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Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
Its almost exactly 10 years to the day since Buckethead officially bailed out on GNR and thankfully allowed GNR to take their recording that "one extra step further."
Well its been 10 long years since that press release, and as some folks might say, the truth comes out in the wash.
How do you think it resonates now?
March 30, 2004
Guns N' Roses will not be performing as scheduled at Rock In Rio - Lisbon.
The band has been put in an untenable position by guitarist Buckethead and his untimely departure. During his tenure with the band Buckethead has been inconsistent and erratic in both his behavior and commitment - despite being under contract - creating uncertainty and confusion and making it virtually impossible to move forward with recording, rehearsals and live plans with confidence. His transient lifestyle has made it impossible for even his closest friends to have nearly any form of communication with him whatsoever. Last time I talked to Bucket, he called to tell me he had bought a bootleg DVD off EBay and how proud he was to be in Guns and how impressed he was with everyone's performance. Then, in February we got word from Brain that Bucket had called him and said he was back in Guns!? Apparently, according to Bucket he had been "Gone" but had turned himself around and was really excited to do Rio-Lisbon and a European tour. Somewhere in the following month things changed once again. According to those who have actually spoken with Buckethead it appears his plans were to secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records which I encouraged my management to make available to him, quit GN'R and to use his involvement in the upcoming Guns release to immediately promote his individual efforts...Nice guy!
There is not a member of this camp that is not hurt, upset and ultimately disappointed by this event, and more to the point - if not this individual, certainly this individual's choices. Regardless of anyone's opinions of me and what I may or may not deserve, clearly the fans, individuals in this band, management, crew and our support group do not deserve this type of treatment. We as a whole, definitely feel that we afforded Bucket every accommodation perhaps so much so that it may be that we or more precisely, I may have done Guns a disservice and unintentionally allowed Guns to be put in this position.
On behalf of Guns N' Roses and myself I apologize to the fans who planned to see us at Rock In Rio - Lisbon. The festival and its tradition mean a lot to me personally and I sincerely do not enjoy being robbed by one of our own of the opportunity to be the first artist to play it for the third time. I would also like to express my gratitude to those who chose to embrace Buckethead's role in Guns and support our new line up. We greatly appreciate Bucket's contributions and remain open to "discussions" as there are obviously several issues to resolve. In the meantime rather than dwelling on the negative, Guns will be moving forward and surprisingly (without giving away any details) this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further. Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months.
Sincerely,
W. Axl Rose
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
Buckethead and Axl are at two extreme opposite ends of the spectrum. Buckethead just released the 45th installment in his "Buckethead Pikes" series of CDs, which began in late 2011. We all know how much output Axl has had over the years. Bucket is the kind of player who wants to make his music, release it, and then quickly move on to the next thing. It must have driven him up the walls endlessly recording and re-recording the same songs over and over making slight variations that may have been a minor improvement over the last.
I'd also recommend checking out this interview with Josh Freese where he talks about working with Buckethead in GNR. It sounds like they spent countless hours just cooling their wheels in the studio, and Freese says he quit after the second year of his contract ran out and there was still no release in sight for Chinese Democracy. Freese does say that Axl was very accommodating and gave him time off to tour and record with other bands, as long as GNR was his priority. I'm sure Buckethead was in a similar position and eventually just quit because ChiDem wasn't happening any time soon, and he wanted to continue on with his career.
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
Axl needs people around him who do not agree with him. Axl has to be challenged and cornered for new releases. You would hope at his age he would have learned this by now. If it does not happen people eventually leave or get fed up.
For touring, the current yes team is obviously ok, but it is not the push forward Axl needs.
UYI and CD were forced releases. Who or what is going to force Axl's hand now?
- metallex78
- Rep: 194
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
For the next two years he was trying to get Bucket back in the band. I wonder how close that came. Later on, Axl blamed Merck for causing the problems with Bucket that made him leave.
I find the whole Merck thing quite bizarre, for years that go was Axl's biggest supporter, and had nothing but great things to say about him and CD.
Now Merck is made out to be an enemy
Only in the bizarro world of GN'R...
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
His transient lifestyle has made it impossible for even his closest friends to have nearly any form of communication with him whatsoever.
Last time I talked to Bucket, he called to tell me...
Then, in February we got word from Brain that Bucket had called him...
Somewhere in the following month things changed once again. According to those who have actually spoken with Buckethead...
Buckethead was a phone call away from Axl, Brain and (presumably) Merck. Either Axl didn't call him firsthand to ask what's what, or Bucket repeatedly left those calls unreturned. By all accounts, Axl wasn't there for Bucket in the studio most of the time. He wasn't around to tell when he was happy on a guitar part, a song or an album. Bucket (like the rest of the band) would generally pack up and leave before Axl'd show up to work into the night. Axl was doing this since the '96 sessions - only now no-one was saying no to it. It had become Axl's way or the highway. No wonder Bucket would've become frustrated, uncertain and directionless with his own role in Guns and his work on the album. Whatever he recorded, Axl owned, and Bucket could never release it as such, ever. This was a cycle that kept repeating itself.
Who or what is going to force Axl's hand now?
Leaks. They force Guns and Uni to respond in some way to make the best out of a bad situation. Axl gets his money by touring, and appears happy enough with the CD release now behind him. Mounting another album is obviously a fearsome prospect to him, and he's avoiding it. He thinks there's a chance he'll get even more mauled this time around, so he's rather boozing it out.
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
I highly question how much the record company really wants to put out and support another GNR release too. It takes 2 to tango, and neither side is fond of the other by all accounts. I'd imagine they'd much rather spend their time working on the pop artists that actually still sell a decent amount of albums, who they have more control over. Dealing with Axl can't be a picnic.
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
An album is just a prerogative to tour nowadays. What used to happen in the past: record label finances 100% of album costs, 50% of initial leg of tour costs. Band gets 20% of album sales, 100% of tour earnings.
Nowadays the business model has changed to album costs 50/50 between band (usually tour agency, like ClearChannel that secures the touring act by financing the bands part of the album) and record label (Interscope, not Universal that is the distribution channel basically) with earnings, IF THEY OCCUR, split 70% to label, 30% band. Tour costs and earnings 50/50 between band and label with the risk delivered to the tour agency (let's say ClearChannel).
Without a record out, Axl might be touring either a) earning 100% of the income or b) financing the next album(s).
It has been said in the past that the band didn't want to deliver another album to the record label because they wanted autonomy over when and how to tour and what to earn.
If Axl grew his balls back, I'd say he's touring nonstop for the last couple of years to finance the new album so he is his own man, not in the hands of label or touring agencies FINANCIALLY, using them only as media to publicize his art (that's my only hope to still have some respect for the guy, tbh).
Or, if he caved in, he's just making an easy buck until the nostalgia source is dry, then he releases another album and starts all over again.
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
Just saw this over at the Buckethead Coop forums (http://www.buckethead-coop.com/coop/vie … f=1&t=7492). It's an old interview with Buckethead shortly after he joined GNR.
MK: You're in Guns 'n Roses now -- I'm curious to know what led up to this intriguing development. How did you hook up?
B: There was this Leatherface doll that Spencers-type stores put out, it's pretty large and puffy, it was on the top of the list. Didn't receive it from the family. Got invited to Axl's on Christmas night; never met him before. Sad about not getting the doll but it is ok, but still sad. Get to Axl's, he presents this box wrapped up. The Michael Myers version has been out for a while, knew it was the same box. Figured it was Michael Myers and opened it up. There was Leatherface. In the brain joined that second.
MK: Are you enjoying yourself in Guns 'n Roses? Are you contributing music to the project and generally being encouraged to be yourself?
B: It has been fun like a ride never been ridden. Every turn is new, it will be interesting to see where this ride goes.
We all know where that ride went - right off the fucking rails! But at least some great music came out of it.
Also, Bucket just put out the 56th installment in his "Pikes" series, which are basically half hour instrumental EP's. The amount of music he's put out in the last year alone is mind-boggling - since Chinese Democracy was released, Buckethead has put out over 30 hours worth of music. But over at the Coop forums, one of the members made a good point - if recording music is your full time job (and you're truly dedicated to your craft), it really isn't that outrageous to be able to record an hours worth of new music every couple of weeks or so. And with digital distribution there's nothing to impede your release schedule, since you can simply put out as much as you want whenever you want. In fact, another forum member estimated that based on the numbered limited edition releases he's put out, he's probably made around $400k on these Pikes in the last couple of years. Not bad money for an independent musician doing what he loves on his own terms.
Re: Axls Statement on Buckethead 2004
I think there can be such a thing as "too much" music though. I'm not all that familiar with his solo stuff, but I prefer quality over quantity. Maybe 5 of those 30 hours are "A" material. I don't honestly know, but anyone CAN release a bunch of music regardless of quality. Not to throw Slash into the mix, but I almost think he puts quantity over quality to a point. Obviously not to the extent of Buckethead, but I personally though Apocalyptic Love was a pretty big step down from his solo effort a few years prior. We'll see what the next record has to offer. And of course Axl is on the opposite end of the spectrum. While I did enjoy CD greatly, I can't honestly say it was "worth" the 15 years of waiting. There has to be some sort of middle ground, but in a way it's hard to keep releasing gems over and over no matter how much or how little time spent recording and creating. Maybe that's the moral of the story.
