The Dol-drums

Another NIN alumni, Chris Vrenna, was approached to replace Matt Sorum.

"April of '[97], right after Matt Sorum left the band... I got a call from those guys about going down and jamming... Duff was still in it... They had already gotten Robin Finck... [Axl] is super well-listened. He was always a big Nails fan... They wanted the option of experimenting with electronics... My role was supposed to be drumming and programming." (Chris Vrenna, Spin, 07/99)

"When I was there, Moby was going to produce... Axl really wanted it to have an electronic element. He kept referencing the Passengers album that U2 did ['Original Soundtracks 1,' a 1995 collaborative effort of U2 and Brian Eno released under the pseudonym of Passengers] - 'It's wonderful. It's so good.' That and Nine Inch Nails." (Chris Vrenna, AL.com, 10/23/18)

"[Axl] was quiet, soft-spoken, very amicable and friendly, and always very 'up'," recalls drummer Chris Vrenna... ''Hey, did you see the movie that opened last night?' or 'Did you see the news today?' Or, 'Check out these records today', that sort of thing. He loved to debate or discuss something." (What's On Dubai, 12/10)

"Axl didn't come in very often; he'd show up about once a week. [Once,] Axl came down and he was just in the mood to play and he was like, 'Alright we're going to run 'Appetite,' top to bottom. Ready? Go!'... He sang half of the words, half voice - he didn't want to blow himself out. He sat and played the grand piano for some of the songs...     

So sometimes we jammed. Sometimes me and Moby just sat and drank coffee and talked about music." (Chris Vrenna, AL.com, 10/23/18)

"They were trying to get ideas together, see who was compatible with who as far as a band vibe... Axl had a definite direction he ultimately wanted to head toward, but at the time there wasn't even a song yet." (Chris Vrenna, Rolling Stone, 05/11/00)

"It was all jamming, trying to come up with parts. There were no songs written or anything, so every single thing that was played in the room got recorded just in case somebody came up with something good... By that time everything was so fractured, and everybody had an opinion of what the band should do... And Paul (Huge) made it change a little bit." (Chris Vrenna, AL.com, 10/23/18)

"'I did [it] for a couple weeks, but then decided I didn’t want to join the band,' says Vrenna." (Chris Vrenna, Audiohead.net, 07/02)

"Vrenna turned down a drumming spot in GN'R to work on a record of his own. 'It was going to be a long commitment,' Vrenna says. 'There was no firm lineup." (Rolling Stone, 05/11/00)

"They sent me a contract to continue to work with the band... They wanted to guarantee that people would do the album and commit to the tour. With the shake-up that [the] band [had], I think Axl was just looking for a little stability." (Chris Vrenna, Spin, 07/99)

Next to try out the drum stool was former Pearl Jam member Dave Abbruzzese.

"Dave Abbruzzese (ex-Pearl Jam) has been rehearsing with GN'R in Los Angeles." (MTV Brazil, 05/01/97)

"Abbruzzese reportedly flew to Los Angeles from Seattle last week to work on the project." (All-Star Online, 04/29/97)

"Matt confirmed that both Chris Vrenna (ex-Nine Inch Nails) and Dave Abbruzzese (ex-Pearl Jam) has been/is working with GN'R (according to Matt, Dave is now in the studio with the band). He also confirmed that Moby was working with them." (Allstar, 05/13/97)

"The rehearsals with [Dave] Abruzzesse and [Chris Vrenna] as a duo were really cool; it was a shame then that it didn't work out." (Axl, Spinner, 02/27/09)

"Dave Abbruzzese was after me and then after Dave was Joey (Castillo). And then Joey was the drummer for quite a while." (Chris Vrenna, AL.com, 10/23/18)

Castillo would've played with Guns during the latter half of '97, before joining Zilch.

On 05/29/97, Cirque du Soleil relocated to Oakland, CA; this would be the last city on the initial run, and Robin was likely contractually obligated for it - the extended run would begin on 07/31/97 in San Jose, CA.

Axl's Boy Wonder

"Matt Sorum introduced Rose to former Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck, advising that he would make a great foil for Slash - who could then be restored to the line-up." (Q Magazine, 05/01)

"The lead guitar spot remains open and Slash's return is not out of the question. However, according to our source, the guitarist and Rose haven't spoken at all this year." (Addicted to Noise, 03/19/97)

"Axl had come to simply see the circus (laughs) and he and I had never met and he didn't know I was there. One of the guys Axl was with in the grandstands pointed and said (in hushed excited voice), 'Axl, you see that guitar player down there? That's Robin from Nine Inch Nails.' ... Axl was telling me this after the fact. And he just kind of scratched his head and was sitting there thinking, 'What is he doing here?'" (Robin, Ultimate Guitar, 01/17/14)

"I told Axl to see him and he said 'That's our guitar player,'" says Sorum. "I said, 'Bring in Robin to play alongside Slash,' but Axl said, 'I want him to play lead.'" (Spin, 07/99)

"I got a call from Axl Rose [while in Cirque du Soleil], who I never met at the time. He invited me to the studio as he was writing and recording songs. It was an invitation for a casual listen. Eventually, after about eight weeks, we started playing together." (Robin Finck, 2000)

Axl called Robin no later than mid-January, as he was already playing with the band when Moby came aboard. From 01/29/97 onwards, Cirque du Soleil's Quidam was based in Orange County, between their two stays in Santa Monica, enabling Robin to divide his time between GNR and the circus.

"At that time Axl was no longer playing with Slash but the rest of the original guys were still together. ... He invited me to play with he and the rest of the Guns N' Roses guys at the studio space they were kind of housed in. It was a welcomed opportunity just to play that one day. ... We played Guns songs and some cover songs." (Robin, Ultimate Guitar, 01/17/14)

"I played with Robin a few times and he's a great guy." (Duff, Hard Force, 07/99)

"Eventually I was bringing my ADAT tapes I was working on in my apartment."  (Robin, Ultimate Guitar, 01/17/14)

"We played some of my songs and finally I left the circus and was doing records with Axl, Josh and Tommy, and what would have been a new Guns N' Roses, if you will." (Robin Finck, 2000)

Moby with King Dick

The rebooted recording sessions were originally scheduled for February. A producer was now sought after to accommodate whatever ventures Axl'd choose to pursue.

"In 1997, Todd Sullivan, who was then a talent executive for the company, sent Mr. Rose a sampling of CD's produced by different people, and encouraged him to choose one to work on 'Chinese Democracy.' Mr. Sullivan says he received a call informing him that Mr. Rose had run over the albums with a car." (New York Times, 03/06/05)

"Rose was interested in Moby after hearing Animal Rights." (Moby, Earshot, 12/97)

"Whenever I hang out in Guns N' Roses' studio - it's in some big warehouse in Los Angeles - the atmosphere there is just so nice. Everyone involved really likes one another." [...] [Moby] is describing the three or four preproduction sessions he's recently attended for the forthcoming Guns N' Roses release." (Moby, Icon Magazine, 10/97)

Moby entered talks with Axl in late February.

"[Moby and Axl] are said to have gotten along famously during meetings over the past three weeks and have "seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things." [...] Rose has met with several producers about handling what will undoubtedly be a labor-intensive project, but 'he hasn't gone this far with any other producers,' according to a Guns N' Roses spokesperson.

[...] 'At the risk of sounding like a sleazy music biz guy, I met with Axl last week to hear their new demos,' said Moby while he was discussing the future of electronica on a panel at Austin, Texas' South by Southwest Conference. 'They're writing with a lot of loops, and believe it or not, they're doing it better than anybody I've heard lately.'" (Moby, Allstar, 03/18/97)

One of the demos Moby might've been presented with was the work-in-progress track, Oh My God. Mentioning Matt suggests the song existed in some form in February/March '97.

"Musically the song was primarily written by Paul Huge [in early 1997], with Dizzy Reed writing the musical hook of the chorus. Former member Duff McKagan as well as former employee Matt Sorum failed to see its potential and showed no interest in exploring, let alone recording the piece." (Axl, Press Release, 09/22/99)

"'I don't think this new music is just a vehicle for him as a solo performer. He wants this to be a band where everyone contributes,' says Moby. 'On the music I've heard, you can hear everyone's distinctive voice coming through. [...] The music they're working on has a very dramatic quality to it. They're using some modern technology. Axl's really excited about sampling. He loves the DJ Shadow record and Nine Inch Nails. The stuff I've heard is much more concise than, say, 'November Rain.' Not bombastic. Very stripped down. Very intense. It's not hard-rock music in the way that 'Welcome to the Jungle' was.'" (Icon Magazine, 10/97)

The material presented to Moby would've been recorded by Paul Huge/Krys Baratto/Sid Riggs/Dizzy.

"The story goes that Moby [...] went in to soak up some music compiled on nearly 300 DAT tapes that the band had filled with what the source described as 'ideas, loops and sketches,' and was duly impressed with what Rose and crew had come up with." (Addicted to Noise, 03/19/97)

"'I found it difficult to chart a linear development of the songs that they were working on,' recalls Moby. 'They would work on something, it would be a sketch for a while, and then they'd put it aside and go back to it a year, six months later. He became a little bit defensive when I asked him about the vocals. He just said that he was going to get to them eventually,' Moby continues." (Rolling Stone, 05/11/00)

"Most of the stuff he had played me was just sketches, Mr. Sullivan recalled. I said, 'Look, Axl, this is some really great, promising stuff here. Why don't you consider just bearing down and completing some of these songs?' He goes, 'Hmm, bear down and complete some of these songs?' Next day I get a call from Eddie [Rosenblatt, the Geffen chairman], saying I was off the project." (New York Times, 03/06/05)

"'They've asked me to be the producer,' Moby says, 'but I'm not sure I'm capable of doing that because, if nothing else, making this record is going to be a long, long process.'" (Icon Magazine, 10/97)

"'I would have had to move to L.A. for 10 months to do it,' he explains... 'Even though it means giving up a couple of million dollars, I had to say no.' (Just in case you're wondering, Moby got along great with the band and still wants to help out.)" (Moby, Earshot, 12/97)

However, long-time producer Mike Clink was tasked with shepherding the revamped GNR flock.

"Guns n’ Roses have confirmed Mike Clink to produce their next album...  Sources at the band’s label, Geffen, say the inclusion of Clink doesn’t exclude involvement from Moby, the techno-rock solo artist and producer who has previously acknowledged to the media that he’s been talking to the band." (MTV, 05/22/97)

"Why we went with Mike Clink [on AFD], we went for a raw sound because it just didn’t gel having it too tight and concise. We knew what we were doing, and we knew this: we know the way we are onstage, and the only way to capture that energy on the record, is by making it somewhat live, doing the bass, the drums and the rhythm guitar at the same time. Getting the best track, having it a bit faster than you play it live, so that brings some energy into it." (Axl, Kerrang, 04/29/90)

"The group have brought in several guitarists to lay down what was described as 'sketches and ideas for guitar parts on the demos,' including a young, unnamed fresh face Rose has apparently taken a shine to." (Addicted to Noise, 03/19/97)