China Exchange: 60 Minutes with Axl Rose [June 14 - official video available]

[sky dog]

Great interview.  One of the main things I got out of this and I have said it all along is that this is not a reunion so much as it is Slash and Duff rejoining what is currently happening.  Several things Axl said alluded to that, especially the parts pertaining to new music and the possibility of Slash or Duff not being on some of it.  I know some argued over semantics of this being a typical reunion type thing, and why there was no Steven or Izzy or whatever , but it is hard to argue after that interview.  This is clearly the band moving forward in 2016 not trying to recreate something from 1987.

yep.....good post.

[Factory Girl]

huh, interesting that you say they may not have discussed it yet. i figured that was something they would have spoken about already.

My understanding is that they got together for the tour. At some moment Axl showed them his songs...and this fact alone, IMO, shows that he's interested in their opinions and working with them. They have a stadium world tour coming that will extend until next year. Then there's also ACDC, Slash's and Duff's other commitments. As Axl said, they did not speak for 19 years, so they're probably still reforming their relationship and getting to know each other again. I think if there is any album in the future it will come when they have time to talk about it etc, not between rehearsals for a world tour, running from one city to another. But who knows?!?

[Voodoochild]

Exactly. And they may had agreed to not really work in something new untill after at least Coachella, as they are still working out how things goes. It's like you can't ask your girlfriend/boyfriend to marry you after only a couple of dates, even if it's an old ex-girl/boyfriend.

[jarmo]

huh, interesting that you say they may not have discussed it yet. i figured that was something they would have spoken about already.

No, that's not what I meant.  Axl said they liked the stuff he played them.

I said that maybe the focus isn't on whether or not, or when, they'll play on some of the songs at this moment.
Maybe the focus is on the shows. And that's why Axl didn't make any kind of promise about it.




/jarmo

[Voodoochild]

Pure speculation here, but I think that Slash and Duff willing to play CD songs and even add their own spin (noted on Better and Chinese) speaks tons about if they want to work in new stuff.

[Voodoochild]

Here I transcribed part of the interview (still taking me very long to watch everything, that guy is painfully bad at conducting an interview and the audio is still bad) that I really liked. I guess that adds more into the whole Slash and Duff approach on new stuff. Also, it answers some questions people asked in that other thread.

Keep in mind that English is not my 1st language. It's around the 34:00 mark.

Hum.. I'm a big fan of the previous lineup before getting back with Slash and Duff, and we did a lot of work with that, our drummer, Frank, Dizzy and Richard… And, we know, to Slash's credit, what I gotta say is.. he and Duff.. Like, Duff have played with the last line up a few shows and came in and play the way we did the songs. And then going in to getting ready to Vegas and Coachella, they all chosed to uh.. they just worked very hard, and Duff and Slash came in and worked very hard with Frank on the rhythm 'cause that's how they like to work, with the drummer, and the drummer has a relationship Richard, that works really good, they like Richard, everybody like each other.

I didn't have to tell Slash anything about embracing the.. working on Chinese Democracy songs, or how to play them, he just embraced them, worked really hard. And I had no idea how they were gonna sound, I never heard him play in certain ways, because the last times we talked he was saying "I dont wanna work that hard" than that's that. For him to take on Buckethead or Bumblehead's part… Bumblehead [lol].. Bucketfoot.. Buckethead and Bumblefoots parts and just step to on its own, and work at it, and like it, and enjoy it, that helped a lot, so they worked really good on rehearsals together, so, (inaudible)..

[Voodoochild]

Also, another interesting tidbit that I didn't see people talking yet.. Someone asked him if there's any new subject he would like to write about in his songs. Here's his answer (around 40:30):

I havent really given that any thought, I mean, I think its all kinda like right in the back of your head about how you're gonna tackle this.. songs and stuff. So part of me feels like Im happy that I didnt write things a year ago to something because I feel like where Im gonna go at now would be stronger.

[Factory Girl]

Just wanted to say that, before I watched the video, just reading what people wrote about the event, I got the impression that he was being kinda agressive towards Slash, saying that he didn't want to work hard on the songs, the thing about the book, the new album etc. But when I watched the whole thing I could see that he's actualy speaking very light-hearted, smilling, making jokes and the things he said, out of context, look COMPLETELY different.
Also as the sound from the first video is really bad, some people got what he said completely wrong.

[draguns]

Maybe he didn't want to step ahead and talk on behalf of Slash and Duff about something they may not be so sure yet. Did you ever think that maybe they are not interested in recording over the CD-era material? Or maybe they just didn't sit and talk seriously about it.

Yes. I don't know how much time they've had recently to discuss anything relating to those recordings with rehearsals, April shows, AC/DC's European tour and the upcoming GN'R summer tour...
I might be wrong, but judging by the recent activity, I'd assume that GN'R is focused on the tour...

Lets take one step at a time. In a week and half, the tour begins. Let's enjoy that! It's been 24 years since I last saw these guys TOGETHER!

It's less than that, a week!


/jarmo

I agree! 

[TheBaconman]

huh, interesting that you say they may not have discussed it yet. i figured that was something they would have spoken about already.

No, that's not what I meant.  Axl said they liked the stuff he played them.

I said that maybe the focus isn't on whether or not, or when, they'll play on some of the songs at this moment.
Maybe the focus is on the shows. And that's why Axl didn't make any kind of promise about it.




/jarmo

Perhaps it's more of a business relationship now and the three of the haven't really spent all that much time together?

No real time to play songs and tell stories

If that's true

There is nothing wrong with it. 

What ever is working is working.   

I would just love to see some current pictures of the three of them. A current interview with the three of them.  Or stories about stiff the three of them have recently did. Etc...

[ice cream sand pig]

huh, interesting that you say they may not have discussed it yet. i figured that was something they would have spoken about already.

No, that's not what I meant.  Axl said they liked the stuff he played them.

I said that maybe the focus isn't on whether or not, or when, they'll play on some of the songs at this moment.
Maybe the focus is on the shows. And that's why Axl didn't make any kind of promise about it.




/jarmo

oh ok, gotcha. thanks jarm.

[ice cream sand pig]

Just wanted to say that, before I watched the video, just reading what people wrote about the event, I got the impression that he was being kinda agressive towards Slash, saying that he didn't want to work hard on the songs, the thing about the book, the new album etc. But when I watched the whole thing I could see that he's actualy speaking very light-hearted, smilling, making jokes and the things he said, out of context, look COMPLETELY different.
Also as the sound from the first video is really bad, some people got what he said completely wrong.

yeah, its like when you misinterpret someone's text or email and get offended by what they say when if it was in person it would have come off as a light joke.

Pure speculation here, but I think that Slash and Duff willing to play CD songs and even add their own spin (noted on Better and Chinese) speaks tons about if they want to work in new stuff.

agreed

[ice cream sand pig]

Also, another interesting tidbit that I didn't see people talking yet.. Someone asked him if there's any new subject he would like to write about in his songs. Here's his answer (around 40:30):

I havent really given that any thought, I mean, I think its all kinda like right in the back of your head about how you're gonna tackle this.. songs and stuff. So part of me feels like Im happy that I didnt write things a year ago to something because I feel like where im gonna go at now would be stronger.

interesting. so that may pertain to the new new stuff. id guess the lyrics from what would have been the second half of cd were already laid down.

just how much material does this guy have laying around, including the stuff he hasnt even put lyrics to yet? i wonder at what rate the band puts out material for him/eachother to work on? there could be well over 100 could be would be gnr songs that have come and gone over the years.

[Voodoochild]

Also, another interesting tidbit that I didn't see people talking yet.. Someone asked him if there's any new subject he would like to write about in his songs. Here's his answer (around 40:30):

I havent really given that any thought, I mean, I think its all kinda like right in the back of your head about how you're gonna tackle this.. songs and stuff. So part of me feels like Im happy that I didnt write things a year ago to something because I feel like where im gonna go at now would be stronger.

interesting. so that may pertain to the new new stuff. id guess the lyrics from what would have been the second half of cd were already laid down.

just how much material does this guy have laying around, including the stuff he hasnt even put lyrics to yet? i wonder at what rate the band puts out material for him/eachother to work on? there could be well over 100 could be would be gnr songs that have come and gone over the years.

Are we sure that he was talking about CD2 stuff? Maybe its new new material.

Also there's no black or white in this case. He may have a 15 year old unreleased song on his vault, but missing only *some* lyrics, not all. Maybe a bridge, a chorus.. I dunno.

[ice cream sand pig]

yeah, thats what i meant by new new material.

now that's the kind of story i'd like to hear... "i couldn't figure out what to write for the second verse of __ for years, but then i had so and so experience and the words just came to me."