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November 11, 2011

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Axl Rose, the elusive frontman of Guns ‘N Roses, opens up Friday night for his first interview in five years.

In an extended conversation with host Eddie Trunk on “That Metal Show” over VH1 Classic (11 p.m.), Rose talks about his new band, his music over the years, the band’s nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, yes, his legendary propensity for being late to everything, especially his own concerts.

“He talks about a lot of reasons why he’s late,” says Trunk. “Then at the very end he kind of laughs and admits that when he was a kid and had a job right next door, he never got there on time, either.”

This interview itself reinforced that point. Trunk arrived at 2 p.m. at the venue where Guns ‘N Roses was playing a concert and finally scored the interview at 5:30 the next morning.

“You quickly realize that with this band, everything runs on Axl time,” says Trunk, adding that he was “ecstatic” to talk to Rose at all, no matter what the hour.

“I suppose ideally I would have talked to him at a time when I hadn’t been hanging around for 15 hours and up for 24 straight hours. But I’m not complaining.”

Trunk says he was told to come to the venue, set up his crew and that if it felt right to Axl, he’d do the interview.

“So we spent a lot of that time talking to everyone else,” says Trunk. “We talked to the crew, everyone in the band. I mean, we had to get a show out of it whether we talked to Axl or not. So now we’ve got a lot of good stuff that won’t make it on the air this time.”

What helped, Trunk allows, is that he was the guy to whom Rose gave his last interview – five years ago, on Trunk’s radio show.

“That one was completely out of the blue,” says Trunk. “Sebastian Bach was there, and he knows Axl. So they were texting and Bach said, hey, c’mon down – and he did.

“After the show ended, he hung out for a couple of hours. He was just a cool guy who likes to talk about music.”

Trunk has become the go-to media guy in the metal and hard rock media world, and he says the reason is nothing complicated.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” he says. “And I think it’s clear to everyone that first and foremost I’m a fan. I’m not going to try to make anyone look bad.

“That said, however, I will ask the tough questions. I want to know what the fans want to know. I’ve turned down interviews when I was told the artist wouldn’t talk about something I knew I had to ask.”

In the case of Rose, he says, the only precondition was that he not ask about a reunion of the original Guns ‘N Roses. “Which I understand,” says Trunk. “He’s on the road now with new guys, and he loves playing with them. And he actually brought up some of the original guys himself at a couple of points.”

Trunk says they talk about the new band, Rose’s long interludes between CDs, and his feeling about his Chinese Democracy CD.

They also talk about the Rock Hall, to which Guns ‘N Roses has been nominated in its first year of eligibility.

“He says it’s not something he thinks a lot about,” says Trunk. “He thinks it’s mostly for fans. But he said it’s an honor and he talks about how he inducted Elton John, whom he loves. If it’s good enough for Elton, he said, it’s good enough for him.”

Friday night’s “That Metal Show” kicks off a round of eight new episodes, one of which by coincidence will feature Slash, the original Guns ‘N Roses guitarist.

Meantime, having interviewed Rose has kept Trunk busy.

“Magazines that can’t interview Axl are talking to me about interviewing him,” he says. “I’ve talked to Rolling Stone, Spin and a bunch of others.

“The anticipation for this interview is really something – from all over the world.”

I cannot wait to watch this interview. This is history in the making!

I really like That Metal Show.

Too bad everyone wants to worship Axl; it only enables his douchebaggery. Look what happened to Prince.

that asshole has NOTHING interesting to say

meh

That interview with Sebastian Bach and Axl (and some other guys I can't remember, maybe Scott Ian?) was pretty cool. They were just talking music and having a good time. It certainly wasn't a probing type of interview where tough questions were asked but it sounded like they were all having a lot of fun. It did kind of make me want a tour by the original Skid Row and Guns 'N Roses.

I wonder if Axl will mention Izzy at all? He was always my favourite member of Guns 'N Roses and while he has probably kept the lowest profile he has also released quite a bit of music since he left the band.

rialb said:

That interview with Sebastian Bach and Axl (and some other guys I can't remember, maybe Scott Ian?) was pretty cool. They were just talking music and having a good time. It certainly wasn't a probing type of interview where tough questions were asked but it sounded like they were all having a lot of fun. It did kind of make me want a tour by the original Skid Row and Guns 'N Roses.

I wonder if Axl will mention Izzy at all? He was always my favourite member of Guns 'N Roses and while he has probably kept the lowest profile he has also released quite a bit of music since he left the band.

Izzy is the most underrated member i would say. I love his solo work....

Gunsnhalen said:

Interview was not to bad, but eddie & the guys seemed nervous on what to say since axl is oh so sensitive & could throw a bitch fit. Its cool to hear him talk about 1991, I don't hink he needed to act insane and go on rants every night. But that tour was insanly long, the longest tour ever at the time if I am correct. They where on the road 2 & a half years, they where on the road before use your illusion, after & right before spaghetti incident. But I wish they could have gotten more out of him & not kissed his ass so much. That's cool he did a 3 hour show, but he's done 1 hour shows & 40 minute shows at expensivve concerts & stormed off stage without giving a damn. Its also nice to see he's still throwing shade at slash like a bitter housewife

Seriously, what is his issue with Slash? If they get inducted intothe rock n' roll hall of fame i wonder if he would even attend since Slash would probably be there too....

By the way, What doyou think of Use your illusion 1? I'm thinking of downloading it? I know a few of the songs but I think it's time I get the whole album.

They knew going there they were going to wait, but I'm not buying that Axl didn't know he was going to do an interview. You can see Eddie's completely wiped out, Don and Jim weren't their usual selves, but knew that this was more about getting Axl on a TV interview for the first time in ages (I don't even know when he last did a TV interview), so even if they were softball questions, it was still a pretty good score.

They got to see the whole concert, interview the other members of the band, talk to fans, and got footage for the show. Eddie had mentioned that he knew Axl could've easily blown them off, but fact is, economy's tough, it's a show that starts late which doesn't work for a lot of people midweek, & they need to sell tickets.

I think anyone who interviews people in music would want to get Axl and Prince, and know either one's unpredictable. But once they have it, it was all worth it in the end. It opens the door for future interviews, too.

Some of the new things were interesting, like the original idea for Appetite for Destruction, & disowning Get in the Ring. Was cracking a joke about Silence of the Lambs. The 1991 tour started off badly because they went on tour while they were still working on it, so a lot of people were hearing the new stuff before it came out.

The UYI tour seemed to be plagued with problems right from the beginning, and Metallica was prob. as bad as it got for them, but when they did the Skin N Bones tour towards the end, it sounded like it went pretty smoothly.

But I think the reason he stopped doing interviews was because he didn't want to discuss his ex-girlfriend and ex-wife.

dalsh327 said:

They knew going there they were going to wait, but I'm not buying that Axl didn't know he was going to do an interview. You can see Eddie's completely wiped out, Don and Jim weren't their usual selves, but knew that this was more about getting Axl on a TV interview for the first time in ages (I don't even know when he last did a TV interview), so even if they were softball questions, it was still a pretty good score.

They got to see the whole concert, interview the other members of the band, talk to fans, and got footage for the show. Eddie had mentioned that he knew Axl could've easily blown them off, but fact is, economy's tough, it's a show that starts late which doesn't work for a lot of people midweek, & they need to sell tickets.

I think anyone who interviews people in music would want to get Axl and Prince, and know either one's unpredictable. But once they have it, it was all worth it in the end. It opens the door for future interviews, too.

Some of the new things were interesting, like the original idea for Appetite for Destruction, & disowning Get in the Ring. Was cracking a joke about Silence of the Lambs. The 1991 tour started off badly because they went on tour while they were still working on it, so a lot of people were hearing the new stuff before it came out.

The UYI tour seemed to be plagued with problems right from the beginning, and Metallica was prob. as bad as it got for them, but when they did the Skin N Bones tour towards the end, it sounded like it went pretty smoothly.

But I think the reason he stopped doing interviews was because he didn't want to discuss his ex-girlfriend and ex-wife.

I agree! To me they seem so larger than life and they rarely give interviews, so if anyone can actually get an interview with them it's a pretty big deal no matter what the outcome.

dalsh327 said:

They knew going there they were going to wait, but I'm not buying that Axl didn't know he was going to do an interview. You can see Eddie's completely wiped out, Don and Jim weren't their usual selves, but knew that this was more about getting Axl on a TV interview for the first time in ages (I don't even know when he last did a TV interview), so even if they were softball questions, it was still a pretty good score.

They got to see the whole concert, interview the other members of the band, talk to fans, and got footage for the show. Eddie had mentioned that he knew Axl could've easily blown them off, but fact is, economy's tough, it's a show that starts late which doesn't work for a lot of people midweek, & they need to sell tickets.

I think anyone who interviews people in music would want to get Axl and Prince, and know either one's unpredictable. But once they have it, it was all worth it in the end. It opens the door for future interviews, too.

Some of the new things were interesting, like the original idea for Appetite for Destruction, & disowning Get in the Ring. Was cracking a joke about Silence of the Lambs. The 1991 tour started off badly because they went on tour while they were still working on it, so a lot of people were hearing the new stuff before it came out.

The UYI tour seemed to be plagued with problems right from the beginning, and Metallica was prob. as bad as it got for them, but when they did the Skin N Bones tour towards the end, it sounded like it went pretty smoothly.

But I think the reason he stopped doing interviews was because he didn't want to discuss his ex-girlfriend and ex-wife.

True, i'm not dissing the whole interview which it came off that way oops. But i did like hearing about the original Appetite cover which i heard the story of. But there where different versions... good to see the true one

UYI as mentioned was 2 & a half years.... that is just an insane amount of time to be on the road. And they did have many cancellations, electric & sound problems. And Axl himself besides his ''rants'' is bi-polar so that was probably not good on him.

I do like to see some of Axl's... ‘‘Lighthearted’’ moments even as a big fan he always comes off as a dick to me sadly: lol:

But he does have moments where i can see he could be a funny guy, and probably occassionally fun to hangout with.

And i agree abotu Don & Jim, they seemed very whipped out and not as energetic as ususual. In fact i have never seen an episode, which is dedicated to just one person so this was HUGE for the show.

To bad they don't think Prince is metal.. that could be a fun interview

dancerella said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Interview was not to bad, but eddie & the guys seemed nervous on what to say since axl is oh so sensitive & could throw a bitch fit. Its cool to hear him talk about 1991, I don't hink he needed to act insane and go on rants every night. But that tour was insanly long, the longest tour ever at the time if I am correct. They where on the road 2 & a half years, they where on the road before use your illusion, after & right before spaghetti incident. But I wish they could have gotten more out of him & not kissed his ass so much. That's cool he did a 3 hour show, but he's done 1 hour shows & 40 minute shows at expensivve concerts & stormed off stage without giving a damn. Its also nice to see he's still throwing shade at slash like a bitter housewife

Seriously, what is his issue with Slash? If they get inducted intothe rock n' roll hall of fame i wonder if he would even attend since Slash would probably be there too....

By the way, What doyou think of Use your illusion 1? I'm thinking of downloading it? I know a few of the songs but I think it's time I get the whole album.

Hi Dancerella!

Use Your Illusion 1 is fantatsic! some of my favorite GNR songs including Coma, November Rain[Sure you probbaly know that one one], Dust N Bones, Don't Damn Me, Garden Of Eden etc. Are some of my favorite by them.

It's very diverse you ain't the first is a short bluesy accoustic track, very random but very cool. Coma is a long masterpiece of a song with a great rift and solo by Slash.

Right Next Door To Hell is heavy & has a funky bass line that will groove ya, Perfect Crime is a great rocker that has some great Axl vocals[Sounds like he's about to explode ]

The Hits of course Don't Cry, Live And Let Die & Novomber Rain are fantastic.

Worth it for sure

Doalwa said:

Say what you will about Axl, but he's really one of those last larger-than-life rock stars from the good, old days who's still around..back when MTV still stood for Music Television I just hope he never pulls some bullshit like Ozzy did with his reality show a few years ago, or Steven Tyler makin a fool of himself on American Idol....just let the music do the talking!

I think Axl would be the last to do that

As much as he hates the cameras, press & interviews. He would constantly break cameras & throw bitch fits