OK, Back to The Grind...

Hello faithful readers! I know it's been a while. My apologies, but things have been crazy for your faithful blogger. I think, however, I'll have a good shot a keeping up with things for a while.

Quite a few things happened while I was quiet. John Carter tanked, despite my best efforts to whip up an audience. The Avengers edged ever nearer to release, and I honestly can't believe it's less than two weeks away. My countdown to the San Diego Comic-Con continues, as I try, desperately, to sock away every last possible cent for it.

However, I did want to jump back a bit and talk about how Guns N' Roses induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ultimately went down. I can't say I was surprised by who showed up, and, more importantly, who didn't. However, I was also struck by how I felt reading Axl's public statements about the induction, which, as is Mr. Rose's want, were pretty rambling and  edging toward schizophrenic.

Still, really when he issued his first real statement about the matter, on Facebook, of all places, I could help but just shake my head and say, "exactly what I expected." I don't even mean that in a bad way. I mean, Axl, and the group he has assembled under the name "Guns N' Roses" were left in a pretty awful place with this induction.

Axl owns the name "Guns N' Roses," that's pretty much uncontested. Now, how underhanded his tactics were to secure ownership of that name is debatable. I tend to believe Slash and Duff on this one, because their accounts of the events in their respective autobiographies synch up pretty well. Why Axl felt he had to do what he did is really something only he can tell us, and I doubt he'll ever really do so.

You can go around and around about it for days. Really, however, for my purposes today, it's irrelevant.

Axl put together a band of truly great players (OK, that Ashba guy strikes me as a complete poseur, but whatever, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal is a badass player, as is Tommy Stinson) and recorded (and re-recorded, and re-recorded, and re-recorded) an album that, while not Appetite for Destruction, isn't embarrassing or a disaster, by any means. Is it too little, too late? Probably. It is sad to me that Chinese Democracy will never be able to be considered without weighing it against the fourteen years Axl spent making it, because it isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

Is it a Guns N' Roses album? The pragmatic part of myself says yes. That's the name on the damn CD, and this is the band that's out touring. That said, it bears a much resemblance to Appetite for Destruction, or even the Use Your Illusion records, as the Page and Plant albums do to Led Zeppelin II. There are elements that we, as the listening public, associate with "Guns N' Roses" that just aren't there. That doesn't make it bad, but it does make it different. It really is an Axl Rose solo album, but, like it or not, legally, Axl IS Guns. He's been battling since the first tour with, essentially, this lineup in 2002, to assert this Guns, HIS Guns, as THE Guns.

I'm not judging that action, only point out that he's worked pretty hard to put that across to the public. The Hall of Fame induction, frankly, was a very dangerous thing for the Guns N' Roses Axl has been building. The last thing on Earth that the current lineup needs is to be reminded how explosively awesome the original band could be. They could also suck beyond comprehension, but that's a whole 'nother rant. The SECOND Axl steps on stage with the AFD or UYI lineups, the CD lineup is set back 10 years.

Now, why in God's name would he EVER put himself in that position? Why would anyone?

So, he wrote his open letter, and, no matter how much he wants to say it wasn't a press release, it was certainly a calculated move. Bringing up questions about the HOF selection process that play well to the hard rock fanbase is clearly a tactical decision. The wording is very careful. I'm sure 100 lawyers went over it. Although, come on, Axl...You inducted Elton John! Where were your concerns about the Hall of Fame process then?

So, he doesn't show. The crowd boos his name. Izzy Stradlin doesn't show, either, but his history of reclusiveness  makes it forgivable. Steven Adler makes an embarrassing speech, that I can forgive, because the guy's just obviously so damaged. Then Slash, Duff Mckagan, Adler and Stradlin's first replacement, Gilby Clarke, get up and play with Slash's current vocalist, Myles Kennedy, as I suspected might happen.


The night goes pretty well. The band gets to show their stuff a little bit, and then, Axl issues another non-press-release-press-release. A statement that, for all the world, sounds like the guy might juuuussst regret not going a little bit. Who knows? Only Axl really does. Never miss another chance to point out that the Hall might be a sham, however.

(Lord, I am sick of that, but, again, another rant for another time)

I do however, think that, ultimately, what happened in Cleveland was good for everyone. If nothing else, it nailed the coffin of the original lineup shut. Which is probably something that the band, and the fans, needed. There will be no reunion. It's never going to happen, and what we saw on April 14th is probably the closest you'll ever get.

I think it came off so well that everyone can put that experience to bed. Maybe even Adler. Certainly Stradlin has, and Slash and Duff have moved on to their own projects. They all seem pretty happy to let Axl carry the weight of "Guns N' Roses."

Maybe we should, too.

Guns N' Roses Indcuted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Guns N' Roses has made the 2012 induction class for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I could grouse a little about the continued rejection, at even the nominee level, of Rush, but what's the point? It'll happen, eventually, and hopefully the long wait will give them a ton of well-deserved press when it does happen.

I am happy that Guns is getting inducted. I think anyone who'd argue they aren't one of the most important bands of the late 80's/90's is a fool. Just as anyone who'd argue that Appetite for Destruction isn't one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time, not to mention one of the greatest debut albums of all time. The shit kicks, and it still kicks. Play any Appetite track in a bar or club, people get excited.

They are, and always have been a volatile band. There's a real question about what's going to happen at the induction on April 12th. Of course, what the world (and I'm sure the Hall) wants is to see the original five members (Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler) on stage for a reunion. It seems that most of the band would be into it. Adler is very vocal about wanting to play together, even to the point of a full tour (that's not going to happen). Everyone else obviously still gets along, Slash and Duff are still associated (along with Adler's replacement, Matt Sorum) with Velvet Revolver, and Izzy, well Izzy seems to float in and out of everyone's life. "Helping" with songs for Velvet Revolver, for example.

Then there's Axl.

I have a feeling in my gut that, after April 12th, we'll have new footage of the original Guns lineup playing two or three songs. I do. Something makes me optimistic about it.

Axl, however, is the stumbling block. Thing is, I understand why he might not want to do it. I do.

Look, no matter how you feel about it, Axl is out there on the road with a new version of Guns N' Roses that he put together, and seems very committed to. This is his band. Maybe they all are ass-kissing hired guns, or maybe they're part of a cohesive musical unit.

I'll say this, very few people I know who've seen the current lineup will say it's a bad band. In fact many of them praise the musicianship on display, with the perennial "but."

"But it's not Guns N' Roses."

Axl, however, feels it is. He's also spent the last fifteen plus years working with this unit (in one form or another) to create what he feels Guns N' Roses is, now. You can bitch about his attitude, the late concert starts, the album a decade-plus in the making that was so over-ordered by Best Buy that they had it on sale for $1.99 recently.

I'd argue that Chinese Democracy deserved better, myself. It's not a bad album, by any standard. It's not Appetite, and it took far, far too long to put together, those are it's greatest sins. Those were sins, however, the public was ready to crucify the album, and Axl, for.

The Chinese Democracy lineup, and material, are what Axl is doing NOW. If he agrees to the induction gig, goes on stage with the original lineup, and kicks ass, the internet will be aflame. Much like when Led Zeppelin was triumphant with their O2 gig in 2007, the immediate question is, "where does it go from here?"

For Axl, I'm pretty damn sure the answer will always be "back to my band." You thought that lineup had a tough time now, more than twenty years after the Appetite lineup dissolved? Try it the week after the internet floods with video of the "reunion."

That is a no-win situation you can't reprogram the computer out of. The only way out of it is to...just not go. Which would be sad, it'd be disappointing, but I'd get it. So, while I honestly do have this gut feeling that we'll see the original five that night, I also see rational reasons for it not to happen.

Not like that Van Halen debacle in 2007. Where, once and for all, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony proved where the class in that outfit was located. What an embarrassment.

What do do if Axl opts out? The answer toured with Slash, and is working on an album with him right now. Bring in Myles Kennedy with the rest of the original band. There's no better proof of this option than Slash's recent live album, or if you saw the tour. The guy can sing the stuff, and well. He's also extremely charismatic, but also respectful of the history.

Hell, according to Mick Wall, the guy almost replaced Robert Plant. He can step in for Axl, if need be.

In no way am I saying Axl shouldn't be up there, but, if he pulls a David Lee Roth, I'm offering what I think is a good alternative. Not that anyone cares what I think...but I bet it's crossed Slash's mind.

IT'S SO EASY (AND OTHER LIES) by Duff McKagan

One of the offshoots of my Kindle ownership is real rebirth of my love of Rock biographies or autobiographies. I ate up Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir by Dave Mustaine, and I have a couple others on the wishlist, right now. I've been working on series books recently, specifically Dennis Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro novels (good stuff - LOVE the characters), and the rock books have been good "palate cleansers" between each mystery.

I'm a Guns N' Roses fan. So much so that I've even entertained seeing Axl Rose's new version of the band when they play Allstate Arena next week. Yes, I know, I'm supposed to hate Chinese Democracy, but I don't. Sue me. I do know, in my heart of hearts, that's not REALLY Guns N' Roses. Guns N' Roses was five crazy, committed kids that joined up in Los Angeles and changed the face of rock. They really did, they weren't your run-of-the-mill glam hair metal band. They were something really different, dangerous, and , I really believe they laid the groundwork that allowed for the acceptance of Grunge a few years later.

You can argue the fact. No worries. Just my opinion.

Duff McKagan was there. Guns N" Roses original bassist was actually from Seattle, and part of the punk movement there that eventually morphed into Grunge. He was actually roommates with Mother Love Bone's doomed singer Andrew Wood. McKagan forms the living link between what was happening in Seattle, and the eruption in LA that effectively killed the "safe" glam acts.

As with most people who live in interesting times, and do interesting things, McKagan has put pen to paper and written a book about it, It's So Easy (and Other Lies). Now, I've read Slash's book, I'm really not interested in reading Steven Adler's, and it's unlikely that either Izzy Stradlin or Axl Rose will ever tell their stories. So, really, I feel like, as far as first-person accounts, this is about as good as we're going to get.

I couldn't help but compare Duff's book to Slash's, it's inevitable. Slash spends much more time detailing life as an addict, and there's quite a bit more salacious content there. Duff, frankly, comes off as a tremendously centered guy, but also well aware of how fucking hard it was for him to get there. He's also very aware of his fallibility. He spends time making it clear that he simply cannot, ever, drink alcohol again. Thing is, I think he's far more interested in sharing how he got to where he is now, rather than wallowing in where he was.

Which isn't to say he hides from his past. Oh, no, he does an excellent job of explaining his cycle of addiction. Booze, then coke to bring him back up, then booze to take him back down, rinse, repeat. He did do heroin, not to mention crack, but shied away from injecting. Preferring to place a bit on the end of a cigarette, and smoke it that way.

Then

So, yeah the rock and roll excess is there, and the stories of friends taken way too early. Yet, he spends much more time exploring his own rehab process. "Good pain," as he calls it, bicycling, kickboxing and meditation. He, literally, it seems, exercised himself out of abuse. He even talks about, upon returning to LA after cleaning up, the rumor was he's had a facelift and liposuction. Certainly, Duff is one of those guys who wore his excess on his face. Running sores, and the whole bit.

Now

 The transformation is striking, and it's more than just physical. You really get an image of McKagan as a bit of a lost soul. Just in love with the idea of being in a band, and 100% committed to it when it happened. He relates stories of listening to a crowd chant "bullshit," waiting for a show already hours late, with Axl Rose not even in the city. Trying to drown the embarrassment, acutely aware the HIS BAND WAS LETTING THEIR FANS DOWN, in booze, then coke, then boozed. Rinse. Repeat. then berating himself for not calling a band meeting, or making some effort to put things back on track.

Mostly, I got a sense of a guy who's just pretty normal. The book starts with Duff discovering two kids making out a groping during his daughter's thirteenth birthday party. He freezes, and wonders what else the kids might be doing, rattling off a litany of "questionable" activities he's indulged by his teen years. It's an endearing way to begin, and it's only strengthened as we follow him in his work to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Business. He recounts leaving a Velvet Revolver show in a limo, and taking the time to call a professor with a question about some on-line course....

"Duff who?!?" is the instructor's response, and you get the sense McKagan reveled in it.

It's a good read. It reminded me of the Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary, in that Duff really does feel like a regular joe. There may be mythologizing going on here. If anything, it's in the sense that McKagan had goals, be it in Rock and Roll, getting clean and sober, or trying to gain an education, and he applied himself, and worked to accomplish them. It's listening to stories from a colorful guy who did some stupid shit, but now has his head on straight.

That's pretty cool, to me.

Stuck in My Head 10.21.2011

Street of Dreams
by Guns 'N Roses

All the love in the world
Couldn't save you
All the innocence inside
You know I tried so hard to make you
Oh, to make you change your mind

And it hurts too much to see you
And how you left yourself behind
You know I wouldn't want to be you
Now there's a hell I can't describe

So now I wander through my days
And try to find my ways
To the feelings that I felt
I saved for you and no one else
And though as long as this road seems
I know it's called the street of dreams
But that's not stardust on my feet
It leaves a taste that's bittersweet
That's called the blues

I don't know just what I should do
Everywhere I go I see you
Though it's what you planned
This much is true
What I thought was beautiful
Don't live inside of you
Anymore

I don't know just what I should do
Everywhere I go I see you
Though it's what you planned
This much is true
What I thought was beautiful
Don't live inside of you
Anymore

What this means to me
Is more than I know you believe
What I thought of you now
Has I thought that was true before
Were lies I couldn't see
What I thought was beautiful is only memories

Oh oh oh
What'd I tell you
Oh oh oh
That's
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Inside of you

Stuck in My Head 10.20.2011

Pretty Tied Up
by Guns 'N Roses

I know this chick she lives down on Melrose
She ain't satisfied without some pain
Friday night is goin' up inside her...again
Well crack the whip
'Cause that bitch is just insane
I'm serious

She's pretty tied up
Hangin' upside down
She's pretty tied up
An you can ride her
She's pretty tied up
Hangin' upside down
I can't tell you she's the right one
Oh no,oh no,oh no
Once there was this rock n' roll band rollin' on the streets
Time went by and it became a joke
We just needed more and more fulfilling- Uh-huh
Time went by and it all went up in smoke
But check it out

She's pretty tied up
Hangin' upside down
She's pretty tied up
An you can ride her
She's pretty tied up
Hangin' upside down
Ohh I can't tell you she's the
right one
Oh no,oh no,oh no
Once you made that money it costs more now
It might cost a lot more than you'd think
I just found a million dollars
That someone forgot
It's days like this that push me o'er the brinks
(Cool Ranch Dressing)

She's pretty tied up
Hangin' upside down
She's pretty tied up
An you can ride her
She's pretty tied up
Hangin' upside down
And I can't tell you she's the
right one
Oh she's the right one...[etc.]

(But I can tell you a thing or two 'Bout somethin' else
If you really wanna know-Know what I'm sayin')

Stuck In My Head 9.9.2011

There are a ton of great tracks on Appetite for Destruction, but I really think this is the best song from that album. Epic, with a insistent groove, and that change in the middle is just...so cool.



Rocket Queen 
Guns N' Roses

If I say I don't need anyone

I can say these things to you

'cause

I can turn on anyone

Just like I've turned on you

I've got a tongue like a razor

A sweet switchblade knife

And I can do you favors

But then you'll do whatever I like

Here I am

And you're a Rocket Queen

I might be a little young

But Honey I ain't naive

Here I am

And you're a Rocket Queen oh yeah

I might be too much

But honey you're a bit obscene

I've seen everything imaginable

Pass before these eyes

I've had everything that's tangible

Honey you'd be suprised

I'm a sexual innuendo

In this burned out paradise

If you turn me on to anything

You better turn me on tonight

Here I am

And you're a Rocket Queen

I might be a little young

But Honey I ain't naive

Here I am

And you're a Rocket Queen oh yeah

I might be too much

But honey you're a bit obscene

I see you standin'

Standin' on your own

It's such a lonely place for you

For you to be

If you need a shoulder

Or if you need a friend

I'll be here standing

Until the bitter end

No one needs the sorrow

No one needs the pain

I hate to see you

Walking out there

Out in the rain

So don't chastise me

Or think I, I mean you harm

Of those that take you

Leave you strung out

Much too far

Baby-yeah

Don't ever leave me

Say you'll always be there

All I ever wanted

Was for you

To know that I care

Ryan Murphy, Get Over Yourself

I recently stumbled upon this article on rollingstone.com. I'm going to be frank, here...it made me livid.

First a little background.

I refuse to watch Glee. There's a couple of reasons for this. First, I have performed in musicals, and toured in musical productions. I find the form grating in the extreme, and a subset of the purveyors of that form to be among the most annoying people I've ever endured as a performer. The sad fact is, this small group, with their high drama and insistence on their artistic validity also provides the type of character ideally suited for a show of this style. I am not making a blanket statement about all musical theatre performers, because I know many, in fact, the majority, who are hard-working, talented, and not prone to self-aggrandizement or being difficult for it's own sake.

(and no, it's not a "gay thing," let's nip that shit in the bud, right now. The single, most annoying, musical theatre "diva" I ever worked with was a totally straight guy...And, if any of my former musical cohorts are reading this and wondering...if I have any contact with you whatsoever, it's not you.)

I spent enough time locked up on buses with those people that I will NEVER find watching them on TV a form of entertainment, in any form.

Second. The music on Glee makes me sick. The fact that they take divergent forms of music and perform them on TV isn't the problem. The problem is, the process is to rob that music of it's individuality and fire and funnel it into a sad approximation of what you'd hear in a Disney "tween" sitcom. That's right, Hanna Montana-level bubblegum pop. This show doesn't honor much of the music performed on screen, it robs it of it's soul. Overprocessed, auto-tuned monstrosities.

I don't hold anyone to task for allowing their songs to be on the show...hey, it's your music. If you want to allow Ryan Murphy and his crew to vanilla-ize it, go to town, and some songs are just bubblegum pop, so...who cares? I'm sure the checks help. That said, it makes me EXTREMELY sad that Springsteen is apparently considering it.

(Don't do it, boss...DON'T DO IT!!!!)

Anyway, whatever...Not my kind of show. I understand a lot of people like it, and that's great for them, and Ryan Murphy's pocketbook. I don't, and my dislike is very deep. Live and let live, different strokes, etc. It's just a damn TV show...

But that ends when you start acting like a dick. Acting like your show is far more important than it really is.

So, I read Ryan Murphy's little meltdown about people turning Glee down in their requests to butcher, er, use their songs. Y'know what, Mr. Murphy? You are pathetic. I look at this quote:

A 7-year-old kid can see someone close to their age singing a Kings of Leon song, which will maybe make them want to join a glee club or pick up a musical instrument," Murphy explained. "It’s like, OK, hate on arts education. You can make fun of Glee all you want, but at its heart, what we really do is turn kids on to music.”

And his comments about Slash, who was quite upfront about not wanting Guns 'N Roses songs on Glee.

"Usually I find that people who make those comments, their careers are over; they’re uneducated and quite stupid,"

What comment? That Glee reminds him of High School Musical, and High School Musical makes Grease! look like a work of utter genius and deep social meaning? Sounds like a pretty rational and reasoned comment to me. Opinion? Oh hell yes, but...it's his music, and he doesn't have to let you play with it in a context that he does not approve of.

Would you ever see these guys on Glee? Would you want to?

Plus, your "turn kids on to music" line?...It's garbage. Seeing the "Welcome to the Jungle" video on MTV did quite a good job of turning me onto music all on it's own. Your show's been on the air for, what? Three years? Trust me, Mr. Murphy, Ugly, sweaty guys, playing ugly, sweaty music has been turning kids on to music since Chuck Berry, or earlier. That's at least half a century of rock and roll inspiring young people to be creative before you came in, scrubbed it clean and packaged it like a toothpaste commercial. I also hazard to guess it will still be, long after Glee ends up in endless re-runs on TV Land.

Not to mention, and this is the bottom line...Who in their right mind would EVER want a kid's first exposure to "Paradise City," "Sex on Fire" or "Sweet Child 'O Mine" to be a bunch of toothy, plastic-smiled kids dancing around in technicolor outfits. Some music isn't supposed to be "safe," or for everyone. Some music is supposed to be harsh, angry, messy and a bit scary. To think that your show would be able to do justice to that, or even want to, is asinine.

Ryan Murphy, you are not "saving music," I can give you deserved credit for all sorts of things, bringing young homosexuals on TV in a huge way, for instance, and making them part of the tapestry of the oh-so homogenized teen environment you've crafted. Good on you for that. Saving music, however? Hardly. In fact, I would come pretty close to telling you that your whitewashed versions of great songs are killing the individuality of the music that is getting out to the youth of America. The fact that people are buying an Osmond-dental-program version of "Don't Stop Believing," instead of the Journey original is gut-wrenching to me.

So, when you stomp your feet and call people "uneducated" because they tell you "no," I can only come to the conclusion that you are one of these entitled baby divas from your show, and I feel soiled even having taken this much time to write about you and your one-show destruction of popular music. Hating Glee isn't a slam on arts education, Glee isn't the high temple of arts education, and, frankly, if it is, God help the arts.

Meet the newest Guns 'N Roses guitarist...

DJ Ashba



Hmmm...Top Hat, check. Les Paul, check.

Look, I made a joke about this guy on twitter a while back asking if he was Tommy Thayer. For those of you who don't know (and why would you?), Tommy Thayer is the current lead guitarist of Kiss. Now, the "legendary" lead guitarist of Kiss is Ace Frehley. He's the guy you immediately see when you think "the guys in kiss," or at least his make-up is.

There's been a lot of guitarists in Kiss, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick. Great players, and arguably all better guitarists than Ace. However, that "Space Ace" imagery that Ace formed and created is what people remember. Well, see, Thayer, essentially, dresses up as Ace to play. Now, I'm sure Thayer is a decent guy, and all, and a good guitar player, but...there's something about standing on someone else's image.

So, yeah...I look at Mr. Ashba there, and I wonder. It's just a little TOO close to the bone, for me. I dunno, maybe DJ Ashba's been wearing top hats and playing Les Pauls for years. Although, I think the whole band has a sponsorship with Gibson, so the Les Paul may be forgivable.

(I really am going to get off this Guns 'N Roses/Slash kick, I promise. I finished the book last night, so...moving on.)

Worked up a new track over the weekend, "Reeces." I'd just eaten a dark chocolate peanut butter cup before I started sequencing the drums, so whatever. The verse drum part came from the cover I had been trying to work up, but it just never came together. I was trying to go too far from where the song started, so that went into the garbage. However, I like the way the drums were sounding, so I started playing with that, and a bit heavier drum part for the chorus, with a time signature change for the middle eight.

The thing worked really well. I think I've gotten a handle on keeping the chord progressions simple enough, and leaving myself room to play a bit. I managed to finish it all except the solo and the vocals (as is my current MO). So that puts me with 3 "finished" tracks ready for vocal work, and a 4th that is kinda outside the box, but completely finished. I really don't know if I want to put that one out there, it's very, very raw. I think I used 2 tracks, total. Just my voice and an acoustic guitar.

So, we shall see.