Guns N Roses – Skin Back Alley

Guns N’ Roses documentary to premiere on BBC Four

25/01/2016 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Don’t worry if you haven’t got $2,500 for a ‘Signature VIP Experience’ at the upcoming Guns N’ Roses reunion shows, you’ll still be able to get an intimate view of the band via a new documentary film.

Director Jon Brewer’s The Most Dangerous Band In The World: The Story Of Guns N’ Roses is set to premiere on UK channel BBC Four at 10pm on the 5th of February.

The film tells the story of GNR’s beginnings, going from playing bars on Sunset Strip to packing out arenas the world over. The documentary includes a host of exclusive interviews and early footage from GNR fan and friend Marc Canter.

Interview subjects include former Guns N’ Roses drummers Steven Adler and Matt Sorum, former manager Vicky Hamilton, Slash, Whisky A Go Go owner Mario Maglieri, Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe and the A&R man who originally signed the band, Tom Zutaut.

Jon Brewer has previously directed B.B. King movie The Life Of Riley and Nat King Cole biopic Afraid Of The Dark.

Guns N’ Roses recently revealed that mainman Axl Rose will reunite with former guitarist Slash and former bassist Duff McKagan for this year’s Coachella festival. The reunited band are also set to play two shows in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena on the 8th and 9th of April. The shows will be the first time that Axl and Slash have appeared on stage together since 1993.

Scott Weiland to front new GN’R/Disturbed ‘megagroup’

22/01/2015 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland has revealed that he’s fronting a new “megagroup” featuring Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and Disturbed bassist John Moyer.

Art Of Anarchy are set to release their debut album in the Spring, with the lineup being completed by guitarist Jon Votta and drummer Vince Votta.

A press release announcing the news says: “Poised to become one of the biggest new bands of 2015, Art Of Anarchy is redefining the rock supergroup. Meet the ‘megagroup’ — members are rock legends in their own right with over 150 million in sales.

“The band started out of an 18-year friendship between Bumblefoot and the Votta brothers, dating back to the local New York music scene. Art Of Anarchy have emerged as a band willing to eradicate musical borders in pursuit of something brilliant. It’s all about songwriting and musicianship, which the band proudly displays on its self-titled debut album.

“The band also sees Weiland returning to his hard rock roots with a harder-edged sound than any of his previous efforts.”

Jon Votta says: “This is the record I always dreamed of making since I started playing guitar.”

You can watch the band’s album teaser trailer below:

Duff McKagan details How To Be A Man

05/01/2015 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Duff McKagan has shared release details of his new book, How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions).

The book, which came about as a result of McKagan’s column for Seattle Weekly, will be published on the 12th of May via Da Capo Press. It sees McKagan taking a wry look at his life as a musician, husband and father.

Meanwhile, the former Guns N Roses bassist has been speaking to The Jasta Show about his time in GN’R during their Use Your Illusion world tour.

“We generated a lot of dough. Our crew was 130 people. We had two stages going — we had an A stage and a B stage going — around the world at all times,” he explains.

“That’s why we toured for two and a half years, because it took us two years just to break even on that tour!”

McKagan rejoined Guns N’ Roses for five shows last year and said at the time that he wouldn’t rule out recording with Axl Rose again in the future.

Guns N’ Roses book to become a-list feature film

17/11/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

A book about the early days of legendary US rock band Guns N’ Roses is to be made in to a feature film.

Marc Canter’s authorised biography Reckless Road: Guns N’ Roses And The Making Of Appetite For Destruction is now officially in development and – rumour has it – will feature a starry cast of movie a-listers.

Speaking to MyGNRForum, Canter said: “I do have a big say-so on the script, which is still being put together now, but so far it’s looking cool.

“I am going to see that everyone in the cast is doing their job and doing justice to the band. Since I was there, I know what the dialog was between the band for many of the events that took place.

“When you find out who is making the movie, you will then understand that it will be very cool. I’m proud of all the hard work that was put into this project and it’s just going to kick ass. In no way will it be a cheesy movie like Rock Star.”

Asked about the fact that Canter and the film do not have the support of GN’R mainman Axl Rose, Canter said: “Axl doesn’t support anything to do with the old band except playing their songs live. However, I do think he will be happy with the fact that it will clear up some stories that have been said about him from those days that were told incompletely. So setting the record straight on some of those events will be a good thing for him to see happen.

“Axl should know by now that I have his back and that it will be done right. If I’m involved in a GNR project, then you know I have their backs. There is a great story about the birth of the band which I was very much involved in.

“This has nothing to do with where the band is today. The history is very important and that’s why Axl was the one who was most supportive of me documenting what they were doing when they first started out.”

Reckless Road was originally published in 2008. Author Marc Canter is a long term friend of GN’R guitarist Slash.

Dizzy Reed: new Guns N’ Roses album might be out “really soon”

04/11/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Guns N’ Roses keyboard player Dizzy Reed has said that the band’s new album could be released “really soon.”

Speaking in interview, Reed told VH1 Radio: ” “There’s a lot of material that’s already done and I think it’s in the process of being finished and eventually we’ll pick out which songs need to come out with which other songs… So that’s in the works. Hopefully it will be out really soon.”

Reed’s prediction comes in the wake of other members of Guns N’ Roses hinting that a new album is not far off.

Back in June, G’N’R mainman Axl Rose seemed to suggest that the album, a sequel to 2008’s Chinese Democracy, was already finished: “We recorded a lot of things before Chinese was out. We’ve worked more on some of those things and we’ve written a few new things. But basically, we have what I call the second half of Chinese. That’s already recorded. And then we have a remix album made of the songs from Chinese. That’s been done for a while, too.”

Guitarist DJ Ashba also went on record recently saying: “Axl has two full albums that he has recorded. He has played me a bunch of songs off of that that are incredible! I can’t wait to get in and kind of dive into those as well.”

Guns N’ Roses fans might not be wise to hold their breath, then, but the signs are strong that they won’t have to endure another 15 year wait for new material.

Watch this space.