Your GN'R highlights?

[Selene Papillon]

The concerts in 1991 and 1993, and buying CD.

[Munamankeli]

In chronological order:

- 1987 when me and my friend watched a home-made video compilation recorded from Sky Channel or similar (back then MTV was not hit on our shores) and suddenly we  stared at the telly, then each others, back to telly. What the fuck? What's that intro and who is this guys screaming and acting like a real punk.  Mind you, at that time metal charts were dominated a bit different acts than these days. "Welcome to the jungle...er... what's that suppose to mean?" Little did we know but the song was shit hot. Gotta find out what's ongoing and get hold of the album! Which we finally did.

- 20.8.1988 Donington when me and my two friends (one has since passed away) saw them on stage in front of huge crowd of over 100.000 metal maniacs. Doninton festival was their only appearance in Europe that year - or remaining decade for that matter. Sadly the gig was not as good as expected due to various reasons beyond the band. Axl's trademark "Do you know where the fuck you are Donington?" sounded almost too timely and surreal. Jungle. Yes, it was a jungle or more like a battllefield. Not to mention his last words when leaving the stage "Don't kill yourselves!" Sad it was too late for those two guys...

- 29.11.2008 when we had our annual combined pre-Christmas party and fishing trip in Finnish archipelago. Only the closest friends, good food, loads of beer and assortment of best ever made metal records. This time it was mainly Chinese Democracy which got air-time, thanks to my friends. I somewhat doubted the quality of music until I heard it the first time, wow! After that I have given it a regular spin on my CD player. I don't know whether it's worth waiting all these years - sooner the better - but it's a damn good record by any standards.

Ah, and BTW this is my first post on HTGTH.

[Layflats]

My #1-

It had to have been '89 right after the Patience video was shot.

I'm from Lafayette, and Izzy had just bought this really nice place in the country in Lafayette.  Everyone around knew Izzy had just got it.

I'm in my basement doing whatever when two of my friends (remain nameless) come down carrying a guitar case.

They open it up and it's this really nice Guild acoustic, I'm like, "where did you get this thing?"

..."from Izzy's house"...

I realize I'm staring at the guitar Izzy played on the Patience video.  I'm like, "you have to take this fucking thing back to him."  They say..."we saw the red pants from "the Jungle" video, but we didn't take those"...jeez.

I call a buddy of mine who's working at a radio station and tell him what's up.  He agrees they need to get it back to him, but also says it would be cool to record a couple tracks with it at his studio.  They have a decent studio mic that feeds into a tape deck.  I'd been playing guitar a couple years by then and was cutting my teeth on everything, esp. tracks from Appetite & Lies.  So we jetted over and recorded a couple tunes (I think one was Patience) and the next day the two guys turned themselves into the police.  They said Izzy never took any action against them.  My buddy at the radio station still has the tapes.

[Uzi76]

2) 1990: Buying UYI 2, my first GnR cd.

wow, that was early!

1991 than, smartass. 
It is a long time ago, eh.

[Layflats]

My #2-

I moved back to Indiana after some time out West and didn't go back to Lafayette for a couple years (was in Indianapolis), but after 9/11 I decided that family was something I wanted to be around.  So I'm like "got to start over back home, ugh".  I'm jobless for a few weeks and go to a local music store called McGuire Music to ask about giving bass lessons.  I'd had a number of years of sales experience and got a call about working part time on the sales floor.  I thought "surrounded by guitars all day...why not".  I was only there for a few months, but on my last week the owner pulls me aside and said, "Izzy just called and wants us to sell some of his guitars on consignment"  I come in the next day and there are probably 15-20 guitars, plus a Yellow Slingerland drum kit he used on some of the Ju Ju Hounds tracks.

I'm opening case after case looking at these unbelievable guitars and start to notice a lot that I had seen when he performed live with GN'R.  Me and the other staff members are just geeking out over this, finding pictures online saying "that's the guitar, I'm holding it right now!" Then we also notice a bunch of custom picks, a ton of Ju Ju Hounds picks, plus about 5 GN'R picks (owners got dibs on those).  I ended up grabbing one of the Ju Ju Hounds picks which sits in front of me every day at work along with my prized Cher Tour 99 pick.

So somehow I'm cosmically linked to Izzy's guitars, who knew?

[carrie914]

1990-stealing my brothers acid wash jean jacket that had a giant patch of the appetite for destruction cover art to wear to 6th grade.

I felt so cool.

[GIMH]

August 2002, Leeds festival. Immense.

24/11/08, going to buy Chinese Democracy. Had to go to work, but went and bought it at lunchtime. Took the earliest lunch possible, and one of my colleagues said he'd never quite seen a grin like it as I walked out to get it. And then of course, sticking it on, and just thinking, "wow, I'm listening to Chinese Democracy" it was amazing.

[erose]

My #2-

I moved back to Indiana after some time out West and didn't go back to Lafayette for a couple years (was in Indianapolis), but after 9/11 I decided that family was something I wanted to be around.  So I'm like "got to start over back home, ugh".  I'm jobless for a few weeks and go to a local music store called McGuire Music to ask about giving bass lessons.  I'd had a number of years of sales experience and got a call about working part time on the sales floor.  I thought "surrounded by guitars all day...why not".  I was only there for a few months, but on my last week the owner pulls me aside and said, "Izzy just called and wants us to sell some of his guitars on consignment"  I come in the next day and there are probably 15-20 guitars, plus a Yellow Slingerland drum kit he used on some of the Ju Ju Hounds tracks.

I'm opening case after case looking at these unbelievable guitars and start to notice a lot that I had seen when he performed live with GN'R.  Me and the other staff members are just geeking out over this, finding pictures online saying "that's the guitar, I'm holding it right now!" Then we also notice a bunch of custom picks, a ton of Ju Ju Hounds picks, plus about 5 GN'R picks (owners got dibs on those).  I ended up grabbing one of the Ju Ju Hounds picks which sits in front of me every day at work along with my prized Cher Tour 99 pick.

So somehow I'm cosmically linked to Izzy's guitars, who knew?

Thats fuckin' incredible.

What happened to the guitars? Anyone left?

Wonder why he would sell those...

[Classic Case]

The concert in 2006 Fort Lauderdale< Florida......I was on line waiting to get in the venew and they didnt open the doors until make sure the band gnna show up, I was w my friend who just came from Southamerica to see GNR, .when they finally open the doors we run in to the venew and we had floor tickets and we were just in front of the stage, we couldnt belive it!....Bach was first, Paparoach second (I almost took off Jacobis glove but he didnt let me)....and finally after waiting more than an hour they palyed, I had friends in other locations upstairs included my sister and her husband, they wrere calling me every 15 min to ask me if they gonna show up, I told them who the fuck they think I am?...GNR manager?....so they asked me to find out and the security people said they coming in a few, a night that never gonna forget, the best concert ever, I cant wait to see them again, but this time I will follow the band to two more cities around my area.

[Boo]

Donnington 88

Me and my buddy took our own beer for the day. ( 12 litres of cider! ) Only to be told we couldn't take it on site. We hatched a plan. I went into the venue and directed my mate from the top of a hill to an unguarded barrier. He then proceeded to throw the 6 bottles over to me ,one of which snagged on the barbed wire spaying cider everywhere! As i was retrieving the cider i heard the sound of  screeching car tyres. My mate was being chased by security. I sat at the back of the arena, surrounded by cider thinking i was gonna be Biily No Mates for the day. An hour later there he was! He got a bollocking from security but was allowed in. We stayed in the same spot suppin away till i heard this riff. It was the first time i'd heard Sweet Child. I turned to my mate ( Maxi ) and uttered two words " Fuckin Hell! " We battled our way thru the crowd. It was mayhem. At that moment i realised i was watching something special. As GnR finished their set we turned away and i heard Axl shout " Don't kill yourselves " We had no idea that 2 fans had died till we arrived home. Euphoria turned to sadness in seconds. That day will live with me forever.

[Layflats]

Thats fuckin' incredible. What happened to the guitars? Anyone left? Wonder why he would sell those...

The owner of the music store told me that Izzy had a few instances where people were trying to steal this stuff because of the Gn'R ties. I think he finally got sick of it since he wasn't really playing them.  I'm not sure if any of it is left?  A lot were sold at the store and the owner helped him out through ebay.  I'm in there once/twice a month, I'll find out more about it.  I'll see if he has any Ju Ju Hounds picks left!

[erose]

Thats fuckin' incredible. What happened to the guitars? Anyone left? Wonder why he would sell those...

The owner of the music store told me that Izzy had a few instances where people were trying to steal this stuff because of the Gn'R ties. I think he finally got sick of it since he wasn't really playing them.  I'm not sure if any of it is left?  A lot were sold at the store and the owner helped him out through ebay.  I'm in there once/twice a month, I'll find out more about it.  I'll see if he has any Ju Ju Hounds picks left!

Cool!

So he sold them for what they were then without mentioning himself or GN'R?

Izzy is just too cool for school. I'd fuckin love, and would take up a loan, to get a hold of one of his old hollow bodied Gibsons.

[Layflats]

So he sold them for what they were then without mentioning himself or GN'R?

I talked with the owner last night.  They sold 11 all totaled, clearing around $50,000.  One was a '59 Gretsch Chet Atkins (sorry). 

They sold a number through ebay with pictures of Izzy using the guitars, so his name was attached to them.  This was about three years back.  Izzy picked up what ended up not going, most due to the high value.

He had a Sunburst Telecaster that I think is one he played on UYI tour.  I want to say it was a '59/'61.  This thing was trashed.  All the bindings were coming off and parts of it were held together with duct tape.  In the condition it was in it appraised for $20,000!  Nuts.

I asked the owner how Izzy got most of these guitars and he said they were normally given to him.  Izzy said that when they would play big market shows (New York, Chicago), guitar reps were constantly given them high end guitars, must have been rough.

Sorry, no Ju Ju Hounds picks left either 

[kmorgan]

Highlights?  Hmmmm.... When I was in high school, my brother got tickets for us to go the GnR/Metallica show in Dallas.  He also went to the one in Houston the night before.  I remember him grabbing my hand, (we had general admission- floor), and running as fast as he could to the front of the stadium.  We had lots of friends with us following.  We got to the very front.  I remember during Metallica, it was awesome, but I had room to move around and such, and then freakin' GnR came on, and it was crazy.  I was pinned to the railing right in front of the stage that separated where we were from where security was right in front of the stage.  Got to watch the whole concert right there on the front row.  Amazing.  I'll never in my life forget the way Axl did this hip move during Mr. Brownstone.   You could have killed me at that moment, and I'd have died happy.

Also, 20 years ago, I remember me and my boyfriend, (then, husband now), hearing Patience on the radio, and we both said, "That's my song."  It has been OUR song for 20 years now.  Everytime one of us is lucky enough to hear it on the radio, we call eachother to tell what station it's on.

There are also the various parties, (I'd like to say all from my adolescence, but I'd be lying), when there would be tons of us at a party just freakin' singing along with GnR at the top of our lungs.  I swear everytime I hear the opening of Sweet Child, I revert right back to a teenage freakin' girl.  I think I have a memory connected with every song on AFD.

Even still, there was 1992 when I was a junior in high school.  Our football team won state, and on the way to EVERY game all over Texas, we all listened to UYI in the cheerleading van.  Went to state in basketball in the next few months and did the same thing the whole time.  It was, like, good luck for us.

[erose]

So he sold them for what they were then without mentioning himself or GN'R?

I talked with the owner last night.  They sold 11 all totaled, clearing around $50,000.  One was a '59 Gretsch Chet Atkins (sorry). 

They sold a number through ebay with pictures of Izzy using the guitars, so his name was attached to them.  This was about three years back.  Izzy picked up what ended up not going, most due to the high value.

He had a Sunburst Telecaster that I think is one he played on UYI tour.  I want to say it was a '59/'61.  This thing was trashed.  All the bindings were coming off and parts of it were held together with duct tape.  In the condition it was in it appraised for $20,000!  Nuts.

I asked the owner how Izzy got most of these guitars and he said they were normally given to him.  Izzy said that when they would play big market shows (New York, Chicago), guitar reps were constantly given them high end guitars, must have been rough.

Sorry, no Ju Ju Hounds picks left either 

Wierd that a bunch of Izzy's guitars get sold on ebay and noone here picked up on it?

I'd be sure to put myself in serious debt for one of those he he!

[White-Rider]

So he sold them for what they were then without mentioning himself or GN'R?

I talked with the owner last night.  They sold 11 all totaled, clearing around $50,000.  One was a '59 Gretsch Chet Atkins (sorry). 

They sold a number through ebay with pictures of Izzy using the guitars, so his name was attached to them.  This was about three years back.  Izzy picked up what ended up not going, most due to the high value.

He had a Sunburst Telecaster that I think is one he played on UYI tour.  I want to say it was a '59/'61.  This thing was trashed.  All the bindings were coming off and parts of it were held together with duct tape.  In the condition it was in it appraised for $20,000!  Nuts.

I asked the owner how Izzy got most of these guitars and he said they were normally given to him.  Izzy said that when they would play big market shows (New York, Chicago), guitar reps were constantly given them high end guitars, must have been rough.

Sorry, no Ju Ju Hounds picks left either 

Wierd that a bunch of Izzy's guitars get sold on ebay and noone here picked up on it?

I'd be sure to put myself in serious debt for one of those he he!

i wasn't aware ... as I was looking for a guitar like this. Any link?

[The Catcher]

A few highlights:

Hearing Don't cry for the first time, the first GN'R song I ever heard, just after it got out, and getting hooked on GN'R immidiately.

Buying the End of Days soundtrack to hear the full version of Oh My God

Watching the RIR3 live stream and almost being moved to tears by my first listen to Madagascar

Seeing GN'R live twice for the first time in my life in the summer of 2006

Buying Chinese Democracy the second it came out

And something else I'd rather keep to myself for now because it means so much to me I may share it at some later point.

[heelaxl]

for me seeing gnr for the first time live in Belgium!!
+ hearing the song " This I Love"

[angeles]

IT WAS WHEN I SAW AXL FOR THE FIRST TIME SINGING PARADISE, IN 1987, I COULDN?T BELIVE THAT VOICE WITH HIS ANGEL FACE. I WAS HYPNOTIZED.
THIS TIME CHANGED MY LIFE FOR EVER .........

[Marion68]

Bought my first album in 1990

1993 GNR concert in Cologne

2008 Chinese Democracy and Axl?s Chat in the forum