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Re: The Feud
The Feud between Axl and Slash was as oblivious as long-standing. While Axl maintained the public got the wrong story from others, he's always been a bit wary about getting into cases. Point being, he said, Slash is a liar.
It seems the trail leads 1991 and the advent of the UYI tour. Axl, at the height of his hubris, saw Slash planning a coup. This led to these complex contract negotiations, during which Axl eventually attained a clause for the band name. In '95, he left the partnership and has since owned the name.
Axl's narrative to the story is something like, 'Slash and I wrestled for control over the band, I won, he quit the band and maliciously spun it around in the media.'
"I read Slash's [book] to have an idea what I might be facing then, but haven't read anyone else's." (Axl, 2013)
"The Illusions' lineups comments that I've read in media or Slash's book were, in my opinion, predominantly public gamesmanship, strategy and politics on their part. Pretending to be unaware or innocent to the public...
As I've said before, I shouldn't have been on tour when we started in '91... Slash wanted the touring to get the better of me, given my circumstances at the time. My safety and well-being were not their concern." (Axl, 2013)
"It was really a fight with me and Slash," says Rose of the forces that took down the band. "Izzy was doing the same thing, but the fight with me and Slash started the day I met him. He came in, popped my tape out and put his in and wanted me in his band. And I didn't want to join his band. We've had that war since Day 1." (Axl, 2013)
"When Guns renegotiated our contract with Geffen I had the bit about the [band's] name added in as protection for myself... Slash was imo being on the up and up, in agreeing I had the rights and I wasn’t trying to be some snake in the grass, pulling a fast one. The others could’ve cared less." (Axl, 2008)
At the Chinese Exchange, Axl said that he and Slash patched things up over the phone in 2015.
"Slash and I hadn't talked in 19 years, and when we did talk, I was, like, 'You wrote a lot of stuff that didn't even happen. It's not real.'" (Axl, 2016)
“It was probably way overdue, you know. But it’s... you know, it’s very cool at this point." (Slash, 2015)
“A lot of the tension... has dissipated. Over time we all just got sick and tired of the black cloud. The biggest thing that happens when you have a break-up that is less than harmonious is you build up a bad energy because of the distance.” (Slash, 2015)
"[We've managed to] dispel some of that negative stuff that was going on for so long.” (Slash, 2015)
The parting words of Tommy Stinson are curious in this regard.
"I think it was really super important for Axl to get the [GN'R reunion] going on and put some stuff behind him that I think has been sitting inside him," Stinson says. "I think something has happened to him and it's completely f---ing awesome and it makes me really happy. I've known the guy for almost 20 years now; I've never seen him look better. He sounds better than ever. He's a completely different guy. I couldn't be happier for him." (Tommy, 2016)
"He's a completely different guy." The '98-'14 Axl had the tendency to fire people sporadically, yell at band members ('getting the corn'), stay remote, halt/cancel shows... He was a handful in the worst of days. The contrast suggests Axl was deeply unhappy to go on without Slash. That more or less sums up Guns in the past 20 years.
Re: The Feud
The contrast suggests Axl was deeply unhappy to go on without Slash.
Hmm.. Could've fooled me.
Where's the quote about where Slash should never have been in GnR to begin with? Was it in those chats or the Trunk interview?
Axl was quite happy to on without Slash, just couldn't or wouldn't get new music released. & the money on offer for the reunion it simply makes sense to cash in.
So if my affections
Are misunderstood
And you decide
I'm up
To no good
Don't ask me to
Enjoy them
Just for you
Ask yourself
What I would choose
To prostitute myself
To live with fortune and shame
"He's a completely different guy" is whitewashing the transformation. There are reasons we're not privy to, we can only speculate on the apparent change of heart.
I'm unconvinced of the sincerity, & the direction we're heading in.
Re: The Feud
It's a complex situation.
Like any divorce, there were waves and waves of building tension that ultimately lead to the separation. Marc Canter held that the reasons for the split came down to a miscommunication. I think that's probably a sort of "you didn't put the dishes away, so I'm leaving you" reductio. In the 90s, you have an unstable, megalomaniacal Axl combined with a substance abusing, dishonest, and publicly hostile Slash. If cooler heads were to prevail, GN'R would have gone on hiatus with both receiving aggressive treatment, and maybe the union would've survived.
Have the core issues been addressed and resolved? Unlikely.
It doesn't matter for all intents and purposes. Everyone's making bank and the public gets their happy (see: completely fabricated) ending.
Axl won the war. He's the boss. The other guys will do what he says. He's a completely different guy, I would wager, because he's getting loads of cash and attention and getting his toes licked by desperate young blondes. At the end of the day, despite any other pretension, Axl is someone who relishes attention and by proxy, approval. He wanted the validation of being seen as the mastermind behind GN'R with CD, and he was, but that ship sailed, so now he's come to cash in on his nest-egg.
It comes down to they both need each other again and Buckethead and Robin, like Izzy, told him to fuck off.
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: The Feud
I agree. Slash wanted GNR back on top and if that meant falling on the sword and taking all the blame so Axl could feel like Slash as in the wrong and he was right so be it. Slash doesn't give a fuck about that. He did what it took to get GNR back to the top. Thing is Slash deserves the 50% more than Axl by far. The ONLY reason this shit is big is because of Slash. Really ironic when you think about it.
Re: The Feud
I agree. Slash wanted GNR back on top and if that meant falling on the sword and taking all the blame so Axl could feel like Slash as in the wrong and he was right so be it. Slash doesn't give a fuck about that. He did what it took to get GNR back to the top. Thing is Slash deserves the 50% more than Axl by far. The ONLY reason this shit is big is because of Slash. Really ironic when you think about it.
When you say "the only reason this shit is big is because of Slash" what do you mean?
If you're saying slash made GNR by himself....I think you're in the minority.
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: The Feud
Smoking Guns wrote:I agree. Slash wanted GNR back on top and if that meant falling on the sword and taking all the blame so Axl could feel like Slash as in the wrong and he was right so be it. Slash doesn't give a fuck about that. He did what it took to get GNR back to the top. Thing is Slash deserves the 50% more than Axl by far. The ONLY reason this shit is big is because of Slash. Really ironic when you think about it.
When you say "the only reason this shit is big is because of Slash" what do you mean?
If you're saying slash made GNR by himself....I think you're in the minority.
I am saying this tour with no Slash would be a small arena tour at best. Slash brought the crowd.
Re: The Feud
mitchejw wrote:Smoking Guns wrote:I agree. Slash wanted GNR back on top and if that meant falling on the sword and taking all the blame so Axl could feel like Slash as in the wrong and he was right so be it. Slash doesn't give a fuck about that. He did what it took to get GNR back to the top. Thing is Slash deserves the 50% more than Axl by far. The ONLY reason this shit is big is because of Slash. Really ironic when you think about it.
When you say "the only reason this shit is big is because of Slash" what do you mean?
If you're saying slash made GNR by himself....I think you're in the minority.
I am saying this tour with no Slash would be a small arena tour at best. Slash brought the crowd.
Yes, and no. Slash and Axl on the same stage made it big, but Slash was the key figure, but he doesn't deserve more. It's the combo. I doubt he wanted GNR back on top, I'd say it was both personal and business on the end.
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: The Feud
Smoking Guns wrote:mitchejw wrote:When you say "the only reason this shit is big is because of Slash" what do you mean?
If you're saying slash made GNR by himself....I think you're in the minority.
I am saying this tour with no Slash would be a small arena tour at best. Slash brought the crowd.
Yes, and no. Slash and Axl on the same stage made it big, but Slash was the key figure, but he doesn't deserve more. It's the combo. I doubt he wanted GNR back on top, I'd say it was both personal and business on the end.
Slash and Duff are at 25% each and Axl is at 50%... But the crowds more than doubled in the US by Slash joining Axl... Just doing math hear saying Axl is getting great value. Really Duff is the one making out big time here. Slash is "worth" more than 25% no doubt. But he wanted this to happen so it is all worth it. Axl doesn't look at shit like that. He just doesn't. But everything is going great. So I am happy.
