DAVE MUSTAINE: ‘It Would Be Terrific’ If STEVEN ADLER And IZZY STRADLIN Were Involved In GUNS N’ ROSES Reunion
On the January 24 edition of “The Strombo Show”, host George Stroumboulopoulos welcomed MEGADETH‘s Dave Mustaine for a little conversation to celebrate the release of the band’s fifteenth album, “Dystopia”.
Asked for his thoughts on the GUNS N’ ROSES reunion, Mustaine said: “I don’t know that that’s going to happen. I certainly hope that it will, but, you know, in order for it to truly be a GUNS N’ ROSES reunion, you’ve gotta ask yourself, ‘Who’s is gonna be there?’ I think that it would be terrific if [drummer] Steven [Adler] and [guitarist] Izzy [Stradlin] was there too, because that would be really, really nostalgic. There’s nothing really keeping them from doing it other than personal differences. And I understand — trust me, I just went through that with the [attempted reunion of the] ‘Rust In Peace’ [lineup] — so sometimes it’s not meant to happen. But if it is, that would be so cool.”
Mustaine went on to bring up GUNS N’ ROSES singer Axl Rose‘s notorious stage tardiness, saying: “I love GUNS N’ ROSES. I think Axl‘s a great frontman. I just hope that this thing that happened on ‘Jimmy Kimmel’ the other day [when Axl canceled his appearance on the show] isn’t an indication of anything that is going to happen with the tour. I don’t know that there’s people nowadays that are gonna be hanging out for three, four hours waiting for somebody to show up.”
He added: “If I’m having a good time, I wouldn’t mind hanging out for an extra amount of time, if there was something going on. Or, like, say, homie’s plane is stuck in traffic and it’s hard for them to land the plane right now, so he’s gonna be a couple of hours late to the concert versus the guy just doesn’t wanna come out right now. Which I don’t know what the real reasoning is behind anything or why anybody does anything but myself. And even me, fuck, I don’t know the reason I do half the stupid stuff I do.”
You can listen to Mustaine‘s entire appearance on “The Strombo Show” at CBC.ca (beginning at around the two-hour-23-minute mark).
Axl, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, along with a lineup that may or may not include original or recent members of GUNS N’ ROSES, are reuniting for four confirmed shows so far: two in Las Vegas in early April, and two headlining slots at California’s Coachella Music And Arts Festival later that month.
The last time that Slash, Axl and Duff all performed live together was in 1994, although Duff has done a few shows with the latest GUNS iteration in recent years.
Speculation about a GUNS reunion exploded last summer when Slash revealed that he and Axl had repaired their estranged relationship, which prevented them from speaking for the better part of two decades.
GN’R is reportedly negotiating with promoters to play as many as 25 stadiums in North America this summer. The band is said to be asking as much as $3 million per show, with tickets topping out in the $250 to $275 range.
AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler says that he was one of several people who have tried to get Axl Rose to reunite GUNS N’ ROSES with guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.
“I’m sure I’m not solely [responsible for them getting back together], but I did meet Axl in a couple of clubs a year ago and two years ago and three years ago,” Tyler said on Howard Stern‘s SiriusXM radio show (hear audio below). “I bumped into him, and I had that talk… I said, ‘You need to get fucking back together again soon, because we all miss you.’ Same thing someone said to me when Joe [Perry, AEROSMITH guitarist] and I were fighting. ‘You’ve gotta get back together. What are you, crazy?’ In fact, it was Jon Bon Jovi. I’m in rehab. He calls me up and goes, ‘What the fuck are you in rehab? The world needs you. We’re out here ripping it up, and everybody’s asking for AEROSMITH. You need to get out of here, because people in the world need you.'”
He continued: “So I’d say to Axl, ‘You’ve gotta get together. There’s a place and time where if you don’t, you’re gonna miss it.’ And in another four or five years, no one’s gonna even know who they were or care if they’re on tour, and that’s Steven Tyler‘s opinion. And also, I’m the lead singer of another great band, so I have a right to feel that way. I have such a huge ego about keeping the fire and the music together. Because if people come up to me and say, ‘Dude, I got laid to your music,’ or a woman comes up to me and says, ‘We got married to your songs.’ You had something to do with the fabric of people. GUNS N’ ROSES had something to do with the fabric of humans on this planet, so I get fucking pissed.”
Asked if he thinks the GUNS N’ ROSES reunion will last, Tyler said: “The point is they’re talking to each other. They got an offer for something, and at least they’re going out. I think the world needs to hear their music. End of story.”
He added: “I can only hope that Axl sees that the greater picture is to not be angry at Duff or Slash, for Axl to understand that he’s the lead singer in a great band and the world wants to see Axl with the original band. They love him alone too. He’s the shit alone. He’s fucking great. Axl‘s great.”
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