Rock In Rio 4 Cancelation/Buckethead departure

[Bruno Poeys]

I didn't remember that and I'm sure people still don't know this statement. I didn't know that Buckethead was/is such an asshole trying to promote himself.
anyway... got it from gnrontour.com (I just don't remember this statement, but I read it before).

Axl's statement regarding the cancelation:


The band has been put in an untenable position by guitarist Buckethead and his untimely departure. During his tenure with the band Buckethead has been inconsistent and erratic in both his behavior and commitment - despite being under contract - creating uncertainty and confusion and making it virtually impossible to move forward with recording, rehearsals and live plans with confidence. His transient lifestyle has made it impossible for even his closest friends to have nearly any form of communication with him whatsoever. Last time I talked to Bucket, he called to tell me he had bought a bootleg DVD off EBay and how proud he was to be in Guns and how impressed he was with everyone's performance. Then, in February we got word from Brain that Bucket had called him and said he was back in Guns!? Apparently, according to Bucket he had been "Gone" but had turned himself around and was really excited to do Rio-Lisbon and a European tour. Somewhere in the following month things changed once again. According to those who have actually spoken with Buckethead it appears his plans were to secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records which I encouraged my management to make available to him, quit GN'R and to use his involvement in the upcoming Guns release to immediately promote his individual efforts...Nice guy!

There is not a member of this camp that is not hurt, upset and ultimately disappointed by this event, and more to the point - if not this individual, certainly this individual's choices. Regardless of anyone's opinions of me and what I may or may not deserve, clearly the fans, individuals in this band, management, crew and our support group do not deserve this type of treatment. We as a whole, definitely feel that we afforded Bucket every accommodation perhaps so much so that it may be that we or more precisely, I may have done Guns a disservice and unintentionally allowed Guns to be put in this position.

On behalf of Guns N' Roses and myself I apologize to the fans who planned to see us at Rock In Rio - Lisbon. The festival and its tradition mean a lot to me personally and I sincerely do not enjoy being robbed by one of our own of the opportunity to be the first artist to play it for the third time. I would also like to express my gratitude to those who chose to embrace Buckethead's role in Guns and support our new line up. We greatly appreciate Bucket's contributions and remain open to "discussions" as there are obviously several issues to resolve. In the meantime rather than dwelling on the negative, Guns will be moving forward and surprisingly (without giving away any details) this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further. Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months.

Sincerely,

W. Axl Rose

[2NaFish]

thats axl's view (as written by merck). believe what you want from it.

[Bruno Poeys]

thats axl's view (as written by merck). believe what you want from it.

Some guy posted that on another board as well. He said that someone told him exactly that - some kind of "insider", if I'm not wrong, told him that buckethead only wanted to promote himself.
Axl said he spoke with people that actually had spoken with Buckethead. I can't see any reason to not believe in this. But then, I might be wrong.

[williambailey]

thats axl's view (as written by merck). believe what you want from it.

Some guy posted that on another board as well. He said that someone told him exactly that - some kind of "insider", if I'm not wrong, told him that buckethead only wanted to promote himself.
Axl said he spoke with people that actually had spoken with Buckethead. I can't see any reason to not believe in this. But then, I might be wrong.

That was always the vibe/impression that I got from the washup of the whole situation - that he simply used GN'R to further his own personal career.? I have mixed emotions about it.? On the one hand I think that the guy is an extremely talented guitarist, on the other, the whole image of him personally I don't think fitted with GN'R.

The aloofness and appearance of him I think may have helped to ostracise people from accepting the new line up somewhat during his time with the band.

[suicide]

There are always (at least) two sides to every story. This is only Axl's side.

I believe the RIR 4 show could still have taken place if the band had done any effort in finding a replacement for Buckethead.

And do you think Thal, Fortus, Brain, Stinson, ... sell less albums now then before their involvement in GN'R? Nah, everyone benefits! I'm sure that's not the only reason these guys (including Buckethead) became members of the band. Also remember Buckethead came from a totally different scene and his fans weren't all that excited for him and Brain to join GN'R.

I guess Buckethead made the right decision when he quit GN'R since, after all these years, there still isn't an album. That's not his fault. Also read the last lines of Axl's statement: "... this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further. Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months."

Buckethead has released some great solo stuff over the last years. Better than waiting for CD to come out!

[2NaFish]

thats axl's view (as written by merck). believe what you want from it.

Some guy posted that on another board as well. He said that someone told him exactly that - some kind of "insider", if I'm not wrong, told him that buckethead only wanted to promote himself.
Axl said he spoke with people that actually had spoken with Buckethead. I can't see any reason to not believe in this. But then, I might be wrong.

some guy said that what axl said was right.

[Hypird]

GNR also tried to get Bucket back 2006

[suicide]

Also think about this: why did Buckethead leave GN'R when he did? If he was only in it to promote himself why didn't he wait for the album to come out?

Now only the people who are really into GN'R (like us) know about him, not the general public. And why would the GN'R fans continue to buy his albums when they felt cheated because he was only in GN'R to "secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records" and "to use his involvement in the upcoming Guns release to immediately promote his individual efforts"?

If he had waited for this new band to become popular he'd sell way more albums! If you talk about Slash or Axl, people probably know who they are. Talk about Buckethead, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal or Richard Fortus and you won't get the same reaction.

[Loaded NightraiN]

Also think about this: why did Buckethead leave GN'R when he did? If he was only in it to promote himself why didn't he wait for the album to come out?

Now only the people who are really into GN'R (like us) know about him, not the general public. And why would the GN'R fans continue to buy his albums when they felt cheated because he was only in GN'R to "secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records" and "to use his involvement in the upcoming Guns release to immediately promote his individual efforts"?

If he had waited for this new band to become popular he'd sell way more albums! If you talk about Slash or Axl, people probably know who they are. Talk about Buckethead, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal or Richard Fortus and you won't get the same reaction.

Well one reason i'm sure he left was because of no album.... And probaly sick of axls shit....

[Lucky]

"Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months."

yeah right... next few months...
talk about march 6th...

[Voodoochild]

There are always (at least) two sides to every story. This is only Axl's side.

I believe the RIR 4 show could still have taken place if the band had done any effort in finding a replacement for Buckethead.

IMHO, they didn't because they wanted to left the door open to Bucket. Once they put a replacement like Ron (after a lot of time of waiting), there's no place nor chance for Bucket anymore.

[Loaded NightraiN]

There are always (at least) two sides to every story. This is only Axl's side.

I believe the RIR 4 show could still have taken place if the band had done any effort in finding a replacement for Buckethead.

IMHO, they didn't because they wanted to left the door open to Bucket. Once they put a replacement like Ron (after a lot of time of waiting), there's no place nor chance for Bucket anymore.

Yeah but why schedule such a big show, with the status of BH in such limbo?

[Voodoochild]

Who knows? Maybe it wasn't like that when they agreed to play. Maybe was a naive move to take him back to the band...

[daviebuckethead]

how does BH's departure give a "surprising" opportunity for recording to move on one extra step?

[AdZ]

How are people still drawing negativity from something that happened three years ago?


There's a lot more exciting things going on..

[Lucky]

like what? AFD lineup reunion wannabe?!
Axl's shoe size?

[AdZ]

Like what?

Are you serious?


If you don't know why, you really shouldn't be here.  Go dwell on the past somewhere else.

[GNRBABY]

Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months.

  yeah Axl, a few months have passed since then! But we still love ya

[Lucky]

Like what?

Are you serious?


If you don't know why, you really shouldn't be here.  Go dwell on the past somewhere else.

yeah right.
what really are we supposed to talk about?
album being released soon?
Well, I've been talking about the album release since 2000, so sorry I dont share your enthusiasm.

what else is there to talk about? You getting your first period?!

[stolat]

Why, have you got yours?

[gunns1]

[

Like what?

yeah right.
what really are we supposed to talk about?
album being released soon?
Well, I've been talking about the album release since 2000, so sorry I dont share your enthusiasm.

what else is there to talk about? You getting your first period?!

You have a point, what else can be talk about?

Are going to hear from gnr at all before the years out?
Is their any chance we might?
We cant talk about things we dont know, but we can talk about things that we do know, and what have happened,
eg Buckethead....
like why didnt he wanna come back ?

[sic.]

Also think about this: why did Buckethead leave GN'R when he did? If he was only in it to promote himself why didn't he wait for the album to come out?

At the end of last year, Buckethead became fed up with Guns' inability to complete an album or tour and stopped working with them, his manager said. - MTV Report

[A Private Eye]

BH releases loads of albums a year, I think it's 17 so far this year. I think the lack of progress with GNR was probably frustrating him so he left. I doubt he originally joined GNR just to raise his profile with sole intention of quitting once a few more people knew about him.

[GNRBABY]

^ Just for the record, I had been a Buckethead fan before he joined GNR. I discovered him through Les Claypool and saw him open for Primus on the Ant-Pop tour. He and Brain have been playing together in Praxis for like 7-8 years now...

[Ines_rocks!]

lol I remember this... Me and my brother was going to see them but then, it got cancelled... we were quite dissapointed but to be honest, after I heard which band was going to replace them (Foo Fighters) I kinda forgot about it and enjoyed a really good fucking show by Mr. Dave Ghrol who, during the concert, let people know how happy he was that Axl had cancelled so he could play for us. Lol he even played the intro of SCOM to make fun of Guns but hey! I didn?t take it seriously... it was funny and, afterall, by then I wasn?t that of a Guns fan lol. But it sure was a great show by Foo Fighters and concerning Guns, I got to see them two years after, in the same event. 

[Lucky]

that was the 3rd time they canceled a show I was supposed to go to. (2ce in 2001)

[Bruno Poeys]

Also think about this: why did Buckethead leave GN'R when he did? If he was only in it to promote himself why didn't he wait for the album to come out?

According to those who have actually spoken with Buckethead it appears his plans were to secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records which I encouraged my management to make available to him

Anyway, he knew he would be on the record, he would get his money/credit anyway. I really hope Ron replaced all his parts now. I love his playin', he's one of my favourite guitarists and I love his TWAT and Better solos, but what he did isn't nice from him. He can release albums even if he's in Gn'R. He had no real reason to leave, he was going to play Rock in Rio, but yeah, he was already known since he probably had a contract with Sanctuary Records.

[Bruno Poeys]

thats axl's view (as written by merck). believe what you want from it.

Some guy posted that on another board as well. He said that someone told him exactly that - some kind of "insider", if I'm not wrong, told him that buckethead only wanted to promote himself.
Axl said he spoke with people that actually had spoken with Buckethead. I can't see any reason to not believe in this. But then, I might be wrong.

some guy said that what axl said was right.

some guy that apparently worked for buckethead, doing promo stuff during the 2002 tour. User izzbo @ cd.com


I worked for Bucket Head doing promo stuff during the 2002 tour. I remember talking to his manager the day after the riots in Canada and I knew right then and there Bucket was in GNR for the publicity. His manager didn't know I was a GNR fan first and foremost. I asked him what he thought of the opening US date resulting in a riot. He answered something along the lines of "Yeah, Bucket Head isn't into all the negativity and shit the Axl represents. This just sucks that he has to be involved with that BS. We want to distance ourselves from that stuff and have nothing to do with it." I can understand a bit, but the tone of the whole conversation is that Axl sucks and come promote Bucket Heads solo stuff.

 -= izZbO =-

[suicide]

Sounds like Buckethead didn't say those things but his manager, according to "some guy izzbo from cd.com" who "worked for Bucket Head during the 2002 tour.

Sorry but I don't buy it.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but Buckethead doesn't have a recording contract with Sanctuary does he? I don't think he ever released anything for Sanctuary Records.

[Bruno Poeys]

Sounds like Buckethead didn't say those things but his manager, according to "some guy izzbo from cd.com" who "worked for Bucket Head during the 2002 tour.

Sorry but I don't buy it.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but Buckethead doesn't have a recording contract with Sanctuary does he? I don't think he ever released anything for Sanctuary Records.

Axl Rose said that. Believe if you want.

[Trist805]

I don't blame Buckethead.  He also had a solo career and it sounds like he couldn't go out on tour or do any of that stuff while he was in GNR.   Seeing as the album still hasn't come out it was probably better for him to move on and do his own thing.   Yes he did get a lot of fame out of GNR but at the same time it was probably holding him back and Axl originally hired him for a reason.   

[kingcanute]

What I read from this is just lack of communication. If I am not mistaken (although I don't know if it applies to this particular situation) Axl has (had) a tendency to isolate himself from the outside world, including band members, for long periods. This is not the best thing to do if you want to keep a band together. Add to that the enigma of Buckethead, who does not come across as very talkative, and misunderstandings are bound to happen. But this is of course just speculation.

I think it's the best for both parties that Buckethead just does his thing. Now we have Bumblefoot who is almost as gifted and a much more reliable member.

[Bruno Poeys]

What I read from this is just lack of communication. If I am not mistaken (although I don't know if it applies to this particular situation) Axl has (had) a tendency to isolate himself from the outside world, including band members, for long periods. This is not the best thing to do if you want to keep a band together. Add to that the enigma of Buckethead, who does not come across as very talkative, and misunderstandings are bound to happen. But this is of course just speculation.

I think it's the best for both parties that Buckethead just does his thing. Now we have Bumblefoot who is almost as gifted and a much more reliable member.

BBF's, at least, as gifted as him, if not more.

[Verse Chorus Verse]

And he's just plain kick-ass, which helps. Plus, he doesn't smell like KFC.

[michaelvincent]

Some of the most talented artists are unique to say the least and there is generally more to their actions than what they are on the surface. Food for thought: Neil Young and Stephen Stills have a relationship dating back to the early 60's with Buffalo Springfield and have worked together in various capacities since then. Following the first breakup of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Neil and Stephen started a band together that was quite successful, and for what seemed like little or no reason at the time Neil bailed halfway through the tour, leaving a note stating 'funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way... - Neil'. Who knows why he did that. Who knows for sure why Buckethead up and bailed from GnR. The craziest and most eccentric artists are hard to pin down really. You can speculate all you want, but unless Bucket decided to tell his side you'll never really know.

[RageNirvanaNIN]

Some of the most talented artists are unique to say the least and there is generally more to their actions than what they are on the surface. Food for thought: Neil Young and Stephen Stills have a relationship dating back to the early 60's with Buffalo Springfield and have worked together in various capacities since then. Following the first breakup of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Neil and Stephen started a band together that was quite successful, and for what seemed like little or no reason at the time Neil bailed halfway through the tour, leaving a note stating 'funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way... - Neil'. Who knows why he did that. Who knows for sure why Buckethead up and bailed from GnR. The craziest and most eccentric artists are hard to pin down really. You can speculate all you want, but unless Bucket decided to tell his side you'll never really know.

Unless BH decided to talk we'll never know anything.

[CSS]

I didn't know that Buckethead was/is such an asshole trying to promote himself.
anyway...

You're quite dull if you actually believe what was said yourself.

But you can make up your own mind as you wish.

Why, have you got yours?

Classic!

[bigbri]

thats axl's view (as written by merck). believe what you want from it.

Some guy posted that on another board as well. He said that someone told him exactly that - some kind of "insider", if I'm not wrong, told him that buckethead only wanted to promote himself.
Axl said he spoke with people that actually had spoken with Buckethead. I can't see any reason to not believe in this. But then, I might be wrong.

some guy said that what axl said was right.

some guy that apparently worked for buckethead, doing promo stuff during the 2002 tour. User izzbo @ cd.com


I worked for Bucket Head doing promo stuff during the 2002 tour. I remember talking to his manager the day after the riots in Canada and I knew right then and there Bucket was in GNR for the publicity. His manager didn't know I was a GNR fan first and foremost. I asked him what he thought of the opening US date resulting in a riot. He answered something along the lines of "Yeah, Bucket Head isn't into all the negativity and shit the Axl represents. This just sucks that he has to be involved with that BS. We want to distance ourselves from that stuff and have nothing to do with it." I can understand a bit, but the tone of the whole conversation is that Axl sucks and come promote Bucket Heads solo stuff.

 -= izZbO =-

Well, if they guy did work for Buckethead, he sucked at it. Everyone knows Buckethead spells his name as one word. That gives this story away as bullshit. Anyway, why wouldn't he want to distance himself from a riot, if true?

[suicide]

Well, if they guy did work for Buckethead, he sucked at it. Everyone knows Buckethead spells his name as one word. That gives this story away as bullshit. Anyway, why wouldn't he want to distance himself from a riot, if true?

True, and it's easy to say 'I worked for Buckethead'. He was probably just handing out flyers or whatever.

[ibelieveinaxl]

Sounds like Buckethead didn't say those things but his manager, according to "some guy izzbo from cd.com" who "worked for Bucket Head during the 2002 tour.

Sorry but I don't buy it.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but Buckethead doesn't have a recording contract with Sanctuary does he? I don't think he ever released anything for Sanctuary Records.

your right. bucket never had a contract or released a thing on Sanctuary. Tommy got a record deal with Sanctuary. They put out "Village Gorilla Head." Baz also got a managment deal with sanctuary...

[CSS]

So...

What's your point, exactly?

Buckethead already had a record company deal, so why should he have signed with Sanctuary?

[Dr. Blutarsky]

thats axl's view (as written by merck). believe what you want from it.

Some guy posted that on another board as well. He said that someone told him exactly that - some kind of "insider", if I'm not wrong, told him that buckethead only wanted to promote himself.
Axl said he spoke with people that actually had spoken with Buckethead. I can't see any reason to not believe in this. But then, I might be wrong.

That was always the vibe/impression that I got from the washup of the whole situation - that he simply used GN'R to further his own personal career.  I have mixed emotions about it.  On the one hand I think that the guy is an extremely talented guitarist, on the other, the whole image of him personally I don't think fitted with GN'R.

The aloofness and appearance of him I think may have helped to ostracise people from accepting the new line up somewhat during his time with the band.

I feel the same way, while BH was a very talented guitarist, his image and persona really did not fit with GNR.

[estrangedpaul]

I don't think it matters if Buckethead was only using it to promote himself. He was a contracted musician - by the nature of his job any work he does will help him in his career in general. I don't think there are many who would turn down a role in Guns N' Roses as a great career move. Just because he wanted to promote himself doesn't mean he can't be a star of the album. If he is going to be all over the album, playing on almost every song, he deserves and should be in the band, regardless of his intentions. Its farcical that Axl might release the album where one of the main stars is no longer in the band.

If Buckethead had always planned to leave as soon as he got enough publicity then that would be a different story,although if he believed the album was close to completion as Axl was saying at that time then it would have been strange timing. I guess we'll never know for sure.

[D]

Yeah and when Robin quit as Axl stated "The band was able to take the material further than they would've been able to do with Robin.