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#221 Re: Guns N' Roses » Rolling Stone: The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece » 130 weeks ago
I would like to see Axl become enthused about new music, but I can't support that comment from pitman....to me it helps if people in GNR you know...actually like GNR music...it seems like a lot of the problem with the early 2000s band was that they basically don't want to be the band they are.
Well, they were likely drawn to the band by the curious and unique opportunity to essentially reinvent an iconic band from the ground up. The hook for them was that, if it succeeded, they might become as iconic as the original line-up, potentially displacing them in the same way that no-one remembers the early blues incarnation of Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green. Buckethead and Finck would become the new Slash; Pitman, as a core songwriter, the new Izzy.
But they were up against the headwinds of management and the record company suits, who didn't really want the new band to succeed; they wanted the familiar, safe money-spinner that was Axl and Slash together. And for that period from 2012, when the original band was inducted into the RNRHOF (and it became very apparent that the brand was indelibly associated with Slash, Duff and the original line-up) to 2014, when Duff rejoined the band, it becomes pretty clear that the writing's on the wall. Duff is making inroads with Axl, Bumblefoot and Ashba are wavering, the stars are aligning for Slash to return. Once that happens it's a guarantee that the band is going to do at least a few years of nostalgia touring, because "Axl and Slash" is enough of a draw to bring in the punters; they don't need to release new material for a few years at least.
So Pitman gets annoyed, runs his mouth, and he's out.
#222 Re: Guns N' Roses » Rolling Stone: The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece » 130 weeks ago
I can't remember the exact timeline but I'm pretty sure his "money grab" comments preceded his being kicked out. And he was definitely kicked out:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi … w-1003943/
They wanted to know how he felt about Reese possibly joining the group for their upcoming reunion tour with Slash and Duff McKagan, which was still top secret at that time. “They were like, ‘Chris [Pitman] got fired,” he says, “and Caram really thinks that Melissa could help out this thing.”
#223 Re: Guns N' Roses » Rolling Stone: The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece » 130 weeks ago
I thought he was fired for accidentally leaking a gig announcement?
https://loudwire.com/ex-guns-n-roses-ch … r-reunion/
Earlier this year, Pitman posted and quickly deleted a message slamming GN’R’s reunion. “This is a nostalgia tour, please don’t mention those who are there the last 20 fkg years,” Pitman wrote. “Oh god no! (a money grab) FU.”
#224 Re: Guns N' Roses » Rolling Stone: The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece » 131 weeks ago
Chris Pitman should still be in the band. He contributed so much to the ChiDem sessions/era.
If anyone got truly cheated by the NITL era … beyond us fans who want an album and not just nostalgia … it is him.
All he had to do was keep his mouth shut and not, y'know, insult the record-breaking tour he was about to take part in.
#225 Re: Guns N' Roses » Rolling Stone: The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece » 131 weeks ago
It is a fascinating alternate history though, isn't it? What happens if, in that small window of opportunity when Buckethead and Finck are out, Axl opens the door to Slash? Does he fire Tommy and reinstate Duff? Does Pitman stick around since the chances of new music being a commercial success suddenly skyrocket? How long/involved a process is reworking Chinese Democracy? Are Buckethead and Finck's contributions cut (I'm assuming yes). Is a re-recorded Chinese Democracy released in 2007/2008– possibly with some songs based on what became the first Slash solo album? – a commercial success, given that the major obstacle to widespread critical acclaim (the fact that it doesn't have Slash) is now moot?
Oh, and: what songs are on it?
#226 Re: Guns N' Roses » Rolling Stone: The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece » 131 weeks ago
Only reason to keep Pitman in the picture is if they wanted him to help finish the album.
Only reason they fired him was the "touring the oldies" comment though. In a world where a Slash/Duff Chinese Democracy release is on the cards for 2007/2008, that ceases to be an issue.
#227 Re: Guns N' Roses » Rolling Stone: The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece » 131 weeks ago
There has just always been a divide between the band and the fans. Times changed, and when pushed, Axl/Guns never quite gave enough, so the fans pushed further and it resulted in the history we have now.
Managers have pushed in the past, but Axl ultimately went with family. It is what it is.
We have the reunion now, but that, and many things, could have happened earlier.
I will forever be annoyed that we didn't get the 2006 reunion (doubly so given that it would have been almost exactly the current line-up, with Pitman instead of Melissa and Brain instead of Frank).
Of course it would've meant another round of studio sessions to re-record Chinese Democracy with Slash and Duff, but imagine 2006 Axl with Slash and Duff back onside and a highly-anticipated, near-mythical new album in the offing. It would've been biblical.
This voice, with Slash's guitar:
#228 Re: Guns N' Roses » If GNR releases nothing in 2023, is this the end for you? » 131 weeks ago
They'll never do a major Chinese Democracy release while the NITL line-up is a going concern, for the same reason they wouldn't release Slash/Duff stuff while the Chinese Democracy line-up was a going concern. It muddies the waters too much for casuals.
#229 Re: Guns N' Roses » Slash Says Guns N’ Roses Have a ‘Couple of Epic’ Songs to Release » 134 weeks ago
I think the nature of GNR is the casual following is just so big it doesn't matter what we do. They will never exhaust the casual market before they get old and die.
A band like Metallica still focuses on their hardcore base even though they don't really need them. It's one of the big differences between the two.
On the one hand I kind of agree that the broad audience is where the money is for GN'R. But on the other hand, saying they completely disregard the hardcore base is obviously untrue. They might not service it to the same extent that Metallica does, but a band that's aimed exclusively at milking the casuals wouldn't be doing three-hour sets with Slither and Sorry and Coma.
They could easily show up, grind through this setlist and fuck off to their hotel after an hour and a half, and take home the same paycheck.
It's So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Chinese Democracy
Welcome to the Jungle
Live and Let Die
Estranged
Rocket Queen
You Could Be Mine
Civil War
Sweet Child o' Mine
November Rain
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Nightrain
Patience
Don't Cry
Paradise City
#230 Re: Guns N' Roses » Slash Says Guns N’ Roses Have a ‘Couple of Epic’ Songs to Release » 135 weeks ago
The other thing that might tempt me is if they created a line up with some really good supporting or headlining acts. Like motley crue and def leopard. Or Muse and Royal Blood. But I always seem to b underwhelmed with their choices.
I was gutted they had The Darkness as the support act at Imola a few years back, and didn't have them in the UK. Where they'd have a receptive audience.
