Ep. 111: Guns N’ Roses – Classic Lineup Band Members

November 12, 2023 Peter Jans

Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

I’m Jans you Mnemonic Man and today's episode is on the hard-hitting, rebellious and wild Guns N’ Roses.

Formed in Los Angeles in 1985 when the L.A. Guns needed a new vocalist, Guns N’ Roses rose to fame in just a number of years after their debut album “Appetite for Destruction” finally got a foothold. From there their iconic albums “Use Your Illusion 1” and “Use Your Illusion II” launched them into the stratosphere making them one of the biggest bands in the world.

I have my own memory of Guns N Roses back in 1993 when they toured Australia and were playing at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne. Getting there was an adventure in itself driving my first car which was a four-speed Holden Gemini which had a proclivity to overheat. So, the trip down was with the windows right down and the heater on flat out to cool the engine. Anyway, we got there okay, parked the car in the middle of a big field and began the long trek just to get into the venue. Once in, the weather was pushing 40 degrees with seemingly no shelter, along with lines to get a drink, over an hour long. Following this, the weather turned and it started to blow a gale causing a dust storm making it difficult to see anything. Then it started to rain and the temperature dropped nearly 30 degrees! This change in the weather must have driven a few people crazy because after the rain people were making mudslides down the Calder Park embankment ……. some naked!

In between this the band eventually got out and put on a great show. Thinking that all the dramas were now over, we left then couldn’t find the car for over an hour. When we did find the car, we elatedly jumped in started it and moved five metres then not a centre metre further for another hour. If they didn’t end up opening a back gate, we could have been stuck there all morning. As it was, we eventually got home at 4.00 a.m. in the morning and then got up at 5.00 a.m. to then go to work.

Today’s mnemonic is on the Guns N Roses classic lineup band members.

So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GNR_London_Stadium_2017_3_(cropped).jpg

Wikipedia Summary

Guns N' Roses[a] is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in March 1985 when local bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns merged. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic lineup" consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.

Guns N’ Roses heavily toured the West Coast club circuit their first years before embarking on the Appetite for Destruction Tour. Their debut album Appetite for Destruction (1987) failed to gain traction, debuting at 182 on the Billboard 200, until a year after its release when a grassroots campaign for the "Welcome to the Jungle" music video brought the band mainstream popularity. "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" both became top 10 singles, with "Sweet Child o' Mine" becoming the band's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide, including 18 million units in the United States, making it the country's bestselling debut album and eleventh-bestselling album. With their stylistic mix of punk rock, blues rock and heavy metal, the band helped move mainstream rock away from the glam metal era of the mid-late 80's. In addition, they are credited with revitalizing power ballads in rock. Their next studio album, G N' R Lies (1988) combined an early EP with new acoustic songs and reached number two on the Billboard 200, sold ten million copies worldwide (including five million in the U.S.), and included the top 5 hit "Patience" and the controversial “One in a Million”. Adler was fired due to his drug addiction in 1990, and replaced by Matt Sorum.

Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, recorded and released simultaneously in 1991, debuted at number two and number one on the Billboard 200 respectively and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide (including 14 million units in the U.S.). The Illusion albums included the lead single "You Could Be Mine", covers of "Live and Let Die" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", and a trilogy of ballads ("Don't Cry", "November Rain", and "Estranged"), which featured notably high-budget music videos. The records were supported by the Use Your Illusion Tour, a world tour that lasted from 1991 to 1993. Stradlin abruptly left the band near the beginning of the tour in 1991, replaced by Gilby Clarke. The punk covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993) was the last studio album to feature Stradlin and Sorum, only to feature Clarke, and the last for Slash and McKagan before their initial departure. While mostly well-received, it was the band's worst-selling studio album to date and was not supported by a tour.

Work on a follow-up album stalled due to creative differences and personal conflicts between Rose and other members; Slash and McKagan left the band while Clarke and Sorum were fired. In 1998 Rose, Reed, guitarists Paul Tobias and Robin Finck, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Josh Freese and multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman started writing and recording new songs. Guitarists Buckethead, Bumblefoot and Fortus, and drummers Brain and Ferrer all contributed as the band's lineup changed. Their upcoming sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy (2008), was promoted with the expansive Chinese Democracy Tour (2001-2011). With Rose failing to deliver the album on schedule, Geffen released Greatest Hits (2004), which became the 8th longest charting album in the Billboard 200 era, reaching 631 weeks by July 2023.[1] The long-awaited Chinese Democracy was released in November 2008, featuring the title track as lead single. At an estimated $14 million in production costs, it is the most expensive rock album in history. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with a generally positive critical reception. Slash and McKagan rejoined the band in 2016 for the quasi-reunion Not in This Lifetime... Tour, which became one of the highest grossing counter tours of all-time, grossing over $584 million by its conclusion in 2019.

In their early years, the band's hedonism and rebelliousness drew comparisons to the early Rolling Stones and earned them the nickname "the most dangerous band in the world". Significant controversy followed the band due to late show starts and riots (notably the 1991 Riverport riot), lyrics perceived as problematic, Rose's outspoken persona, several other members’ drug and alcohol abuse issues, lawsuits, and public feuds with other artists. Several members of the band are considered the best in their fields with Rose considered one of the best vocalists, Slash as one of the best guitarists and McKagan as one of the best bassists by various publications. Guns N' Roses (Rose, Stradlin, McKagan, Slash, Adler, Sorum and Reed) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Guns N' Roses have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 45 million in the United States, making them one of the best-selling acts in history.

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_N%27_Roses]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GUNS_n_roses_ICON.PNG

Mnemonic

Guns N’ Roses - Classic Lineup Band Members Mnemonic – ASSID

(Picture Guns N Roses performing on a giant polished concrete stage in the rain and slipping over continually. So, they sprayed the stage with acid between songs to improve the grip)

1. Axl Rose

2. Slash

3. Steven Adler

4. Izzy Stradlin

5. Duff McKagan

Five Fun Facts

1. The band’s name Guns N’ Roses was formed from the names of two separate bands. Axl Roses band Hollywood Rose and Tracii’s band the L.A. Guns, hence Guns N’ Roses.

2. Guns N’ Rose’s genesis came after the success of their first album “Appetite For Destruction” which was released in 1987. The success of this album did not come easy with early sales extremely slow. MTV refused to play the videos and radio stations refused airtime. This changed when David Geffen called in a favour to MTV and asked them to play “Welcome to the Jungle”. They eventually did in the worst possible time slot of 4.00 am in the morning on a weeknight and the result was a switchboard that caught on fire due to the number of calls. “Appetite For Destruction” went on to being the best-selling debut album of all time.

3. With the success of their first album came an appetite to eventually make the most expensive album, their fifth. The album “Chinese Democracy” took a decade to produce and cost around 14 million dollars!

4. In 1991 the band did the impossible and released two albums “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II” at the same time. Amazingly both albums debuted at number two and one respectively on the Billboard charts and established Guns N’ Roses as one of the biggest rock bands in the world.

5. Tragedy struck the band in Donington at the Monsters of Rock Festival in 1988. While the band was playing a record crowd of 107,000 surged forward in wet, boggy conditions and caused a crush. Rose implored fans to back off, but unfortunately, two fans were trampled or crushed to death.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reformation_des_Guns_N%27_Roses_,_photo_exceptionnelle_des_trois_pr%C3%A9curseurs_du_groupe_mythique.jpg

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. Axl Rose and Stephanie Seymour once dated and were reportedly engaged before they broke up. Name one of the two Guns N’ Roses music videos that Stephanie Seymour appeared in?

Q.2. How many Grammy awards have Guns N’ Roses won?

Q.3. What was the name of the Guns N’ Roses album that was composed of all covers? Options are Meatball Madness, The Spaghetti Incident? or The Lasagne Affair

Bonus Q. What sort of hat does Slash wear?

Bonus Q. Was the lead singer Axl Rose once a choir boy? True or False

Mnemonic Recap

Guns N’ Roses - Classic Lineup Band Members Mnemonic – ASSID

(Picture Guns N Roses performing on a giant polished concrete stage in the rain and slipping over continually. So, they sprayed the stage with acid between songs to improve the grip)

1. Axl Rose

2. Slash

3. Steven Adler

4. Izzy Stradlin

5. Duff McKagan

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. Axl Rose and Stephanie Seymour once dated and were reportedly engaged before they broke up. Name one of the two Guns N’ Roses music videos that Stephanie Seymour appeared in?

A. “November Rain” and “Don’t Cry” When they broke up, they filed suits against each other, both claiming the other was physically abusive.

Q.2. How many Grammy awards have Guns N’ Roses won?

A. Zero

Q.3. What was the name of the Guns N’ Roses album that was composed of all covers? Options are Meatball Madness, The Spaghetti Incident? or The Lasagne Affair

A. The Spaghetti Incident?

Bonus Q. What sort of hat does Slash wear?

A. He is known for his iconic Top Hat

Bonus Q. Was the lead singer Axl Rose once a choir boy? True or False

A. True. He came from a very religious family and also taught Sunday School.

Apparently, he was also a bit of an entrepreneur when younger and opened up a colonic’s spa called; Buns n Hoses!

Word of the Week

crepuscular

[ kri-puhs-kyuh-ler ]

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling twilight; dim; indistinct.

Example