1988.02.DD - Hard-Rock Magazine (France) - The Flower With A Gun (Axl)

Transcription:

Guns N' Roses - La Fleur Au Fusil

Infâmes poseurs pour les uns, rockers ultimes pour les autres, les kids français pourront enfin juger sur pièces, fin janvier, de l'authenticité des Guns'n'Roses, ceux-ci assurant la première partie de Motley Crue à Paris. En attendant, W. Axl Rose, son chanteur, s'est confié à nous sans rien cacher.

Si aujourd'hui les «Roses aux fusils» défrayent la chronique et se vantent d'un appétit prêt à tout bouffer surtout s'il s'agit de synthétique, c'est que la rebellion constante qui les habite n'est sûrement pas un gimmick usurpateur de plus au royaume du tout-électrique. Non, ça doit remonter plus loin, vers des années plus antiques. Après tout, ils l'entretiennent, ce tic ! Alors si pour vous c'est encore assez flou, voilà qui va vous permettre de vous éclairer sur les vues et les goûts des Guns, « Roses au-bout », en particulier de son leader, sieur W. Axl Rose.

Après avoir donné du micro à travers ce qu'il appelle « divers groupes composés des mêmes personnes », Axl connut en-fin la stabilité qui manquait tant au line-up du combo : Guns'n' Roses était né. Et la réputation grandissante du groupe fut assez haute en couleur jusqu'ici, les boys étant plutôt enclins à foutre le bordel et à ne pas cacher leurs opinions, sans parler des démêlés avec la loi.

AMIS D'ENFANCE

Axl et lzzy Stradlin, l'un des deux sixcordistes du quintette, sont tous les deux originaires de l'Indiana, où ils se sont connus alors qu'ils n'avaient encore que huit printemps. Il y a six ans, ils déménagent pour Los Angeles. Axl nous le narre ci-devant : « La première fois que j'ai mis les pieds à L.A., j'étais poursuivi par la loi. Ma grand-mère nous conduisait, moi et un ami, à l'aéroport. Alors que nous roulions bien tranquillement, les flics ont débouché tout à coup au coin de la rue, juste derrière nous. Là, j'ai gueulé 'Vas-y grand-mère, fonce!" Elle ne savait pas que j'avais des problèmes avec les flics, bien entendu. » Et Axl s'envola, pour atterrir finalement dans une maison située à Huntington Beach, en Californie. Il y reste deux semaines, puis décide d'aller faire un peu d'auto-stop à travers l'Etat, avant de s'installer à L.A. d'une façon plus permanente. La collaboration musicale d'Axl et d'Izzy est à l'image du flux et du reflux de chères marées, épisodique : « Cela allait de pair avec notre cheminement respectif. Pour lzzy ce fut particulièrement difficile, car son processus à lui l'entraîna à passer constamment d'un instrument à un autre. Au départ, il fut batteur, ensuite bassiste, puis chanteur, et enfin, définitivement, guitariste!»

UN SACRÉ MIC-ARAC
Et croyez-moi, le chemin parcouru par nos deux zigues dans des formations diverses est digne de figurer au palmarès des imbroglios les plus fous ! Izzy fut bassiste dans un groupe nommé Shadow, qu'il quitta pour former « Rose » avec Axl. Moins d'un an plus tard, la Rose s'éparpillait. Ce qui n'empêcha pas AxI, Duff (basse), Steve Adler (batterie) et Slash (guitare) de remettre ça et de bap-tiser le combo Hollywood Rose, tout aus-si éphémère. AxI s'associa alors à Tracii Guns (maintenant chez LA. Guns... les fusils ont la cote !), union qui fut la pre-mière mouture de Guns'n' Roses. Mais Tracii eu vite fait d'opter pour une autre orientation musicale, et fut à nouveau remplacé par Izzy. Non sans problèmes d'ailleurs, comme nous l'explique Axl: « L'emmerdant, c'est que ni Slash ni Izzy ne voulaient jouer avec un autre guitariste sur scène. Slash avait, et a toujours eu, un certain penchant pour cette "p... de saloperie d'alcool", et il s'arrangeait tou-jours pour être ivre mort les soirs où il devait jouer en compagnie de quelqu'un d'autre. lzzy avait lui aussi ses propres méthodes pour échapper à la situation. Puis, finalement, Slash a débarqué un jour chez Izzy, ils ont appris à jouer en-semble et depuis ils sont inséparables. »

SE VAUTRER DANS LA DROGUE PAR ENNUI

Et là, alors que le line-up était (enfin I) définitif et que le groupe venait de signer chez Geffen, les « Roses aux fusils»  déroutent encore leur p'tit monde en sortant tout seuls un mini-Lfi sur leur propre label, Uzi Suicide! « On s'emmerdait, rigole Axl, il fallait que l'on fasse quelque chose. Nous étions à la recherche du bon producteur, mais tous ces mecs que l'on rencontrait étaient bourrés d'coco ou de bien d'autres choses encore, le succés les avait définitivement blasés... Ah ! je ne les condamne pas, ce sont des choses qui arrivent, mais notre quête d'un producteur qui ne soit pas seulement intéressé par les millions de dollars que nous n'avions pas s'en est rendue d'autant plus difficile. Robert John n Mutt » Lange ? Est-ce que ce que Mutt fait aujourd'hui a quelque chose à voir avec ce qu'il a pu taire avec AC/DC ? Non ! Alors ? Eh bien nous n'avons pas trop bougé nos culs pendant environ quatre mois au cours desquels nous nous sommes vautrés dans la drogue, car il n'y avait nulle part où aller et strictement rien à faire. On ne pouvait pas trop sortir non plus, car une fois signés, nos déplacements en public ont commencé à devenir un peu trop mouvementés. Les gens qui nous avaient suivis depuis le début, les groupies, les fans, étaient si contents pour nous qu'ils auraient bien passé tout leur temps en notre compagnie. Beaucoup de filles se disaient : "Ce type, j'ai le ticket avec lui, il me le faut !" Comme cette nana qui m'a abordé au Cathouse (propriétaire: Taime Downe, Faster Pussycat) hier soir, et qui m'a dit "J'ai toujours été amoureuse de toi, et tu le sais bien " ! Lors de la sortie du mini-LP, nous avions organisé une Party : le nombre des demandes en mariage ce soir-là a été spectaculaire ! Alors que si j'avais fait moi-même ces demandes un mois auparavant, ces filles m'auraient dit d'aller ! C'est donc pour éviter un peu tout ce cirque que nous nous sommes enfermés à ne rien faire, et une des manières de tuer le temps dans ce cas-là, c'est la drogue ! Mais bon, ça a fini par nous empêcher d'être efficaces dans ce que nous voulions faire, alors nous nous en sommes détachés. Non sans mal d'ailleurs, car la tâche n'est pas aisée... »

LES HOMMES LES PLUS CHOQUËS

« C'est à ce moment-là que nous avons décidé de sortir le mini-LP. La sédentarité nous tuait ! "Live Like A Suicide" a aussi permis que l'on continue à s'intéresser à nous, car pendant ce temps-là les gens devaient sans doute se dire que "ces types qui venaient designer se prenaient déjà pour des stars alors qu'ils n'en avaient pas encore foutu une"! En ce sens, Los Angeles est une ville très exi-geante».

Et qu'est-ce qu'Axl pense de la vive réac-tion causée par la « crudité » de la po-chatte d'« Appetite For Destruction », oeu-vre d'un certain Robert Williams, sachant que ce sont les hommes qui ont été les plus choqués ?« Ouais, ils ont cru que les femmes s'insurgeraient en premier, mais la plupart des mecs "contre" ne voyaient là qu'un moyen de protéger leur compte en banque ! C'est encore une histoire de gros sous ! Jusqu'ici ils ont eu peurd'une chute des ventes pour une malheureuse pochette où une fille avait ses bas sur les genoux ! » Une partie du stock à scandale fut au début mise en vente, faisant des rondelles de précieux collectors, la suite étant enveloppée dans un package moins... direct au faciès. Après trois gigs historiques au Marquee, le gang, de re-tour aux Etats-Unis, a ouvert pour le Cult d'Astbury et Duffy. Maintenant, gaffe ! Ils sont ici, avec les Crte et leurs fusils (bababooum !) Dernier bruit : Metallica leur aurait proposé un p'tit tour commun en virée: Axl est ravi...

Arlett VEREECKE / Dominique DUJEAN


Translation (@blackstar):

Guns N' Roses: Flower In The Gun Barrel

Some say they're infamous posers, others say they're the ultimate rockers. At the end of January, French kids will finally be able to see for themselves the true nature of Guns N' Roses, who will be opening for Motley Crue in Paris. In the meantime, W. Axl Rose, their singer, spoke to us without hiding anything.

If today the "armed Roses" make headlines and pride themselves on an appetite that is ready to devour everything, especially if it’s chemical, it is because the permanent rebelliousness that inhabits them is surely not just another pretending-to-the-throne gimmick in the realm of pure electric sound. No, it probably goes further back to much older times. After all, they still keep it going! So if you' re still a bit confused, here's what will help you to understand the views and preferences of Guns, "Roses at heart", and in particular of their leader, Mr. W. Axl Rose.

After having fronted what he calls "various bands made up of the same people", Axl finally found the stability that the band's line-up was lacking: Guns N’ Roses was born. And the band's growing reputation has been quite colorful so far, as the boys are rather prone to messing up and not keeping their opinions to themselves, not to mention getting into trouble with the law.

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS

Axl and lzzy Stradlin, one of the quintet's two six-stringers, are both from Indiana, where they met when they were only eight years old. Six years ago, they moved to Los Angeles. Axl recounts: "The first time I set foot in L.A., I was on the run from the law. My grandmother was driving me and a friend to the airport. As we were driving along, the cops came around the corner, right behind us. I yelled, "Go, grandma, go!" She didn't know I was in trouble with the cops, of course." And Axl took off, eventually winding up in a house in Huntington Beach, California. He stayed there for two weeks, then decided to hitchhike around the country for a while before settling in L.A. on a more permanent basis. Axl and Izzy's musical collaboration is like the rise and fall of the tides, it comes and goes: "It went hand in hand with our respective journeys. For Izzy it was particularly difficult, because his own path led him to constantly switch from one instrument to another. At first he was a drummer, then a bass player, then a singer, and finally, ultimately, a guitarist!"

A HELL OF A MUDDLE

And believe me, the path taken by our two guys in various bands is worthy of being in the list of the craziest muddles! Izzy was a bass player in a band called Shadow, which he left to form "Rose" with Axl. Less than a year later, Rose disbanded. This did not stop Axl, Duff (bass), Steve Adler (drums) and Slash (guitar) from doing it again and naming the band the - short-lived - Hollywood Rose. Axl then teamed up with Tracii Guns (now in LA. Guns... guns are popular!), a union that was the first incarnation of Guns 'n' Roses. But Tracii soon opted for another musical direction, and was replaced again by Izzy. Not without problems, as Axl explains: "The problem was that neither Slash nor Izzy wanted to play with another guitarist on stage. Slash used to have, and always has had, a fondness for f... goddamn booze, and he always managed to be dead drunk on the nights he had to play with someone else. Izzy also had his own ways of escaping the situation. Then, finally, Slash showed up at Izzy's house one day, they learned to play together and have been inseparable ever since."

WALLOWING IN DRUGS OUT OF BOREDOM

And there, while the line-up was (finally!) definitive and the group had just signed with Geffen, the "armed Roses" baffled their small audience once again by releasing a mini-LP on their own label, Uzi Suicide! "We were just getting so bored," laughs Axl, "we had to do something. We were looking for the right producer, but all these guys we met were wasted on coke and other stuff, success had definitely left them jaded... Ah, I don't blame them, these things happen, but our search for a producer who wasn't just interested in the millions of dollars we didn't have made it all the more difficult. Robert John "Mutt" Lange? Does what Mutt is doing today have anything to do with what he did with AC/DC? No! So? Well, we didn't get off our asses for about four months and we were wallowing in drugs during all that time, because there was nowhere to go and nothing to do. We couldn't get out too much either, because once we were signed, it became a little too hectic when we went out in public. The people who had been following us since the beginning, the groupies, the fans, were so happy for us that they would have liked to spend all their time with us. A lot of girls were like, "This guy, I have a thing with him, I must have him!" Like this chick who came up to me at the Cathouse (owner: Taime Downe, Faster Pussycat) last night, and said "I've always been in love with you, and you know it!" When the mini-LP was released, we had a party; the amount of marriage offers that night was spectacular! Although if I had offered myself a month earlier, these girls would have told me to fuck off! So, to avoid all this circus, we locked ourselves up doing nothing, and one of the ways to kill time in this situation is to get high on drugs! But it ended up preventing us from being efficient in what we wanted to do, so we got rid of it. Not without difficulty, because it' s not an easy thing to do... "

MEN ARE THE MOST SHOCKED

"That's when we decided to put out the mini-LP. The lack of activity was killing us! "Live Like A Suicide" also helped to keep people interested in us, because by that time they would probably have thought, "these guys who just got signed think they've already become rock stars, even though they have done fuck all!" In that sense, Los Angeles is a very challenging city.

And what does Axl think of the strong reaction caused by the "crudity" of the cover of "Appetite For Destruction", work of one Robert Williams, knowing that it was the men who were most shocked?" Yeah, they thought women would be the first to get outraged, but most of the guys "against" it just saw it as a way to protect their bank accounts! It's all about the money again! So far they've been afraid of a fall in sales because of one unfortunate cover with a girl's panties in her knees!" Some of the controversial stock was initially put up for sale, turning the record into a precious collector's item, the rest was wrapped up in a less... straight to the face package. After three historic gigs at the Marquee, the gang, back in the States, opened for Astbury and Duffy's The Cult. Now, watch out! They're here, with the Crue and their guns (bababooum!) Latest rumor: Metallica offered them a small joint tour. Axl is thrilled...

Arlett VEREECKE / Dominique DUJEAN

Jesus, that translation leaves a lot to be desired!!

Soulmonster wrote:Jesus, that translation leaves a lot to be desired!!

I'll go through it.

Thank you, you seem to be good at translation from French to English. Do you speak some French?

Yes, I speak some. But I can mostly read and understand it, as I don't communicate much in it.

There are some mistakes in the transcription, that's why some parts read so weird in the auto-translation.

I figured. For me, a Norwegian, going over a French transcription and look for mistakes, is like going over a completely random word salad. It's just, "Are you allowed to to put these letters together like this", "And what's with the weird typography?"

Finished:
--------------

Guns N' Roses: Flower In The Gun Barrel

Some say they're infamous posers, others say they're the ultimate rockers. At the end of January, French kids will finally be able to see for themselves the true nature of Guns N' Roses, who will be opening for Motley Crue in Paris. In the meantime, W. Axl Rose, their singer, spoke to us without hiding anything.

If today the "armed Roses" make headlines and pride themselves on an appetite that is ready to devour everything, especially if it’s chemical, it is because the permanent rebelliousness that inhabits them is surely not just another pretending-to-the-throne gimmick in the realm of pure electric sound. No, it probably goes further back to much older times. After all, they still keep it going! So if you' re still a bit confused, here's what will help you to understand the views and preferences of Guns, "Roses at heart", and in particular of their leader, Mr. W. Axl Rose.

After having fronted what he calls "various bands made up of the same people", Axl finally found the stability that the band's line-up was lacking: Guns N’ Roses was born. And the band's growing reputation has been quite colorful so far, as the boys are rather prone to messing up and not keeping their opinions to themselves, not to mention getting into trouble with the law.

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS

Axl and lzzy Stradlin, one of the quintet's two six-stringers, are both from Indiana, where they met when they were only eight years old. Six years ago, they moved to Los Angeles. Axl recounts: "The first time I set foot in L.A., I was on the run from the law. My grandmother was driving me and a friend to the airport. As we were driving along, the cops came around the corner, right behind us. I yelled, "Go, grandma, go!" She didn't know I was in trouble with the cops, of course." And Axl took off, eventually winding up in a house in Huntington Beach, California. He stayed there for two weeks, then decided to hitchhike around the country for a while before settling in L.A. on a more permanent basis. Axl and Izzy's musical collaboration is like the rise and fall of the tides, it comes and goes: "It went hand in hand with our respective journeys. For Izzy it was particularly difficult, because his own path led him to constantly switch from one instrument to another. At first he was a drummer, then a bass player, then a singer, and finally, ultimately, a guitarist!"

A HELL OF A MUDDLE

And believe me, the path taken by our two guys in various bands is worthy of being in the list of the craziest muddles! Izzy was a bass player in a band called Shadow, which he left to form "Rose" with Axl. Less than a year later, Rose disbanded. This did not stop Axl, Duff (bass), Steve Adler (drums) and Slash (guitar) from doing it again and naming the band the - short-lived - Hollywood Rose. Axl then teamed up with Tracii Guns (now in LA. Guns... guns are popular!), a union that was the first incarnation of Guns 'n' Roses. But Tracii soon opted for another musical direction, and was replaced again by Izzy. Not without problems, as Axl explains: "The problem was that neither Slash nor Izzy wanted to play with another guitarist on stage. Slash used to have, and always has had, a fondness for f... goddamn booze, and he always managed to be dead drunk on the nights he had to play with someone else. Izzy also had his own ways of escaping the situation. Then, finally, Slash showed up at Izzy's house one day, they learned to play together and have been inseparable ever since."

WALLOWING IN DRUGS OUT OF BOREDOM

And there, while the line-up was (finally!) definitive and the group had just signed with Geffen, the "armed Roses" baffled their small audience once again by releasing a mini-LP on their own label, Uzi Suicide! "We were just getting so bored," laughs Axl, "we had to do something. We were looking for the right producer, but all these guys we met were wasted on coke and other stuff, success had definitely left them jaded... Ah, I don't blame them, these things happen, but our search for a producer who wasn't just interested in the millions of dollars we didn't have made it all the more difficult. Robert John "Mutt" Lange? Does what Mutt is doing today have anything to do with what he did with AC/DC? No! So? Well, we didn't get off our asses for about four months and we were wallowing in drugs during all that time, because there was nowhere to go and nothing to do. We couldn't get out too much either, because once we were signed, it became a little too hectic when we went out in public. The people who had been following us since the beginning, the groupies, the fans, were so happy for us that they would have liked to spend all their time with us. A lot of girls were like, "This guy, I have a thing with him, I must have him!" Like this chick who came up to me at the Cathouse (owner: Taime Downe, Faster Pussycat) last night, and said "I've always been in love with you, and you know it!" When the mini-LP was released, we had a party; the amount of marriage offers that night was spectacular! Although if I had offered myself a month earlier, these girls would have told me to fuck off! So, to avoid all this circus, we locked ourselves up doing nothing, and one of the ways to kill time in this situation is to get high on drugs! But it ended up preventing us from being efficient in what we wanted to do, so we got rid of it. Not without difficulty, because it' s not an easy thing to do... "

MEN ARE THE MOST SHOCKED

"That's when we decided to put out the mini-LP. The lack of activity was killing us! "Live Like A Suicide" also helped to keep people interested in us, because by that time they would probably have thought, "these guys who just got signed think they've already become rock stars, even though they have done fuck all!" In that sense, Los Angeles is a very challenging city.

And what does Axl think of the strong reaction caused by the "crudity" of the cover of "Appetite For Destruction", work of one Robert Williams, knowing that it was the men who were most shocked?" Yeah, they thought women would be the first to get outraged, but most of the guys "against" it just saw it as a way to protect their bank accounts! It's all about the money again! So far they've been afraid of a fall in sales because of one unfortunate cover with a girl's panties in her knees!" Some of the controversial stock was initially put up for sale, turning the record into a precious collector's item, the rest was wrapped up in a less... straight to the face package. After three historic gigs at the Marquee, the gang, back in the States, opened for Astbury and Duffy's The Cult. Now, watch out! They're here, with the Crue and their guns (bababooum!) Latest rumor: Metallica offered them a small joint tour. Axl is thrilled...

Arlett VEREECKE / Dominique DUJEAN

Thanks! I put it in the first post. Always fun with new Axl interviews. I have some more coming.

The name of the magazine is Hard Rock. It's the same magazine as this one:

https://www.a-4-d.com/t3973-1987-10-dd-hard-rock-magazine-guns-roses-axl-slash-duff

(That article was also written by Arlett Vereecke and Dominique Dujean).

Blackstar wrote:The name of the magazine is Hard Rock. It's the same magazine as this one:

https://www.a-4-d.com/t3973-1987-10-dd-hard-rock-magazine-guns-roses-axl-slash-duff

(That article was also written by Arlett Vereecke and Dominique Dujean).

Oh yeah, I see it down at the bottom of the pages. I just thought it was silly named