Ex-Guns N’ Roses Drummer Defends Axl Rose
Nearly 10 years after leaving Guns N' Rosesto become a founding member of A Perfect Circle, drummer Josh Freese is still involved in the maelstrom with Axl Rose. And, as Freese tells it, that's a good thing.
During an extensive Spinner Q&A, Rose said that Freese was one of the easiest drummers to work with -- and friendliest. When Spinner spoke to Freese, he took the time to return the compliment. "Everyone always baits me to give them a crazy Axl story," he admits. "I don't really have any. I spent two years in a studio with him [and] I never saw any mood swings. He was never not cool to me. So, I am always quick to defend the guy, even though I know his reality is different than mine. Then again, everyone has a different reality."
Freese auditioned for the Axl-centric Guns in 1997, albeit a little reluctantly. "I was pretty busy at the time, so I didn't really need the job necessarily," he says. "Then I decided that I should go down there because I wanted to meet him. At the time, no one had seen him for a couple of years and there were all these rumors. He had become the Howard Hughes of rock 'n' roll and I wanted to see it. I went down and I liked him. He wasn't the monster that was painted of him."
The two spent the next two years in the studio, working up new songs including the Rose/Freese composition that became the 'Chinese Democracy' title track. "That's a wacky feather in my cap," Freese says with a laugh. "After 10 years I was ready to see [the song] have eight different writers on it, but it didn't get convoluted and f---ed up."
In fact, for all the reports of Rose's endless tweaking, Freese says the song is very close to the original. "I think they made the intro longer," he says. "I'd have 'em cut right into the thing. It's a simple bonehead rock song with a big riff that I'm assuming will be perfect for 'Guitar Hero' one day."
‘Guns N’ Roses’ VMA’s 2002 – Behind the Scenes
A behind the scenes from the 2002 VMA's, where GN'R made a surprise appearance at very end of the show.
DJ Ashba’s Beautiful Creatures – Live on HBO
Here's a video featuring one of DJ Ashba's previous bands, the Beautiful Creatures.
Guns N’ Roses name DJ Ashba as band’s newest axeman
Guns N' Roses is proud to announce that guitarist n' songwriter Dj Ashba has joined the band for an upcoming tour.
Ashba, who officially replaces current NIN guitarist Robin Finck, is best known as co-founder of hard rock bands Sixx AM and Beautiful Creatures.
"Dj's a gifted, energetic guitarist that Guns N' Roses is proud to have on board!!" exclaims Axl Rose. "We're very excited to have the opportunity to work together. Guns' radar has silently been aware of Dj's presence for quite some time! He brings a fresh approach to our particular brand of mayhem expanding the tapestry of Guns N' Roses live. Once Dj's name was in the hat, the hat disappeared!!"
"It's an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of a band that I have always loved and respected," said Dj Ashba.
"I'm looking forward to working with Axl, who is not only one of the few great front men of our generation, but a true artist."
Dj Ashba co-wrote and co-produced Motley Crue's latest album "Saints of Los Angeles," which garnered a 2008 GRAMMY nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, as well as co-wrote and co-produced the Sixx AM album "Heroin Diaries."
Robin continues to be part of GN'R, by virtue of Guns' history and his involvement in Chinese Democracy.
Now, one step closer to the abyss, Ashba joins a band who's all time roster is nearly as long as it's founder Axl
Rose's rap sheet!
from:
Here Today Gone To Hell
http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com
Axl photo credit: George Chin
Dj photo credit: Bjorn Opsahl
Revamped “Behind The Music” To Feature Axl?
Lil Wayne, Kanye West Lined Up for Revamped 'Behind the Music'
Two renown rappers will up the ante for the return of VH1's "Behind the Music" that ceased from airing back in 2006. Executives for the music channel announced yesterday that the semi-documentary program will come back for a second round and it turns out that they have had a line of names that focus more on the current than the veterans.
In separate episodes, Lil Wayne and Kanye West will be featured in a bid to have more contemporary artists who are "on top of their game". Executive Vice President of the show, Rick Krim explained on the changing of the format, "We had to rethink a little bit and look at these current artists that are really big stars now, and maybe it isn't the classic rise and fall. ...And also, just because their big stars now doesn't mean they necessarily have a great 'Behind the Music' kind of story."
Signed for the first two episodes are Lil Wayne and Scott Weiland respectively. "From our research, (Lil Wayne) certainly does," Krim reasoned on the choice. "From the fact that when he was a kid he accidentally shot himself and almost died at age 12 while playing with a gun, he went through Katrina, he has (a possible stint in) jail pending. He has all the requisite drama in his life, which I think ultimately makes for the great story. The fact that he's one of the biggest stars out there makes it the right combination that we're looking for."
The show is slated to arrive in July although Lil Wayne's date is not yet revealed. VH1 also mentioned other names such as Britney Spears, Axl Rose, Julio Iglesias, M.I.A., Coldplay, Radiohead and Depeche Mode.
Guns N’ Roses bassist Tommy Stinson talks ‘Chinese Democracy’
Here are a couple of excerpts fromt the Bass Player magazine interview:
Bass Player: How did you get the gig with GUNS N' ROSES?
Stinson: My friend Josh Freese was playing drums with the band. I ran into him in a Hollywood rehearsal hall, and he mentioned that Duff[McKagan] had quit, then he asked if I knew any bass players. We just kind or laughed about it, because it sounded like a funny thing for me to go audition for GUNS N' ROSES. GUNS N' ROSES were never my thing when the band first came out — they just weren't my style. I thought at least it would be fun to play with Josh. But I learned five or six songs for the audition. We basically just jammed, and it was pretty fun. They seriously needed a bass player, so they asked if I'd do it.
Bass Player: Why do you think you were the right guy for this gig?
Stinson: The only thing I could grasp at is that I have the kind of punk-rock attack that Duff did. He wasn't really a metal guy — he had punk roots. On the other hand. he's got sensibilities that are different from mine. I couldn't place exactly what they are — they're unique to each one of us.
Bass Player: Do you and Duff know each other?
Stinson: I met him a few years back, and he seemed like a really sweet guy. He didn't seem to have any issues with me — I don't think he wanted the gig anymore.
Bass Player: Describe the writing process for "Chinese Democracy".
Stinson: I came in around '98 when the band was still writing the record. It was Paul Tobias and Robin Finck on guitar, Dizzy Reed andChris Pitman on keys, Josh on drums and me. Everybody was just slowly starting to bring in ideas. We were set up at Rumbo Recorders, a big studio out in the middle of nowhere. A funny thing — Captain & Tennilleown it. The whole thing looks like a boat. Anyway, we all just started hammering ideas out. Essentially it was eight guys collaborating. To be thrown into that kind of environment — eight guys from very different walks of life — was very crazy, I'd never worked in that way, but it was cool. There were guys who'd never ever made a record putting out their ideas. At first, those of us who'd actually made records thought their ideas sucked, but there were also some good ones.
Bass Player: How did you work out your ideas in a civil way?
Stinson: We each had to give reasons for liking or disliking something — you couldn't just be bull-headed. We had to function as a democracy or we'd end up hating each other. Collaborating was good for that. I think every one of us learned a lot from it.
Bass Player: "Street of Dreams" stands out for having a lot of cool, counter melodic bass work.
Stinson: That's definitely one of the places where I tried to play melodically. Axl (Rose) had the majority of that song written, and I brought in the bridge bass line and progression.
Bass Player: It has a few licks that seem to reference Duff's playing. Was that intentional?
Stinson: When I started hammering out those GUNS N' ROSES songs, I started to really dig into what Duff was doing — I really liked the stuff he played. I'd be lying if I said his playing didn't seep into my subconscious — like the way he uses grace notes. And I wouldn't be afraid to say I stole some of his stuff.
Bass Player: Josh Freese left GUNS N' ROSES in 2000, and was replaced by Brain Mantia. What did that mean for the tracks you recorded with Josh?
Stinson: I had to redo them. I probably ended up completely re-recording each part five or six times over the years. It was tough. What really happened was the record company stood back and left Axl to his own devices. Axl had all these ideas, and he needed somebody to help interpret what he wanted. He had to basically produce himself, and that's not what he went into this wanting to do. There are a lot of reasons the album took so long to make, but I think the record company really dropped the ball on this one.
Bass Player: What do you see as the root cause for that?
Stinson: I think everything changed when Geffen merged withInterscope. When that happened, Axl was told that [A&R executive]Jimmy Iovine would play more of a role in making the album happen. What Jimmy did instead was throw other people into the mix who weren't very capable.
Bass Player: What happened when producer Roy Thomas Baker was brought in?
Stinson: He wanted to re-record everything, because he felt he could get better tones. In my opinion, he wasted many years and many millions of dollars trying to get us better sounds that we could have addressed in the mixing stage. I'm not a proponent of his style of producing. I think Iovineput Roy Thomas Baker in the producer seat because he didn't think the raw sounds were good enough. Then Roy came in and would try everyMarshall guitar amp in a five-state area to find just the right guitar tone. And he wanted to do that for every single part on the album.
source: blabbermouth.net
Guns N’ Roses – My Michelle live @ Donnington 2006 feat. Sebastian Bach
Guns N' Roses playing My Michelle live at the Donnington 2006 featuring Sebastian Bach
Guns N’ Roses – Better live @ KROQ Inland Invasion
Guns N' Roses performing Better live @ KROQ Inland Invasion in 2006
Axl Rose and Michael Monroe – Death, Jail or Rock and Roll
Axl Rose guest appearing on Michael Monroe's music video in 1989. Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy reformed Hanoi Rocks in 2002. As you can hear, the video doesn't have audio track from the actual live show, instead you can find the whole song with Axl elsewhere as someone posted it on Youtube.
