a New York art gallery and was able to lower the price of an artwork from $2.65 million to $2.36 million for Axl [New York Daily News, September 20, 2006; Associated Press, September 21, 2006]. The artwork was an Andy Warhol portrait of John Lennon [New York Daily News, September 20, 2006; Associated Press, September 21, 2006]. According to the suit, after agreeing to buy the portrait, Axl paid only $1.21 million [Associated Press, September 21, 2006]. Acquire d'Arte was seeking $1.15 million in damages [Associated Press, September 21, 2006]. Also according to the suit, Axl's "manager and attorney" told the broker that Axl would not pay the remaining balance because he didn't have enough money and "the painting was not worth the price he had agreed to pay" [Associated Press, September 21, 2006].

According to Axl's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, some of the deal's terms and conditions may have been misrepresented to Axl and followed up with:





On August 21, 2007, security guard Gary Armijo sued Axl for allegedly having kicked him in the head at the December 20, 2006, show at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, USA [TMZ, September 13, 2007]. According to the suit, Axl had unprovoked kicked Armijo in the head causing "severe physical injuries" [Lawsuit, August 21, 2007].

Howard Weitzman, Axl's lawyer, commented on the suit:



This lawsuit was dismissed in April 2009.



In October 2010, Axl again found himself in car trouble when Bentley Financial Services sued him for allegedly returning a damaged 2006 Bentley Flying Spur lease car and didn't pay his bills [TMZ, October 21, 2010]. Axl was sued for $73,976.42 in payments [TMZ, October 21, 2010]. The case was settled in September 2011 with Axl having to pay $53,000 to cover the damage to the car [TMZ, September 26, 2011; Blabbermouth, September 26, 2011].



In January 2012, Axl served jury duty:

In September 2004, guitarist Bumblefoot posted the following on his webpage:



In a later interview he would specify that the contact happened in July:



Bumblefoot would say that he was contacted by both Satriani and Chris Pitman at the same time, and that they were unrelated:







Not long after he had posted the update to his webpage, Bumblefoot deleted the update and a press release was sent out from Sanctuary Group:



Bumblefoot would later refer to this:




Of course, judging by his own quote in Blabbermouth from September 30, 2004, where he pretty much confirmed he was joining the band, it wasn't just "Internet rumours".

While touring in Sweden in October, Tommy would be asked about the Bumblefoot rumours:



In mid-2005, Richard would say there were only two guitarists in the band, Robin and himself:



Later, Bumblefoot would discuss what had happened and explain how he had argued with Merck Mercuriadis:




More on Bumblefoot's relationship with Merck and how he eventually joined the band in a later chapter.

The contact between Guns N' Roses and Bumblefoot in 2004 did not result in any auditions, only discussions [Whiplash (Brazil), February 24, 2010].

Summarizing the talks in 2010:



Bumblefoot would also say he "kind of turned them down":

In early 2003 Steven would announce he was putting together a new band:



A little bit later the name was reported to be Suki Jones and contain the following members: RATT/ex-LOVE/HATE singer Jizzy Pearl, ex-SLASH'S SNAKEPIT guitarist Keri Kelli, FASTER PUSSYCAT guitarist Brent Muscat, and ex-VINCE NEIL/BLACK N' BLUE/RATT bassist Robbie Crane [Blabbermouth, March 1, 2003].



The tour was scheduled to start on March 21, 2003, in Kingman, Arizona [Blabbermouth, March 1, 2003].

In June 2003, the name would be changed to Adler's Appetite because Steven wanted people to know he was in the band [Steven Adler's official website, June 4, 2003].



When asked if someone had tried to stop him from using 'Adler's Appetite' as the band's name:



Steven intended to record an album of original material with his band:



In March 2004 it was reported that the band was working on writing songs for a record:



Talking about the record-in-making and the band:








In February 2005, the band would release a self-titled EP:





Steven would also say a few words on getting revenge on his former band mates through his coming success, and how much he disliked Velvet Revolver:



In February 2005, Steven would be touring with Adler's Appetite in Sweden but according to MetalShrine " the Swedish gigs have not been a major audience success" [MetalShrine, February 17, 2005].




When Gilby was touring Greece with MC5 in 2005, he would be ask about the Adler's Appetite shows:





In early 2005, Hanoi Rock would kick Adler's Appetite off a planned tour after Steven having accused Hanoi Rock's guitarist's (Andy McCoy) wife, Angela McCoy, of having caused Erin Every to overdose in 1990. Apparently, Angela did not appreciate Steven's comments and asked Hanoi Rocks to terminate any involvement with Steven's band [Rock Confidential, February 8, 2005]. See later chapter for more details on the overdose incident.





While touring Argentina in November/December 2005, Steven would be asked about his new lineup and Steven would then refer to former band member, Jizzy Pearl, as a jackass who could kiss his ass:



Steven would also refer to the new lineup as "more professional" [Blabbermouth, December 26, 2005; originally in Jedbanger].

These comments from Steven released heated -- yet entertaining -- discussions on various internet forums where his previous band mates would be involved and where they would question Steven's own professionality and his sobriety [reprinted in Blabbermouth and Metal Sludge, on various dates in December 2005].

The new lineup of Adler's Appetite would in December be confirmed to be "lead singer Sheldon Tarsha [replacing Jizzy Pearl], bassist Chip Z'Nuff (Enuff Z'Nuff), and guitarists Michael Thomas (Beautiful Creatures) and JT Longoria (Izzy Stradlin)" [Blabbermouth, December 21, 2005].



But this new lineup would break down immediately [Metal Sludge, January 25, 2006]. In the words of Michael Thomas:



Sheldon Tarsha would also discuss what happened:



Tarsha would definitely take the high road:




Tarsha would also muse about the state of Steven:







An Italian Guns N' Roses tribute band would replace Adler's Appetite for the remaining shows of the tour [Metal Sludge, January 25, 2006]. For the UK leg of the tour, Steven would play with the UK GN'R tribute band "Guns 2 Roses" [HTGTH, January 28, 2005].

Robbie Crane, a member of the previous lineup of Adler's Appetite, would release the following statement:



Crane would also discuss Steven's financial situation:



Steven would look back at the tour and his relationship with ex-members of the band:



During the tour Adam Bomb would be on the same bill as "Adler's Appetite" and Bomb would also manage Steven:





Steven would claim Bomb had stolen stuff from him:



Steven would later talk about Metal Sludge:



And offer apologies to Sheldon and the previous band members:



And when the interviewer suggested this new sad chapter in Steven's career couldn't be good for his image:



And when the interviewer pointed out the band he used in the UK dressed as Guns N' Roses:



A couple of months later, Adam Bomb would talk about touring with Steven:




In reality, Steven managed to get four shows done in Spain before the tour ended on February 21.

Bomb would also claim there was a conflict between Steven and his family:



Also in 2006, Gilby would invite Steven to come to Argentina to play with his band:



Likely as a result of the chaotic tour in 2006 and Steven's overdose, an intervention would be held in 2006 to try to get Steven off drugs [Rolling Stone, August 9, 2007].



In 2007, Steven would be touring with Adler's Appetite again with a new lineup, without Sheldon Tarsha:



Tarsha, on the other hand, would suggest money was the reason he didn't rejoin Adler's Appetite:



Steven had also got Michael Thomas back in the band:



As usual, Steven was exuberant about the future touring:




But then in late 2007, Steven had to cancel the European tour because of "personal problems":



According to Blabbermouth, the band had to cancel a show in Mexico City on September 19, 2007, after Steven had collapsed on stage [Blabbermouth, November 24, 2007].



After his extensive drug issues in 2008, Steven planned to tour the USA with Adler's Appetite in early 2009, playing Appetite for Destruction in its entirety [Blabbermouth, February 24, 2009].



Discussing the lineup:







While touring, Steven would be asked if they planned to release a full-length album of original material and reiterate this was the plan:



And state that Slash would produce it:



Steven would also talk about wanting to have plenty of guest appearances on the album and that he was considering changing the name of the band to "Adler's G.N.R":



In April 2009 it was reported that singer Sheldon Tarsha had quit the band [Blabbermouth, April 13, 2009]. Tarsha would be replaced by Rick Stitch from Ladyjack just before the 2009 tour [Blabbermouth, April 16, 2009].

After the tour in 2009, Steven would excitedly post about it on his MySpace page:



In early 2010, Steven would talk about a European tour to start in March [Metalkrant, January 16, 2010].

Talking about the new lineup:




A show in Iowa on September 5 was cancelled when "an over-excited fan jumped on [Steven following] the show [on September 3] and caused [him] to throw out [his] back", according to Steven's twitter [Blabbermouth, September 6, 2010].



And the album-in-making:




During the European tour in 2011, on February 28, Duff would join the band onstage in London for the songs My Michelle and It's So Easy [Blabbermouth, February 28, 2011].





After the European tour, the band would tour the US in May-July [Big Wheel Magazine, May 2, 2011].

Being asked why he still played Guns N' Roses songs on tour:





In early 2011 there were lineup problems in the band, again, with the singer, Rick Stitch, departing one the eve of the band recording their album to concentrate on his Los Angeles-based original project Ladyjack:



Before this, Alex Grossi, the band's guitarist had been replaced with Robo for the recent European tour [Metal Sludge, March 28, 2011]. Grossi had wanted to focus on his other band, Quiet Riot [Metal Sludge, March 28, 2011]. Robo also played in Ladyjack with Stitch and, as stated in the quote above, Steven intended to also replace Robo before the next tour [Metal Sludge, March 28, 2011]. So by late March 2011, Adler's Appetite was looking for both a new singer and a new guitarist.



In early May, the new lineup was settled:



Talking about the new lineup:




But in September, Chip Z'Nuff departed the band after Steven decided to form a new band:



According to Steven, Adler's Appetite would still exist [Blabbermouth, September 29, 2011] so Steven planned to have two ongoing bands at the same time.

In August, Tommy checked in with (presumably) management to hear the record and give his two cents:

Axl would typically praise his new band mates in interviews, occasionally contrasting them with members from previous lineups:








Jokingly:



But Axl would also say he was missing the support and camaraderie he had with Slash and Izzy in the time before the release of Appetite and that he didn't have that same kind of relationship with his new band mates:

Brain had recorded with Tom Waits previously before joining Guns N' Roses [see earlier chapter] and when Real Gone was released in October 2004, Brain would tour with Waits in Europe.

Brain would explain that this was at a time when Axl "didn't do anything for two years":




And that this happened after the riot in Philadelphia in December 2002:



Talking about bringing a large wheel on the tour:




Brain would also contrast playing with Waits and playing with Guns N' Roses:

And discussing how media treats him:




Dizzy would argue that the impression people get from Axl through media is heavily distorted, and when asked by a fan why Axl is the way he is, Dizzy would reply:













And commenting upon all the stories about him:






And on whether that is said about him isn't true:



Being asked if Axl is as moody as believed:



And in 2011:





2013:































Adding to Richard saying that former band members take advantage from the fact that Axl doesn't defend himself publicly: