Chris Pittman interviewed by Daily Music Guide
Chris Pittman
Chris Pittman was interviewed by the Daily Music Guide. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
DMG sat down for a very special interview with Chris Pitman, Guns N' Roses percussionist, and one of the principal songwriters on new album Chinese Democracy. The album breaks a 14-year-long release drought for the band.
Was that middle American heritage what helped you share a bond with Guns N' Roses frontman (and Indiana native) Axl Rose?
Oh yeah, certainly. When we first met, he didn't know I was from Kansas City. And when I said it, we had something in common because we were from the mid-West. It was almost like we were long lost brothers because of that fact - we had that bond and that connection. And then, in both our cases, something happened and we both ended up out here in Los Angeles. It's a great melting pot for musicians, as I'm sure you know.
What do you think of the reaction and fan response to your new single 'Chinese Democracy'?
People are always asking us when our record is coming out, like all the time, and yesterday it was kind of a shock when it actually did come out. And suddenly it was 'hey, it's coming out, right now!' It's awesome. You know, Guns N' Roses is such a popular band, so it's an enormous response. And when you get so many people and you get jazzed up, you couldn't ask for anything more.
There's been a lot of talk about a Guns N' Roses collaboration between yourself and Dizzy Reed, on a track known as 'Silkworms'. It has been confirmed that this track will not make the final cut of Chinese Democracy. Why is this? Does the track have a future as a B-side or future release?
I hope so. That song in particular that you are talking about, 'Silkworms', it ended up being this incredible track that sounded like Guns N' Roses 10 or 15 years in the future. It was so far removed from our other songs that we had to put it in this other place. Concept-wise, it didn't fit with Chinese Democracy. We hope we will have other songs that match that kind of futuristic sound. It's a really exciting track because it morphs into this crazy sound, but it was out so much in the other direction that we have to let time catch up with it.
Queen's Brian May was involved with the album making process and played on some of the tracks. Did you work with him much and do you think his input will survive on the final cut?
That was one of the biggest joys of my life. He's the greatest guitarist in the world to me. To meet him and see what a sweet fellow he is was great. He came in and just played these solos that just ripped up everything we were doing - you would expect nothing else from him. That was quite a while ago now, that was around 2000, 2001. So I'm not really sure what ended up on the record or on this record that we might have done, but he is amazing.
Another Guns track, 'If The World', is featured in the film Body Of Lies. This is a track you co-wrote with Axl. Have you had a chance to see your song featured on the big screen?
I saw it last week, and it was a cool film. It was very dark. It was about a tough time in America, plus it's hard to watch movies about Iraq. I don't know if it was a little bit wrong but it was a very cool movie. That track was particularly good to work on - it was a track that was recorded quickly. We did it very quickly and it felt right to put it on that movie.
Why do you think Guns N' Roses are so popular after all this time?
It's snowballed with each generation. If you are committed to what you do and dedicated with no expense spared, then I think people like that. They like the energy of not knowing what's happening. As long as you come through on your end and put on great live shows and release albums, then people will support you.
SexTapes' debut album is released on iTunes on 11 November, Body Of Lies goes on general release on 21 November and Guns N' Roses' new album Chinese Democracy is released worldwide on 23 November
source: Daily Music Guide
The full interview can be found here
If The World review by IGN.com
Axl Rose
October 9, 2008 - It may have taken Axl Rose more than a decade (actually 15 years) to deliver a new Guns N' Roses album, but the light at the end of the tunnel is slowly beginning to shine a little brighter.
While Rose has been coy with the media and harsh with anybody who has leaked tracks online, he's been a shrewd man in terms of how he is officially setting up the proposed November 25th release of the long-awaitedChinese Democracy.
First was the high profile placement of "Shackler's Revenge" on Rock Band 2. Now comes the equally high profile placement of the next official track from the album, "If The World."
Tacked on at the end of Ridley Scott's new international thriller Body Of Lies, starring box office icons Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, the song is the first thing you hear once the end credits begin to roll.
In stark contrast to the abrasive electro shock and generic industrial glitz of "Shackler's", this track flips a complete 180 in the opposite direction.
Keeping in tune with the film's distinct Middle Eastern thematics, Axl and band have laid out a slinky, neo-soul number that is surprisingly good.
Drenched in electronic funk slither with Rose affecting a slightly effeminate vocal croon, the track would actually have made a stellar James Bond theme song.
At the core of the song is a syncopated drum and bass groove that is warm and supple. It's wrapped around a slow burn expanse of guitar and then topped off with Rose's sedated caterwaul cum croon.
As with the sinewy vibe of the music itself, the core lyrical refrain of " If the world would end today/then all the dreams we had would all just drift away, oh/You know there's nothing more to say/if the world would end and our love slipped away..." is a perfect fit to the film's thematics of global peril and dangerous love.
"Having only gotten one listen (and the song is relatively short, to boot), it's hard to really nail the song and how it will fit in with the rest of Chinese Democracy, but first impressions were strong, with the strange floating funk ambiance working surprisingly well for Mr. Rose. If the rest of the album is along these lines GN'R may be back in force, albeit on a uniquely different tact.
The only bummer is that those looking to score a copy of the track will have to settle for going to the movies instead. As of now there are no plans to include it on the official soundtrack"
source: IGN.com
GUNS N’ ROSES’ ‘Chinese Democracy’ Finally Has A Release Date
Axl Rose
According to Hits Daily Double, the companion web site of music industry tip sheet HITS, GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album,"Chinese Democracy" (Geffen/Interscope) finally has a release date. The CD will hit all Best Buy stores, where it is an exclusive, on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, November 23, giving it a full seven days on sale before entering the chart on December 2. Best Buy's sales week runs from Sunday through Saturday night.
GUNS manager Andy Gould reportedly told 900 Best Buy employees at "vendor convention" held by Best Buy last month in Dallas that a newGN'R song called "If The World" will play under the closing credits of "Body of Lies", the new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe due out on October 10. That news was confirmed online at film web sites whose representatives had attended a press screening of the flick. "If The World" will not appear on the film's soundtrack album.
"If The World" features the guitar work of Robin Finck andBuckethead, who have both since departed GUNS N' ROSES.
Another new GN'R song, called "Shackler's Revenge", appears on theRock Band 2 video game.
"Chinese Democracy" has been more than 13 years in the making, with every original member of GUNS N' ROSES except for frontman Axl Rose long since gone from the lineup.
source: blabbermouth.net
New GN’R song on the soundtrack of Body Of Lies
Body Of Lies
According to various sources, Del James included there will be a new GN'R song in the new movie Body Of Lies.
Rumor has it that If The World would be the chosen song for the soundtrack.
If The World was one of the 9 songs leaked to the internet back in June, which resulted in the arrest of 27-year-old Kevin Cogill.
