TB hasn't got everything sorted out for sure, since then they'd have secured Slash's signature on the paper weeks ago.

BTW it's pathetic that once Axl denies the rights of old GN'R songs when Slash needs them for his live DVD, then Slash does the same. They don't know how to live and let live. It's a lose-lose situation, while it could easily be a win-win.

Halftime
Posted on March 3, 2014 5:53 am by Todd Kerns 3 Comments   

March 3 2014
Las Vegas, Nevada

Whew…where to begin…

This blog is titled halftime as I am currently in a holding pattern between bass and drums being completed and guitars and vocals firing up. By the time you read this Slash will be in the great state of Florida on day one of recording Gibson Les Pauls through Marshall Amplifiers. Myles Kennedy, currently down under, will be coming ‘up over’ (think about it…give it a minute…), joining the team to do that thing that he do! I will be joining them soon to do that thing that I do as well. It has been a most joyous experience and I can say now, fully invested in every step of this process to this point, that you will not be disappointed. This album rocks. I honestly believe that this record is going to be even better than the last. It has all the elements that I look for in my favorite records. It’s catchy with gnarly riffs and loud as hell. It’s aggressive, confident and not interested in taking any prisoners.
You’ve been warned!

I’ve been essentially living in LA since the fall of 2013. We hunkered down in North Hollywood and began molding clay and chopping wood to build the music you will be rocking out to in mere months from now. We broke for the holidays and then really dug in. Slash, Fitz and myself pulled songs apart, put them back together, pulled them apart again, like we were creating the perfect Frankenstein killing machines. An unholy army of the night. An army of songs to attack senses.

Then the process would begin all over again with the arrival of Myles Kennedy. This can be better. This could be altered to make this melody really pop. More aggressive. More dangerous. More nasty.

Then our producer, Elvis came along and shit got real. We got even more serious. We had created an armory of weaponry and now we were going to make them indestructible. Make them fool proof and deadly precise. Mortally efficient. No stone left unturned. No riff left in the cold. No kick drum left unfocused.

Though it sounds like an inordinate amount of work, and in many ways it can be, I think we trusted our instincts even more this time. Not feeling so held down by the confines put upon us by the 3 minute pop song. Gone are the restraints of a ‘radio friendly’ industry that has eaten itself. Make music that feels right. That feels effective. That feels honest. That feels authentic.
I know we have done that.

Of course I’m saying this without hearing any final recorded guitars but come on…it’s Slash. He’s the best guitar player on the planet. That part is a no brainer. Myles Kennedy is the best singer in rock today. He has an uncanny ability to conjure a bulletproof melody wrapped in a clever rhyme scheme. For it to be anything but awesome would come as an extreme surprise to me. Since I’ve heard everything to this point I think it’s my opinion we’ll be trusting here.
The most important thing to us was that we make a record that our audience wants to hear. In turn I believe it is the record we have always wanted to make collectively and individually.
Myles is looser and easier like a seasoned professional. He has gone 8 rounds with the best and held his own. There is a quiet confidence in having the output of several hit records behind him. What’s one more? Don’t be fooled by that kind Spokane boy thing. There is a wolf in there that he lets out and we’ve all heard it. And none can howl like he can.

So what about the drums and bass? The drums and bass were knocked out in record time at NRG studios in North Hollywood. Brent Fitz played things he didn’t even know he could play. He was challenged and met that challenge time and again. The drums are big and aggressive and full of attitude. It is the best performance of his career. I think he’ll tell you the same.

As far as the bass goes Slash and I talked in depth about the most recent Motorhead album, Aftershock. Lemmy’s bass tone was gnarlier than ever but still had that fatness in the bottom end. Let’s do that, we agreed.

This is the most aggressive bass tone to date for me. Anyone who knows me knows the bass players that I love and most of them aren’t about flair they are about attitude. I think that is the perfect mixture for me. Just the right amount of technique with a heavy dose of attitude. I think Fitz and I built an impenetrable wall for Myles and Slash to climb atop and do their thing.

Michael ‘Elvis’ Baskette is an incredible producer with a contagious energy. In the short time I’ve known him we have become super tight. I think he is the man. I’m stoked to get out there and get singing!

Our engineer, Jef Moll, is a magician. A wizard. With them behind us we couldn’t lose. We are an army and we are sharp and trained and ready to kill.

BUSH was recording next door. Gavin Rossdale introduced himself to me one day randomly and was ever the English gentleman I remember him to be. Back in the 90s my band, The Age Of Electric, opened for Bush and Veruca Salt. Didn’t get much bigger than those two in the 90s. That sprung us to a whole other level. Gavin was a good guy even back then.

It’s funny I always try to remind myself to stop and really take in all that’s going on around me. It’s always such a whirlwind that it’s often hard to focus on all that’s swirling around you. This time in the studio was no different. It seems a practice in controlled chaos. In our world there are always cameras around. Things being filmed for this company, photos for another, exclusive pix for this magazine or that. There are always a lot of humans around. That tends to add to the chaotic energy but I’ve always kind of enjoyed that aspect of it. It’s not a regular job so one should never expect anything ordinary ever. I’m always pleasantly comforted by the tornado of activity and not at all surprised by it.

And so just like that its over. At least the first half is over. First you’re in the studio every day, all day. You live in Los Angeles. You drive it’s streets. You know it’s turns and your fave spots. You are a local. You belong there. This is home.
Then it’s over. That chapter closes as quickly as it opened and you go back to your ‘reality’ as seamlessly as you’d left it. Admittedly my reality is pretty goddamned surreal. It shouldn’t be any other way.

more here:
http://toddkerns.com/blog/

Alright, then let's see things from this perspective. Axl wanted to be even bigger and better. What has he achieved? He became smaller, irrelevant and the joke of the industry. It's his achievement since 1996. He's the guy who earns a Rolls Royce with his (and his mates') talent, then when he manages to get full control, he amortizes this, and years later all he has is a Trabant with a Rolls Royce logo. Impressive.

BTW I doubt that he'd be that happy with his current employees, since he's not working with them. The most likely scenario is that they haven't written a full song in a decade. If he was happy with his band that would inspire him to make new music, instead of playing Top-Hatted Cancer's material from 25 years ago.

Absolutely agree. Honouring Axl's lifetime achievement is false, since he was the ultimate Rock 'n' Roll God for like 5 or 6 years, which cemented his position among the all time greats. But considering what he's done with his talent, early fame and possibilities since then, in the past 20 years, he's probably one of the biggest flops ever. What's next? Giving the Henry Rollins Sober Award to Steven Adler?