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Re: Josh Freese appreciation thread
The tension with Bucket makes more sense now.
Some interesting takes on it from 2004 from Tommy.
HTGTH: Everything that happened this year with GN'R, people are worried about the band. Are they together?...
Tommy: No, no... Buckethead going away is the best thing that could've happened to the band. It's gonna be great.
I won't get too far into that, because I don't really like slamming people or getting into people's personalities or anything like that. It's a really good thing.
HTGTH: You said "Chinese Democracy" is almost done. But people are wondering what's been happening all these years? Have you worked on 18 songs for one album or is it like a bunch of songs that you could put out within a year or so?
Tommy: Originally we had a fucking whole lot of songs we were working on. We kinda rolled around them and just kinda kept molding them as we went along.
The process of making the GN'R record is a long process to begin with. Because basically, Axl as a producer is trying to get the best out of eight guys and get them all in a song, like trying to pull everyone in. You know, mush it together like a fucking piece of clay or something. Trying to form a piece of art work out of it. It takes time.
It's not like when I was in the Replacements, Paul would come to rehearsal with a couple of songs. "Ok, this is how they go, watch me play the chords," we play it, go to the studio and knock it down in an hour. It's not like that.
He has a way of working with people and pulling them in. Get you to bring something to the plate that's gonna be special and cool for that song. And it just takes a long time. Because you got eight guys you know. So that process takes a while.
When you're working on 35 or so pieces of music that you're trying to finish. Trying to... Basically the cream of the crop of that, to make a record of. It's really hard to decide. Because out of 35 things, we might all like parts and bits of 30 songs. So then you gotta further narrow that down, and you know. It just takes a while. That's all I can say about that. It just takes a while and when it's done, it'll be done and when it comes out we're gonna totally tour behind it and fucking, and rock out.
It's really, to say to the GN'R fans that are waiting for that.
Axl ain't just sitting up there fucking, sitting there watching fucking TV, waiting for the fucking sun to come up. It's like he's been working on this shit for a long time, we've all been working on it sporadically throughout. It's gotta be right.
HTGTH: It's gonna be like your album, all kinds of styles or focus on just one...?
Tommy: No, no, no... This record is definitely, you know, got some chances on it that I think are great.
There's some really beautiful pieces, some really hard pieces, there's some real fucking, you know, somewhat self indulgent creative pieces that people are either gonna love or hate. But they're fucking there because, as an artist that's how you fucking have to make records you know.
HTGTH: You've all been writing songs for it? Everyone's basically credited for every song?
Tommy: Yeah, I mean, I think pretty much everyone's brought something to the plate that we've turned into one thing or the other. I don't know if the song or two I wrote is necessarily gonna make this record or the next record. But everyone's brought stuff together that we've worked out and turned into stuff and it'll probably used at some point one way or the other. We've all contributed to pretty much everything on it in some form or another, you know.
Re: Josh Freese appreciation thread
I think Robin's solos on CD are pretty good to great.
Then Bucket comes in and records one of the greatest solos in rock history on There Was A Time.
Kind of like if you're Magic Johnson and then Jordan comes along and dunks on you.
Re: Josh Freese appreciation thread
P.S.
Tommy isn't wrong from a certain perspective. The Freese/Stinson/Rose/Finck/Huge lineup was a well-oiled creative unit.
But Axl and Tommy had too much blue collar, punker, we'll do what we want navel-gazing in common and couldn't see the forest through the trees.
When Bucket walked, so officially did their meal ticket.
And years later, "I miss the wee little Bucket" and Axl begging him back ever since.
You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone.
Re: Josh Freese appreciation thread
Great insight. The tension DOES make sense now.
Because Bucket's inclusion was an interjection on a process that had been ongoing. It meant delays and rehashing. Brain's presence, too.
I can see the tension when, from what we know now, there were all these songs that had been worked up to this point.
To go back and say "let's do this over again" had to be deflating.
They really were ready to cook. They were ready to go for it.
Re: Josh Freese appreciation thread
If you're referring to having all this killer material yet still can't break through the redtape, then yeah.
The moment they told him to go back to the drawing board he should've abandoned the standard CD tracks and worked on this other material.
It's better anyways.
