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#1531 Re: Guns N' Roses » DJ ASHBA: AXL ROSE wanted me to be a part of GNR Reunion » 524 weeks ago
I have mixed views on DJ.
When DJ joined at first I thought it was positive that he stuck closer to the source material than Robin - I know you guys characterise it as Robin putting his own character into the songs - but to me it felt about as appropriate as it would be for Myles Kennedy to put his own spin on Brownstone by adding a new verse. That's just not how the songs go.
However DJ kinda took it too far - as it times it felt to me like his stage act was actually mimicking slash to an unnatural degree....it made the band seem inauthentic.
That said the hate for him is way out of line. He's a nice guy - and he can't help that he isn't slash - also the problems with his act were not entirely his own fault - his solo spots showed some talent - and I can't help but think if Axl had written some songs with him - if the band was still properly functional by that stage that it would have been easier to watch. Poor guy wasn't given a chance to do anything but mimic robin and slash and then he's hated for that.
It's wonderful to have slash back, but DJ in himself is ok with me.
I would have liked to see Motley Crue continue and DJ replace Mick Mars when his health forbids further playing, that would have been a better match than GNR all along.
#1532 Re: Guns N' Roses » DJ ASHBA: AXL ROSE wanted me to be a part of GNR Reunion » 524 weeks ago
Axl once wanted both Brain and Frank live.
Rotating drummers midshow.
Big deal.
So...Slash plays the closing notes of rocket queen...then outcomes DJ to do Sweet Child of Mine.....
Can't see the audience having any issues?
#1533 Re: Guns N' Roses » Guns N' Roses Reload With a Dependable (and nice?) Frontman » 524 weeks ago
Fuck this article. Just because Axl Rose didn't suck the media's dick back in the day, and still doesn't, doesn't make him an asshole.
Sure doesn't.
He's an asshole because he beat both his wives, was arrested more than 30 times, incited several riots, converted the partners who made him successful into employees, and spent 20+ of his prime years converting the greatest band of a generation into a tribute act.
Media ain't got nothing to do with it 
#1534 Re: Guns N' Roses » DJ ASHBA: AXL ROSE wanted me to be a part of GNR Reunion » 524 weeks ago
The majority of people going to these shows are casuals, not diehard GN'R fans making lists about why he turned down playing in a Gn'R reunion.
I'm making lists because of the fiction in this thread that said that DJ betrayed Axl by being involved with Sixx:Am when actually he was involved with them before, during and, after his tenure in GNR!
It's bleeding obvious that he quit GNR diplomatically when it was clear Slash was going to return, and the man himself admits he knew it was happening, but people want to deny that, and say he's lying, and deny the very history of sixx:am so we can stick to an alternate version of events that is known in 'insider' circles by a group of people who aren't even really in the band.
Whatever folks. According to this thread - DJ lied to and betrayed Axl, and he wrote all of Sixx's 3 albums and 3 Eps more than 5-6 years before they came out, he quit because he's a bastard and DJ and Slash splitting the lead guitar solos would have been a wonderful idea wholly embraced by hardcores and causals alike. 
#1535 Re: Guns N' Roses » DJ ASHBA: AXL ROSE wanted me to be a part of GNR Reunion » 524 weeks ago
Bullshit.
You really think DJ would pass up a payday like this? Not just the payday, but all the exposure to his shitty brand? I don't think so. The guy sells a custom Dodge Challenger on his website for fucks sake.
It's smarter for him to leave and not be disgraced.
Think about the division of labor under the 3 guitar set up: Richard mostly plays rhythm and hardly gets any solos, bucket/bumble do the occasional shred solo or difficult passage but a lot of the time don't solo, then the bulk of the lead playing has always been Robin/DJ during the songs.
If DJ goes now he was the major lead player in GNR, replaced by the return of Slash who is part of the iconic AFD lineup. No shame in that at all.
What happens if he stays?
Option 1: Slash replaces DJ, and RJ does Ron's parts. Problem - DJ doesn't really shred/tap to that extreme - that's why they were Ron's parts.
Option 2: Dj stays in his role, Slash replaces Ron. Problem - Imagine the hate from the audience if Slash is on stage playing rhythm while Dj is playing his solos from the classic hits. Doesn't make ANY sense.
Option 3: Split the solos with Slash some new way sharing his role. Problem - Still get some hate (see option 2), plus now he's demonstrably doing less than before (looks like he failed), plus exposes him to direct comparison against slash - one of the people he clearly bases his playing and stage persona on. Picture how it would look - both of them in their top hats - trading solos and leaning back. It would make Dj look like a complete imitator. It's one thing to imitate slash in the absence of slash to allow the night to be a little more like classic GNR. It's another thing to replicate slash standing next to the real slash and being the reason he plays less.
If DJ leaves before this happens he saves so much face it's not funny. He did a stand up job performing the GNR hits. Nu-GNR wasn't taken seriously but you wouldn't put the blame on him for that. Replaced by slash he can move on as a career lead-guitarist and be a viable option for similar bands. Staying would destroy his career.
#1536 Re: Guns N' Roses » Memories of the Use Your Illusion Tour: An Interview with Tracey Amos » 524 weeks ago
I think Slash leaving was a bluff Axl called him on. I don't think Slash wanted to actually leave, but it was a power play that backfired.
I agree with that.
As for the side project stuff - I dunno - I think most of it would be even better as real GNR.
In particular 5'Oclock Somewhere and Slash's 2010 solo album both had tracks that are screaming for Axl.
#1537 Re: Guns N' Roses » DJ ASHBA: AXL ROSE wanted me to be a part of GNR Reunion » 524 weeks ago
As far as I understand, he was not going to be a member of Sixx AM, stuff was already recorded and there was going to be no touring with the band. That there was even going to be a lawsuit between he and Nikki. He then quit GNR to rejoin Sixx AM.
That's not correct.
The timeline is this:
2007: SixxAm is formed and released "The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack"
2008: Work begins on a follow up
2009: March - Dj joins GNR
2009 : April - Sixx Am announce they are in the studio recording.
2010: Feb - Announce that guitar is finished, bass still being recorded.
2010: July - Announce that new album is finished
2011: May - "Lies of the Beautiful People" released
2011: December - Band announces an EP featuring unplugged versions of songs will be released
2012: April - Band peforms live at golden gods awards.
2012: November - band says working on new music
2013: July - Band previews new song
2014: Third album "Modern Vintage" Released
2015: Feb - band plays live
2015: July - Dj quits GNR to focus on Sixx Am
There is no way from that timeline that everything was pre-recorded. If DJ went back on some commitment not to record or play with Sixx:Am then he broke it many times in the past 6-7 years - it would seem odd for this suddenly to make Axl mad now.
Perhaps "Lies of the Beauitiful People was pre-recorded - although it seems odd from that timeline, but the entire process for "Modern Vintage" def occurred concurrently with GNR.
#1538 Re: Guns N' Roses » DJ ASHBA: AXL ROSE wanted me to be a part of GNR Reunion » 524 weeks ago
That's not true, monkey. He was not in Six AM when he was in GNR. that was one of the issues about him joining. That was a big issue. He was not in that band at the same time.
Are we misunderstanding each other?
Dj is the guitarist on Sixx:Am's 2011 album "This Is Gonna Hurt".
He has been the guitarist of Sixx:Am from 2007-current day, and he was in GNR from 2009-2015.
#1539 Re: Guns N' Roses » Secret show: April 1, L.A.? » 524 weeks ago
I'm starting to think two keyboardists is the three guitarists of this tour.
#1540 Re: Guns N' Roses » DJ ASHBA: AXL ROSE wanted me to be a part of GNR Reunion » 524 weeks ago
DJ fucked over Axl.
He lied about SAM to Axl. There's a lot of bad blood there. You really think Axl invited him to be part of the band?
He's been in Sixx:Am since 2007 - the ENTIRE time he's been in GNR. He also put out 3 albums and 3 Eps with them - that Six releases where he was able to co-manage GNR and Sixx:Am commitments.
We know Nikki has finished up with Motley now - but even so there's only so active Sixx:Am can be without flooding the market - they still have to follow tour cycles. I really see no reason why he couldn't continue to pull double duty.
That he found out about the reunion and had the common sense not to mimic slash while standing next to slash makes a lot more sense than Axl suddenly getting upset about DJ's 9 year old side project.
Do I think Axl might have considered DJ and Slash together sharing lead? Sure. He has a history of similar decisions - like moving Robin as a lead player not a rhythm player, like having bucket let robin do solos, like hiring DJ when you have bumblefoot in your band to solo. Integrity of the guitar parts, and the desire to have a single star lead guitarist do not seem to have been part of the the nu-gnr plan.
