GUNS N' ROSES Guitarist DJ ASHBA Says 'Production Issues' Are To Blame For Concert Tardiness

January 23, 2013

Australia's Yahoo!7 News recently conducted an interview with GUNS N' ROSES guitarist DJ Ashba. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose being portrayed in a negative light:

Ashba: "I think a lot of people and the press try to blow it up and say he's an asshole but everyone can be an asshole if you get them on the wrong day. One thing people don't seem to get is that he's genuinely funny and he's always joking around and telling stories to make people laugh. I always say that if he wasn't a musician he'd be a great comedian. I wish the world could see that side of him because it's the opposite of what people have branded in their brains."

On how Axl treats his GN'R bandmates:

Ashba: "Axl is in a position where he doesn't have to be cool with the band but he treats us like gold. He lets us write our own solos and gives everybody their time to shine on stage and I think that says a lot about who he is. He has no problem sharing the spotlight, in fact he quite likes it — otherwise he'd be doing this interview and not me."

On GUNS N' ROSES' latest album "Chinese Democracy", which came out in 2008 after a 15-year wait:

Ashba: "I came in right after 'Chinese Democracy' was released and I've seen a huge difference over the last four years in how fans react to those songs. A lot of people are singing along to them now that they're more familiar."

On how "production issues" are mostly to blame for GUNS N' ROSES' continual stage tardiness, with long waits for Axl just as much a definite at a the band's concert as hearing "Paradise City" or "Welcome To The Jungle":

Ashba: "We have a huge rig and pyrotechnics so often it's the case of fitting all that into the venue. Our number one priority is to make the shows safe. [The criticism from fans on social media] kills us as a band because we're not doing any of this on purpose. Our main goal is to go and give the fans a show they will never forget and we understand how expensive tickets are. We take that into account and when we do hit the stage, it's almost impossible to get us off."

On GUNS N' ROSES' next studio album, for which the bandmembers have already begun collecting ideas:

Ashba: "It won't be another 'Chinese Democracy' but then again we're in no rush to make a bad record. Failing is not an option so we're putting our heart and soul into this one."

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).