Given their history, the Guns N’ Roses reunion tour has gone unexpectedly smoothly thus far. Things are going so well, in fact, that before the tour heads to South America, Axl Rose and Duff McKagan sat down for the first interview from the band since their reunion. In their interview with a Brazilian TV channel, Axl and Duff gave some details on the tour, including the absence of Izzy Stradlin.
The details of how the reunion happened actually aren’t that exciting, given how big of an event the “classic” lineup touring is. Basically, the organizer of Coachella Paul Tollett reached out to Axl about reuniting the band for the festival, Axl’s people got in touch with Slash, Axl and Slash had dinner, and then Axl and Duff hung out. Not exactly rock star stuff.
More notable is the lack of Stradlin on the tour thus far. While this is a reunion of the “classic” lineup, that has really meant Axl, Slash, Duff, and occasionally Steven Adler. Former guitarist Stradlin has not joined them yet, and is not expected to. “I don’t really know what to say about Izzy. It’s like you could have a conversation and think it’s one way and the next day it’s another way. And I’m not trying to take any shots at Izzy. It’s just his thing is kind of his thing, whatever that is,” said Rose.
Alas, while Guns N’ Roses fans are probably happy to see Axl and Slash and Duff back together, they shouldn’t hold their breath for Izzy. Also worth noting in the interview is that Axl said he’s not really a “live music guy.” Maybe that explains why he was too busy watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II to show up for a concert on time once.
(Via Blabbermouth, h/t Rolling Stone)
