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Re: Classic Rock just through my door...
Duff is probably the smartest guy that ever was in GNR except for Axl which is, belive it or not, so intelligent it makes his mental state of mind go whack. When Duff speaks about stuff I usually listen and take notice because that guy isn't dumb. Scott? Scott is nothing more than a drug addicted primadonna with obvious problems for everyone to see.
- DoubleTalkingJive
- Rep: 74
Re: Classic Rock just through my door...
Weiland says you should reform GNR - that 'the pens were ready to sign' the contracts were on the table...'I know he was really paranoid about that and we had to allay his fears at one point, when we were writing for Libertad' says Duff. 'He got wind that our manager at that point had been talking to Axl about bringing Axl over to what was our management company back then. And Scott freaked out that we were getting GNR back together and we weren't going to make the second record. I don't know where it came from - there was no contract on the table or pens ready to sign..maybe now he's convinced himself thats what happened.
No reunion. Scott is making things up
I agree, I wouldn't believe Scott at this point, he's more pissed off andhas been a bit more nasty in the press then VR has, plus he knows that the GNR forum fans are gonna run with that statement. I believe as Duff said, he probably really believed this was gonna happen being more paranoid then anything else. I can't blame him with 3 guys from a previous band and alot of people wanted them to get back together, them being such a successful band in the past, I am sure he felt any moment the shoe could drop from under him. It's like going out with a person and sometimes you get paranoid they are going to get back together with their ex if their relationship was the greatest thing since sliced bread, it's not all that surprising.
- Locomotive98
- Rep: 17
Re: Classic Rock just through my door...
Locomotive98 wrote:I don't think Slash and Duff badmouth Axl to the press really.
are you serious?
almost every single interview from 97 onwards from those two was about Axl bashing.....they've cooled off recently, so they're a bit more democratic, but they were taking some serious shots at him for years...mind you, so was he, but they were pretty serious...i'm sure sic. could locate some of the "best" moments from their interviews...
Cool, I look forward to reading what they had to say. I'm sure a lot of it wasn't direct bashing just some home truths.
Re: Classic Rock just through my door...
I'm sure a lot of it wasn't direct bashing just some home truths.
Depends on your definition of...at that "other" place....they consider it blatant attacking and lying....don't believe much of it...but they weren't too kind towards Axl during that time....
Who do you belive. Scott Weiland with a drug problem or a sober Duff?
He didn't get it out of the blue, he got it out his his coke riddled paranoid mind.
Duff, of course....his interviews are always measured, and very democratic....but i don't think Scott just woke up paranoid about it one morning....there must have been things and events which made him get to this point which justify his behavior.....perhaps justify isn't the right word for it...but some things must have been said which made him think twice about VR...
there was that Slash visit to Axl's house....about which still to this day we don't have any concrete details on what was it for and what really happened there....then didn't Scott say once that Axl was "sending" messages to him via Matt....said that in front of Matt from what I can remember, and Matt didn't deny any of it...Matt hooking up with Axl in NY...although accidental...but still was a pleasant encounter....pleasant enough for him to report positively on it on his blog...
all those things, coupled with the fact that he was outnumbered by 3 to 1....(dave excluded)....and every single interview focusing on GNR related topics as opposed to VR and STP...to such a degree that he had to ban journos from asking any gnr related questions in interviews....enough of a reason to get paranoid about it and seek employment elsewhere....
not saying he's right about it...you're right when you say that its all probably bullshit....but the guys did give him more than enough reasons to get paranoid about gnr, and their own personal relationships....
Re: Classic Rock just through my door...
elmir wrote:Locomotive98 wrote:I don't think Slash and Duff badmouth Axl to the press really.
are you serious?
almost every single interview from 97 onwards from those two was about Axl bashing.....they've cooled off recently, so they're a bit more democratic, but they were taking some serious shots at him for years...mind you, so was he, but they were pretty serious...i'm sure sic. could locate some of the "best" moments from their interviews...
Cool, I look forward to reading what they had to say. I'm sure a lot of it wasn't direct bashing just some home truths.
Well, a little bit of historical facts first. On 12/31/95, Axl became the sole proprietor of the GNR name, brand and the musical partnership and the other members were demoted into hired employees. This piece of the puzzle has been unveiled only in the recent years, yet the way Duff and Slash have expressed their side of the story in the press through several years has alluded that the three-fold partnership formed in '92 was still in effect at the time their resignations. So keep in mind that whenever they say something to the effect of 'Axl turned the band into a dictatorship', he was exercising his legal right to enforce certain decisions over the band. Whether these decisions were in the best interests of any lineup is a different matter.
In a 1995 interview for a TV show in Paris, Slash spoke at length about how there was a pretty severe communication breakdown between him and Rose, and how he couldn't stomach working with Paul Huge, the rhythm guitarist Axl had just brought in to replace Izzy Stradlin. "The main trouble with Axl is that he always thinks a Guns N' Roses album is automatically a solo album for him," he remarked at one point. A year later, in September 1996, Duff McKagan - newly clean and sober - and Matt Sorum were also facing the same TV cameras.
[...]"All lead singers are egomaniacs," said Duff. "But hey, you need 'em. What more can I say?"
[...] In one of the few significant interviews he's granted in 1997, Slash admitted: "Axl and I have just not been able to have a meeting of the minds of such that we can actually work together. My basic plan is to wait, let the smoke clear, and maybe we can talk about it later.... Axl's whole visionary style - as far as input in Guns N' Roses - is completely different from mine. I just like to play guitar, as opposed to presenting an image." (Who's Afraid of Axl Rose, Icon Magazine, 10/97)
Showbizz: After the N.O tour, the press started to hear problems about the relationship between the GNR members. What really happened?
Duff: Slash got sick an tired and said: " Fu** off the band!". He and Axl didn't talk with each other anymore. They were always talking with each other through me - it was like being between two kids. After Axl wanted to fire Matt but I said: "We're a band and the majority must decide. You're pissed off because Matt said you're wrong".
S: Wrong about what?
D: About Axl's delay to record the next album. The group turned into an authoritarian thing - there was only Axl's opinion. They offered us lots of money to go to Europe but I thought: "Wait, I never was into it because of the money. Why would I do it now? I have a house a car and I'm fine". I had a dinner with Axl and said: "Man, the things are beyond the limits. I don't want to play to a commandant." (Duff, Showbizz, 06/99)
"Hard Force: After you finished the tour with NO, the medias started to talk about line-up problems in Guns N' Roses. Was this the beginning of the band's downfall?
Duff: Everything started when Slash turned his back and said : « This is shit. » [referring to their musical differences.] He and Axl didn't talk to each other anymore. It had become quite irrational.
Hard Force: The communication between them?
Duff: Yes. I was always in the middle, the one both came to see, and I got the impression I arbitrated little kids' quarrels. Matt was never a full member of the band, he was on an ejector seat and Axl said : « I'm gonna fire him. » I answered that this decision required more than one person to be taken since we were a band, that he alone didn't own the majority. All of this because Matt told him he was wrong. The truth is, Matt was right, and Axl wrong indeed.
Hard Force: Wrong about what?
Duff: About schedules and the way Axl was late for the next album. Susan, my girlfriend, was pregnant. We were going to have a baby, but this band was becoming a dictatorship, everything had to get done in Axl's way or it wouldn't get done at all. It wasn't like that when we started out. At one point, we were offered a huge sum of money to play a concert in Germany. I thought : « I never played for money and I'm not gonna start now! ». I've got a house, I'm secure financially." - Duff, 1999
"I was offered a lot of money to stay in Guns N' Roses, and I was very honored by that. But I realized that I had never gotten into making music for the money in the first place, so why should I start doing money for things now?" - Duff, 1999
"Post-Neurotic was the worst moment of my career in Guns. I went out for dinner with Axl and I told him : « Enough is enough. This band is a dictatorship and I don't see myself playing in those conditions. Find someone else. »" - Duff, 1999
"Actually nobody could fire somebody in that band, because everyone was the equal partner. I quit. I left the band two weeks before my daughter Grace (she is two now) was born [August 27th 1997]. It was not fun. That's the reason. The reason why I stayed in the band was to be a bridge between Axl and Slash. That's what I stick to. But I didn't want to stay there, cause that's not GN'R any more. There were only three guys left. What they want us to do? Me and AXL release the album as GN'R?
[...]
I was trying real hard. I have been sober since around '94 and I thought we could do better when I recall and analyze. Me and Axl were getting along well and we had very good conversation. Three of us could keep doing together. There was no doubt about it. There was no progress though. And it came to the end without facing and shaking hands saying "What the fuck were we doing?"
Everybody was trying to persuade me to stay in the band for money. I didn't want to stay the band. It was not good as it used be. It won't go well. Only three guys, not five. And Axl wanted to do something else. He didn't know what he was doing. I don't want to repeat what he said on MTV. If I do, it would be his
advantage. Music wise, he was invaded completely by guys his brought. He brought a guy and said "He is our new guitar player." I said "What a fuck?" That's not right. That's same thing I bring a guy and say "He is a new member." There was no democracy. Slash started to take it seriously said "Fuck it. Is that his
band? Since when?" That's ridiculous.
Even if I went to rehearsal at nine at night, Axl shows up at four or five in the next morning for about two years. I could not keep up with the schedule. There was no respect for me. That's enough, so I quit. I went to dinner with Axl and his manager. He was a manager of GN'R and still Axl's. I said "Axl, We had very [much] fun together, but it's your own band now. I'm not interested in you as a dictator. I didn't come here to talk about the money advanced for next record. You can have it. See Ya." That's it." (Duff, Burrn Magazine, 12/99)
"When you left the band, how did it all happen? You said you were out, you said you needed to talk?
Yeah, just talk, sit down and talk. I told them I had changed. I said if they needed help, they could just call me. I told Axl this was his band, he had ignored everyone and had hired his best friend for the band. I couldn't play with him. Paul Huge, that was the guy! He's a friend of Axl, he's a 'yes man'.
Why couldn't you play with him?
Man, you can't be in Guns N' Roses just like that. That was a real band. Do you play guitar?
No.
Well, imagine you and I grow up together and you're my best friend. OK, I'm in Guns N' Roses and I tell the rest you're going to join the band. "OK, Slash, Axl, Matt, guys, this guy is in the band". "Duff, you got a minute?" "No, he's in the band" "Well, no. Everyone in the band has to vote it, Duff, so no way!" "Fuck you, this guy is in the band! I'm not doing anything unless this guy is in the band" "OK, you know what? We'll try and play with him, since you're that much interested in it. Hey Duff, the guy can't play" "I don't care" "Well that's not very reasonable."
"I don't care" At that point, what would you do? I came to a point where I couldn't even look at him (Paul Huge). If I were in such a situation, if I were the friend joining the band, I'd say "Hey guys, you've done very good yourselves alone, I'm not going any further. Hey, Duff, thanks for the offer, but I'm breaking your band." But he didn't say it." (Duff, Popular 1, 07/00)
Slash talks about the breakup
Slash on Axl in Letterman
There are numerous other quotes but my archives sort of fail me. Basically, Slash was the one who kept saying he's willing to return to GNR whenever Axl "comes back to his senses" and Duff also started out very diplomatic. When Axl started to get around with his new band, S&D both started to become more openly aggressive on Axl and his decisions over the band. Things have cooled down since the advent of Velvet Revolver; the time between Contraband and Libertad was probably the moment where they had a Led Zeppelin-style rethink over things, and things with Weiland weren't exactly going their way.
A reunion for at least for some one-off shows was likely in the cards in late '05, when Universal was prepping the release of Welcome to the Jungle: The Very Best of GNR, a dualdisc release with a greatly improved track listing over GH. Slash commented on the situation via Ross Halfin, quite possibly to use the fanbase as a bargaining chip on Axl. Halfin even let the cat out of the bag by mentioning the original lineup should be appearing at the '06 Download festival. Slash was all smiles by then, saying that Axl was genius, CD should be great, etc. Somehow, Axl got pissed again and released his statement on Slash's visit to his house in early '06, which effectively killed the mood. But it was a Weiland situation, no question. VR were spinning their wheels and Slash & Duff got interested on the possibility of joining forces with Axl.
