2016.09.04 - Globo TV - Interviews with the Lebeis family

Translation by gabmmor at mygnrforum

POLIANA ABRITTA: Rock's most impossible reunion is finally happening! After 23 years apart and many fights, Guns N' Roses is back and on its way to Brazil.

TADEU SCHMIDT: "Fantástico" went to Orlando, in the United States, to keep up with this comeback, talk to the band members and the Brazilian family that takes care of every detail of vocalist Axl Rose's life.

ÁLVARO PEREIRA JÚNIOR: (Voiceover) You know this one. This one too. They're Guns N' Roses anthems. But what about these people here, do you know them? Neither do we. It was an accidental encounter. In the backstage of Axl Rose's band, Portuguese is spoken a lot. (/Voiceover)

And here we have a mother and her children, who will explain to us what's this connection of Axl with Brazil.

What is your role in Axl's life?

BETA LEBEIS: Mother. (laughs) Mom.

APJ: (Voiceover) Santos' Beta Lebeis treats the singer like a son. (/Voiceover)

BL: I always wanted to give him what I give my family.

APJ: (Voiceover) Beta moved from Santos to the United States in the early 1990s. In California, she became nanny for model Stephanie Seymour's little son. Soon after, Stephanie started dating Axl. When they broke up, he said "leave the nanny with me". And that has been... (/Voiceover)

Twenty six years?

BL: Almost 26, yeah.

APJ: (Voiceover) At 2001's Rock In Rio, Axl paid tribute to Beta.

Today, Axl's assistant is Beta's daughter, Vanessa. (/Voiceover)

VANESSA LEBEIS: I'm the one who prepares him for... for the show.

APJ: (Voiceover) And son Fernando, among many others from Santos on the team, has the highest position. (/Voiceover)

FERNANDO LEBEIS: Today I'm the manager, but the success of it is really the family. And as I was saying, the trust, right? Axl's confidence in us, to do what we have to do to make the show.

APJ: (Voiceover) And to make the show there's one fundamental thing: the band needs to show up. It's just that they're so unpredictable, that you never know. Are they really coming to our talk? (/Voiceover)

The great moment of the interview with Guns N' Roses has come. Now who's coming? Is Axl coming alone? Is Axl coming with the other two? Slash is uncertain if he shows up or not ... Anyway, that's how it is. Even to decide which room was going to be used there were hours of discussion. We will be planted waiting for the guys to arrive.

(Voiceover) It was about four hours of suspense, until Axl and Duff arrived. (/Voiceover)

Axl, nobody believed in this comeback. What was the force that brought you together?

AXL ROSE: (Voiceover dubbing) It started in 2014, when the possibility of us playing at the Coachella festival happened. I authorized my personnel to begin negotiations. I asked Fernando to get me Slash's phone number. Then Fernando told mom and she said "if this is a joke, I'm gonna kill you". (/Voiceover dubbing)

APJ: (Voiceover) And speaking of the Brazilians who work for him, Axl jokes... (/Voiceover)

AR: (Voiceover dubbing) In fact, I have been enslaved for many years by a Brazilian family, who torture me and force me to do things. (/Voiceover dubbing)

APJ: Like... reunite Guns N' Roses?

AR: (Voiceover dubbing) This! They whip me. (/Voiceover dubbing)

APJ: (Voiceover) And it really seemed like only by the crack of the whip for the band to go back to the original lineup. The last concert with all of them together had been in Buenos Aires, in July 1993. Then, a thousand troubles. Axl even said "Slash is a cancer that needs to be removed". The guitarist hit back: "if he called me, we would have to wash the dirty linen". And didn't Axl call? (/Voiceover)

AR: (Voiceover dubbing) But Slash was touring, so it took a while for us to meet. It only happened in October last year, when he went home for dinner. Then Duff joined in, and we started rehearsing. (/Voiceover dubbing)

DUFF MCKAGAN: (Voiceover dubbing) We didn't plan anything; we were just thinking about how cool it was to play together again. (/Voiceover dubbing)

APJ: Any chance of also returning the other two from the original lineup, Izzy on guitar and Steven on drums?

AR: (Voiceover dubbing) Steven even played a few times on this tour, but he's not 100%, he just had a back surgery. And Izzy... I don't even know what to say. We settle on something and he does another... With Izzy, you can never predict anything. (/Voiceover dubbing)

APJ: (Voiceover) Since it appeared in '85, Guns has written one of rock's most crazy journeys. Duff drank so much that one day his pancreas exploded, and Slash had more than one cardiac arrest from doing too much drug.

But now they're wholesome, and critics are unanimous: the band is rocking.

In November, there are six concerts in Brazil. (/Voiceover)

Any message for the people?

AR: (Voiceover dubbing) Message? We're coming! (/Voiceover dubbing)

DM: (Voiceover dubbing) We're coming! (/Voiceover dubbing)

AR: (Voiceover dubbing) We're on our way! (/Voiceover dubbing)

APJ: (Voiceover) So that's it, it seemed impossible but it happened: Guns N' Roses is back! (/Voiceover)