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Will The Classic Guns N' Roses Lineup Reunite At The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony?

Posted 2/15/12 1:30 pm EST by in guns-n-roses, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame


Guns N Roses

By Zachary Swickey

Ladies and gentleman, hell has possibly frozen over. Original Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed claims that all original members of the iconic group will reunite at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, talking place April 14 in Cleveland.

Reed discussed the jaw-dropping possibility with Billboard, saying, “I know all the original band is going to be there. I don’t’ know exactly what’s going to go down. It’s one of those things I’m sure will all come together and be really cool. I’m just going to go in with a good attitude and a clear head and grateful heart.”

While this could possibly induce hysterical celebration for many fans, Reed did not specify that the group will perform together, rather that they’ll simply all appear. Fans have been clamoring for a proper reunion since the classic lineup of the group – Slash, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Gilby Clarke and Duff McKagan – fell apart in the mid-90s. While many members have seemed open to doing something, singer Axl Rose has long been the main antagonist keeping that from happening. Read More...

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Guns N' Roses Make Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, But What Will Happen When They Show Up?

Posted 12/7/11 2:14 pm EST by in guns-n-roses


Axl Rose

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2012 inductees, a list that includes the usual spate of HOF-y names (the Small Faces, ‘60s singer Donovan, blues guitarist Freddie King, etc) plus a handful of artists that made their mark in the MTV era: the Beastie Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guns N’ Roses.

And while none of those latter three are exactly surprising (though, we gotta admit, the Cure, who were also in the running this year but didn’t make the cut, were robbed), what may transpire when they’re enshrined at the Hall’s annual induction ceremony — set for April 14 in beautiful Cleveland — could shock the rock world to its very core. Because, as is tradition, the honored acts will take the stage to perform a medley of their biggest hits, and while we’re reasonably sure what will happen when the Beasties and the Peppers do their thing, when it comes to GN’R … well, let’s just say all bets are off.

Unless you’ve been off the grid for most of the past two decades, you are probably aware that things aren’t exactly rosy in the Guns camp … and haven’t been for quite some time. The majority of the acrimony has been evenly split between frontman/mastermind Axl Rose and iconic top-hatted guitarist Slash (though, given how many folks have come and gone from GN’R’s lineup in the time since, there’s plenty of bad blood to go around). The two have traded barbs ever since Slash left the band in 1996, and though Guns continues to tour, many of their diehard fans believe that they’re just not the same without his masterful axe work and mercurial stage presence (no disrespect to the dude who plays the guitar shaped like a foot, of course). It’s been nearly 20 years since Slash has performed with the band, though, at April’s HOF induction ceremony, that could change. And yes, the Rock Gods will be smiling if it does.

Then again, it’s no sure bet that Slash and Axl will be able to bury the hatchet … after all, in the grand history of the Rock Hall ceremony, there’ve been plenty of examples of bands that just couldn’t get past the hatred — or the past, for that matter — when it came time to take the stage. And though we’re hoping the same doesn’t happen with GN’R, here’s a look back at some of the most acrimonious, disharmonious and downright uncomfortable moments in Rock Hall history. Read More...

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Chinese Democracy's Sluggish Sales: What Happened To Guns N' Roses' Long-Awaited Release?

Posted 12/3/08 11:19 am EST by in Axl-Rose, guns-n-roses


The sales figures are finally in, and after a nearly 17-year wait, Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy scanned just 261,200 copies, earning the album the #3 position on Billboard's weekly albums sales chart — right behind Taylor Swift's Fearless at #2 (with 267,400 sold) and Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, which opens at #1 with sales of 450,000 and change.

Two weeks ago, GN'R's latest was considered a strong contender for the chart's peak position, with some predicting the album would outperform West's 808s in a close race for #1. Instead, history may show Chinese Democracy's first-week sales as an epic failure. Read More...

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Guns N' Roses Blast Dr Pepper Over Flubbed Chinese Democracy Promotion

Posted 12/1/08 10:18 am EST by in Axl-Rose, guns-n-roses


Axl RoseLet me get this straight. Dr Pepper lays down the gauntlet for Axl Rose and dares him to release Chinese Democracy this year by promising to give everyone in America a free soda if the reclusive rocker can finally pull the trigger on the mythological unicorn of an album. So Axl delivers and ... Dr Pepper doesn't? Nice work, soda jerk.

Rose's lawyer took a swipe at Dr Pepper last week, saying the drink maker didn't deliver on its pledge to give out the free sodas. Keep in mind, GN'R had nothing to do with the stunt. (Though wouldn't it be great if somehow this were all some bizarre viral campaign and you could hear Dr Pep jingles when you played the CD backwards, if that's even possible?)

Los Angeles-based lawyer Alan Gutman penned a poison letter to Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. President and CEO Larry Young, calling the company's online coupon-redemption scheme an "unmitigated disaster, which defrauded customers." Gutman also insisted that the beverage maker extend its offer and place full-page apologies in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal.

Again, GN'R was not involved in the original campaign, but now that it has allegedly tanked, the attorney says he originally saw it as an "exploitation of my clients' legendary reputation and their eagerly awaited album," adding that the promotion "brazenly violated our clients' rights." Read More...

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Kanye West Vs. Guns N' Roses: What Do YOU Think?

Posted 11/26/08 9:00 am EST by in guns-n-roses, Kanye West


By Dan "Monty" Montalto

Long before either album leaked in its final retail form, many of us here in the newsroom were asking the same question: Who will win this week's epic showdown between Kanye West and Guns N' Roses (a.k.a. Axl Rose and a bunch of new guys)?

In this corner, we have Kanye West with 808s & Heartbreak, which comes just 14 months after Graduation bested 50 Cent's Curtis on the charts. He managed to put together 808s in a year marked by lots of touring and lots and lots of appearances at awards shows (seriously, does this guy ever NOT get invited?). Not only has 808s been on repeat in the newsroom all week, but we've been recounting some of our early Kanye memories right here on the blog.

Read More...

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Free Chinese Democracy Dr Pepper Deadline Extended: You Still Have Time!

Posted 11/24/08 11:59 am EST by in guns-n-roses


In late October, MTV News brought you details of Dr Pepper's offer to provide every American with a free can of the pop should Guns N' Roses release their eagerly awaited album Chinese Democracy in 2008. Now, here's an update on the soda maker's vow.

Yesterday — the day the GN'R record hit stores — Dr Pepper's site was flooded with visitors looking to cash in on the deal. Due to overwhelming demand and several site issues, Dr Pepper has extended the offer until 6 p.m. today; the deal was originally set to expire last night at midnight. Participants have until February 28 to redeem their coupon for a 20-ounce can of the drink.
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Kurt Loder Recalls His Most Amazing Axl Rose MTV Moments

Posted 11/21/08 8:00 am EST by in Axl-Rose, guns-n-roses, Kurt-Loder


Kurt Loder

MTV has had quite a lengthy and, um, interesting relationship with Mr. W. Axl Rose — one that has spanned decades, musical genres (metal, pseudo-industrial, sorta rap-rock) and, of course, cornrows.

Our cameras have been there at basically every step of Rose's career: from Guns N' Roses' first appearance on "Headbangers Ball" in 1987 to their ascent to legendary status in '91 and then through the bevy of beefs, arrests and in-band bickering that eventually led to their demise. And, for the most part, one man has been in front of (or beside) those cameras: Kurt Loder.

So after combing our vaults to find the most Awesome Axl Moments on MTV, we decided to sit down with Kurt to get his take on the man himself — and luckily, he also had more than a few truly excellent Axl stories to share with us before the release of Chinese Democracy.

(More of Kurt's Axl stories, after the jump!)
Read More...

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Eagles Of Death Metal's Jesse 'The Devil' Hughes Loves The Ladies

Posted 11/18/08 1:29 pm EST by in Eagles Of Death Metal, guns-n-roses


Eagles Of Death MetalIf you've ever had the chance to spend more than five minutes in the company of Jesse "The Devil" Hughes, the gloriously mustached Eagles of Death Metal frontman, then you know he's a ladies man. The mistake I made yesterday — when four of us MTV Newsers met up with Hughes to discuss his thoughts on Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy — was not bringing along a crew full of burly men to shoot the interview.

You see, whenever we do in-person interviews, we send a gang of people to get the footage we need. Usually, this includes a person from production management, a segment producer, a shooter to work the camera and the person who conducts the interview (me). For Hughes' interview, I was accompanied by three of the lovely ladies I work with, and as expected, Hughes couldn't contain himself.

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What Was The World Like The Last Time Guns N' Roses Released An Album?

Posted 11/17/08 7:55 am EST by in guns-n-roses


Guns N RosesOn September 17, 1991, Guns N' Roses released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, their last albums of original material to date (we're not counting 1993's The Spaghetti Incident? because it was a covers album ... and also because it's kind of lousy). There is a pretty good chance that you did not read early reviews of either Illusion album on a blog, because the World Wide Web was only one month old at the time. You probably didn't send your friend a text about how awesome "November Rain" was, because the first person-to-person SMS message wouldn't be made for more than two years. And you most certainly didn't import either album onto your iPod, because MP3 encoding was still nearly three years away (and the iPod another 10).

Suffice to say, the last time we had W. Axl Rose in our lives, the world was a very different place. Read More...

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Guns N' Roses Bring A Free Dr Pepper To All Americans: Here's How To Get Yours!

Posted 10/22/08 6:00 pm EST by in guns-n-roses


Axl RoseNow that the November 23 release date for Guns N' Roses' oft-delayed, more-than-a-decade-in-the-making album, Chinese Democracy, seems to be a reality, Dr Pepper owes every American a can of soda.

Back in March, the beverage company said that it would give every man, woman, and a child in the U.S. a free can of Dr. Pepper should Guns N' Roses release Chinese Democracy before the close of 2008. And now, the event no one — certainly not the folks at Dr Pepper — thought would happen is rapidly approaching.

"We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us." Read More...

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