Young fans, will they accept GN'R and make them big again?

[WAR41]

thanks for everyone who has responded, especially the younger people.  I am not all that much older than you at 24, but I don't exactly hang out at high schools to see what kids are listening to. 

When I was in high school a few years ago ALL of my friends loved GNR.  We still talk about them all the time.  We all borrowed that SPIN magazine from each other all summer long after graduation.  At work we would talk about it and the weird shit Axl must be doing. 

But anyways, I think its pretty clear now that your average teenager is not exactly knowledgable of GNR. 

[Sakib]

If u mean VH=Van Halen, then yes. no one i know listens to it in my school (I'm 15 btw) and i do love Motley Crue. my girlfriend listens to it.
I got into GN'R because i saw the WTTJ video on Kerrang! and because I'd never hurd that type of music before, i thought it was cool

[Carlos_f_Rose]

I was wondering about new Guns N' Roses fans--the teenagers of today.

-Are kids also listening to VH and the Crue? Or is GN'R getting more attention?
-Did they get hooked onto GN'R via the Greatest Hits album?
- Are GN'R a band that the "cool" kids like nowadays?
-Any experience dealing with new fans?

Well man, I think when I started being a GNR fan, it was 4 years ago, and I was a teenager then, now Im 20 years Old, ?even When Im not a teenager anymore, Im also a kid yet.... ?

1.- I never liked VH, or the fucking Crue, they have some good songs dude, but for me, someone comparing GNR with bands like Motley Crue its kind of an offense...
2.- The new fans, really like the band, for albums such as AFD and the Illusions, they never got the GH,as long as I know...
3.- I dont exactly know who are the cool boys, or the uncool boys, I dont care... everyone is able to love Gnr...

[mega_music]

I have been a Guns N Roses fan for the better part of my life. I started jamming to GNR when I was in 2nd grade. We had a day in class that you had to dress up as what you wanted to be when you grow up. Some kids were Police Men, Astronauts, Teachers, and there was me I wanted to be Axl Rose. I'm now 25 and none of my friends are into Guns. Well to the point of the thread I am glad my love for Guns N Roses has brushed off on someone and thats my Nephew who is in 7th grade. He is into GNR and is always borrowing T-Shirts to wear to school because all of his friends think the old shirts are awesome. From what I hear the Jr High kids enjoy rock from the 80's. Most are into Van Halen, and Motley some are into Def Leppard and even a few are into Nirvana. I know all of these bands are staples in music but it surprises me that a Jr High kid would rather listen to Van Halen than one of the "cool" new bands. So my questions for those that are still in their teens is it because you love the music from the classic bands or is it that music now sucks!

[misterbrownstone]

16 male chicago

-Are kids also listening to VH and the Crue? Or is GN'R getting more attention?
most of my friends listen to metal (crue, =VH=, maiden, priest) i'd say maiden gets the most attention, but people still like gn'r, but no one believes in Axl.
-Did they get hooked onto GN'R via the Greatest Hits album?
i got hooked from AFD
- Are GN'R a band that the "cool" kids like nowadays?
the "cool" kids like emo shit.
-Any experience dealing with new fans?
hmmm..i duno when my friends got into GN'R but, we planned to go to a concert when somethin happens.

[El?m? on laiffia.]

18 and from Germany

- Are kids also listening to VH and the Crue? Or is GN'R getting more attention?

  I also listen to VR, not that much to Crue, though I read The Dirt and liked it a lot. At my school I'm almost alone with my GNR fandom, many people know the band, but only a few of their songs. I've seen two people wearing a GNRshirt, but I'm quite sure at least one of them only had it because the logo looks good.

-Did they get hooked onto GN'R via the Greatest Hits album?

  Well, I didn't. I knew GNR since I was a little girl. my mum is a fan, too, she listened to them a lot. (therefore 'guns' and 'rose' were some of the first english words I learned). Some years ago I moved her CDs to my room.

- Are GN'R a band that the "cool" kids like nowadays?

 No. at least not here. Rock music in generel is not cool. Techno is cool. I usually get some strange looks when I tell someone what I'm listening to, especially because I'm a girl.

-Any experience dealing with new fans?
Yes, everyday when looking into the mirror 

[nesquick]

It's weird to see some people associating GN'R and van hallen or motley crue. It's absolutely not the same music. In Europe, people generally associate GN'R to Nirvana, the early 90's erea, they were the two biggest rock bands back in the days, GN'R wasn't a hair-metal 80's one with fluo pants and heartless masturbating shredd guitar solos, make-up and superficial image
They were real. I see it as a disgrace to compare GN'R to any 80's hair metal bands. Cinderella, poison, Motley Crue, white Lions, Warrent...give me a break. GN'R never was that. Steven Adler explained it very well in VH1-BTM, and he was right.
GN'R went very popular? and big in Europe in the early 90's, during the Use Your the Illusion erea. AFD never had that much success here, in term of record sales, contrary to America. AFD was a typical American phenomenon I think. Europeans are more into the USI songs like November rain or Don't cry. It was way more successfull than Appetite in Europe.

[Falcon]

It's weird to see some people associating GN'R and van hallen or motley crue..

Though they were obviously a cut above, that's definately the case stateside. GNR are much more associated with the likes of The Crue and other Sunset Strip bands of the 80's than any other band/scene.

[ryan_of_lax]

Im from Newfoundland Canada, and though I'm graduated, I still know lots of people in highschool.

I've definitely noticed an uprising in interest in GNR. I think it started before the Greatest Hits CD came out, and it was this interest that made GH sell so much. Then, GH got hype, and hype sells more CDs to new people, and now everyone likes GNR a little more. I remember 5 years ago, I knew people who couldn't name one song by the band. I'm glad that has changed.

As for the Van Halen and Motley Crue comparison... I dont know anyone who listens to these bands.... GNR are definitely not lumped in that category. Van Halen are regarded as classic rock, whereas no one knows any Motley Crue stuff and they're just laughed at as a bad hair metal band. I know thats not true, but its the general feeling around here.

For some reason... GNR are held in the same respect as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin

[Axl Z]

i'm 25 and have been into gn'r since use your illusion, being that i was 11 when that came out my first chance of seeing them live was 2002's short lived tour when they played london arena (rip).
anyway, i can imagine it being a whole lot harder to get tickets if they toured now compared to only 3 years ago!

[Tim]

20 year old sophomore in college.  I got hooked on Guns way back in 6th grade, so i guess what was 96-97?   Becoming a fan at that period of the band is kind of tough because all I had to go off of was the music.  I am a obsessed with live music so at that point of course i couldn't see them live.  It's hard to go along with either side of the whole stupid argument "old guns" vs "new guns" because both bands are musically amazing.  On the one hand if you look at the band now and see that axl is the only origional member and dizzy being the only one still around from the older line-up then of course older fans can get pissed off and debate that this new incarnation is not guns n roses.  But if you look at the fall out of the band you can see that it fell apart one piece at a time.  It was axl's vision to keep gnr at the top of the rock n roll world when the new wave of grunge and alternative rock came about.  By one member leaving and axl finding a replacement it was still guns n roses, just with another guy filling in.  But as the years went by more people left and more people had to be replaced, essentially leaving an entire new core of guys wanting to keep the gnr name atop the music world.  I saw them in cleveland during the 2002 tour and I have to say that concert was one of the most energetic concerts I have ever been to.  The arena was only half full but it was definately one of the loudest crowds at any concert I've been to.  The new band has an excellent chemistry and each member brings a different music background to the stage, which makes for an awesome performance.  As anyone else here in the forum I cannot wait for CD not only because we have been waiting for it for so long, (obviously some of us longer than others), but this album will be really unique in the fact that  you have all these new members coming from different musical backgrounds coming together to rebuild one of the greatest rock n roll bands of all time.  Axl said it best after the VMA performance in 02 when he said it's never been done like this before.  But I am confident that CD will come out sooner or later, and when it does that we will not be disapointed.

[purplehaze1988]

I'm 16 and I just started college, and I have to say I'm amazed at the number of GNR shirts around. One guy was even wearing an Axl shirt which was pretty damn cool.

Unfortunately I am oneof the GH generation. When I was 11 my dad offered to buy me this album called "Appetite For Destruction". I was still young and naiive, so I told him I'd rather have Aenima by Tool...

Still, I was browsing a site one day and I saw GH scheduled for an April release, and from the GNR songs I had heard I knew I'd like them. And that's when it all began.

Are they popular at my college? In terms of a rock band, yes. Obviously rock is in the minority in England, but due to heavy airplay from media such as Kerrang! (there's only so many times you can hear someone say they love GNR and have only heard November Rain before you scream) and, yes, the greatest Hits, I'd say they are relatively popular. However, me and my cousin are the onlypeople I know who own more than the Greatest Hits.

As for VH and Crue...no. I've never met anyone under 30 who likes them.

[gnrfanxxx]

im only 12 and have been a fan for afew months so im probably the youngest one here. I feel like i have been a GNR fan for years i own like 6 cds a book and a t shirt and poeple at my school are green day lovers and GNR isnt really popular in my school its like me and 4 other people out of 300 that like guns and roses. i just want to say i might not have been there last year but im here this year and i think AXL ROSE IS THE BEST SINGER IN THE WORLD ROCK ON MAN!!!!!!

[Bad_Apple]

As a 19 year old I feel like I'm able to answer this question quite well...
1. ?VH and Crue are generally listened to by the white kids in our neighborhood, sorry if I come off racist here but it's like immigrants here outnumber the white kids by like 10 to 1. ?GNR gets totally more attention, by the white kids.
2. ?I got hooked on GNR through the Greatest Hits album, it really started when I was downloading music for my hockey games and I listened to jungle and you could be mine lots.
3. ?GNR aren't necessarily 'cool' nowadays, they're basically viewed as classic rock and not much more.

To go with the 3rd point, the 'cool' kids are generally the Fitty gangstas acting all dangerous. ?Now I'm an Asian, and the general conception is that Asians dress like pussies with the tight jeans and big hair. ?I don't claim to be dangerous, but I feel a sense of 'levelled' playing field when I know GNR dressed like pussies too, and they were just as dangerous as Fitty or MIKE JONES!..... ?who? ... ?MIKE JONES! ?Anyways yeeah I'm influenced by the media a little too much....

4. ?I guess I'm a new fan, I've been listening to them for like two/three years.

I love the fact you pointed out that you were Asian...phew...some asains know how to rock (and I salute you....Sorry all  my friends in school here are asain...incl' my roomate)
Oh, and your comments made me smile...thanks kid!

[AxlsMainMan]

im only 12 and have been a fan for afew months so im probably the youngest one here. I feel like i have been a GNR fan for years i own like 6 cds a book and a t shirt and poeple at my school are green day lovers and GNR isnt really popular in my school its like me and 4 other people out of 300 that like guns and roses. i just want to say i might not have been there last year but im here this year and i think AXL ROSE IS THE BEST SINGER IN THE WORLD ROCK ON MAN!!!!!!

It almost brings a tear to my eye....I wish I could experience falling in love with GnR in my youth,,,you rock on dude

[RichardNixon]

In the original post, I asked if new GN'R fans liked Crue and VH because they are from roughly the same era. I personally feel GN'R and VH are a cut above the Crue.

I also think that, contrary to popular conception, a lot of people like both Nirvana and GN'R. Maybe not the fringe nuts on either side, but casual rock fans like both. It's not 1996 anymore.

[mikegiuliana]

In the original post, I asked if new GN'R fans liked Crue and VH because they are from roughly the same era. I personally feel GN'R and VH are a cut above the Crue.

I also think that, contrary to popular conception, a lot of people like both Nirvana and GN'R. Maybe not the fringe nuts on either side, but casual rock fans like both. It's not 1996 anymore.

I think motley crue is fucking awesome and they put on a damn good show.. Crue is about 81 on with albums, vh about 77-78  (i forget when van halen-van halen ).. I would give the edge to VH during the david le roth era, but montley is ten times better during the sammy haggar era..

Everyone loves evh and they should, but mick mars is very underrrated on lead guitar..

All we know is someone is loving the new crue shows because they are selling out all the venues.. They are the 5th highest grossing band this year in concert sales..

[RichardNixon]

You know what's funny? I saw the Crue in '97 and the place was half empty, maybe 7000 fans showed. But in March, it was almost a sellout, like 17,000. Go figure.

[mikegiuliana]

You know what's funny? I saw the Crue in '97 and the place was half empty, maybe 7000 fans showed. But in March, it was almost a sellout, like 17,000. Go figure.

simple.. Because the fans were looking down on the crue then.. Same reason no one cared for sftd, omg live era, or scom off the big daddy soundtrack,.. manson rage limp tail end of grunge were still looking at these rock icons as carry over from the hair metal era.. 1994 to about 99 was no great time for bands from the 80's to make a comeback.. The same people who were like crue or gnr were 80's cheese or hair bands in the mid to late 90's are looking at them as legends and the trend is classic rock now//

[RichardNixon]

You know what's funny? I saw the Crue in '97 and the place was half empty, maybe 7000 fans showed. But in March, it was almost a sellout, like 17,000. Go figure.

simple.. Because the fans were looking down on the crue then.. Same reason no one cared for sftd, omg live era, or scom off the big daddy soundtrack,.. manson rage limp tail end of grunge were still looking at these rock icons as carry over from the hair metal era.. 1994 to about 99 was no great time for bands from the 80's to make a comeback.. The same people who were like crue or gnr were 80's cheese or hair bands in the mid to late 90's are looking at them as legends and the trend is classic rock now//

Grunge was dead by '95. SFTD got some airplay, I still here it now and again.