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Re: New Interview - Brain Mantia talks Guns N' Roses
This is a fantastic interview. Thanks for posting it.
I personally think it eventually comes down to image and presentation. Regardless of what Axl 'wants', Frank is the "right" drummer for Guns, and i've felt that way since I saw him live in 2006. Now remember, when I saw him live in 2006, other than his short European stint in the summer of that year with the band, the shows I saw were only #2 & #3 of Frank 'officially' taking over the drums.
Now granted I hadn't seen Brain live, but I had been listening to boots for up to five years at that point of Brain, as well as his work with Bucket. Brain is a better technical drummer, but no more than Matt. It amazed me that Axl shit on Matt the way he did, because both he and Brain basically come from the same school -- John Bonham. Brain actually said in an interview once that Axl asked him to play a certain track like "John Bonham" would do it.
The problem I have is -- that's NOT Guns N' Roses. Maybe the Use Your Illusion-era, but in truth for as much as I love that 1991 band, i've compared the sounds for years and the Steven/Frank school of rhythmic hard rock is what Guns N' Roses IS, and should always BE. Izzy called it "groovy", and also said it was never the same after Steven left. And it wasn't honestly until Frank got brought on board.
Can he play the shit out of the drums on the same level as a Brain or Matt. No, not at all. But Frank is RIGHT for what Guns N' Roses always was. That sleazy little club hard rock band with a punk edge. I see them more as that again today, than I do that stadium band. To me the stadium band GN'R was that 1991-93 GN'R as well as that 2001-02 GN'R. Those acts require a Matt or a Brain. Imho.
But not this band. The band is back to being a nostalgia act trying to pay tribute to the AFD band. And for that Frank is the right choice. I still enjoy his drumming on Chinese Democracy (because it's a hard rock song at its core), as well as I prefer Frank's drumming on the AFD tracks. I do prefer Brain on YCBM, a drum-heavy UYI II track (Matt's-effect), and it's obvious that's what Brain is at his core.
But for Axl to say he wished Brain could play the more complex stuff on Chinese... from remixes the Mogg's, I just don't hear it. Maybe Axl is referring to stuff from CD II. I dunno.
For now I stand by my opinion that i've held, I love Brain and I love him with Bucket, but Frank "Thunderchucker" Ferrer is the best drummer GN'R has had since Popcorn.
- Me_Wise_Magic
- Rep: 70
Re: New Interview - Brain Mantia talks Guns N' Roses
This is a fantastic interview. Thanks for posting it.
I personally think it eventually comes down to image and presentation. Regardless of what Axl 'wants', Frank is the "right" drummer for Guns, and i've felt that way since I saw him live in 2006. Now remember, when I saw him live in 2006, other than his short European stint in the summer of that year with the band, the shows I saw were only #2 & #3 of Frank 'officially' taking over the drums.
Now granted I hadn't seen Brain live, but I had been listening to boots for up to five years at that point of Brain, as well as his work with Bucket. Brain is a better technical drummer, but no more than Matt. It amazed me that Axl shit on Matt the way he did, because both he and Brain basically come from the same school -- John Bonham. Brain actually said in an interview once that Axl asked him to play a certain track like "John Bonham" would do it.
The problem I have is -- that's NOT Guns N' Roses. Maybe the Use Your Illusion-era, but in truth for as much as I love that 1991 band, i've compared the sounds for years and the Steven/Frank school of rhythmic hard rock is what Guns N' Roses IS, and should always BE. Izzy called it "groovy", and also said it was never the same after Steven left. And it wasn't honestly until Frank got brought on board.
Can he play the shit out of the drums on the same level as a Brain or Matt. No, not at all. But Frank is RIGHT for what Guns N' Roses always was. That sleazy little club hard rock band with a punk edge. I see them more as that again today, than I do that stadium band. To me the stadium band GN'R was that 1991-93 GN'R as well as that 2001-02 GN'R. Those acts require a Matt or a Brain. Imho.
But not this band. The band is back to being a nostalgia act trying to pay tribute to the AFD band. And for that Frank is the right choice. I still enjoy his drumming on Chinese Democracy (because it's a hard rock song at its core), as well as I prefer Frank's drumming on the AFD tracks. I do prefer Brain on YCBM, a drum-heavy UYI II track (Matt's-effect), and it's obvious that's what Brain is at his core.
But for Axl to say he wished Brain could play the more complex stuff on Chinese... from remixes the Mogg's, I just don't hear it. Maybe Axl is referring to stuff from CD II. I dunno.
For now I stand by my opinion that i've held, I love Brain and I love him with Bucket, but Frank "Thunderchucker" Ferrer is the best drummer GN'R has had since Popcorn.
Damn straight!!
Re: New Interview - Brain Mantia talks Guns N' Roses
"We did the first show at Rock in Rio.
"You look to your left and there was the Foo Fighters, Oasis and Sting! We were headlining that day and everybody was anxious to see what we were going to do because Axl had put this motley group of people together"
Looking back at the situation, Axl did a pretty ballsy move to take his band to RIR3 and still put up a mostly solid show. His voice is a bit uneven and he's clearly working his way over it, but he generally delivers.
Still, you have Robin back in the lineup, while the drummer is different and there's a new guy with a bucket in his head. And you leave it to them to work out how to sound tight for those two months prior to your big gig.
We rehearsed for probably two or three months without Axl. Our first show’s Rock in Rio and I thought, ‘Wait, what’s it going to sound like with Axl? Where is Axl? Oh here’s his helicopter coming in.’ The first time I ever played a real show with him was in front of 250,000 people! I was thinking, ‘How’s this song supposed to start again?’ Because some he was supposed to cue but we never had a verbal conversation on whether he would or I!
When we did our first show in Vegas, Robin and Buckethead didn't know each other at all. You've got two lead guitar players trying to kill each other with their abilities. [...] I think they can be cordial to each other, that whole kind of thing, but when they're actually playing, it gets that kind of alpha male thing going, like 'Who's the real lead guitar player?'" (Axl, WRIF, 11/21/02)
On hindsight, it was ballsy in one way, sheepish on another. Axl practically threw it all up in the air to see if it comes down. Axl told Tom Zutaut that he shut down, album-wise, in the fall, when the album was designated to be "worked up" more, by recommendation of Bob Ezrin.
And he wasn't rehearsing with the band for the big show, so that explanation won't hold water. Had RIR3 went down like the more recent appearance, things could've gone very different.
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: New Interview - Brain Mantia talks Guns N' Roses
As far as I know, House of Blues was the first gig of that band. RIR3 came two weeks after.
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: New Interview - Brain Mantia talks Guns N' Roses
HOB was a warm-up, but technically you're right.
Just saying that Brain's story doesn't hold water. He did know how Axl would sound in Rio, cause they performed together 2 weeks earlier in Vegas. Axl's working ethic is another issue though.
