Whats the deal with AXL Rose?

[Jeff-7]

These stories came to me second hand so I can’t verify them personally but they are interesting. I have a friend who once met the late (RIP) Ronnie James Dio in a small club and my friend said Ronnie was the most pleasant person all night. He talked for hours with people in the club then politely asked to sit in with the house band and played for about 30 minutes.

Another friend met the notoriously reclusive singer for Tool Mr. Maynard James Keenan. I didn’t expect a good outcome for this encounter but on the contrary, my friend said Maynard was very pleasant and quite accommodating, who knew…

It'd be pretty awesome to meet Maynard, couldn't even begin to guess how much of my high school years were spent listening to them.

[mcmurray]

Chinese Democracy had a few really great tracks.

 

Axl has always been this way, this sort of behaviour is to be expected. That said, I saw them back in '07 and they arrived on stage on time and there were no dramas. The man can still sing.

 

Oh and Neo - without Axl, Slash would have been nothing, and vice versa.

 

Another friend met the notoriously reclusive singer for Tool Mr. Maynard James Keenan. I didn’t expect a good outcome for this encounter but on the contrary, my friend said Maynard was very pleasant and quite accommodating, who knew…

 

Maynard strikes me as pleasant and accommodating.

[Big_Guitarra]

Saw Axel Rose (G'N R) this year. Amazingly all the groups were on time and Axel did a couple of encores. I like Chinese Democracy but IMHO the lyrics for some of the songs ("Better") sound like has some serious emotional issues he needs to take care one day s n. For our venue the concert was fantastic. It was my son's first concert as well so I'm glad he can remember it as being a good one.

 

The following concert and it seems every one after ours there have been problems (delays). Pretty sad for sure.

[heymisterk]

To me, this video speaks volumes:

 

'88

 

Probably one of the best performances of Guns-n-Roses career. BUT...even then there are signs of Axl being Axl: Notice how he leaves the stage and blows off the second verse so he can get a friggin' cigarette. And he blows off the final lines of the song too, after he tosses the microphone off stage. Both times, you can see Slash look around for him. WTF?

 

I saw them in '91 and it was a great show, but even then Axl spent a helluva lot of time running off stage.

 

Such a shame. I truly believe that G'n R could have been one of the most influential and relevant bands in rock history.

[Californiaman]

Might be veering off thread here but just curious…anyone else have any “positive” or “not-so-positive” star encounters??

I have only met a few, Rob Zombie and Ted Nugent (separately but imagine the possibilities!!!) both total gentlemen.

The only not-so-positive story I have was watching Kenny Wayne Shepherd throw a man sized hissy fit over some people (including me) waiting outside his trailer for an autograph. Lost all respect for him and learned to never attempt to meet a hero again, just enjoy the music.

 

I have had the pleasure to meet some very good musicians during my Arts and Entertainment writing period.

 

Had a wonderful conversation with Dave Grohl after the bands Lalapalooza gig. We also watched Soundgarden together. He was very personable and liked the fact that I commented on the quality of the Foo Fighter's sound quality. Especially the fact that I told him they were very loud and very clean. He told me he would pass the compliment on to the man who runs the board.

 

Rudolf Schenker from the Scorpions met me back stage one night after a gig at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater. He also signed a copy of the bands latest CD.

 

Duke Erikson and Butch Vig were gracious enough to speak with me after a show at the Santa Barbara Bowl. We talked guitar tones and effects. Duke had used a 12-string Rickenbacker for the recording of "Special" on the band's Version 2.0 album and we were discussing the problems of taking it on the road. He used a Stratocaster instead but still managed to get the tone he was looking for with the effects he had at hand.

 

Rob Wasserman from the Grateful Dead was very nice too. I actually met his wife and her girlfriend at the Further Festival one summer afternoon. The ladies took me back stage where I got to hang with Rob and talk about the tour, life without Jerry and his gear.

 

Arlo Guthrie was an awesome interview. He really enjoyed talking about the changing face of music over the years.

 

This is just a few of the artists I've had the pleasure to speak with in person. There are so many more and I could go on and on, but hey... I've things to do now.