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Re: So.... What's Next?
Never say "no chance". Likely? No. Impossible? No.
Sure, there's always a CHANCE, as long as they're all still alive and active in the music business. That question will never go away. But it hasn't happened to this point, so I just don't see it happening after ONE magical evening in Cleveland. Let's see how THAT goes first.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: So.... What's Next?
Guys...a reunion is NOT happening and here is why:
I'd like to state very simply once again why I chose not to go on with Guns N' Roses so that no one feels the need to ask me this ever again when they see me on the street. Here it goes:
1. The constant disrespect for all involved by going late for no good reason night after night after night.
2. the legal manipulation that Axl forced on us, from demanding ownership of the name, to downgrading us contractually to hired hands
3. Loosing Izzy and Steven, who were such an integral part of the bands sound and personality...without them the band no longer had it's original chemistry.
So lets have a look:
Issue 1: Absolutely no change to this fact 17 years later. Sure it doesn't happen every night. But it still happens. Hell, even with stuff like interviews, ask Eddie Trunk. Lets not get into the fault, maybe it's justified, but the bottom line is it hasn't changed and it won't.
Issue 2: Modern GNR is even more Axl's band than it has ever been in the past, and I see nothing at all in the entire publicly known history of Axl's personality that would imply he would suddenly reverse control of the band and restore things to a situation where he'd be out of control, and frankly vulnerable to the others and drastically accountable for his actions and emotions and forced to do the whims of others.
Issue 3: Izzy doesn't want back in. He wouldn't even do VR. He doesn't want to be in a full time band. Hell. Got the impression he doesn't like comitting to any kind of schedule anymore, he likes to drive his bus around, travel the world, do his own thing. Maybe he'd play a one off show for some kind of kicks...but spending any extended period of time with the fixed structure of a tour, the pressures of this situation, and in the company of these people he nearly died with countless times...can't see any indication that he'd be remotely into doing that. Especially when it's obvious there's still bullshit going on.
So bottom line...all 3 of the reasons Slash left GNR as as fresh today as they were in 1996. It's just not happening. Maybe they play like a 1 off novelty show for the RRHOF or something..but any kind of continued activity as GNR is not possible without some of those issues being repaired...and none of them seem likely.
So 2012: We have some kind of award night and some speaches. Then Slash puts out his album. Goes on another 18 months of tour. Axl continues negotiations for CD2...which I'd expect will be out in 2 years at the best case.
Re: So.... What's Next?
Yeah, and you could argue that Axl's reasons/statements for not wanting a reunion are even stronger than Slash's. But I actually do think Slash would be more anti-reunion because he wouldn't want to play second fiddle to Axl again. He's been THE MAN since he left GNR, and I think he likes it that way.
Re: So.... What's Next?
I think the band will go silent until the Hall of Fame.
That's gonna be big, emotional, alot of shit to deal with.
I also personally think they will reunite for one night, and perform as a band together. I don't see it as unrealistic, and if Axl's open to it and pretty much said it will happen... it's probably a done deal.
As for Slash...
Slash is full of shit. Slash has always acted like he holds the cards in a reunion, because he's been powerless in Guns N' Roses, at least since 1993. Just the facts. Love the guy, but it's the facts.
Slash also is "busy" right now, which also lends to his attitude about old GN'R.
Trust me, just go up on those dollars... little more... little more. Suddenly $la$h won't have such an issue with lateness.
I don't hate the guy, like I said love him, I just think his loyalty and opinions can be bought.
- tejastech08
- Rep: 194
Re: So.... What's Next?
Slash is full of shit. Slash has always acted like he holds the cards in a reunion, because he's been powerless in Guns N' Roses, at least since 1993.
Don't you mean 1990? Isn't that when he signed over his rights to the name?
Re: So.... What's Next?
That's what the 'at least' part meant.
Depends on who's story you believe. Slash's timeline has been wildly irratic over the years, with varying stories. Though I would expect that from an active drunk/junkie during that time. Slash seemed to stick to the story about "Axl won't go on, unless you sign this", but Slash seemed to really think it was early on in the UYI tour, sometime in 1991.
Duff said the same story, but specifically stated it was Goldstein who did it, and it was late in the tour in 1993, towards the end ("last five shows on the European leg").
Then Axl said it was 1990 in the re-negotiation with Geffen, and that the "I won't go on" story was horseshit. Alan Niven also basically agreed with this story.
Seeing how Niven can't stand Axl, I pretty much took 1990 as reality and what happened. Especially considering Slash & Duff's state. Duff seems to have "selective memory" for a drunk.
But it depends on who you ask, so I just said "at least since 1993".
Axl's story seems to hold weight even more considering Niven, and I can't remember who else (maybe Robert John or Slash/Izzy) said at one time how Axl wanted this MASSIVE concept for GNR's first headlining tour and didn't want to tour UYI until it was right, sometime in 1992.
Years and years later, Axl does That Metal Show, and basically re-states how he didn't want to tour at all in 1991, but did it the band and the label for fear of being sued off the planet.
So for a guy who's been consistent for 20 years about not wanting to go the route of being sued off the planet and sued right out of show business, I highly doubt he pulled the "i'll not go on if you don't sign". Something tells me Goldstein pulled that card to re-negotiate himself into the deal, which Duff alluded to.
Which brings us back to 1990/contract re-negotiation "Axl" story making the absolute most sense.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: So.... What's Next?
Big picture though guys.
How many shows had Axl gone on late to at that point? How many riots had occured? How many occurrences of Axl flipping out and getting into fights had happened? How many times had he been arrested? How hard had it been to write UYI together?
No one is a saint in GNR, but the point is - if a manager tells you that Axl wants something this way and implies that shit will go down if it doesn't happen - do Slash and Duff really have any reason to doubt it?
Of course Axl didn't directly demand that shit. It would have been duress. But in the broader context of the band - everyone had been trying to deal with Axl's emotions for some time at this stage (Just as Axl had been trying to deal with their junkie bullshit)...so it didn't need to be intimated directly - but it's hardly a stetch to beleive that they might have thought that if they didn't do what was asked of them then all hell would break loose. And some of it's personal problems for them too - Slash would have died if the band haddn't hit the road - so he'd go along with most anything.
Anyway...end of the day...to counter your argument Axlin..slash does have the power. Axl wields all the financial and legal power no question. But slash is the key that will make any version of GNR actually accepted by the media and the fanbase.
Axl can have a great big GNR tour party all he wants, he can put out a killer album, he can put some of the most gifted and brilliant guitarists in the world up on stage with him (hahah..wait HE DID all that) but you know as well as I do half of every comment on every forum, half of youtube, half of facebook, twitter, half the people in any room, fucking any enviroment you want...it's going to get "but it's not GNR without slash". And that's the power slash has. And with every day the band gets older, and the new band never took off with the general public, and the GNR sound gets a little more mixed with classic rock in the minds of the public - with everyone of those days Slash gets more powerful dude. Maybe in 2000 people could MAYBE have got into a new GNR...but now...in 2012 when it's about reliving the 1980s...Slash is more important than ever...same with all the old guys...their stock is going up not down...
So yeah...if the history of the band post Axl's take over tells us anything...it's that legally Axl holds the power...but in terms of actually giving the public what they want...Slash holds just as much power....the day he comes back is the day GNR gets legitimate again....and I say that as a guy who loves the new band and Chinese Democracy...but I honestly think that's how it is to the general public.
As for your implication that he'd be bought...I'm not sure. We don't know his terms. We know he tried to go back around 1997 and it couldn't be made to work out. If it was money - someone would have paid them the 200 million by now to shut the fuck up and just do it. I think the bottom line is we know slash quit for 3 reasons....so it's reasoble to assume his terms relate to them as well.
1. No late starts
2. Original members to be treated as partners not employees (ie don't replace his guitar with bedroom guitarists, make group decisions about the band)
3. Izzy back for writing
None of those things are ever going to be resolved. I could guess maybe he'd back off about one of them if the others were fixed...but they're a perfect storm of things that Axl either wont ever do or in some cases probably can't do.
