So WHO is in Guns N’ Roses Now?
UPDATE: Guns N' Roses played a surprise warmup gig at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on April 1. Everyone on our “definitely” and “most likely” lists were there!
ORIGINAL STORY: Next month, Slash will take the stage with Guns N’ Roses for the first time since he left the band in 1996.
We know Duff McKagan—bassist from the legendary group’s inception till 1997—will be there, as well. But other than W. Axl Rose, the band’s reclusive frontman and only consistent member, there’s been no official confirmation from the Guns N’ Roses camp about who else will be onstage with Guns N’ Roses in 2016.
Like Rose and ex-guitarist Izzy Stradlin, I’m an Indiana-to-California transplant. I’m someone who has obsessively followed the GNR story over the years. I was working as a reporter/producer at MTV News when Rose debuted his “new” Guns N’ Roses at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Most of my colleagues were shocked to see a guy with a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head standing in for Slash, but I had kept up on the bizarre story of Chinese Democracy.
I ran into Slash at a festival in San Diego just a few days afterward and I talked him into speaking to me on camera. I had to promise not to talk about “the Guns thing.” We had the entire shot setup, the microphone was in his hand and I had just hit “record” on my video camera. Slash abruptly (though politely) said, “I can’t do this” and left. Later, I was able to interview Velvet Revolver, which featured Slash, Duff and ex-GNR drummer Matt Sorum teaming up with the late Scott Weiland, at their first-ever show.
Now with my GNR “bonafides” out of the way and the caveat that I have no special insider information, here’s my best educated guess as to who is in GNR right now.
DEFINITELY:
W. AXL ROSE – VOCALS
Not only is Rose believed to be the sole owner of the Guns N’ Roses name—after famously wresting it from the rest of the guys during the massive and often controversial world tour behind the Use Your Illusion albums—but he’s been the keeper of the flame since the dissolution of the band’s classic lineup. The impossibly long-gestating Chinese Democracy album eventually saw release through a unique retail deal with Best Buy in 2008, 17 years after the band’s last album of original material. People don’t seem to believe me when I say this, but I’m confident that this new/old version of GN’R will be playing material from Chinese Democracy in 2016. Of course, it’s always a possibility that Rose will be very, very late to the stage at any or all of these shows-or not show up at all. But I have faith in him.
SLASH – LEAD GUITAR
The acrimony for what are still more or less contested and/or unknown reasons that developed between Axl and Slash is what kept a “reunion” of any kind off the table for many years. An educated guess would be that Slash’s divorce from his longtime wife/manager, Perla Hudson, played some role in their reconciliation. Things were so bad at one point that Rose sued the makers of Guitar Hero for putting a Slash-looking character on the cover of a game featuring GNR songs. About 10 years ago, Rose claimed Slash showed up at his house looking to patch things up and threw his Velvet Revolver bandmates under the bus. Slash denied this in his autobiography; he admitted to coming by Axl’s place, but said he only left a note. Whatever the case, things are back on with the duo now. Which rules.
DUFF MCKAGAN – BASS GUITAR
McKagan has actually appeared with Guns N’ Roses since he was the last original member to exit the group in 1997. After coincidentally being booked in the same London hotel room as Rose in 2010, Duff ended up joining GNR onstage at the O2 Arena for a handful of classics. Later, his band Loaded opened for GNR. In 2014, when Duff’s replacement took a leave of absence to reunite with the Replacements, McKagan stood in for five shows in South America, the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and one more full show during GNR’s extended residency in Las Vegas, which were the last shows the band had booked till this year.
MOST LIKELY:
DIZZY REED – KEYBOARDS
Reed joined Guns N’ Roses in 1990 and has stuck by Axl Rose ever since. He’s featured prominently on Use Your Illusion I & II. He’ll be there.
RICHARD FORTUS – GUITAR
While Slash and Izzy are certainly the most identifiable, Guns N’ Roses has had a lot of guitar players, going all the way back to when Axl Rose from Hollywood Rose joined forces with Tracii Guns from L.A. Guns to form the band in the first place. When Izzy bailed before the multimillion dollar video trilogy and subsequent tours behind Use Your Illusion I & II, Gilby Clarke replaced him. Since then, G’R have recruited numerous guitar players for various stints. Even Zakk Wylde was said to be in the band for a week or two. Dave Navarro from Jane’s Addiction and Brian May from Queen both contributed to Chinese Democracy material. And who can forget Buckethead, the virtuoso guitarist and nunchucks expert who wore that KFC bucket on his head and a Slipknot-style face mask and put out solo records with actors from Lord Of The Rings banging around on various instruments? Richard Fortus doesn’t have a goofy nickname like “Buckethead” or “Huge” or (sigh) “Bumblefoot,” nor a Slash-type top hat like DJ Ashba. But what he does have are stripes. He’s been with Rose for nearly 14 years now. And you know what Stradlin sang: “You just don’t step inside to 14 years…”
FRANK FERRER – DRUMS
Speaking of veteran status, Rose is likely to reward Frank Ferrer’s loyalty by having him participate in the upcoming shows. Think about it: Not only has he been drumming for GN’R for 10 years now, but keeping him and Fortus around adds tremendous weight to the perceived value of everything Rose has done since the dissolution of the original band. Simply hitting “reset” and dumping all of the Chinese Democracy-era guys (and songs) to reunite with the original lineup would run counter to everything we know about the band’s frontman. He’s driven, savvy and protective of himself and his legacy. No way does he just fire these guys who’ve kept the name going with him. Ferrer is by all accounts a super-nice guy. He’s a great drummer. Rumor has it he’s been rehearsing with Slash and Duff in Los Angeles for a bit now. Note: When the GNR Coachella shows were announced, Ferrer’s social media accounts were deluged with a whole bunch of congratulatory messages. “Awesome man! See you there!”
POSSIBLY:
CHRIS PITMAN – KEYBOARDS
A week ago, Chris Pitman would’ve been in the “Almost Definitely” category, but now it’s not so clear. He’s been with Axl in Guns N’ Roses since 1998, which is longer than anyone other than Dizzy Reed (so long as we’re considering Stinson officially out of the band in 2016). In January, he posted “We are playing at Coachella 2016, look out!” then quickly added that he was told by management not to say anything else. “When I said ‘We are playing Coachella,’ I meant me and my daughter like to play in the sand.” he wrote. Last week, he posted, “Please don’t mention those who are there the last 20 fucking years… oh God no!!… (a money grab) FU,” which he quickly deleted and apologized for afterward. Perhaps he became upset that there’s been no official announcement about anyone other than Axl, Slash and Duff. Time will tell.
NOT EXACTLY:
IZZY STRADLIN – GUITAR
Many fans, including famous rockers such as Alice Cooper, feel like it just isn’t Guns N’ Roses without Izzy Stradlin. There’s no denying Stradlin was the “soul” of GN’R in many ways, responsible for much of its Rolling Stones-like cool and many of the band’s classic songs. Sleeper tracks like “Dust N’ Bones” and “14 Years,” featuring Stradlin on lead vocals, were a great harbinger of the solo work he’s done since exiting the band (the official announcement came Nov. 7, 1991—this writer’s birthday! Bummer!).
Stradlin returned for a handful of shows in 1992 then split again, causing Rose to start dedicating “Double Talkin’ Jive” to him live. Stradlin was the first of the original lineup to leave but also the first to publicly endorse Rose’s new version of the band, joining them onstage in 2006 and in 2012.
Slash, Duff and Izzy played on each other’s solo records. Stradlin also was part of Velvet Revolver early on, contributing to some songwriting. He declined to participate in the full-on version of the band, but he did eventually join them for some festival appearances as a guest. Stradlin recently joined Twitter and confirmed to Rolling Stone that, as of right now, he will not be appearing at the upcoming GN'R shows. Don’t be surprised to see him come up as a guest, however…
Izzy Stradlin fact..
At this point in time , I`ve no involvement in the upcoming April 2016 GNR shows .— Izzy Stradlin (@IzzyStradlin999) February 22, 2016
STEVEN ADLER – DRUMS
Perhaps nobody wanted a Guns N’ Roses reunion as badly as Steven Adler, the band’s original drummer who was sacked after recording one song for the followup to Appetite For Destruction. While Rose and Stradlin were no-shows, Adler performed with Slash, Duff and his replacement, Matt Sorum, at the band’s 2012 Rock Hall Of Fame induction. Vocals were handled by Myles Kennedy, of Slash’s solo band (and Alter Bridge), with Gilby Clarke on rhythm guitar. Adler has been pretty quiet since news of the “reunion” came out, which likely means he’s working hard to be included in some capacity. Our guess is he’ll be invited to play a few songs at Coachella.
MATT SORUM – DRUMS
Matt Sorum has been just as quiet as Adler. TMZ tried to get him to talk at Los Angeles Airport and he wouldn’t say a word. At some point after he left, Rose referred to Sorum as an “employee.” The rest of the guys were obviously cool with him, as he was the drummer in Velvet Revolver and has played in various other projects with some of the guys. The rock press claimed Sorum reconciled with Rose back in 2006, when he turned up to see GNR play in New York City. But his involvement in the band’s 2016, if any, is unknown.
VERY DOUBTFUL:
TRACII GUNS, OLE BEICH, ROB GARDNER, GILBY CLARKE, PAUL “HUGE” TOBIAS, ROBIN FINCK, JOSH FREESE, TOMMY STINSON, BUCKETHEAD, BRYAN “BRAIN” MANTIA, RON “BUMBLEFOOT” THAL, DJ ASHBA, ALL THOSE BACKUP SINGERS FROM THE USE YOUR ILLUSION TOURS…
And now, this:
