2010.07.21 - Billboard/Reuters - Guns N' Roses to Play First Major U.S. Show in Four Years

Guns N' Roses to Play First Major U.S. Show in Four Years

By Gary Graff

It's not hard to get a Guns N' Roses fix these days, whether from members past or present. The current incarnation of GNR, led by frontman Axl Rose, has just announced an appearance on Aug. 13 at the Rock 'N Rev Festival in Sturgis, S.D. It's the group's first major U.S. concert in four years -- and since the 2008 release of the controversial "Chinese Democracy" album -- and is billed as GNR's only 2010 show in its homeland.

Rose is hardly the only GNR co-founder hitting the board these days. Guitarist Slash continues to promote his self-titled first solo album with a world tour that hits southeast Asia starting on July 29 and continues through Japan and Australia before touching down in North America beginning Aug. 28 at the Sunset Strip Music Festival in Los Angeles.

"Not to sound cliche, but it's a pretty kick-ass rock band, and more high-energy than most," Slash, who has Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy fronting the group, tells Billboard.com. "We do a bunch of songs off of this [solo] record and we do some Guns 'N Roses material, and we do some Velvet Revolver stuff and even some Snakepit stuff in there, so it's a good mix of everything I've been doing over the last however many years."

Slash, who recently partnered with Epiphone for a limited edition "Appetite" Les Paul guitar model, plans to keep touring until the summer of 2011, but he's already pondering what he'll do next, musically. "All I'm doing right now is compiling ideas, writing stuff and recording them," he says. "God knows where it's going to turn up. It could be Velvet Revolver or it could be for another record I do on my own, depending on if Velvet Revolver finds a singer or not. So it's sort of up in the air."

Also on the road is former GNR drummer Steven Adler and his new band, Adler's Appetite, which is promoting its first single, "Good to Be Alive," as well as his frank and revealing new autobiography, "My Appetite For Destruction: Sex & Drugs & Guns N' Roses." "It's so healing, getting all those things out of my system," says Adler, who was fired from the band in 1990 and battled severe drug addiction, even suffering a stroke, before reaching his current state of sobriety. "You can't take 30 years of pain and all that stuff and just get rid of it immediately, but at least I'm starting to get it out and I'm starting to become my own person again. I wasted so much of my life, it's great to have survived and be living again."

Adler's Appetite is in the midst of a 50-city North American tour, after which the group plans to record an EP with producer Anthony Fox, with sessions for a full album to follow at the end of the year. But Adler says he also holds out a degree of hope for the original GNR quintet to do something together again.

"I know the four of us besides Axl would love to do it," he says. "I know besides millions and millions and hundreds of millions of dollars that would be involved, I think if we played for the whole world, it would be such a relief...like, 'God, they're finally playing!' It's what so many people really want, y'know?"

https://web.archive.org/web/20120715131507/http://www.billboard.com/events/guns-n-roses-to-play-first-major-u-s-show-1004105383.story?tag=nextart#/events/guns-n-roses-to-play-first-major-u-s-show-1004105383.story?tag=nextart

Similar article in Reuters, same date:
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Guns N' Roses members, past and present, stay busy

By Gary Graff

DETROIT (Billboard) - It’s not hard to get a Guns N’ Roses fix these days, whether from members past or present.

The current incarnation of GN’R, led by singer Axl Rose, has just announced an appearance on August 13 at the Rock ‘N Rev Festival in Sturgis, S.D., the group’s first big U.S. concert in four years.

Former Guns guitarist Slash is promoting his self-titled first solo album with a world tour that hits southeast Asia starting on July 29 and continues through Japan and Australia before touching down in North America on August 28 at the Sunset Strip Music Festival in Los Angeles.

“Not to sound cliche, but it’s a pretty kick-ass rock band, and more high-energy than most,” Slash, who has Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy fronting the group, tells Billboard.com.

Slash, who recently partnered with Epiphone for a limited edition “Appetite” Les Paul guitar model, plans to keep touring until the summer of 2011.

Also on the road is former Guns drummer Steven Adler and his new band, Adler’s Appetite, which is promoting its first single, “Good to Be Alive,” as well as his new autobiography, “My Appetite For Destruction: Sex & Drugs & Guns N’ Roses.”

“It’s so healing, getting all those things out of my system,” says Adler, who was fired from the band in 1990 and battled severe drug addiction, even suffering a stroke, before reaching his current state of sobriety.

“You can’t take 30 years of pain and all that stuff and just get rid of it immediately, but at least I’m starting to get it out and I’m starting to become my own person again. I wasted so much of my life, it’s great to have survived and be living again.”

Former Guns bassist Duff McKagan, who played with Slash and Adler’s replacement Matt Sorum in Velvet Revolver, is busy writing new material with Jane’s Addiction. McKagan, who released a solo album last year, has played a few shows with Jane’s Addiction, most recently a sweaty Sunset Strip gig at the Roxy on July 2.

https://www.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUSTRE66K6FZ20100721