29. FEBRUARY 2009-APRIL 2010: DJ JOINS THE BAND; TOURING CHINESE DEMOCRACY

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:37 pm

CHAPTER INDEX

- BAND MEMBERS ARE KEPT IN THE DARK
- FEBRUARY-MARCH 2009: AUDITIONING NEW GUITAR PLAYERS
- MARCH 21, 2009: DJ ASHBA JOINS GUNS N' ROSES
- DJ BEFORE GUNS N' ROSES
- APRIL 14, 2009: A ROCK BAND CHINESE DEMOCRACY RELEASE
- APRIL-JUNE 2009: PREPARING FOR THE CHINESE DEMOCRACY WORLD TOUR
- JUNE-SEPTEMBER 2009: BUMBLEFOOT TOURS WITH LITA FORD
- AUGUST-NOVEMBER 2009: TOUR RUMOURS AND CONFIRMATION
- MISSED TOURING IN THE SUMMER AND FALL OF 2009; THE VAN HALEN TOUR
- OCTOBER 2009: GUNS N' ROSES IS SUED FOR PLAGIARIZING
- OPENERS FOR THE 2010 CHINESE DEMOCRACY WORLD TOUR
- NOVEMBER 18, 2009: DIZZY RELEASES 'AMAZING GRACE: THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS PIANO MUSIC'
- DECEMBER 9, 2009: AXL FIGHTS A PAPARAZZI AT LAX
- DECEMBER 11-19, 2009: THE CHINESE DEMOCRACY WORLD TOUR STARTS - SHOWS IN TAIWAN, SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN
- SONG: SCRAPED
- SONG: PROSTITUTE
- SONG: CATCHER IN THE RYE
- SONG: SORRY
- SONG: THIS I LOVE
- DECEMBER 2009: FRONT LINE MANAGEMENT IS OUT
- JANUARY 13, 2010: THE NORTH AMERICAN TOURS STARTS IN WINNIPEG, CANADA
- JANUARY 13, 2010: AXL REACTS TO REUNION RUMOURS
- JANUARY 16-20, 2010: THE CANADIAN LEG OF THE TOUR CONTINUES
- SLASH APPAREL BEING BANNED AT GUNS N' ROSES SHOWS?
- JANUARY 24, 2010: COPPS COLISEUM IN HAMILTON; DJ GETS THROWN OUT OF HOTEL
- JANUARY 25-FEBRUARY 4, 2010: THE CANADIAN LEG OF THE TOUR FINISHES
- 2009-: WORK ON NEW MUSIC?
- FEBRUARY 11, 2010: THE BAND PLAYS A SECRET SHOW AT THE JOHN VARVATOS STORE IN NYC
- FEBRUARY 14, 2010: THE BAND PLAYS A SECRET SHOW AT THE ROSE BAR IN NYC
- 'CRUCIFY THE DEAD' - ABOUT AXL?
- FEBRUARY 2010: DOC MCGEE BECOMES THE BAND'S NEW MANAGER
- MARCH 7 AND 10, 2010: THE LATIN AMERICAN TOUR STARTS
- MARCH 9, 2010: DALE "RAGE" RESTEGHNINI IS HIRED TO PHOTOGRAPH THE TOUR
- THE SOLO SPOTS
- MARCH 12, 2010: ANGRY FANS IN BRAZIL RIOT WHEN SECRET SHOW DOESN'T HAPPEN
- MARCH 13-22, 2010: THE LATIN AMERICAN TOUR CONTINUES
- ADDITIONAL MUSIC VIDEOS FROM CHINESE DEMOCRACY?
- MARCH 24, 2010: AZOFF SUES AXL
- MARCH 25-APRIL 15, 2010: THE LATIN AMERICAN TOUR CONCLUDES
- LOOKING BACK AT THE LATIN AMERICAN TOUR OF 2010
- NEW BAND MEMBERS TALKING AND INTERACTING WITH OLD BAND MEMBERS

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:40 pm

BAND MEMBERS ARE KEPT IN THE DARK

Being asked to comment on the fact that band members seem to be updated on a need-to-know basis:

I could inquire and probably find out a lot more, but I’m kinda happy doing things this way. It’s the whole “ignorance is bliss” concept. I don’t want to know things until I have to know them. In fact, my brain is so overloaded with everything right now that I want to know less. That way I can focus on just making music, and nothing else. I’d rather just wait until I’m right up to that bridge, and then I’ll cross it.

Guitar World, February 2009

I can't say what the future holds, like what I was saying before - some things are unfinished bizz, other things I don't know the most-current status of, and I'm content often with *not* knowing - I don't want to micro-manage GNR, I want to write, record, perform, connect... that should be my place.

gnrevolution.com, August 25, 2009

I don’t try to know anything. My philosophy as time goes on is swinging more towards 'ignorance is bliss.' The less I know the happier I am. I don’t want to know a damn thing except tell me when to get on stage and play.

Backstage Access, November 26, 2009

[Being asked what the band will do after the ongoing tour]: What is next? You have no idea, you never know what is next with this thing, anything can happen.

Televen, March 30, 2010

In early 2011, Bumblefoot would discuss not being able to make any longer plans for his solo activities:

Things come together so quickly with Guns N’ Roses that I just get a week’s notice.

[...] so with Guns what’ll happen is I’ll get a week’s notice. They’ll say, “All right. It’s happening. We’re FedExing your tickets.” The thing is, for the rest of the world, if you want to plan something, it’s months in advance.

What would happen is I would plan a tour for five months from now and by that point GNR would say, “All right. It’s time for us to do something,” and I would have to cancel. It just becomes impossible to make plans. All I can do is make very short-term plans that don’t require too much commitment and if I have to break them, it’s not gonna hurt a lot of people.

I’ve shied away from playing live and doing shows because of that, because if I have to cancel a show, it could disappoint hopefully only a few hundred people, okay maybe 100 [Both laughing]. If it’s just a meet-and-greet or something like that, it could be the same, but it’s not like they spent a lot of money and made a lot of plans.

It’s just not as big a thing to cancel. So, I’ve been doing more meet-and-greets and not doing any performances other than quick jams. Like I played in Sydney, Australia and jammed with Fozzy. I was supposed to do that tonight at Whiskey. We were gonna jam again, but I’m here.

Guitar International, January 20, 2011

You know I really can’t say because there’s nothing to tell. It’s frustrating for me because there is nothing to tell about the future of G’N’R because it changes minute to minute. [...] I mean shit! We are supposed to tour the US in February and it’s the end of January and no one has even like…. yeah. You can’t make plans. You cannot make any plans when dealing with Guns N’ Roses. Things are just going to happen and they are not going to happen when you think that they are going to happen. That’s just how it is and it can’t be controlled, it can’t be changed. This is just how it is in G’N’R world. And you just roll with it and say “alright”. We were going to tour and then now we are not. It will happen when it is going to happen, and it does. It’s not the kind of thing where… Like if you ask me about my stuff, I can tell you all kinds of plans for the future and what’s going to happen. If you ask about G’N’R, it’s all a big question mark and it really is. It’s not like anything is being hidden, it’s just that nothing can be predicted (big laugh). It’s a weird fucking thing man! (big laugh again)

Radio Metal, March 1, 2011

Tommy would also talk about having to cancel solo shows because of late conflicts with Guns N' Roses touring:

Guns tends to book a lot of things fairly last minute. I’ll have solo stuff booked and I’ll have to cancel it.

The Mercury, February 23, 2012

Being asked if there is any rhyme or reason to the band's touring schedule:

I have no f*cking idea, man. They just tell me where and when, and I suit up and go. And I’d rather not even know. The less I know the better. Ignorance is bliss. Just get me on the stage and don’t let me sing.

Hard Rock Music Examiner, November 15, 2011

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:49 pm

FEBRUARY-MARCH 2009

AUDITIONING NEW GUITAR PLAYERS

With the tour being planned and it becoming clear Robin would not participate, the band auditioned new guitar players to replace him.

On February 13, 18-year old guitarist Nick Sterling would audition [GN'R Daily, February 14, 2009]. Around the same time, Ryan Roxie and Michael Lee Firkins would also get a chance to audition for the band [Metal Sludge (via GN'R Daily), March 8, 2009]. Roxie had played with Alice Cooper and Gilby previously and had also been Slash's choice to replace Gilby in 1996 (and would eventually join Slash's Snakepit).

Firkins' audition would later be confirmed by another guitarist Jason Becker, who shared a story about it:

Michael Lee Firkins told me he auditioned for GNR. Axl was sitting in the dark. He told Firkins that he used the whammy bar too much. HA HA! That made me lose a lot of respect for Axl. He obviously has no ear for brilliant and unique guitar playing. I think he blew it by not hiring Firkins.

Metal Sludge, March 3, 2009

Another guitarist that was rumoured to have auditioned, was Dj Ashba from SIXX AM [Metal Sludge, March 17, 2009].

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:50 pm

MARCH 21, 2009

DJ ASHBA JOINS GUNS N' ROSES

Being asked who would replace Robin:

Good question…!

chinesedemocracy.com, December 14, 2008

On March 21, 2009, Guns N' Roses would post a press statement on their site saying Robin had been replaced by DJ Ashba [gunsnroses.com, March 21, 2009]. In the press statement, both Axl and DJ would comment on the new addition to the band:

Dj's a gifted, energetic guitarist that Guns N' Roses is proud to have on board!! We're very excited to have the opportunity to work together. Guns' radar has silently been aware of Dj's presence for quite some time. He brings a fresh approach to our particular brand of mayhem expanding the tapestry of Guns N' Roses live. Once Dj's name was in the hat, the hat disappeared!

gunsnroses.com, March 21, 2009

It's an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of a band that I have always loved and respected. I'm looking forward to working with Axl, who is not only one of the few great front men of our generation, but a true artist.

gunsnroses.com, March 21, 2009

Dj Ashba

Not long after Chris would comment on the DJ joining:

[...] GNR has just added DJ Ashba as a guitarist, and he's great to have around, and I think the fans will really dig our new vibe!

htgth.com, March 28, 2009

And after the rehearsals later in the year, Bumblefoot would chime in:

[The rehearsals] went great! He is a damn good guy to be in a band with. He gives a lot of himself and adds a lot of himself to every aspect of it. He gets involved artistically. He’s a damn good guy. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and playing with him. And working through the insanity of getting the stuff down with him. Now, I’m just really looking forward to getting on stage with him.

Backstage Access, November 26, 2009

DJ's a very cool guy, with so many talents, he's more than a guitar player, and I look forward to gettin' in the trenches with him.

chinesedemocracyforum.com, October 2009

In 2010 and 2011, DJ would again talk about having joined the band:

[...] it's a dream come true. I come from a little town in Indiana called Monticello and - not far from our Axl's from actually. It's weird you know, I grew up watching Guns N' Roses and learning all their songs and, you know, if you would have told me back then that I was going to be the guitar player in Guns N' Roses [?] But, you know, everything happens for a reason and I'm thankful, I couldn't be in a better situation. Axl is, you know, one of my best friends, just one of greatest guys out there.

Dj Ashba video blog, March 16, 2010

Guns have been a big influence on my life. It’s easy for me to fall into that because it’s part of my style too so it’s very natural for me to play similar to the stuff Slash plays. He has a very blues-based thing and I grew up heavily on that. It isn’t like I’m playing some foreign style that I’m not used to.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

I had just gotten off tour with Sixx A.M. and we had a number one hit song at the time. I got a phone call saying, "We've been looking for a guitarist for about a year and a half and we're trying to find the right guy. Would you be interested?" I said, "Yeah, absolutely." Axl caught wind that I was going to come down and he said I should get the gig. That's kind of how it all went down.

Cribnotes, October 31, 2011

I had just gotten off a tour with SIXX:AM and I got a call from management, from Guns' management, and they said they'd been looking for a new guitar player on the down low for about a year and a half and had gone through numerous guitar players and just wasn't finding what they were, what Axl was looking for, and they asked if I'd come down or wanted to come down. I said, "Yeah, I'd love to check it out," didn't really think a whole lot about it, never dreamt I was going to, you know, take the gig or get the gig. And evidently when Axl caught wind that I was coming down he called management and said, "If he even shows up he has the gig," so it was kind of that kind of went down like that and it's just, you know, certain things are meant to be and it just kind of happened so organically, you know.

In The Now Magazine, May 21, 2013

Well, I mean, I didn't understand really what I was getting into, you know, I was of course a fan, you know, when I was a kid and as everybody was, but I just got off tour with SIXX:AM, I got a phone call from management and they said, "Hey, you know Axl's been looking for the right guy to come in and play guitar and they've auditioned hundreds of people, I mean, for like a year and a half on the download, they've been looking for that guy," and I got a call and said, "Hey, you want to come down?" and I said, "Yeah, you know, I'll check it out," and didn't really think a whole lot of it to be honest, I just thought it'd be cool to go down. And then Axl caught wind that I was coming down he called management said, "If he even shows up he has the gig". So it was really kind of bizarre but cool cuz I didn't know he knew anything about me and evidently, you know, he had been following my career for 10 years he said, you know, and knew quite a bit about me. But he knows quite a bit about everybody out there, he's really up on it.

The Scotty Mars Show, July 19, 2013

And how Neil Diamond had advised him to take the job:

I've been a big fan of Neil for forever. But it was cool because we have the same manager. What was cool about it was that I got the opportunity to work with him, and I produced and wrote some stuff for him on his Christmas record, and we just became really good friends. He would send me birthday cards -- like, he'd go out and pick a birthday gift and hand write the cards and send them to my house. He was just a really big believer in me and always has been since.

I was in New York on tour, and he called me up... well back up the story a bit. When I got the call to join Guns, I got a phone call from Neil. It was kind of a big career move, and he encouraged me and said, "You have to do this. This is going to be really big for your career, and it's going to open up a lot of doors. I personally think they couldn't have picked a better guy for this." So he gave me really good words of encouragement, kind of like my dad, you know? When I joined, he sent me over a ukulele signed to congratulate me.

Denver Westworld, December 9, 2011

And in March 2011 he would talk about not knowing what to expect, particularly from Axl:

I didn't know what to expect, really. [...] All I heard was different things from different people, and I met him like 10 years ago when Sharon Osbourne introduced me to him. They were in doing 'Chinese [Democracy]' and I was doing the Beautiful Creatures album right next door. He was the nicest guy. [But] you hear all the rumors, you see what you see.

Spinner, March 14, 2011

And Bumblefoot would talk about how he was fitting in:

We spent a lot of time, working out our parts and our sound and our gear to make sure that everything sounded as good as they can together. I think it's fantastic. I think the fans are really happy. We put on a great shows. He's doing great.

Teraz Rock, August 2010

Bumblefoot, who had had a rough start in Guns N' Roses when he joined in 2006, would also later mention how he had made sure DJ received a better welcome:

[...] I made sure that when DJ (Ashba) joined the band, I had a chat with our band. I said, “Look. No one is ever going to be treated like that. It doesn’t matter who joins this band next, we’re going to treat them like family from day one, and that’s never going to happen again,” and it didn’t.

Metal Mayhem Magazine, November 2012

In May 2011, DJ would mention that the band had considered "hundreds of guitarists" over a period of 1.5 years:

(Guns N' Roses) auditioned for a year and a half on the down-low. They saw hundreds of guitarists. It was like going up for a movie role. You have to have the right look, right attitude, right this, right that. I had no idea I was on Axl's radar. He told me, 'I've been following your career for 10 years'. He knew everything about me. If you stay true, others will see that.

Herald Sun, May 16, 2011

In November 2011, he would mention that he had met Axl in 2001 and that Axl had been following him with interest since then:

I've been in the band for going on almost four years now. I got a call. I had just gotten home off tour with Sixx A.M. I got a call from management. We had the same manager for a time. "On the down low, would you be interested in auditioning?" At the time, Guns had been auditioning guitarists for a year on the down low.

Axl caught wind that I was coming down and apparently he said, "If DJ shows up, he has the gig." It was pretty much that simple.

I had no idea from Axl that I was even on his radar. He had been following me for 10 years, I guess. I met him 10 years ago and he kept his eye on me.

Omaha World Herald, November 3, 2011

And then many years went by and then I got a phone call out of the blue by... let's see who called me, Katie McNeil [=from Irving Azoff's management firm] gave me a phone call and she had been managing me personally for many, many years and now she does Neil Diamond and a bunch of different people, but for a moment they were managing Guns and she called me up and she goes, "Hey, you know on the down low, you know, Guns have been auditioning guitar players for about a year and a half now, they're trying to find the right guy and they've gone through hundreds of people and, you know, is this something you'd be interested in going down and checking out?" I was like, you know... and I just got off the road with Sixx:AM and we had a, you know, smash... well, you know, Life Is Beautiful was on the top of the charts and, you know, I said, "Yeah," you know, I knew, you know, I'd have a lot of down time because Nikki goes out and does the Motley Crue thing, which is amazing, and James produces records, so I'm like, "Yeah," you know, "I'll check it out," you know, it's something to keep me busy. And so I guess management called Axl and said, "Hey, you know, DJ Ashba wants to come down and blah blah blah," and, you know, I got a call back and, you know, he said, "If he even shows up to the studio, he has the gig," so-

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

But surprisingly, you know, when I did finally sit down with Axl, like, you know, he really knows, you know, what's going on in the music industry, like, he knew my whole entire, you know, career. He knew more about me than I ever thought, you know, so it kind of blew my mind the knowledge he does have on the music scene and what's really going on and it's pretty cool.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

It was pretty natural. I didn’t really think a whole lot of it. I just got the phone call, and they asked if I’d like to come down, and they said they’d be auditioning people for about a year and a half on the down low and were having a hard time finding the right person. I didn’t give it much thought, because I honestly didn’t think I was going to even going to get the gig, so that kind of took the pressure off! [Laughs]

So, I walked down just to jam, and I thought, “Oh, this will be fun. I’ll go down and jam and hang out and meet everybody, and that will be that, and I’ll go on my merry way.” I never really dreamed I was going to get a phone call that day. Axl caught wind that I was coming down and called management and said, “If he even shows up, he has the gig.” I didn’t really know all that when I went down there, so once I found out, then I think that’s when the pressure kind of kicked in.

Gibson, May 10, 2012

[...] Sharon Osborne introduced me to Axl, God, like 15 years ago when I was doing the Beautiful Creatures album and Guns was working on Chinese right next to us in the next studio over. So Sharon walked me over and Axl, I mean, we met [?] from Indiana. He couldn't have been nicer, you know? And 15 years go by and I've never seen him again, and when I joined the band he had been following my career, like, he knew every thing about what I've done. And it was cool the respect he had for my playing and, you know, and it obviously goes both ways, but we just have an incredible amount of respect for each other.

The Rock Show FMX 94.5, May 21, 2013

They asked me to come down and check out the band, and Axl essentially said that if I showed up, I had the gig. Sixx A.M.’s “Life is Beautiful” had just gone to number one at the same time, so it was really a surreal moment for me.

The Examiner, June 4, 2013

Katie McNeil, a great friend, a longtime friend, gave me a call. At the time, she was working with Irving Azoff, who managed Guns. And she gave me a call and said, 'Hey, would you wanna audition?' I said, 'Yeah, of course.' So I went down. I never thought anything of it. I didn't think I was gonna get the gig. I didn't really think much. I just thought, 'I just wanna go jam some Guns songs. Who cares? And meet the guys. It'd be great.' I had met Axl years before when I was doing a Beautiful Creatures album on Warner Brothers, and Sharon Osbourne walked me in and introduced me to him. And we're both from Indiana, so we kind of had a cool little bond that way. The night before, I remember calling Katie, my manager, saying, 'I think I'm gonna back out.' I was just getting kind of cold feet. I was, like, 'You know, it's gonna be a lot of work. I don't know. Blah blah blah.' And she goes, 'You can't screw me over. You've gotta just show up.' And I go, 'Okay. For you, I will.' I showed up. I get in my car [after the audition], and she calls me, and she basically said, 'You got the gig.' And it didn't set in for a while. It was very surreal. And then I remember going into rehearsals, it was still surreal, because Axl never showed up. So it was, like, just jamming with the band; it was cool.

Hanging with Lavs, February 7, 2017

DJ would also say he had been hired as a "songwriter/producer":

I don't think anything can prepare you for something like that. I never came into this to fill anybody's shoes. I just came as a songwriter/producer. I feel like I can bring something to the table and I'm no way trying to replace anybody. I'm just trying to do the gig justice.

Cribnotes, October 31, 2011

In December, he would suggest he had been hired because of his involvement in the Hollywood scene:

The management called me up. I'd met Axl a few times at that point, but I think I was asked to join because of my involvement in the Hollywood scene.

Nuvo, December 7, 2011

But Axl never told DJ why he was picked:

He didn't tell me why he picked me. What happened is that I got a call, basically saying -- I got a call at Sixx: A.M., and we had a number one hit at the time, and it said: "Listen, Guns has been auditioning guitar players for about a year and a half on the down low. They can't seem to find the right guy." Then they asked if I would be interested in coming down and checking it out. And I said, "Yeah, I'll definitely come down." I guess Axl got wind that I was going to come down, and he called management and said, "If he even shows up in the room, he has the gig." So it was kind of that easy.

The first time I sat down with him after joining the band, he had known about my entire career. It blew my mind. He remembered meeting me ten years ago, probably even longer than that now, when Sharon Osborne introduced us, while I was making The Beautiful Creatures album. He said, "If I knew you would have been up for this, I would've came after you years ago." I didn't even know I was on his radar, so it was pretty flattering.

Denver Westworld, December 9, 2011

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:53 pm

DJ BEFORE GUNS N' ROSES

DJ was born Darren Jay Ashba on November 10, 1972, in Monticello, Indiana, and raised in Fairbury, Illinois [Herald Sun, May 16, 2011; Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011; SoundSpike, November 10, 2011].

I was born in Indiana and moved to Illinois, a little tiny country town when I was like 2 or 3.

The Portal, June 2011

I was born [in Indiana] and grew up in Fairbury, Ill. Then my dad's side of the family lives in Indiana still and my mom's lives in Illinois. But yeah, I was born in Indiana.

I'm big-time country art. I grew up on the farm. It's always funny to me with Axl saying (in the song "One In A Million) "Just a small town white boy trying to make ends meet." He grew up 30 minutes away from where I did, so I can relate to that.

Omaha World Herald, November 3, 2011

Explaining his name:

I was born with the name Daren Jay Ashba. My dad is the only one who ever called me Daren and he left a few years after I was born. My mom got remarried to an amazing man who I consider to be my dad. My mom and dad are still happily married to this day. When they got married he already had 4 kids of his own and one of his sons name was also Daren. So by default my name immediately became my initials, Dj.

No one to this day has ever called me by my real name except my real dad who I don’t have the fondest memories.

Instagram, February 26, 2024

His family was religious and DJ would later talk about how his faith affected him:

I don’t go to church every Sunday, just on Christmas, but I still pray every night and thank God for everything I have, because it could all be gone tomorrow. I’m fortunate. I work very hard and I’m very lucky to have two arms, two legs, two hands, and I don’t take that for granted. I really could get hit by a car and it would all be over. I thank God every night and it makes me feel good. I’m not a Bible thumper, but at the same time, it was instilled in me at such a young age and it has helped me get through a lot.

The Examiner, August 17, 2011

But his family's faith also caused problems for him growing up:

You know, my mom is very, well, my dad left when I was really, really young, but my mom was super religious and I grew up without a TV and so I'd have to go to my friend's house to watch MTV and stuff. So, you know, I just kind of knew, you know... my brother, my older brother, left me a box of, like, you know, records and stuff, like, rock records and KISS records and a bunch of KISS posters so I'd have to hide everything, like, behind the furnace and then my mom found them and they all went in the trash. But, you know, I always knew, you know, that I was gonna, you know... it was weird, I was lucky I guess because I meet people right now and, you know, they have no idea what they're gonna do for a living and, you know, I'll listen to them talking, "Yeah, I don't know," you know, and I just... I was different, I kind of always knew... it was just, you know, I started playing piano when I was three and drums when I was six and then I started playing guitar when I was nine, so I just kind of... I was born into a musical family even though, you know, my mom's religious. She loved Elvis and she, you know, you'd always hear Elvis in the house and, you know, stuff like that.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

I grew up in a family that, you know, without TV's and almost Amish but not.

The Rock Show FMX 94.5, May 21, 2013

Apparently, DJ was something of a local menace:

I was always in trouble. I was the kid that was always kind of the neighborhood terror, just always in trouble. Cops were always over at the house. I was just ornery, I guess. I was probably more bored of being in a little tiny town than anything so to keep my mind busy I was always just a menace, I guess (laughs) [...] One thing I can remember is I was out in the garage, my dad was an amazing builder, he was a cabinet maker, and I saw him working on the car one day.And he had this little tool that popped out like the inner stem of the tire and it flattened it right away. So I watched where he put it away and I thought that would be great to go flatten a bunch of neighbors’ tires that night (laughs). Evidently, one of the neighbors saw me doing it and I spent the whole summer delivering papers to buy everybody tires. I kind of learned a hard lesson.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

CHILDHOOD ABUSE

As a child, DJ suffered beatings and abuse from his dad:

I had a really bad childhood. My dad was an angry guy. I remember being really little and scared to death.

Herald Sun, May 16, 2011

I was judged my whole life, looking like I do, before I became what I became. People always looking at me like I never fit in.

Herald Sun, May 16, 2011

I played music and believed in my dream and never lost focus. I caught a lot of flack for it. [...] I was 16. I moved out and got a little tiny trailer in the middle of a corn field so I could play music. [laughs] It was like (the movie) Footloose, in a weird way.

Herald Sun, May 16, 2011

It was really tough as a kid. I would spend most of my time under our stairs in the basement. I felt so alone. I couldn't really relate to anyone. I didn't know why I felt like I did. I just knew I wasn't in the right place. I knew that I didn't belong there.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 26, 2012

I grew up in a family with a dad who beat the shit out of me [...]

Rock Cellar Magazine, July, 2013

My dad left when I was four, and I don’t have really good memories of that whole thing. It was back and forth, from Mom to Dad, and it was just this whole scene for a kid that no kid should really have to go through.

Origin Magazine, January 27, 2015

DJ would talk more about the abuse he had experienced when he in 2012 joined BullyVille to stop bullying:

My years of growing up in a loving household, filled will hopes and dreams, were shattered to pieces from the day I was born. All I can remember is being petrified as a child, not only for my own safety, but for my mother's as well. Every moment of every day would depend on my Dad's mood. Most of my time was spent hiding in the back of my closet, going into convulsions as if I were somehow dancing to the destructive sound of violence coming from the next room.

Instead of a hug and a kiss, my morning wake up call consisted of my dad's fist coming through my closet door, similar to Jack Nicholson in the Shining. The crazy part about all of this is I spent my youth years constantly trying to gain his respect. I even went as far as putting him on a pedestal, making him out to be some kind of hero in my undeveloped mind, just to have him beat me down time after time. I can't begin to tell you the countless days of walking home from school, scared to death to walk through the front door. The fear was so overwhelming that I would literally pee my pants.

The real hero was my mother, I can not tell you what an amazing human being she is. Looking back now and realizing how she risked her own safety for my well-being. She was the real war hero, fearlessly putting herself in the line of fire, "diving onto the grenade" so to speak. My dad would use me as leverage against her simply because he knew I was her world. To him, I was his worst mistake. Having my dad doing everything in his power to get me out of the house, even pulling on one arm and my mom trying to stop him by pulling on the other, is a far cry from a fun ride at Disneyland. My entire life since, I have lived with being mentally and physically abused. I have lived with abandonment issues. I have spent my whole life never shedding a tear due to me accidentally falling down the steps one Christmas morning. When I was about 3 years old, I tumbled down the stairs into the the room where my dad sat in front of the fireplace and started to cry.

Stockings hung from the mantel and lights shown bright through the greenery. My dad stood up from the couch and sternly commanded that men don't cry. He said, "You wanna be a little cry baby, I'll give you something to cry about." as he beat me. Then, I would have to go to school and try to hide the perfect hand shaped welts on my body. After all of that, I would still sit up waiting by the window like a beaten puppy, waiting for him to come home every night. That is, until the night he never came home again. I became the head of the household, way to young for anyone in life. I grew up in the middle of nowhere a tiny little town called Fairbury without a TV in my house so, I am living proof that anyone can over come anything in life and still reach your dreams. Somehow I was able to bottle all of my anger and use it for my motivation. Motivation to do what ever I had to do to turn out nothing like my dad. Do I hate him for what he did to us? No, I have forgiven him, but I will always live through his mistakes and continue to become a better person.

BullyVille.com, April 17, 2012

More about DJ and BullyVille in a later chapter.

Being asked why his dad had beat him:

You know, I don’t know really to this day. All I can say is I don’t blame — I don’t hate him for it. I’ve forgiven him for it. I think you’ve got to look past that. Like, how did he get that way? I don’t know where it came from. But I don’t think he was just born pissed off at the world. I think his childhood was probably very similar to mine.

All I know is that all I can do is break the cycle, and that’s to do what I’m doing: Be a spokesperson for Bullyville, try to help kids out that are getting bullied, try to bring awareness to it and do whatever I can to break that cycle.

The bullies out there, people don’t realize, they don’t hate you – they actually hate themselves.

They just take it out on other people. So it’s trying to figure out how to break the cycle more than anything and bring awareness to it. Letting kids that are getting bullied know that they are not alone and they can get help.

Go to your principal, go to your parents — if your parents are abusing you, go to your neighbors’ house. Don’t live with it — because you don’t have to.

Rock Cellar Magazine, July, 2013

At some point, DJ was kicked out from home:

I lived in a trailer after being kicked out of my small home town for playing rock music.

Confront Magazine, March 15, 2013

ARTISTRY AND MUSIC

DJ was an artistic kid who did his school's Prom background:

I designed the yearbooks, I designed the Prom. I was the kid they took out of regular classes and my principal was actually my neighbor, who I would always egg his house and stuff but he never found out it was me (laughs) – now he knows I guess, sorry about that (laughs) – but he would take me out of classes and they actually put me on payroll. They would pay me to paint the school cause they had just done a big remodel. So I would paint the logos on the gym floors and the weight room and paint the logos in the hallways and anything they needed painted. When I was in Advanced Art in ninth and tenth grade, I had a cartoon in the newspaper, the local newspaper, so they had me kind of co-teach the class.So it was kind of a neat thing cause they let me out of a lot of bullshit classes like Biology and shit I never really was into.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

Talking about being exposed to music as a kid:

My mom always had classical music playing. She's a classical piano teacher. She always had Elvis jamming in the house. My aunt and uncle grew me up on Molly Hatchet to Edgar Winter to Meat Loaf to "Hocus Pocus" by Focus and all this random stuff that nobody my age was listening to. I was exposed to a lot of cool music early on.

SoundSpike, November 10, 2011

The first instrument he learned to play, was the piano:

I love playing piano. I have a couple of different ones. All the instruments and orchestral stuff I play on piano. I have an old Alesis that I love and save because it has creepy piano stuff I use for movies. I don’t have a grand piano, but I want one. We grew up with two pianos in the living room. I began playing drums at a very early age and I love them. They’re fun to play and I really enjoy programming them.

Guitar World, August 16, 2011

I really got into classical music because my mom plays classical piano. There was always classical music on.

Guitar World, October 27, 2011

You know what’s weird? My mom is a classical piano teacher so before I could even reach the pedals on it from the piano bench I was playing piano. I started when I was about three. So even though it was a very religious family, I grew up without TVs and stuff, my mom was a big music influence on me. She was huge into Elvis so I grew up kind of cutting my teeth on all the old Elvis songs. So I guess that’s where it kind of started.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

Getting into guitars:

Well, my mom made me practice piano so I never liked playing piano when I was young cause it was something I had to do. Then I started playing drums when I was probably six and I was just banging on everything. I’d set up like garbage cans and buckets and anything I could beat on. Then I was in the little high school pep band, I think it was called, and I would always break my sticks at home on garbage cans and come back and I’d have no sticks for the class. So they ended up basically letting me go from that class cause I never had drumsticks to play (laughs).

Then that got frustrating so I detasseled corn all summer and I was turned on to people like Eddie Van Halen and people like that and it just kind of changed my life when I heard guitar. It was just something that my mom was kind of against. Nobody really was for me playing guitar so it was one of those things where it was kind of cool. This is something my mom will never make me practice so it made me want to play it more, you know. So I first started playing guitar when I was about nine.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

I was in a cover band. I remember being at my aunt and uncle’s. We didn’t have much money or gear. We set up two hay-bale racks, two flatbeds, and we set up our little band out there. I remember playing ‘Patience.’ I remember trying to play ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ when I was 13 years old. If anybody told me, ‘One day you’re going to take Slash’s spot,’ or, ‘One day you’re going to be in Guns N’ Roses,’ I would’ve thought people were sniffing glue.

Vegas Seven, May 20, 2014

About buying his first guitar:

[...] being in the country, there was no internet back then. We had magazines and stuff, and obviously the bands in the magazines had really cool, expensive guitars, and I was just a little kid in the country. So I remember detasseling corn all summer in order to buy my first guitar out of the Sears catalog. I had no idea what was cool and what was not. I just knew that was the only guitar I could afford, and it was a white, Flying V Harmony. The reason I got that was because I loved Randy Rhoads, and it was the closest thing that kind of resembled something that he would be playing on.

Denver Westworld, December 9, 2011

It was a white Flying V. It was a Harmony and I bought it out of the Sears catalog for like $189. I detasseled corn all summer long to be able to afford it. I remember for the first probably three years I didn’t know what a chord was. But I would look forward to going to detassel corn every morning. I’d get on the bus and there was a little tiny local band in Indiana that I always looked up to cause they could play guitars and it was just so cool. I remember my buddy, who was a guitar player in that little band, he used to take a pocket knife and carve a fretboard on the back of the seat and he’d poke three holes in it and he’d go, “That’s an A chord. Go home and practice that”. And I couldn’t wait to get home. I hit the A chord and I remember going “Holy shit”. And I couldn’t wait to get back to work the next day to learn another chord. That was kind of the way I learned the basic chords and then just kind of took it from there.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

When I was 9 years old I bought my first guitar for 89.00 out of the Sears catalog. The moment I felt it in my hands it was love.

Celebzter, June 2, 2012

The Flying V got traded in for a Series 10:

I traded it in for a guitar with a whammy bar (laughs) cause I thought, I couldn’t do dive bombs on it so I traded it in for, I believe it was called a Series 10 and it was more of a cool rock guitar. But I liked the white Flying V because of Randy Rhoads but the guitar was just horrible. I couldn’t play on it very well so I ended up getting this purple Series 10. I remember just waking up every morning going, “Wow, it is here in my room. It’s not a dream”. I just loved the thing and I was watching MTV cause I was actually staying with my dad at the time and he had a TV. And he took me to my first concert, which was Motley Crue. At the time on MTV, all the guys were spinning guitars around their back and I thought that was the coolest thing. So the second day I had this guitar, I spun it around, or tried to spin it around my neck (laughs), and it came around and the headstock broke off cause it hit the bed. I was so bummed but my dad glued it back together but it was never quite the same.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

Talking about seeing Motley Crue live when he was 16 years old:

I’ve never seen Guns N’ Roses live, as weird as that is. It was really difficult, living back home [in rural Illinois], to see concerts, because I was raised in a very religious family. So, the only time I could go to a concert was when I visited my real dad, over in Indiana, and the timing just happened to work out. In fact, the only one he ever took me to was Motley Crue, because it was my 16th birthday present.

Ultimate Guitar, June 23, 2011

My dad took me to 'Girls, girls girls' tour, when I was 16 and I just remember that night I was like, "Wow!" you know. And it wasn't so I was blown away because, you know, just the whole live experience blew my mind, you know. And it was kind of that night that kind of turned that into a reality in my head because up till then it was, you know, you watch all these bands on, you know, MTV, and you're like, "Wow!" you know, and you kind of almost, you know, viewed it more as, "Oh, that's just kind of a dream," but, you know, seeing Motley do it right in front of your face and you're like, "Wow!" you know, "if they're up there doing this," you know, "there's no reason I can't be one day," and it kind of just clicked, I guess, that day for me.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

My dad took me when I was sixteen to the Girls Girls Girls concert, and I think that night changed my life. I knew I wanted to play music for a living, that's all I really knew since I was little. But up until then, it was kind of like a dream, and you'd see these people in magazines, and they just didn't seem real, kind of. Then, I guess being in the same room with them, watching them do it, something clicked that night. I was like, "Wow, it can be done. It's not a dream, they're up there doing it so there's no reason I can't." It made this thing in my head that was like a dream and turned it into a reality for me. After that, I was so determined. I was like, "I will be on that stage one day."

Denver Westworld, December 9, 2011

Talking about how the Motley Crue show how cemented his plan to become a musician:

When you’re a kid you watch all these rock stars on TV and it seems kinda like untouchable and kind of a dream; like they don’t even seem real to me. I don’t think it had anything to do with Motley so to speak; I think it just had to do with being in the same building and watching it live. Because that night I remember, it wasn’t so much the band; it was the feeling I had. And going, “You know what? This isn’t impossible. There it is right in front of me and they’re doing it and there’s no reason I can’t be doing this.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

It kind of was a reality check more than anything. I knew long before then what I wanted to do; I never had a doubt of what I was gonna do for a living but that just made it very tangible to me. I was like, “Wow, OK, this can be done.” So it was just kind of one of those things; it was more of a wakeup call and going, “Wow, if they can do it, I definitely can do this.” And it didn’t seem like a dream after that night.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

MOVING TO LOS ANGELES

At 19, DJ moved to Los Angeles:

I just remember flying in for the first time over Los Angeles. I'm from a really small country town. I just remember it never ended and thinking, "Wow, this is just L.A." and "How am I supposed to go down in that and make a name for myself. This is impossible. This is going to be a big chore ahead of me." I don't even know why I remember that. I remember it being very overwhelming, and I was just like, "Man there are millions of people down there. How does a small country kid..." -- you know? It was cool but I look back now and think, "Wow, that took a lot longer than I thought it would.

Denver Westworld, December 9, 2011

I moved out when I was 16 years old and I've been on my own ever since. I was the kid that never called home for a dime. I just knew in my heart that I failure was not an option, because I really didn't have anywhere else to go. I've always dreamed big and when I get focused on something, I get tunnel vision. [...] As cheesy as it may sound, you just have to follow your dreams and be true to your heart.

Noisecreep, May 3, 2011

I built my career organically and I think I did it the right way. I turned down a lot of good gigs because I didn't feel they were right for me. It was never about the money or the fame. It was about following my heart and being true to who I am. It takes many years of eating ramen noodles, struggling, and never giving up.

Herald Sun, May 16, 2011

I never doubted what I was going to do. In fact, I dated a girl all through high school, and I remember telling her in the sixth grade, 'I'm just letting you know, one day, I'm going to L.A. to become a rock star.' As soon as I graduated, I went, 'All right, I'm out.' She didn't believe me, but I always knew.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 26, 2012

I moved out when I was 16, you know, to this day, mom called and said, you know, "You're the only kid that's never called home for a dime." I mean, I ate ramen noodles and struggled for 15 years solid out in LA before I really got my first big break, you know.

The Rock Show FMX 94.5, May 21, 2013

Talking about his guitar style:

I have a very melodic and almost a Randy Rhoads classical influence because my mom was a classical piano teacher. I started out on piano when I was three so classical music has always been a big part of my life. I think that just kind of pops through just in my natural playing.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

I cut my teeth on guys like Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani and was so into the guitar and good, good guitarists. Stevie Ray Vaughan, of course. My aunt and uncle got me into a lot of stuff like Foghat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rolling Stones and bands I never would have really listened to because I was too young at that time. They really schooled me in stuff like Meat Loaf. I just love those big, theatrical songs.

Guitar World, October 27, 2011

And how he can play anything:

I can’t read music. I write songs by finding notes on the guitar to match the notes in my head. If I hear something once, I can play it. I didn’t have the patience to learn theory; it didn’t make sense to me. When I saw sheet music, I felt confined. The notes are there and music shouldn’t be that way. I don’t write guitar solos. I say, “Hit ‘record,’” and play five or ten takes immediately. It’s a feel, and you know if it’s good, if you get goose bumps.

Guitar World, August 16, 2011

1996: 'ADDICTION TO FRICTION', DJ'S SOLO INSTRUMENTAL RECORD

DJ's first release as the solo, instrumental album Addiction to Friction in 1996:

That was actually a mistake. I got out to Los Angeles and I had just been demoing a bunch of songs on my own. I had a little 4-track recorder, a Tascam PortaOne that I brought out, and I was just sitting at home demoing up a bunch of stuff. I obviously didn’t have a singer and I didn’t know anyone out here.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

When I first got out here [=Los Angeles], I toured with a band called Barracuda. They were actually a band from Chicago [Ashba was from Fairbury, Illinois] and they had a video on MTV and they were kind of ‘the thing’ back home at the time that I came out. But they were just doing cover songs so I went out and just tried to get in front of as many people and playing in as many bars as I could. And just trying to turn as many heads as I could to get noticed.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

It didn’t pay anything really so I got a job doing construction. I remember I was at this job and I was playing my boss some of my crappy little demos in his truck. The guy we were doing some work for happened to own a really tiny independent record label [Straight Edge Entertainment] and I had no idea. He overheard the music in the truck and asked who it was and stuff and I told him it was me; I still had no idea who he was.
[...] He signed me to an independent deal and put out Addiction to Friction. I think they only printed like 2,500 copies; it was very small. But it was kind of my start.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

I have another instrumental record that was never released; I wrote it after the first album with a guitar remake of “Dueling Banjos.” Learning a banjo song on guitar is really difficult! I remember playing Beethoven’s “Ode To Joy” at the piano with my guitar, and I remember when my mom would play [sings “Fur Elise”], and the coolest thing is transferring other instruments to the guitar. You come up with the weirdest chords. Piano chords lay out differently and you come up with weird fingering. It’s the same with “Dueling Banjos” or “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.” It’s so cool, the fiddle. It makes you look at the guitar differently.

Guitar World, August 16, 2011

Talking about a possible re-release:

I mean, what's weird about that album is, I moved to LA and I was just working construction because that's what I did back home and, you know, we're doing construction for some guy who owned this small little tiny label, he was just starting up and I had no idea, you know, I was just doing little four track demos. And, you know I'd go to work all happy and excited and play my new song I wrote for my boss and I guess this guy overheard it out in the car playing and that's kind of how that all started and he kind of put me on a little... gave me a little money to make a record and, you know, I think we only released like 2,000 copies. I mean, it's really hard to find. I don't even actually have a copy of it. But I have the four two inch tapes. I have... I own the masters which is kind of neat so... and I always thought about it'd be kind of fun to go in and, you know, replace some guitars on it and, you know, and kind of just.... or just remix it and put it out again and... But I don't know, you know, the options are there, which is nice.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

'BULLETBOYS'

The BulletBoys thing, the BulletBoys thing was kind of weird. It was like... I was really good friends with Lonnie [Vencent], the bass player, and they had lost their guitar player and they had a tour coming up and me being new to LA and I was just, like, you know, I just, you know, I never really joined the band, I just kind of... you know, they said, "Hey man. is there any way you could help us out to get through this tour," and that's kind of all that was [?], you know. I jumped at the opportunity to be able to, you know, get on a tour bus with a cool band from the 80s and play some cool rock songs. [...] And it was a lot of fun and just to be able to hang out with Lonnie and... yeah, that was a lot of fun. [...]

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

2000-2001: 'BEAUTIFUL CREATURES' AND MEETING AXL

Beautiful Creatures was a band that DJ formed with Bang Tango vocalist Joe LeSte.

DJ would explain how they met:

And that led to, you know, me and Joe [Lesté, of Bang Tango] starting Beautiful Creatures because Bang Tango was playing with BulletBoys and that's where I met Joe.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

While working on their record, DJ met Axl:

And it's like, when I was back doing the record I met Axl when I was doing the Beautiful Creatures album at the Village and they were in there, I believe working on Chinese at that time and Sharon Osborne would always come in, because her best friend Gloria Butler at the time who was married to Geezer Butler, managed Beautiful Creatures, so Sharon would always stop in and and I was actually in the studio playing a piece by Randy Rhodes, just waiting to record the Beautiful Creatures thing, I was playing this piece called Dee on an acoustic guitar. And I was just out there alone and Sharon walked in crying and I had no idea like she was even there, and she goes, "I want you to play this for Ozzy," and I was like, "All right." So she walked me over and I played Dee for Ozzy and he's just got a tear in his eye and it was just this weird surreal thing. And then me and, you know, Sharon became really good friends and she walked me over to introduce me to Axl next door, and that's kind of where I first met him.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

I met Axl in 1999, we were in doing the Beautiful Creatures album, and Sharon Osbourne came in and took me down to their studio. They were in the next studio working on Chinese Democracy, and she introduced me to Axl.

Gibson, May 10, 2012

Sharon Osbourne introduced me to Axl in 2000 during the time I was recording the Beautiful Creatures album.

Media Mikes, August 12, 2012

I met Axl... God, in probably... 1999 or 2000. I was in doing the Beautiful Creatures album and Sharon Osborne came over to my studio and they were in the next room working on Chinese, and she took me over there and introduced me to Axl. We got along great. He was a really cool guy. Way different than I was expecting him to be because, you know, you only know what you read, but super, you know, respectful, polite, really cool guy, and that was the first time we met.

Talking Metal Podcast, January 27, 2014

They released their only record, Beautiful Creatures, in 2001.

[...] if you pick up the Beautiful Creatures record you’ll hear more of that side of my playing; more of that Guns ‘N Roses style of playing. If you listen to the song “New Orleans” it’s very kind of a Guns sound.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

Sean [Beavan; producer] was amazing. Beautiful Creatures to this day, I don’t think it got its fair shot. Whether it was ahead of its time or whatever it was, to this day it’s another record that I’ll always be proud of. I think there are some amazing songs on there and I think it’s just a great rock and roll record and we really showcased the guitars on that album. It did well but I really believe in my heart it should have done a lot better.

Ultimate Guitar, May 20, 2011

Joe's a great guy, you know, I've always loved his voice and his attitude, you know, towards music and, you know. And I was really proud of what we created with Beautiful Creatures and Warner Brothers treated us really good and we had a lot of fun doing that.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

Being asked if he thought Beautiful Creatures would get back together again:

I think I’d be fun to get together at some point and just jam for fun. They’re all really good guys, and we all stay in contact still. But, I think all of us have moved on since then, and we’re all doing our own thing. I think it’d be a lot of fun to get together at some point and jam, though. We’ve always joked about it and talked about it, but I don’t see anything in the near future, because I know I’m definitely pretty slammed with my schedule. I do have a lot of respect for the guys and always wish them the best.

Audio Ink Radio, June 19, 2012

A BRIEF STINT WITH 'OPERATOR'

It was kind of weird because I was called by Danny Wimmer to join this band on Atlantic called Operator and at the time I really didn't have a whole lot, you know, going on and I heard the music and I was, like, "Oh, this is really good," and one of my super good friends, Paul Phillips, from Puddle of Mudd, was in the band and he called me. And so I joined, kind of joined, that band briefly and I did the album with them and, you know... but I don't know if my tracks are even on the record... I have no idea what went on because I was only in it for a brief time.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

SIXX: A.M.

While in Operator:

And then I got a phone call, I remember I was at a car wash, and it was Nikki and I was like, you know, "I had no idea how you got my number," you know, I was just like, "Whoa!" you know, and he's like, "Hey, man, blah blah blah," you know. I kind of tell him what I had going on and he's like, "Well, I want to come down and see you guys play," so I just thought it was kind of weird. I was like, "That's cool," you know. So he came down and we start hanging out quite a bit and he invited me up to his house and I went up there and literally we sat with an acoustic just bullshitting around, you know. He has a grand piano in his living room and we wrote four songs that day, just sitting there as like... and really good songs. And we kind of looked at each other and we're like, you know, we just kind of knew, you know, because a lot of people, you know, look for that magic, you know, it's kind of like a relationship. You look for that chemistry, that magic, when two people, three people, sit down and, you know, you just kind of finish each other's sentences and maybe it's because I grew up on, you know, Motley Crew and Guns N' Roses and those bands, I just really kind of, you know- [...] And always in the same brain wave as that but... Yeah, and we just kind of looked at each other and he goes, "Hey," you know, "would you want to partner up with me out at Funny Farm, which is a studio he had built, "and, you know, produce and write songs for other bands?" And I was like, "Oh, yeah, that'd be awesome." So I actually didn't sign the deal with Atlantic and left Operator to team up with him just as a writing and producing partner. And so I would... I went out to Funny Farm literally seven days a week, probably 12 to 14 hour days, and then when he'd leave on tour with Motley, I would still be out there. And I had a full studio out there to to work out of and it was awesome. And, you know, while he'd be on the road I'd start writing all these weird songs and, you know, that's where I kind of started creating X-Mas In Hell and I started playing around with all this orchestra sounds out there and I was just kind of a kid in a candy store at that point. I had no idea I could even do the scoring type of music that it kind of opened a whole new door, certainly, and I just really fell in love with it and before you know it, you know, we kind of... I remember I demoed up, you know, demoed up a bunch of songs and kind of sent them out and that's kind of how that actually started, you know, in a weird way, and then, you know, I've been working with James Michael for many years, you know, he'd bring me in to do some recording on different records he would be producing and I had no idea all this time that the guy could even sing. I just thought he was this great producer. And so it just kind of happened organically, like, and even, you know, as it was happening none of us knew it was happening, it's really weird, it's like, you know, we kind of sent James some of these songs and James was like, "Wow!" I mean, James would write some songs and send them back and it was kind of this cool thing. And then we were talking at the time to get... I remember Nikki called Steven Pyle, they're in Chester from Lincoln Park and we're going to get all these cool singers and have a different singer for every song and James, one day. he calls up and goes, "Hey", you know, "I'd like to," you know- [...] You know, "sing on a song" and he sent it out to me and Nikky, you know, our jaws just hit the floor and we're like, "Oh, that's it!" you know, and it's kind of just happened.

Iron City Rocks, October 24, 2011

I was about ready to sign a deal with a band called Operator on Insterscope. It had Paul [Phillips] from Puddle of Mudd in it. I worked on that, and then I remember I was at a car wash. I was like ‘Why is Nikki Sixx calling?’ He said ‘Hey, do you mind if I come down and hang out during rehearsal?’

Vegas Seven, May 20, 2014

SIXX: A.M, was founded in 2007 and consisted of Nikki Sixx, James Michael and DJ Ashba. Their debut album, The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, was released in 2008.

DJ had worked with both Nikki and Michael before SIXX:A.M.:

I worked on Marion Raven with James. With Nikki I wrote for Trapt, Drowning Pool, Motley Crue, things like that. We’ve all worked together in some way. James and I wrote together before I knew that he was a singer. I knew him as a producer and he was really easy to work with. I’d write songs for artists and take them to James to produce.

Guitar World, August 16, 2011

After I worked with James a couple of times, I could tell he was a really great, great guy to sit in the studio with. He makes you feel comfortable and brings out the best performance. He has a really good ear. He has also become one of my best friends.

Nikki has more of a twisted mind, a lot like mine — I have a demented mind! — and I learned so much from him about the business side of the industry. I’m like a sponge when it comes to Nikki. He took me under his wing as a little brother. He’s a genius when it comes to marketing a product. And he’s so sincere — he lays his heart on the table, good and bad. He’s the most honest friend I’ve ever had. That kind of honesty is hard to find, and I admire him for it.

Guitar World, August 16, 2011

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:53 pm

APRIL 14, 2009

A ROCK BAND CHINESE DEMOCRACY RELEASE

There is talk about a "Rock Band" release, and they felt the record-based on the nature and complexity of the depth of instrumentation-deserved a bit more attention and some more involved elements than they've generally dealt with. I have no idea what that means but it's my understanding they were very enthusiastic. We're looking at a Feb. 28 release, according to [executives at MTV responsible for] "Rock Band."

Billboard, February 6, 2009

On April 10 it was announced that all the 13 songs from Chinese Democracy would be available for download to Rock Band from April 14 [Press Release, April 10, 2009].

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:54 pm

APRIL-JUNE AND SEPTEMBER 2009

PREPARING FOR THE CHINESE DEMOCRACY WORLD TOUR

In April 2009, the live front-of-house (FOH) engineer for Guns N' Roses, Ken "The Pooch" Van Druten, would talk about the band's preparations for the upcoming tour:

Right now we're in rehearsals, and we are gonna be here probably for a month and a half or so getting ready to do a tour.

Blabbermouth, April 22, 2009

Bumblefoot would look back at the preparations and say he had been part of them in early 2009 and in the fall of 2009:

In early '09 I spent a few months in LA working with GNR, prepping for future touring. Took a break from that and toured the Summer with Lita Ford, then continued in the Fall with GNR, tweaking the live show [...]

Kiss Army Australia, January 4, 2010

In early 09 we started rehearsing for the next batch of touring, took a break for the Summer and I toured the US & Europe playing guitar with Lita Ford, went back for final rehearsals with GNR in the Fall and hit the road in Dec 09.

Vortec.cl (Chile), September 2, 2010

We started working together in early 2009, working out guitar parts that would compliment each other, experimenting with different guitars and amps for sounds that worked well together. DJ, Rich & I did that for a few months out in LA, then we took a break over the Summer, I toured as a guest guitarist with Lita Ford for festivals in the US and Europe, then we started up again in September and GNR hit the road in December. We've been having a blast....!

Metalchroniques (French), September 10, 2010

We started working together in early 2009, working out guitar parts that would compliment each other, experimenting with different guitars and amps for sounds that worked well together. DJ, Rich & I did that for a few months out in LA, then we took a break over the Summer, I toured as a guest guitarist with Lita Ford for festivals in the US and Europe, then we started up again in September and GNR hit the road in December. We've been having a blast....!

Metalchroniques (French), September 10, 2010

Bumblefoot would also discuss how different it had been for Dj to prepare for the tour in 2009 than for him to prepare for the touring in 2006:

We had most of 2009 to coordinate our guitar parts, our gear, to get everything ready to go. Very different from my 'new guy' experience, which was to hop in at the last minute before touring with no time to work out gear, to get to know each other, to work together on anything, to learn the new songs...shit, I had to learn the Chinese Democracy songs note-for-note by listening with headphones on a laptop for a half hour at a rehearsal studio while the band waited in the next room, without ever getting a copy of the songs to really learn them. I'm happy it didn't happen like that for DJ - he was welcomed in, we had time to work together, and he was given the opportunity to rise to the occasion, and he definitely did.

Daily Music Guide, June 25, 2010

This indicates that the band first prepared for a summer/fall tour, and when that didn't happen, reconvened to prepare again before the shows in December.

We spent a lot of '09 in a rehearsal room jamming, trying different gear, working out our guitar parts.

The Gown, July 17, 2010

Bumblefoot would also appreciate the opportunity to prepare better than he had back in 2006, and would even have Vigier make a twin neck guitar for him:

By the time we started touring again it gave me a chance to really prepare the proper way to pull off these songs and that's when I had the Vigier guys make the double neck so I could do all the fretless and the fretted back and forth in one song, I'll sing it back and vocals and you know, have a snare drum on my ass and, you know, cymbals between the legs and tap dancing.

TC Electronics, June 14, 2010

On April 27, Richard would suggest they would tour the rest of the world before the US:

I've been in rehearsals with Guns for the last little bit here — focusing more on that world right now. . . We, hopefully, will be announcing dates soon, I hope. I don't know of any dates in the U.S. yet; I haven't heard any talk. I'm sure that we will . . . Right now that's not where the focus is; I know that we're gonna be probably announcing other dates first.

KDHX 88.1 FM/Blabbermouth, April 27, 2009

With the band preparing for touring new rumours about specific events would pop up, including a rumoured show in Israel in July or August [The Jerusalem Post, May 14, 2009].

Later, Vince Neil would claim Axl never showed up for the three months of preparations:

A buddy of mine went to go play guitar for him. They rehearsed for three months and Axl never once turned up. Rule number one: show up!

The Sun, August 19, 2009

The friend Neil was referring to was likely Dj Ashba.

At the end of May, Bumblefoot would be asked about the plans:

Right now nothing is confirmed. Nothing is definite. If pieces fall into place, it could happen. That's the most political way I can say I know nothing. (Laughs) In other words, it could happen, I hope it happens, maybe it'll happen, I'd like for it to happen. I know a lot of other people who would like for it to happen, and if everything works out it will happen. But there are a lot of variables involved, down to every little thing to making sure that all the pieces are in place so that we can do this the right way.

Nightwatcher's House of Rock, May 31, 2009

The tour would not start immediately after the preparations, because in June it was a announced that Bumblefoot would tour with Lita Ford from mid-June to early September [Blabbermouth, June 7, 2009].

Lita and I have GN'R's blessings to do this together; all is cool. This won't interfere with upcoming GN'R plans, I'll be flying out and coming right back.

Blabbermouth, June 7, 2009

And Frank would return to New York:

Well Guns got back together again earlier this year. We hooked up with Dj Ashba, he's playing in the band. Rehearsals were going great. Decided to take a little break so we could take care of our own family stuff because we were in L.A. for a long time. So and hopefully, God willing, will be up again running soon.

Talking Metal, August 4, 2009

Later, Bumblefoot would talk about video Q&As that had been planned to happen during the rehearsals but ultimately didn't happen:

We were gonna do videos answering fan questions, had every intention of doing it, had mine all planned out - I was gonna soft-spokenly answer every question, very calmly, while 20 feet behind me there's a woman screaming bloody murder, giving birth. It was really fucking disturbing, and so contrasted and bizarre, it was just really fucked up. That's how your mind works after months of rehearsals and living in the same hotel room for almost 100 days. The band accomplished plenty in that time - new guitar rigs, new guitars, new gear all getting worked out, new songs being worked on and sounding better than we ever have, DJ being a great guy and a wonderful bandmate, but the rehearsals ended before I could get everything and everyone together to make my video happen. I'm sorry about leading y'all on and not getting it done.

gnrevolution.com, August 25, 2009

After the tour rehearsals, Bumblefoot would talk about Dj fitting in:

[The rehearsals] went great! He is a damn good guy to be in a band with. He gives a lot of himself and adds a lot of himself to every aspect of it. He gets involved artistically. He’s a damn good guy. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and playing with him. And working through the insanity of getting the stuff down with him. Now, I’m just really looking forward to getting on stage with him.

Backstage Access, November 26, 2009

And on rearranging songs for three guitars:

We had a fourth guitarist but he forgot his passport at home, we had to tour without him. Three guitarists is easy. There’s so much more you can do with three guitarists than two. For example, you can stand in a triangle formation. You can do great old-school metal covers with the double-harmony leads – Maiden, Priest, Queensryche, or classic stuff like Thin Lizzy and Boston. There’s almost enough of us to make ‘light bulb jokes’ (you know, “How many guitarists does it take to unscrew a light bulb…?”) And if one spontaneously quits and walks off the stage, you won’t even notice. I’ve tried that, it works!

Mushie's Blog, July 31, 2010

The preparations helped, because throughout the tour Bumblefoot would mention how much better it felt for him now than in 2006:

It's so much better now, it feels like it should. I have my own definite guitar parts from the album to play, and all other definite parts, I have the gear, the double-neck guitar, we had time to coordinate our guitar parts, vocal harmonies, it feels like home now.

Microfono Blvd (Span), September 2010

BOTH BRAIN AND FRANK TO TOUR?

In an interview conducted in July 2010, Brain would be asked why the plan to have both he and Frank tour in 2009/2010, with Brain playing the new songs and Frank the old songs, didn't come to fruition:

I guess they couldn't pull it!

GNR-Online BR, July 18, 2010

They wanted me to do some stuff before this, where it was like, "Let's do two drummers" [...]

NatterNet, September 4, 2018

And he would later mention that he had not been part of the 2009 rehearsals:

no i didn't rehearse

GNR-Online BR, July 18, 2010

This suggests that a plan involving both Brain and Frank, regardless of how serious and mature it became, was discarded before the band reconvened in April 2009.

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:55 pm

JUNE-SEPTEMBER 2009

BUMBLEFOOT TOURS WITH LITA FORD

In June it was a announced that Bumblefoot would tour with Lita Ford from mid-June to early September [Blabbermouth, June 7, 2009]. This likely came as a result of the summer tour with Guns N' Roses not taking place.

Lita and I have GN'R's blessings to do this together; all is cool. This won't interfere with upcoming GN'R plans, I'll be flying out and coming right back.

Blabbermouth, June 7, 2009

I'm really looking forward to getting out on the road with Bumblefoot. It only took a couple of practices before we really connected — and that hardly ever happens. I've played with some terrific musicians, but this combination is really something special. [...] I was so impressed by the different styles I heard from him," says Lita, by way of explaining her decision to team with Bumblefoot. "He can be really heavy one minute and totally subtle the next. It gives us an extra dimension.

Blabbermouth, June 25, 2009

I met [Lita Ford] a couple of times and hung out over a year before we started playing together. We would hang at mutual friends’ barbeques or the Chiller Exposition (being in the same room.) They are such a trip. Lita and the family are great! I had so much fun on tour with them. On how I got involved, she just did Sweden Rock and she called me right from there and asked me if I was going to be free? By coincidence we were taking a break for the summer from GNR and I was like 'I can definitely do the summer with ya.' She gave me a list of songs and had 2 days to bang it out and learn all the stuff. We had one rehearsal at her house and went through all the stuff and we hit the road. That was probably some of the most fun I had while on tour.

Backstage Access, November 26, 2009

Bumblefoot would also say he had desperately needed the tour to get away from Guns N' Roses to something low pressure:

[Ford] called me and asked with a playful tone, what I would do over the next ten years. I said that I'll be little busy... Then she asked, if we can talk about this summer, as she needed guitarist for a tour. I had no plans at this point, so I said there's no problem. In about two days I learned around 15 songs. She needed a drummer and a bassist, so we took together with us my bands' drummer - Dennis Leeflang and bass player, PJ Farley, who appeared in such bands like Trixter and Ra. First we flew out to California, started doing shows and then we went to Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, then back to the US. It was really a good time. It was very spontaneous, it was different than Guns N' Roses. We might extended songs for like extra 5 minutes, when me and Lita and keyboard player we just be trading solos back and forth. And just come up whatever on the spot. It's been such a long time since I toured doing something that wasn't Guns N' Roses, where it was just me playing guitar a bunch of songs and if I wanted extend the song I could. It was just plugging my guitar and amp. I wasn't all wired up, I didn't have wireless, I didn't have in-ear monitors. It just felt so normal! And it was what I needed (laugh). Definitely, I probably would not been able to stay with Guns N' Roses and tour with them, if I didn't do that, because I needed something that was just low pressure, just very simple. We go on on time, we plug in to an amp and we play. It was a good experience and for me it was definitely something that brought my brain back to were it needed to be.

Teraz Rock, August 2010

Being asked how the tour went:

Fantastic. There with lots of old friends, Dennis (Bumblefoot drummer) on drums, get to do a lot of spontaneous jamming and trading solos with Lita, been a great time.

Appetite for Discussion, August 17, 2009

Haha, that was some fun stuff! Learned the songs in 2 days, got together once and hit the road. Lita and her family, the band and crew, a lot of laughing and making trouble, haha. Good bunch of people... musically there was a lot of jamming and trading solos between Lita me and the keyboardist, spontaneous stuff, it was a damn good time.

newGNRoldGNR, December 25, 2009

I had a lot of fun on the Lita tour, it was with my solo band drummer Dennis Leeflang, and friends of mine – there was a lot of laughing and fun. [...] With Lita we usually had a rented Marshall half-stack and a Les Paul waiting for me at gigs, and I’d bring one of my Vigier guitars, a wah pedal, a Tube Screamer & a Boss delay pedal. Sometimes we’d have an Engl Invader100 head whenever possible, which is what I use with GNR.

The Mercury Post, July 7, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:55 pm

AUGUST-NOVEMBER 2009

TOUR RUMOURS AND CONFIRMATION

In August it would be rumoured that the band would tour Asia in December after a Taiwanese booking agency published a Guns N' Roses concert date at Taipei County Stadium on December 11 [GN'R Daily, August 19, 2009].

Later in August Bumblefoot would be asked about touring plans:

There have been a lot of plans, it’s just that when it comes to battling the economy… there are so many variables that could make it not work. I’m guessing at this point that if something is confirmed, management would let everyone know. So at this point if I said anything it would be premature, so I should just wait for them to say anything.

I Heart Guitar Blog, August 28, 2009

Afterwards, Bumblefoot felt a need to comment on what he had said:

Regarding the end of the interview about GN'R touring, it came off in the printed transcription to sound like I was citing the economy like some lame excuse...

"It’s just that when it comes to battling the economy ... there are so many variables that could make it not work."

I wasn't saying the sole reason GN'R hadn't toured was due to the economy, or the economy only - folks gotta read the whole sentence, up to where it ends with a period.

You know, the period. As in "I'm complaining about Ron's interview because I have my period."

There are "many variables that could make it not work."

In other words, as I've been telling everyone for years, I don't give any specific info about GN'R's business in my own personal interviews.

Don't ask Azoff about my guitar parts, don't ask me about GN'R's business.

The BumbleForum, September 20, 2009

The rumours about the band touring in Asia intensified in September with dates for Japan, Osaka on December 16 and Tokyo on December 19 [Blabbermouth, September 10, 2009]. Then, September 14, the Japanese dates were confirmed by the Japanese branch of Universal Music [Blabbermouth, September 14, 2009].

A few days later, Bumblefoot would again emphasize that he was not the right guy to ask about the band's plans:

Hundreds of people have been writing, wanting to know about GNR's future touring plans. I'm not the guy to ask about ongoing bizz - if anyone, you'd have to ask GNR management about future plans, but please understand that if they haven't officially announced plans, they're not going to do it through personal emails. As for me, I'm not at business meetings with booking agents, promoters, venues, sponsors, and *I don't want to be*. Being the guitarist in GNR is enough, not going to open the door to managerial duties. If GNR management confirmed that everything did-or-did-not work out to make any shows happen, and I was 100% sure that I had the confirmed final developments on things, and if it wouldn't screw up how GNR wanted to announce things, only then would I comment. Anything sooner than that would be spreading information prematurely and could be setting up fans for disappointment, and could affect the outcome of deals that were still being worked on. When GNR management is able to confirm anything, they will do it, in the way they feel is best, when they feel the time is right. Until then, think about other things. Build a cardhouse. Fry an egg. Read a book by a tree. When GNR management is ready to announce accurate definite information, they will.

Thanks to everyone that reached out wanting to know. You've been a pain in my ass, and I love you for it. Out of decency to fans, knowing many are ready to rearrange their plans and put a lot of effort into being at shows, I hope any confirmations can come sooner than later... some of you have plane tickets to book, time off from work to plan, tickets to save up for - I appreciate the Hell out of it and am grateful for it and will do my best to make it worth it, given the chance. Thanks.....

The BumbleForum, September 16, 2009

On September 24, a show in South Korea on December 13 was added to the list [GN'R Daily, September 24, 2009]. But still the shows had not been officially announced by the band.

Concert poster from AllAccess.co.kris

In October, MusicRadar would contact LiveNation in Canada and got confirmation that the band would tour Canada early in 2010, from January 13 to February 4 [MusicRadar, October 19, 2009].

On November 10, the band's MySpace page was finally updated with the rumoured concert dates.

Being asked why it had taken more than a years since the release of Chinese Democracy to get out on tour:

There were other possible or potential tours or itineraries in the works that just didn’t happen for whatever reason. This one did though. Why? (laughs) I don’t try to know anything. My philosophy as time goes on is swinging more towards 'ignorance is bliss.' The less I know the happier I am. I don’t want to know a damn thing except tell me when to get on stage and play.

Backstage Access, November 26, 2009

Being asked what the fans can expect from the tour:

I can't give anything away as we are trying to keep it a surprise until we do it. We will be playing a lot of old stuff, newer stuff, a lot of bombs n' pyro (laughs.) I'm dodging the question – you know, the stuff you see at a big rock show.

Backstage Access, November 26, 2009

We have shows planned for Japan, Korea and Taiwan in December '09, hopefully everything will work out.

Guitarre Xtreme (France), January 2010

In late December, the Brazil edition of Rolling Stone magazine would announce that the band would tour Brazil in March 2010 [Rolling Stone Brazil, December 22, 2009] and a few days later concerts in Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina and Chile would be announced also for March 2010 [GN'R Daily, December 24, 2009; Living in Peru, December 29, 2009].

For the South American leg of the tour, it was first reported that Jane's Addiction would be the opener, but this was later stated to not be the case by GN'R's twitter: [Twitter, December 29, 2009].

Contrary 2 false reports, claims n' rumors, Jane's Addiction is "not" performing on the Guns N' Roses South American leg of r Chinese Democracy World Tour. Sometimes agents n' promoters get carried away w/things on their own. R apologies 4 any confusion. Happy New Year!!

Twitter, December 31, 2009

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:56 pm

MISSED TOURING IN THE SUMMER AND FALL OF 2009; THE VAN HALEN TOUR

In the first half of 2009 there were rumours that Guns N' Roses would embark on a fall 2009 tour with Van Halen, and this would have fit with the band doing extensive tour rehearsals in April-June. In the end, the band would start touring first in December 2009 and the Van Halen tour never materialized.

Bumblefoot would refer to the missed tours:

The band still exists, I've spent much of 2009 in rehearsal rooms with them, preparing for tours that unfortunately didn't happen.

Guitarre Xtreme (France), January 2010

In Axl's counter-lawsuit against Azoff from May 2010, Axl would claim that the band had planned a summer tour followed by a tour with Van Halen, but that Azoff had deliberately sabotaged this to force Axl to reunite:

Azoff's pattern of lies and deception continued. In 2009, Azoff repeatedly advised the band that he had arranged a stadium concert tour with another very prominent rock band, Van Halen. [...]

Guns N’ Roses was also planning to do a summer European tour before the Van Halen stadium tour. The band was in rehearsals, prepared a budget and began working on routing. However, Cross-Defendants told Rose not to go forward with the summer European tour because they were afraid that Guns N’ Roses would not return in time for the Van Halen stadium tour. So the band decided to forego the European tour because of the promised Van Halen, stadium tour resulting in substantial losses.

This was all in vain. The tour with Van Halen never happened. As the band later discovered, Azoff made no efforts to plan the tour. He misled the band with false promises to further his own agenda, which was to force a reunion tour with the original Guns N' Roses band members against Rose’s wishes.

Axl vs Azoff Counter-Lawsuit Documents, May 17, 2010

More on Axl's allegations against Azoff in a later chapter.

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:56 pm

OCTOBER 2009

GUNS N' ROSES IS SUED FOR PLAGIARIZING

In October 2009, two independent record labels sued Guns N' Roses for allegedly having copied portions of two songs by German electronic musician Ulrich Schnauss in the song Riad N' The Bedouins [Reuters, October 5, 2009]. The two songs by Schnauss were Wherever You Are and A Strangely Isolated Place [Reuters, October 5, 2009]. The lawsuit sought $1 million in damages [Reuters, October 5, 2009].

Rolling Stone would comment on the lawsuit:

[...] after a few listens, it sounds like Domino and Independiente [the record labels] are going to have their work cut out for them in proving their case. Whereas there was a clear, though unintentional, melodic similarity between Joe Satriani’s “If I Could Fly” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” the Schnauss lawsuit focuses on 45 seconds of ambient soundscapes at the beginning of “Riad N’ the Bedouins,” before the song breaks into full guitar assault that shares no resemblance to Schnauss’ body of work.

Rolling Stone, October 5, 2009

The following day, Irving Azoff would make a statement:

The band believed when the record came out and still believes that there are no unauthorized samples on the track. The snippets of ‘ambient noise’ in question were provided by a member of the album’s production team who has assured us that these few seconds of sound were obtained legitimately. Artists these days can’t read the minds of those they collaborate with and therefore are unfortunately vulnerable to claims like this one. While the band resents the implication that they would ever use another artist’s work improperly and are assessing possible counterclaims, they are confident this situation will be satisfactorily resolved.

Rolling Stone, October 6, 2009

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:57 pm

OPENERS FOR THE
2010 CHINESE DEMOCRACY WORLD TOUR

In October 2010 it was reported that Danko Jones and Sebastian Bach would be the openers for the forthcoming Canadian leg of the Chinese Democracy World Tour to take place in January and February 2010 [GN'R Daily, October 29, 2009].

With the news, Sebastian Bach would release the following statement:

Well, what can I say. What a long, strange trip it's been.

As I type this, I just cannot believe that I am announcing to all of you that yes, we will be going on the road with Guns N' fucking Roses in my hometown country of Canada in January and February of 2010!!!!

Wow. It felt really, really good to type that sentence.

It's time to sit back and realize, hey, we have been doing this a long time. From Guns N' Roses taking us on tour in North America and Europe in 1991, Australia and New Zealand in 1993, taking us out again in America, Europe, and Canada in 2006, Axl Rose and myself recording 'Sorry' for 'Chinese Democracy' and 'Back In The Saddle', '(Love Is) A Bitchslap' and 'Stuck Inside' for my album 'Angel Down', taking us out again in Australia and New Zealand in 2007....

Are you noticing a theme here? Loyalty? Friendship? Commitment? Passion? For rock n' roll. For life. For fun. For you, the rock fans who make it all possible. For the love of music, having a good time, and kicking out the motherfucking jams.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the vision and generosity of one single man: Mr. Axl Rose. A man I am so unbelievably proud, and fortunate, to call my friend. A man whose unwavering voice, lyrics, and vision have been the soundtrack to our lives for more than 20 years now.

I cannot wait to stand at the side of the stage every night, waiting for my favorite song, 'Street Of Dreams', to come around in the set. I cannot wait for the camaraderie, fun, and sense of purpose the road brings. I cannot wait to scream my fucking guts out into a microphone in the biggest cities, on the biggest stages, that my hometown country has to offer. I can't wait to see all my friends and family at the shows in Canada.

One thing's for sure: I don't have to wait long!!

C'ya soon Canada!! It's time to rock again!! I love it.

Blabbermouth, October 30, 2009

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:59 pm

NOVEMBER 18, 2009

DIZZY RELEASES AMAZING GRACE: THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS PIANO MUSIC

"Amazing Grace: The Best of Christmas Piano Music" is a solo piano exploration of traditional Christmas carols, performed by renowned musician Dizzy Reed. Best known for his long and ongoing tenure as the keyboardist for Guns N' Roses, Dizzy is an accomplished pianist with deep-rooted musicianship. This recording is a return to his beginnings as a musician, when Dizzy learned Christmas carols from his grandmother on the family organ. Played with remarkable sensitivity, a delicate touch, and a few splashes of rock 'n' roll power, this collection of performances is a perfect addition to your holiday season.

"Amazing Grace: The Best of Christmas Piano Music" is a production of Inner Splendor Media, a recording company that specializes in pure, simple, elemental and beautiful music found all over the world. "The Best of Christmas Piano Music" is the one of two new collections of Christmas music released by the company in late 2009.

Blabbermouth, November 18, 2009

Amazing Grace: The Best of
Christmas Piano Music

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:00 pm

DECEMBER 9, 2009

AXL FIGHTS A PAPARAZZI AT LAX

[Sean Penn is] great. Bad Boys is one of my favourite films of all time. I’ve got nothing against hitting a photographer if he’s being an asshole.

Melody Maker, July 18, 1987

_________________________________

As Axl with his entourage was going through LAX on December 9, 2009, before boarding their flight to Taiwan, he got into a fight with a paparazzi [LiveDaily, December 10, 2009]. From the footage that exists, an agitated Axl can be seen warning someone against touching someone in his entourage, presumably Beta. The camera then pans towards a scuffle between Beta and a man as Axl moves quickly towards the man and knocks him down. As Axl is restrained by his entourage, he yells out, "He hit my mother!"

Axl being restrained; Fernando Lebeis in front
LAX, December 9, 2009

The next day, Levine Communications Office, an LA-based PR office that represented Axl and Guns N' Roses, published the following statement:

Axl Rose, lead singer for the legendary rock group Guns N’ Roses, was unhurt last evening when he was accosted by an unruly group of paparazzi at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

At the time of the incident, Mr. Rose was en-route to Taipei, Taiwan, to kick-off Guns N’ Roses’ tour of Southeast Asia including shows in Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

Mr. Rose, who was about to enter a security checkpoint at LAX when the altercation took place, was approached by a group of unchecked and unruly photographers who became aggressive with the singer and female members of the traveling group.

Mr. Rose was not injured during the unprovoked attack and was able to board his flight without further incident.

MySpace Press Release, December 10, 2009

A few days later, Axl would himself release s statement, distancing himself from the statement sent out from Levine Communications:

I did not release any statement or authorize either any statement or anyone to release a statement regarding anything at any airport anywhere.

We had recently began working with newer individuals in management in relation to our current Asian tour in support of our Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" in addition to Irving Azoff's though as it happens we are once again touring Asia without management of any kind.

Imo this non sense may be some type of manufactured or publicity stunt.

We're looking forward to performing in Osaka and Tokyo Japan doubling our pyro show and with our "new" full stage as local requirement have limited us on its use in our last performances.

Thanks to everyone who's come out to see us. It's been really fun so far and the addition of our new guitarist Dj Ashba joining us along w/ guitarists Ron Bumblefoot Thal and Richard Fortus, gives the night a kick in the pants.

Hope to see the rest of you soon!!

And to any publications running this; please feel free to tack on whatever negative agenda supporting nonsense you generally do (You know who you are!!). After all it's only someone else's livelihood you media police state, no fun, spoil sport, communist bastards.

Peace!!

MySpace Press Release, December 14, 2009

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:53 pm

DECEMBER 11-19, 2009

THE CHINESE DEMOCRACY WORLD TOUR STARTS
- SHOWS IN TAIWAN, SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN

On December 11, 2009, the band started the Chinese Democracy World Tour with a show at the Taipei County Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan. This was the first show since 2007 and the release of Chinese Democracy, and the first show with Dj in the band. The set opened with Chinese Democracy, a break from Welcome to the Jungle which had been the opener since 2001. The band also debuted three new songs off Chinese Democracy, Shackler's Revenge, This I Love and If The World, in addition to playing a new cover song My Generation, with Tommy on vocals.

What a way to kick things off!! What an amazing time!! Thank U Taipei!! Thank U Taiwan!! Thanks 2 everyone 4 all the incredible support n' positive comments!! "Talkin' About"...Tommy Fuckin' Stinson! The best December Rain ever!! Hope 2 see U again!! Wanna tear it up in Korea!!

twitter, December 12, 2009

It was surreal because we'd been rehearsing for a few months [...] [Axl] walks out on stage in Japan [sic] and it as ON!

kfmx.com, May 2012

It was surreal, you know, because we'd been rehearsing for a few months and the first time I ever stepped to the... [...] It was awesome. He walked out on stage in Japan and it was just on.

The Rock Show FMX 94.5, May 21, 2013

And I think the first show was Tokyo Dome. Sold out. Like, sixty thousand people — I can't remember; it was a massive show. And still, no Axl. And I was, like, 'This is kind of weird.' And you get used to rehearsing with the guys without Axl there. And sure enough, the lights go down, here comes Axl.

Hanging with Lavs, February 7, 2017

The next show was on December 13 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea. Before the gig, Axl was interviewed by a Korean newspaper:

With [the] show coming up, we've received a lot of comments from Korean fans on MySpace and on our website. There are also requests for us to make sure we play specific songs. We plan to play some songs that were not included in the setlist originally planned for this tour. Korea is a country I always wanted to visit, and only now I've had the chance. I can't wait to meet the fans.

Hangyorae, December 2, 2009

Axl would joke self-deprecatingly during the show:

Seoul, Korea! Very good to be here with you tonight, thank you for havin' us! Come on, tell me the truth, you didn't think I was coming, did you?

Onstage in Seoul, December 14, 2009

The show would feature the debut of Sorry.

After the show Bumblefoot and Axl would state:

Seoul, S. Korea!! Fantastic energy w/the fans! They really took over KOHD. Hearing'em singing along w/Better was a surprise! It was fun playin' Sorry live n' my bad not goin' longer. A few mixups n' gear needed 2 ship but it feels good sortin' out the sheeot. It's such a different animal in the heat of the moment n' gettin' into our reformulated chemistry! 1st indoor gig w/new staging! R in-ear mix was like listenin' to an old AM transistor radio somewhere between bein' in a barrel of toxic waste at the bottom of the ocean or while takin' a "dump" in a tin shitter while a pack of Zombies r beatin' on it with iron pipes! Ha!! Soon as we can stop ingesting this Korean BBQ (Shoutout 2 the 2Jens!!) it's on to Osaka, JP where we got r own brand of KamiKaze 2 unleash!!

Twitter, December 14, 2009

Heeeey, just got to Osaka - the last two shows were such a pleasure, feels damn good to be back on the road," Bumblefoot told RockStar Weekly. "It's all a blur, and I like keeping it that way, only thinking about the next show, not the last show. But ya move ahead with a feeling that something special was shared in each place, makes it feel like coming home any time ya return. Now I have that connection to Taipei and Seoul that will always be there. It's the warmth and kindness of everyone there, they made it special, I can't thank them enough... looking forward to playing Osaka and Tokyo again this week, and starting off 2010 with Canada - see y'all soon!

Rockstar Weekly, December 14, 2009

The next show took place on December 16 at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan. For this show, the band would debut 'Prostitute', 'Scraped' and 'Catcher in the Rye'.

The show was a long one, leading Axl to tweet:

WTF was that?!? 3hrs 17minutes!!! A little carried away?!? Had no idea, time flies!! Just getting on that horse!! Anyway... Hope everyone had fun n' enjoyed the show. Can't believe we played Whole Lotta Rosie! Complete spur of the moment n' we hadn't played it b4 (at least together) catched a train to Tokyo!! Gettin' excited to play already!

Twitter, December 17, 2009

The final show of the short Asian leg took place on December 19 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

The day before the show Axl tweeted:

Tokyo!! Good to be back!! Complete w/a refreshing n' now traditional complimentary morning earthquake!! Yeah boyeee!! We wanna shake some shit up 2moro nite!! I wanna thank everyone 4 comin' out on r Asian Invasian GN'R "Bar Trek". To boldly go where we'd last been n' hadn't been b4!! Means a lot!! It was pure n' utter chaos gettin' this rollin' n' you've made it all worth it!! Such amazing n' supportive people everywhere!! Thank u again 2 everyone who came out n' everyone who helped pull this together. Special thanks 2 Matzka, Gum X n' Mucc 4 their enthusiasm n' great jobs performing w/us!! See everyone that's down w/the Tokyo Dome here 2moro nite where in addition 2 Mucc, AK48 just added will also be opening!! Peace!!

Twitter, December 18, 2009

The show was a really long one, clocking in on 3 hours and 37 minutes.

Longest GNR show ever - 3 hours, 37 minutes. Thanks sooo much to everyone in Taipei, Seoul, Osaka and Tokyo for making this tour kick ass!

Twitter, December 19, 2009

In Tokyo, we broke the all-time Guns record for the longest show. I think it was around three hours and 47 minutes.

Saratogian Mobile, November 2011

The one in Japan where we just played, and played, and played? I would love to do that every fucking night. That was so cool. It started to happen in Osaka, where we ended up playing three hours and seventeen minutes. We have a list of songs that's sort of like a set list, but we just call them out. There's a little microphone on the stage that only we hear, and someone will go up to it - Tommy or Axl - and say "Hey, what do you wanna do next?". One of us will then just mention a song, and they'll say "Yeah, cool", and we'll go into that one. I remember I started playing the riff to "Whole Lotta Rosie" from AC/DC, because we're all huge AC/DC fans, and then Axl started singing. I thought "Oh, cool. We'll keep going", and we ended up playing the whole song, and then we did it again in Tokyo. That was just completely spontaneous, and it was the same thing when Tommy started playing "My Generation" - we all jumped in, and just played that song. One night, he said "Yeah, let's do "Sonic Reducer" from The Dead Boys". I said "Hell yeah", and we just busted that out (laughs).

Even my solo I started doing. I wasn't even gonna play a solo - I fucking hate taking a solo (laughs). I would rather play another song, and that's why I started doing the "Don't Cry" singalong thing with the audience as my solo, because I care more about the song and the music and all that than the soloing and the spotlight. I'm not in it for the spotlight. I'm a song guy. You wouldn't think so with all the noodling I do, but I'm in it for the music. At the very last minute... it was three days before we were heading out (laughs). I thought "Alright, I gotta think about a solo", and then I thought "You know what? How about the 'Pink Panther' theme? Nobody's done that, right?". I just came up with an arrangement, we all worked it out, and we did that, so a lot of things were just very spontaneous.

Ultimate Guitar, February 5, 2010

One night in Tokyo Axl said he wanted to sing [Don't Cry] with me...cool. So we did; it was real nice. Now every once in a while we'll bust it out.

Daily Music News, June 25, 2010

[...] we were just playing and playing. When you're onstage, you forget how long you're there and it all becomes a blur. It could be a 4 hours and you know it for one hour or four. I'm used to be in rehearsal room playing for 10 hours. But yeah it was good. We just kept playing more songs. Axl would say "What do you feel like playing next?" and I'd played intro to "Whole Lotta Rosie" and we started doing that from AC/DC. "What do you feel like doing next?" So someone would say "Let's do this one off Chinese". We ended doing 13 out of 14 songs of Chinese Democracy. It's a lot of fun playing the Chinese songs for me. I have a double neck guitar with the fretted and fretless and I'm switching from one neck to the other one, while singing, so it definitely keeps my brain busy. If anything is harder for me is running on the stage, because I have a 30 pounds guitar. But yeah, it's very solid, strong musical show.

Teraz Rock, August 2010

[...] we were just having an absolute blast. We went, I think, almost four hours. It was one of those things where we came back [from the main set], it had been 3 hours and 16 minutes, and we had no idea. [...] The crowd was going nuts; we kind of lost ourselves. We went back out for the encore, we were gonna do two or three songs, and we ended up doing quite a few more. By the time we got off, we realized we beat the all-time Guns N’ Roses record for longest show, which we didn’t set out to do, but it was cool.

Ultimate Guitar, June 23, 2011

In Tokyo, we broke the all-time Guns record for the longest show. I think it was around three hours and 47 minutes.

Saratogian Mobile, November 16, 2011

Frank would be asked to play a drum solo during the 2009 touring:

I only did a solo for a little bit with Guns. When we started back up again in 2009 I did get a solo spot. I’m not a big chops guy, I’m more of a feel drummer. I can pull out couple of tricks, but when they’d announce my name I’d just go for it. The kind of drummers I love are guys like Phil Rudd, Charlie Watts, Peter Criss, just foundation type drumming. Soloists that I grew up listening to where guys like Zack Alfred, Sterling Campbell. I’m in between there, I would imagine. I can rip it out. My mindset was to just give it to them, just hammer them, throw your sticks down and walk off the stage. What’s great about Guns is that I get to showcase my talent within the songs.

Music Radar, June 11, 2016

Discussing the band playing Whole Lotta Rosie:

That was Axl's idea. Occasionally we guitarists starts playing a riff and some times he goes with it, as he did that night. We ended up with a really fun party jam, and since then we have played it now and then.

NRK, May 30, 2010

Josh attended one of then shows in Japan but was a bit worried since Axl had been bummed out that Josh had recorded for Slash's solo record. The record would be released in 2010 but Slash had been talking about Josh playing on it already in March 2009 [see later chapter]:

But I did go see them. I was in Japan a couple years ago, and they were there at the same time. And I keep in contact with Tommy, the bass player. Tommy Stinson. I emailed Tommy and said, "Dude, you're in Tokyo Thursday, I'm in here and I've got the night off. I wanna come see you play." "Great." And then I went to dinner with him the night before and I said something like, "So you're allowed to put my name on the guest list or does that have to be hidden from anybody that I'm coming to the show?" He's like, "No, not at all, man." And then I stayed for the show but of course they went on stage at midnight and I stayed till one or two and then I left towards the other set, it's two in the morning.

I'd Hit That podcast, April 2013

Looking back at the Asian leg of the tour:

Fucking amazing. Playing Korea for the first time, playing for hours in Japan, and as always the people were so kind, it was a great thing. Finally got to bust out the double-neck and new gear and play the songs appropriately. It's good to finally be able to do this the way it was meant to be done.

newGNRoldGNR, December 25, 2009

The Asian tour was fucking phenomenal. It's been a year since 'Chinese Democracy' came out, so I had no idea what to expect. I really didn't know how the reception would be, and it was more positive than any other tour from my experience. To me, this was better. Just everything felt right. The sound was better, and the way we interacted onstage with the audience - just everything felt right. We were having a real good time up there, and DJ, this was his first time doing shows with us after spending a whole year together on and off just rehearsing, and working out stuff, and hanging out. I have to say, he really stepped up to the plate, and to me, I think he just stole the show. He just kicked so much ass, and I was just so proud to be up there with him. I was really happy with the whole Asian tour, and the people were always wonderful; just very warm and welcoming, and good spirits all round. It was great.

Ultimate Guitar, February 5, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:58 pm

29. FEBRUARY 2009-APRIL 2010: DJ JOINS THE BAND; TOURING CHINESE DEMOCRACY Newbor11

SONG: SCRAPED

Albums:

Chinese Democracy, track no. 8, November 2008.

Written by:
Axl Rose, Buckethead and Caram Costanzo.

Musicians:
Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar
Robin Finck – lead guitars, keyboards
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – lead guitar
Buckethead – lead guitar
Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar, piano
Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar
Tommy Stinson – bass, backing vocals
Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals
Chris Pitman – keyboards, programming, sub bass, backing vocals, bass, 12 string guitar, mellotron
Bryan "Brain" Mantia – drums, percussion
Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion

Live performances:
'Scraped' was played live for the first time on December 16, 2009, Osaka, Japan. In total it has, as of {UPDATEDATE}, at least been played {SCRAPEDSONGS} times.

Scraped
From the alternative Red Hand album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Scraped
From the alternative Grenade album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Lyrics:

Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
Ay-o
I just refuse
Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
Ay-o
Cause I just won't let you

Sometimes I feel like
The world is on top of me
Breakin' me down with
An endless monotony

Sometimes I feel like
There's nothing that's stopping me
All things are possible
I am unstoppable

Some may convince you
No one can break through
I'm here to tell you
You're worth
More than they tell you

Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
Ay-o
I just refuse
Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
Ay-o
Cause I just won't let you

Sometimes I feel like
My life's a catastrophe
Can't understand why
It seems like it has to be

Sometimes I feel like
It's all opened up for me
Nothing's impossible
I am inconquerable

No one can make you
Do what they want to
You know you're stronger
Than the lies
That they tell you

Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
(I'd give anything to know)
Ay-o
I just refuse
Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
(I would have never made it so far)
Ay-o
Cause I just won't let you

Believe in yourself

Some may convince you
No one can break through
You know you're stronger
Than the lies
That they tell you

Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
(I'd give anything to know)
Ay-o
I just refuse
(How you live with yourself)
Ay-o
Don't you try to stop us now
(I would have never made it so far)
Ay-o
Cause I just won't let you
(All by myself)

Believe in yourself

Quotes regarding the song and its making:

That’s another Buckethead song. I was keying off the guitar riff – we’ve been playing that style for years, so when he came in with the riff I knew what to do. Bucket and I have been playing for twenty years now. Before I was even in Primus, Joe Gore, the editor of Guitar Player, turned me on to him. We’ve been playing together since Bill Laswell and Praxis. So to get into that song was so simple – right away I hear his style and know what to play and what to feel.

Modern Drummer, May 2009

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:59 pm

SONG: PROSTITUTE

Albums:

Chinese Democracy, track no. 14, November 2008.

Written by:
Axl Rose and Paul Tobias.

Musicians:
Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar
Robin Finck – lead guitars, keyboards
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – lead guitar
Buckethead – lead guitar
Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar, piano
Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar
Tommy Stinson – bass, backing vocals
Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals
Chris Pitman – keyboards, programming, sub bass, backing vocals, bass, 12 string guitar, mellotron
Bryan "Brain" Mantia – drums, percussion
Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion

Live performances:
'Prostitute' was played live for the first time on December 16, 2009, in Osaka, Japan. In total it has, as of {UPDATEDATE}, at least been played {PROSTITUTESONGS} times.

Prostitute
From the alternative Red Hand album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Prostitute
From the alternative Grenade album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Lyrics:

Seems like forever and a day
If my intentions are misunderstood
Please be kind
I've done all I should
I won't ask of you
What I would not do
Oh, I saw the damage in you
My fortunate one
The envy of youth

Why would they tell me
To please those
That laugh in my face
When all of the reasons
They've taught us
Fall over themselves
To give way

It's not a question of
Whether my heart is true
Streamlined
I had to pull through
Look for a new
Beginning on you
Oh, I got a message for you
Up and away
It's what I gotta do
Give what you have
For what you might lose

What would you say
If I told you that I'm to blame
And what would you do
If I had to deny your name
Where would you go if I told you
I love you and then walked away
An' who should I turn to
If not for the ones
You could not save

I told you when I found you
If there were doubts you
Should be careful and unafraid
Now they surround you
And all that amounts to
Is love that you fed by
Perversion and pain

So if my affections
Are misunderstood
And you decide
I'm up
To no good
Don't ask me to
Enjoy them
Just for you

Ask yourself
Why I would choose
To prostitute myself
To live with fortune and shame
Oh yeah
When you should
Have turned to the hearts
Of the ones
That you would not save

I told you
When I found you
All that amounts to
Is love that you fed by
Perversion and pain

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:04 pm

SONG: CATCHER IN THE RYE

Albums:

Chinese Democracy, track no. 7, November 2008.

Written by:
Axl Rose and Paul Tobias.

Musicians:
Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar
Robin Finck – lead guitars, keyboards
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – lead guitar
Buckethead – lead guitar
Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar, piano
Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar
Tommy Stinson – bass, backing vocals
Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals
Chris Pitman – keyboards, programming, sub bass, backing vocals, bass, 12 string guitar, mellotron
Bryan "Brain" Mantia – drums, percussion
Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion

Live performances:
'Catcher In The Rye' was played live for the first time on December 16, 2009, Osaka, Japan. In total it has, as of {UPDATEDATE}, been played {CATCHERSONGS} times.

Catcher In The Rye
From the alternative Red Hand album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Catcher In The Rye
From the alternative Grenade album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Lyrics:

When all is said and done
We're not the only ones
Who look at life this way
That's what the old folks say
But every time I see them
Makes me wish I had a gun
If I thought that I was crazy
Well I guess I'd have more fun
(Guess I'd have more fun)

Oooh, the Catcher In The Rye Again
Won't let ya get away from him
(Tomorrow never comes)
It's just another day...
Like today

You decide
Cause I don't have to
And then they'll find
And I won't ask you
At anytime
Or long hereafter
If the cold outside's
As I'm imagining
It to be
Oh, no

Lana nana na na na
Lana nana na nana

Ooh, the Catcher In The Rye Again
Won't let ya get away from him
(Tomorrow never comes)
It's just another day...
Like today

When all is said and done
We're not the only ones
Who look at life this way
That's what the young folks say
And if they'd ever change
As that reminds to say
But every time I see them
Makes me wish I had a gun
If I thought that I was crazy
Well I guess I'd have more fun
Cause what used to be's
Not there for me
And ought to for someone
That belongs...
Insane...
Like I do

Oh, no
Not at all

On an ordinary day
Not in an ordinary way
All at once the song I heard
No longer would it play
For anybody
Or anyone
That needed comfort from somebody
Needed comfort from someone
Who cared
To be
Not like you
And unlike me

And then the voices went away from me
Somehow you set the wheels in motion
That haunt our memories
You were the instrument
You were the one
How a body
Took the body
You gave that boy a gun

You took our innocence
Beyond our stares
Sometimes the only thing
We counted on
When no one else was there

Quotes regarding the song

After the release of Chinese Democracy, Axl would talk about the meaning behind the lyrics:

For me the song is inspired by what's referred to sometimes as Holden Caulfield syndrome. I feel there's a possibility that how the writing is structured with the thinking of the main character could somehow reprogram for lack of a better word some who may be a bit more vulnerable, with a skewed way of thinking and tried to allow myself to go what may be there or somewhat close during the verses. I'd think for most those lines are enjoyed as just venting, blowing off steam, humor or some type of entertainment where it may be how others seriously live in their minds. The bridge b4 the solo is an artistic interpretation of a institutionalized mind. The outro is a tribute to Lennon and an indictment of the author for writing what i feel is utter garbage and I agree whole heartedly that it should be discontinued as required reading in schools. That's my take, I could be completely wrong, I do realize that the song and title could have the next poor soul reading the book and feeling inspired to make an unfortunate statement. So there's the catch I guess. When I came up with the focus, I got a call from the director of Imagine wanting a bunch of money to make a documentary, had a guy sending me strange packages about Lennon and serial killers etc and the web started calling me Salinger w/no one knowing what I was writing. I figured I was on the right track at least for a song.

chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008

Ok, I've never actually tried to put this into words this way before and this'll probably get me in trouble with someone but here goes... The piano started while watching a documentary or A&E type show on Chapman and wanting to write something for Lennon and his family. W/the book it started as fascination and curiosity with Holden Caufield Syndrome and what was or could possibly be in the book that obviously certain vulnerable people have seemed to become so passionate about and resort to outrageous public attempts or acts of violence. That and the question most have in regard to Lennon's death...why? Can't say I have those answers but I feel our song pays the emotional tribute to John Lennon in the end that I'd wanted to write since the night he was killed and also since first listening to Elton and Bernie's Empty Garden. I read the book. I fell into a deep dark sleep. Went to the studio and sang as a joke what I refer to as the Holden parts off the top of my head and felt at the time at least imo I had stumbled on a way of thinking that had a pattern and a flow but was broken up like a television station going out and coming back slightly off course intermittently and not making sense with it's earlier portion. Where this unease helped to justify or even demand taking action and feeling the power of taking that action against whoever your mind felt was somehow involved or the root of this unease and alienation. Accompanied by a calming surreal almost religious (but totally insane) vibe I think that if some were to experience having limited capabilities, insecurities or are mentally and emotionally challenged in some way could find a false sense of solace and take comfort in like being on some type of drugs or meds but with an added completely false sense of an imagined calling or purpose. It certainly could and very well often would feel better than some individuals real world or having to experience or live with a clearer perspective of their true reality... All of which of course could be imagined and hooked together by events like Lennon's murder, reading the book, wanting to write a song about someone being insane, John Lennon, Chapman, people shooting people and watching Mel Gibson's Conspiracy! And when I got home not in any dramatic way but more like cleaning off the dinner table I threw my book away. Don't know if any of that's really what any of that's about but that's how it hit me and just like an instant cake we got the basis for a song.

chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008

Replacing Brian May's parts:

In November 2008, just before the release of Chinese Democracy, it was rumoured that May's contributions to the song 'Cather in the Rye' has been removed, to which May responded:

Well, it is a shame, perhaps ... I did put quite a lot of work in, and was proud of it. But I could understand if Axl [w]ants to have an album which reflects the work of the members of the band as it is right now.

Blabbermouth, November 4, 2008

After the release of the album, Axl would explain the decision to exclude May's contributions and partly explain the reason on fans not showing enough appreciation for it:

There's a few reasons and none of them all that big and definitely not in spite or to slight anyone. 1st off obviously I knew people liked the song but the Brian appreciation really only showed up in force publicly after we had moved on in Guns. In fact Not many seemed to care and most comments were aimed at why Slash in their opinions should be here. Brians solo itself is a personal fave of mine and I really couldn't understand as he's such a rock legend why it wasn't openly appreciated more at the time. In actuality all that feel and emotion referred to now had a lot to do with Sean and I and the parts I chose out of Brian's different runs, versions, practice runs etc to make sure we had those elements in one version. It's entirely constructed from edits based around one specific note Brian hit in a throw away take. And though Brian seems to have warmed a bit to it at least publicly he was unfortunately none to pleased at the time with our handiwork. I remember looking at Brian standing to my left and him staring at the big studio speakers a bit aghast saying "But that's not what I played." Sean Beavan and I were not in any way tring to mess with Brian we just did what we do and then try and do our best to stand up for our decisions.

htgth.com, December 12, 2008

A fan at HTGTH would reach out to May through email for comments on what Axl said:

I have been reluctant to say anything about the sessions, ever since it happened, out of respect to Axl, and, well, its the decent way to behave. But there is so much talk about it now, and so many questions ... I have been putting together a small piece about it for my 'Soapbox".

The important thing from my point of view is that it happened at all, and was an enjoyable experience. I was honoured. I really didn't do it with the expectation that I would get any long-term rewards !!! Axl is pretty exceptional, and unpredictable ...

I am reminded of something my Mum told me once, many years ago. She said it's OK to lend money to people, but you must lend it with the full knowledge that it will probably never come back. This is the only way to live in peace with yourself !!

So its the same with time, or deeds, or anything that you can give. If you do it expecting thankyou's, or rewards, you're going to be disappointed !

I'm really not disappointed in the least. I'm very happy that people like yourself have been writing to me saying good things ... that's a real bonus. I sleep well in my bed !! And I will always have great love for Axl.

htgth.com, December 16, 2008

This is the "soapbox comment" May wrote and published on his website:

Well, a lot of people have been asking about me and Axl.

It's very simple really ... Axl is making his record, and he can do whatever he wants ! After all these years I'm still a huge fan.

It was such a long time ago, it tends to recede into the mists of time, for me ... I certainly don't remember anything about disapproving of any 'comping' Sean Beavan had done - I remember it, I had actually comped it up with him myself. Of course, soon afterwards, Sean was taken off the project, although I have to say I thought the tracks were overall sounding bloody good at that time! I'm not sure if we know where the version that was 'leaked' to the public came from. I have my own rough mixes, which I took away at the time for the purposes of working on the stuff further if necessary, but nobody but me has ever heard those. I kept them totally private, because that's the professional way to be. I actually played on three tracks.

The scenario was very different from what folk-lore seems to be embroidering it into. So maybe I ought to say something ...

What happened, the way I remember it, was this. I had been on tour with GN'R, and had a very good relationship with them ... they were much kinder to me than they needed to be, as a support artist to them as they toured the USA and Europe. We had some great times. People will recall that GN'R also guested at our Freddie tribute concert, at the good old Wembley Stadium, as it was then. They did an amazing job on Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door", and they donated all the proceeds of their live recording to the newly-founded Mercury Phoenix Trust - that's a nice answer to anyone who accuses GN'R of being anti-gay.

Well, some time later, once I was back home, Axl phoned me up, out of the blue, and told me he felt he was losing his way over guitars on the tracks on the album, and asked me if I would come over for a couple of days to LA and have look. The idea was not that I become part of the band! It was more about me coming in as a friend, giving what I could to the project, as an objective outside opinion, and doing a bit of guitar playing as well. I said I'd be very happy to do that. His people booked me on plane, and I arrived a couple of days later. It was fun. Axl came down to the studio from his house, where he was also working in parallel on other stuff in his home studio, and, with Sean, played about 20 tracks to me ... pretty much almost the whole album as it stood at that time. That's a lot of listening time! But it was all fascinating. My comments were mainly appreciations, and reassurances, and I liked most of the guitar that was already on there, but I remember having strong 'producorial' feelings about making sure Axl's great vocals didn't get swamped in too much guitar ornamentation.

Then I played some guitar ... working with Sean. Over the next couple of days I went in and spent most of day there, trying things out on various tracks. Axl actually stayed away from that time on, getting Sean to take up rough mixes of what we'd been doing each night, and sending back appreciative comments. Then I went home!

Oh .. we also had a nice evening having dinner up at Axl's home, with a few friends and record company guys, during which Axl played everybody a whole bunch of tracks that were NOT already on the album ... which he had been working on separately. It was evidently already a mammoth project.

In my mind, I gave it a small piece of my life, without any thought of getting anything back, except the feeling that I'd contributed a little to the journey of the album project. I didn't ask to be paid, or even credited, and I certainly didn't put any constraints on whether the guys had to use my work or not.

I'm totally relaxed about the outcome, as I always was, and I hope that Axl will now feel liberated, by the final emergence of his magnum opus, to move on, and get back out there where we all want him to be, rockin' around the world ...

It's interesting that, at the time of all this, I was completely sure that for us, as Queen, the days of playing packed stadium gigs were over. I never thought that in 2008, we would be playing, in Buenos Aires, for instance, in the same football stadium (Velez Sarsfield) as we played with Freddie all those years ago, to a reaction every bit as frenetic as in the Old Days. The reviews of Queen and Paul Rodgers in Brazil were ecstatic, to the point where one article said our show out-did the first Rock in Rio. So I'm very grateful that the wheel keeps turning, and even happier still to be in the Great River of Rock.

Cheers

Bri

Brian May website, December 14, 2008

In 2009, Bumblefoot would discuss the fact that May's solo on Catcher in the Rye was replaced with his solo:

Brian May had done a whole lot of tracking for the album that unfortunately wasn’t used. Brian had recorded a solo for the Catcher In The Rye years ago, and I had done some takes later on. And I guess they chose to go with the stuff I put down, which actually I feel a little guilty about: you know Brian May is definitely someone who is of ‘we are not worthy!’ status. Brian, if you read this, you’re welcome to play anything you want on one of my records. In fact, I won’t play any guitar at all and you can play all the guitars – that would be fine with me.

Guitarist, March 2009

Talking about playing the song live:

I see them singing along to all the new songs. And that's good. I like that certain ones stand out for people. Like Catcher In The Rye, for instance. There's so much going on, and it's a beautiful song with so many nice melodies in there. And speaking of Yes, one of my favorite Yes albums is Going For The One, and the things going on at the end of Catcher In The Rye remind a lot of me of the title track on that album. It just keeps going and coming around again and building and saying more. There's improvising on it, and the guitars and vocals sort of dance around with each other. And that's fucking cool!.

HTGTH, September 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:04 pm

SONG: SORRY

Albums:
Chinese Democracy, track no. 10, November 2008.

Written by:
Axl Rose, Buckethead, Brian Mantia and Pete Scaturro.

Musicians:
Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar
Robin Finck – lead guitars, keyboards
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – lead guitar
Buckethead – lead guitar
Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar, piano
Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar
Tommy Stinson – bass, backing vocals
Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals
Chris Pitman – keyboards, programming, sub bass, backing vocals, bass, 12 string guitar, mellotron
Bryan "Brain" Mantia – drums, percussion
Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion

Live performances:
'Sorry' was played live for the first time on December 13, 2009, in South Korea. In total it has, as of {UPDATEDATE}, at least been played {SORRYSONGS} times.

Sorry
From the alternative Red Hand album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Sorry
From the alternative Grenade album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Lyrics:

You like to hurt me
You know that you do
You like to think
In some way
That it's me
An not you
(But we know that isn't true)

You like to have me
Jump an be god
But I...
Don't want to do it

You don't know why
I won't act the way
You think I should

You thought they'd make me
Behave and submit (submit)

What were you thinking
Cause I don't forget

You don't know why
I won't give in
To hell with the pressure
I'm not cavin' in

You know that I
Got under your skin
You sold your soul
But I won't let you win

You talk too much
You say I do

Difference is nobody cares about you

You've got all the answers
You know everything
Why nobody asked you
'S a mystery to me

I'm sorry for you
Not sorry for me
You don't know who in the hell to
or not to believe
I'm sorry for you
Not sorry for me
You don't know who you can trust now
Or you should believe
You should believe
You don't know who you can trust now
Or you should believe

You close your eyes
All well and good
I'll kick your ass
Like I said that I would

You tell them stories they'd rather believe
Use and confuse them
They're numb and naive

Truth is the truth hurts
Don't you agree?

It's harder to live
With the truth about you
Than to live with
The lies about me

Nobody owes you
Not one goddamn thing
You know where to put your
Just shut up and sing

I'm sorry for you
Not sorry for me
You don't know who in the hell to
Or not to believe
I'm sorry for you
Not sorry for me
You choose to hurt those that love you
An won't see them free
Won't see them free
You choose to hurt those that love you
An won't see them free

You don't need
Anyone else to be
Sorry for you
You've got no heart
You can't see
All that you've done for me
I know the reasons
You tear me apart

Quotes regarding the song and its making:

Confirming that he wrote it together with Buckethead:

We [=Brain and Buckethead] did Shackler's and I'm Sorry.

Appetite for Distortion, January 11, 2018

Fans would speculate that the lyrics of the song was about Slash, and Axl would comment on this:

With Sorry.. like a lot of the material is drawn from a lot of different situations. The main focus on the boards w/the track seems to be either Slash or "the fans" (and the collective of "the fans" is another thing that doesn't work for me) and is much too restrictive or narrow and limits what I feel I intended. For me it's for anyone talking nonsense at mine and the public's expense and that many of those as well as the public don't know who to believe.

Also where possible I'd like to give people the opportunity to get what they can from the material for a while before clouding that with my inspirations. Of course that's not always avoidable

chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008

And for the idiots,. I don't mean anyone here tonight. No, this song is not about someone I used to know.

Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka, Japan, December 16, 2009

When asked why he chose to sing the line "but I don't want to do it" in a different voice:

Because I like it, feel it absolutely fits the song, is a bit reggae etc and is lots of fun personally.

chinesedemocracy.com, December 14, 2008

Talking about recording the song:

‘I’m Sorry’ was more the Pink Floyd thing so I think I used a bigger kick, a 24" or a 26", on ‘There Was A Time’ we used a 22", we were just experimenting

MusicRadar, October 2012

Sebastian Bach is an uncredited singer on this song, and for more information on his contribution and how it came about, see an earlier chapter.

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:06 pm

SONG: THIS I LOVE

Albums:

Chinese Democracy, track no. 13, November 2008.

Written by:
Axl Rose.

Musicians:
Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar
Robin Finck – lead guitars, keyboards
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – lead guitar
Buckethead – lead guitar
Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar, piano
Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar
Tommy Stinson – bass, backing vocals
Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals
Chris Pitman – keyboards, programming, sub bass, backing vocals, bass, 12 string guitar, mellotron
Bryan "Brain" Mantia – drums, percussion
Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion

Live performances:
'This I Love' was played live for the first time on December 11, 2009, in Taiwan. In total it has, as of {UPDATEDATE}, at least been played {THISILOVESONGS} times.

This I Love
From the alternative Red Hand album artwork
Credit to troccoli

This I Love
From the alternative Grenade album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Lyrics:

And now I don't know why
She wouldn't say goodbye
But then it seems that I
Had seen it in her eyes

And it might not be wise
I'd still have to try
With all the love
I have inside
I can't deny

I just can't let it die
Cause her heart's just like mine
And she holds her pain inside

So if you ask me why
She wouldn't say goodbye
I know somewhere inside

There is a special light
Still shining bright
And even on the darkest night
She can't deny

So if she's somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There's no one else
Could ever make me feel
I'm so alive
I hoped she'd never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I've searched the universe
And found myself
Within' her eyes

No matter how I try
They say it's all a lie
So what's the use of my confessions to a crime
Of passions that won't die
In my heart

So if she's somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There's no one else
Could ever make me feel
I'm so alive

I hoped she'd never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I've searched the universe
And found myself
Within' her eyes

So if she's somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There's no one else
Could ever make me feel
I'm so alive

I hoped she'd never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I've searched the universe
And found myself
Within' her eyes

So now I don't know why
She wouldn't say goodbye
It just might be that I
Had seen it in her eyes
And now it seems that I
Gave up my ghost of pride
I'll never say goodbye

Quotes regarding the song

As described previously, the song had been considered for inclusion on the 'What Dreams May Come' soundtrack in 2005 [see previous chapter]. In connection with this, studio engineer Dave Dominguez would say the song had been recorded when the band was touring Use Your Illusion:

"This I love" is actually an old GN'R song that the original GN'R wrote and recorded for the "Illusion" records I like that song a lot.. it took a couple of weeks to find all the tapes because they finished recording "Use Your Illusions" on the road and one tape was in Paris another in London and another in Sydney I believe.

Sp1at, February 10, 2005

And Axl had previously mentioned the song in an interview done already back in December 1992, indicating that this was an old song:

I wrote and recorded a new love song that I want on the next record called This I Love, that's the heaviest thing that I've ever done.

Hit Parader, June 1993; but interview done in December 1992

And when talking about the material they were working on for the follow-up to the UYI albums:

Slash has been working with a lot of riffs, and I've been working out where my head's at about things. I'd like the next record to go to farther extremes. If I'm expressing anger, I'd like to take that farther; if I'm expressing happiness and joy, I'd like to take that farther. We haven't actually gotten together to collaborate on too many songs. I wrote and recorded a new song that I want to have on the record called 'This I Love.'

Raw Magazine, 1993

In the quotes above, Axl would indicate 'This I Love' was one of his songs and according to Sp1at, Howard Karp, who would work on the song in 2000, described the song as a "simple piano ballad" [Sp1at, February 14, 2005].

In 2010, when doing a show in Amnéville in France, Axl would state that the song had been written while in France:

This may be the only GN'R song written in France

Concert in Amnéville, France, September 2010; paraphrased

Taken together, these quotes would indicate that the song was written in June 1992 when the band did a show in Paris.

Later, Craig Duswalt (Axl's personal assistant during the UYI touring), would talk about having been there when Axl wrote the song:

I loved the ballad, “This I Love” for two reasons. First, it’s an awesome song, and second, I was there while Axl was writing that song in his hotel rooms during the Use Your Illusion tour. It’s really cool to hear how a song goes through different variations, and what finally ends up on an album.

mygnrforum, May 1, 2014

In 2017, Axl would again talk about the song from the stage, more cryptically but possible suggesting it took some time to get his soul back after the end of his relationship with Stephanie Seymour:

The person I wrote that song for said "thank you for the gift of your soul". Well, it took a while but I got that fucker back.

Copenhagen, Denmark, June 27, 2017

Dawn Soler, musical supervisor for 'What Dreams May Come', would state to Sp1at that Axl was "really into the film" but that the director of the movie, Vincent Ward, decided against its inclusion on the soundtrack [Blabbermouth, February 21, 2005].

[This I Love] was definitely a love song...very heartfelt, it would have fit perfectly with 'What Dreams May Come'.

Blabbermouth, February 21, 2005; from Sp1at

In 2019, Dominguez would describe what had happened back in 2005 in more detail:

Mike Clink called me and said, “Hey, the producers for this Robin Williams movie are coming down at some point and they want Guns to record a song for it, a song called This I Love. But we gotta find the tapes. I was like, “Okay,” because I guess they had written it and recorded it during the Illusions tour. Because I don’t know if you knew this, [...] Illusions wasn’t finished when they hit that tour, so Mike would fly with them and they would finish it up in different cities. So I remember getting four tapes, one from Australia, one was in England, the other was, like, somewhere in Wisconsin...

So they’d come in and they were from different parts. So when they finally got there, Axl – that was Axl who was really involved with that – said, “Hey,” he called me up. “Hey, don’t you come in?” “Yeah.” So he came in and goes, “This is what I’m looking for.” And I found the... because then there’s always a master tape, which has usually drums, rhythm guitars, bass and a scratch vocal; and then the rest are slaves, which have different parts. So they had, like, three different slaves. He was like, “There’s a certain part of the song that I want, that I really like, so you gotta find the right tape”. So I put it up and he was like, “Yeah, that’s it.” And it was a beautiful song. I guess it ended up on Democracy, but just the title. It’s a whole different song. [...] I remember I listened to it - I haven’t listened to Democracy in quite a while, but I go, “Oh, this isn’t the exact...” Because that was a piano ballad. [...] It was a ballad, it was a really cool song. So a guy, Kenny (?), who I mentioned earlier, who was around at the time, had become, like, my assistant during that, he would come in and he’d help me out.

I’m sure you’ve heard the famous Axl stories about him just being out of control and being, you know, rude, just yelling... Well, I never really got any of that, personally. He always treated me great, and he treated my family great, and he was always awesome. The only time he ever did really get upset with me was during that session. At the end of that song, This I Love, he was repeating the... oh what was his girlfriend? Stephanie Seymour. It was like “I love you, Stephanie” or “This I love, Stephanie.” He was, like, whispering it at the end of the song. And he heard it and he goes, “Just erase all that.” I was like, “Do you want me to back it up?” “No, erase it!” And he yelled and walked out of the room. So Kenny there, the assistant, and I said, “We’re gonna erase something GNR fans are never ever gonna hear. Like, they’re never gonna hear this.” That to me was like, “Wow, this is crazy. This is a GNR song that no one’s ever heard and no one is ever gonna hear this again.” I looked at him, “Are you ready?” And I put the tracks in the recorder and I erased it. [...]

It was pretty intense. That was the first time he got upset - I think the only time he ever got upset with me. And I was like - because I didn’t know. I was like, “Do you wanna back it up, just in case?” You know, I was gonna lock it to the A-DAT and back it up, so anybody could put it back. And he was like, “No.” I go, “Alright...” And I just remember, like, that was the only time I had butterflies on my stomach. I didn’t wanna erase the wrong thing. So he left the room, and I said, “I need ten minutes.” I would’ve probably only needed two minutes to do it, but I wanted to verify I was erasing the right thing. It was like, I did triple-quadruple checking, like, “this is it, here we go.” Yeah, that was pretty crazy.

GN'R Central, January 17, 2019

In 2008, Axl would be asked if the song was still the heaviest thing he had written:

That's still it and ultimately a great healing experience to compose something you have no real idea you're capable of such as the bridge. It's a lot more intricate than I think most realize yet as the guitar and vocals are placed as they should be so dominant. The main string melody in that section I had originally written to a hip-hop loop as well.

chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008

He would also say it is the most emotional song for him to sing [chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008] and that the part of the album he was most proud of was the song's orchestral arrangement:

Right now a lot on [Chinese Democracy]. For me musically it would have to be the orchestral arrangement in the bridge of TIL

chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008

Axl would also say he hadn't intended to include it on Chinese Democracy, but that Robin and Constanza had insisted:

I didn’t want to do This I love in anyway shape or form and Robin and Caram insisted gaining Tommy’s and the others support

mygnrforum.com, December 14, 2008

Frank would later talk about how much he loves Axl's vocals:

So my overall thinking of Chinese is, you know, Axl's great vocal performances on almost every song. I mean, This I Love is incredible and his singing on that is just insanely incredible, you know.

The Classic Metal Show, February 2014

Robin describing the solo he recorded for the song:

When I knew I was gonna go in and record one of the lead parts on "This I Love," I would listen a few times without playing. I would listen to the track without playing guitar and just kinda try to hear what comes natural as far as starting low or starting high or where to begin and where to end up. I've always liked guitar players that play in phrases maybe like a horn player who needs to take a breath. I don't think about it - I'm thinkin' about it more now because you've asked me than I have ever thought about it (laughs). There wasn't a lot of thinkin' going on to be honest.

Ultimate Guitar, January 2014

Talking about playing the song live:

[Talking about his favorite song off Chinese Democracy]: Probably ‘This I Love’ is one that really hooked me, because it’s just a great song, lyrically and musically; it goes through a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s very heartfelt, you can tell.

Classic Rock Magazine; June 23, 2011

I really like - and at first hated it - This I Love. At first, I just couldn't get my head around the solo, so I had to tweak it out and just make it a little bit more mine. I am really bad at mocking other guitar players. I've never been that good at learning cover songs - it's just never been my thing, so it was hard to wrap my head around [Robin's] style. That one was way harder than a Slash solo, in my opinion.

Total Guitar, December 2012

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:06 pm

OCTOBER 23, 2009

FRONT LINE MANAGEMENT IS OUT

In June 2009, according to a source to New York Daily News, Axl had been firing and hiring Irving Azoff three times in a month [New York Daily News, June 6, 2009]. Allegedly, the conflict centered on Azoff trying to get Axl out of the house and try to attempt to revive the sales of Chinese Democracy [New York Daily News, June 6, 2009].

At some point in 2009, Goldstein sent a letter to Axl where he tried to ingratiate himself with Axl again after having been estranged since 2001, and claimed Azoff was only working towards making Axl reunite with previous band members:

Axl, I'm watching your career with great frustration. I know that the only reason Irving is working with you is to induce you in the future to do THE GREAT RE-UNION TOUR. Give me a fucking break....I KNOW that is never going to happen, and wish people wouldd just fucking leave you alone on this issue. Andy Gould...C'mon..the guys a buffoon. He's a semi-funtioning alcoholic, who doesn't put YOUR needs in first place.

Goldstein's letter to Axl, 2009

Then later in the year, Axl would announce that he and his management had gone their separate ways:

I did not release any statement or authorize either any statement or anyone to release a statement regarding anything at any airport anywhere.

We had recently began working with newer individuals in management in relation to our current Asian tour in support of our Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" in addition to Irving Azoff's though as it happens we are once again touring Asia without management of any kind.

Imo this non sense may be some type of manufactured or publicity stunt.

We're looking forward to performing in Osaka and Tokyo Japan doubling our pyro show and with our "new" full stage as local requirement have limited us on its use in our last performances.

Thanks to everyone who's come out to see us. It's been really fun so far and the addition of our new guitarist Dj Ashba joining us along w/ guitarists Ron Bumblefoot Thal and Richard Fortus, gives the night a kick in the pants.

Hope to see the rest of you soon!!

And to any publications running this; please feel free to tack on whatever negative agenda supporting nonsense you generally do (You know who you are!!). After all it's only someone else's livelihood you media police state, no fun, spoil sport, communist bastards.

Peace!!

MySpace Press Release, December 14, 2009

In the later counter-lawsuit against Azoff, Axl would state that Azoff had resigned on October 23 [Axl vs Azoff Counter-Lawsuit Documents, May 17, 2000]

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:09 pm

JANUARY 13, 2010

THE NORTH AMERICAN TOURS STARTS IN
WINNIPEG, CANADA

The band continued the Chinese Democracy World Tour with their first show of the North American leg on January 13 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

It could have been when entering Canada on this tour that Tom Mayhue had a small meltdown on an arrogant border cop:

It wasn't very cool on my part after thinking about this. It wasn't a crew guy, it was to a Canadian cop, a border cop. And he had pissed me off. I pretty much had enough of him after about... I went to do a cross and coming in with Guns N' Roses on a trip up to Canada and I love Canada. But I'd been in the country, I don't know, maybe 150 or 200 times to go up with Seal all the time. So I'd at least 50 times with them and then touring over the years, the last 35 years. And so I flew and this border cop... I said very politically incorrect things, I think. But he asked me, said, "Have you ever been arrested?" and I said, "Yes, sir, I was arrested for DUI when I was 21," and he said, "Okay, you ever been arrested for anything else?" and I'm like, "I don't think so," and I couldn't remember. So he goes, "Did you ever give a false ID to a police officer in the States?" and I go, "I did," and then so he started to berate me and he started to just say, "You know how serious of an offense that is?" and I'm like, "I had a fake ID in my wallet, I made it when I was a kid so that I could get into clubs to see bands. I didn't really see that, you know, big of a harm in it," you know it wasn't like I was trying to bring down the police system or somethin. I'm just trying to go to a show and see band play or something, you know. And then this guy just wouldn't stop and he's like, "You go sit down over there," he goes, "there's more people in line, we'll deal with you later." I go, "You'll deal with me right now! I've had enough of you!" and this is after about five minutes worth and I go, "I ain't waiting, I ain't going anywhere, you're gonna deal with me right fucking now! Those fucking people behind me can fucking wait!" and I looked at him I said, "What's the matter with you? Did your boyfriend not pound enough fucking pipe into your fucking heinie last night?" And there's two other cops had to come over and fucking hold him down for me and pull his gun out and probably shooting me in the head. He was pissed. [...] This is only 8-10 years ago. But I'm like, "This happened when I was 17 years old, I'm 52 years old or something at the time, I go, "Do you think I haven't been rehabilitated? You could see on your little goddamn computer there that I've been in your country a couple hundred times so if this is a matter of money that you want from me, just extort it now." I go, "I'm not leaving, you're gonna fucking either deny me entry into your fucking, shitty country or you're letting me leave right now!" Yeah, I don't mean that about Canada, I love Canada. But so they they issued that cop... they took him away and they had him do another... a break and then talk to other people. But then the next set of cops that came up go, "Why did you just get all fired up?" and I go, "I'm not gonna be talked down to by anybody, I could care less, if you don't want me in your country, I won't come, but don't sit there and berate me." I go, "I'm not gonna have some 35 year old kid tell me how much of a fucking horrible person I am." If it was up to me, if I had a pipe I'd hit him right in the fucking head.

Backstage Productions Inc, September 26, 2018

Before taking the stage in Winnipeg, Axl tweeted:

Yo Vancouver!! D'oh!! Bkstage in Winnipeg, Danko's on, 26F HEATWAVE!! Excited 2 get this rolling. In r off time we'll b helping Mounties flush out Al Qaeda. (What's that aboot, Eh? jk) Good 2 see Baz! LET'S DO THIS!!!

Twitter, January 13, 2010

Backstage photo posted by Axl
January 13, 2010

Excerpt of review by Darryl Sterdan writing for Rolling Stone Magazine:

Following the basic template laid out on the band’s Asian dates in December, they kicked open the doors with the title cut from Chinese Democracy, followed by the one-two-three punch of “Welcome to the Jungle,” “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone” from 1987’s Appetite for Destruction. From the moment Rose opened his mouth to scream, “You know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baybeeee!” it was clear his corroded air-raid siren of a voice had lost little of its range, rage or power. Likewise, the rest of the band — guitarists Richard Fortus, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and DJ Ashba, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman, drummer Frank Ferrer and bassist Tommy Stinson (formerly of The Replacements) — hit the ground running, tearing through most of Appetite and Democracy, with a few cuts from the 1991 Use Your Illusion albums (including covers of “Live and Let Die” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”) sprinkled in for good measure.

Although he appeared to be in good spirits, between songs Rose kept fairly quiet, offering little beyond the usual thank-yous and how-is-everybody banter. In fact, for a guy who wields such a commanding musical presence, he spent much of the evening shining the spotlight on his bandmates, bolting from the stage during every instrumental break and introducing nearly every player for a solo segment (best of the bunch: Stinson’s suitably snotty bash ’n’ pop version of the Who’s “My Generation”).

Rolling Stone, January 14, 2010

Axl and Dj
Winnipeg, January 13, 2010

Excerpts of review by John Onstronomy writing for MTV Music Blogs:

Thank God for Axl Rose. Say what you want about him – that he worked on “Chinese Democracy” for too long, that you don’t think his band should be called Guns N’ Roses, or that you think he goes onstage too late – but this is rock 'n' roll, and I like Axl even more for doing things HIS way. Whether it’s defending his entourage in an airport scuffle on the way to a tour date in Taiwan or reportedly exchanging a Twitter barb with a former bandmate over reunion rumors and the Haitian earthquake, right or wrong – it’s not my or anyone else's business to decide – Rose is one of the only rock stars that hasn’t lost what made me love them in the first place.

On Wednesday night, Guns N’ Roses performed what Rolling Stone magazine called a “marathon gig” in Winnepeg, Canada in support of their platinum selling 2008 release, “Chinese Democracy.” Although I loved Guns since I first saw them from the front row at Boston’s Paradise rock club in September ‘87, the current band lineup is as cool, talented, and interesting as any I’ve ever seen.

This supergroup has spent so much time rehearsing in Los Angeles, that they can knock out three-plus hours of new and old GN’R classics at a moment’s notice. Lead guitarist, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal is like no other musician I’ve ever heard. You can literally detune every tuning peg on his Gibson Les Paul headstock, and he’ll instantaneously transpose his fingerings on the fretboard. Bassist Tommy Stinson is someone I admired since my high school band covered the Replacements’ version of KISS’ “Black Diamond,” and between keyboard players Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman, guitarists Richard Fortus and DJ Ashba, and drummer Frank Ferrer, I’d be hard pressed to assemble a better band. Sure the classic lineup including Axl, Slash, Duff, and Izzy were, as Slash recently described it, “a real force together,” but that was in the past, and the new Guns members are more than qualified to keep the name Guns N’ Roses alive. In an open letter to the fans, Rose quoted Stinson as saying, “We're not lettin' what took so much blood and heart get turned to shit and dust.”

MTV Music Blogs, January 15, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:09 pm

JANUARY 13, 2010

AXL REACTS TO REUNION RUMOURS

On January 12, 2010, a terrible earthquake struck Haiti causing massive destruction and loss of lives. The next day Slash tweeted:

[...] looking into organizing a big fund raiser concert for Haiti

Twitter (via The Rock Radio), January 13, 2010

The same day, Axl also tweeted:

On a side note, pretty low n' selfish usin' the devastation in Haiti 2 start (false) reunion rumors. R hearts n' prayers go out to the Haitian people.

Twitter, January 13, 2010

It is not clear what reunion rumours Axl referred to, nor who he considered low and selfish, but Blabbermouth (and other media) would speculate that Axl was referring to Slash [Blabbermouth (via The Rock Radio), January 13, 2010].

In the time after, Axl would emphasize that he had not been referring to Slash with his tweet:

[...] thanks 4 ALL the positive press n' reviews, it's more than greatly appreciated!! W/the exceptions of r scheduling, n' routing nonsense, a few misguided (minor) media hacks twistin' either Haiti comments or a 2001 bs RS story [...]

Twitter, February 6, 2010

Takin' shots at Slash n' reunions over Haiti nonsense: Never happened. Wasn't aware of any comments from the old lineup.

Twitter, February 16, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:09 pm

JANUARY 16-20, 2010

THE CANADIAN LEG OF THE TOUR CONTINUES

The band then continued to Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, AB, Canada, for a show on January 16 and then to Rexall Place in Edmonton, AB, Canada, for a show on January 17.

Edmonton! At the Rexall. None of this "left at the hotel" sheott!! 2 concerned w/gettin' 2 the gig yday 2 tweet. Ready 2 wreak havoc!!

Twitter, January 17, 2010

Excerpt of review by Mike Ross in Edmonton Sun:

Sure, we missed Slash during Sunday night’s show at Rexall Place, but there were three — count ’em — excellent guitarists to pick up the slack, Richard Fortus, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and DJ Ashba (who sported a silly tophat and started the show with a cigarette sprouting from his maw, obviously a nod to Mr. Slash).

No one in a crowd of 9,800 seemed to mind the new incarnation of the famous band that bridged the gap between hair metal and grunge rock.

When our favourite bad boy of rock commenced to howl Welcome to the Jungle early on, no one complained that this was just some overblown G’NR tribute band with an older and hairier frontman.

No one would’ve been able to hear any grumbling anyway. The cheers were deafening. So was the band. So were the explosions.

The 47-year-old Axl sang like a champ. His musicians were amazing. So was the stage production. It’s early, but this might have been the best rock show of 2010.

Edmonton Sun, January 18, 2010

The band then continued to Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, SK, Canada (January 19) and to the Brandt Centre, Regina, SK, Canada (January 20).

Excerpt of review by Christopher Tessmer in Regina Leader-Post:

Nobody in the crowd should have left the Brandt Centre feeling ripped off by the show, as the band put on an intense performance, though the notoriously late Rose had the group hit the stage 45 minutes later than scheduled.

Coming out to flashes of pyrotechnics and fire blasts, the eight-piece group launched into the title track of the 2008 release Chinese Democracy. Rose looked every bit the rock star, adorned in a sleeveless denim shirt, jeans, sunglasses, red bandana and black top hat.

[...]

While it wasn't the Guns N' Roses that people grew up knowing and loving, the current lineup was very entertaining and solid musically. With three guitarists, bass player, keyboardist, piano player, and drummer to accompany Rose, there was little chance the band's sound would be thin in the concrete confines of the arena.

If there were any concerns that the show would merely be a spectacle with little redeeming quality musically, they were quickly put to rest when the group played the opening chords of the second song, "Welcome to the Jungle." The crowd was whipped into a frenzy as the fire blasts lit up the stage, and fans dressed in leather, denim, and club clothes started to sing along.

Regina Leader-Post, January 22, 2010

And excerpt of review by Gary King in Rockstar Weekly:

Firstly, allow me to make a confession! I am not an archetypal Guns N Roses fan. I own but one of their recordings and in fact, when I last saw GNR on March 27, 1993 (use your Illusion tour) in the beautiful “Bridge City” commonly referred to as Saskatoon, it was solely due to their superb choice of support acts – “The Brian May Band’. Yes Brian May guitar player extraordinaire from the Legendary group Queen. Not to be confused with the Brian May from Mad Max fame.

At any rate, 16 years 9 months and 24 days have passed (but who’s counting) and my opportunity to see the legendary Axl “you love him, you hate him, you can’t have a good old fashioned rock n’ roll riot without him)”Rose is here. This time, I’m posed to see the much lauded ‘Chinese Democracy Tour’ in Regina, AKA ‘The Queen City’, AKA ‘The City That Rhymes with Fun’– more on that later, in the comfy confines of the acoustically challenged Brandt Centre. My curiosity has the better of me. Will he be late? How Late? One hour? 2 Hours? Will he storm out? Will he even show up? Is he still capable of delivering the goods? The questions mount.

IMHO, the words “rock star”, “epic”, and “legend” are more common these days than candy floss at the local summer fair. Well, allow me to remove all doubt that this incarnation of the multi-million selling (100 million at last count) American rockers are not only alive and well – thank you very much, but in fact, they make a compelling argument to be regarded in the aforementioned rock star, epic, legend status.

From the moment Axl and Company took the stage at precisely 10:16 pm, opening with ’Chinese Democracy’, Axl clad in a button down, white collar, long sleeve stripped shirt, (sans the sleeves) and adorned with enough silver jewelry to make any Mexican beach vendor proud (I swear I saw him in Puerto Vallarta last year – true story) and with trademark red bandanna tucked under a black hat, he had the crowd on their feet, which is precisely where the majority of the 5,500 fans stayed for 2 ½ hours until the show closed with ‘Paradise City’.

As Axl sashayed and prowled effortlessly about the stage, it became apparent very quickly that Father Time has been rather kind to Axl. His soon to be 48 years belies him. He looks and moves about with a presence and energy that reminds us that you don’t have to be a middle age rocker who well…looks middle age.

[...]

As GNR blinded and deafened the crowd with a dizzying display of lights, explosions and pyro, while playing such mega hits as ‘Welcome to the jungle’, ‘Live and Let Die’ (an argument could be made here that the explosions were excessive) and closer to the end of the show ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’, but most certainly during ‘November Rain’ that I conjured up the hereto unforeseen and unbearable notion that perhaps the 80’s were not so bad after all. In fact, GNR was quickly proving to me that 80’s arena rock is alive and well.

[...]

Rock Star? Absolutely! Epic? No Question! Legend? The jury is out on that one, but on this rather chilly night in “The City That Rhymes with Fun” no one, (myself included) would argue that Guns and Fucking Roses showed up, on time, and delivered the goods to a satisfied audience that were left wanting more. In my case, if I have to wait another 16 years 9 months and 24 days to see them again it’s quite conceivable that “Legend” will be in Axl’s back pocket.

Rockstar Weekly, January 23, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:10 pm

SLASH APPAREL BEING BANNED AT GUNS N' ROSES SHOWS?

On January 14, the day after the show in Winnipeg, a rumour started on the fansite mygnrforum.com that some concert goers had been asked to leave Slash top hats outside and wear Slash t-shirts inside out [mygnrforum.com, January 14, 2010]. The claim would be supported by the forum moderator "madison" who stated she had talked to a "security manager" at the Winnipeg venue who stated that he was "specifically instructed not to allow people into the show if they wore Slash shirts or were dressed in Slash gear with tophats" and that it was "by Axl's request" [mygnrforum.com, January 15, 2010]. This resulted in heated discussions with many fans stating they had never been met with the same orders when attending shows in 2006 and 2010. The discussions resulted in Fernando posting at the fansite Here Today Gone To Hell:

We did not advise any security to ban any sort of apparel.... If they did, they did it on their own accord, or under someone else's order — from within their management.

Can we squash it now? Or should we discuss it for like 10days, then discuss about why we discussed it for 10 days, for another 2weeks... then, reignite the conversation on how Axl himself was at the venue doors, telling everyone that Slash linkings and/or apparel is not allowed.

htgth.com, January 15, 2010

The story would eventually be picked up by TMZ, but they changed the show to be the one in Regina on January 20 [TMZ, January 24, 2010; Blabbermouth, January 24, 2010]. According to TMZ, a member of the concert security team claimed they had been instructed to stop Slash gear by "a producer of the band" [TMZ, January 24, 2010; Blabbermouth, January 24, 2010]. Pollstar made an effort to confirm the story but was not able to find any fans who would corroborate the story [Pollstar, January 25, 2010].

Eventually, Axl responded to the ongoing discussions on mygnrforum with a scathing attack on "madison":

What the fuck do you know? That's right! You don't know jack fucking shit you fucking ignorant, know it all, fucking deluded, misguided, self important, self righteous, pious, small minded, clueless, loud mouthed, arrogant ****. No one needs your opinions n' having to deal with your constant abuse of privileges or the miniscule amount of power you've had here you wield like an angry, *******, wannabe, high school parking lot rent-a-cop always mouthing off like you're some kind of authority which you're far from. I have to say it saddens me you continue to babble your horseshit to unsuspecting fans n' any names n' numbers you have are of people like you who try n' hurt others to promote themselves at their expense. That's the only real thing you got bitch. [...] I've never asked for anyone's shirt bein' thrown out of anywhere let alone say I did [...] I don't work for you or have to do a goddamn thing you think ever. Your opinions of anything whatsoever don't count or mean jack shit to me or anyone in this camp. You're garbage, plain and simple. You're not a fan or a voice of reason... you're a sick n' diseased mind spilling it's bile over the internet. Well now you can drink up the rewards of the crap that's been spillin' out of your pie hole forever here n' enjoy the fermented, feted n' vulgar response you've been cultivating n' aching for... for so long . Find another board this one doesn't need you. Oh n' feel free to jump in all you wanna be web warriors, ho defenders n' bitch boi's, you ain't needed either.

mygnrforum.com, February 10, 2010

On February 16, Axl would again comment on the rumour in a tweet and suggest it all started with a Rolling Stone article from 2001:

Canadian tour n' Slash banned clothing nonsense: which I addressed live as soon as it happened but hey fake allegations from unreliable sources bein' negative n' all especially w/us n' these issues got more weight to n' 4 aholes. Fabricated from a 2001 bs RS piece from Rock N' Rio. Bottom line Never happened, end of story. Fuck TMZ, ContactMusic, Spinner (I got ur attitude.)

Twitter, February 16, 2010

The following day, Axl would tweet a correction:

Correction: In rereading I realized I addressed the clothing nonsense as soon as I was made aware not when it 1st happened, my bad. I tend to avoid media n' the net when touring so as not to have whatever negative nonsense or those tryin' 2 stir trouble interfere w/either the show or time needed elsewhere in prep as well as other GNR business. Too much goin' on to b throwin' sand in some idiot's sandbox. Also my comments aren't based on these relatively minor issues they go a fair way back w/each of those mentioned n' unfortunately several others. We aren't lookin' 4 free rides or handouts, give those to those u been but if ya wanna play nice we can too in fact we'd love to. Can't say we didn't make the effort. Peace!!

Twitter, February 17, 2010

The Rolling Stone article Axl is referring to was a review by Mark Benelli of the band's 2001 performance at Rock In Rio that mentioned Axl throwing out a concert-goer because he didn't like his t-shirt:

Temperamentally, Rose did not disappoint. After the first song, he had security remove a kid in the front holding up a FUCK GUNS N’ ROSES T-shirt. (Hey, the First Amendment only applies on U.S. soil.)

Rolling Stone, January 15, 2001

Later in February and March, Slash would be asked about the rumour:

Yeah, I never really… I never entertained that as necessarily being truthful. A lot of stuff happens and people love to talk so I just took it as rumor and left it at that.

VH1/Blabbermouth, February 24, 2010

I give him the benefit of the doubt. I hate to think someone would be that petty, so it might be more of a rumour. There is a little bit of infighting between fans now, too. There’s like Guns fans who support the Axl thing and then there’s Guns fans who support the Slash thing. And God knows where it originated.

The Toronto Sun, March 12, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:10 pm

JANUARY 24, 2010

COPPS COLISEUM IN HAMILTON;
DJ GETS THROWN OUT OF HOTEL

The band continued to Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, ON, Canada for a show on January 24.

"Hamilton-"Aboot" 2 go on, should b fun!! Good 2 b back after some fuckd up time off. Back 2 business!!"

Twitter, January 24, 2010

Backstage photo posted by Axl
January 24, 2010

Before the show, DJ got kicked out of the hotel because of smoking [The Metal Den, January 25, 2010]. DJ would comment on the episode:

Well, the manager which was an older lady, beat on my door, she was a bitch from get go, she said they had already fined me 500.00 with out a warning might I add, and told me if I smoke again she will triple the fine and would have to ask me to leave. So as she was standing in my door bitching with her Tina Turner like hair do, I light up a cigarette… Leer más, smiled and said “I’ll start packing” and slammed the door in her face. Keep in mind I always book in a smoking room, so I had no idea. You think she could of been nicer about the situation considering our band had about 70 rooms there. I was happy to hear Axl checked out early too due to the same lady. Anyways we’re in a much nicer hotel now anyways. Hahaha!!!!

The Metal Den, January 24, 2010

After the show, Axl tweeted:

Ontari-fuckin'-O!! Ready to bash it out!! I sucked on TWAT last night...wait...is that a bad thing?!! Floyd was cool. Met an army of Bach-Bierks. Baz's mom said he called her from my closet once bk in the day. Hmm...had 2 b either cops or when the girl was tied 2 the chair!!

Twitter, January 25, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:11 pm

JANUARY 25-FEBRUARY 4, 2010

THE CANADIAN LEG OF THE TOUR FINISHES

The band continued to John Labatt Centre in London, ON, Canada for a show on January 25.

Axl and Dj
London, January 25, 2010

Excerpt of review by James Reaney in London Free Press:

Every seven years or so, the frontman for Guns N’ Roses takes his sweet time about getting to the stage at the John Labatt Centre.

When he finally gets there, he works his Axl off.

At 2010’s first big rock concert at the downtown London arena, Axl Rose and his Guns N’ Roses bandmates started with about an hour of Monday left and kept rocking for 80 minutes into Tuesday.

[...]

In terms of a review, a kaleidoscopic approach probably works best for a show like this one.

Sure, Guns N’ Roses were late to the stage and sure there was some filler as Monday blended into early Tuesday.

But any Rose that can keep running and shouting for that long and still remembers he’s in London, Ontario when it’s time to say good night is always welcome back for more.

[...]

Three guitarists, three spotlights: Richard Fortus put some metal to James Bond-styled themes and gets extra points for windmilling a la Pete Townshend and punching away at the chords all night. Ron “Bumblefoot” Thai played The Pink Panther Theme in his spot, cute but only that. He had some of the sweetest unplugged sounds and Bumblefoot also amazed on a fretless guitar. The weak link was the newbie, DJ Ashba. His instrumental spot was just ho-hum and he applause begged no end. Good tattoos, though.

London Free Press, January 27, 2010

Great show tonight in London. Don't know what came over me the end of the show - grabbed my junk & yelled THIS IS MY COCK!! into the mic.

Twitter, January 26, 2010

Karma: screaming bad stuff into a mic, waking up the next morning sick with your throat feeling like you ate sandpaper soaked in acid...

Twitter, January 27, 2010

Then the band did a show at the Centre Ball in Montreal, QC, Canada on January 27. This would be Guns N' Roses' first return to Montreal since the disastrous concert in August 1992.

Excerpt of review by Clay Marshall in Classic Rock:

As for the headliner, it’s instantly clear that GN’R is now little different than any number of classic hard rock acts with only one remaining original member. Having surrounded himself in recent years with a revolving door of competent yet ultimately faceless replacements, Rose has, perhaps unwittingly, turned the spotlight even more on himself, no matter how many solos he lets his band members enjoy tonight. (His frequent wardrobe changes don’t help.)

Still, Rose – sporting a Fu Manchu, and flanked by video screens and LED back drops – admirably avoids the easy path of nostalgia taken regularly by so many of his peers, as tonight’s workmanlike, nearly three-hour set is split almost evenly between older and recent material. One only wishes he’d take to heart the most basic tenet of democracy: give the people what they want. All too often, the Chinese Democracy material falls flat next to classics such as Welcome To The Jungle and You Could Be Mine, but the magnetic presence of the slithering, itinerant front man holds your interest nonetheless.

His only overt references to the riot come during Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – “You fuckers just like to tear shit up,” he playfully prods the crowd before thanking them genuinely for their support – and after the show-closing Paradise City, when he gives a tantalisingly cryptic tease before exiting: “You deserve the truth, but tonight’s not the time.” More proof that the King Of The Jungle sets his own hours.

Classic Rock, January 29, 2010

Dizzy would later comment on coming back to Montreal:

It was an awesome moment, I remember. Especially for Axl and for me, to be able to finally come back there and play. And the fans were very appreciative and that's kind of an emotional moment, actually. [...] it was like vindication in a lot of ways because I think that everyone blames us for everything that happened and there was no, you know, basically we're just trying to do the right thing way back then and it was just completely misconceived and blown out of proportion so to come back and to get that feedback from the fans, that was, you know, kind of set things right.

One on One with Mitch Lafon, July 21, 2014

The next show took place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada on January 28. This show started more than two hours after the scheduled start [Toronto Sun, January 29, 2010].

Axl and Richard
Toronto, January 28, 2010
Credit Steve Russell

Dj and Axl
Toronto, January 28, 2010
Credit Steve Russell

Sorry about the time delay. We got a little carried away .... last night. But anyway, we're here.

Onstage in Toronto (via the Toronto Sun), January 29, 2010

The press would talk about the band being late and Axl would comment on it in a tweet in February:

Goin' on "hours" late in Toronto nonsense: Based on set change etc. went on 1 hour 8mins late w/circumstances beyond r control n' last minute physical injuries from earlier performances (which took that hour to find ways to deal with) n' could have cancelled the performance not "hrs". Apologies were made. If u have a problem w/any of that or especially if u weren't there fuck off.

Twitter, February 16, 2010

After the show, Bumblefoot would complain about suffering from the flu:

Doped up on flu meds. Every step on stage was like squatting 400 pounds on a tightrope. Peeled off the backstage floor & sent to hotel...

Twitter, January 29, 2010

The band continued the tour with a show at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, ON, Canada on January 31.

After this show, Axl would give an update on the tour's progress:

8:51am Mission Quebec City: Slept a couple hrs. Stuck in Montreal traffic. Everyone's asleep. Bubbles is on board. Show in Ottawa felt good, felt really animated, dug Scraped n' TIL. Bringin' little things learned along the way into the overall or the "whole"! Montreal was a monster gig, felt we tore the roof off!! Had guests from all over Canada, LA, San Diego, NY, Las Vegas, Florida, London, Turkey, The Philippines etc. Toronto had fans from around the globe as well! Bein' on the tail end of a 2 on 1 off n' where rt after w/the size of r show was tough on not just us but the crew w/load in' n' out etc. not taken into consideration by others n' all the bts nonsense across the board 4 months w/all sides. Still w/everyone feelin' like bein' on the wrong end of a beatdown the show went good. (Coulda been a lot worse). The people everywhere have been so great 2 all of us! A heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped pull through all of that n' make 'em memorable! Parties were off da chain!! N' again peeps were so great!! Gots ta rage a bit where n' when ya can!!

Twitter, February 1, 2010

After this followed shows at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, QC, Canada (February 1) and at the Moncton Coliseum in Moncton, NB, Canada (February 3).

Music journalist and podcaster Mitch Lafon would attend the show in Quebec City (or it could be the show in 2006 in Quebec City) and remember that people backstage were ordered to avert their eyes when Axl came in:

[...] there was that time in, I guess, 2008-2009, Guns N' Roses came to play Quebec City and I was hanging around backstage and, you know, Bumblefoot and all those guys walked in and said hello to everybody and then the captain of this police squad came in and said, "No, no, no questions, look away, turn your eyes down," and like, "What the fuck?" and then somebody said, "Oh, Axl's walking in," and so everybody had to look away and stuff. And I'm like, "Come on? This is not Axl who's asked this? This is just some dude who's thinking he's..." you know, and it was strange to see sort of reporters and everybody sort of staring at their feet while Axl walked in and it was like, "Really?" And I know that that's not from Axl, I know that that's just somebody at the venue who just wanted to make some kind of show or some kind of, "I'm the boss here," it was weird.

Appetite for Distortion, February 26, 2018

Moncton Rocked! What a great crowd!! Hali, here we come!!

Twitter, February 4, 2010

The last show of the Canadian leg of the tour took place at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, NS, Canada on February 4.

Bumblefoot would mention meeting fans in Halifax:

One good memory was giving a guitar lesson as part of a radio contest in Halifax. The winners were this really nice family, I took them on a tour of the stage before the show, and enjoyed hearing about where they live in Newfoundland, real good people.

Digestivo Cultural (Brazil), March 8, 2010

After the show Axl would sum up the Canadian leg:

WOW!! The Canadian Run's over already?!! That was insane!! And I mean that in the absolute BEST way possible!! We'll take a few days 2 regroup n' jump in2 the next thing. Thanks 2 everyone 4 coming out, hope u had fun!! We had a blast!! Can't wait 2 see u again!! Special thanks 2 all the fans, r production, video, security, transpo, catering, merchandise, wardrobe, personal n' biz crews, Sebastian n' the Sebastian Bach Band, Maria Bach, Danko Jones, all of r's n' their roadies, techs, the Shot Girls, r personal friends, family n' guests who came out 2 support us, Lucky Beer (Aussie), Bubbles n' all the TPB's (unbelievable ending!!), thanks 4 ALL the positive press n' reviews, it's more than greatly appreciated!! W/the exceptions of r scheduling, n' routing nonsense, a few misguided (minor) media hacks twistin' either Haiti comments or a 2001 bs RS story, all the bumps n' bruises n' landin' on my ass!! Ha! ... All n' all a good run. Would've liked to hit Toronto a bit harder (n' earlier!). Thanks Canada!! A BIG thanks to the band!! Thanks 2 all the well wishers n' 4 all the bday wishes. Ur all 2 kind!! Oh n' the band 4 buyin' me 10 acres on the Moon!! I miss you Moje!! Love Axl

Twitter, February 6, 2010

And Bumblefoot would summarize the ups and downs of the touring in 2010 so far:

We've been outdoing ourselves, playing the band's longest show in its history (3 hours 37 minutes in Tokyo Dec 2009), playing places in Asia for the first time, spontaneously jamming on AC/DC and Floyd covers, been a real good time. Moments I try not to think about, hmmm... spending the first night of the Asian tour face down on a bathroom floor for 16 hours vomiting, haha, and being doped up on flu medication and feeling too sick to move, half way through the Canadian tour. But even that doesn't seem that bad when I think back on it, that stuff happens all the time on the road. Ya don't sleep, ya sweat on stage, ya touch a hundred hands, ya freeze getting to the bus, someone else on the bus is sick, it's gonna happen, you're next, haha. The best times for me are the things that surround the show, the 'normal' times of just hanging out with good people.

Digestivo Cultural (Brazil), March 8, 2010

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:11 pm

2009-

WORK ON NEW MUSIC?

In early 2010, Bumblefoot was asked if he had contributed on a songwriting level yet:

Not yet. I have a whole bunch of ideas - we all do. But before thinking about the next album, I just wanna get the fuck out there and just focus on this one, the touring, and whatever kind of promotion there might be.

Ultimate Guitar, February 6, 2010

When writing the songs for Abnormal, he had considered offering the song 'Simple Days' to Guns N' Roses and apparently never did it:

There's one song called "Simple Days" that I had written while on tour with GnR. I was tempted to give the song to GnR, I think the song would have fit Axl's voice well.

gunsnroses.gr, June 1, 2008

It was the only song I wrote on tour. I didn't write it specifically for the band, but afterwards I was thinking about bringing it to them. I thought melodically there was something there that might have been cool to try out.

Rock Brigade, October 2008

He would also mention how he would love to make music with the band:

I would love to get this band into the studio, and just bust out shitloads of music, and just keep putting it out. It's all about being prolific; if you're a music maker, you got to go out and make music, and that's my love anyway. I love the studio more than anything, and I would love to get in the studio, and really write together from scratch - not add my own parts to pre-existing songs, but just play them from the beginning. There was one time in the studio where I was talking to Frank, and I said "Right, time me. Two minutes. Let's see how many songs I can come up with in two minutes for the next album", which was six really cool riffs and things, and ideas and so on. We could definitely do it. I guess it's just a question of: does it feel right? Are all the planets aligned? You know what I mean? It's whether it feels like the right thing to do. We'll see, but I would love it. I think it would be a blast, and I think that we can easily bust out some really good music that people would enjoy. I would love to do it.

Ultimate Guitar, February 6, 2010

Ya know what I’d love to do? Write a song every time we do a leg of a tour, record it, make it available to people, play it at the shows, and do that every time. Ya never know which one will really have a big impact on people.

The Gown, July 17, 2010

And what type of songs he would write:

A direction I'd like to go in? I don't know... just loud, nasty rock 'n' roll with good melodic stuff, and just ... I don't know. I just wanna write good shit (laughs), whatever it is. If I had to compare it to songs on 'Chinese Democracy', I guess songs like "Scraped" - ones that just have good lines, energy, that get you amped up.

Ultimate Guitar, February 6, 2010

In an interview from June 2010, Dj was quoted as saying they were working on new music:

[The new album] may come out in 2011. We've been busy touring for the past year or so, but we're also writing new songs. As far as I can tell, it's going to be a great album.

Bergensavisen, June 2010; translated from Norwegian

When confronted with this quote, Bumblefoot responded and suggested Dj had been misquoted:

People ask us all the time about a next album and we all speak the same truth, that we would *like* to work on another album, and hopefully will. I think some quotes in that Bergen Norway article got lost in translation, from what the band said to what was printed, to how it was translated again to other languages. Right now the focus is touring, bringing the live show to the world. After that, we'll see what's best to do next...

Whiplash (Brazil), June 29, 2010; translated from Portuguese

by **Soulmonster** Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:13 pm

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

THE BAND PLAYS A SECRET SHOW AT THE JOHN VARVATOS STORE IN NYC

On February 11, 2010, the band played a secret show at John Varvatos' store on New York City, which were at the location of the legendary CGBG's club where Guns N' Roses had previously played. The show took place during NYC's Fashion Week and Axl had earlier talked about his interest for fashion:

Versace is a huge Guns N’ Roses-head. […] He loves Guns N’ Roses. His fashion shows, the majority of music is Guns N’ Roses. He’s just really, really into Guns N’ Roses. And I went to an Elton John show there with him, and we got along great. He wants me to do a fashion show (laughs). […] I think [I am going to do it], I don’t know. […] We’ll see what happens. He wants to make me clothes to wear, so it could be fun.

MTV, July 12, 1992

The band would play a full set of 17 songs, starting at 1am and played for 2 hours [New York Post, February 12, 2010].

John Varvatos, the store owner, would comment:

We thought they were only going to play five or six songs.

New York Post, March 2, 2010

Guns N' Roses came to the Bowery store to headline New York Fashion Week and they were meant to perform four songs for me. In the end, they played for two and a half hours solid. It was a complete surprise and an amazing show that was talked about for weeks. One of the guys from ZZ Top said it was one of his five greatest moments in music.

Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2011

After the show, Axl would be elated:

Fuck!! The NY shows were insane!! Love the free form laid back vibe n' both were completely different from r view. The fans were AMAZING!! John (Varvatos) was really great! And to keep CBGB's rockin'?! Badass!!

Twitter, February 16, 2010

Review by Amos Barshad in New York Magazine/Vulture:

Whoa! Guns N’ Roses played a tiny, secret New York show last night and you weren’t there! Don’t feel too bad, though, cause neither were we, or most normal people, actually — it was a Fashion Week party at the John Varvatos store (the former CBGB) with a crowd full of glamorous, famous people like Kevin Bacon and Sebastian Bach, and the line to get in went for hours (if you are a glamorous, famous Vulture reader and actually were there last night, please do tell in the comments). But it wasn’t no skimpy “guest appearance” where a band does three songs and then gets drunk on free Champagne the rest of the night: GNR ran through an awesome seventeen-song set with only three Chinese Democracy tracks (“Catcher in the Rye,” “Street of Dreams,” and “This I Love” — or, as they’re known around Vulture HQ, the two good ones and one shitty one).

New York Magazine/Vulture, February 12, 2010

Photos by Nate "Igor" Smith

Photo by Nate "Igor" Smith
Thank you @drivenbyboredom

Axl's sweating would be mocked by TMZ resulting in Axl tweeting:

I sweat nonsense: On ur mama! Really? That's what u write about? No shit! I work hard, it's good for ya n' I smell better than u!!

Twitter, February 16, 2010

Part of setlist, trampled by Axl
Thank you @drivenbyboredom

by **Soulmonster** Sun Jul 25, 2021 8:45 am

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

THE BAND PLAYS A SECRET SHOW AT
THE ROSE BAR IN NYC

A secret show at the Rose Bar in New York had been rumoured days before it took place [The New York Post/Blabbermouth, February 10, 2010] and Axl has posted about surprise gigs to happen [mygnrforum.com, January 15, 2010].

Nur Khan, "a Rose Bar bigwig", would comment on Axl partying in New York:

He works hard on the road, so who cares if he wants to blow off some steam when he’s off duty? What’s the fuss? He’s havin’ a good time. God bless him.

New York Post, March 2, 2010

After the two shows in New York, Axl was elated:

Fuck!! The NY shows were insane!! Love the free form laid back vibe n' both were completely different from r view. The fans were AMAZING!! John (Varvatos) was really great! And to keep CBGB's rockin'?! Badass!! Goin' into Rose Bar was rough on some. Lotta best left memories from the old hotel. The gig helped w/some o' those. Felt really good on stage. (We actually "LIKE" playing together n' I absolutely agree some things should b a lot less complicated than others made them in the past that's why we're together n' other's by their own accord ain't here.) We all had a great time, it was a madhouse!! Thanks to everyone who came out n' those who helped put 'em 2gether. Good to have a short break n' gear up 4 South America. I LOVE NY!!

Twitter, February 16, 2010

It is not clear what bad memories Axl is referring to in the quote above.

Review by Lane Brown in New York Magazine/Vulture:

Did we just see what we think we saw? Last night our sisters at the Cut sneaked us into something called DeLeon Tequila’s Special Presentation of Nur Khan’s Famous Rose Bar Sessions, a top-secret Fashion Week—pegged concert at Gramercy Park Hotel’s Rose Bar by a group of musicians purporting to be Guns N’ Roses, at which a person bearing a similar description to this man sang several songs from Appetite for Destruction, the Lies EP, and Chinese Democracy (but only one from the Use Your Illusions and none, obviously, from The Spaghetti Incident?). Was it really Axl Rose? He wore a hat and sunglasses for most of the encore-less set, and his singing was barely audible, but his dancing, demeanor, and tardiness (the band took the stage at around 1:30 a.m.) made us pretty sure it was.

From where we were listening we could barely tell the vocals from the guitars, which certainly didn’t deter Fabrizio from the Strokes and Waris Ahluwalia from shoving past us to be nearer the unicorn on stage. In the rare moments when we could hear it, Axl’s voice did sound pretty terrific — but how could the guy who spent 15 years fussing over the overdubs on Democracy have been okay with such a poor mix? The speakers must have been working better in the back, where a booth-dwelling Mickey Rourke seemed to be enjoying himself.

New York Magazine/Vulture, February 15, 2010

Excerpt of review by William Goodwin in Spin:

“Happy Valentines Day,” Axl Rose said with a smirk Sunday night, addressing the 150 very beautiful, very lucky people who landed on the guest list for a private Guns N’ Roses concert at the Gramercy Park Hotel’s Rose Bar in New York City. Winking and referencing his band, he added: “We’re the morning-after pill!!!”

Charming. But celebs like Mickey Rourke, Adrian Grenier, Ryan Phillippe, Albert Hammond Jr. and Fab Moretti of the Strokes, Emily Haines of Metric, and Sebastian Bach didn’t come for holiday chivalry. They came for badass rock’n’roll — and they got it. Lots of it.

The late-night concert — an installment of Nur Khan’s Rose Bar Sessions, sponsored by Deleon Tequila, One Music, and SPIN — was a little piece of paradise city: Rose and his six-piece band unleashed a 90-minute, 16-song set spanning all their hits.

GNR performed in front of a fireplace covered in roses, with a black-and-red painting of a skull hanging above. The lights were dim, gorgeous women outnumbered the men 2 to 1, the booze was free, and the light fixture overhead, the singer noted, looked like the spiky thorns of a rosebush. It could have been a scene from a GNR music video.

Spin, February 16, 2010

Afterwards, Axl would respond to claims the band had gone on late:

Goin' on late at Rose Bar nonsense: Nope, Nopity, Nope!! 1:30am on time! U got played!! We were asked to do a show for fans n' friends etc. We were told when to arrive n' when to play between 1 an 2am which we did exactly. We didn't perform for the press or their deadlines other than that they were there. We do our best provided we r treated in the same manner to be polite n' cordial. The past can kiss ur ass, not gonna happen here. Under other circumstances n' advance arrangements things may have been or be different, w/these shows they weren't.

Twitter, February 16, 2010

"NO ONE IS GETTING NEAR MY MAN AXL ROSE WITH A KNIFE"

Apparently, Sebastian Bach saved the day when he tossed out a man who drew a knife:

Chaos was narrowly averted at an intimate Guns N' Roses concert when a man with a knife was tackled by ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach.

The mystery man casually pulled out what appeared to be a switchblade knife as he walked into the packed and uber-exclusive "Nur Khan's Rose Bar Sessions" at the Gramercy Park Hotel on Sunday.

But Bach, who was standing near the door, immediately got the stranger thrown out of the bash, which was attended by a host of stars including Mickey Rourke.

A witness reports, "The man walked in while Guns N' Roses was onstage and pulled out a knife and flicked the blade out. Sebastian, who was standing on a banquette said: 'Nobody is getting anywhere near my man Axl Rose with a knife,' and went after him. Security then immediately threw him out. The man appeared to be drunk. It was dealt with so quickly that none of the other guests or the band were aware of it."

The private Valentine's Day concert was the hottest ticket in town, with a handpicked crowd including the Strokes' Fabrizio Moretti and Albert Hammond Jr., Ryan Phillippe, Zoe Kravitz, Josh Lucas, Yigal Azrouel and Sophia Bush, who all packed into the Rose Bar for the DeLeon Tequila-sponsored first of Khan's series of intimate concerts.

Guns N' Roses played for two hours for 150 guests, finishing up at 3 a.m. before moving the party upstairs with a group of model and rocker friends until 6 a.m.

When earlier asked by The Post's Brian Niemietz if long metal hair will come back in fashion, Bach said, "If it does, people better start now because it takes seven [bleep]ing years to get it this length." Flaunting his golden locks, Bach added, "And this isn't some Jessica [bleep]ing Simpson hair extensions -- this is the real deal." A rep for the Rose Bar declined to comment.

New York Post, February 16, 2010

ACCUSATIONS OF FORGETTING THE REAL FANS

On fan sites there would be some complains about the band doing secret shows for the fashion people and not for the hardcore fans, and Axl would comment on this in a tweet:

Not doin' surprise shows for the hardcore fans nonsense: Sorry some feel that way. Saw a lot at both gigs singin' every word in every song. We made efforts to get several if not all fans who contacted us n' were in town into these gigs. We also didn't know most of the guests as we don't live here n' for that matter what makes some internet fan more hardcore than whoever else anyway, oh that's rt...nothing!! Some just like 2 bitch 2 bitch. So if ur complainin' n' u drink beer, today I recommend a Lucky or perhaps a Red Stripe...if ur still peeved...again, fuck off.

Twitter, February 16, 2010

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