[Cipher Hour]

W. Axl Rose (lead vocals, piano)
Slash (lead guitar, backing vocals)
Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals)
Gilby Clarke (rhythm guitar, backing vocals)
Dizzy Reed (keyboards, percussion)
Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals)
Ted Andreadis (keyboards, harmonica, background vocals)
Diane Jones (background vocals)
Roberta Freeman (background vocals)
Tracy Amos (background vocals)

What followed in the years to come between 92-94 was nothing short of chaos. The fractures in the band that had been growing since the departure of Steven Adler (who at this time was desperately trying to kill himself) were only growing. The band played shows across the world, and at times failed to because of Axl deciding to not show up.

Not only this; but the new direction Axl was taking the band through after the UYI albums was tearing away at lead guitarist Slash. Slowly and bit by bit, the band began to grow apart to the point where they almost never saw each other in the studio or talked to each other on tour anymore. Their popularity continued at a steady pace, and on the exterior the band was still a whole.

In 93 the band released an album of covers entitled “The Spaghetti Incident?”. The album received a lukewarm reception compared to the bands last efforts, and afterwards writing began for the next Guns N’ Roses album. In the years afterwards, differing opinions on musical direction, a faltering friendship, and one insatiable ego drove the final wedge between Axl and what remains of the original lineup. 95 went by slower then usual, and 1996 marked the end at last.

As Slash departed in October of that year, Axl didn’t seem phased. He sent a fax to MTV detailing that the band would still release their next album. But, as Slash walked out the door, Duff and the others soon took their cues as well. As each member went their separate ways, Axl desperately bought the rights to the Guns N’ Roses name, in the hope that Guns N’ Roses would live on through him. By the middle of 97, Guns N’ Roses as it was, was officially over.

Chinese Democracy

For the next few years, Axl remained in hiding whilst his former band mates began their own new careers. However, this would not be the last that people would see or hear from the neurotic front man.

In 99, the new track “Oh My God” was released on the soundtrack for the movie “End of Days”. Rumors began to circulate of a return to the music world by Axl, even talk of a new Guns N’ Rose and a new album to come. As Axl remained in hiding while beginning the long writing process, two words were on the minds of eager fans everywhere; Chinese Democracy.

During the years between 99-02, Axl began writing and recruiting session musicians (Zack Wylde, Brian May, Dave Navarro, and many more) that would become the huge undertaking of Axl’s version of the “perfect album”. Armed with a new musical direction, and a little maturity, the likes of an actual band and new material began to take shape.

In 2002 at the VMA’s, the new Guns N’ Roses took the stage for the first time.

W. Axl Rose (Vocals)
Dizzy Reed (Keyboards)
Buckethead (Lead guitar)
Tommy Stinson (Bass)
Robin Fink (Lead guitar)
Richard Fortus (Rhythm guitar)
Brian Mantia “Brain” (Drums)
Chris Pitman (Keyboards, Special Effects)

Among the set list for the show were classics like Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City, along with the epic new song Madagascar. Though the performance was somewhat zombie-like, it didn’t fail to get fans excited again. Axl had announced his return, a tour, and plans for 3 new albums; the first of which being Chinese Democracy.

Critics and some diehard fans saw the new band as a disgrace to what Guns N’ Roses used to be, and were angered that Axl called the new band Guns N’ Roses. Regardless, this signaled a new era in the Guns N’ Roses legacy as the Chinese Democracy tour began.

However, things would not go so smoothly in the beginning. In typical Guns N’ Roses fashion, a riot broke out in Vancouver (Canada), kicking off the tour with a bit of a sour note. Axl had arrived in the Vancouver airport an hour late, and because of this the managers at GM Stadium cancelled the show without Axl’s (or the rest of the band’s) notice. This wouldn’t stop Axl though.

For the next several months, the tour went as planned. A few new songs the band had been working on were shown off (along with the old songs), and Guns N’ Roses proved to the world that they still had a strong following.

However, during the last leg of the tour in December of 02, the tour was abruptly cancelled. Inside sources have mentioned that the people promoting and supporting the tour had run out of money, and that this is the reason for the cancellation (along with a strange illness that afflicted Axl during December to January).

Though the tour was cancelled, news was spread that the boys were going back to work on writing and recording the new album (which they hoped to release that year in 03). In March, the band announced they would be playing the next Rock In Rio (scheduled March of 04). Axl confirmed that they are working on writing and recording all 3 new albums all at once so they can tour more frequently.

The members of the new Guns N’ Roses also pursued their own solo projects, along with being top secret about the status of the new album. As time went by without announcements or appearances by the band, speculation and rumors began to mount.

In March of 04, the performance at Rock In Rio was cancelled due to Buckethead leaving the band. The official statement about Buckethead’s departure can be found below. This is also the last official statement Axl Rose has made.

A Message from W. Axl Rose

The band has been put in an untenable position by guitarist Buckethead and his untimely departure. During his tenure with the band Buckethead has been inconsistent and erratic in both his behaviour and commitment - despite being under contract - creating uncertainty and confusion and making it virtually impossible to move forward with recording, rehearsals and live plans with confidence. His transient lifestyle has made it impossible for even his closest friends to have nearly any form of communication with him whatsoever. Last time I talked to Bucket, he called to tell me he had bought a bootleg DVD off EBay and how proud he was to be in Guns and how impressed he was with everyone's performance. Then, in February we got word from Brain that Bucket had called him and said he was back in Guns!? Apparently, according to Bucket he had been "Gone" but had turned himself around and was really excited to do Rio-Lisbon and a European tour. Somewhere in the following month things changed once again. According to those who have actually spoken with Buckethead it appears his plans were to secure a recording contract with Sanctuary Records which I encouraged my management to make available to him, quit GN'R and to use his involvement in the upcoming Guns release to immediately promote his individual efforts...Nice guy!

There is not a member of this camp that is not hurt, upset and ultimately disappointed by this event, and more to the point - if not this individual, certainly this individual's choices. Regardless of anyone's opinions of me and what I may or may not deserve, clearly the fans, individuals in this band, management, crew and our support group do not deserve this type of treatment. We as a whole, definitely feel that we afforded Bucket every accommodation perhaps so much so that it may be that we or more precisely, I may have done Guns a disservice and unintentionally allowed Guns to be put in this position.

On behalf of Guns N' Roses and myself I apologize to the fans who planned to see us at Rock In Rio - Lisbon. The festival and its tradition mean a lot to me personally and I sincerely do not enjoy being robbed by one of our own of the opportunity to be the first artist to play it for the third time. I would also like to express my gratitude to those who chose to embrace Buckethead's role in Guns and support our new line up. We greatly appreciate Bucket's contributions and remain open to "discussions" as there are obviously several issues to resolve. In the meantime rather than dwelling on the negative, Guns will be moving forward and surprisingly (without giving away any details) this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further. Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months.

Sincerely,

W. Axl Rose