Guns N' Roses
Induction Ceremony
Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Saturday April 14th, 2012
Broadcast Recording
Encoded: 256 Kbps MP3
Track List:
01. Green Day - GN'R Induction Speech (5:44)
02. Duff, Steven, Slash, Matt - GN'R Acceptance Speeches (6:15)
03. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (5:59)
04. Guns N' Roses - Paradisce City (7:24)
Vocals: Myles Kennedy
Lead Guitar: Slash
Rhythm Guitar: Gilby Clarke
Bass: Duff McKagan
Drums: Steven Adler, Matt Sorum
Matt plays drums on "Mr. Brownstone", Steven plays drums on "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City".
Matt plays tambourine and cymbals and performs background vocals during "Paradise City".
Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day sings some lines in "Mr. Brownstone".
When asked what Slash's initial reaction was after reading Axl Rose's open letter to the Rock Hall in which the frontman refused induction,
Slash said, "The funny thing is we never would have played had he never written it. I think at one point he alluded he was at least
going to go, and so we hadn't really prepared to play at all. We were just going to show up as almost an obligatory thing ・more for
the fans than anything. But that letter set a fire that was like, 'Okay, fuck it. We're going to go play.' So it really
almost didn't happen. And if it hadn't been for that special letter, it wouldn't have."
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"It was a really nice event all around, and it was a special moment for all the guys that showed up," Slash said.
"It was a nightmare going into it, but when it actually happened it was like, 'This is pretty cool.'"
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During a brand new interview with RollingStone.com, legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) spoke about w
hat it felt like to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame without singer Axl Rose, who refused to attend the ceremony
and be inducted with his former bandmates.
When asked if he ever considered just not going to the induction ceremony, Slash said, "My whole thing was that I really,
in my heart of hearts, wanted to have the whole original band get together and actually perform, which I sort of knew was wishful
thinking. When the whole thing first came up, that's basically what I wanted to do. It became apparent that that wasn't going to happen.
I was like, 'Oh fuck,' and I was sort of disillusioned with the whole thing, but there was that commitment that was sort of made
that I was going to go, and I thought Axl was still going to go, and it wasn't until the last minute that I heard that he wasn't coming,
and that's when we all decided we were just going to go ahead and play anyway. Early on, when it was probably more confusing than
necessary, I have to admit, I was like, 'Oh fuck, I don't really want to go to this if we're not going to play,'
though I never said, 'No, I'm not going to go.' But it was sort of a black cloud for a few months there. Before that I thought
we were just going to show up and not play, which is what I was resigned to."
In addition to Axl Rose, who announced earlier in the month that he would not attend and was not accepting his induction,
other missing members included original guitarist Izzy Stradlin and longtime keyboardist Dizzy Reed, who still plays in the
current version of the band. [who in mid Feb 22012 promised to be at the HOF but didnt stand by his words with his wife trying
to blame it on the HOF seating prices for family rather than to reality being an Axl-yes-man] For the Rock Hall induction performance,
Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler were joined by drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Gilby Clarke for
three songs ・"Mr. Brownstone", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City" ・from the band's classic 1987 debut, "Appetite For Destruction".
When asked at which what point they decided to play at the ceremony, Slash told RollingStone.com, "It was literally two days before
the actual ceremony. The day that the press release came out and Axl said he wasn't coming, we had the [Revolver] Golden Gods awards,
and it was in the dressing room there that Duff and I talked. We said, 'OK, we're just going to fucking get together and play,'
and Duff goes, 'We should get Myles [Kennedy from ALTER BRIDGE and Slash's solo band].' I was talking to Duff about who was going
to sing, I thought Duff would sing, him and Gilby, but Duff said, 'What about Myles?' It hadn't occurred to me, really.
I talked to Myles about it, he was apprehensive about getting put in that position, so at first, he turned it down, but finally
he said, 'OK, I'll do it.' We got it all together and we put together a little rehearsal the night before and did our thing."
In a separate interview with RollingStone.com, Adler said that he'd finally given up hopes for a GN'R reunion and wanted to move on with his life. He also said was is the last interview he would ever give about Axl. "He showed his true colors to the world," the drummer said. "I'm done with him, I'm never mentioning him or talking about him again. . . I feel blessed and thankful that he was a part of my life for that chapter of my life, but that's it. That's it. I have no desire to know him or work with him or do anything with him again. Letting go of that was like a huge weight was lifted off my body. I feel fucking free."
Regarding the prospect of a classic GUNS N' ROSES reunion at the Rock Hall induction, Slash said, "I didn't have any illusions or
delusions of GN'R getting back together for anything. I maybe tried to see it happen for this one particular event, I didn't
have high hopes for that, I didn't feel confident it was going to happen, but having done this one gig, and for the event itself,
when it was all said and done, it really felt like closing the book on the whole thing."
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A Hall of Appreciation, a Touch of Regret / By Duff McKagan / Thu., May 10 2012 at 8:00 AM
Watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony special on HBO last weekend, I was also struck by how honored I was to
have been included in such an epic class of bands and artists. GNR opened for the Peppers a few times in LA back in the early days.
They were king-shit on the hill back then. And the Beasties were the hard-core East Coast counterpart to what we were oozing over on the
West Coast. In fact, I seem to remember us being in the same club sometime in 1986, and the rumor of us brawling against each other was
rampant throughout the club that night. Ah...testosterone!
There we all were in Cleveland, last month. Bands that made some sort of difference somewhere. The Peppers still do, and so do the Beasties.
And they both stayed together, through thick...and blackened thin. But GNR didn't survive the folly and nonsense. We didn't rise above.
Watching that HBO Special made me sad -- for the very first time, perhaps--that the original GNR didn't somehow stay together.
It would have been a miracle if we did. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have done my part to try and rid that band of
the caustic resentments and outside inputs that finally wore us down to a nub of what we once were, and what we could have come back from.
Alas, it just wasn't in the cards.
A funny thing happened in the lead-up to Cleveland. It seemed that there was an understanding -- not only with the people who had flown
to Cleveland to see "their band" inducted -- but in how the other inductees rallied around Slash, Steven, Matt, and myself.
They had our backs, and all offered their help in any way that we could use it.
Walking into the lobby at the hotel that all the artists were staying at, the first fellow inductee I saw was fucking Ronnie Wood
from the Faces/Stones. He gave me a big hug, and smiled a huge grin. "Isn't this going to be fucking great, Duff?!" Uh, yeah, sure.
What a welcome!
Flea gave me a big hug later that afternoon, and so did Chad Smith. The Green Day guys came to my book reading the night before at
the House Of Blues, and Billie Joe and I devised a plan where he would sing whatever was needed...if needed.
In the aftermath of all of the drama leading up to the event, and a few people from our camp stating publicly that they weren't
coming at all, I stuck with the mindset that I was there to honor our fanbase who had been there for us for more than 25 years.
It was a very poignant night. And after watching the broadcast -- and seeing my old friends perform for our diehard fans -- it's
starting to sink in just how heavy the event was for me on a personal level.
We really didn't know if we were going to play at all. It wasn't cemented until we actually rehearsed at 2 a.m. the day of the
show (right after my reading. It was all THAT last-minute. In fact, my band and soundman for the reading -- Jeff and Mike from Loaded,
and Seattle's own Martin Feveyear -- instantly became GNR's crew! That's right. We hadn't even thought ahead about guitar techs,
drum techs, or sound guys. So it was nice to have them there with me for the RRHOF, for sure).
For Slash and me, it was the first time we'd played our songs with Steven Adler in something like 22 years.
We had to wonder: Would it work? Would we be able to get our mojo back with only 14 hours to spare before playing in front of an
audience of 7,000, and be filmed for an HBO Special!?
I couldn't have been more proud of the guys I did take the stage with that night (special thanks to guitarist Gilby Clarke and singer
Myles Kennedy for their heroic, last-minute efforts). My bandmates composed themselves in the face of so much unneeded drama.
We had no resentment, and showed up to pay homage to those fans who did their part for us.
At the end of the day, I am so very satisfied about the outcome of that night in Cleveland. It was about the music that GNR wrote way
back when. And the fact that a few of us showed up to reciprocate our appreciation was certainly enough for the occasion. -END