32. JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2012: EXTENSIVE TOURING AND A LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:27 am

CHAPTER INDEX

- PLANNING TOURING IN 2012
- DJ'S WORK ON NEW GUNS N' ROSES MUSIC... WITH DIZZY
- FEBRUARY 2012: GUNS N' ROSES LAUNCHES THEIR NEW WEBSITE WITH THEIR OWN FORUM, "THE NIGHTRAIN"
- FEBRUARY 10-27, 2012: THE 'UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL' TOUR BEGINS
- MARCH 1-11, 2012: THE 'UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL' TOUR CONTINUES
- BUMBLEFOOT WANTS TO MAKE A NEW RECORD
- THE END TO THE ERA OF THE ALBUM
- MARCH 13, 2012: THE UCAP TOUR ENDS AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES IN LA WITH ROBIN AND BRAIN GUESTING
- 2011-2013 : VELVET REVOLVER, PART VIII
- MARCH 14, 2012: RICHARD AND BRAIN PLAYS WITH MARTHA REEVES
- APRIL 2012: SLASH'S "AXL HATES MY GUTS" AND AXL'S "NOT IN THIS LIFETIME"
- 2000- : AXL'S GIRLFRIEND RUMOURS
- APRIL 14, 2012: GUNS N' ROSES IS INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME
- LOOKING BACK AT THE HALL OF FAME INCLUSION
- 2012-2015: STEVEN'S TEMPORARY CLOSURE WITH AXL AND GUNS N' ROSES
- AXL SEEMS MORE RELAXED
- RICHARD'S LONGEVITY IN GUNS N' ROSES
- APRIL 17, 2012: BULLYVILLE PARTNERS WITH DJ TO PUT AN END TO BULLYING!
- EXPECTATIONS AND OPENERS FOR THE EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR
- MAY 11-20, 2012: THE EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR
- THE BAND TO RECORD AFTER THE SUMMER EUROPEAN TOUR?
- MAY AND NOVEMBER 2012: BUMBLEFOOT STARTS PLAYING 'GLAD TO BE HERE' AND 'OBJECTIFY' AS HIS SOLO SONGS
- MAY 22, 2012: SLASH FEAT. MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS RELEASE 'APOCALYPTIC LOVE'
- MAY 23-29, 2012: THE EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR CONTINUES
- MAY 31 AND JUNE 1, 2012: THE O2 ARENA WITH IZZY; SLASH T-SHIRTS BANNED?
- JUNE 4 AND 5, 2012: THE NETHERLANDS AND PARIS; AXL GETS ROBBED
- 2012: BUMLEFOOT AND ALEXA VETERE
- JUNE 8-JULY 20, 2012: THE EUROPEAN TOUR CONTINUES
- JULY 21 AND 22, 2012: THE EUROPEAN TOUR ENDS WITH GUEST APPEARENCES FROM IZZY
- JULY-SEPTEMBER 2012: "FUCK GNR"; THE TOURING ITINERARY IS HARD ON BUMBLEFOOT
- AUGUST 2012: THE BAND'S FIRST VEGAS RESIDENCY IS ANNOUNCED
- WORKING ON NEW MUSIC WHILE IN LAS VEGAS?
- SEPTEMBER 2012: DJ RELEASES 'SONGS FOR THE DEMENTED MIND'
- CONTROVERSY AROUND THE ARTWORK FOR THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY
- TOURING ASIA IN LATE 2012?
- 2008-2013: RICHARD AND SAIVU
- 2012- : KINGS OF CHAOS WITH MATT AND GILBY
- OCTOBER 2012: PREPARING FOR THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY
- BOTH FRANK AND BRAIN DRUMMING FOR THE BAND?
- OCTOBER 20 AND 21, 2012: PLAYING AT THE BRIDGE SCHOOL BENEFIT SHOW
- OCTOBER 24, 2012: AXL IS A GUEST AT JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!
- DJ'S RELATIONSHIP WITH FANS
- 2012- : THE SAGA OF ADLER'S APPETITE, PT II'
- OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 21, 2012: THE FIRST SHOWS OF THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY
- NOVEMBER 24 AND 24, 2012: THE LAST SHOWS OF THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY; IZZY JOINS
- LOOKING BACK AT THE 2012 LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY
- 2012-2015 : TOMMY GETS BACK WITH THE REPLACEMENTS

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:28 am

PLANNING TOURING IN 2012

The band had toured until the end of 2011, but already in the beginning of 2012 it seemed like the band was preparing more touring:

I have barely been home a week and it's already starting to take shape!!!! It's all good stuff mind you, but I just wasn't prepared to have it all start so soon. Anyway, there will be much to talk about in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Tommy Stinson Blog, January 10, 2012

I mean, as far as February, I believe, we have some Guns dates booked.

MamasFallenAngels, January 11, 2012

I can't say officially, but we're leaving again in two weeks. We're planning some stuff. It's all big stuff. When I call you in two weeks and tell you, you're gonna go, 'I wanna come!' It's gonna be awesome though.

NBA.com via UltimateGuitar, January 2012

[...] we do have plans to tour this... the rest of this next year so yeah. We we have a lot of big shows, we're gonna be hitting the US again and a lot of fun stuff coming up so....

UltimateGuitar, January 2012

And then on January 30, the band would announce a new North American tour with six shows to take place in New York:

Seminal rock icons, Guns N’ Roses, are set to invade New York during fashion week with a series of intimate shows then continue with additional stops through the northeast, announced today. Six shows confirmed so far including the historic return to The Ritz (now Webster Hall), 24 years after the filming of their heralded “Live At The Ritz” – the MTV concert continues to be one of the most sought after trades in bootleg circles. For the Webster Hall date, GN’R will celebrate their return by reclaiming the venue as The Ritz with signage and the name appearing on the marquee. The New York takeover in February marks the first time the band will appear at Roseland and Terminal 5, beginning on February 10, 2012. Full list of dates below.

February 10 - Roseland Ballroom - New York, NY
February 12 - Terminal 6 - New York, NY
February 15 - The Ritz (Webster Hall) - New York, NY
February 19 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
February 23 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD
February 24 - House of Blues - Atlantic City, NJ

GunsNRoses.com, January 30, 2012

The shows in NYC would coincide with Fashion Week.

We’re heading out, actually tomorrow, back out on tour, which I’m excited about. We’re going to be playing fashion week in New York and am really excited to get back out there and get on stage with all the guys again.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

Dizzy would be asked why Fashion Week:

I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I ask myself that question sometimes. It’s a cool thing to be a part of it, but from my perspective it’s a bit of a quintessential New York experience. And rock ’n’ roll and fashion have always sort of been intertwined.

Metro, February 9, 2012

As for playing shorter venues:

It's always cool to change things up like that and be a little more intimate with the crowd. Obviously we have to scale things down a little bit. The stage won't be quite as big. Hopefully there won't be as much pyro -- I always feel safer when there's not.

Billboard, February 14, 2012

The shows in New York would be referred to as the Up Close And Personal tour due to their more intimate venues.

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:30 am

DJ'S WORK ON NEW GUNS N' ROSES MUSIC... WITH DIZZY

In early January 2012 DJ would mention he had written 10-12 songs intended for Guns N' Roses and repeat that their main focus now was to make a new record.

I can't give anyone a definite date or anything because, again, I can't give anyone false hope, but I can say it absolutely is our main priority. And I cannot wait to get...I mean, Axl has tons and tons of stuff recorded as it is, I mean, he sits there in his hotel room and play me hours of stuff. And I've written, you know, over 10 songs, for -- I think 12 songs now -- for him that he really likes and I think that once we all, now that we are off tour, we're gonna kinda start talking about, hey, let's piece together what we feel would be the next best Guns N' Roses record. You know, it's absolutely everybody's goal to get out an album, you know, within a reasonable amount of time. That is everybody's focus, you know.

MamasFallenAngels, January 11, 2012

He would also explain that the heavy touring they had done had got in the way of working on the album, but that it was "everybody's main goal":

There is, you know, it's one of those things where we've been touring so much, you know, and it's been so much fun, you know, out on the road with the guys and the crowds have been amazing. So, you know, obviously an album is everybody's main goal and we have a bunch of shit written and it's just a matter of finding the time to put it all together and getting it out, so yeah.

UltimateGuitar, January 2012

Dizzy would be asked about a new record and say they might work on it in-between touring in 2012:

There are some clamoring and rumors that we might be getting some material together here after we do this little (theater) run, so we'll see what happens. I just go with the flow. I'm always recording and stuff. If it happens it will be really fun and cool. I love creating stuff with all the guys. And there was so much material that didn't make it onto ('Chinese Democracy'). From what I remember there were a lot of really cool songs; I can only hope that some of that stuff does resurface and get worked out.

Billboard, February 14, 2012

DJ was still "super excited" about the prospect of making a new Guns N' Roses record:

I'm super excited about (the prospect of recording), being a songwriter and a producer. That's one thing I've been looking forward to ... hearing some of the ideas and songs that are already done that Axl has, I can't wait to get my hands on them.

nwi.com, February 17, 2012

[...] I didn’t join Guns N’ Roses just to come in as ‘a guitar player’. I’ve turned down a lot of great opportunities in life and this is the first real gig I took on outside of doing my own thing because I felt I really could bring something to the table not as a guitar player, but as a songwriter and producer. That’s what gets me excited about being in the band - knowing that we have a really great shot at putting out something that’s just going to blow people’s mind. So, that’s the number one priority for everybody at this point.

BraveWords, March 6, 2012

And, obviously, one of our main focuses is putting together what we feel is going to be the next best Guns N Roses record and that’ll come when the time is right for it. Right now we got a bunch of touring coming up, which we’re excited about.

I think my main focus, obviously, with Guns N Roses, we’ve got a bunch more touring.

Glide Magazine, March 13, 2012

In February, an interviewer would say that he had heard the band was working on new material, so which Dizzy responded:

I keep hearing that, so I’m going to go along with that and say, “Yeah.”

Gazzette.net, February 17, 2012

When the interviewer then asked if it was news to him, Dizzy would say that Axl and DJ had been working on something and that there had been talks:

No, no. There’s been talk. I know that [guitarist] DJ [Ashba] and Axl have been kicking back and forth some stuff and we talked about it a little bit, but I’ve heard that there’s plans... to sit down at some point in time ...and start working some stuff up. So if that happens, great. I don’t want to jinx it though.

Gazzette.net, February 17, 2012

And DJ would again talk about working on new songs and saying he had written about 12 songs for Guns N' Roses:

It's a big challenge for me. It's fun and exciting to me to get in and work on new songs. Like I said, my goal was never to join the band to just play guitar but to sit down and write some songs with Axl and my goal is to put together the next best Guns N' Roses record. I think that is everybody's goal in the band.

Washington Examiner, February 22, 2012

I don't get involved with any project unless I honestly feel, as a songwriter and producer, I can bring something solid to the table. And with Guns, I really feel like, outside of playing guitar for them, I'm really excited to get in there and collaborate with this band because Axl has put together one of the most amazing bands; I mean, the musicianship in this band is unbelievable. It's an honor — it's a huge honor — and I'm just trying to do the gig justice by trying to stay as true to the original vision as I possibly can.

Coming into this, I wasn't coming in just to play guitar; I'm coming in as a songwriter. Obviously, I'm a producer [as well]. I'm not saying I'm gonna produce a Guns record or whatever... But I'm really excited about the future, because the sky's the limit. And I know my goal is the same as Axl's, and everyone else's in the band, [which is] to put together what we all feel ultimately would be the next best Guns N' Roses record. So that, to me, is really exciting, and I'm always up for a huge challenge. So that's what gets me going.

We've been touring so much since I've been in the band. Axl, we get together quite a bit, and he has played a lot of stuff he has recorded, which I can't wait to sit down with him and get my hands dirty. Obviously, as a songwriter, I've written and demoed up probably about 12 songs, I think. And some of them he has heard, some of them he hasn't yet. But I think when we get a little bit of time off, we're gonna hopefully all get together and piece together what we think is gonna be the next best thing. But ultimately, this is Axl's baby, and I wanna sit down and really get a good grasp on his vision of where he feels the next record should go and then sit down by his side and make that happen.

Rock Over America/Blabbermouth, February 28, 2012

As for when a new record could come out:

It's a matter of sitting down with Axl. He's got a pretty clear vision of where he wants to go, but we've been touring so much [we haven't been able to work on songs]. For me, as a producer and songwriter, it's trying to bring his vision to life. I'll make it mine as well but really it's up to him to set the direction and then we'll bring that to life. And that's the fun part.

Washington Examiner, February 22, 2012

Tommy would talk about wanting to release more with Guns N' Roses, but not suggest anything was in the works:

I really hope so. I would like to put out more than one album in 14 years. I’m all about “Chinese Democracy” but I want new Guns N’ Roses songs.

The Mercury, February 23, 2012

DJ would also be asked if Axl had heard any of the songs DJ had written for the band:

He has and he’s really excited. It’s just that we’ve been non-stop touring. That’s been one of the frustrating things for me. I really want to get into a studio more than I ever have. I just bought a brand new house in Las Vegas and I have a beautiful home studio there, so I’m excited to get a little bit of a break, dive back into the studio and get some things moving.

BraveWords, March 6, 2012

And discuss the songs he had written for Guns N' Roses and answer whether they were aggressive or if they "moved into another direction":

The stuff that I wrote in somewhere in between. I grew up as a fan and there are things that I love about Appetite that you don’t want to lose in my opinion. There are things that I absolutely love about Chinese and from A to Z makes Guns N’ Roses. So, anywhere between A and Z, I believe we’re in the ball park with it.

BraveWords, March 6, 2012

Apparently, by May 2012, DJ would cautiously remark that he didn't know if Axl thought the songs DJ had written is ready for the album:

I don’t want to put words in his mouth and I don’t know yet if he feels it is ready for the album, all I know is that he really liked what he heard and I think together, as a band, we’re all looking forward to putting together what we feel will be the next best Guns N’ Roses record.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

Interestingly, Dizzy would also mention he had worked with DJ in the studio:

I’m always into trying out new material and recording new stuff. I’ve worked with DJ a little bit in the studio off and on here and there and I’m always recording stuff, ready to play it for people to get their take and their spin on it.

Epsy Rock, May 21, 2012

Dizzy would also mention that they were always working on new music:

We're always sort of kicking material back and forth and trying to come up with new ideas. Throwing it in the big melting pot that, hopefully, will become the next Guns N' Roses record.

K5 TV/Blabbermouth, July 16, 2012

In July, DJ would reiterate what their main goal was:

[Working on new material is] definitely our main focus right now.

K5 TV/Blabbermouth, July 16, 2012

In October, DJ would explicitly said that Axl wanted DJ's input on old songs:

[Axl Rose] has tons of stuff done [and] recorded that he's played for me and wants my input on. Axl's put together such a talented group of musicians and there are so many songs that are already worked out. So we've got a good jump on it, for sure.

Rolling Stone, October 9, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:31 am

FEBRUARY 2012

GUNS N' ROSES LAUNCHES THEIR NEW WEBSITE WITH THEIR OWN FORUM, "THE NIGHTRAIN"

Axl had talked about wanting to get something done with the band's online presence already back in 2008:

I’ve started (again) recently to make an attempt to try and get something going there. It’s been extremely frustrating. I’ve had ideas but former management went with theirs. Previous to what we have now I’ve consistently had others attempt to pressure and railroad me into working with others that I chose not to as it was more about managerial control than a good website and not in my best interest so the ideas get shelved and it generally just sits there. Plus as frustrating as it was for everyone it was not time to talk publicly. So it gets consistently shelved.

chinesedemocracy.com, December 14, 2008

Then in February 2012, a new website was launched including a members-only fan forum called 'Nightrain':

As they prepare for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Guns N' Roses have launched a new website that eliminates any confusion about where the official source of GNR information is on the web. GunsNRoses.com features recent news, photos, tour dates and the new Nightrain membership section.

Fans can also find 14 of the band's music videos, and links to all of their albums, including 'Chinese Democracy.' Early response has been positive. "@gunsnroses the new website looks amazing and was definitely worth the wait... like all things GNR haha" thank you, one person tweeted last night.

Previously a few fan run sites were doing the job for the band, whose official page had been a victim of neglect. In addition to the free content, Guns N' Roses is now offering two levels of membership privileges. For $29.99 one gets access to the digital community, fan club pre-sale tickets, an exclusive bandana and official laminate. Spend $20 more and you get a fan club t-shirt.

While there isn't a wealth of archive GNR information available yet, the reboot births hope that fans will soon be able have one place to find all band info, new and old. The original band is reportedly attending the April 14 induction ceremony, but it's still unknown how any reunion performances will come together.

Uiltmate Classic Rock, February 16, 2012

At the end of an interview, DJ would be asked what he wanted to plug:

GunsNRoses.com. We finally got our domain name, so we’re building that.

BraveWords, March 6, 2012

Screenshot of gunsnroses.com
May 4, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:31 am

FEBRUARY 10-27, 2012

THE 'UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL' TOUR BEGINS

The first show of the 'Up Close And Personal' tour of 2012 would be a surprise show at the intimate Roseland Ballroom in New York City, New York, on February 10, 2012.

Review in New York Times on February 13:

Axl Rose loves Fashion Week. Mr. Rose, the Guns N’ Roses front man reintroduced the band to Manhattan tastemakers in a surprise performance during Fashion Week two years ago after a long absence, and he has chosen this year’s event to stage the band’s three-night residency in New York.

[...]

In many ways the Roseland show could have happened at any point in the 25 years since the band released its seminal first album, “Appetite for Destruction.” The nearly three-hour show was laden with familiar extravagances: grandiose guitar solos, the band’s aggressively priapic stage presence, Mr. Rose’s multiple costume changes and pliant snake dance. Yet it was a far more streamlined production than past outings; it almost started on time, for one, with nary an onstage tantrum. Mr. Rose remained the sole original member, though the keyboardist Dizzy Reed has hung on since the early 1990s; the backing musicians suggested a giddy, faithful cover act.

The band’s opening song was, surprisingly, its most famous: “Welcome to the Jungle,” the howl that built its kingdom. The band then segued into note-perfect renditions of two more hits from “Appetite,” “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone.” Throughout the evening, the band favored its classic material, namely tracks from “Appetite” and “Use Your Illusion” Volumes I and II. “Civil War” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, ” both from “Illusion II,” were stirring with comparatively modest instrumentation, highlighting Mr. Rose’s still-spectacular vocals and piercing ululation. On piano, he delivered “November Rain” to full power-ballad splendor, with every second of its majestic coda intact, followed by AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie,” one of Mr. Rose’s characteristic odes a Rubenesque woman.

Wisely, the band parceled out tracks from “Chinese Democracy,” Mr. Rose’s wildly overproduced album that took 17 years and countless musicians to create; it arrived in 2008 as a remnant of a bygone music industry, one that could indulge a mad auteur. A few of its cuts surfaced mid-set, seemingly as irrelevant as they were when the album was released. They created a lull, notably “Sorry” and its refrain “I’m sorry for you/Not sorry for me,” for which the audience tepidly joined in.

Late in the night, the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to Mr. Rose, to which he replied, “I have been in Guns N’ Roses for half my life.” The words rang with a kind of pleased defiance.

New York Times, February 13, 2012

Roseland Ballroom
February 10, 2012

The followed a show at Terminal 5 in New York on February 12 before the band returned to Webster Hall in New York, previously named The Ritz, for a show on February 15.

Review of the Webster Hall show in Glide Magazine:

There was a time I was very skeptical of seeing a band called “Guns N’ Roses” that didn’t include any original members besides Axl Rose, especially since the other five original members are still alive and making music. I’d seen a few shows at the height of their popularity, and it was sad to see the band fade in the years that followed the Use Your Illusion tours. My life was wrapped up in following Phish during that period, but recollections of the shows I had seen in high school, and knowing that the original band split up on bad terms, was disappointing.

On a whim, I attended their 2002 comeback show at Madison Square Garden. I went in with absolutely no expectations, but more of a quenching desire to hear the songs I loved so much again. Expecting a train wreck, I was actually impressed and had an amazing time. It was clear this GN’R was Axl and a bunch of hired guns, but musically it was intense and dynamic, helping me forget that fact for a few hours.[...]

Fast forward to four years later at 11:52 PM this past Wednesday night. The lights went down and a spotlight shined down on axeman DJ Ashba at the top of the stage as he played the opening chords to Chinese Democracy’s hard-driving, self-titled opening track. But five minutes later, 25 years after Axl’s howl woke up the music world, the scream “You know where you are???” came out, and Welcome to the Jungle set the roof of Webster Hall on fire. To even describe the energy to someone who wasn’t there is near impossible, it was absolutely explosive.

The newer songs, especially the ballads, were delivered with conviction and clarity. With rare exception, the energy level didn’t drop when recent material was started. Street of Dreams was especially strong, as that song’s quality stands up to the best of the earlier epic material and Estranged and Civil War, each brought the house down as well. The band also covered AC/DC’s Riff Raff in head-exploding fashion, fitting the dirty raucous vibe of the venue. Just as dirty was the groove Tommy Stinson held down on the classic You’re Crazy. Singing along to this song, I inadvertently shouted “You’re F*#king Crazy” in another fan’s face as he was walking past. Afterward I realized this was the only place on the planet where I could shout that at a stranger and generate a laughing response.

Axl’s commanding presence, combined with his flawless vocal performance, made their version of Knocking on Heaven’s Door, which I scoffed at in my younger years, one of the most powerful songs of the night. That groove at the end is just plain hot, and it was a perfect opportunity for Axl to sing like he had something to prove. When the guitarists went acoustic for Patience, they traded in their chops for grace and beauty. The only thing missing from that song was the smashing of the neon phone at the end. Minutes later, we were singing Paradise City in joyous revelry and a sea of confetti. It was 3:10 AM and they took us home.

[...]

Glide Magazine, February 2012

The next show, and the last in New York City, took place at the small Hiro Ballroom in New York on February 16.

Hiro Ballroom
February 16, 2012

The followed a show at the House of Blues in Chicago on February 19 before the band travelled to The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD, for a show on February 23.

Before the show in Silver Spring, DJ would talk about what the audiences could except:

This is a show you do not want to miss. The group [front man and founder Axl Rose] has put together, and I'm not including myself here, an incredible group of musicians at the top of their games. It's an honor to play with them.

Washington Examiner, February 22, 2012

Review of the show in Silver Spring by Megan Friend, daughter of Lonn Friend, in Obsessed Magazine:

For me, it’s always been about the music. My father was editor of the iconic hard rock publication RIP Magazine, which was birthed when Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction appeared out of nowhere to take over the world.

When I informed now author Lonn Friend that I was going to review Guns N’ Roses, it was as if my life had come full circle. “You know, Meg,” said my dad, “You actually saw GN’R when you were an evolving fetus. Through the portal of your mom’s womb, you witnessed Axl Rose stage dive at the Park Plaza Hotel during the 3rd Anniversary RIP party in October 1989.”

Ever since that prenatal concert experience, I’ve longed to see the explosive energy attributed to “Paradise City” live and hear the revolutionary defining screams and squeals of Axl Rose in person.

Last Thursday night, despite the ramblings circulating around as a result of mixed reviews and harsh criticism of Axl Rose’s performance during GNR’s Chinese Democracy tour, Rose’s persona and pipes soared to infinite degrees in the quaint Fillmore Club in Silver Spring, Maryland for three and a half electrifying hours.

Starting just after midnight, the show contained a hearty combination of old and new by intertwining many of the band’s classics with those songs born from the second incarnation of the group that’s poised to enter the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame next month.

The faithful crowd mimicked every heroic lyric as Axl wailed memorably through beloved ballads like “November Rain,” Sweet Child of Mine,” and “Patience.”

For the 2,000 lucky locals in the sardine packed room, there was sheer acceptance of all the material passionately delivered from one of rock’s most enigmatic and dazzling figures.

Guns N’ Roses’ songs have helped define a generation of music. They were raw, unscripted and jammed pack with the luscious allure of pure sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Guns N’ Roses was not just a band. They were a movement, a musical revolution of human expression, imagination,and freedom.

And it is clear that the songs of such an archetypal band in human history will continue to reverberate, influence and delineate for decades to come.

Obsessed Magazine, February 2012

The band continued to the House of Blues in Atlantic City for a show on February 24 before hitting The Electric Factory in Philadelphia on February 27.

During the show in Philadelphia, fans would comment that Bumblefoot was repeatedly leaving the stage and obviously suffering from pain. In 2014, Bumblefoot would look back at the show and complain that the management had ignored his situation:

One very difficult show was I played Philadelphia in 2012 with Guns and I was on this nerve-blocker for my spine. I had been in a car accident and the medicine only worked for a month and I had a one month’s supply. Actually, I got a little extra but pretty much the medicine will ONLY work in your body a month and then after that it will stop working. We had a three week tour, or four weeks, whatever it was, and then on four days’ notice, they didn’t tell us, they booked another three weeks of shows and I needed to take treatments, I needed to get things done, I needed to take care of my health, and they just ignored that and booked these shows. The first show after that one month was up, I took the pills and they didn’t work and I could barely walk and I had to try and do a three hour show where even if you had just touched the top of my head, it was like someone taking a giant knife and just shoving it in your neck and twisting it. And I had to play a show like that and I could barely move. I had to sit down for a couple of songs and I remember just walking like I was petrified. I could barely bend my knees and my spine, I just couldn’t move. There was just so much pain. I had to do a show like that and many shows after that.

Glide Magazine, June 2014

During the show, Axl would talk about the cancelled show in Philadelphia in December 2002:

We haven’t been back here in a long time, right? And I never talked publicly about what went down, and a lot of that was because there were a lot of legalities behind the scenes, so I had to keep my mouth shut for five years, or I would have got sued for about everything I owned by fucking corporate radio and shit that were backing our tour. So I had to shut up. I mean, I did cancel the first show at 6:00 in the morning. But my manager told me he canceled it and then didn’t. And then Clear Channel wanted us to fuck up, because they wanted to end the tour, because they had some shit going on in Florida or something, I don’t know, some… a whole bunch of bullshit. But I got really sick; it had nothing to do with fur coats or basketball games or... You know, and I love Philly. I came to visit here a few times and stuff, I really liked it. So on this we decided, “Okay, we’re gonna risk it, what if we can throw in a show in Philly, and we can get in Philly;" and maybe I could get lucky and not go to jail. So it’s good to be here with you people tonight. I want to apologize for my part of that, you know, so… I’m not saying I’m innocent.

The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA, February 17, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:32 am

MARCH 1-11, 2012

THE 'UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL' TOUR CONTINUES

Reviews of the first shows of the UCAP tour had been very good, and the band would use excerpts of these when announcing additional shows:

Fresh from their critically acclaimed, sold-out-in-minutes NY Takeover and subsequent intimate run of shows along the eastern seaboard, Guns N’ Roses will be taking over Los Angeles in March with a three-date club run, announced today. It’s been 22 years since they last visited the Hollywood Palladium, where they have set their first stop on the LA run on March 9. GN’R will make their first appearances two LA music landmarks, The Wiltern on March 11, and House of Blues Sunset Strip on March 12.

Presale for the LA Takeover will begin on Thursday, March 1st at 10am PT, public onsale is slated for Friday, March 2nd at 10am PT. For more information on tickets and VIP packages, please visit www.gunsnroses.com.

The continuation of this historic run of intimate shows has been lauded by critics at every stop:

“…the Roseland show could have happened at any point in the 25 years since Guns N’ Roses released its seminal first album” – New York Times

“…doing it on their own terms—with stadium lights and a supersized set list….Lasting through to the end of the set may have been an exhaustive stamina test, but it was worth every minute.” - Revolver

“Many bands take rare performances like this in unusually small venues as an opportunity to relax and take it easy, performing a far more casual set. That was absolutely not the case with GNR at House of Blues. The band left everything out on that stage in a performance that spanned just about every nook and cranny of the Guns N' Roses catalog from hits to covers to rarities.” - Chicago Now

“Each one is an epic, and in many ways the complex songs sound better with this expanded line-up of the band…” - Rolling Stone

“…wildly exceeded my expectations. Say what you will about Axl, when he's onstage he sings his ass off and gives it his all.” – VH1.com

“GNR pulled no punches, offering an all-out rock assault that included most of the hits fans would want to hear.” - Press of Atlantic City

Press Release, February 29, 2012

The next shows took place at The Tabernacle in Atlanta on March 1, the House of Blues Orlando, Lake Buena Vista on March 3, and at The Fillmore, Miami Beach, Miami on March 5.

Before the show in Miami, Dizzy would talk about his expectations:

Hopefully, they'll be falling out of the rafters.

NewTimes Blog, March 5, 2012

And as for the smaller venue:

It's going to be more in your face. [...] It's a bit of a stripped down show. But I think that's a great opportunity for people to see just how great the band really is.

NewTimes Blog, March 5, 2012

It’s been a challenge to adjust. For many years, we’ve been playing arenas and stadiums. So, it’s been a really long time since I’ve been on a stage that small, but it’ an intimate stripped down show. There are not a lot of big bombs going off and you’re running into each other, but it’s been so much fun because it brings you back to these days when you were trying to make it. It’s exciting.

BraveWords, March 6, 2012

I guess the main thing is there are no explosions, thank God. It’s a smaller stage. It’s more intimate and I think what it really does from an outside perspective is it showcases the band and Axl. At the end of the day, we’re a kickass act. The coolest thing for me and I think for the fans is that the people who are going to buy the tickets are the hardest of the hardcore fans. That’s what’s really cool and my favorite part of the shows is really feeling the appreciation from the fans. It makes you want to give back in many ways. I can’t say the shows are more kickass because I want people to like the arena shows. I want them to like them both. For me, it’s definitely more fun. In the arena shows, I’m kind of on an island in the back and that’s fine because I know it looks great to make it work. With a smaller stage, it’s more intimate and I hate to use that word, but it fits. It’s more kickass for everybody that’s there. It’s a definite rock show.

Real Rock News, March 8, 2012

Talking about returning to the Sunset Strip:

Hopefully, the shows will feel more like a homecoming. Even though many of the guys in the band now aren’t really from L.A., they’ll probably see the energy. The 1980s Sunset Strip was just such a short area and there were so many bands from all over. When I first moved out there, I remember thinking it’s going to be a long climb to try to get to the top of this, but I ended up joining a pretty kickass band. It didn’t happen overnight. I was out there for a long time. When I got the call from Axl, I was sleeping on people’s couches still. I’ve had a lot of success. The Sunset Strip still has its charm, its charisma. I guess it’s a lot more corporate now, more controlled, more like everything else. It has its history and that’s not going to go away, but that energy kind of left a long time ago. I think it would be hard to start up a whole new scene just in Hollywood now. Some other places around L.A., now, you can harness more of a vibe. Trust me, in the 80s, I don’t how old the people are reading this, but if you were around that decade as soon as you stepped in Hollywood you could just feel it in the air. It was amazing actually. You’d go up on the strip on a Friday or Saturday night and it was just a mass of people. Everyone had the same sort of goal. The dudes wanted to make it and the chicks wanted to be noticed.

Real Rock News, March 8, 2012

Bumblefoot being asked what he enjoys the most when playing in Guns N' Roses:

I love the music, the comradery of the band, crew, visiting so many parts of the world, how we'll play for 100,000 people and then do a stripped-down club gig for 100 people... I especially like the moments where we're connecting with the fans. The recent show in Miami where young kids played my guitar and we took pictures together on the wing of the stage, the signs people make & hold up in the audience, some really crack me up, love it!!

Guitar Digest, June 1, 2012

The next shows were at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, CA, on March 9 and at The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA, on March 11.

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:32 am

BUMBLEFOOT WANTS TO MAKE A NEW RECORD

Throughout 2012, Bumblefoot would talk extensively (or be asked repeatedly) about the band's new record and suggest they focused on ew material and doing it single-by-single:

This line-up really should be releasing music. For years I've been vocal about my 'wish list', to have the band write one song before every leg of a tour - we hit the studio and bang out a song, we play that song live during that tour, then we do the same for the next leg of the tour. If we did that there would be a full album of music by now. In my own world that's what I would have liked to see happen, but in reality it's more complicated than that, there's a lot of business involved before music can be released. Just my thinking aloud, wishful thinking.

GNR Paraguay, March 2012

Last year I released “The Pink Panther Theme” and it has pretty much all the members of the band except Dizzy (ed: Reed, keyboards), Chris (Ed: Pitman, keyboards) and Axl. Although I’d like to do something with *all* of them (laughs)! Yes, the next people I’d like to make music with, would be my band and my singer. I would like to be writing, recording and putting out music with Axl, Tommy, Frank, Richard, DJ, Chris and Dizzy. That’s what I’d like to be doing. I feel that the current band is so strong and has so much to offer that we should really be writing songs, together.

Hit Channel, April 20, 2012

When asked when a new album would come out:

In the last 12 months I finished four albums of music - Scarface 'Work Ethic', Alexa Vetere 'Breathe Again' ( www.alexavetere.com ), Poc 'Rise Above' ( www.pocnation.com ) and my own music ( www.bumblefoot.com/discography.php ) When it comes to releasing GNR music, that's between Axl and the label and management - hopefully they'll release more music, but that's not up to me.

GNRBRAZIL.com, May 4, 2012

When asked if fans could expect new music or the unreleased songs from the Chinese Democracy sessions:

I'd love to see all the Chinese-era music released and followed up with brand new music written by the current band, but that's just my opinion. I do what I want with my own music, it's not for me to say what should be done with music that was around before I was.

GNRBRAZIL.com, May 4, 2012

DJ would discuss how a new record with new songs from the current lineup would sound:

I think everyone is so talented in this band and as a band, we’re so incredibly tight, like a family, and we play insanely well together. I think if this band does put out a new record, it’s obviously going to be a lot different than ‘Chinese [Democracy]’ or anything you’ve ever heard because it is a completely new band in that aspect.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

In June, Bumblefoot would again talk about wanting the band to record a new album:

I miss writing as a band. My wish was that the band would get together for one week before every part of a tour would begin, and we write a song, record it, release it, play it on that leg of the tour, and keep doing this every time we start a new leg of a tour. If we did that, this band would have a brand new album done by now.

Teraz Rock Magazine, July 2012

And in November he would talk about wanting the band to record a new song before every tour leg but conclude that it would never happen:

What I wanted to do - and I say this a lot, and it just didn’t happen, and it’s not going to happen - but, in my perfect world, if I could align all the planets and do everything, before every time we go out for a leg of touring, I would have us go into the studio a week before, write a song, force it out.

Write a song, record the song and release the song for that leg of the tour so that every time we hit the road again for six weeks or 12 weeks, whatever it is, we have a new piece of music that we just wrote right before hitting the road that’s relevant and connected to that tour.

If we did that, we would have had a whole album done by now. Everybody would know the songs because they’d get to know them one at a time and each one would be fresh written by this band in that moment over this last bit of time. To me, that would’ve been the best way to do it because we would’ve grown together writing as well as touring.

I’m sure that there would have been some songs that people really liked. We would’ve had some good stuff. So not only would we have been getting more and more solid performing, but also writing as a band.

Metal Mayhem Magazine, November 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:34 am

THE END TO THE ERA OF THE ALBUM

We used to tour to support records, now we put out records support tours. And the days of being able to sit back and collect royalty checks just this is not happening, you've got to be out playing live because that's where your income comes from now.

StageLeft Podcast, June 1, 2017

______________________________

In March 2012, Dizzy would be asked if touring and live performance had become more important than recording:

It would appear the era of the album is definitely over. I think that people are always going to want to see new stuff and you have to give it to them. Especially these days because the attention span of younger and younger people is pretty brief. They’re always hungry for new stuff and that’s cool. Nothing can really replace the live performance. There are bands that have survived solely on touring for years. Acts like the Grateful Dead. Even the Stones to a certain degree haven’t really had a huge record in three decades.

Real Rock News, March 8, 2012

And in November, Duff would also talk about this:

In rock 'n'roll, we don't sell records at all like we used to. Yet the artist still has to pay to make records. So you've just got to get out on tour and be smarter about your merchandising. Bands now charge $50 for a T-shirt, a CD and a meet and greet with fans.

The Independent, November 11, 2012

In August 2013, Chris would talk about how it wasn't important to GN'R to release an album:

And what is really nice now, you don't have to be in a hurry to make a record now. Because people don't buy it. There is no record shops. So why the fuck put a record out? Just do what you want to do. And that is nice. It works both ways. People don't want to buy it, so you don't have to put it out. And when we do, we just relax and take our time...just like Guns, we don't care. We go out and play songs that people know, but we're not knocking ourselves out to release music. There's no need to that now, it's not the time and place.

Radio Rock, August 2013

And in 2014, Dizzy would again talk about how the industry had changed when asked if it was important to release albums:

Not as much as it used to be, that's for sure. And it's always been hard. It's always been difficult to put out twelve really good songs, worthy of putting out. You know, not every band can do that. Probably 95% of all bands couldn't do it at some point, at least. I think this ten could, but I just don't think it's relevant as much as it used to be. I think, you know, people want product right away and so, you know, singles are the way to go and, you know, if you've got 12 songs then you can put them together as a collection at some point. People can make up their mind at that point.

One on One with Mitch Lafon, July 21, 2014

In 2019, Slash would discuss the affect of streaming services:

Back in the late '90s/early millennium, when everybody was doing the file-sharing thing, the Internet basically killed the music industry. Now, we've sort of come out of it with the streaming services, but they don't pay anywhere near the royalties that buying a CD or a record pays. It's definitely hurt the music business in a big way. It's easier for customers, but it's definitely not doing any favors to the actual artists.

Wirtualna Polska, February 12, 2019

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:34 am

MARCH 13, 2012

THE UCAP TOUR ENDS AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES IN LA WITH ROBIN AND BRAIN GUESTING

The final show of the Up Close and Personal Tour took place at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, CA, on March 13. Robin would come on stage for Better and Brain would play congas on a few of the songs.

Robin and Axl
March 13, 2012

Brain
March 13, 2012

Brain would talk about how the band had wanted him to play drums but that he didn't want to:

Yeah, I think they had asked me to just sit in. And so I said, "Sure." I was supposed to sit in. Yeah, I played bongos or something like that. I think they asked if I wanted to play a song but I think that I was just like, "I don't know any," or something. I just didn't want to, you know, it was easier for me to just like play bongos so I was just like, "Okay I'll show up that night."

NatterNet, September 4, 2018

LOOKING BACK AT THE UCAP TOUR

It was so much fun. It was different because usually when we’re playing on a bigger stage there’s distance between the fans and the audience, and this time people were closer to the stage, sitting on the stage. I could come down to the sides of the stage and they could play my guitar and take pictures with me. It was fantastic, it was really personal doing it the way we did. It was refreshing to be able to do that, to have such a personal kind of connection. I enjoyed it a lot!

Hit Channel, April 20, 2012

It was a pleasure to play these smaller venues and be able to connect so much with the audience, to be able to touch hands from the stage, I enjoyed it a lot. When I play shows on a big stage far from the audience, I start to feel the distance between us - it was good to get back to something so touchable.

GNRBRAZIL.com, May 4, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:35 am

2011-2013

VELVET REVOLVER, PART VIII

2011: THE BAND GOES ON HIATUS

Later in March it seemed the band was reconciled to not resurrect the band:

There is no status. I was just in the U.K., so I'm painfully aware of Corey Taylor - I was asked about one thousand times about it [Slipknot's singer was recently rumored to have tried out]. There is no status - Slash has been on tour, I'm starting a tour. We played with some really good guys, and I do think Corey Taylor is probably the brightest dude that has been in front of a mic for a long time. But saying all that, no, there is no Velvet Revolver singer.

Rolling Stone, March 10, 2011

There was a sort-of search going on. [...] I wouldn’t say that [it is defunct]. You never know what’s going to happen. Slash has been on tour and I’m about to start touring. Let’s just say this: for the next five months, I highly doubt that anything will happen, but I could be wrong.

Vanity Fair, March 15, 2011

Duff would also mention that they had recorded with Taylor but again state the band was on hiatus while Slash and himself were busy with other projects:

We recorded a bunch of songs with Corey. I think he's fucking great. Whether he's in Velvet Revolver or not…'cause I'm at a point where I can see things with a bigger view, you know, it's not all about me… I think he's the best voice of a new generation. The best rock 'n' voice out there. He's got a lot of positive energy. I'd be proud to do anything with him.

But the truth is…I can't see Velvet Revolver happening till fall, maybe. Slash is touring, I'm just starting to tour… We'll just see. Joe, I just don't have an answer. I don't.

MusicRadar, March 31, 2011

In April, Slash would suggest the band was on hiatus for a couple of years as he continued to focus on his solo career because he had "to move on":

What happens is with Velvet Revolver, when we parted ways with Scott Weiland, I was so frustrated because Scott was such a pain in the ass. And I thought, 'I just wanna have some quiet time and just write some music,' and then the idea of doing the solo record came up. And in the meantime, no new singers for Velvet Revolver, that were really good enough for Velvet Revolver, popped up. So I just started working on the solo record, and put it out and went on the road. But the whole time [I was] very conscious of [trying to find someone] who was going to sing for Velvet Revolver — but no one's turned up. So in the meantime I just keep doing what it is that I do and I've got a great bunch of guys that I work with, I enjoy working with them. I'm having a lot of fun; there's no unnecessary hassles or anything, and everybody's good players. And now we're writing music for [the] next record, which is gonna be killer. So, you know, with Velvet Revolver, it's like Duff's got his own thing, I've got my thing, Matt's got his thing. If a great singer comes and says, 'I wanna sing for Velvet Revolver,' and we all go, 'Yeah,' we'll make a Velvet record. But I can do my own thing — I don't have to go back and do that — unless it's good enough to do it, you know what I mean?!

Next year I definitely will make another Slash record with Myles Kennedy and go on tour. So at least for the next couple of years, nothing is going to be happening with Velvet Revolver that I can see 'cause I'll be focused on this. And after that's over, if something happens… I'm just not really concerning myself with it right now. We had all these different guys try out, all really good singers, but nobody has fit the thing, so, you know, I have to move on.

Vorterix/Blabbermouth, April 16, 2011

Duff seemed to echo Slash's statements that the band was indefinitely put aside:

I don’t know. Quite honestly, I don’t know. There is no status. The status is no status. Still, we’ve played with some really good singers.

Entertainment Weekly, April 18, 2011

Yeah, don’t know if I really want to get into that… but I’ll tell you this, Velvet is supposed to happen. It will happen when it’s supposed to happen. You know Slash is out touring right now doing his thing, so maybe we’ll reconvene next September and see what we want to do. [...]I mean it was a great band, and Slash and I, we have that chemistry thing… and it’s just this powerful thing that you don’t get all the time.

TheSunsetStrip, April 20, 2011

And when asked why it was so hard to find a singer, Duff would indicate Slash was more happy pursuing his solo career:

I don’t know how much I want to say about that. I think Slash is very happy doing his solo thing, and why not. I think if Velvet Revolver is going to happen again it will happen when it’s supposed to happen. We played with some good singers and Scott Weiland is tough guy to replace.

Guitar International, April 15, 2011

Being asked if there will ever be a third record from Velvet Revolver:

Well, in a perfect world there would be that record that’s just fuckin’ raw and brutal. But we’d have to have a singer and it would have to like it was in 2003 and 2004 when it just seemed right and things appeared in front of us. We can’t force it so I don’t know. To be honest with you, I don’t know.

Ultimate Guitar, April 18, 2011

Update from May:

We went kind of gangbusters the first few months after Scott [Weiland]. We kind of realized when and if this is going to happen, it'll happen. We can't force some guy into that spot. Slash started making this record. Loaded made that "Sick" record, I toured and then Slash is still out touring. I talked to Slash and he said, "I'm going to make another record, dude." We'll get to that when we get to that.

Soundspike, May 10, 2011

And July:

Slash has been on tour almost two years now [but] it's not the reason [Velvet Revolver is inactive]. I think the reason is that is hasn't fallen into place yet. After [we parted ways with singer] Scott Weiland [in 2008] We had such a great first record, especially. The second album is still a good album, but It's hard to replace Scott for that particular band, I think. It's a bit of a gray area.

Velvet Revolver, we really felt that we were Especially Slash, Duff and myself, we were the three main guys that started Velvet. 'Cause Scott came in much later. So to replace Scott, we felt, could be possible. And we tried a couple of guys and it didn't work out. [But] I don't wanna say it's over. It's just on a hiatus. We'll make music again together at some point.

Lokaos Rock Show, July 25, 2011

And October:

Slash and I played in New York a couple weeks ago and Matt Sorum was there. There was a singer there we might write some songs with. None of us have really tried [to find anyone] in the last few years. We've all been busy with other things. I think once that whole thing went down with Scott [Weiland], we thought we'd find a guy right away. Once a few months went by, it was like, "Oh fuck."

We didn't give up on the band but you can't force a singer into a situation. It's got to just kind of happen. So playing a few weeks ago with that singer, it seemed really natural. So we'll see. I'll come back to you on that.

OC Weekly, October 6, 2011

Duff would also mention new sessions with potential singers in December:

I think we may be looking at somebody in December, which is fun to think about. I believe in my heart of hearts it’ll happen.

The Irish Sun, October 27, 2011

I hope so [=there will be another album]. I can tell you that I hope so. You know, without a singer I couldn’t say. You’ve got to have that singer that adds, so I hope we find that guy, and I hope that Slash and I play together again. And Matt, and Dave, because they’re a great group of guys and nobody works harder than them. And it’s a positive environment to be in, so at some point, yeah, I think we’re gonna make an attempt at finding a guy pretty soon.

The Nervous Breakdown, October 29, 2011

In November, Slash would confirm the plans to test new singers in December [Billboard, November 4, 2011].

Matt would update on these sessions:

They're home right now checking a guy out without me... I said, 'Why don't you try to just write a song and see how the guy sounds and how he writes a lyric?' Because that's been a little bit of a thing. I thought Corey had good lyrics. He's a smart guy, he writes from his background. He's gone through some stuff in his life, and he writes hard lyrics. So I liked his lyrics, I got a lot of what he was saying. So we'll see how it goes. Everyone is still into finding the guy, it's just a matter of it being [snaps fingers].

Spotlight Report, December 14, 2011

And name the candidate as Jimmy Gnecco:

[...]they’re at home trying out a guy right now. They're sitting in a room looking at a singer named Jimmy Gnecco. So we’ll see how that goes, and then we’ve got a couple of other ideas. It looks like Slash is going to make another album, but I’m not sure about his touring and stuff yet. So we’ll see how that goes. But we’re all open to it and interested in trying to do something together.

TheVine, December 14, 2011

Nothing seemed to have come out of this, either, because in March, Duff would be asked if the band had a future and not mention they had a new singer:

I hope so. We were a good songwriting band and it was a real thing onstage.

Rolling Stone, March 9, 2012

JANUARY 2012 - A REUNION WITH WEILAND

In July 2011, Weiland would talk with fondness about his time in Velvet Revolver and suggest they could be reuniting:

That was a magical thing, too. That was right when I was getting off dope and those guys were all sober and clean, and I had a very special kind of kinship because we'd all experienced the same things. [...] It felt like us against the world: 'We're gonna play just pure rock 'n' roll.' And I think we did a really good job of it. It was a great band to see live, and I think we made two exciting albums. [...] We patched things up and we get along. I see them every now and again, we text each other. [...] And you know, we can never say never. Who knows, maybe we'll do some shows some time.

Ultimate Classic Rock, July 28, 2011

Then in October, Duff would suggest it was unlikely:

We'll see. We didn't call it a day. I don't think we'll ever do anything with Scott [Weiland]. I love that guy but I feel sorry for him.

The Huffington Post, October 24, 2011

Despite this, on December 29, it was reported that Weiland and the rest of the band would reunite for a one-off concert at "Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien" on Thursday, January 12 at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California [Blabbermouth, December 29, 2021]. The result of this reconciliation was Kushner who was a good friend of John O'Brien's and who arranged the tribute concert after talking to each of his band members in Velvet Revolver and getting their agreement [Rolling Stone, January 6, 2022].

Duff, Weiland and Slash
January 12, 2012

The band would play Sucker Train Blues, She Builds Quick Machines, Slither and Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover) [Blabbermouth, January 13, 2012].

It was cool, man. We hadn't played together in a long time. We soundchecked a few songs. We only played, like, three songs. But it was cool to be on stage and play music again. It was like riding a bike. Everyone had a good time and we raised some money for a really sad situation. John O'Brien passed away and left a pregnant wife and another child. And a lot of people turned out for the show… Amazing turnout.

Frankie DiVita, January 28, 2012

We haven’t closed the door on it [=Velvet Revolver], because it’s not a thing that we really wanna break up, but at the same time, we haven’t found the right guy. And to go back with Scott, it’s like a little bit dangerous good territory. I mean, I love the guy. The chemistry, as a band, is great onstage, but backstage it wasn’t great. I think, for me, I’m at a certain age now where it’s like I wanna be able to go out and play music and have a really good time doing it. If I make some money, that’s great, too. But the main thing is, I don’t really wanna deal with too much crap anymore. I think we’re all getting a little too old.. We’re not 20 anymore, so going out there and having to deal with a bunch of crap is not really where our headspace is at.

KOMP 92.3/Blabbermouth, February 24, 2012

It was great to see Scott. I hadn’t seen him in a while. He sang great, and afterwards we all shook hands and took off.

Rolling Stone, April 2, 2012

Matt would also mention taking the opportunity to reconcile with Weiland:

We had a good time. Me and Scott worked out some stuff backstage and had talked, and that was nice. He came up to me and he was real humble and really cool. 'Cause stuff happens when you're out on the road and people are tired and you say shit. Everything is on the Internet now; you can't get away with anything.

Being in the music business for as long as I have been, I'm still learning lessons. We were out on the road for 18 months. And we got tired and things happened. There's a lot of pressure. You think you'd always wanna do it differently, but stuff goes the way it's gonna go; I can't explain it.

We made some good records [with Scott]. The second record didn't get as much action as the first one, but I think it's a cool record, too. I liked a lot of that record, and working with [producer] Brendan O'Brien. The first record, obviously, was a huge success for us.

Frankie DiVita, January 28, 2012

After Weiland's death, Matt would talk more about their reconcilation:

In the end, I just want the world to know that I feel like I made my peace with [Scott]. I saw him in New York at a show we did together maybe about… I guess it was about two years ago. I had this band called Camp Freddy and we invited Scott to come. And everyone said, 'Is that cool if we invite Scott?' I was, like, 'Yeah.' 'Cause we had done two shows after Velvet Revolver [split with Scott]. We did one show for a friend of Dave's that passed away, and we did one reunion gig. And me and Scott had a conversation. He apologized, I apologized. We made some amends. We were able to say, 'Hey, man, let's move forward. Let's just let the old stuff go.' And then when we were in New York, we had a really great time together. And after that, we didn't really stay close, but I felt like it at least got past that point… it's almost like when you have an issue with somebody and you finally get to have that conversation and then it's like okay again, kind of thing. And that's really where we left it. And then we sort of all ventured off into our own musical journey.

Matt Pinfield on Sirius XM/Blabbermouth, December 7, 2015

After the one-off reunion show, Duff and Matt would be asked if Weiland was returning to the band:

I don't know… We'll see what happens. Slash is booked up for about another year [touring in support of his upcoming solo album], so I don't know what's gonna go on with anything, to be honest. We haven't discussed it. . . I don't know… I can't say. It hasn't really been discussed, so I don't wanna speak out of turn.

Frankie DiVita, January 28, 2012

No. We just did that thing for our friend who passed, for his wife and kids. I'd be surprised…you know what? I don't even want to try and guess anymore. Who knows what's gonna happen? I'm cool with anything, and if it feels right at the time, it'll be the thing to do and we'll talk about it then.

Rolling Stone, March 9, 2012

In May 2012, Weiland would be asked if he would want to reunite with Velvet Revolver:

Yeah, I definitely would, some time. If Maynard [James Keenan] can do it with A Perfect Circle and Tool, then there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go and do it with both bands.

Rolling Stone, May 1, 2012

And in June, Slash would be asked if the reunion show they had done had felt like drawing a line under unfinished business:

No. it didn't feel anything like that. It didn’t have any of that special magic that one sometimes wants to romanticise about. We were doing this particular gig for a particular reason [as a tribute to composer John O’Brien, who passed away in August 2011] and we got up and we did it. It was good to jam with Dave and Matt and Duff, and Scott was in there too. Credit where credit’s due, Scott did a good performance and he seemed very together, but it didn't really change my feelings about how that works.

Classic Rock, June 2012

In 2015, Weiland would look back on this period and claim a reunion was in the works, but that Perla Ferrar had put a stop to that:

Because we did a show together, and there was talk about us getting back together, but Perla, Slash’s ex-wife, kind of put the kibosh on everything. As far as getting back together, I thought at the time we would get back together and do a tour.

Alternative Nation, November 5, 2015

Then Weiland had problems with Stone Temple Pilot and was fired from the band in February 2013:

You could kind of see it coming, I suppose. It’s a sad situation any way you look at it. That guy… You hope (Weiland) pulls it together; I shared enough good times with that guy that I wish him nothing but the best.

Billboard, July 27, 2013

2012- : STILL LOOKING FOR A SINGER - JIMMY GNECCO OR IAN THORNLEY?

we are still looking so hard to find a great singer but Vr will be back [...] we are trying out a guy from england now

Musinq, January 2012

We’ve been looking for singers and we talk on a regular basis. Every so often, Duff and I get together behind the scenes, reconvene and audition people and so on. So it’s still active.

Rolling Stone, April 2, 2012

In January 2012, the singer Jimmy Gnecco would write with Slash and Duff in Los Angeles:

Yeah, like I said, we’ve been talking back and forth, maybe not directly, but I was talking to management just trying to figure something out. I’ve always loved them, Slash and Duff, and the whole crew. I’ve always loved what they do. It’s just that I was in the thick of making Ours records when they were first looking for a singer, so that wasn’t the right time. Then when Scott left we were just releasing Mercy. I felt like if I was just to jump on stage and start to sing those songs to replace Scott, the fans would have rejected it. Because they love Weiland and I really like him as well. I just felt like myself and the band wouldn’t get an honest shot if I was just to jump in and replace him. But I really wanted to get into a room with them, play music, and just see how we all felt, see if they like me, see if I felt comfortable.

The show came up and I was really looking forward to jamming anything with them. It came up that I would sing “Hey Joe” with Slash. So I talked to him and said, “Hey, I’d love to sing these songs”, the one Velvet tune and then the Guns N’ Roses song. So I went up and sang them. I felt like we’d been a band for a lifetime for some reason. I looked around and I felt like – I don’t know what it was. I wasn’t nervous, I wasn’t uncomfortable, it just felt fucking great. I had a lot of fun doing it, so we spoke. I’m gonna head out in a few weeks and we’re gonna get together and just see again how it feels.

Music Vice, January 16, 2012

And in March, Ian Thornley from Big Wreck, would mention having auditioned with the band:

I got a phone call from Slash -- how f---ing weird is that? And they had sent me a few tunes and I went down into my basement studio and just sang over one and just tried to build hooks and I was like, 'This is killer,' and just as soon as you hit play, 'It's f---ing Slash!' There's such an iconic sound, just his swagger with his hands. I just love his guitar playing so it was a joy to do. [...]

Their manager had an issue with the fact that I was playing guitar. He was like, 'It sounds great. It sounds unbelievable. Is there any chance you can do a couple without the guitar?'

And I was like, 'Not really, no, 'cause I don't know what I'm going to do. Like, I've never learned those moves.' Weiland's great with all the Mick Jagger-slash-David Bowie stuff that he does. Some guys are more comfortable with that. Honestly, when Slash goes off on some kick ass solo, I'm not going to grab a f---ing tambourine, it's not my bag. And so it was just a thrill to play with those guys. They were just super-cool, sweethearts. I was kind of disappointed, but you're not going to go into a situation like that and go, 'Look, boys, here's what you need to do. Three guitar attack, alright, harmony solos, I was thinking maybe more Skynyrd.'... It was kind of a like a square peg in a round hole kind of thing.

QMI Agency, March 5, 2012

Being asked how unlikely a new album is at this point:

I think it would be to my disadvantage to speculate at this point. At some point I want to do another Slash record with these guys because it was a really great experience. As far as a Velvet record goes at some point... you never know what can happen. I don’t like to guess.

Classic Rock, June 2012

Update from August after the band had done some songs with Jimmy Gnecco, apparently it didn't work out:

Actually, we jammed with Duff last night! Unfortunately, as for Velvet Revolver, we’ll remain on a hiatus until we find the right singer to replace Scott. Jimmy Gnecco is an amazing singer and we really wanted to work with him. The unfortunate thing was that our schedules conflicted. Whenever we wanted to fly him out to work with us, he was already engaged in something else, but Jimmy was without a doubt the type of singer we were looking for! He was amazing!

The Aquarian Weekly, August 2, 2012

The quest for a new singer is still ongoing. It's just very quiet because there's nothing much to say until you actually make a decision.

Newsday, August 3, 2012

And update from September when asked about where the singer search was at:

I think Slash is really kind of happy being Slash and not really dealing with the drama of being in a band. He's the leader of his band and they go on stage on time and they play songs. And I've gotta kind of respect Slash for that, because he spent most of his career waiting around for people to show up. [laughs] [So he wants to just] go out on the road and have a nice easy go of it. Get on a tour bus [with] a new band, play songs. I totally respect that.

Source of the Sound, September 18, 2012

Um … I think it’s at nowhere. I think everybody just kind of got sick of talking about it, because there’s really no guy, so there’s nothing that me or Slash or Matt [Sorum] or Dave [Kushner] could say that would change the course of this question. So there’s nobody now, I think the longer that Slash is out touring, and that I’m out touring, people will stop asking as much. Maybe once it’s settled down, we’ll find the guy.

Faster Louder, September 20, 2012

2013:

As soon as we find a suitable singer, that band is planning on getting back together. It’s just a matter of finding the right person.

Time Out Dubai, January 22, 2013

With Velvet, there's no singer in place, and there hasn't been, but we've been, actually, very quietly been looking for somebody who's right for that band. But, interestingly enough, I'm playing some shows in South Africa with Duff and Matt and Glenn Hughes and Sebastian Bach, and that's going to be interesting. It's called Kings Of Chaos, and Duff and Matt and Steve Stevens and Glenn Hughes and Sebastian Bach are the main band, and then they have guys that come up and guest… It's going to be sort of like Velvet Revolver with Sebastian and Glenn Hughes singing.

Banana 105.5, May 9, 2013

We talk about it every now and again. Slash and Matt (Sorum) and Dave (Kushner) and I played in South Africa at the beginning of June…and of course we talked about it. We’ve tried out a bunch of singers, but I think we’re just waiting for the right person to come along. It’ll just happen. But the chemistry of Matt and Slash and Dave and I is really good, so you don’t want to let that just go away.

Billboard, July 27, 2013

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:36 am

MARCH 14, 2012

RICHARD AND BRAIN PLAYS WITH MARTHA REEVES AND THE CRYSTAL METHOD

On March 14, 2012, Richard and Brain would play the song 'I'm Not Leaving' with The Crystal Method and Martha Reeves on Kimmel Live!

My good friends, the Crystal Method, had done a track with Martha for the movie "Regeneration". They called and asked if I'd help them put a band together to play the Kimmel show. So I called some friends and ended up putting an amazing band together. So not only did I get to play with Martha, but I got to play with Darryl Jones and Brain Mantia and the guys from the Tower of Power horns. It was a total blast.

Glide Magazine, April 23, 2012

Richard and I did some Crystal Method gigs, that was kind of cool. He had that connection and I got to play with The Munch[?]- [...] we did Jimmy Fallon and we did a couple of other shows, it was some other shows like Late Night with that one guy that used to be on MTV. Forgot his name... He was on MTV, he was a DJ... I forgot his name, but yeah, I think he's off the air now, but it was like a late night special with him. So Richard kind of hooked that up and that was fun. I mean, I love the Crystal Method, so that was cool.

NatterNet, September 4, 2018

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:36 am

APRIL 2012

SLASH'S "AXL HATES MY GUTS" AND AXL'S "NOT IN THIS LIFETIME"

SLASH SAYS THAT AXL HATES HIS GUTS

With the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony coming up, band members would be bombarded with reunion question. By early April, Slash was fed up answering questions about the ceremony and say that Axl hated his guts:

This is a subject I’m dead sick of talking about. Everyone has been asking me what’s going to happen, and they know as much as I do. I feel you’re totally obligated to be present and I would love to fucking play, but it’s just something that’s not gonna happen for whatever reason. [...] [Axl] hates my guts. It’s over a lot of different stuff; I don’t even know. There’s just no communication between us. I talk to Duff and Steven, but when it comes to old Guns N’ Roses, there really isn’t anybody that makes decisions.

Rolling Stone, April 2, 2012

Yeah, it's a lot of -- a lot of attention put on a lot of negative stuff and, granted, the negative stuff existed and might still exist or whatever. But you know dwelling on that stuff. It's -- all things considered, I left the band in 1996, so we're talking a, you know, pretty long amount of time that I have --

CNN Piers Morgan, May 23, 2012

Steven would be asked if Axl really hates Slash's guts:

I have no idea why he would hate him. I don't think Axl knows why he hates him. It's been too many years and like my grandmother always said, “Stevie, time heals all wounds.” So I would think my grandma's always been right pretty much through my life; everything she said pretty much came to pass the way she said it. Many times this is “Yeah, grandma said that was gonna happen” (laughs). No forgiveness from those guys.

Artisan News, April 5, 2012

AXL SAYS A FULL REUNION WILL NOT HAPPEN

Then a few days later, Axl, leaving a restaurant would be accosted by paparazzies asking him if there was any chance of a reunion tour with full lineup at some point:

Not in this lifetime

Loudwire, April 7, 2012

In his letter to the RRHOF a few days later, Axl would elaborate on his decision to not want to reunite:

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of "for the fans" or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in '06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in '06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in '11 along with his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that's enough.

There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn't room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Maybe if it were you it'd be different. Maybe you'd do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We're there for each other when the going get's rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense.

Press Release, April 11, 2012

Steven would comment on Axl saying their meeting in 2006 had resulted in "his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies":

That doesn’t even make any sense. That’s Axl, he doesn’t make any sense, and that’s it, I’m done with him, I’m never mentioning him or talking about him again. That’s it. One last thing – god bless him.

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

And a few weeks later, Slash would be asked about a reunion:

If you haven't figured that one out after 17 years or however long it's been, you'll still be asking that no matter what I tell you.

Orlando Sentinel, May 2, 2012

In October, Axl would be asked if a truce was impossible:

I feel that ball's not in my court. I'm surviving this war, not the one who created this war.

USA Today, October 30, 2012

Later in the year, a Brit who won £148 million would state that he intended to use parts of the money to get the "original lineup" to reunite:

A British man who won £148 million (approximately $232 million) in Friday's (August 10) EuroMillions lottery draw has said he wants to spend some of that money reuniting the original lineup of Guns N' Roses.

Adrian Bayford, a 41-year-old music shop owner, told The Sun, "I think I would just have to get Guns N' Roses together — the original lineup, mind. I'm a real fan."

The Sun/Blabbermouth, August 15, 2012

CANTER ARGUES FOR A REUNION AND SAYS MOST OF THE ISSUE IS JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING

Around the same time, Marc Canter would talk about the reasons Axl was so angry with Slash and point to bitterness over Slash leaving Guns N' Roses and things said in the press, especially regarding how the band was signed over:

[...] Axl pretty much never forgave him for leaving and he’s still very angry about that. He’s also angry about some things Slash said in the wake of leaving and about some things said regarding signing the name of the band over. It’s really a story of miscommunication more than anything because they’re both really, honestly telling the truth but unfortunately there’s two different stories and therefore two different truths. That’s partly because there’s middle men involved that people really don’t know. For instance, if you read Slash’s book, in regards to signing over the name he says that the manager told him that he and Duff had to sign the paper or Axl wouldn’t go onstage and there would be a riot. Now, if you ask Axl he’ll say “100 % false. I never said that, I never said I wouldn’t go on”. You know what? Because of Doug Goldstein, their manager being that middle man they are both telling the truth. Axl didn’t say that, Doug said that and pushed that on Duff and Slash in order to get Axl off his back, and they bought it. I’m not even sure what was said or when it was said but it might have been along the lines of Doug saying “Come on guys, just sign it. You know Axl, if you don’t deliver this signed he won’t go on and there’s going to be a riot tonight.” Axl maintains that yes, he did want them to sign it, he wanted that control in case something bad like a death should ever happen so that control of the band would not go into the hands of wives or girlfriends but he never, ever stated he would not go onstage. Slash maintains, as does Duff, that it happened so I am sure that it did, Doug said that but Axl is upset that Slash went to the media and everyone else and spun it that he wouldn’t go on if he didn’t sign away the name or that he pressured or tricked them because he didn’t. Like I said, in a way they are both telling the truth, it just comes down to Axl being unable to forgive Slash for spinning it that way and saying that he tried to blackmail them. Axl called Slash a liar but in his mind Slash is not lying, that’s really what he was told by management because if you talk to Duff he will tell you the exact same thing.

Legendary Rock Interviews, April 22, 2012

Canter would also speculate that the misunderstandings should be easy to fix, at least 80% of the problems:

The really odd thing is that Axl will talk to Duff and doesn’t call Duff a liar. My question is, if Duff and Slash are saying the exact same thing and both wrote books saying the exact same thing then what does that mean that Axl is not angry with Duff but is angry with Slash? That means there is some misdirected communication, there’s two sides to every story and if you don’t sit down and get both sides to figure out what went wrong you can never work through it. All they really need is some good therapy with a good marriage counselor and they can probably work out at least 80% of their problems. The other 20 percent may be water under the bridge or comments in the press that can’t be forgiven or worked out but 80 percent is a good start.

Legendary Rock Interviews, April 22, 2012

And that it would be fixed if they would just talk to each other:

I just want them to talk. I want them to talk because I think that if they were just able to talk they would see that their problems are not so hard to solve or understand. Their biggest problems are actually simple so that’s what makes it so hard to believe. Duff is a stand up guy, and Axl trusts him, if there is any hope it is in Duff bridging the gap.

Legendary Rock Interviews, April 22, 2012

And talk about a reunion and why Canter thought it would be a good idea:

I understand Axl not wanting to disrespect or walk away from the time, money and effort he’s invested in the new band or give up on continuing to have that be his avenue for new recordings but this could be a way to incorporate both. I mean noone wants to see Axl unhappy or fail just to springboard a reunion. There’s better ways to go about it and this would allow his NEW band to be able to tour STADIUMS in the U.S. like they were during the Illusions era. I think Axl knows that, he knows that as good as the new band is doing he could be doing ten times that if he incorporated the reunion. I know that in the past he thought that his new band could just come out and stomp the reunion demand and just crush the pressure for the classic five.

[...]

There has to be more money coming in than going out and he’s aware that a reunion tour would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars that WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY make him well off and secure. I guess he’s just not willing to do it because he would have to believe in the devil but I’d like him to put that aside so that he can make all that money and have all that freedom and also make all of the fans so happy. I mean back when we were so close a few years ago we would talk for hours about that John. We would go back and forth and I would tell him “Axl nothing will ever touch the old band, the new band will be viewed as very good and an excellent thing unto itself but it will never touch the old band, they will both be different and great in different ways.” I mean I told him I totally understand what he’s doing because there IS no old band but it just was never going to be better than the old band and he insisted that it was going to be better than the old band and that Robin Finck was his Randy Rhoads and compared it to Ozzy finding Randy. I told him “No Robin is NOT Randy and he will be viewed as good but never better than Slash on ANY level, musically, personality wise, that was just lightning in a bottle” and we just went on and on and you get the idea (laughs). I mean the CHINESE DEMOCRACY lineup can be great but it will be a different kind of great just like ILLUSIONS was a different kind of great. You can get together with different chefs and come up with a great new soup but it will always be DIFFERENT. I just kept telling him that what happened was magic that can never be recreated, even if he got back together with Slash they will never write another APPETITE. I mean, I’m sure if they got together and wrote a song it could be good but you can’t expect it to ever happen the way it did in 86 again. I mean, is anything the Stones do now or what they did in the 80s or 90s as good as what they did in the 60s or 70s? No, but there can still be some good, great moments.

Legendary Rock Interviews, April 22, 2012

Canter would also claim that Slash would be in favor of a reunion:

Slash would do it in a heartbeat. He would do it because it was a lot of fun, the music and chemistry was great and the fact that he knows without a shadow of a doubt that it would make the fans ecstatic and be extremely successful. He knows that better than anyone. He also doesn’t hate Axl the way that Axl hates him. If he did, such a concept would be so much more complicated than it is. It’s really only a one sided beef. There’s issues of course, there are personal issues with them but they are fairly simple and mostly based on misunderstanding and separate versions of different truths.

Legendary Rock Interviews, April 22, 2012

Slash, around the same time, would deny this:

I don't think it's a matter of [money]; it really isn't. I think you've got a situation where nobody involved wants to revisit. It's not just me — it's the whole band. And so I don't think there's a price tag that anybody's put in front of us that's going to make that work.

CNN Piers Morgan Tonight, May 23, 2012

As for whether wives could be an obstacle to a reunion:

They would never be an issue. Wives and girlfriends are forbidden from the inner circle of GNR. I know this to be a fact. I even told Perla, “Just know that if Slash were ever to work with Axl again, you would not only not be in the same room but you’d be blocks away.” Nothing personal against them, they are wonderful, that’s just the way it’s always been.

Legendary Rock Interviews, April 22, 2012

In July, Slash would again state a reunion would not happen:

I don’t know why everyone is so obsessed – it is not going to happen.

Fox News, July 20, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:38 am

2000-

AXL'S GIRLFRIEND RUMOURS

In November 2002, Axl would confirm he was single with "no significant other" [WRIF Radio Detroit, November 20, 2002]. In 2006 Axl would allegedly be dating Diane O'Connor before Sophie Anderton [The New York Post, May 23, 2006: Gigwise, May 28, 2006].

Also in 2006, Axl would do a photo session with his old friend Sante D' Orazio. To assist in the photo shoot, D'Orazio roped in a model:

I called a friend, a beautiful six-foot Ukrainian woman, and asked her if she would like to be photographed with Axl. She showed up in high heels, raincoat, tights and bra. I had thought of a series of four to five shots, and it turned out to be a whole album. From what I understand, they're still seeing each other.

LUomo Vogue Italia, December 2006

The name of this model was Sasha Volkova. Axl and Volkova would be seen together for many years with her often accompanying Axl on touring.

Sasha Volkova and Axl
Photo by Sante D'Orazio
2006

Then in 2012, Axl and Lana Del Rey would be seen together leaving the famous Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and getting into a car together [TMZ, April 9, 2012; Rolling Stone, April 9, 2012]. Del Rey had been seen at Guns N' Roses concerts [TMZ, April 8, 2012] and had previously released a song titled 'Axl Rose Husband' with the lyrics:

You my Axl Rose husband
Blue hydrangea
White Pontiac heaven
Me, your red, white and blue girl
Star-Spangled danger
You my heavy metal king, king

I said, "Daddy, I need you" (Yes)
Greenwich, I need you
Strangled up in ivy
I'm the garden of Eden
Lady Liberty
Teal with flame, I'm shinin'
Queen, queen

You're my one king, Daddy
I'm your little queen, red, white and blue
You're my one king, Daddy
And I'm your little queen, red, white and blue
White and blue
White and blue
White and blue

Axl and Lana Del Rey
April 2012

DJ would deny they were actually dating:

I don’t think they’re dating. Axl’s really a cool dude and he likes hanging out with cool people.

TMZ, April 9, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:38 am

APRIL 14, 2012

GUNS N' ROSES IS INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

MARCH 2012: SALES BOOST

In March 2012, Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits album would have s surge in sales, "up 618 percent to land at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart" [Blabbermouth, March 21, 2012]. Being selected for the RRHOF is known to have a huge impact on sales numbers with "weekly record sales for a performer or band leap 40 to 60 percent, on average, in the weeks after selection" [New York Times, December 3, 2011].

APRIL 2012: AXL WILL NOT ATTEND

When asked why he didn't just call Axl, Matt would say that Izzy would not be attending the ceremony:

I thought about it, but, you know, I don't think I'm the guy to do it. I asked Slash if he would do it, and Slash's answer to me was that he spoke to Izzy and Izzy wasn't planning on coming. So I think that was like, if Izzy's not going to come and it's not all the original guys, then it doesn't make sense. I'm not sure, man. Like I said, I'm just going to go and obviously Steven's gonna be there, so I always thought, if they were going to play, they'll probably do 'Appetite' stuff and if they wanted me to play on something off 'Use Your Illusion', I would be happy to do that. If it was a perfect scenario, I would say the track list should go something like this: Go up there and play 'Welcome To The Jungle', play 'Sweet Child O' Mine', and then finish it up with 'November Rain'.

Rolling Stone, April 2, 2012

Around the same time, Slash would mention having mixed feelings about the whole thing and that they wouldn't play:

Everybody’s asking me about it, and I don’t have much to say about it. I’m honored, you know, but I’ve been hearing about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I’ve been involved with it once, and it’s cool but at this particular point in time it doesn’t interest me much. Either because it’s been so long since the album came out, or because there’s been so much animosity between myself and Axl, that the whole thrill of what it’s supposed to be is gone. We’re not playing, so it’s a formal get-together like an “awards” but it’s kind of like “who is the rock and roll hall of fame anyway?” So, it’s an honor but I have some mixed feelings about it.

Metro Lyrics, April 12, 2012

And Steven would talk about why Slash and Axl couldn't just get over their problems and play for the fans:

For me, the most important thing…of course it’s a huge honor; but the honor would be for the original five guys to perform….you know for our fans. I mean I’ve never heard of a rock band that the fans have wanted to hear and see…together [more than Guns N’ Roses]….I want to perform. So, I mean I’m just going to go out there and play the drums to the CD of Appetite cause I love and respect the fans. I get to watch Family Guy and American Dad all night long on the couch because of the fans! And all they want us to do is play for them. We’re just a rock n’ roll band, my God….I mean what ever happened with Axl and Slash was twenty years ago. I mean you don’t even have to look at each other….just play for the fans. I mean my grandmother always said, ‘time heals all wounds’ and I know nothing that could have happened that time couldn’t heal after 20 friggin’ years.

Screamer Magazine, April 18, 2012

Then, on April 11, Axl would pen a letter informing of his decision to not attend as well and his desire to not be inducted in absentia:

To: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern,

When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we've listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of Guns N' Roses, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists' comments weighing in publicly on Guns and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we've been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things... no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected.

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show not mine.

That said, I won't be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N' Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of "Guns N' Roses".

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp's perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I'm sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I'll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don't intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we've actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" scenario all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of "for the fans" or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in '06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in '06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in '11 along with his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that's enough.

There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn't room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Maybe if it were you it'd be different. Maybe you'd do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We're there for each other when the going get's rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense.

But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the "no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn't care about the fans" crap out of the way as quickly as we can and let's move on. No one's taking the ball and going home. Don't get it twisted. For more than a decade and a half we've endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball's never been in our court.

In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as ironic as it may seem, I'd like to sincerely thank the board for their nomination and their votes for Guns' induction. More importantly I'd like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we've had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N' Roses music.

I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

Sincerely,

Axl Rose

P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III

Press Release, April 11, 2012

Izzy and Dizzy decided to not attend as well.

Well you know Axl decided not to go because he felt that it wasn’t right and I stand by him. The reasons he gave made sense to me and I agreed with him so I chose not to go as well.

Espy Rock, May 21, 2012

REACTIONS TO AXL'S LETTER

The same day as Axl's letter was published, Slash was asked for a comment:

I’m not gonna comment on all that, but I’ll be there, so…

Revolver Golden Gods Awards, April 11, 2012

I must say, I was hoping in my hearts of hearts that we might be able to get it together and play, but wishful thinking; that’s not gonna be able to happen. So I was more excited about it when we got nominated [laughs]. That’s when I really felt honored.

Billboard, April 12, 2012

Steven, who was doing an interview with Ultimate Guitar the same day, together with his band mates in Adler, would be asked if he had read the letter and when he said he hadn't, the interviewer would say Axl had declined to attend:

That he didn’t want to be inducted? No, if these are words he said f-ck that guy. Obviously he’s a f-ckin’ idiot. He’s hailed and loved by everybody in the whole f-ckin’ world and he has the gall to say that? I can’t wait until this whole f-ckin’ day is over with. I feel blessed that I’m being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He should too. You know what? I just can’t wait until this whole Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing is over with. I want to say my thank yous to the people who helped me get there, which is the f-ckin’ world, and then it’s over. I want to move onto my new life; not my new life but my new career and my new band. I’m so sick of hearing this stuff.

Ultimate Guitar, April 30, 2012

For the remainder of the interview Steven would stay silent and his band mates would answer all questions until the interviewer specifically asked Steven about his drumming:

Listen—let me just apologize to you. Obviously of course I’m not upset with you. It’s just hearing something like that is disrespectful not just to Slash and Duff and Izzy and myself but to our fans. I always hoped that Axl had a little piece of a heart, a little soul left in him to at least show the fans who got him to be able to live the way we live to show some appreciation. Because I’m thankful.

Ultimate Guitar, April 30, 2012

Lauren Bishop, a spokeswoman for the RRHOF, would also comment on Axl's letter:

We are sorry Axl will not be able to accept his Induction in person.

Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2012

Steven would comment on Axl's absence again later in the day:

What I have to say after that? It’s a shame. It’s very sad. God bless you, Axl. That’s all I have to say. I just think it’s a shame, it’s disrespectful to not just the band, the four guys, original guys, but to our fans, which is everybody in the world.

Artisan News, April 14, 2012

Later, Slash would say that if it wasn't for the letter they wouldn't have played at the ceremony:

The funny thing is we never would have played had he never written it. I think at one point he alluded he was at least going to go, and so we hadn’t really prepared to play at all. We were just going to show up as almost an obligatory thing — more for the fans than anything. But that letter set a fire that was like, “Okay, (bleep) it. We’re going to go play.” So it really almost didn’t happen. And if it hadn’t been for that special letter it wouldn’t have.

Madison.com, May 8, 2012

In June, Gilby would be asked:

It blows me away that people really thought he would show up and do the right thing.

The Hamilton Spectator, June 6, 2012

Eric Singer from Kiss would support Axl's decision:

I don’t know Axl that well, but he should do what he wants. I don’t always agree with the choices he makes or how he goes about it. And I think a lot of the guys that are in a band with him, they’ll try to justify it or they’ll say whatever. Because the bottom line is they don’t want to lose their gig. And they’ll lose their gig probably if they really say what they feel. But I think that he has a right to do whatever he wants. And in some ways, honestly, I kind of think, ‘You know something, that’s pretty cool of Axl.’ I think it’s pretty cool that he’s not only thumbing his nose at them, but that he’s giving them the middle finger. I think it’s cool. It’s like ‘Who the fuck are you guys to dictate what should and what shouldn’t be?’ It’s almost, in a lot of ways, if you want to look at it from this point of view, he kind of has a voice for a lot of people who think the whole thing is kind of a joke.

Powerline, April 13, 2012

In early 2013, Slash would state he had not been disappointed when hearing that Axl wouldn't attend:

I wasn’t disappointed. I was more relieved at the time because prior to that it was such a negative subject. At one point I thought, if we all show up, then what? When he said he wasn’t coming, I thought, “good, at least I can do something”. Duff and I spoke and we rehearsed what we did together. That in itself was a good thing.

The Irish Times, February 1, 2013

Not long after, Axl was asked if there was much of a fallout from his letter:

Surprisingly no, there wasn't [...] The surprising amount of public support has felt good and, as I've said, is a relief.

Adelaide Now, March 6, 2013

APRIL 14: THE INDUCTION CEREMONY

In early April it was announced that Green Day would be inducting the band [Rolling Stone, April 3, 2012].

At the induction ceremony, Axl, Izzy and Dizzy were missing. Billie Joe Armstrong, from Green Day, did the induction speech:

I’m so glad all my facebook friends are here tonight. Hello, we are Green Day. My name is Billie Joe, this is Mike and this is Tré Cool, and we’re here to induct Guns N’ Roses into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The first time I saw Guns N’ Roses on MTV, I thought, “One of these guys could end up dead or in jail.” The opening riff for Welcome to the Jungle is a descending trip into the underworld of Los Angeles. This ride was not about parties, glamour or power ballads. It was about the seedy underworld of misfits, drug addicts, paranoia, sex, violence, love and anger in the cracks of Hollywood. It was a breath of fresh air. Needless to say, I bought the record. Appetite for Destruction is the best debut album in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. You could name a few others if you want, but tonight Guns N’ Roses owns that crown, for sure. Every song hits hard on all emotional levels. It takes you on a trip through the seedy underworld of Los Angeles in brutal sequence: Welcome to the Jungle, It's So Easy, Nightrain, Out Ta Get Me, Mr. Brownstone, Paradise fucking City, My Michelle, Think About You, Sweet Child O' Mine, [sings] “You're fucking crazy…”, Anything Goes and Rocket Queen. Jamming in a sweaty hole in the wall, writing songs on pizza boxes and bar napkins, looking for a free drink and a place to crash, and they did it for the love of playing loud, loud-ass rock ‘n’ roll music. The thing that set them apart from everyone else is guts, heart and soul. And most importantly, they told the truth and painted a picture of the mad world that they lived in. I fucking hated power ballads. I hated jock party anthems. As a young musician, I craved something more. Appetite for Destruction delivered. Ultimately, they became the biggest and best rock ‘n’ roll band and that was off one album.

After that, Guns N’ Roses delivered with GN'R Lies — half live album and half an acoustic record. Most people think acoustic records might show off the more sensitive side of a rock musician. (Laughing) It's not sensitive. But this record made them come across as outlaws and they never lost their edge for one second. [Audience member: “I used to love her!”] … But I had to kill her! The song Patience is an eternal ballad about love and anxiety as if the character was trying to talk himself off the edge of a 20-story building. There's also the humor of “I used to love her but...” [Audience: “I had to kill her”] Who knows if that's humor? As they say, every joke has its truth. And One in a Million… that's when the shit hit the fan. It basically told the story of an ignorant farm boy that moved to a diverse unknown city, and that's all I will say about that.

And then they delivered not one, but two albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, the new GN'R records that had fans literally crashing the record stores to hear what Guns had come up with next. These records showed off a wide range of rock anthems — Right Next Door To Hell, You Could Be Mine – to grand piano ballads like November Rain and Don't Cry, then taking the listener into unknown head trips that maybe a serial killer could understand? This era of the band took them to new global heights, touring arenas and stadiums, big-ass expensive videos and public pretties, outcry, meltdowns, controversy and playing in countries that Duff can't even remember being in. All the ingredients of a great rock ‘n’ roll band.

Steven Adler, your drumming [applause from the audience] … Steven Adler, your drumming on Appetite for Destruction was perfect. It was like the perfect combination between slamming hard rock songs and laying into a great groove. It's fucking unbelievable, man. Great.

Matt Sorum… you took over seamlessly and you brought in, um… what did you bring in? You brought in new dynamics and power and your first gig was Rock in Rio (laughs). Welcome to the band!

Dizzy Reed, you play a mean keyboard. Keep up with the good job.

Duff McKagan… the Seattle transplant punk rock kid. You're like Johnny Thunders with a bass. The bass line to Sweet Child O' Mine is so good, you can sing along to it. And you got a great family over here, all proud of you and shit. And you were in a band called The Fartz (laughs).

Izzy Stradlin… [makes gestures of searching] Wherever you are, I hope you can hear me right now. You're probably driving an RV across Egypt right now. You're like the Miles Davis of rock ‘n’ roll. The way you played and weaved with Slash was an effortless craft. You've got that fucking Ronnie Wood mojo, I'll tell you that right now.

Gilby Clarke, I love you. Where are you? Gilby Clarke. He's out there somewhere.

Slash... [loud audience applause] While every guitar geek in L.A. was riding on the coattails of Eddie Van Halen, you took a totally different approach. You bridged the gap between Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Joe Perry and you brought it into your own modern era. I can immediately identify your leads and riffs because you embodied them. Your guitar playing is an extension of your heart and soul. To see you without a guitar and a top hat is just plain weird. You know, originally, they wanted us to play Guns N’ Roses songs, Green Day to play Guns N’ Roses songs. So I've got a 13-year-old son and he’s learning how to play guitar from YouTube, and so he's playing, like, Strokes songs and he's getting really good at it. And they asked us to play, and I thought, “Well, I could learn how to play 'Paradise City” from YouTube, you know, because my son's doing it. And there was this 12-year-old kid on YouTube playing Paradise City better – he was a better guitar player than I could possibly ever be. And I just thought to myself, “Guys, we are not going to play. There's no way we could do this justice — it's impossible. So… thanks for making me look bad in front of my 13-year-old son, Slash.

And let's see, who am I missing? [booing from the audience] No, no, whoa, whoa!

Zap, zap. You know... [audience members continue booing] No, shut the fuck up. Shut up. Shut up. This man is a bad-ass fucking singer. He’s one of the best frontmen to ever touch a microphone. Your lyrics are heartfelt, passionate, angry.... and you tell the truth, no matter what the cost. Your vocal range goes from a quiet whisper to a powerhouse until you’re screaming bloody murder. [Singing] And you’re fucking crazy… Hey, most singers are crazy; I can vouch for that right now.

But, you know, being in a band is a very complex thing. You go through eras and chapters of your life. Most people don't go through any eras or chapters. They just sit around and watch TV and do the same thing over and over again every single day. But being in a band, your eras and your chapters are your albums. That's your craft. You can name that time of your life. That's an era of your life right there. You talk about where you were at when you wrote this song. You talk about where you recorded it. You talk about the first time that you ever played it. This is your life. This is our lives. This is what we do. But sometimes, you gotta look back at the old chapters if you want to move forward. And the reason why you have to look backwards, is to know where you fucking come from. Ladies and gentlemen, Guns N’ Roses!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and acceptance speeches, April 14, 2012

Duff, Matt, Steven and Slash would then hold their acceptance speeches:

Thank you, Billie Joe. I’m Duff McKagan. Hello, Cleveland! I’m so honored to have met these guys in those back alleys in Hollywood, and we learned how to write songs together, we created brutality and beauty and told the truth all at once. But we were writing these songs for ourselves. We had no audience and we played our first gigs and suddenly we had people showing up to see us play. As we progressed, more and more fans came and they were relating to these songs. I don’t know if they were relating to us so much, but the songs spoke to them and… I don’t know if it matters who is here tonight, because it’s about the music that that band created. And music and art aren’t necessarily a competitive sport, so awards and these types of things are an odd deal, there’s no stats. I think the only stats we really had were these fans who started to really come out (?) and they believed in our band, and they believed in our songs, and they related to this subject matter, and somehow the angst that we felt suddenly the rest of the world could relate to. And it was overwhelming to see from 7 to 17 to 700 to 17,000 to 70,000 fans showing. I’d like to thank our original road crew, McBob/Mike Mayhue, Tom Mayhue, Adam Day and Mike Clink for capturing our sound on Appetite for Destruction and the Illusions records. But we’re here - and I want this to be heard: we’re here because we’re overwhelmed. I’m personally overwhelmed by you fans and the reaction when we were nominated for this thing around the fucking world. I honor you. Thank you.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and acceptance speeches, April 14, 2012

Hi guys, I’m Steven Adler. I play drums and the cowbell. I want to just thank a couple of people: Tom Zutaut, Teresa Ensenat, Vicky Hamilton and Mike Clink. I want to thank them for giving us the opportunity and the chance, and believed in us, and didn’t want to change us and they just let us be ourselves. And that was fucking cool, and it worked. Alright, I want to leave you with the words of the late great Freddie Mercury: “I’ve taken my bows and my curtain calls; you brought me fame, and fortune, and everything that goes with it.” And I thank you all.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and acceptance speeches, April 14, 2012

Hi. [Loud applause from the audience] Thank you. Don’t make this any harder, I’m terrible with speeches, alright… But I do want to thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for this acknowledgment. But yeah, most importantly, I want to thank the fans, because the fans are the ones that made it possible for us to get together tonight, the fans that have been there since the beginning, and we’ve got new fans that have never seen the original lineup and they’re still rooting for us, and there’s legions of them. (?) But I also want to take a second, I gotta give credit where credit’s due. I gotta thank my wife as well, because when all the drama was going on, I started to just succumb to, like, “You know what, fuck it.” She said, you know, “Just go do it for the fans” and I said, “You know what, you’re right,” so I gotta give her credit. And then, also, I want to mention a couple of people who were really responsible for taking this derelict, fucked up, dysfunctional band, and seeing something in it, and going to the mat to get us signed and get us out there; and that was Tom Zutaut and Teresa Ensenat from Geffen Records, early on it was Vicky Hamilton who tried to manage us with all her heart, and ultimately Alan Niven who was the guy who was really the one that helped pull it all together and get us out there. We became the band that… (laughs)… that was born to lose and actually made it, so I want to thank all of them. But thank you all and… let’s go play.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and acceptance speeches, April 14, 2012

That’s more than I’ve ever heard Slash talk in his entire life. The old expression in a band is “Never give the drummer a microphone.” Well, there’s two drummers up here tonight, so I’ve got a little something to say. I was originally in a band called the Cult when these two knuckleheads showed up at a gig, Slash and Duff. I’ll never forget it; they poured out of the limousine – you know, it was sort of a sauntering, sloshing kind of thing coming at me. I remember I wasn’t happy playing in the band I was in at the time and as a joke I said to my girlfriend at the time, “Hey, maybe I could play with those guys someday.” And I’m at my mom’s house, because, at the time, I had no money and I was basically a vagabond sleeping on couches and things – the Cult wasn’t paying me much (laughs). But I got a call from this guy. My mom comes to my room and she says, “There’s a guy on the phone named 'Swash' or 'Slush' or…” (?) So I pick up the phone, and it’s Slash on the other line and he says, “Matt, this is Slash…” I’m like, “Yeah, what’s up” and he says, “We had to kick our drummer out for doing too many drugs.” I said… (laughs) I said, “How the fuck is that possible with Guns N’ Roses!” (laughs) Steven Adler deserves an award for that. So Billie Joe from Green Day said to me – he said to you guys earlier, “What did Matt bring?” I brought cocaine (laughs). I used to describe it as walking into an opium den when I first joined the band. It was a bit dark and there was a thing they were doing called heroin at the time. I said, “You boys gotta wake up and we gotta make some rock ‘n’ roll, so you could try some of this shit” (laughs). And we went on to make these records called Use Your Illusions, and my first gig was 140,000 people at Rock in Rio. I remember getting out of the airplane in Rio de Janeiro and we were literally mauled. I felt like Ringo Starr for a moment, like what it must have felt like to be Ringo (laughs). I remember going on stage and just going, “Oh my god. Buckle up, my friend. You’re on the wild ride of your life,” and believe me, it was. And I want to thank the other band mates that aren’t here tonight, that I love and respect them and I’m honored to have been on stage with them and made music with them. (?) So it’s a part of me and I’m so honored to be up here with these guys who had a dream, they came to Hollywood on the Sunset Strip and they all somehow miraculously met each other, and you don’t get that many chances in life to have a creation like Guns N’ Roses, okay? (?) Now, to be on stage and talking here in front of guys like The Faces and The Small Faces. Steve Marriot, I met him in 1991 and he was one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time; and I’m honored to be anywhere in the vicinity of you guys, okay? I’m the kid who grew up with The Song Remains the Same, Led Zeppelin, I love a band that’s not here yet, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath… You know, and all I wanted was to play in a rock ‘n’ roll band and now I’m at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That is just fucking crazy! Thank you very much and thank you to the fans! We love you. Thank you to Green Day as well. Cheers!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and acceptance speeches, April 14, 2012

Guns N' Roses members and Green Day
April 14, 2012

Matt, Steven, Duff and Slash, together with Gilby and Myles Kennedy (and Armstrong on backing vocals), would then play Mr. Brownstone, Sweet Child O' Mine and Paradise City.

Kennedy, Duff and Slash
April 14, 2012

APRIL 16: AXL PENS A SECOND LETTER

To: Cleveland, Ohio, Guns N' Roses Fans and everyone who's shown support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I seriously didn't plan on or expect the overwhelmingly positive response and public support for my decision regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With such a generous outpouring of solidarity from fans, media outlets, writers and other artists, I'm truly humbled, blown away and unbelievably relieved! To be honest, I thought it would go the other way and was just hoping to weather the storm. As I said, I sincerely didn't want to disappoint anyone. It gets old being the outlaw even if "it's only rock and roll".

It took a lot of focus and soul searching to be sincere and informative while making a genuine effort to be somewhat diplomatic. We made, what I feel, are real efforts to learn about the Hall and the Board, spoke as I said with the president and various members, and though I inducted Elton John and Bernie Taupin in '94 saying something to the effect of "I'm learning what the Hall's about..."

I still don't exactly know or understand what the Hall is or how or why it makes money, where the money goes, who chooses the voters and why anyone or this board decides who, out of all the artists in the world that have contributed to this genre, officially "rock" enough to be in the Hall?

This isn't an attack. These are genuine issues I don't have enough verified information on to have more than rough ideas. Certainly not enough information to make any judgments about.

I would like to apologize to Cleveland, Ohio for not apologizing to them beforehand for not attending [the ceremony] in their city. I think they know how much I genuinely love performing there. Cleveland does in fact Rock!!

Now that the smoke's cleared a little, any desperate, misguided attacks have been just that, a pathetic stab at gossip, some lame vindictiveness, the usual entitlement crap, he's obsessed, crazy, volatile, a hater. I once bought a homeless woman a slice of pizza who yelled at me she wanted soup. We got her the soup. You can get your own.

Again: HUGE thanks to the fans and to everyone for the incredible public support. My congratulations to the other artists inducted. And my apologies to the city and people of Cleveland, Ohio. I hope you'll forgive me and we hope to see you again soon!

Keep Rockin',

Axl

Unlike my open letter to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern this was written for GNR's official website, Facebook account and my personal twitter account and not intended as a press release. If anyone does choose to pick this up as has been done previously I'd appreciate if you'd run in full including this paragraph so as not to give a partial picture, have things taken out of context or to imply or inadvertently give the impression this was intended for other outlets.

GunsNRoses.com, April 16, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:38 am

LOOKING BACK AT THE HALL OF FAME INCLUSION

I’m here because I want to honor the fans, and want to honor the music, and want to honor the legacy, right? You know, I’ve been feeling fairly emotional in the last couple of days, I have to be honest. Because… I don’t know where the feelings come from, but it’s just a lot of stuff that we lived through, you know, good and bad. And then you feel everybody that’s coming for you, too, which is really heavy. It’s almost like when Guns N’ Roses sold out Madison Square Garden and I remember Duff McKagan, the bass player, and myself used to share a limousine, and we were driving up the back ramp, and I said, “Duff, this is the same ramp as in The Song Remains The Same” when Zeppelin started the tour and John Paul Jones picks up his phone and he goes, “Tour dates, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.” And Duff’s like, “Oh my god, that’s right. We’re at Madison Square Garden.” You know, that was one moment, right? And then there was many, many, many more moments like that.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, April 14, 2012

Thank you to all the fans.

The legacy continues without my commentary.

Feel truly blessed today beyond my wildest dreams.

I was a kid that just loved rock and roll and never new I would see this. Honored and emotional to the core.

Eternally grateful to Steven Adler for sharing the stage with me. Proud of how far he has come to get to get to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Congrats, my friend. Your music is a piece of rock and roll history.

Let's honor the music and its legacy. This is for how great it was to be in a band with a bunch of pirates!!!! AXL!!!!! AXL!!!!! AXL!!!!

I said I wouldn't comment to the press. I will do whatever I choose on my Twitter. Have already been offered 25 press things today and have turned them all down.

Series of tweets, April 15, 2012

After the induction ceremony, Matt would also send out a press release:

Dear Friends and Fans of Guns N' Roses,

I am releasing this statement to bring closure to the night's events at the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, and to all things Guns N' Roses. This will alleviate numerous press statements and interviews about the subject, which I have already addressed on my Twitter.

In these last few months since getting notice about being inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame, many emotions and feelings have gone through my head and heart, as well as the original five members of GN'R: Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy and Steven. I was also chosen to be inducted, along with Dizzy Reed.

It was slightly awkward for me in some ways knowing some fans have the original five in their hearts for a reunion. I chose to say to Slash and Duff, 'Please have Steven play, and let me know what you would like me to do.'

Two days before the event. Axl made his statement known. And it was apparent he wouldn't be attending. In respect to him, that is his decision and should be honored. Also, Izzy declined. So I suggested Slash call Gilby, who was left out of the proceedings.

Gilby was a member of the band and contributing to the 'Use Your Illusions' World Tour, which took us around the globe for three years, as well as playing guitar on 'Spaghetti Incident' and 'The Live Era' albums. It felt like the right thing to do.

In fairness to the rest of the original line-up and myself, we decided to go ahead and attend. This is an honor that is once in a lifetime and couldn't be missed, especially for fans of the band. To us, it was honoring them as well. Regarding playing live, we agreed that we would share the stage together, joined by Myles Kennedy as guest singer, who did a fine job filling big shoes. Steven graciously offered 'Brownstone' and played two other 'Appetite' tracks, and I sang and joined him near the kit on 'Paradise City.'

It felt perfect for all involved.

In my speech, I made references to drugs and Steven being dismissed from the band, in which I referred to, "How could someone be fired from Guns N' Roses for doing too many drugs??"

It was meant to be light-hearted. But knowing the struggles Steven has endured all these years. I felt I needed to clarify that Steven was onstage, healthy, and ready to rock.

It is well known that the rest of the band has endured addiction and alcoholism and at this point in our lives, we are all healthy and sober. Not to make light of drugs and alcohol…we were all full-blown addicts when the band split. What started out as a party and what we believed was part of the makeup of the band turned on all of us in the end.

Many years of soul searching and reconnecting with our inner selves have brought glorious gifts: Velvet Revolver with millions of records sold and a Grammy, Steven with his new band, and more. We are now all playing music and making records on our own that is truly what we love, before any of the business of music came into play. The music has always been the passion, before anything else.

Stevens's passion for GN'R is something that no one can explain but him: it's a true love gone, but never forgotten. How many people have felt that in their lifetime?

I told Steven and the rest of the guys the night of the Induction that night was for them and what they created on the streets of Hollywood, and it can never be taken away. The music will live on. And that's what counts. Not about who was there at the Induction. That the music will always be theirs and no can ever take that away.

Also, I have much respect for my former band, The Cult. And all the musicians I have played with over the years. They have all taught me so much.

I also need to thank my dearest and closest confidante, Ace Harper, who is my fiancée' and has made me a better man. She has walked beside in times of darkness, and has been there for me when all the stage lights and backstage parties were over.

This is where life is for all of us now survivors of a Rock & Roll era you will never see the likes of again: Married men Slash with two wonderful boys, Duff with two beautiful girls, Steven happy with a beautiful wife.

Life is good, my friends…we are alive! God Bless the fans of GN'R.

Long Live Rock N Roll,

Matt Sorum

Press Release, April 17, 2012

Slash would emphasize it hadn't been his suggestion to have Myles Kennedy sing:

The rest of the guys/inductees suggested we get Myles to sing and I thought it was a great idea. [...] It turned out to be a very special evening.

Press Release, April 19, 2012

But being at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, in and of itself, turned out to be a really great experience. It was a mixed feeling going into… in the months leading up to the induction. It was not necessarily positive, but once I sort of decided, 'OK, I'm gonna go, and Duff decided he was gonna go and Gilby and Steven, and all that. Actually being there, being inducted was a really positive and pleasant experience. We recruited Myles Kennedy to sing at the very, very last minute — like the morning of the flight. It wasn't my idea this time; it was Duff's idea.

SpacioRock, April 24, 2012

My whole thing was that I really, in my heart of hearts, wanted to have the whole original band get together and actually perform, which I sort of knew was wishful thinking. When the whole thing first came up, that’s basically what I wanted to do. It became apparent that that wasn’t going to happen. I was like, “Oh fuck,” and I was sort of disillusioned with the whole thing, but there was that commitment that was sort of made that I was going to go, and I thought Axl was still going to go, and it wasn’t until the last minute that I heard that he wasn’t coming, and that’s when we all decided we were just going to go ahead and play anyway. Early on, when it was probably more confusing than necessary, I have to admit, I was like, “Oh fuck, I don’t really want to go to this if we’re not going to play,” though I never said, “No, I’m not going to go.” But it was sort of a black cloud for a few months there. Before that I thought we were just going to show up and not play, which is what I was resigned to.

Rolling Stone, April 25, 2012

It was literally two days before the actual ceremony [that we decided to play]. The day that the press release came out and Axl said he wasn’t coming, we had the Golden Gods awards, and it was in the dressing room there that Duff and I talked. We said, “OK, we’re just going to fucking get together and play,” and Duff goes, “We should get Myles.” I was talking to Duff about who was going to sing, I thought Duff would sing, him and Gilby, but Duff said, “What about Myles?” It hadn’t occurred to me, really. I talked to Myles about it, he was apprehensive about getting put in that position, so at first, he turned it down, but finally he said, “OK, I’ll do it.” We got it all together and we put together a little rehearsal the night before and did our thing. [...] I hadn’t played with Gilby in a long time, and I hadn’t played Guns N’ Roses songs with Steven in fucking 18 years or something like that. It was all sort of a little bit foreign at first, the first five, 10 minutes of whatever the first songs were we were playing, it took a second, and after a couple of minutes, it started to fall into place. It was fun, I had a really fucking good time.

Rolling Stone, April 25, 2012

On a personal note, I had a really great time. We weren’t really quite sure if we were going to play, until about 24 hours before the actual show. It was really great to play with drummer Steven Adler again after some 20-odd years. Sorum crushed it too, and Slash just gets better day after day. Gilby honored us with his presence and he has a "feel" that fits, and once again saved GNR’s ass. Myles Kennedy came in to sing, and the dude has class and a ton of respect and humility. I like those qualities in a guy. Humbleness can let real inner strength breathe.

[/url]ESPN, April 25, 2012

It was a really nice event all around, and it was a special moment for all the guys that showed up. It was a nightmare going into it, but when it actually happened it was like, “This is pretty cool.” [...] Going up there you feel very much part of something that is bigger than…all the stories, drugs, the fights and this and that and the other. There was a body of a music that had a significant impact. When you think about where we come from, which is really like sort of the back alleys of Hollywood and being just scourges of the neighborhood…it was like, “Wow. It was a pretty big thing we ended up doing.”

Madison.com, May 8, 2012

I don't know if it feels like anything at this point in time. You just move on and get back to washing dishes, or whatever you do. It's a little overwhelming. Going into it, I was very skeptical. I didn't want to go (to the ceremony) because it was such a mess between the band members, and I've always had issues with the Hall because of bands that haven't been inducted, and why. But eventually, I was inspired to show appreciation to a legion of fans, who have been loyal for so many years. When our moment came, I realized it was really bigger than the guys themselves. It was about the entity that is Guns 'n' Roses. It finally felt legitimate and significant. But I still have issues about the people who have and haven't been inducted.

MLive.com, May 10, 2012

Watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony special on HBO last weekend, I was also struck by how honored I was to have been included in such an epic class of bands and artists. GNR opened for the Peppers a few times in LA back in the early days. They were king-shit on the hill back then. And the Beasties were the hard-core East Coast counterpart to what we were oozing over on the West Coast. In fact, I seem to remember us being in the same club sometime in 1986, and the rumor of us brawling against each other was rampant throughout the club that night. Ah...testosterone!

There we all were in Cleveland, last month. Bands that made some sort of difference somewhere. The Peppers still do, and so do the Beasties. And they both stayed together, through thick...and blackened thin. But GNR didn't survive the folly and nonsense. We didn't rise above.

Watching that HBO Special made me sad -- for the very first time, perhaps--that the original GNR didn't somehow stay together. It would have been a miracle if we did. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have done my part to try and rid that band of the caustic resentments and outside inputs that finally wore us down to a nub of what we once were, and what we could have come back from. Alas, it just wasn't in the cards.

A funny thing happened in the lead-up to Cleveland. It seemed that there was an understanding -- not only with the people who had flown to Cleveland to see "their band" inducted -- but in how the other inductees rallied around Slash, Steven, Matt, and myself. They had our backs, and all offered their help in any way that we could use it.

Walking into the lobby at the hotel that all the artists were staying at, the first fellow inductee I saw was fucking Ronnie Wood from the Faces/Stones. He gave me a big hug, and smiled a huge grin. "Isn't this going to be fucking great, Duff?!" Uh, yeah, sure. What a welcome!

Flea gave me a big hug later that afternoon, and so did Chad Smith. The Green Day guys came to my book reading the night before at the House Of Blues, and Billie Joe and I devised a plan where he would sing whatever was needed...if needed.

In the aftermath of all of the drama leading up to the event, and a few people from our camp stating publicly that they weren't coming at all, I stuck with the mindset that I was there to honor our fanbase who had been there for us for more than 25 years.

It was a very poignant night. And after watching the broadcast -- and seeing my old friends perform for our diehard fans -- it's starting to sink in just how heavy the event was for me on a personal level.

We really didn't know if we were going to play at all. It wasn't cemented until we actually rehearsed at 2 a.m. the day of the show (right after my reading. It was all THAT last-minute. In fact, my band and soundman for the reading -- Jeff and Mike from Loaded, and Seattle's own Martin Feveyear -- instantly became GNR's crew! That's right. We hadn't even thought ahead about guitar techs, drum techs, or sound guys. So it was nice to have them there with me for the RRHOF, for sure).

For Slash and me, it was the first time we'd played our songs with Steven Adler in something like 22 years. We had to wonder: Would it work? Would we be able to get our mojo back with only 14 hours to spare before playing in front of an audience of 7,000, and be filmed for an HBO Special!?

I couldn't have been more proud of the guys I did take the stage with that night (special thanks to guitarist Gilby Clarke and singer Myles Kennedy for their heroic, last-minute efforts). My bandmates composed themselves in the face of so much unneeded drama. We had no resentment, and showed up to pay homage to those fans who did their part for us.

At the end of the day, I am so very satisfied about the outcome of that night in Cleveland. It was about the music that GNR wrote way back when. And the fact that a few of us showed up to reciprocate our appreciation was certainly enough for the occasion.

Seattle Weekly, May 10, 2012

Well, like you said “congratulations,” we’re in the Hall Of Fame man and that’s cool. That’s all there is to it now, time for people to move on.

Espy Rock, May 21, 2012

[Being asked to comment:] I think Axl said enough about it, haha...

Metalfan, May 21, 2012

It was literally 48 hours before that event that we decided we were going to go up and actually play. Initially I thought, “Well, Duff should just go up and sing we'll do It’s So Easy and one other song that he's sung before, and do it like that.” And Duff suggested to me having Myles do it, and I was a little apprehensive about even asking Myles. but I finally did approach him about it and at first he didn't want to do it, because he didn't want to be stuck in that position, which I could appreciate, so I was like, “No big deal.” And then he came back, you know, like literally in 11th hour and said, “You know what, I'll do it just because of the overall point of the whole thing, and the cause of the whole thing, and the spirit of the whole thing, and go up.” So we did and it was cool. [...] I was on the fence for a while, but I'm really glad that I did do it. And the entire ceremony, you know, the whole evening was really, really cool, and I thought that the artists that were chosen to be inducted were perfect, and it sort of changed my sort of concept of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a little bit, and it turned out to be just a really positive evening.

Artisan News, May 26, 2012

The fans have let all of us have long careers and we thought that we owed it to them to show up. We agree with you (fans), it’s great music, let’s play one night. We showed up, played a couple of tunes and that was that.

The Hamilton Spectator, June 6, 2012

Given the history of the band, it really doesn't seem that bizarre. Originally I didn't want to deal with it. It was a big, unanswered question up until the 11th hour. We made do with what we had, and it turned out to be a really cool experience.

Newsday, August 3, 2012

You know, I didn't even really read [Axl's letter]. I knew what it was about and I didn't bother to really try and read into his feelings on the whole thing. I was just like -- at that point, I was just confronted with, you know, a decision to make, are we going to go up and play anyway? Or are we going to not go or whatever? And we opted for going and it was a good experience.

CNN Piers Morgan, May 23, 2012

Billy Corgan would support Axl:

I appreciate the position Axl was in and why he didn't wanna go. I think he felt like he was being set up. He was wise not to go because he would've come out [looking] like a spoilsport. He didn't want to play nice with the old team. And he obviously has his personal reasons.

Also, the minute he gets up on stage with the original band, then everything else he does that isn't that… it's almost as if he's trying not do something and he's not been doing it for many years. So i can understand why Axl didn't want that put on him.

You can go on YouTube and watch a clip of Guns N' Roses from 1988 and go 'Wow, what a great band. I wish they'd get back together,'… that's a good thing. But it doesn't address the reality that was a long time ago.

Triple M/Blabbermouth, June 20, 2012

In October, Axl would comment on having skipped the ceremony and repeat what he had said earlier:

It wasn't painful to not be there. It was a beating to deal with all the pressure of feeling I was supposed to be there and deciding what to do. I try to be respectful about getting an honor or recognition, but I don't really know what the Rock Hall actually is. In my experience with the people who run it, I don't see it having to do with anything other than them making money.

USA Today, October 30, 2012

And in November, Steven would talk more about having been inducted:

It was the experience of my life and the best way to end that chapter of my life. It would have been cool if the whole band was there but that’s when I realized that it will never happen. There was always a part of me in my heart and soul that had a little belief, but after that, it would never happen. Let me tell you though, it was relief! It was a pain in the ass just wondering and worrying. I’m just glad that I got to work with those guys and that I was a part of the GnR legacy.

Technorati, November 25, 2012

In January 2013, Bumblefoot talked about trying to come up with a solution that worked for everybody, but that the RRHOW wouldn't agree:

I knew it was gonna be another event in the history of the band, I knew, no matter how it turned out. But, you know, honestly we tried to work it out with the Hall of Fame, to come up with something but they had it in their mind what they wanted and it was their way or no way. So they wouldn't budge and they were just trying to force a situation that wasn't good for everybody and we wanted it to be good for everybody.

White Line Fever, January 18, 2013

More quotes:

It was and is the highest honor a musician can get. I was happy to be there with the guys I started my career with… Slash and Duff. It’s a shame we couldn’t all be there for the fans, but in a way, it let me know that there is no chance of the original members of GNR reuniting, so I can finally move on. It was a great way to close that chapter of my like.

StageShottz Magazine, February 4, 2013

In 2014, Slash, Gilby and Bumblefoot would look back at Axl's no-show:

All things considered, I don't think any of us wanted to be a part of it initially. I didn't think any of us were going to go. It was a thorn in everybody's - well, at least a thorn in my side - because I was busy doing other stuff. When it finally came down to the wire at the very, very, very last-minute - I'm talking about the 11 hours and 30 seconds mark - Axl had pulled out. I thought well, s**t, maybe we should do it [laughs]. And I'm glad that we went. It's very Guns N' Roses, what can you say?

Digital Spy, February 17, 2014

It was definitely good times. It was a strange time, because there was kind of like a dark cloud over our whole induction, because Axl decided not to go. And once he decided not to go, the dark cloud kind of went away, 'cause the guys that did go, we all get along great, we still play together all the time, and it actually was fun. We had a really good time. We actually only rehearsed, like, the night before the thing; we got together at a club… We hadn't played those songs in 20 years, so that was the thing… I mean, for me, we were trying to figure out what songs we were gonna play, and I'm, like, 'Wow, I haven't played that song in 20 years.' It had to come back to me. It was funny: there was a photo going around on Twitter of Duff and I in the bathroom, actually, going over the songs, trying to remember the riffs and things like that.

95.5 KLOS, February 21, 2014

Oh, the Rock and Roll? I totally understand where Axl's coming from with that. They wanted a sort of... I mean, I can't talk for him and I can't talk for them, but from what it seems like, it would have been great if it could be something that gave tribute to the entire history of the band, 25 years of the band, but it seemed like they just wanted to honor one segment and leave out a lot of other things. So..whatever. Didn't happen.

Artisan News, June 1, 2014

And Dizzy would discuss his own absence:

I never knew who was behind all of that or what it’s all about, what the criteria is and the achievements are to get to that point. With that said, when the people called me and said that I was going to be part of the whole thing, obviously I was very humbled. I know who, at that point, had been inducted, and just to be mentioned in the same sentence was very flattering. If they were going to induct Guns & Roses into the Hall of Fame, they were trying to figure out who was going to be at the ceremony, and basically most of the guys in the band now weren’t invited. To me that was just kind of not cool. Bottom line is Axl wasn’t going to go and there’s no way in hell I was going to go either.

Metal Insider, June 10, 2014

There's some, just some weird things, weird issues. One of the things was they told me I could have one guest I could bring. I could purchase tickets for other guests, very expensive tickets and I couldn't afford it. So should I bring my mom and not my dad? My brother and not my wife? My daughter and not my son? I couldn't deal with that, that was one one thing. And then another thing was the current members of Guns N' Roses weren't- [...] Well, they weren't to be included and that just kind of weirded me out.

Loudwire, August 26, 2015

In 2015, Steven appeared to be understanding about Axl and Izzy's absence:

It would have been nice if Axl and Izzy were there, because those were our songs. That's what the five of us created. It would have been nice if they were there, but it was still very exciting being a part of it, and I feel blessed. [Axl and Izzy] have their reasons [for not attending], and I have no resentments.

Joel Gausten Blog, March 18, 2015

I was so surprised Axl and Izzy [Stradlin, guitar] didn't show up. But Axl and Izzy are like brothers; they're like a team. So if Axl wasn't gonna show up, Izzy wasn't gonna show up. But it was such an honor doing that. I thought for sure that was gonna be our first time playing together [again]. I mean, I never… When they mentioned Axl's name, I never heard an arena boo like that. It was scary. I was, like, 'Wow! These people are really pissed off at Axl.

Jasta Show/Blabbermouth, September 3, 2015

And Frank would explain why Axl hadn't attended:

Axl wanted the whole history of the band to be represented. He feels Guns and Roses is still alive and still has current members. That stuff is beyond me on a personal level, I'm just happy to play music for a living.

Soundreliance.com, August 15, 2015

In 2017 and 2018, Gilby would talk about it being awkward being there when he wasn't inducted:

From my point of view, I never really thought about it much, ever. I didn’t go through a process of pleading my case to be a part of the band. Not being inducted was definitely a bummer. To be a part of something and not be recognized for it. But deep down, I didn’t really care. It’s just another two lines on your Wikipedia page. Duff called me literally the day before and said, ‘We had a talk and we decided we’re going to play. We’d love for you to play with us.’ The only thing that was weird for me was when they went up to accept and I wasn’t there. I actually had to go somewhere else while they did that. That definitely felt weird.

LA Weekly, October 17, 2017

The Hall Of Fame induction was surreal, because I think it was a surprise to all of us. When it all was going down, it was kind of like a dark cloud, because no one was really looking forward to it. It was such an awkward situation, because Axl had made it clear he wanted no part of it, Izzy made it clear he wanted no part of it. I know Slash and Duff really wanted to do something special, and that performance really didn't come together until, honestly, the day before. I got a call from Duff. He said, 'Hey, Gilby, we decided we're gonna play. We'd really love you to come up and play with us.' And I had no intention of going — we all had tickets and stuff — but being that the guys asked me to play, I [said] I would go and play with the guys. [...] [I] actually did have fun. I really enjoyed playing with Steven. That was really nice. Myles is a class act. He can just get up there and do his thing, and he's got great balls and he does a great job, and that was extremely impressive.

The Collision (The Voice FM Australia), November 28, 2017

The performance itself, I actually had the time of my life. All the other stuff was a little political. I'm not talking about the band guys; I'm just talking about the whole Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, how they handled things. But the actual playing with the guys — having Myles with the biggest balls in the world standing up there and singing, doing a great job; having Matt and Steven, the two of them, sharing the stage together. There were some really cool moments. It really felt more like a family, and more like we were on the same team together. To me, that really felt good. The whole thing about not being inducted and stuff definitely hurt my feelings, but it's part of life. I'm a big boy; I can take it. A Guns N' Roses fan will accept me for my contributions. I had nothing to do with 'Appetite For Destruction'. I had nothing to do with the 'Illusion' records, and I accept that. All I did was, I was a team member when we went on tour and representing the band all these years later. I think the real fans see that, and I'm okay with that.

Indiepower, October 24, 2018

I'll tell you exactly how I feel. No, you shouldn't care about [the HOF]. You should care about it like you care about going to Denny's. Seriously, there's no validity. And I'm not just saying that, because… You can honestly say — did I get burned? Yeah, I got burned. But it didn't matter to me at that time. When it went down, the whole GN'R [Rock Hall induction], I didn't even know about it until it was a done deal. Matt had inside information, so he kind of got in there and got himself included, which, obviously, included Dizz, too. By the time it got to me, it was a done deal. And I didn't really care. Slash and I had a conversation about it. I said, 'Look, when you think of Guns N' Roses, you think of the five guys,' and so do I.' That's what it should be. But if you're gonna induct Dizzy and Matt, now I feel left out. I mean, yes, Matt and Dizzy made the 'Illusion' records, and I would never take credit where credit wasn't due. But who fucking cares who gets in? It's not like anybody gets a dollar for it or whatever. My honest take on it is if you're inducting Guns N' Roses as Guns N' Roses, put all the guys that were in the band at that time — Bumblefoot and Richard [Fortus]; everybody. Who cares? It's not like we're getting money for it. But if you're gonna have a ceremony, yeah, maybe have Slash, Duff and a couple of the guys speak. But who cares? The thing is they've pretty much proven that they've gotten it wrong every time. I felt bad in the beginning when I found out Matt and Dizzy got inducted and I didn't. I was, like, 'Oh, man, it sucks to be left out.' But then I heard the Chili Peppers got inducted, but they didn't induct Dave Navarro. Dave Navarro played on some million-selling records. And then they inducted the Grateful Dead and inducted, like, a hundred people. And when those things happen, then it puts it in perspective. And I don't really give a flying fuck. It's not like I get anything for being in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. It's not like suddenly a hundred more people are gonna come to the show. It literally is a line somebody will say when I go do a TV show: 'Gilby Clarke, Rock And Roll Hall…' I don't think there's any real validity in it. I think some people hold it in high regard, but it literally is a select group of people making these decisions. And I don't know how qualified they are. I don't know if any of them have ever been in a van, if any of them have ever gotten paid to play a musical note. So, like I said, it's not a big deal to me, and it shouldn't be to everybody else.

Appetite for Distortion, February 28, 2020

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:39 am

2012-2015

STEVEN'S TEMPORARY CLOSURE WITH AXL AND GUNS N' ROSES

I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end that chapter of my life.

The Nervous Breakdown, December 3, 2012

I think more than anything it put it to bed for Steve Adler. He was trying the hardest to make it happen because he missed a lot of it. He was finally resigned to the idea that it was never going to happen.

The Irish Times, February 1, 2013

_____________________________________

Ever since being fired from Guns N' Roses in 1990, Steven had been struggle to come to grips with his fate and would repeatedly talk about wanting to get back in the band. With the induction ceremony, Steven would claim this had been closure for him, that he was finished with Axl and Guns N' Roses, and that he could now focus on his current band:

It was the greatest way to end that chapter of my life. It couldn’t have gone better. It ended that chapter of my life great, and it’s starting this new chapter of my life, with my new band, even bigger and better. It’s very exciting. It’s fucking exciting. Life is exciting again.

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

[Guns N' Roses is] done. That’s totally out of my system. I was hoping that the five of us would have been there to play and show our respect to the fans, but the three of us who really do care about what our fans think and how much they’ve done for us were there, and we showed our love and respect. In my thank-you speech, I ended it with the words of the late, great Freddie Mercury. “I’ve taken my bows, my curtain calls, you’ve brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it, and I thank you all.” I think that says it. It couldn’t have gone better. I showed my thanks and my love. Slash is really the main person from that band that is really super-duper…they’re all important, but Slash is the most important, because we grew up together, we started the whole thing together, so it was really great ending that chapter with him.

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

It was great [playing at the RRHOF], and Myles Kennedy did a fabulous job…This is the only thing I’m going to say about Axl, and this is the last thing I’m ever going to say, ever, you’re getting it, is I feel blessed and thankful that he was a part of my life for that chapter of my life, but that’s it. That’s it. I have no desire to know him or work with him or do anything with him again. Letting go of that was like a huge weight was lifted off my body. I feel fucking free. Yay!

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

[The desire for a reunion is] gone. If it was going to happen, that’s when it was going to happen, and in Axl’s letter, he showed his true colors to the world. After that, that’s it. Like I said, the main person I wanted to end that chapter with, and I’m going to start a new chapter with, was Slash.

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

I think it’s disrespect [that Axl showed]. He’s not for the fans, which is everybody in the world. Basically, he told everybody in the world, “Fuck you, I don’t give a shit what you think.”

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

[What Axl said in his letter] doesn’t even make any sense. That’s Axl, he doesn’t make any sense, and that’s it, I’m done with him, I’m never mentioning him or talking about him again. That’s it. One last thing – god bless him.

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

Myles Kennedy did a number on that other redhead. He did a phenomenal job, stepping into those big redheaded shoes. He’s got a powerful voice.

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

It’s the biggest moment of my career. Any musician who gets to be a part of that, it’s the biggest moment of their careers, of their life. It’s like winning the Super Bowl. I won the friggin’ Super Bowl, it’s the coolest thing in the world. I have a ring and trophy and everything. I didn’t get a ring, but I got a trophy.

I watched it on video, my guitar player came over with his computer and showed it to me. I was nervous, I don’t know how I sounded or how I looked, because it was me, and I was doing it. I saw it and said, “Oh man…” I was proud of myself. If I didn’t know me, I’d have been proud of me, and I was proud of me.

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

I’m telling the truth, I never heard a boo like that in my life [when Axl’s name was mentioned]. It was frightening. I was sitting there going, “Man, god forbid they were doing that at me.” That would be soul-crushing, you would think. But that redheaded guy, I was standing onstage, I looked at Duff and said, “You know what the crazy thing is, Axl’s so back-ass backwards that he probably likes it.” Instead of going, “Wow, that’s harsh,” he’s going, “Yeah, fuck yeah, I love it.”

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

[Axl]’s got nothing in the world to be angry about. It’s so great to move on from that, to get that out of my life and out of my system. You ever have somebody that you know, but they’re not in your life, you don’t see them, you don’t talk to them, but you think about them, and it makes your stomach get all tight, and you go, “Son of a bitch,” and you don’t even talk to the guy or see them – that’s what that asshole would do to me. It’s just great to not have that feeling in my stomach anymore. It’s good to move on. It’s like getting off of heroin, “Oh, I feel so much better, my god, what a relief, I’m not sick anymore.”

Rolling Stone, April 23, 2012

I really hoped that [Axl]'d do it. I was surprised that Izzy didn't do it, but he and Izzy have the same bond that Slash and I do. I was hurt and disappointed like so many other people.

Put it this way: I have this big poster of us in my dining room. It's a poster of Guns N' Roses from the first time we went to England. I have to walk by it to go to the bathroom. Before the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, I'd walk by it and go, 'Someday… ' But now I walk by it, and I say, 'I'm so glad that was a part of my life.' Once Axl didn't show, I realized that I was blessed that it happened the first time, and let's leave it at that. Now I have a new destiny.

MusicRadar, October 11, 2012

Talking about the GN'R tour poster from 1987 that was hanging in his living room:

Every time I have to go to the bathroom I have to walk past it. I’d always see it and say to myself, ‘One day we’re gonna reunite! We’re gonna do it! We’re too good of a team not to do this again.' Now I walk past it and I say to myself, ‘I’m so glad I was a part of that. That was a great and exciting time of my life.’ It’s nice to appreciate it, but I’m no longer angry and pining for a reunion. I’m not angry about it anymore. It’s flushed out of my system.

Rollign Stone, November 29, 2012

When commenting on Steven's comments, Slash would say it had closed the chapter on Guns N' Roses for him, too:

Yeah, I think it did that for all of us. I didn’t have any illusions or delusions of GNR getting back together for anything. I maybe tried to see it happen for this one particular event, I didn’t have high hopes for that, I didn’t feel confident it was going to happen, but having done this one gig, and for the event itself, when it was all said and done, it really felt like closing the book on the whole thing.

Rolling Stone, April 25, 2012

That last Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing was it. I’ve been entertaining the idea for other people for years, but it’s never been my inclination to get back together. Given the opportunity for us all to show up in one place, that was the only reasonable platform for us to do it, and it didn’t happen. I’m really sick to death of even entertaining the concept.

Daily Beast, May 25, 2012

DJ was asked to comment on Slash's conclusion that a reunion would now never happen:

I would have to agree with him.

Celebzter, June 2, 2012

Despite having talked about the RRHOF being a closure, Steven would still be asked and would answer reunion rumours:

I would love more than anything to play the songs with the guys I wrote them with. One day maybe that’ll happen. I throw prayers in every day. I wouldn’t mind if we did do a reunion if Matt came up and played a couple of songs that he played on. As long as I opened and closed the show. I still think if we got together in one room there would be hugs, tears and making magic.

MusicRadar, June 18, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:39 am

AXL SEEMS MORE RELAXED

From 2009 and onwards, the press would comment upon Axl's change in demeanor during concerts, displaying a much more relaxed and good-natured side of himself. For the most case, the rants which had been so frequent previously were now gone and Axl would tell jokes, often about himself, and be humble and gracious. This was to some extent a contrast to 2006 when Axl had got in various controversies. An exception would be Axl's fight with a paparazzi at LAX in 2009 [see previous chapter], possible as a result of being stressed on the eve of a new tour.

Already in 2005 did Dizzy comment on Axl being in "a better space" than before:

[Axl is] just healthier, in a better space.

Fitchburg Sentinel, September 19, 2005

When asked if Axl was in good mental health:

Yes. Of course he is. Yes. Why wouldn't he be?

Madagascar88, September 26, 2005; paraphrased

Axl himself would joke about the perception of himself, displaying a self-deprecating sense of humour:

Remember my motto: be bitter, stay angry and blame everyone. It's on my fridge magnet.

House of Blues, Chicago, IL, USA, February 19, 2012

In 2012, Marc Canter would also comment upon Axl's transition:

The one thing about Axl that I have noticed, is that he really IS starting to come to terms with things emotionally and is coming off very kind and honest and approachable, it’s remarkable and a good sign. In recent interviews whether it was on That Metal Show or even some little clips on youtube of him goofing around and talking with fans and that’s really good to see. There’s been times where we wouldn’t see or hear from him publicly or he’d perpetually be in a bad mood or whatever but we have this year and it seems like he’s in a good place and not operating under some dark cloud so that’s fantastic. It’s not just been one or two random clips of him recently but 10 or 12 of him and he’s always in that same happy, joking and smiling demeanor. Good for him.

Legendary Rock Interviews, April 22, 2012

The same year, Axl would discuss the contrast between who he was now and who he had been back in the 90s:

I was expressing my emotions and took that as far as you can and still be alive. I could beat my mike stand into the stage but I was still in pain. Maybe fans liked it, but sometimes people forget you're a person and they're more into the entertainment value. It's taken a long time to turn that around and give a strong show without it being a kamikaze show.

There was a much more self-destructive nature in Appetite. It was a going-for-it-at-all-cost thing that worked then. I don't know if that's the smartest thing for me now.

USA Today, October 30, 2012

And talk about having overcome psychological issues:

I worked out a lot of them. It was strange to get successful and lose almost your entire family. Then you end up with daytime TV talk shows. All of a sudden, things considered horrific when I was growing up were so what? You were abused? Who cares? There should be more of a public acknowledgement of reality. When I talked to Rolling Stone about it, I thought people would take a harder look at my stepdad. Instead, they came down harder on me. That's still confusing to me. But surviving at any level is good. I'm a lot better than a lot of people predicted. They were rooting for the opposite. There were things on the Internet about how I'd be found dead. I had a very dark attitude.

USA Today, October 30, 2012

Michelle Young would also comment on Axl's health:

I have nothing really negative to say about him or how he’s been to me. Everybody is who they are and that’s okay with me. If anything, I feel for him that he has been as uncomfortable in his own skin as he has been at times that he has to make others around him suffer. I’m hoping that everything I’ve heard as of late is true and he’s doing much better and maybe become the person that he should be. I can absolutely understand how difficult the process must have been for this young kid from Indiana to come to Hollywood and just exploding and suddenly becoming one of the most famous people in the world. That’s a lot for anyone to deal with if you think about it. I do believe that he had suffered from bipolar or possibly other things but I’ve heard that he’s had the Brian Wilson experience and you know reverted back to his state of comfort in the womb supposedly and is at peace. I don’t really know and I can’t speak to it because I don’t really know Axl today so I can’t honestly state that he’s become a better man but I honestly believe that he could and hope that he has.

Legendary Rock Interviews, November 10, 2014

In 2016, a fan would mention that Axl seemed "more open, more relaxed, more in a better place" and Axl would say that the image back then was a combination of them being young and wild, living up to expectations and how media made them out to be:

Well part of that then also is… was just being young and part wild and part of it to be rock and roll. When we'd go to MTV they'd ask us to tear their set apart. Then there was everything that was said. And England is one of the craziest places for that because the media here will just write anything to promote you in a way. They said I ran over my dogs then I ate them. Long before Dep ate his I ate mine. They said all kinds of crazy things back then.

China Exchange, June 6, 2016

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:39 am

RICHARD'S LONGEVITY IN GUNS N' ROSES

In 2012, Richard would talk about what makes playing in Guns N' Rose special and compare it to KISS:

Just thinking about being in KISS, you know, it’s so weird how soured I am on them because they just ran the thing in the ground, in my opinion. It’s become such a business and it always was for them. I guess it just didn’t seem so blatant when I was a kid. Watching Gene do his whole Gene thing and going to see a concert and they’re still trying to squeeze into the tights and, I don’t know, it’s just a bum out.

To play with KISS would be like a job, like punching a clock, in my opinion. That’s the vibe I get. It’d be like, ok, here we go, another day at the office and that is just soul destroying, you know. Even if you’re playing songs that you love, if you’re not making it your own and there’s no spontaneity, I mean, that’s what I love about Guns. It’s different every night and it’s definitely something that I am proud of. There are very few bands, especially at the level of playing arenas, that doesn’t have a set list and plays for three hours a night. I love that about GNR.

Glide Magazine, April 23, 2012

Talking about having stayed in the band for so long:

I never really thought about it. And I've always done other things as well. Because I have to work; I just have to do stuff. Otherwise, I get really depressed, if I'm not working. So I've always done other things. And it always keeps it sort of fresh — when you can step outside of something and then come back to it. You have a new sense of appreciation for it, or a new perspective to add to it.

Social Magazine/Blabbermouth, November 30, 2015

I've been playing with Guns N' Roses for, like, what, fifteen years now, and it's been an incredible experience. And the work ethic that these guys have is amazing.

Grretsch Guitars, October 27, 2016

It’s really not been much of a challenge for me to stay in this band. It’s frustrating for some, because there are periods of downtime. I’ve always been able to find work when I needed to without much problem.

Hot Press, May 18, 2017

After having stayed in the band after Slash and Duff rejoined, Richard would be asked how he would evaluate this period of his life:

Hopefully it won't be [laughs] the height but at the same time I can't imagine anything being bigger, you know, because it seems like we're setting records everywhere and it's incredible. It's just the excitement around this has just been overwhelming, you know. I can't imagine topping it. But my career, I've been really fortunate in my career, in that it just consistently steps up and up and up, you know, where I haven't really stepped backwards much, you know. So I feel very, very fortunate for that.

StageLeft Podcast, June 1, 2017

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:40 am

APRIL 17, 2012

BULLYVILLE PARTNERS WITH DJ TO PUT AN END TO BULLYING!

I’ve been bullied more times than I can count throughout life, and it’s very important to me to help in any way I can. Even if I only touch one person, it’s worth it.

Confront Magazine, March 15, 2013

__________________________________

In April 17, DJ would partner with bullyville.com to attempt to end bullying:

Hey guys, thank you so much for all the love n' support. I am very proud to team up with Bullyville and do whatever I can to help bring awareness to kids, men and women of all ages who are being bullied all over the world. YOU are NOT alone and together we WILL fight back. Please check out http://www.BullyVille.com/ and follow @Bullyville Thank you so much, your support means the world." Much Love ~DJA

Unknown source, April 18, 2012

BullyVille.com billboard
Unknown date

Bullyville.com would also send out a press release about the partnership:

BullyVille.com Partners With Guns N' Roses Lead Guitarist Dj Ashba to Put an End to Bullying!

AS VEGAS, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BullyVille Inc., http://www.BullyVille.com, the Internet's first anti-bullying social website and media platform is excited to announce their partnership with one of the world's greatest musicians, Dj Ashba! Ashba, the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses and Sixx:A.M., who has also worked with other influential artists such as: Motley Crue, Drowning Pool, Marion Raven, Aimee Allen and Neil Diamond, recently used BullyVille.com himself to reveal his struggles coping with being bullied as a child by his own father.

In a statement to the press upon signing his partnership deal in Las Vegas, Ashba, who was raised in rural Fairbury, Illinois, said, "I've had my fair share of struggles growing up in a small town trying to make it as a musician, but I want other kids and teenagers to know that they are not alone and that anyone can do, and more importantly, be anything they want... I'm living proof!"

BullyVille founder James McGibney said, "I know for an unequivocal fact that with Dj Ashba's voice and passion, he will help spread the important message of anti-bullying and make it a more prevalent issue within communities around the world. BullyVille is the first anti-bullying website bringing individuals and celebrities together online to share their bullying stories and offer support."

ABOUT BULLYVILLE

BullyVille Inc. http://www.bullyville.com, has only one purpose: to help you get past your past. Our team of professionals and celebrities can help you recover from the negativity that has been inflicted upon you, even if you've buried it. We can provide the tools to help you heal, and give you the confidence to leave your anger behind. And it doesn't cost a penny. Haven't you already paid enough? If you came to BullyVille because you're being bullied, you've come to the right place.

For starters, you are not alone; almost every person on this planet has been bullied at one time or another. Whether the damage has been physical or emotional, it has probably left you with indelible scars that need healing. This is the first website of its kind, where people like you can turn these experiences around, learn from each other and heed advice from the experts who can give you the help you need to put the pieces of your life back together. Check out the "bullied celebrities" section of our website, and see how those making headlines have used their horrific experiences to put out the fires burning inside them. Let their inspirational stories of help and healing motivate you to move your own life forward. Your story might even be able to help someone else going through it.

Press release, April 17, 2012

Explaining his decision to partner with Bullyville:

It has been hard for me as it’s something I have blocked out my whole life… I moved out when I was 16, and I never looked back. But if I can help just one person who is being bullied, then this is worth it. It is such an important topic, and it stays with you.

FOX News, April 17, 2012

Anger sort of fuels the fire that keeps me going inside, and in a way, success today really comes from seeking approval that I never got when I was little. But no matter how big or successful you become, there is always a hole in your heart.

I’m lucky that I am in a position where I have a voice, I can step up and bring awareness, and I wanted to share my story and be a spokesperson for Bullyville because it provides an online community and a place for people getting bullied to get help and understand they aren’t alone… But this is by far the hardest thing I have ever done.

FOX News, April 17, 2012

I felt it was the perfect opportunity talk about some really hard, deep seeded issues, and to help others who may have gone through the same.

Banana Fusion, May 10, 2012

I can’t begin to tell you what I’ve lived with and it has been a lot, through my entire life. I’ve buried a lot of heavy heavy heavy family issues and when I heard about BullyVille and I became aware of it, it was something that really touched and inspired me. It gave me courage to sit there and upload my whole life and what it took to get where I am. I could have sat back and shut my mouth and let other kids go through what I did on their own with no help, which wasn’t fun at all, or knowing all of the pain and loneliness that I’ve dealt with and all the issues I had to figure out on my own, no matter how much it hurts to talk about it, I could go out there in the public with my story. It was something that was really hard for me to do but I look at it like if it helps one person then it was all worth it. It’s kind of weird because I’ve smoked cigarettes since I was fourteen years old and the day I came out with my story, I haven’t smoked since. I don’t know if it is related but I think I would subconsciously sit in my hotel room and chain smoke and I think it was my way of not caring about myself because of what I went through. I was probably trying to subconsciously kill myself just because I was hiding so much. Now that I’ve come out with that story I’ve been going out every day and not barricading myself in my room. I finally feel like someone woke me up and I hope that my story can hopefully wake some other kids out there up and give a chance at life again.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

I am working with BullyVille.com to help spread awareness to people getting bullied. It’s a huge problem, and together we can make a difference.

Celebzter, June 2, 2012

I had bought a brand-new house in Las Vegas, and my neighbor happened to be James McGibney-the CEO of Bullyville. After sitting down and talking to him I felt I needed to get involved. I think it’s a wonderful thing that he is giving people a place to go online to raise awareness. Because of what I had been through in my childhood, I wanted to help and Bullyville.com was the perfect vehicle.

Media Mikes, August 12, 2012

I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to finally come out and tell my story as hard as it was in hopes to help many other people out there in [a] similar situation. [...] You have to understand we're all created equal and we're all put on this planet for a very short period of time. Together we all can make this a better safer place.

Colleage Magazine, August 16, 2012

I just bought a house in Las Vegas, and my neighbor is the founder of BullyVille. And he started telling me about the website he was doing. I was born into a very abusive situation where my dad was an angry man. And so I kind of lived with this thing for my whole life. I've worked my whole life to kind of figure all these things out on my own, and try to make myself a better person along the way, and not really realizing why I have some of the issues like abandonment issues and different things. I felt this is a perfect vehicle to kind of come out, and do my part, and kind of bring awareness to the kids out there getting bullied, and letting them know that they're not alone out there.

Noisecreep, August 17, 2012

And DJ would talk about his own experiences with abuse as a kid:

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

DJ also got bullied at school:

The one thing people don't understand is if you're born into that situation, the one thing you don't really realize or the one thing you realize is you start seeing other kids with normal lives, and moms and dads that actually love them. And my mom loved me to death, but you know it kind of carries over, and you start feeling like a loner kind of and you can't really relate to anybody else. You have a very different outlook on life... it kind of carries onward into school. You kind of feel like this stranger, the kid that doesn't fit in. And I think because of that, the stronger kids in school look for the kids they can bully around, and I think that's why I got bullied somewhat. When I went to Indiana to junior high school, it was a situation where I was the new kid. And I definitely got bullied hardcore there.

Noisecreep, August 17, 2012

After having opened up about his past, DJ would talk about his current relationship with his father:

I don’t hate him, I don’t wish anything bad on him – nobody gives you a handbook on how to be a father. I don’t know what to expect (from him) now that I have told my story, and I don’t really care. This time it is about me, not him.

FOX News, April 17, 2012

And they way I look at it is I don't hate him. I don't think it was right, but I don't hate him whatsoever because you got to kind of stop yourself once you start figuring it out and you mature, and you get older, you start going, "Well you know he wasn't born that way, it had to come from somewhere else." I think the only thing you can do is being in my situation is kind of stop the cycle. And that's purposively why, and I think maybe even subconsciously why I don't have kids, and I just never want to be that person. I would never want to put my kid through what I had to do go through. And I think it takes somebody to finally go, "Okay, enough's enough." Because most cases, people that have been abused have been abused by somebody else. So that's all they know. So until somebody kind of goes, "Okay, wait a second this ain't right." I don't want to put somebody else through this. You know you just kind of stop the cycle. I think that's a really good first step. [...] But I definitely forgive my dad, and I'm not going to hold any grudges. I have a beautiful life, I'm very thankful for the life that I've created. But it wasn't an easy road for sure.

Noisecreep, August 17, 2012

Talking about the goals for BullyVille:

I don't really know where, you know my whole goal is I just think it's a brilliant site, it's a place to go where you know you're not alone, and because I know in that situation I always felt like it was like this big fear. Like I was afraid and embarrassed to tell anybody. And you can't be: this is a serious thing. I hope it just brings massive awareness out there to tons of kids. I'm planning on getting on the Gibson Tour bus, and hitting up a bunch of schools for BullyVille, and just doing whatever I can to bring awareness to it because I had to live with this just incredible amount of pain my whole life, and I had to figure it out on my own. I didn't have anybody that I looked up to or anything that had the same situations [as me]. That's kind of the point of BullyVille where you look up to this celebrity and you realize he has the same issues I do, but look where he made it. So it hopefully gives kids hope.

Noisecreep, August 17, 2012

THE 2013 'BRAINS OVER BULLIES CAMPAIGN'

I’ve been a spokesperson for Bullyville.com since it was launched and we are currently working to set up a Brains Over Bullies Campaign Tour this fall. Myself and a few other celebrities will be traveling to local middle schools and high schools to talk about not only our experiences, but let them know what to do when being bullied, and give them solutions and people to talk to. We have the Las Vegas Metro Police getting involved as well as psychologists, mentors, media, etc. We are really looking forward to this campaign.

Confront Magazine, March 15, 2013

In 2013, they were focusing on taking down revenge porn sites:

[Joining BullyVille is] the best thing I could ever have done. Bullyville is just — James McGibney [Bullyville’s Founder & CEO] and me teamed up on it. He’s just doing some amazing things with Bullyville. And we’re taking down bullies, left and right. He’s doing a great job with that. They go after everything from people that are getting bullied to child molesters to pedophiles to and you name it. And they’re going after them hard.

They’re taking down — our big goal is to take down all these revenge porn sites that underage kids are getting posted naked on. We’re just doing some really good things out there and hopefully making a difference.

Rock Cellar Magazine, July, 2013

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:40 am

EXPECTATIONS AND OPENERS FOR THE EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR

EXPECTATIONS

In May, I go back to Europe with Guns and luckily, Thin Lizzy is going to be out with us, which is going to be awesome. They’re going to be supporting us so I’ll be able to play a couple of songs with them every night. But I’ll be out with Guns in May, June and July [...]

Glide Magazine, April 23, 2012

Surprises aren't planned, they just happen. What do I expect from the European tour? Blood and guts and severed body parts flying through the air. And nice weather.

GNRBRAZIL.com, May 4, 2012

I think we`ll have more of an expanded set list than last time. It`ll be between 2 and 3 hours of kick ass Rock `n` Roll.

Metal Express Radio, May 7, 2012

[Being asked if there will be any special guests:] You know, I`m never really part of the whole special guest thing so they are just as special to me as I have no idea who`ll be playing. It`s great for us and it`s pretty awesome for the fans so bring them on, bring on the special guests.

Metal Express Radio, May 7, 2012

There`ll be a good spread of music from our catalogue. Since the last time we played there`ll be more songs from the Illusion era of the band. People seem to like hearing those. We never have a set, set list. There`s some spontaneity involved every night. We have a master list and if there`s a song that we haven`t played for a while we might just give it a run out. We change things around every night so it keeps things fresh for us and the crew and for the people too. Hopefully they`ll get their own special show every night that is different to the previous nights of the tour.

Metal Express Radio, May 7, 2012

We’ve got a new stage and a new show. Some new songs and some other fun stuff. I don’t want to give it all away when you may see it in Glasgow.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

Yeah we have changed things up a bit for this tour. It can’t be too much different, we still have to have the drums, bass and guitar [laughs] but we have a basic format that we follow and I think everything we’ve done around it people will appreciate. It’s a kick ass rock show from the bottom up and fans will be hearing some songs that they have never heard before and seeing some things they have never seen before but for the most part it is in fact about the music, about us playing and the people there.

Espy Rock, May 21, 2012

Being asked about his favorite moments from the Chinese Democracy tour:

Is it still the Chinese Democracy tour? I don’t know, I think it’s kinda just ‘the tour’ at this point, haha. So many wonderful memories. And other memories that must stay buried or I’ll be curled up in a ball in the corner of the room, haha. Most of my favorite memories on tour were the moments outside of the shows, things like going to the top of a snowy mountain at 5am after a show to watch the sun rise in a giant jacuzzi. There’s been some funny show memories too – last tour, while I was playing Axl snuck behind me and tied me up in orange tape, haha! Couldn’t break free…

what-music.com, May 18, 2012

OPENERS: RIVALS SONS AND THIN LIZZY

For gigs in Netherlands and Germany, the California-based band Rival Sons would be the opener [Blabbermouth, May 14, 2012]. Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday would comment on the opportunity:

What a great, great opportunity to get these shows supporting Guns N' Roses! Germany has been great to us, and this will only help us reach out to so many more people over there. As far as Guns goes... I remember the first time those guys were ever on MTV, me and my best mate were watching. A total shock to the system, and to me and my friends' lives. We were really young little dudes, but we already loved our rock 'n' roll, and Guns just reeked of reality and grit... I mean they were literally very dirty. And we LOVED it. They ushered in a lot more 'real' and dirtiness to a scene that had become way too fruity-pants. As a wee guitar-playing lad, I couldn't get enough of 'Appetite For Destruction' and 'Lies'. Ready to see and hear some of those first tunes played live!

Blabbermouth, May 14, 2012

Thin Lizzy would also open selected show at the tour.

Steve Gorman from Thin Lizzy:

o tour with a band the calibre of Guns N’ Roses is an honour and a privilege. It’s like one big family, so can’t wait to see you all out there.

Birmingham Mail, May 18, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:41 am

MAY 11-20, 2012

THE EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR

The first two shows of the European 2012 summer tour took place at Stadium Live in Moscow, Russia, on May 11 and May 12.

Chris in Moscow
May 11, 2012

At an afterparty at the Premier Lounge Club after the second show in Moscow, Axl fell off a table and injured himself. Axl would subsequently tweet about the injury with an image of a badly bruised arm:

Can u say HemaToma?!!

Twitter, May 16, 2012

Axl's injuries

The tour continued to the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland, on May 17.

Ad for the UK tour in Classic Rock June 2012 issue

According to the promoter of the show at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Denis Desmond, it had been Axl's expressed wish to return to Ireland because he felt he had unfinished business there, alluding to the show on September 1, 2010, when the band left the stage because of bottles being thrown [Irish Times, January 28, 2012].

Before coming to Ireland, DJ and Dizzy would be asked about returning to Ireland and the UK:

I love it over here. It’s very exciting for me to be back again.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

I’m always stoked to be in the UK. It’s the birthplace of some of my favourite music and we’re all stoked to be back here.

Espy Rock, May 21, 2012

During the show, Axl would also allude to that ill-fated show in 2010 and also comment on his recent injury:

As you may have heard I had a little accident. I'm learning what I can and can't do. I hope you don't mind me moving less than usual, although I'm probably moving a whole lot more than I was the last time I was here.

O2 Arena, Dublin, Ireland, May 17, 2012

hanks for coming out, thanks for putting up with my lame ass and thanks for not throwing shit.

O2 Arena, Dublin, Ireland, May 17, 2012

Review in Hot Press:

All was forgiven in The O2 last night as Axl & Co. played a blinding set, and thanked the crowd for "not throwing shit".

GnR kicked off just over an hour after their expected start time and wowed the audience with a classic collection of songs that spanned close to three hours.

Despite his recent leg injury, Mr. Rose managed six costume changes and appeared in fine form. The band, arriving on stage to Massive Attack’s ‘Splitting The Atom’, blasted through a batch of classic hits including ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘Sweet Child O' Mine’ and ‘Paradise City’, as well as a smattering of covers such as ‘Another Brick In The Wall’, ‘Baba O’Riley’ and the Pink Panther Theme.

Hot Press, May 18, 2012

And in Stereoboard:

Rock legends Guns N Roses kicked off their UK and Ireland tour in style yesterday with a three-hour long show in Dublin's O2 Arena – and they managed to not get 'any shit' thrown at them!

Despite being typically late to their show (an hour and a half late, to be exact), Axl Rose and co. managed to wow the crowd with an epic 170 minute performance from 10:30 – 1:20am.

And, their performance was so top-notch that the crowd, who bottled, booed and berated the band in the same venue in 2010, sang their praises – leaving Rose singing their praises too.

Rose told the crowd: “Thanks for coming out, thanks for putting up with my lame ass and thanks for not throwing shit.” He had earlier talked to the crowd about his latest battle wounds from their performance in Russia, and said: “As you may have heard I had a little accident. I'm learning what I can and can't do. I hope you don't mind me moving less than usual. Although I'm probably moving a whole lot more than I was the last time I was here!”

The incredible performance featured the band performing 21 songs, 6 costume changes, and even a cover of the much-loved Pink Panther theme tune, as well as a cover of 'Another Brick in the Wall' and their version of 'Live and Let Die'.

If you're a fan of Guns N Roses, and the sound of their brilliant performance in Ireland has got you enticed, make sure you catch them at one of their UK tour dates.

Stereoboard, May 17, 2012

The next show took place at Capital FM in Nottingham, England on May 19.

Axl at Capital FM, Nottingham, England
May 19, 2012

Axl abd Bumblefoot at Capital FM, Nottingham, England
May 19, 2012

Richard at Capital FM, Nottingham, England
England, May 19, 2012

The band continued to the ECHO Arena in Liverpool, England on May 20.

Review in Liverpool Echo:

WHEN a band keeps a packed arena waiting for two hours with no apology, they can't be too surprised when people show their disapproval.

By 10.30pm, the audience were getting restless. By 11pm, when the band finally arrived on stage, the boos were becoming louder. So it came as little surprise when, during Welcome to the Jungle, someone launched a plastic cup of liquid over Axl Rose. The singer (and only original member of the band) was less than impressed, threatening: "Don't f*** this up for your friends".

He started the song again, before powering through a greatest hits set of songs that drew heavily on the band's early 90s heyday.

Axl was in astonishingly good voice, a facsimile of his 90s self. The new line-up is filled with talented musicians, and to hear Welcome to the Jungle, Live and Let Die, Sweet Child O Mine, Don't Cry and November Rain played live was almost worth the wait. I say almost . . .

The huge numbers who missed last buses and trains after last night's Guns N’ Roses gig will find little comfort in the tired old rock and roll cliché of singers turning up on stage only when they feel like it.

Writing this review, I was tempted to give the show zero out of ten for the lack of respect the band showed their fans. But that wouldn't give the whole picture.

In truth, Guns N’ Roses haven't put out a decent album since the Use Your Illusion double 21 years ago. In that time, the music industry has moved on; bands are now expected to offer their fans more for their money. A generation ago, they were one of the biggest bands in the world. Growing up, I knew the lyrics to every song.

But now Axl and his new band lumber along like dinosaurs, still filling the set with interminable (albeit technically very good) instrumental solos, which worked when it was Slash, Duff and the rest of them in the band.

But now, with a new line-up, it felt more like a tribute act, a pale imitation of the band that so many of us fell in love with all those years ago.

What remained was a technically proficient recreation, a nostalgia show for diehard fans who don't mind being kept waiting night after night.

But really, they deserve better. And there are plenty of bands out there now who could give it to them.

4/10 Shot in the dark

Liverpool Echo, May 21, 2012

Axl at ECHO Arena, Liverpool, England
May 20, 2012

Frank at ECHO Arena, Liverpool, England
May 20, 2012

Later, Tommy would look back at starting the summer tour:

It’s not an easy gig, let’s put it that way. It’s tough to maintain your equilibrium and get your gig legs on again after being off the road for a while. I wasn’t really ready to be touring again, but you kind of figure it out – after all, this is what we chose for an occupation.

Jerusalem Post, June 23, 2012

And after the tour, Bumblefoot would comment on allegations that models were handpicked to man the rails at shows and would also get backstage access:

Gisselle, Mrs Bumblefoot never gets angry, we've been together longer than you've been alive and our connection is deeper than you can truly know. *I* think the story is presented dishonestly and it's disrespectful to the families of bandmembers, and I'm bringing it up 1) because they deserve to be respected and defended, 2) a lot of fans feel that access is being granted to people that haven't earned it - by that I mean standing loyally by the band for years, buying a ticket, waiting on sore feet for hours and hours, cheering until they have no voice left, staying til the end and trying to find a way home after public transportation has been shut down... and doing it again the next time we're in town. I have nothing against 'the models', they were offered a fun night out and they deserve equal treatment from the band that any person at the show should get. But 'the band' did not request it, this kinda stuff comes from other people that are offering a good time by whatever means they have, and that's fine. I just feel the need to speak up on behalf our families & the fans, because they're respected & I don't want them feeling like they're not.

Facebook, May 21, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:43 am

THE BAND TO RECORD AFTER THE SUMMER EUROPEAN TOUR?

In April, Richard would suggest the band had plans to "finish up some more recording" after the upcoming European summer tour:

But I’ll be out with Guns in May, June and July and then we have to finish up some more recording and hopefully get the record out and be on tour in the fall in the States I’m hoping.

Glide Magazine, April 23, 2012

Whether Richard was here thinking about adding more recordings to songs from the Chinese Democracy sessions, like including DJ, or recording entirely new songs, is not clear. When asked at the time whether they expected to release a new album by the end of 2012, Richard would say that he wasn't sure about that but that they were trying [Personal communication, April 24, 2012].

DJ, on the other hand, would suggest they would be working while on tour:

That’s our goal right now: to work on the new record and get out and tour a bunch more. We’re leaving in May for Europe for two-and-a-half months, and I know we’ll get a lot of stuff done on the road.

Gibson, May 10, 2012

When asked, DJ would also say the band had sat down and discussed new material but that they hadn't decided when they would start writing:

Yeah we have and it has become one of our main focuses. We’re working on a lot of new stuff, not only for the music but we have surprises on this tour and everyone is looking forward to getting out there and putting on a kick ass rock ‘n’ roll show. The most important thing is that I’m really looking forward to the future with this band. Getting in and writing with everybody and that’s what I’m excited about the most but when it happens has still to be decided.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

When asked if he wanted another project to work on, Richard would say no and explain they were ready to get back into the studio and that that was his focus, so reinstating they had plans of recoding in 2012 after the touring:

Uhm, another project? I am pretty much focused on GN'R right now. We are getting ready to go back in the studio. So that's where my head's at right now. That's all I want to think about till the end of the year, pretty much.

RockNLive, June 23, 2012

When asked about who would be part of a new record:

It will be all these guys; it'll be all of us, probably. I wouldn't totally rule it out, but probably all of us will be included in making a new record.

K5 TV/Blabbermouth, July 16, 2012

In June, Bumblefoot would state that he, Tommy and Frank intended to get together to work on new music after the tour:

When this tour ends, Frank (drums) and Tommy (bass) and I plan to get together and start writing some new music. Hopefully nothing will get in the way of doing that.

Teraz Rock Magazine, July 2012

BUT STILL IN TOUR MODE

Bumblefoot, on the other hand, in May when asked if there had been any talks within the band about a new record, would say the band was still in "tour mode":

The band is full of strong writers, we’d make a great album together, but we’re still in tour mode, and the tour’s are going well…

what-music.com, May 18, 2012

Dizzy would also say it is hard for them to work together since they live in different cities, but that hopefully they might start during the tour:

Well between the six or seven or eight of us, we all live in different cities so it is really hard for us just to sit down and get to work [laughs] but now that we’re altogether out here for a couple of months then that is something that will come up hopefully. I’m always into trying out new material and recording new stuff. I’ve worked with DJ a little bit in the studio off and on here and there and I’m always recording stuff, ready to play it for people to get their take and their spin on it. I know everyone else is the same boat, I think we all have something set aside or maybe everything set aside for Guns N’ Roses so when it happens it will happen.

Epsy Rock, May 21, 2012

But that the main focus was the tour:

I think our priority right now is the tour and giving people the best, most kick ass show they can get every night.

Epsy Rock, May 21, 2012

Everyone in the band is a good songwriter and we'd be able to make a great fucking album. We've just been touring our asses off - we'll see what comes after that, I don't know what the future will be.

Metalfan, May 21, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:44 am

MAY AND NOVEMBER 2012

BUMBLEFOOT STARTS PLAYING 'GLAD TO BE HERE' AND 'OBJECTIFY' AS HIS SOLO SONGS

As discussed previously, Bumblefoot had not been a fan of having to do solo spots during the band's live shows, and would much rather have done more Guns N' Roses songs [see earlier chapter]. Still, he had settled on the Pink Panther Theme which he would also release as a single in 2011 [see previous chapter].

When asked which of his own songs he would play as his solo song, Bumblefoot would again say he would rather they would play more Guns N' Roses songs:

Maybe 'Guitars Suck' would work, but I'd rather see more GNR songs at a GNR show, and less of other things. People are there to hear GNR.

GNR France, August 14, 2010

Not planning on it - want to keep GNR shows about GNR...

mygnrforum.com, February 16, 2011

Tommy, though, did shift from playing cover songs during his solo spot to playing Motivation from his solo album and before the 2012 summer tour in Europe, it seems Bumblefoot had changed opinion on this:

I may bust out a song of my own from one of the albums. We'll see how it comes together...

GNR Portugal, May 8, 2012

And correctly, starting from the show in Nottingham, England, on May 19, 2012, Bumblefoot started playing his song 'Glad To Be Here'.

But I've been doing a lot of my own stuff now, there's song Glad To Be Here, I've been doing. Happy little song.

Dropping The Needle, December 3, 2012

As mentioned previously, this song had been written after Bumblefoot returned home after touring with the band in 2006 and was an ironic song about not wanting to be where you are:

After getting off a tour, the transition back to civilian life ain't easy - life feels *wrong*, like it isn't yours and ya don't belong there. Within 12 hours, I'm going crazy, have even less tolerance for the little things that piss me off, need to drive faster than a shitty old Hyundai was meant to, and am at a loss on how to budget my time, re-learning what a day is and what it's suddenly supposed to consist of. "Glad To Be Here" came out of one of those moments where you're in the last place you'd want to be.

Like in the 80's at the DMV, when the lines went out the door, ya get to the window and the lady says there's another form to fill out, and you have to wait on line again for another 3 hours. Or traffic court, waitin' to see the judge. I think I've seen half the ones in NJ, one in Westchester, got out of having to sit in one in Virginia. But yeah, if you're ever in that spot, in that kinda traffic, in that kinda trouble, or with those kinds of people, think of the verses to this song, it'll say it all for ya.

antiMUSIC, July 2008

Later in 2012, Bumblefoot would also talk with fans about what motivates him in Guns N' Roses, and respond:

What makes me stay in GNR when I'm losing my sh*t? lol [...] All of you. [...] As cheesy as it sounds, when I'm at my breaking point, all the love everyone shares makes all the difference [...] Everyone has breaking points with touring. Everyone. Every band. [...] Just part of normal band stuff. Big polygamous dysfunctional marriage in a strained situations.

Nightrain, October 1, 2012

Whether this suggests Bumblefoot was still being uncomfortable in Guns N' Roses as he had been in the beginning [see previous chapter] or while touring when injured [see previous chapter], or whether he was here talking in generalities, is not clear.

Later in the year, Bumblefoot would also start playing 'Objectify', a song that he had written about how he had felt unwelcome when joining Guns N' Roses [see earlier chapter].

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:44 am

MAY 22, 2012

SLASH FEAT. MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS RELEASE 'APOCALYPTIC LOVE'

Slash's first solo record, eponymously titled 'Slash', was released in 2010 and he would immediately start working on his next album:

I would imagine so, you know? We had a really good time making this last one. The way it is, my schedule’s totally wrapped up in this right now. But when we get done, Myles has his Alter Bridge commitments and so on and so forth, so everybody’s gotta do what they gotta do, and then if we can all reconvene at the right time and make another one, then yeah.

Classic Rock, May 21, 2012

We are working on material, gathering ideas for another (record) at this point. We are sort of like in those early stages where I’m just recording different guitar ideas and I turn Myles on to it. He’s thinking about his stuff and what he’s going to do with it and so on.

Rapid City Journal, August 10, 2012

I'm also working on killer new material for a future solo (or not) release, the details of which will be coming down the road as well.

MySpace, October 11, 2010

COLLABORATION WITH MYLES KENNEDY

But in contrast to 'Slash' which featured many different singers, the next album would be a collaboration with Myles Kennedy:

Yeah, but in this instance, when we say 'solo record,' it's not going to be so much a solo record because I'll collaborate with Myles on it, and we'll sort of do it together. But it'll be another record offset from the regular Velvet Revolver fare.

Music Radar, December 23, 2010

As it stands right now, I'm going to use the same band that I took on the road, 'cause they're awesome.

Music Radar, December 23, 2010

I'm writing now and recording demos. On the first record, I only worked with Myles on two songs, so we'll have to see how it goes doing a whole album together. It's sort of a springboard for me to do whatever I feel like doing. That's one of the beauties of doing a solo record - you can do whatever comes to mind, and there's nobody to deliver the songs to for approval. But I do have to play stuff for Myles and see what he's into. I can guarantee that it'll be very musical. Myles is a great guitar player, and he's a great songwriter. We'll see how it develops. I'm just putting ideas together. I might deliver them in full form or I might send him the basic ideas.

Music Radar, December 23, 2010

I'm extremely shy about anyone hearing anything before it's finished, so if I think someone can hear [through the walls], I'll put headphones on.

The Daily Telegraph, February 14, 2011

The record was expected to come out in early 2012:

I'm touring around with a sort of mobile studio and we're working on material that I'm gonna do with Myles for the next record. And I'm looking at, probably... It'll be early next year.

Triple M, February 28, 2011

On May 26, 2011, Slash mentioned to Planet Rock that the album would be out in March or April, 2012 [Planet Rock, May 26, 2011]:

Myles and I have been writing all throughout the tour so we've got a lot of material, and at this point we're probably gonna start a little bit of pre-production in June and then do the tour in July. In September we're going to [do more] pre-production and the album is slated to come out in March or April.

Planet Rock, May 26, 2011

Second round of preproduction took place in early August [Facebook, August 3, 2011; August 6, 2011]. On August 7, Slash did a recording session with Cypress Hill [Facebook, August 7, 2011] and on August 11, a session with Mary J. Blige [Facebook, August 11, 2011]. At the time, Slash would say the album would be out in March 2012 [Belfast Telegraph, July 22, 2011].

Talking about how Kennedy would move between projects and say the album would be out in April:

We have it worked out so I have Myles after the Alter Bridge European tour, and that's when Mark is off doing Creed. When I get done, Myles will go back and do an Alter Bridge record. So Todd, Brent and I have been rehearsing while Myles is gone, then when he comes back [to us] we'll get as much recording done as possible. We have 14 songs to record, and because we're doing them live we're rehearsing the shit out of them. We should finish recording in January, and the album is out in April.

Total Guitar, January 2012

And talking about what Kennedy brings to the table:

We're all familiar with Myles from Alter Bridge, but there's another side to him when he's working with me. He's so diverse [as] a singer and so capable of going in different directions and he's doing an unbelievable job.

He's playing the other guitar, so if it's a two-guitar part then Myles usually plays it. When he comes in, it's almost like a cushion; he puts a bed down for me, and I put solos down on top. Yeah, he's good. He's a great guitar player.

Total Guitar, January 2012

Kenendy would also talk about how he happened to be part of Slash's solo band:

I wasn't really sure if it was going to happen or not until right before we went in and started to do preproduction. I was flattered - it's pretty wild to listen to the songs and hear him coming from one speaker and me from the other. Because it's not a big layered sound; it's real and simple.

Total Guitar, January 2012

THE CONSPIRATORS

In September 2011, Slash would provide an update and announce that the band would consist of Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kearns (bass) in addition to Miles Kennedy:

We actually haven't started recording, but we've been in pre-production. We're about nine songs in, as far as that goes. And when I get back from England tomorrow, we'll go in and do another 12 songs. And we start actually recording late October. This is a record with Myles singing in the entire thing. And also Brent Fitz's playing drums and Todd Kerns is playing bass.

MusicRadar/Blabbermouth, September 16, 2011

Talking about how Fitz and Kearns had become involved:

I was really fortunate. When I'd done the [previous] record, I thought, 'I've gotta tour on this.' And I had to figure how I was gonna actually pull that off. And I set about auditioning musicians in L.A. and I just happened to meet Brent Fitz, who I'd never played before and who is not from Los Angeles; he was one of the guys I auditioned and he was great. And then he introduced me to Todd Kerns, who fit in perfectly. And it turned out to be a great band from the start definitely worth going in and making a record with.

MusicRadar/Blabbermouth, September 16, 2011

Talking about having chosen Kennedy and the rest of the band:

Well, having Myles sing on the first record inspired me to take him on the road, then taking him on the road inspired me to have him sing on the whole record. So yeah, the tour last year definitely inspired the decision for him to sing on the new record. He has a really broad range. He is just very musical as far as his melodic style is concerned and he's also very lyrical and just a really powerful singer. There's a lot of positives about the way he sings.

Press release, February 6, 2012

There's Brent [Fitz] who is probably one of the best drummers I've ever played with — he has a great way of playing very powerful rock n roll while still being able to keep it behind the beat and sexy. And then Todd [Kearns] has got to be one of the most overall talented musicians I've worked with, just a really great bass player. Todd's very quick in the studio, a quick learner and creative as a writer; on top of that, he's also a great singer.

Press release, February 6, 2012

Well [Myles]’s a great vocalist, he’s got a great lyrical style and all things considered, he’s just his own personality as a frontman, so it’s hard for me to explain other than the fact that he’s a great singer and he’s a great songwriter.

Loudwire, March 27, 2012

These guys are really easy, easy to work with. With years of experience I've found that there's a lot of idiosyncrasies with different musicians and in a group situation they push and pull against each other all the time. Sometimes it gets to the extreme that it really will make the connections separate. That's a safe way of putting it. With these guys they are really sort of easy going and everybody just wants to play. And there doesn't seem to be any other type of agenda except for that. It really seems like one of those arrangements where it would be really hard to fuck it up. It would have to be me that would do it. I'm pretty tight with everyone, but Myles and I have a definite writing connection. But other than that, it's pretty much the same all around.

BraveWords, March 31, 2012

I didn’t know any of them at the time [of the tour]. It turned out to be this one in a million thing. They were one of the most bitching rock and roll bands and groups of musicians that I’d ever worked with. So I thought, ‘Fuck, if I’m gonna make another record, I’ll just do it with these guys.’ And that’s what happened.

Rolling Stone, April 2, 2012/url]

Talking about how he had collaborated with the rest of the band:

Myles and I basically collaborated on the new material. The main thing is we wrote these songs together which is a big difference from the last album where I wrote each song with all of the different collaborators. The whole creative nucleus is between Myles and me. On top of this, the whole rhythm section of Brent and Todd brings something to the table and changes the dynamic completely from the last record — it's much more cohesive.

Press release, February 6, 2012

This band would later be titled The Conspirators and the album would be Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.

When asked if Slash had now found his new band:

Let’s put it this way, I see no reason to see why if I was gonna do another record why I would do it with anybody else. I have to take into account their schedules. There’s Velvet Revolver; there’s Alter Bridge; there’s other things to take into account, but right now I’m just happy that we did this record together. It was really a great feeling of accomplishment. And it was very cathartic and it’s a good rock record, which I needed to do, just a focused hard-driving record. So we’re going to do this big tour and we’re just going to take off where we left off before, which really opened the floodgates for opportunities. We’re just going to take it as it comes, but yeah, I feel very strongly about the band.

Billboard, April 12, 2012

Yeah, right now it totally does [look like this is my solo band]. I don’t see any reason why anything would change. All these guys are great.

Classic Rock, May 21, 2012

I’m a band guy. Everything I touch I turn into a fucking band. I still have my name on the marquee and everything, but I’m just not a dictator, I don’t want to rule anything. I like to hear what other people’s ideas are and so on and so forth. But the guys, like Brent and Todd, aren’t looking for any kind of glorified credit other than what it is that they do. Some people are stumbling over themselves trying to write even though they’re not inspired to do anything, but just to get their thing in there, which I deal with a lot in other situations. So I just write music, Myles writes his lyrics and his melodies, and he helps me get all that together with the music. And if anybody has any input on anything, it’s open season.

Rolling Stone, February 15, 2012

TALKING ABOUT THE MUSIC AND RECORDING

Describing the music:

This one's definitely a very focused. Very hard. Some of it's very heavy. It's got sort of a more unified sound to it, especially with one vocal all throughout.

MusicRadar/Blabbermouth, September 16, 2011

And why this record would be different than the previous:

It’s very different from the last one. There’s a lot of freedom on this record; it’s very diverse, but it’s definitely the sound of one band with a lot of different ideas. This is probably the most ‘live’ recorded album I’ve ever done, too. The way I like to do records is rehearse, rehearse, rehearse and then go in and get to know the song like the back of your hand and then go in and bang it out. That’s how we’re doing it.

Billboard, November 4, 2011

In late November, three songs had been recorded with 12 to go [Blabbermouth, November 21, 2011].

Talking about how he had written for the record:

I only write when I'm totally by myself. I don't like to play or share ideas around other people, unless it's to do with Myles or Todd directly. I don't sit around and strum while everyone's doing their thing —I'm insecure that way! I've really got used to playing by myself on this record, because Myles is in and out, and I'm not using [rhythm guitarist] Bobby Schneck, who toured on the last record. So Ill pick up a guitar in my hotel, or in the dressing room, and the way we're doing it is that I write the music, then send it to Myles, and he writes to it, and then we get together and work on it. So we have a lot of material [that's] accumulated over the last year.

Total Guitar, January 2012

In early February 2012, the release date would be announced as May 22 [Press release, February 6, 2012.

The record, Apocalyptic Love, was recorded analog:

I did the last record on analog as well. I’m a firm believer that tape just sounds better for recording a rock ‘n’ roll band -- for drums and recording amps and so on -- it’s a lot warmer. And ultimately if you can put it on vinyl, it’s still the best listening experience. So I’ve done enough digital recording to know what I like better for sure. They don’t produce tape like they used to, if you can find tape, to me it’s an optimum way of recording. [...] It’s rare, they don’t make tape like they used to, hardly at all. We have a stockpile of tape at the studio and that’s what we used.

Loudwire, March 27, 2012

Talking about the record and how it was recorded live:

I mean it’s a pretty simple, straight ahead rock record. It’s pretty indicative of what I do. I can’t really say anything about particular styles outside of what people might be familiar with coming from me. The biggest difference is because we recorded the album live, it’s very spontaneous.

Loudwire, March 27, 2012

It is very live. That was the intention. I mean, I've always tried to be as close to live as possible. I don't think I've ever been involved in a record that I was responsible or part responsible for that didn't have live bass and drums. And sometimes rhythm guitar. The issue with me is that I don't like wearing headphones. So whenever I play with a band during basic tracks I would always go and redo the guitars in the control room where it sounds bigger and natural. So we finally managed to figure out a way to do the guitars live on this record where I could play in the room with the guys in the band. Kind of like a room within the room where I could listen to monitors in there and not have to wear headphones and still be able to see the guys. This is the first record I've done where all the guitars are live. So that's pretty cool. It's definitely been a positive all-round experience. In this configuration it's been really exciting and a good extension for what we've been doing the last year and a half anyway.

BraveWords, March 31, 2012

Apocalyptic Love
May 22, 2012

Talking about the title of the album:

The title’s a tongue-in-cheek joke about what you’d want to be doing on the eve of the apocalypse, so it’s basically ‘sex before the end of humanity'. All things considered, I would imagine that you’d want to get one last one in before it all came down.

Daily Beast, May 25, 2012

Talking about the artwork:

It started off with the sexual innuendo more in your face and I'm sure that will come out in another version. And because I realized I was cutting my nose off to spite my face, to force that as the cover, because there are very few records as it is and you have to take advantage of the ones you do have. So I was like 'ok'. I went to the artist (Frank Maddox) and told him the basic idea and what I wanted to have on it and we went through this long back and forth development process to get it right. But it came out cool. So the other one, the more lewd idea will come out in due time. I take music seriously, but I don't take myself seriously.

BraveWords, March 31, 2012

TOURING THE ALBUM

Right now we're starting off with radio shows in the states and then we'll do as much of Europe as possible. We'll also tour in Asia and Australia, and try to hit South Africa this year as well as India and a couple other spots. Trying to just broaden our horizons a bit.

Press release, February 6, 2012

[...] we’ll start touring in May, same as I did last time, trying to play in as many places – especially places I haven’t played – as possible. It’s great because I’m sort of in control of that. Agents and promoters and that stuff very much dictate where you can and can’t play, but being in a band, collectively you have to agree that you all want to go here or there, so a lot of places get missed. But in this situation, all the guys love wherever. So if we can play there, and there’s an audience, then we should go. There’s a lot of places that get overlooked all the time, so we’re trying to sort of get that all together and hit as many places as we can. I’ve never been to South Africa. I’ve never played in South Africa, I’ve never played in India, you know? There’s a lot of different cities in Europe where I haven’t been or where I haven’t been in a really long time. So we want to just hit some of these not necessarily obscure, but places that aren’t on the beaten path.

Classic Rock, May 21, 2012

While playing Sturgis on August 10, Gilby joined the band for 'Paradise City' [Blabbermouth, August 13, 2012].

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:45 am

MAY 23-29, 2012

THE EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR CONTINUES

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Glasgow and I’m looking forward to meeting up with Scottish fans. It will be different from the shows we have performed before because I know those venues.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

DJ would also talk about how his first three years in Guns N' Roses had been:

It’s been surreal; it’s a dream come true. I would have never believed anyone when I was a kid that one day I would grow up to be the lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses. It’s just surreal and I’m honoured to part of it. I’m super appreciative of the fans out there who have supported it.

Espy Rock, May 17, 2012

The next shows were at the Metro Arena in Newcastle, England on May 23 and the SECC Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland on May 25.

For the show in Glasgow, the band would hire 20 models from The Sonia Scott Agency to stand at the front row and, in the words of a source, "wow the band while they’re performing" [Daily Record, May 21, 2012]. The models would also be invited to join the band backstage for drinks [Daily Record, May 21, 2012]. When news of this came out, Bumblefoot would tweet and say "I have nothing to do with this" [Twitter, May 21, 2012].

DJ flying high at the SECC Glasgow
May 25, 2012

Axlat the SECC Glasgow
May 25, 2012

The next stops at the tour was at the LG Arena in Birmingham, England on May 26 and at the Manchester Arena, Manchester, England on May 29.

Tommy at the LG Arena
May 26, 2012

Axl at the LG Arena
May 26, 2012

Dizzy at the Manchester Arena
May 29, 2012

Review of the LG Arena show in the London Times:

The band that has drummed up more trade for late-night taxi hire firms than any other act in the history of rock’n’roll was not going to break the habit of a lifetime and make a punctual start. But they still managed to catch everyone on the hop, including the sound engineer, when they suddenly began their three-hour show at 10.20pm — late, but not as late as they have been.

The next surprise was how alert and switched-on they sounded. There was a genuine sense of excitement in the air as various spindly guitarists jumped off platforms and scuttled around the stage while fireworks exploded and jets of flame erupted from the floor. Prancing through this carefully choreographed mayhem, like a Village People version of Robert Duvall enjoying the smell of napalm in the morning, came the 50-year-old Axl Rose, sporting a pair of shredded blue jeans, aviator shades and a comically droopy moustache.

Rose is the sole remaining member of the classic GN’R line-up and has been for a while. He gracelessly declined a recent invitation to appear with his former bandmates for the group’s induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His current gang of hired hands looked like a job lot of tattooed rockers straight from central casting, but they knew how to play their instruments. And with Rose in the mood to put on a show for once, this was a reminder of just what a gilt-edged repertoire he still has at his disposal.

For the first hour or so, they blasted through a string of heritage rock tunes for which the description “kick-ass” might have been invented: Welcome to the Jungle, It’s So Easy, Mr Brownstone and a huge rendition of the self-pitying power ballad Sorry. Rose’s voice has grown scraggier with age, and he sounded at times as though he were turning into Brian Johnson of AC/DC, not least when they played a blustery cover of Whole Lotta Rosie.

But it was still an overlong and bloated show with too much grandstanding and other irrelevant contributions such as a casually tossed off version of Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2). And although a considerable improvement on previous lacklustre performances, they are still docked a star for leaving 10,000 or so long-suffering fans tramping through a glorified car park off the M42 at 1.20 in the morning.

London Times, May 29, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:45 am

MAY 31 AND JUNE 1, 2012

THE O2 ARENA WITH IZZY; SLASH T-SHIRTS BANNED?

THE RETURN OF IZZY

The band then returned to the O2 Arena in London, England for for two shows on May 31 and June 1. For these shows, Izzy would join the band on stage for the songs 14 Years, You Could Be Mine, Dead Flowers, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Nightrain and Paradise City.

Izzy and Axl
May 31 or June 1, 2012

Izzy
May 31 or June 1, 2012

Alan Niven would later be asked if he knew that Izzy would guest with Guns N' Roses:

It didn't. I wasn't aware he was going to do it. Our conversation is, maybe we'll use the words "random and unscheduled". [...] But, you know, Izzy had gone to Israel only months after he left the band. If I try and remember clearly I think Gilby had had an accident with his hand and he went out there to basically, you know, fill in and save the day, you know. So the fact that Izzy would occasionally play with Axl is not completely earth-shattering, it happens every now and then.

Appetite for Distortion, May 31, 2018

Before the June 1 show, Tommy would announce on Twitter that he would be busking in the London streets with all proceeds going to the Timkatec project in Haiti [Twitter/Blabbermouth, June 2, 2012]. See a separate chapter for more details on Tommy's charity Timkatec project.

It was awesome. I kind of threw it out there to see who would bite. I had never done that before, but always had this romantic notion of what it would be like to go busking, so I fulfilled that one. And we raised 317 pounds, just for standing on a street corner singing. That’s not bad.

Jerusalem Post, June 23, 2012

SHOWING THE CONCERT AT MOVIE THEATHERS ACROSS EUROPE

A recording of the May 31 show would be planned to be shown at big-screen theaters in Europe in October:

UCI Kinowelt, which is one of the largest multiplex chains in Germany, has announced the big-screen premiere of Guns N' Roses' June 2012 performance at London, England's O2 Arena. The event is scheduled for October 29 at 8:00 p.m. at select theaters in Germany and will feature the grand finale of the band's U.K. tour in "stunning" HD quality and Surround Sound.

Blabbermouth, October 2, 2012

But the showings were postponed:

The big-screen premiere of Guns N' Roses' June 2012 performance at London, England's O2 Arena, which was scheduled for October 29 at select theaters in Europe, has been "postponed" by the band's management.

Blabbermouth, November 6, 2012

In December 2012, Bumblefoot would be asked if any DVDs were coming out from the Las Vegas residency the band had just finished::

Don't know. I mean, we had a video that were recorded from London in the end of May or early June and that never came out.

Dropping The Needle, December 3, 2012

Then in early 2014 Bumblefoot would again be asked about the forthcoming DVD:

I have no idea why anything is anything bizz-wise with GNR bizz.... lol [...] Don't know why it took this long to put out the london show, or if it's really coming out? [...] And I don't ask, lol.

Nightrain, October 1, 2012

SLASH T-SHIRTS BEING BANNED?

On June 1, NME would publish a story where they interviewed a fan at the O2 who claimed t-shirts with Slash had been banned at the May 31 show [NME, June 1, 2012]. In the wake of this article, fans at fan forums would discuss this with some saying it had not been the case at shows they have attended, while others claimed it had not at shows they attended. A possible explanation for this could be that the May 31 show at the O2 Arena had been filmed.

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:46 am

JUNE 4 AND 5, 2012

THE NETHERLANDS AND PARIS; AXL GETS ROBBED

After London the band travelled to Ahoy, Rotterdam in the Netherlands for a show on June 4.

Excerpt of review from LiveReviewer Magazine:

And then of course the wait has begun! But wait. What’s that 22.10 the lights go down and the intro kicks in accompanied with loud cheering from a decent fulled Ahoy. The first song Chinese Democracy kicks in with a great fountain of fireworks and there starts a 3 hour journey of pure Rock ‘N Roll . First of all compliments to the whole fucking band who showed they are not a bunch of hired hacks, but a team of excellent playing chaps. The 3 guitarist Ron Thal , Richard Fortus and the last man joining the band DJ Ashba run all over the place. They know their pose and know how to get a crowd gone wild. Chris Pitman is together with Dizzy Reed the master of the keys. Frank Ferrer is kicking the drums and Tommy Stinson keeps it all together with his amazing bass work.

And now to the man who’s supposed to be fat and has no voice left. FUCK THAT SHIT.

Rock ‘N Roll legend Axl Rose runs onstage in his vintage Rock ‘N Roll look and owns the whole Ahoy together with the band. The man runs, dance, makes jokes, talks to the audience. The version of This I Love, a hard song to sing, comes out so beautiful that the shivers runs down my spine. All the songs are on a high roll and the audience are going wild for it. At least I know I have to bang like a motherfucker screaming along with all the familiar lyrics.

Live Reviewer Magazine, June 5, 2012

Richard at the Ahoy
June, 2012

Tommy at the Ahoy
June, 2012

Axl and Izzy at the Ahoy
June, 2012

The next show took place at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, on June 5. At an after party after the show in Paris, a person snuck off with "three gold-and-diamond necklaces worth some $200,000" that belonged to Axl [Associated Press/AFP, June 6, 2012]. The person, a young model, was apprehended after she returned the jewelry to a police station [AFP, June 6, 2012]. She informed that she had attended a private event with only 100 people and "was not sure how she had come to leave with the jewellery" [AFP, June 6, 2012] and that she "that she drank too much and inadvertently put Rose's three gold-and-diamond necklaces in her handbag, realizing her mistake only after waking up at lunchtime" [RTL.fr, via Blabbermouth, June 6, 2012].

After the jewelry had been returned, Axl tweeted:

Got my things back (really just an excited fan) Thank you to the person for returning them n' big thanks 2 the Paris police

Twitter, June 7, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:46 am

2012

BUMLEFOOT AND ALEXA VETERE

In 2012, NYC rock artist Alexa Vetere would release her debut 8-song collection Breathe Again, with co-writer and producer, Bumblefoot.

Started back in '03, '04, she was the daughter of a friend of a friend. Her goal was to release an album, she had never sang, written a song or played guitar. It would be a challenge – and I like challenges. So we started on guitar lessons - she'd play until her fingertips were literally black. Vocal lessons, songwriting, demoing... my solo band backed her for recordings and live shows in NY & LA, all was going well. She got a nice guitar endorsement, we posted a song at iHeartRadio.... (the song ended up being #1 on the Rock charts with over 3.6 million plays) Then I started with GNR, she went to College, life happened. We always stayed in touch, and always knew there would be a time when we'd put life aside and release the music we made together. This year we did that. (Finally!) www.reverbnation.com/alexavetere

Metalkrant, May 6, 2012

I took it on as a challenge when it began. I was teaching her to sing, play, write, and from there she grew into her own. The music we released was from when we had begun in the mid-2000′s, it was her and the Bumble Band, haha – me & Dennis… we did some shows in NY & LA and then I got busy with GNR, she pursued her education, and now years later we wanted to share what we made all those years ago. Hopefully we can release more music in the future.

Live Reviewer, May 7, 2012

It was a collaboration of Bumblefoot & Alexa, that's what people should realize. We both wrote, we both played guitar, it was a collaboration. And, with Dennis on drums. If you hear a lot of me in the music, it's because I am in there, writing and playing.

Dutch Distortion, July 6, 2012

I produced and released another album this year also from a female artist, Alexa Vetere from NYC – not the typical producing story… started in 2003, daughter of a friend, her goal was to release an album, she had never sang, written a song or played guitar. We started with guitar lessons, she’d play until her fingertips were literally black. Vocal lessons, songwriting, my solo band backed her for recordings and live shows in NY & LA, she got a nice guitar endorsement, we posted a song online and it ended up being #1 on the iHeartRadio Rock chart with 3.6 million plays. Then I started touring with GNR, she went to College, life went on. We kept in touch and always knew we’d release the music at some point, this year we finally did Smile

( http://itunes.apple.com/album/breathe-again/id514980356 )

AxVault, August 9, 2012

Working with Alexa started back almost 10 years ago, she was the daughter of a friend of a friend. Her goal was to release an album, she had never sang, written a song or played guitar. It would be a challenge – and I like challenges. So we started on guitar lessons - she'd play until her fingertips were literally black. Gave her vocal lessons, songwriting techniques, started co-writing and demoing songs, my solo band backed her for recordings and live shows in NY & LA, all was going well. She got a guitar endorsement, we posted a song at iHeartRadio and the song ended up being #1 on the Rock charts with over 3.6 million plays. Then I started with GNR, she went to College, life happened. We always stayed in touch, and always planned to put life aside and release the music we made together. This year we finally did that. http://itunes.apple.com/album/breathe-again/id514980356

ChainREACTION, January 2013

Breathe Again
2012

Vetere would describe the album:

Breathe Again is a journey, a collective tale of some the most trying times that everyone goes through - death, love, confusion - that made me feel like I wouldn't get through it and represents the aftermath - that first breathe when you realize you will.

Press release, April 6, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:46 am

JUNE 8-JULY 20, 2012

THE EUROPEAN TOUR CONTINUES

The next show was at the Warsteiner HockyPark in Mönchengladbach, Germany, on June 8.

DJ at the Warsteiner HockyPark
June 8, 2012

Richard at the Warsteiner HockyPark
June 8, 2012

Frank at the Warsteiner HockyPark
June 8, 2012

Then followed six shows in France with the first two at Halle Tony Garnier in Lyon, France, on June 10 and Zenith Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France, June 11.

Axl at Zenith Strasbourg
June 11, 2012

Tommy at Zenith Strasbourg
June 11, 2012

Axl at Zenith Strasbourg
June 11, 2012

The band continued to Zenith de Toulouse in Toulouse, France, on June 14; Hellfest in Clisson, France, on June 16; Park & Suites in Montpelier, France on June 18; Zénith Toulon in Toulon, France, on June 18.

The band then travelled to Italy for a show at the Gods of Metal festival in Milan, Italy, on June 22. For this show Sebastian Bach would join the band to sing My Michelle.

Slash would play at Gods of Metal, too, together with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, and in his tweet about this Slash would pointedly not mention that he was on the bill with Guns N' Roses:

We've been added to Gods of Metal bill in Milan, Italy, June 23rd.
W/Motley Crüe & many more. Fn' killer! iiiI; )

Twitter, February 10, 2012

Then followed shows at Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium, on June 24; St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, on June 27; See-Rock 2012 in Graz, Austria, on June 29;Romexpo in Bucuresti, Romania, on July 1; and Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 3.

Advertisement for Guns N' Roses at Graspop Metal Meeting

Axl and Richard at St. Jakobshalle
June 27, 2012

Review of the show in Tel Aviv in Jerusalem Post:

Less than three months ago, Guns N’ Roses was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rightfully so. The band was indisputably one of the genre’s greats, pioneering a unique blend of hard, gritty, at times ugly rock riffs and floating guitar melodies.

That was a very different Guns N’ Roses.

The lingering question, of course, is whether or not the current lineup, which features just one of the original five members plus some hired help, is worthy of the GNR name.

After an inspired and passionate performance that lasted more than three hours, I can confidently answer in the affirmative.

Overweight, sporting a ridiculous mustache, and occasionally wearing a flamboyant white suit jacket, frontman Axl Rose still managed to deliver a wildly impressive performance.

His shrill, high-pitched voice has not deserted him over the years (though he now needs more time between songs to catch his breath), and he remains a loyal practitioner of his unique side-toside dance technique.

The set-list was fair. The band of course played a number of songs from their Chinese Democracy album, some of which at times felt monotonous and droning, but they made up for it by playing almost all of the classic hits, including “November Rain,” “Estranged,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Don’t Cry,” “Paradise City” and “Civil War.”

Also impressive was the list of cover songs, as the band played Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd, and hinted at The Who and Elton John.

Nearing the end of their generous set, the band played a special tune for the delighted Tel Aviv crowd: “Hatikvah.” Of all the Guns and Roses classics, I must say that I enjoyed this piece most of all, and I can tell my sentiment was shared by many in the audience, who sang along faithfully and loudly.

Jerusalem Post, July 4, 2012

Around this time, Bumblefoot would summarize the tour so far:

Seven weeks into the tour as I type this, and what a seven weeks! I've been seeing people I've known for the last 15 years from my own solo tours, been a bit of a 'coming home' in many ways.

Dutch Distortion, July 6, 2012

The tour continued with shows at Istanbul Rock Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 6; Sofia Rocks in Sofia, Bulgaria, on July 8; Stadion Miejski in Rybnik, Poland, on July 11; Topfest Plus Festival in Piestany, Slovakia, on July 13; Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, on July 15; Spaladium Arena in Split, Croatia, on July 17; and Costa de Fuego festival in Benicássim, Spain, on July 20.

Bumblefoot and Axl in at Istanbul Rock Festival
July 6, 2012

Axl at Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia
July 15, 2012

by **Soulmonster** Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:47 am

JULY 21 AND 22, 2012

THE EUROPEAN TOUR ENDS WITH GUEST APPEARENCES FROM IZZY

The next show at the tour was a private event at St. Tropez in France on July 21, allegedly for a Russian wedding party. Izzy joined the band and played on 11 out of the 18 songs in the set.

The final show took place at Iberostar on Mallorca, Spain, on July 22. Izzy again took the stage with the band for 14 Years, Used to Love Her, You Could Be Mine, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Nightrain, Dead Flowers, Patience and Paradise City.

DJ, Izzy, Bumblefoot and Richard
July 22, 2012

Richard and Izzy
July 22, 2021

Izzy and Axl
July 22, 2012

Izzy
July 22, 2012

About a month after the tour, Axl thanked the crowds, bands and crew:

1.) It's good 2 b bk!! Wanna thank the fans, band n' crew, the openers n' local crews 4 the great times in Europe n' Moscow!! C U in Vegas!!

Twitter, August 22, 2012

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