Live n’ Let Die

I recently read yet another article following the never ending he said/he said drama between W. Axl Rose and Saul “Slash” Hudson. With the release of Chinese Democracy it seems that the GNR rumor mill has once again picked up steam. I’m confident the drama will never end and Axl will continue to stir the pot every time he’s posed questions regarding reunions, one off gigs, and his opinion on Slash’s side projects.

Although everything said over the past 15 years is just more of the same, I’ll continue to read the rumors and slander with the undying hope that a reunion will one day happen….or will I?

Allow me to drop a few lines about one of my favorite bands.

Guns N’ Roses, was, without a doubt the soundtrack behind much of my adolescent life.

Upon the recommendation of an older friend, Use Your Illusion I & II were among some of the first albums I’ve ever purchased. Those albums marked the beginning of a band that will stay with me forever.

I remember with all too much clarity, turning up my Yorx stereo to 10 (if only 11), assuming the rock star position in front of my bedroom mirror and belting out the ever so eloquent lyrics of Don’t Damn Me & Back off Bitch, two B side gems.

God bless my Mother for letting me play my music loud.

Every time I hear GNR I’m brought back to different moments throughout my life, good and bad. There are only a couple of other bands that have that same effect on me, and all of them I hold close to my heart.

I taste Capitan and Coke and smell smoky clothes every time I think of college and the pre and post parties at my apartment with friends. Watching old GNR videos before hitting the bars was a mainstay in #11. It’s a shame we didn’t spend more nights laughing, loving and rewinding.

When I hear Rocket Queen, I think of a dancer at The Gentlemen’s Quarters and can tell you with absolute certainty, she would not have looked nearly as sexy had her pole spinning been to Bon Jovi or Motley Crue.

When I hear Paradise City, I think of my wife, our wedding reception, our family and friends.

Don’t Cry brings me back to my first crush.

Sweet Child O’ Mine takes me to Arrowhead.

Patience puts me at a piano bar with friends and November Rain leads to my parent’s basement when MTV was worth a damn.

For me, GNR is arguably the purest ROCK n ROLL band of the last 20 years.

I dare you to bring me an album, recorded from 1987 – Today, that from beginning to end, has a shred of the wreckless perfection, conviction, and natural swagger heard on Appetite for Destruction.

Play for me a riff, more glamorously dirty then the opening notes of Sweet Child O’ Mine and I’ll grow a Bob Ross fro.

I love music, the imagery it creates and the memories it can conjure. GNR has blessed us with 3 solid gold albums that will never grow tired or stale and for that I’m grateful. Music snobs, without a doubt, will tell you GNR was and is of little consequence. When compared to the Greats their argument holds water, but on any given lazy afternoon I’m going to grab Appetite over Pet Sounds without batting an eye.

I’ve never seen Guns N’ Roses live, as I started listening to them very early in life, and would have never convinced my parents to take me to the rock show at the tender age of 11. Would I give anything to go Marty McFly and see them when they came to Kansas City 1992? Just about.

No less than six years ago I would have cut off my pinky finger if it meant the band would reunite and embark on one last World Tour.

Today, I wouldn’t be so apt to lay my hand on that butcher block.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I would rather GNR, even with the best/worst intentions, never attempt a reunion. It’s a no win situation. We’d be brining together five jaded artists more interested in selling top dollar tickets than recapturing that carelessness from 20 years ago. The show would be at best watered down, drank and spat back out. A forced guitar solo, a somber Duff McKagan or a slow Axl would leave much to be desired, and I’ll be damned if I trade one of my memories for a moment of disappointment.

Do what’s right boys. Live and Let Die.

February 26th, 2009