China Exchange: 60 Minutes with Axl Rose

[AlexC]

5 hours ago, ACP said:

Apologies if this has already been posted, but if not, here's a little treat I found - a review of last night, some video and then the recording of the rest of the talk (once people had been asked to switch off their cameras). PS I did not film this. 

https://sahirftw.wordpress.com

Ha, so after an almost perfect afternoon of answering questions and being nice he still managed to tell someone to fuck off gotta love Axl \m/

[sanity_lost]

I finally had a chance to listen to it. My borrowed computer has awful sound. Even with it and the youtube video volume turned all the way up I couldn't hear it. I finally dug out my old tablet and could get the volume up enough audible when I concentrated. I couldn't make out a lot of the questions but mostly could make out what Axl said except in a few instances. I thought it was really interesting. I am also amused that he did talk about his animals briefly. I really want to see the completed talk with clear audio and video when they post it.

I think the best Axl interview is to just sit back and encourage him to talk. There are a few people out there who are just fascinating to listen to. I have a couple people like that in my life that I just enjoy being around. You just want to sit in the room with them and encourage them to talk all day. I think he'd be one of them.

[Billsfan]

4 hours ago, ZoSoRose said:

Yeah, then throw in 3-4 all new songs written by the 3 of them with some mean Slash riffs and we are golden

Imagine if they can somehow get izzy on board to help write some material too... Or Steven to guest on a song.. Ehh maybe that's asking too much right now but it's a fun idea to play with. 

[Strange Broue]

This is probably the most promising thing since the release of the UYI's

I take a few days GNR/AXL break, come here, just read this blabbermouth article about this thing http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/axl-rose-talks-about-working-on-new-music-relationship-with-angus-young-and-possible-autobiography/#bpCjfdSxy5Y3TFQI.99

I'm blown away

The questions were on point and interesting even for hardcore fans

He actually talk about conversations between him and Slash (and calling him out on some things)?

New music with Slash and Duff and new music with Angus? 

Elsewhere in the Q&A, Axl discussed whether he has no plans for a solo album, if he is interested in working on film soundtracks, why he's working with a vocal coach again and the impact of YouTube on the music business.

 

This is probably the greatest Q&A EVER with him. 

Seems that he is not given up on new music and this is NOT just a cash grab and he even wants to REALLY do 2 major acts at the same time. 

This is insane

2 years ago, if you say this to anybody (even for hardcore Axl fans), they would laugh at you (myself included) and could call you a delusional fanboy. 

 

The best is yet to come, guys and gals
 

Edited June 9, 2016 by Strange Broue

[TheSeeker]

It's kind of fucked up that he only went back to a vocal coach because of the AC/DC gig

We dodged a bullet there - otherwise we would have had Mickey all year

[SoulMonster]

1 minute ago, TheSeeker said:

It's kind of fucked up that he only went back to a vocal coach because of the AC/DC gig

We dodged a bullet there - otherwise we would have had Mickey all year

From what Axl said it doesn't seem it was as much to sing prettier but to be able to sing the scratchy AC/DC songs without damaging his voice. But yeah, if this means he will now also add a little more rasp on GN'R songs that would be good.

[TheSeeker]

2 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

From what Axl said it doesn't seem it was as much to sing prettier but to be able to sing the scratchy AC/DC songs without damaging his voice. But yeah, if this means he will now also add a little more rasp on GN'R songs that would be good.

Well he was probably scared shitless of going in front of a stadium of AC/DC fans and disappointing them. 

I wonder if he's having the vocal coach help him with GNR songs? Since a bunch of the songs still sound like ass, I'm guessing no.

[SoulMonster]

Just now, TheSeeker said:

Well he was probably scared shitless of going in front of a stadium of AC/DC fans and disappointing them. 

I wonder if he's having the vocal coach help him with GNR songs? Since a bunch of the songs still sound like ass, I'm guessing no.

I can fully understand he was scared for that

I would guess it is a mix of general techniques and breath control that can be used for about any song, and more specific help with being able to belt AC/DC at high register with lots of rasp again and again without hurting the voice. If that is very relevant for GN'R, I don't know.

I do think his vocals for GN'R have been a bit better now with the new lineup.

[TheSeeker]

8 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

 

I do think his vocals for GN'R have been a bit better now with the new lineup.

Oh definitely - but songs like Sweet Child O' Mine and November Rain are still bad. 

[SoulMonster]

Just now, TheSeeker said:

Oh definitely - but songs like Sweet Child O' Mine and November Rain are still bad. 

Yeah, and they are song very different than AC/DC songs, implying that the coach mostly help with those songs, and presumably to be able to sing them without hurting his voice.

[wasted]

7 hours ago, CheapJon said:

I just hope they don't "like" it the same way they "liked" My world.

You mean say you like it but then secretly resent it, then quit and bitch about it the media for 10 years. Yes let's hope they don't do that again. 

It must be hard to get an element of what everyone likes in the band in every song. Maybe just play your part and let the audience decide what they like? I think if Slash and Duff are on some tracks it will mean more fans will like it. Not even sure that is the main objective here. 

[Apollo]

8 hours ago, Bumblefeet said:

As someone who does love film music I like that influence on CD very much. I do think he is over exaggerating here as he probably meant they used different orchestra takes etc. and synthesizer to beef up some of the songs. There's no way they even had a 100 piece orchestra playing, I suspect the recording sessions were done with a smaller orchestra. The emphasis on getting the instrumental parts right and having his lyrics match that I found also an interesting remark. I find it all very ambitious but I can see how people who want stripped down rock n' roll might not care for it. Their loss IMO.

Why would it be "their loss" if that's the kind of music they enjoy? Lots of people like old fashion gritty rock n roll. That's why ACDC had been popular for 40 years. Lots of people prefer the straight rock aspect of Appetite over the orchestras or multiple keyboards on CD or some Illusions songs. I personally like all of it and enjoy the variety. 

People like what they like. It's nobody's loss.

You could be right about orchestra number thing. I can only take Axl at his word. I prefer to take people at face value and not give me own definition to what they "really" meant to say. 

[Apollo]

8 hours ago, ACP said:

There's a lot of questions I guess everyone would like to have answers to, but the whole thing was very respectful and of course I doubt in that environment (where everyone felt really honoured and lucky to be there) that anyone would questions too direct.  To be among the few lucky people to actually speak directly to THE Axl Rose, most people wouldn't want to spoil that special chance by asking Axl something that he didn't want to answer or get brushed off if he felt the question was rude. 

I feel you. 

But Axl is a big boy who is well known for speaking his mind and not caring what people think. Did you see his rant on Madison? Called her a lesbian cunt, amongst other insults. Have you heard Get in the Ring?

Axl is well known for dishing it out. Hopefully he can take it as well. Some posters on here say he is the last true rock star and they admire his "don't give a f*ck" attitude. Tossing softball questions so we don't offend him......sort of negates those theories.

I'm more old school and don't think we need to coddle somebody because they are a celebrity. I don't care how many cats he has or what his favorite soda pop is.

But I do get your point. 

[wasted]

They can do both. But it seems that Slash would rather do his songs his way. And Izzy is same way. I would be open to them just taking that material and mixing it with Axl's orchestra material. The way to solve the problem that it's very patchy production wise might be just to ignore it somewhat. 

Slash and Axl seem almost on the same page maybe but Izzy solo is very gritty, underproduced. 

What about a 3 cd album with each member doing their GNR album. Then putting out 3 cds simultaneously. 

The good thing could be that Axl is willing to give the orchestras up and let Slash work on his material. Then sing on sone Slash/Izzy material. Seems like Axl isn't really that keen in giving up on his songs in that way. 

I think if Slash can produce a GNR rocker like YCBM that can be the lead off single. That might be just rocking out Jackie Chan? But fans want that Axl/Slash/Duff song. 

[Apollo]

6 hours ago, Silverburst80 said:

So in short " I don't want to call Slash a liar, but he lied about a lot of stuff in his book". Oh Guns n Roses don't you go changin.

Yea, but like I mentioned earlier, Slash himself said that in his book numerous times. Probably ten different times Slash said that he was sharing his view of an event and that Axl probably would describe it differently. 

[charliedont]

That moderator was intolerable. Like, the worst. Who is he to judge the quality of questions, when his first question is, "Hey Axl, what do you think of mammals?"

[Carne_asaDA]

Didnt Axl have his own label? Uzi Suicide? Black Frog?

[SerenityScorp]

12 minutes ago, Carne_asaDA said:

Didnt Axl have his own label? Uzi Suicide? Black Frog?

I know Uzi Suicide but I didnt know about Black Frog

[Strange Broue]

Before the usual wastedesque speculation ruins the thread, i want to say that it was cool that Axl revealed a lot of rarely asked things here.

Calling out Slash on his lies, revealing that he works with a vocal coach again, realise that most fans doesn't like his clean voice and even realise that people want to hear the deep cuts (Coma)... These subjects were a no go a few years ago and now...

 

Also liked the part where he talks about starting their (his) own record label... things may have happened differently if they got their own label and only pay for distribution....he perfectly describes what is the current state of the music business is. He bitched about youtube and google and royalties but he came from an environment where if you record and put out your hard work, then you got paid. This is not the case anymore, especially not with bands

 

yeah the moderator was a cumdumpster, but who cares

Edited June 9, 2016 by Strange Broue

[SerenityScorp]

I just realise that Axl make surprise every month, wonder whats next?

[ACP]

Do any of you guys know who the woman is in on the right of the photo where Axl is outside China Exchange?  And is she the same woman in the group photo which looks like it was taken in a hotel?  Also, she was sitting next to a short older lady lady with tattoos up her arms who spoke with what sounded like a South American accent.  Would that be the lady called Beta? Cheers guys

[Mendez]

I want to know:

What songs did Buckethead allegedly want back, and why were they denied (either by Axl, or his lawyers)?

 

Why did Robin Finck leave Guns N' Roses in 2009 (even though in an interview Axl said Robin was still up for touring in early 2008. Besides the obvious answer that the record took too long to come out.) In my opinion, Guns N' Roses was a creative outlet for Robin to at least write songs in (where as with NIN, Trent Reznor writes the base of everything and Robin plays on it and tours and isn't credited with writing anything)

 

Why does Buckethead now refuse to answer questions regarding Guns N' Roses and Axl in written interviews, and why does his guitar tech not allow fans to get Chinese Democracy (physical release) signed by him?

 

How was the decision to rerecord someone else's solo decided upon (referring to BBF's parts)? If Brian May's solo didn't work with the new version of Catcher (or Atlas Shrugged, which BBF said he also recorded a solo for), why couldn't they go back to Robin Finck's original solo (the one before Brian May rerecorded it).

 

Who decides that BBF's Shackler's solo is better than Buckethead's/ BBF's Catcher solo is better than Brian May's & Robin Fincks/BBF's solo is better than Robin Finck & Bucketheads dual solo\BBF's Scraped solo is better than whoever did the original one (likely Buckethead)?

 

 

Who's decision was it to scrap guitar parts (the Catcher riff that isn't present on the new version, Buckethead's split second overdub before Axl comes in after Bucket's solo on Better, I.R.S.'s guitar lick that was instead used as what sounds like a keyboard part)

 

Why weren't the volumes of guitars kept at a constant (I.R.S. , Riad, Better) 

 

Why was BBF's guitar so drastically higher in the mix? (every song he plays on)

 

Why lower Robin Finck in the rhythm mix on Street of Dreams (the riff he played live is there, just mostly in audible)

 

 

Why weren't rhythm guitars all at the same volume?

 

Why were most of Buckethead's parts cherry picked from multiple takes? (CD's end solo, TWAT's solo possibly, Buckethead's original Riad solo features multiple guitar tones (meaning possible multiple takes), Buckethead's Riad outro solo is completely copy and pasted, Shackler's riff is digitaly edited to create chord progression)

 

 

Did you (Axl) like the final album version of Chinese Democracy?

 

Did you (Axl) like the final production of Chinese Democracy?

 

Do you (Axl) like versions of the songs compared to the original ones (TWAT, I.R.S., CITR)

 

 

Why did you (Axl) decide to keep every rhythm guitar part in the final songs versus, just having two rhythm guitar tracks panned to either side?                                     (the demos for I.R.S. feature two identical guitar parts, then one original guitar part and one new rhythm guitar part, then the all 3 guitar parts mixed + a Buckethead's variation of the riff using a kill-switch, then on the album new overdubs, plus 4 guitars at the same time. On Riad, the demo had two guitars panned to either side, then on the album, it has 5 guitars panned at different levels. On CD's different demo's & snippets made for radio the Boston radio promo in 2002, two guitars panned to either side (all different with each different source). On Prostitute, the demo had 3 core guitar parts (with additional overdubs), while the album has 5 core guitar parts. On Catcher's demo, two guitars panned to either side, with one guitar lead/overdub. On the album 6 guitars on the part before the electronic breakdown ("you decide...") with 4 of the guitar parts being completely different from one another)

 

 

Why did Pitman add electronic bass parts to Tommy's bass riff on chorus of TWAT (same riff, only an octave lower), and why did he add his legendary sub-bass to Better in addition to Tommy's bass part (if you hear it with a subwoofer, the bass parts sometimes clash)?

 

 

If you hear TWAT & Better, Frank's rerecorded drum part for the chorus has substantially less low end (kick) compared to Brain's kick drum? (If you listen with a subwoofer, the bass isn't a constant. Brain kick has a nice thump, then Frank's part comes in and the thump is completely gone). With all the things being tweaked over the years, why wasn't there any care shown to the low end frequency spectrum?

 

Why was Catcher's piano redone? (the demo's piano sounds softer (warmer), while the album sounds too bright/twangy).

 

Do you (Axl) have the original individual Chinese Democracy master tracks still (Robin Finck/Buckethead/Brian May's original solos, scrapped guitar parts, Josh Freese's drum tracks, Brain's several rerecorded versions of Josh's and his own drum parts, Tommy's several rerecorded bass parts? If so, what do you do with them? When was the last time you listened to them.

 

Compared to the album version, why were the antiquiet demo's drums noticeably brighter? (Also, why were the drums digitally altered (example: Brain's snare drum on Better on the album has way more echo, than the original leak and the antiquiet leak)

Edited June 9, 2016 by Mendez

[Silverburst80]

2 hours ago, Apollo said:

Yea, but like I mentioned earlier, Slash himself said that in his book numerous times. Probably ten different times Slash said that he was sharing his view of an event and that Axl probably would describe it differently. 

I was just joking around really, but at the same time it just adds to the clusterfuck that is GNR and what really went down...we all will never ever really know.

[Silverburst80]

5 minutes ago, ACP said:

Do any of you guys know who the woman is in on the right of the photo where Axl is outside China Exchange?  And is she the same woman in the group photo which looks like it was taken in a hotel?  Also, she was sitting next to a short older lady lady with tattoos up her arms who spoke with what sounded like a South American accent.  Would that be the lady called Beta? Cheers guys

Stella Artois?, someones gonna have a sore head in the morning.

[sanity_lost]

10 hours ago, Bumblefeet said:

As someone who does love film music I like that influence on CD very much. I do think he is over exaggerating here as he probably meant they used different orchestra takes etc. and synthesizer to beef up some of the songs. There's no way they even had a 100 piece orchestra playing, I suspect the recording sessions were done with a smaller orchestra. The emphasis on getting the instrumental parts right and having his lyrics match that I found also an interesting remark. I find it all very ambitious but I can see how people who want stripped down rock n' roll might not care for it. Their loss IMO.

I can't remember what he said now. Something like he used two live and 3 electronic orchestras and merged them together. I am somehow not surprised that he put five different orchestra pieces together.