2013.03.19 - Time Out Abu Dhabi - Dizzy Reed On Axl Rose, Rumours And Playing In Abu Dhabi

Guns N’ Roses in Abu Dhabi

Metal band’s Dizzy Reed on Axl Rose, rumours and playing in Abu Dhabi

by Mark Spence

When Guns N’ Roses’ seminal album, Appetite For Destruction, was first released in 1987 it heralded a new dawn for rock ’n’ roll both in terms of bad behaviour and classic songs. Following in the footsteps of many legendary acts that came before them it wasn’t long before the band’s infamous excess helped disrupt what seemingly little harmony there was between its members, eventually resulting in all of the original line-up departing over the years except for lead singer Axl Rose. Here, Dizzy Reed tells us all about what life in the GN’R camp is like at the moment.

What kind of show can we expect in Abu Dhabi this time around? Will it be an all-out big production show or will it be a bit more stripped down?

It’s going to be fun and pretty much a straight up killer rock ’n’ roll show.

Who comes up with the set list? There are so many classic songs to try and fit in so do you ever have arguments about what you want to play?

I’ve been in Guns N’ Roses for a really long time and we’ve never actually used a set list to be honest! Don’t get me wrong, there’s a template and a basic guide that we go off but as long as everybody is together and prepared then it’s cool. I think it keeps things flowing better that way, especially for the fans because we don’t want them to see the same show twice. That’s really important to us.

The perception of the band for some people is that it’s not really Guns N’ Roses anymore and it’s all about Axl. Isn’t that a bit unfair on someone like yourself who has been around, one way or another, from the start?

There are a couple things about this. To some people Guns N’ Roses may be all about Axl and to some people maybe not. To some people it may be all about some of the guys that used to be in the band that aren’t here anymore so they won’t like what we’re doing now. But what can I do about that? Nothing. The people that aren’t in the band now aren’t here because they quit or whatever. Personally I think we’re a great band that’s been put together over time and the line-up we have now is probably the best we’ve ever had and at the end of the day to the people that say, ‘It’s not Guns N’ Roses, it’s some other band,’ I would say, ‘Well, this is Guns N’ Roses and when we play our songs, be they old or new, and Axl sings them it sounds like Guns N’ Roses.’ I’m sorry, that’s just how I feel.

Doesn’t that make it all about Axl though?

Maybe, I don’t know. But if you ask him he’ll tell you this is a great band too. I think it’s a band and it’s always going to be a band.

Would you tell Axl if he had a bad show?

I’ve heard Axl say himself he’s had a bad show when he hasn’t and I think he’s had a great show. Likewise there’ll be times when I think I’ve had a bad show and the guys will tell me I didn’t. I’ve said before there’s been times when some of us feel the show has been horrible but others won’t feel that at all and vice versa so if you have enough people in the band you’re always going to have a good show! That’s what I think anyway!

Are the original line-up ever likely to get back together?
Izzy and Duff have got up and done a few things with us but I don’t see the original band ever getting back together.

What’s the weirdest rumour you’ve heard about yourself?

There were some rumours going around that the reason I started playing piano was because I was bullied in school as a kid! Now, anyone that knows me or grew up with me knows how ridiculous that is. The funny thing is that rumour started somewhere in our camp because it was in our tour programme! Rock ’n’ roll wouldn’t be rock ’n’ roll without some crazy rumours especially these days with social media and so on. Hey, let’s start a rumour now. Tell everybody Guns N’ Roses are putting out a rock ’n’ roll cookbook. Actually, that’s not a bad idea.

What’s it like to wake up in the morning and think, ‘I’m in Guns N’ Roses’?

In the beginning I used to wake up and think about how cool it was but you can’t allow yourself to think about it that way because you have to stay focussed to move forward. I tell you what, though, when things are tough and if I’m feeling down or things aren’t going my way I remind myself how lucky I am to be doing this for a living and to be a part of this great band for so long and do all these amazing things. That’s what keeps me going. I’ve been very lucky and I’ll keep doing this for as long as I can.

You guys are all a bit older these days. Do you still party hard or do you prefer to get to bed early with a nice cup of tea?

The nights of coming home after a show and just going to bed are a little more frequent than they used to be but we still like to have fun. We still like to party. This is rock ’n’ roll at the end of the day. Basically we let our bodies tell us what we can and can’t do. We still like to have a good time. We’re not total nincompoops just yet!

You’ve been a part of the Guns N’ Roses set-up one way or another since pretty much the very beginning. Do you ever get time to think back to the heady days of Sunset Strip and that whole rock and metal scene in the ’80s and realise how far you’ve come?

The main thing I think about from back then is that I survived and a lot of people didn’t. There were literally thousands of bands from all over the world that felt like they had to be in LA at that time to get a record deal and make it. So many of them would just come and go but I was always determined to survive and stick it out no matter what. It was do or die for me. It’s so strange now if you go to Sunset Strip because it’s a ghost town. It’s not like it was. It’s still fun to play up there and I still run into some of the guys from back in the day and we reminisce but not that much.

Do you think you’ll ever get to the stage where you don’t play the likes of ‘Sweet Child’ and ‘Paradise City’ because you’ll have such a big catalogue of other material that you’d rather play?

Songs like ‘Sweet Child’ and ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ and so on are powerful, iconic songs that it would be really tough to get through a show and not play them. I don’t know if there’s enough time for us to build up a back catalogue as big as say the Stones for example. Although I couldn’t name you a Stones song from the last 20 years… It’d be pretty interesting to see what would happen if we didn’t play one of those songs actually. I imagine there’d be a riot.

What’s been the proudest moment in your Guns N’ Roses career so far and what do you still want to achieve?

Every night when we get through a show is one more proud moment for me. To get another one under belt and to see people enjoy themselves and make them happy for two, three or four hours and help them forget about their troubles. It’s not easy to live in today’s world so if we can make things easier for a little bit that makes me pretty proud.

Guns N’ Roses play the Du Arena, Yas Island on Thursday March 28. Tickets on sale now at www.thinkflash.ae or by calling 800 FLASH (35274).

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