Axl Rose: Arrogant Asshole, or Misunderstood?

     MISUNDERSTOOD.

     Go ahead and say, Nah, asshole, and this chick is wasting her time looking for nice things to say about him. 

You read some of my previous stuff and you'll see that I am inclined to back up unpopular rock stars, like Ritchie Blackmore. I'm not spending my time defending these guys for argument's sake, or just because they made good music. I know there are jerks in the music industry, don't think that I'll get mad at anybody who calls a rock star an asshole. I'm writing this because Axl Rose really, really needs somebody out there supporting him, and telling the world that he really was an amazing person, because he's not getting enough of that and honestly, it's sick.

The general perception most people have of Axl was that he was crazily egotistical and would treat others around him like dirt, and that he was completely heartless. Now, I'm not going to say that Axl was the sweetest guy out there. He definetly wasn't. But a lot of the things Axl was known for really weren't the way they seemed, and I would like to step back and look at some moments from Axl's career.

     Like the incident in which he attacked an audience member and broke his camera. Come on, that guy was asking for it. He was distracting Axl while he was on stage, and being rude to him. He provoked Axl very deliberately and he only got what was coming to him.

     How about the way he would keep the audience waiting for hours before a show? Steven Adler said it himself in his book: Axl wanted an emotionally charged atmosphere. He was such of passive fans who didn't seem to care much about seeing the band, he wanted to make sure everybody was good and ready. And remember the timeslot too. The early 90s were all about non caring. Axl was an extremely sensitive and emotional guy, and he hated that.

      The way Axl would make his band wait for him in Chicago, or the way he would have them play songs they weren't familiar with, well, no excuses so far for that. Like I said, he was no saint, and the main purpose of this article is not to make him seem like one, but just to let you know he was all right. 

     Here's a perfect example of this. In 1989, GNR made guest appearances in the Clint Eastwood movie The Dead Pool. All the band members were featured, except Axl. Most people assumed he had snubbed the movie. You know what really happened? While his scene was going to be filmed, he was in the hospital, keeping Steven Adler company. Steven wound up there after a stripper snuck some heroin in his tea, and he overdosed. There you have it- Axl really was human. He missed a big chance to be there for a bandmate who really needed his help.

     A lot of Axl's erratic behavior can really be described- not necessarily justified, but explained, by one simple fact: Axl was manic-depressive. Or so I read in Steven's book. That explains the moodiness and the unpredictability for sure. Manic depression is a severe, clinical mental case and is not something to be shrugged off and ignored. 

     Axl Rose was an extremely smart guy, easily one of the smartest guys the music industry ever saw. He also had a very unique perception of the world, and a poor home life. All those things can have a profound impact on how you live your life and treat others. I really understand this in Axl, cause I am the same way myself. He saw things in a way others didn't, and he sometimes became frustrated because others couldn't understand what he was seeing, and couldn't understand him.

     If some of this isn't convincing you, well, I have one major argument left, and that is a song called Estranged. That is Axl's work through and through, and it is one of the most epic, haunting, emotional and soulful songs ever written. There is so much feeling in the vocal performance and only a supremely intelligent, perceptive, real human being could have written it. To me, that song expresses so perfectly what human emotions go through during the loss of a relationship and a large, painful change in your life. Axl wrote it personally about his marriage to Erin Everly, and the pain and struggle it put him through. No mere arrogant jerk could have created such a powerful, important, and heartfelt song. It took a beautiful person and deep genius to create it, and it showed the world the side of Axl which is just that. To all GNR fans or just good-hearted people out there, I want you to see that person when you look at Axl. Not the guy who started riots and held people up, but the soulful small town boy who found himself coping with a situation he couldn't handle, that of fame, and went over the top a couple times, but who always had a big heart and left a legacy behind him that no artist has done since. And I say, God bless Axl Rose.

A most touching tribute to Steve Clark

     I can hardly think of a rock and roll death that chokes me up more than that of the beautiful, talented Steve Clark of Def Leppard, and I certainly am a sucker for any kinds of Steve Clark tributes or kind words said about him. If he was still with us, he would be 54 as of yesterday... (Happy birthday Steve.) Of all the videos I've watched on YouTube in his memory, I've got to say I was the most satisfied with this one... A lovely slide show dedicated to him with a song which is, in my opinion, one of the best tributes ever to a person deceased: Song And Emotion by Tesla, one of the best bands of their era, written just for Steamin' Steve. Enjoy the video and Long Live one of the true Guitar Gods. He went so far before his time...

Tesla- Song and Emotion-Steve Clark

Who does David Coverdale think he is?

Any rock and roll fan will tell you that Whitesnake and Deep Purple were two of the most important, influential and downright awesome bands that have ever lived. A certain Mr David Coverdale was lucky enough to be a member of both of those bands: he replaced Ian Gillan in Deep Purple in 1973, and then launched Whitesnake in 1978. Over the years, Coverdale has had the opportunity to work with many of the most amazing musicians who have ever lived, between the two groups: Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, John Sykes, Don Airey, Adrian Vandenburg, Tommy Bolin, Glenn Hughes, Steve Vai, Vivian Campbell, Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldridge. Not a bad list, and I'm probably missing some. But Coverdale never really had anything nice to say about all these greats, especially the guitarists he worked with.

     Before I go any farther, I've got to emphasize that one of my pet peeves are musicians who badmouth other musicians. I find it trashy and low-class to the extreme, because being a musician is not easy, and the people who should understand that better than anybody else should be other musicians. They're like members of an extensive family to me, and when I hear one musician saying another one is no good, or just an asshole, I really resent that. Maybe they're completely right in what they're saying, but still, it's just a very rude thing for one musician to go around trashing other ones.
     My incriminating piece of information was the February 1990 edition of Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazine, in which David Coverdale talks about all the guitarists he had worked with to date. All he did was bitch and whine and bitch and whine some more: all in all, it was an infuriating article. First he talked about how much he hated working with Ritchie Blackmore, and while it's known that people have conflicting opinions of Blackmore (view my previous post, Ritchie Blackmore: The Great Debate) it cannot be denied that if nothing else, he was a fabulous musician. Not once did Coverdale say anything resembling that. He just talked about how if Blackmore wasn't such a perfectionist, he would have been a better musician. I disagree strongly- Blackmore's constant search to be the best musician he could possibly be was what made him so great. And for Coverdale to be so outright rude to the man who gave him his chance in the rock and roll industry and made him what he was... I lost a lot of respect for Coverdale when I read this.
     But what he said next was even worse. He started going after Tommy Bolin too. I for one, am a huge fan of Tommy Bolin. I don't think he was right for Deep Purple, but I love his playing. Coverdale says he did too, but then started talking about how he could have been better if it wasn't for the drugs. Coverdale had no  business making that comment- the drugs were Bolin's own business, and they cost him his life far too soon. And for all we know, without the drugs, it's possible that his music skills wouldn't have been what they were. A lot of musicians make their best music under the influence of drugs, and it was sheer ignorance and rudeness, for Coverdale to say that.
     He said fairly nice things personality wise about the early guitarists from Whitesnake, but never once did he say they were good musicians or made any statements about their musical fortes. Just talked about what great guys they were.
     Then it got really bad... Dave started talking about John Sykes like he was some dumb, immature kid who was selfish and hung up on himself, who wasted money in the studio and ultimately just wasn't a good enough guitar player for Whitesnake. I understand that personality clashes do happen sometimes, and that it's possible for two great guys to just not get along very well, like Don Dokken and George Lynch for example. But here I'm inclined to say that Coverdale was the one at wrong here, especially considering the relationships he had with his previous guitarists. Again, Coverdale had not much to say about what kind of a musician John was, and makes it sound like Sykes only gained skill once he had taken him under his wing. As a professional musician in a professional musician's magazine, Coverdale should have stuck to the facts about the music instead of letting his opinions be prejudiced by his bad personal experiences with his musicians.
     Vivian Campbell and Adrian Vandenberg were the next two in Whitesnake. Viv left early cause, according to Coverdale, he "brought bad vibes into the band". Yeah, leave it to Coverdale to go saying that Campbell was the one who made the atmosphere more tense. Again, I'm willing to believe that sometimes two good people just don't get along, but we've been seeing quite a bit about that lately and really, how many personality clashes can you have? At press time, Vandenberg was still  member of Whitesnake, so what Coverdale had to say about him was mainly positive. Not very encouraging, but positive. There was a little more gushing going on over Steve Vai, which I did appreciate, because it was nice to see Coverdale being a little bit more enthusiastic about one of the many great musicians he worked with.
     Vandenberg continued to work with Coverdale and Whitesnake on and off during the 90s, but basically, after the great Slip of the Tongue album in 1989, Coverdale fired the band while on one of his massive ego trips. I guess he couldn't stand not being the best looking member of the group any longer... Since then, he has hired mainly groups of faceless- very talented, but faceless- musicians, and hasn't really produced anything really worth listening to. Maybe if Coverdale had treated his guitarists a little more respectfully, and was a little more secure in his own skin, he wouldn't have reacted the way he did to his group's fame, but sadly, that was the way it went, and can't be changed now. If he hadn't been such a prick, Whitesnake might even still have been making really great music into the 90s and maybe up until today. But no- he just couldn't work with the greats anymore the day it all became about him...
     Normally I would put a picture of David Coverdale at the bottom of the page here, which is standard of my writings, but I'm a little tired of hearing about him right now, so here's a picture of the gorgeous Adrian Vandenberg instead. Ha. Enjoy!
(And for the record, I still absolutely love Coverdale for his music.)

Andy Johns remembered

Andy Johns is a name that may not be known to all listeners of music, but all listeners of music have certainly heard some of the music he produced. In his career, which lasted from the late 1960s until just a couple days ago, as a producer and engineer, he worked with artists including Led Zeppelin , the Rolling Stones, Free, Rod Stewart, Wildside, Van Halen, Humble Pie, Television, Mott The Hoople, Joni Mitchell, Ron Woods, Cinderella, Autograph, Joe Satriani, LA Guns, Doug Aldrich, Bon Jovi and Steve Miller. (Pretty sweet repertoire!) Just a few days ago... on April 7th... Andy passed away from a stomach ulcer at his home in California, at age 62. RIP, bro... There weren't many guys like you out there, and as long as "rock and roll lives and breathes in the hearts of the young" (to quote Triumph) you will be remembered and missed by all.

Alvin Lee Remembered

     And so the first great rock and roller to pass away during 2013 happened today, when the great Alvin Lee lost his life due to complications following surgery. You can't imagine the shock I felt when I logged on to my Twitter account today to find Peter Frampton's comment on Alvin's death- maybe it's the same shock you're feeling now, if this site is the first one to tell you of this? It was a real blow to me. I was just thinking of Ronnie Montrose's death... the epic guitarist of Montrose fame shot himself a year and three days ago from today. I haven't gotten over that yet... and here comes this.

     Alvin was 68 years old. We've lost great rock stars at younger ages but still, any age is too young for the greats, and Alvin was great if anybody was. As well as a handful of other peculiar hair-colored musicians, I call Alvin my red-haired brother... He was a genuinely great guy, an amazing guitar player, a terrific songwriter, and an exciting stage performer. Ten Years After put out the best music of the psychedelic era and some of the very finest British blues, and beyond that, just some very good music in general. Alvin will truly be missed by his many fans- music was never quite the same after him and his legacy will make an impact forever. 

Ten Years After- Woodstock- I'm Going Home

The Possible True Meaning of Hymn For The Dudes

     Describe Mott The Hoople's lyrics in one word. Brilliant, enigmatic, interesting, insightful, confusing, may be some words that come to mind. I for one, will mainly use the first one: Mott The Hoople were brilliant, and Ian Hunter was one of the geniuses of the industry. But of course, with lyrics like these, you will always have people trying to interpret what he was really singing about, and a lot of people will wind up being wrong. I'm gonna tackle one of the greatest Mott songs ever, Hymn for the Dudes, and I'm gonna hope I'm a little closer to the truth than most people get.

     The song in its entirety is pro-Christian: it opens with some really pleasant lyrics:

God ain't jive
For I can see his love as it runs alive

     But the band also express contempt over the false Christians, those who only give a damn about their religion when they're facing tough times and need help, in my personal favorite lyrics from the song.

Oh my sweet instant Christian, you are such a sly clown
Too many questions, no replies now

     So Christianity seems to be a true message of the song. Another, to me, seems to be the life of adolescents, gangs, trouble; common topics in Hunter's writing (AKA, Crash Street Kidds, or even All The Young Dudes, although of course they did not write that themselves.)

Over the fields of barbed wire, the war has just begun

     Reminds me of the Outsiders each and every time.

     But what I feel is the main theme of the song is the glam rock movement. Hunter takes several shots at the stars of the day, who were glitter and glam and no substance. It is commonly believed that these were references to David Bowie, the man who made Mott famous, but I don't think such would be the case, because Ian and Bowie were good friends, and Mott may have just quit the business had Bowie not given them what would become their best and most celebrated song. I believe the lyrics lend themselves more to say, Marc Bolan, or even Mick Jagger. But evidently, they talk about how those stars though they would be the top of the world forever, and Ian warns them that they will lose their identities in fame, and soon they're gonna burn out and nobody's gonna remember them anyway.

I got an idea
Go and tell the superstar all his hairs are turning gray...

     And all the lyrics that follow this emphasize this point, up to:

You ain't the nazz 
You're just a buzz
Some kind of temporary

    While this seems like a direct shot at Bowie, for he uses the word "nazz" in good old Ziggy Stardust, I believe it is more likely to be a shot at Todd Rundgren, who of course, was in the awesome band The Nazz before finding fame as a producer, member of Utopia, and solo artist.
     I believe that the repeated line,

 N' rejoice for the king ain't lost his throne
He's still here. You are not alone

     ...is really a reference to the King himself, Elvis Presley: I think what he is saying is with the glam and the flash groups, a lot of the music coming out had no substance; but don't worry, because Elvis is still Elvis, he's still the king and that won't be changed; and as long as good music exists, there is still hope. Elvis didn't stop being the king throughout the glam rock movement: Ian is saying that real talent stays talent forever and what's great will not change. Quite a reassuring message, when you think about it!

     But Ian Hunter himself, about the song, simply said that it is a song of friendship and support, to the kids who feel alone, and as he wrote it, its true meaning is really his say and his say only. I believe that's the most important message to take out of the song, and so maybe we should just leave it as that.

Underrated Musician #8: Steven Adler

    Somebody who has seen my earlier posts may know I have a certain soft spot for Steven Adler, Guns N' Roses drummer. Now this gives me a chance to talk a little more about why he is one of my absolute favorite musicians ever.

     First and foremost, Steven Adler was a really fantastic musician. I don't think many people ever got how good a drummer he was. His style wasn't loud, boomy and heavy like most metal drummers; instead, he was light, happy, danceable. He brought the swing, the rhythm, the glam and the fun into GNR's signature brand of rock music, which was somewhere between glam, metal, and punk. His personal taste in music centered on KISS, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Mott The Hoople, 60s vocal groups like Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons, even funk and soul along the lines of Sly and the Family Stone. He incorporated all these aspects into his own style of music.

    People tend not to realize what kind of an impact a drummer has on a band, but a good drummer is everything. They lay down the foundation of the music, they decide what the best and the rhythm will be, they create the groove and the feel of the music. GNR bassist Duff McKagan considers Adler's sense of grove to be his strong point, and describes the band as having great chemistry during those days, where everybody needed each other and relied on the unity of their musicianship to make the band what it was. When Adler was fired from the band a couple years later, (for reasons I could go on about for quite a while, so I'll save it for a future post) the band lost its last shreds of comradeship, and ultimately sparked the band's downfall.

     Steven was also responsible for the band's songs. He wasn't just involved in the sound, he collaborated immensely to the writing process of their music. Slash now speaks of what Steven's contributions meant to the band, stating that he always had brilliant, creative ideas, and deserved more credit than he got.

     And now, well, this doesn't really impact how good a musician one is, but in Steven's case, is definety worth mentioning, and that piece of information is that Steven was a really, really wonderful guy. He came from a disastrous home life and saw a good share of shit in his time, but he always remained a great guy, talkative and friendly, and to quote Duff again, he was the best friend a guy could every ask for. To me, being such a great guy only makes you enjoy and respect a brilliant musician even more, and Steven Adler epitomizes that in my eyes. Steven is still active in the music business, with his own band like Adler's Appetite, and is still turning out good rock music. (For the record, they're really the only new band whose music is on my iPod.)