Weiland joined VR for money

monkeychow

Well music is a job to these people, they do have to earn a living. How many of you guys would keep working in your current jobs if it was only about the love of it? It's ok for you and I to compromise ourselves to earn a buck but if someone can sing they're held to a higher standard?

That said...I agree with Axilin that he does come across badly sometimes. Like when he was VR frontman and taking cheap shots at Axl's hair, then making all kinds of digs at Slash and Duff these days.

I dont think he was ever the best choice for the VR boys, but that said, I'll give him that he's written some music I listen to and enjoy.

Lomax

He's just immature. Probably not a bad person just never grew up. Same can be said for many a famous rockstar

Axlin16

Yeah, that was the one time Axl looked like a mature gentleman.

I knew Weiland was trying to start an East Coast/West Coast-type of feud, but I never understood the childish high school digs Weiland threw out at Axl, when Axl never had an ill-word to say towards Scott.

Weiland needs all the friends he can get.

monkeychow

Axlin08 wrote:

I never understood the childish high school digs Weiland threw out at Axl, when Axl never had an ill-word to say towards Scott.

To be fair towards Scott, I think the incident occured after the press release from Axl's camp describing Slash's visit to Axl's house.

One of the early versions of that statement contained comments, attributed in the statement to Slash, describing Scott as a fraud.

Scotts tirade against Axl was premised on the idea that he belived those sentiments really came from Axl and not from Slash.

So while technically Axl may have never spoken against Scott, his camp republished comments allegedly from Slash that were against Scott, and Scott felt that the source wasn't legit.

Who knows. I'm pretty certain Slash went over there in a dark moment of VR to try and patch up GNR. Slash who backed away from it orginally seems to now admit some kind of attempt at communication that night. But the question is - did he really say all that about his VR band mates - or was that simply attributed to him vindictively by Axl's camp to not only reject him getting back in GNR but to try and break up VR as well for added value? Who the fuck knows.

I suspect it could have been one of those miscommunications. No doubt in his attempt to explain his arrival at Axl's house, slash would have made clear that he wasn't happy in VR and that he wanted a GNR sit-down. However I'm not sure that translates to the whole sale bitching about every member of VR that was later attributed to him. Or even if he did - who hasn't run their mouth a little when upset and trash talked someone they actually strongly care for despite the problems.

So anyway...I can see why if scott felt those remarks really came from Axl not slash he might crack it - but then having a go about Axl's hair and stuff was just lame.

The sad thing is all these people are tallented fucks...it's a shame they can't just get on with the business of writing bad ass songs and that there has to be such dramas.

Intercourse

But the question is - did he really say all that about his VR band mates - or was that simply attributed to him vindictively by Axl's camp to not only reject him getting back in GNR but to try and break up VR as well for added value? Who the fuck knows.

I always wondered how they got past that myself. Duff is one of Slash's oldest friends. Calling him 'spineless' would have hurt.
Slash said somewhere that he'd had enough of the lawsuits and had gone over there in a moment of drunken impulse to broker peace. I am not sure that he went there to rubbish VR and crawl back to Axl.

He has always made it clear (even in his worst of times) that for a reunion to occur, things would have to change with Axl's behaviour and that he didn't expect that to happen. Consequently, my guess is that Slash did not crawl to Beta to reach Axl.

What would rubbishing VR to an old friend & enemy achieve anyway?

Even worse, what would rubbishing a chart topping band to the home help of your old old friend & enemy achieve anyway?

I feel that Slash is way too long in media to make that mistake.
Still....

Axlin16

I always thought the whole thing was made up by Axl's camp, like some sort of childish high school "I won" thing.

If Slash actually met up with Axl, he would've said so, then twisted it and lied in his favor. Slash initially lied about even going over there.

However Axl's (Beta's) story is so incredibly UNBELIEVEABLE that you can't help but to side with Slash just because it's logical.

Everyone that has ever had a brain in the business has said for years that the large majority of the downfall of W. Axl Rose in the last 20 years has been the inner circle he keeps around him.

Slash would not run to Axl to bag on Duff in a drunken stupor. I'm sorry - I DO NOT believe that. Maybe VR & Scott or even Matt, but NOT Duff.

But then again, when Axl met back up with Duff last year, none of this was EVER mentioned. Which is just bizarre. Slash supposedly bagged on Duff to Axl, then a few years later, Duff & Axl hang out, and Duff said he texted Slash that he was hanging out with Axl and Slash was like "that's cool", and everything was smooth from there.

Yet this entire ordeal which made the Yahoo frontpage and all the rock news outlets, never EVER comes up? Even from a blogger?

Weird. It's like the whole thing never happened. Which to me, actually lends credit that - Axl was telling the truth.

WHOA, look out. Let the drama begin.

monkeychow

Intercourse wrote:

I always wondered how they got past that myself. Duff is one of Slash's oldest friends. Calling him 'spineless' would have hurt.

It's context, context, context I think.

Or it would be for me.

All of us have faults, and once you get to a certain age I think you are able to see your faults a little better than in the past.

I know any one of my friends could show up drunk at your door and tell you the things about me that shit them. Some of them are accurate to an extent, some of them wrong, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least to know that they thought those things about me. And I would also know that overall we're still very good friends. Same about me and them - I can list attributes of some of my friends that I think are totally fucked - but they're still my brothers and very close to me.

So it's all in what was said and how it was said.

To me I think the whole episode is as simple as Slash shows up to talk to Axl. Those close to Axl know that Axl would react badly to talking to slash if the conversation was to go south - so they question what he wants.

A conversation develops - in the context of that Slash expresses some obvious frustrations with VR that arn't really secret (problems with scott etc) and why he thinks it's time he and Axl burried the hatchet so to speak. It's not that he came over to bag VR, it probably came up more as a justification for wanting to talk to Axl and ways things could be resolved.

Sadly, it seems it never got past the stage of Slash and Axl's handlers talking.

But I don't think really any of them are lying. Beta's perception of the incident is probably because that slash was surprisingly candid about why VR is frustrating and why he wants to sort it out with Axl. But slash is correct in saying that he didn't go over there to bag out VR, and that the way it was interpreted is not what he ment.

Well that's my guess anyway.

As for Axl's handlers being the cause of his problems. I don't buy that. He's clearly and intelligent man from his interviews and writings, and that doesnt strike me as the kind of guy who can be so easily played by his friends. At the end of the day Axl has the power to fire any of them in seconds, that he keeps them there is his choice, not because they've spellbound him in my opinion.

I also think it's obvious Axl has found some solace in Beta and her family, and that that's given him a personal relationship that seems to have been lacking in other areas of his life. At least according to the media. without them who knows what could have happened to him - he's clearly been very unhappy in the past.

Further, I met Del James backstage, and he was a cool guy. Not saying that to get points or anything, just calling it how it was, he could have been an asshole to me but instead he was very friendly. So I dunno - i think the inner circle has an unfair rep.

I'll grant in this case it seems strange that Beta didn't allow Axl and Slash to meet...but who knows...maybe there's a good reason...maybe she thinks Axl would react badly to meeting with slash. it certainly sounds that way from interviews Axl gives. She may have ment well.

Intercourse

But then again, when Axl met back up with Duff last year, none of this was EVER mentioned.

Its an excellent point but who knows though Axlin?? Maybe they talked at length about it.

Duff has always been very much of the position that everybody said awful things at various times but that underneath all of that are the same men who shared the amazing (but harrowing) experience of global fame. I think Duff is willing to forgive and forget all the negative aspects of his relationships with the old crew.

Maybe Duff agrees that what Slash said was true? We all know now that working up VR album II with Scott was a nightmare for the band.

Slash could have rightly felt at the time that Scott was a fraud and was acting out just for kicks. Duff appeared to be Scott's 'get well' guru (martial arts, Washington log cabin retreats etc) and maybe Slash got frustrated that Duff could not seem to man up to Scott and get him to pull his head in.

Matt was very smug & arrogant at that time; blowing hard about groupies etc, he may have been just as awful to listen to in VR. Scott had been scathing about his on the road carry on..

There you go, 'spineless', 'fraud' and 'horrible' easily connected to the publicised activity in VR at the time.

Maybe Axl was telling the truth about what Slash said. the interesting bit for me is that I only believe that Slash would have said these things to Axl, NEVER Beta.

So is the real truth that Axl and Slash did have that conversation?

Mikkamakka

First of all, I'm sure that the Axl camp lied about at least one important detail - that Slash wasn't drunk. Not only Slash said that he was drunk as a man can be and Perla drove him there, but no sober man would arrive to Axl's house at 5:30 AM. That's sleeping time for rockstars, unless they are drunk as hell.

In October of 2005 Slash made an unannounced 5:30 AM visit to Axl Rose's house. Not appearing to be under the influence, Slash came to inform Axl that...

Second, the timing of the press release is VERY strange. Slash went to Axl in October, dropped the lawsuit against Axl next spring, then Axl came up with the infamous double-versioned press release - one for the press and one for the boards. It seems to be very Axlish - he felt he won, but didn't get the 'you are the stronger' confession from Slash in REALITY, so he chose his wishes. Not to mention that the reunion pressure could have been pretty big/grown on him with no album on the horizon and a dropped lawsuit (i.e. a better chance to make peace with the other guys). Then it's up to us to believe if it was Axl's 'fuck you' message to the reunionists (mostly label and promoter people) with a spin to hurt Slash's position in VR; or it was Beta's trick to tell Axl a different story to avoid further risks a reunion would cause for her and the inner circle.

"I actually did go to Axl's house at one point, but I never saw him. I never talked to him. I left a note with his person over there having to do with lawsuit that we were in. I don't know how it got turned into what it got turned into."

"W. Axl Rose, on Friday March 3, 2006 responded to one of Saul 'Slash' Hudson's baseless lawsuits by filing a counterclaim asking the Federal Court to confirm his ownership of his own creative works. Slash and Michael 'Duff' McKagan had previously filed cases both in Federal Court and in the Los Angeles Superior Court making numerous false allegations about Axl. Mr. Rose believes that once apprised of the true facts the Judge or Jury deciding these lawsuits will rule in Axl's favor on every issue before them.
"More surprising to Axl are recent media reports that Slash (Saul Hudson) is claiming that he has always been supportive of Axl Rose and the new GUNS N' ROSES. Slash's actions in recent years have in fact been anything but supportive. Besides the lawsuits filed against Axl Rose, claiming, among other things, that Axl does not own the copyright in the songs that Axl co-authored with his former GUNS N' ROSES band mates, Slash has continually made negative and malicious statements about Axl in order to garner publicity for himself.
"As an example, the Federal lawsuit Hudson and McKagan filed was based on a faulty premise from the start. What Hudson and McKagan attempted to portray as egregious misconduct by Axl was in fact — as Slash and Duff have learned — nothing more than a clerical error committed by ASCAP. Had Slash and Duff or their representatives bothered to pick up the phone the clerical error could have been easily sorted out without the need for filing an utterly baseless lawsuit which one can only assume had been filed for the purposes of self-publicity at Axl's expense. The lawsuit also attacks Axl's integrity as Slash and Duff, in a vindictive attempt to aggrandize their own stature, re-write history through false statements, which have been repeated by the media. Their attacks on Axl stand in sharp contrast to Rose's conduct. Axl has at all times worked diligently to maintain the artistic integrity of the band by choosing with great care which properties to license GUNS N' ROSES songs to and refusing to participate in what he believed were potentially embarrassing projects. He has fought to avoid the release of material that does not live up to the highest of standards demanded by the band's history and it's followers. Axl chose not to respond through the media while taking the high road in the face of Slash and Duff's attacks. Hudson and McKagan, by contrast, have told ever changing — and false — stories regarding the formation of the band and it's history and believe that the band's catalogue should be exploited without careful consideration — for the GUNS N' ROSES brand and their loyal audience — or Axl's input as if it were fast food by anyone willing to pay for it.
"For over 10 years Slash, a consummate press, photo and media opportunist and manipulator, has attacked Axl Rose on a number of levels. Slash's actions whether in or out of GUN'S N' ROSES have been a complete betrayal across the board of his alleged friendship and business relationship with Axl and the so called brotherhood and band loyalties that are supposed to have existed. Instead Slash has publicly attempted, by soliciting public and media support, to take credit for something that was not his or anyone else's to take, notwithstanding that Slash played a major part in the success of the band as Axl has continually acknowledged.
"In October of 2005 Slash made an unannounced 5:30 AM visit to Axl Rose's house. Not appearing to be under the influence, Slash came to inform Axl that: 'Duff was spineless,' 'Scott [Weiland] was a fraud,' that he 'hates Matt Sorum' and that in this ongoing war, contest or whatever anyone wants to call it that Slash has waged against Axl for the better part of 20 years, that Axl has proven himself 'the stronger.' Based on his conduct in showing up at Rose's home, Axl was hopeful that Slash would live up to his pronouncements that he wanted to end the war and move on with life. Unfortunately that did not prove to be the case.
"Mr. Rose's attorney Howard Weitzman commented, 'Axl regrets having to spend time and energy on these distractions but he has a responsibility to protect the GUNS N' ROSES legacy and expose the truth. Axl believes he has been left with no alternative but to respond to these lawsuits. It would have been Axl's preference to resolve disputes with Slash and Duff in private. The courthouse is not his choice of forum. However, Axl could no longer sit quietly and allow the continuing dissemination of falsehoods and half-truths by his former band-mates.'"

Intercourse

At the end of the day, most of this is lawyer spin. They must make a fortune off of these guys.

Slash may have left a note but I would bet my house on it that it said nothing bad about VR. VR were actually going great guns in 2005 (if I recall).

I'm sure any note Slash left for Axl that could have incriminated him with VR would have ended up all over The Smoking Gun / HTGTH and then the rest of the planets entertainment wires.

It never happened. This to me means the note is probably something to the effect of

'I'm tired of all the shit man. Let's sit down and talk liked we used to. Slash.'

My feeling is that if Axl could use that note to gain any higher ground with the fans on the break up of old GNR then I figure he would have exploited it mercilessly; he really is that bitter.
It was never released to the public which means there was no advantage to be gained by Axl in doing so.

Re: Weiland joined VR for money

Re: Weiland joined VR for money

Re: Weiland joined VR for money

Re: Weiland joined VR for money

Re: Weiland joined VR for money

Re: Weiland joined VR for money

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Re: Weiland joined VR for money

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