2024.06.22 - Shout It Out Loudcast - Interview with Tracii Guns

Excerpts from BraveWords:
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Guesting on the the Shout It Out Loudcast, L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns discusses KISS, Ted Nugent, Led Zeppelin, social media in today's age, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Guns N' Rose, and much more.

On the rise of Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses

Tracii: "It's interesting being able to watch Axl from afar all these years. It's been over 30 years since we were in a band together, and he just keeps getting better than me. I mean, everybody has weird performances sometimes, but he's amazing. Man, he's amazing. He's not 25 years old."

"When I look at Guns N' Roses post-me, they're just a great classic rock band. That's always been my opinion. The songs, and then there's Axl, right? You kind of have the Aerosmith setup, and then you have Axl. The singer's always going to sell the band. You could have the best band in the world, but without the guy up front, the currency isn't very high. And so, the way Axl thinks, he doesn't care so much about what he's singing too, because he's going to bring it. If he's singing electronic music, rock 'n' roll, or if he's singing in church, he's going to bring it."

Tracii Guns was a founding member of Guns N' Roses, but left only two months after the band was formed. He was replaced by Slash.

https://bravewords.com/news/tracii-guns-in-praise-of-guns-n-roses-frontman-axl-rose-he-just-keeps-getting-better-he-s-amazing

More excerpts from Ultimate Guitar:
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Tracii Guns reflected on the first time he heard Axl Rose sing, and suggested that the whole process of creating "Chinese Democracy" is more interesting than the end result.

Although he left the picture far too early to ride through the Guns N' Roses' ascent to worldwide glory, Tracii Guns is, after all, one half of the reason we even have a Guns N' Roses to speak of. After Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns and Izzy Stradlin of Hollywood Rose decided to join forces, Axl Rose's singing blew the guitarist away the moment he touched the microphone, Tracii recalls during a recent interview on the "Shout It Out Loudcast". Looking back on the formation of GN'R, he said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

"We were all friends. Izzy kept telling me, 'Oh, my friend...' He didn't call him Axl, but he goes, 'Wait 'till you hear this guy sing!' I'd be like, 'Yeah, whatever,' because talk is cheap, right? This guy gets on the microphone. He [goes], 'Test 1-2-3...' and it was like fucking Janis Joplin singing the fucking phone book! 'Hey, man, wow! I mean, we're friends already! I didn't know you could do that!' He goes, 'What do you mean?' I go, 'What do I mean? God damn!'"

Tracii added:

"But it's interesting being able to watch [Axl] from afar all these years. It's been over 30 years since we were in a band together, and he just keeps getting better than me. I mean, everybody has weird performances sometimes, but he's amazing. Man, he's amazing. He's not 25 years old."

Even though someone in his place might have been bitter for missing out on things to come, that's not the way Tracii feels. If anything, he's got nothing but high praise for what would become known as GN'R's classic lineup, and especially Axl Rose:

"It's interesting because, when I look at Guns N' Roses post-me, they're just a great classic rock band. That's always been my opinion. The songs, and then there's Axl, right? You kind of have the Aerosmith setup, and then you have Axl. The singer's always going to sell the band. You could have the best band in the world, but without the guy up front, the currency isn't very high."

"And so, the way Axl thinks, he doesn't care so much about what he's singing too, because he's going to bring it, right? If he's singing [to] electronic music, rock 'n' roll, or if he's singing in church, he's going to bring it."

The guitarist also praised Axl's efforts on the equally legendary and notorious "Chinese Democracy" record, arguing that the story behind it is more interesting than the album itself:

"I really love the whole process of 'Chinese Democracy' more than the album. The process was brilliant because, you have this kind of Howard Hughes guy, spending Geffen's dough and experimenting. Axl was really learning how to play guitar during those times as well... So, to me, that was like a great privilege for him to go through this creative process for years, and satisfy all his itches."

He added:

"None of us musicians that are any good are mentally stable. You don't become an extraordinary person in any way by being together, right? So with him, it's so great because he did that. He went out there, he toured it. He made a lot of other guys famous because he picked really good guys who could stand on their own two feet, which is very difficult... Buckethead, Bumblefoot, DJ Ashba — he brought all these people into the limelight, and, at that point, it's up to them whether they sink or swim, because they had the best frontman they're ever going to have."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/tracii_guns_recalls_first_impression_of_axl_rose_says_process_behind_chinese_democracy_is_more_interesting_than_the_album_itself.html