Dear Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Fuck Off. Love, Axl

[craig]

To: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May
Concern,

When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first
announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting
to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was
honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of
course I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted
it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we've listened to fans, talked with members of the board of
the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and
jabs from former members of Guns N' Roses, had discussions with the
president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some
contrived) and read other artists' comments weighing in publicly on Guns
and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we've been polite, courteous, and open to
an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into
consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend
along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to
include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't
agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how
(albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled
things... no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction
Ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or
respected.

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their
accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp
has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show
not mine.

That said, I won't be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction
2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of
Guns N' Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know
that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any
induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label
representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether
directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported
induction of "Guns N' Roses".

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my
and my camp's perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or
condemn. Though unfortunately I'm sure there will be those who take
offense (God knows how long I'll have to contend with the fallout), I
certainly don't intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with
this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we've actively
sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be
a no win, at least for me, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" scenario
all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion
lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion
whether under the guise of "for the fans" or whatever justification of
the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion
are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current
lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard
Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in '06 and I invited him to join
us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard
Rock, later in '06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party
and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion
lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in '11 along with
his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the
exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined
somewhere in the future for a song or two, that's enough.

There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out
there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking
the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or
originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light,
there isn't room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Maybe if it were you it'd be different. Maybe you'd do it for this
reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We're there for
each other when the going get's rough. We love our fans and work to give
them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move
on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy
ending especially at another's, or in this case several others',
expense.

But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the "no show, grandstanding,
publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn't care about the fans" crap out
of the way as quickly as we can and let's move on. No one's taking the
ball and going home. Don't get it twisted. For more than a decade and a
half we've endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and
the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and
unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this
particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the
Hall and a reunion, the ball's never been in our court.

In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as
ironic as it may seem, I'd like to sincerely thank the board for their
nomination and their votes for Guns' induction. More importantly I'd
like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any
success we've had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N' Roses
music.

I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists
being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

Sincerely,

Axl Rose

P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III

[Bruce Smith]

Bill Bailey is forever the drama queen, aint he?

He may own the name and have the right to call his band
of replacements GNR, but real members of Guns N' Roses
will be there to graciously accept the honor.

[Stacey Rosner]

I,for one am happy to see that Axl"stuck to his guns",good for him.From the
beginning he said his music is for"fans"and not for"the man",he was never in
it for the"commercial shit"or to be #1 on the charts.The RRHOF falls in the
category of"commercial shit"."Axl I don't know of another way to say this to
you,so I hope you see this,I did not know I was writing to you,I really
thought"Jennifer Sheehan" was a chick from Boston.You should have just asked
me to stay I would have,I have loved you all my life,why didn't you tell me
it was you?

Bummed in Indianapolis,(Stacey)
oh yeah,thanks for all the"hints" in Chinese Democracy,like IRS,I hear a lot
in other songs too,you are too kewl.............
"craig" <c...@c.com> wrote in message
news:4f8628da$0$24194$c3e8da3$a8a6...@news.astraweb.com...

[Stacey Rosner]

I think Jennifer Sheehan was Axl because me and my husband were talking
about the people we used to talk to on Prodigy(an on-line chat group before
the internet took off)and I mentioned I used to talk to Jennifer Sheehan all
the time before I left California and came to Indy.He then told me that
Jennifer Sheehan was Axl's Prodigy name,I figured he knew what he was
talking about because he used to talk to Vikki Powell all the time(she used
to go out with Slash's guitar tech)and her and Jennifer were friends.So
there you have it,that's why.

Stacey
"MJ B" <compli...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:da719e0f-6f25-4e4f...@d6g2000vbe.googlegroups.com...
Can I ask why you think J.S. is Axl Rose?