ITW 2012 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 http://www.spinner.ca/2011/03/14/guns-n-roses-dj-ashba-neil-diamond/Neil Diamond will be rightfully welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a special dinner in New York City tonight. Turns out, though, Diamond's considerable reach goes even further than most people realized -- like all the way to Guns N' Roses. Current GN'R guitarist DJ Ashba tells Spinner that when he got the call to join Axl and co., Diamond reached out to him to give his blessing."When I joined Guns he was actually the first person to call me and say, 'Hey, this is a really, really good thing to do,'" Ashba tells Spinner. "He's almost kind of been a father figure to me, which is really cool. He bought me a ukulele and signed it when I joined Guns as, like, a gift. He's just been beyond amazing; I'm thankful he's a part of my life."Ashba got to say thank you to Diamond recently, too, when he serenaded the icon at his 70th birthday bash."It was just such a fabulous party," he says. "I showed up to play the national anthem for him, and went into, from that, a little version of 'Sweet Caroline' to 'Happy Birthday' on the guitar for him -- we brought out a full guitar rig, and it's loud as s---; we're laughing, we were kind of almost hoping the cops would show up because it would make a funny story."It appears the guitarist was also a tad starstruck."When I was at his house, there are planes that are writing, 'Happy birthday, Neil Diamond' in the sky, and I looked over and he had the biggest, proudest smile on his face, and all his family was there. It was like, 'Holy s---, I'm at Neil Diamond's house.'"Watch Neil Diamond Perform 'Sweet Caroline' LiveWhile Ashba would have jumped on the Guns N' Roses gig even without Diamond's encouragement, he admits that he wasn't really sure what lay ahead when he joined the infamous rockers -- especially when it came to his new bandmates."I didn't know what to expect, really," says Ashba of Rose, in particular."All I heard was different things from different people, and I met him like 10 years ago when Sharon Osbourne introduced me to him. They were in doing 'Chinese [Democracy]' and I was doing the Beautiful Creatures album right next door. He was the nicest guy. [but] you hear all the rumors, you see what you see."And Ashba insists that what he's personally seen of Rose isn't at all in line with the drama depicted in the media."I was shocked mostly because he is quite the opposite of what you hear. He is one of the best friends I've ever had, we talk every single day. And he is the funniest guy; the guy is funny as s--- and always cracking jokes. He's quite the opposite of what people I think want him to be, that ass----." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gunns5 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 cool insight, thanks for posting. Dj is really good with the fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.W.A.T. Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 cool insight, thanks for posting. Dj is really good with the fansDJ and Bumblefoot are AWESOME with the fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gunns5 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 cool insight, thanks for posting. Dj is really good with the fansDJ and Bumblefoot are AWESOME with the fans.add Pitman to the list, those 3 the best with the fans when you meet them in person, in my experience anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turn_It_Up Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Neil Diamond IS Guns N Roses. Edited March 16, 2011 by Turn_It_Up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 'We talk every day' that's cool. I always get the feeling Axl doesn't deserve all the shit he's getting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOOSIER GUNZ Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Um . . . Wow, that's uhh . . . very rock n roll, right? \\m//Axl, Please pop up here or somewhere and drop some news, thoughts or songs on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tange Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 cool insight, thanks for posting. Dj is really good with the fansDJ and Bumblefoot are AWESOME with the fans.add Pitman to the list, those 3 the best with the fans when you meet them in person, in my experience anyway.agree. I emailed Pitman and he responded like the next day. Cool dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocketQueen1985 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 That's cool I'm not surprised DJ and Axl are good friends. I mean, it isn't everybody who get's invited to go buy guns with Axl Rose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt13 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Neil Diamond is the man! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8PSNucxT7sMy favorite song of his: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changes Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Maybe a stupid question, but how big is Neil Diamond in the US? I know the name but absolutely nothing about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turn_It_Up Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Maybe a stupid question, but how big is Neil Diamond in the US? I know the name but absolutely nothing about him.He's somewhere between Wayne Newton and the Rolling Stones. Yeah, that's where he is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt13 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 LOL Neil Diamond. Much worst than Fergie. LOL NEIL DIAMOND!!! I hope you are just joking and being obnoxious as usual.He's not joking. His opinion is a reflection of how much today's generation (that started with my generation) is uneducated, undignified, disrespectful, demoralized, self-righteous and generally a waste of space. It's best just to ignore people like that, which unfortunately, is more than half of the people living in at least this country (U.S.).I blame it on liberalism and a lack of the opposite of what I mentioned above in the attitude of their parents. It's embarrassing, honestly, when it comes to the dignity of this nation. Oh well, shit happens. Pass the beer nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITW 2012 Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 I think some of you have got Neil Diamond mixed up with Dustin Diamond, but it's alright... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turn_It_Up Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 (edited) I think some of you have got Neil Diamond mixed up with Dustin Diamond, but it's alright...Good call.Did ND ever get a Dirty Sanchez like DD? Edited March 18, 2011 by Turn_It_Up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcalldp Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 (edited) LOL Neil Diamond. Much worst than Fergie. LOL NEIL DIAMOND!!! This sounds like the kind of comment someone would make after hearing Urge Overkill playing 'Girl You'll be a Woman Soon' in the movie Pulp Fiction, thinking it's the coolest thing ever and never realizing it's a Neil Diamond song. Check out his catalog, it's vast and he's a serious song-writer. He's not my favorite, his style is more an American pop version of Leonard Cohen (Take Cohen any day) but to compare him to Fergie? She has absolutely nothing substantial to add to music and doesn't (and will never) have the influence on other musicians that artists like Diamond have had. Fergie is not an artist, she's an entertainer. There is a difference. Putting Fergie and Diamond together is like comparing Jello and Steak. Sure, Jello is a pretty red color and jiggles around in a pleasing way, it's a quick snack on the go. Stake is a serious food, satisfying, a real meal you can savor and enjoy.Fergie is Jello. Edited March 18, 2011 by mcalldp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gunns5 Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 LOL Neil Diamond. Much worst than Fergie. LOL NEIL DIAMOND!!! This sounds like the kind of comment someone would make after hearing Urge Overkill playing 'Girl You'll be a Woman Soon' in the movie Pulp Fiction, thinking it's the coolest thing ever and never realizing it's a Neil Diamond song. Check out his catalog, it's vast and he's a serious song-writer. He's not my favorite, his style is more an American pop version of Leonard Cohen (Take Cohen any day) but to compare him to Fergie? She has absolutely nothing substantial to add to music and doesn't (and will never) have the influence on other musicians that artists like Diamond have had. Fergie is not an artist, she's an entertainer. There is a difference. Putting Fergie and Diamond together is like comparing Jello and Steak. Sure, Jello is a pretty red color and jiggles around in a pleasing way, it's a quick snack on the go. Stake is a serious food, satisfying, a real meal you can savor and enjoy.Fergie is Jello.in other words, Fergie is Jelly of Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tange Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Neil Diamond to me is in the same genre as Michael Bolton. LOL @ DJ Ashba!funny thing about that is as big a fag as bolton is, He'll be remembered long after fergie is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcalldp Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Neil Diamond to me is in the same genre as Michael Bolton. LOL @ DJ Ashba!You are comparing this: To This: ?? No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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