Last week, news that Guns N’ Roses might rouse themselves from their long slumber and tour Asia later this year lit up the Internet, and Universal Music Japan even got into the act by posting Japanese tour dates on its Web site. What does newish Guns recruit Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal have to say about all this? According to a post on his forum, it could be summed up in three words, two of which are “I” and “know.” More »
Yesterday there was scuttlebutt that Axl Rose and whatever band of merry men he decides to call Guns N’ Roses would be hitting India in November, and while those reports seemed sketchy and are still completely uncorroborated, there’s a somewhat-more-confirmed itinerary for the band in December: GNR will allegedly hit Taiwan, Japan, and Korea then. And by “somewhat-more-confirmed,” I mean that the shows actually have a commercial! It’s after the jump. More »
Like the Timex Social Club, I spend a lot of time lamenting the rumors that surround me every day. How do they get started? And where do they get crazy? In Truthmonger, I’ll try to suss out the kernels of truth in the rumors that are taking up airspace in gossip columns, blogs, and our tips inbox.
THE RUMOR: A mysterious Indian company called “Rhapsody Inc.” is bringing Guns N’ Roses to India for a tour that will kick off in November, nearly a whole year after the release of Chinese Democracy.
TRUTH THRESHOLD: Better late than never, right? Well, in this case, “never” might win out. More »
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler is scheduled to lay down some tracks for the solo record by his ex-bandmate Slash today, joining Izzy Stradlin in the group of Former Guns N’ Roses Members Who Will Be On This Album Alongside Fergie. [Twitter via GNRDaily] More »
Noted personal-finance columnist Duff McKagan gets his first New York Times byline via this week’s installment of the paper’s business-travel column, although the Gray Lady’s policies have forced him to use his mom-given name: “The musician and songwriter Michael McKagan, known as Duff, recorded and toured with the rock band Guns N’ Roses. He now performs with Velvet Revolver and his own band, Loaded,” says the credit. During the course of his musings on bribing South American officials and not wanting to talk about music, he reveals a key detail about his travel preferences: He enjoys sitting next to people who are crossword enthusiasts. All I’m going to say is that I’ve almost finished the Times Saturday puzzle twice in the past month… [NYT] More »
Izzy Stradlin has been laying down tracks on the forthcoming solo album by his ex-bandmate Slash. “There is an unmistakable sound that me & Izzy’s guitars make when performed together,” the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist noted last night from the studio. Guys… what if Izzy became the new Velvet Revolver singer? That would be a way to actually make the project kind of interesting, you have to admit. [Twitter] More »
Another interview with formerly reclusive Guns N’ Roses mastermind W. Axl Rose has debuted on the Internet, and this one is kind of a doozy: It’s a lengthy chat that appears on AOL’s Spinner between Axl and his longtime confidant/road manager/video–trilogy inspirer Del James. If you think that the end result isn’t an interview as much as it is a series of questions designed to allow Axl to get some long-gestating beefs out into the open, well, you’re right!
Yesterday, bassist and emergent finance pundit Duff McKagan told Rolling Stone that his somewhat-supergroup Velvet Revolver was “weeks away” from announcing its new singer, after a lengthy search that attracted demos from some 400 hopefuls who were, for whatever reason, interested in being the next Scott Weiland. Said Duff of the pick: “It’s not like Chris Cornell or one of those guys… We just want someone that fits. It can’t just be good. It has to be amazing or we won’t do it.” I guess “better than Audioslave” is a pretty low bar to want to leap over, but good on the VR guys for at least trying. Five people who definitely aren’t in the running, after the jump!
In his first interview with a U.S. publication (and not a message board in some nine years, Axl Rose engaged in an e-mail chat with Billboard‘s Jonathan Cohen in which he talked about his frustrations with his label (“at least in regard to the U.S., for the most part I don’t look at it like we have a record company”), the media, the leaks of rough Chinese Democracy mixes over the summer (“Having someone jeopardize your efforts so cavalierly is pretty much a nightmare”), and the difference between then and now (“It was just as ugly in old Guns, regardless of our success”). Speaking of the old days, he also noted that he’s willing to work with Izzy again (yes!), and maybe do some sort of one-shot deal with Duff. And there’s more! A rundown of the juiciest bits after the jump.
