Green Day To Induct Guns N' Roses Into Rock Hall - Axl Rose Not Attending

[jobeterob]

Green Day To Induct Guns N' Roses Into Rock Hall
One iconic band will send another [[slightly older) iconic band into the annals of rock immortality, as Green Day will induct Guns N' Roses into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
G uns N' Roses will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend, despite Axl Rose's bombshell decision on Wednesday to boycott the event due to various grievances, large and small. A spokesperson confirms with Billboard that Green Day is still scheduled to introduce the gritty rock band into the Hall's ranks.



Axl Rose Not Attending Guns N' Roses' Rock Hall Induction



Also on Thursday, Hall officials announced a few new additions to the star-studded gala event, taking place Saturday, April 14 in Cleveland, including a full-fledged reunion of Faces, featuring Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan. Despite several near-reunions over the years, the four surviving members have not played together as Faces since 1993, four years before bassist Ronnie Lane died from multiple sclerosis. Steve Marriott, who fronted the earlier mod group Small Faces, died in 1991.



Stewart missed his own Rock Hall induction in 1994 due to an earthquake in Los Angeles two days prior.



The Red Hot Chili Peppers will also perform, though key former member John Frusciante has indicated he will not attend. The band launched a tour in late March to promote their 10th studio album, "I'm With You." The tour was delayed in January to allow singer Anthony Kiedis to recover from a foot injury.



Other additions to the April 14 festivities include John Mellencamp, who has been confirmed to sing with and induct folk-rock singer Donovan; LL Cool J is a new addition to help Chuck D induct the Beastie Boys; Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill of ZZ Top will perform for and induct Freddie King, and Darlene Love will sing for Don Kirshner.



Rock Hall Inductees 2012: Guns N' Roses, Beastie Boys Make Grade



Previously announced presenters include Steven Van Zandt for the Small Faces/Faces, Chris Rock for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bette Midler for Laura Nyro. Carole King for Don Kirshner, Robbie Robertson for producers Tom Dowd, Glyn Johns and Cosimo Matassa, and Smokey Robinson for his Motown group the Miracles along with Gene Vincent's Blue Caps, Bill Haley's Comets, Buddy Holly's Crickets, James Brown's Famous Flames and Hank Ballard's Midnighters.



Green Day will induct Guns N' Roses, but no performers to fete the band have been announced. Rose wrote in an open letter on Wednesday that after listening to fans and reading "various public comments and jabs from former members" of the band, as well as assorted press coverage, he has decided to "let sleeping dogs lie" and not attend the ceremony. He asked that he "not be inducted in absentia" as a member of the band he still fronts.



"We are sorry Axl will not be able to accept his Induction in person," the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation said on Wednesday night.



In addition to the induction ceremony, the Rock Hall is hosting a week of special events, including the grand opening of its library and archives, concerts -- including a gospel tribute -- and educational programs.



The Rock Hall induction ceremony will be broadcast by HBO, debuting at 9 p.m. EST/PST on May 5.

[smark21]

Not only is he not attending, he’s asked not be inducted with his former bandmates.

[soulster]

Axl's letter regarding Rn'R HOF [["no room for conversation, let alone a reunion")
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

[jillfoster]

A sad day in music history when demonic pigs are inducted into the hall of fame.

[soulster]

A sad day in music history when demonic pigs are inducted into the hall of fame.

What in the world makes you think he's a demonic pig? He has said or done nothing demonic.

[jobeterob]

He's sounding pretty unhappy and annoyed.

I dont know their history.

[smark21]

At their peak, Guns N’ Roses put out some very strong hard rock/metal songs. Sweet Child O’ Mine cannot be denied—especially that guitar rift. But Axl fell into the traps of rock star excess. He has some serious issues.

[Jerry Oz]

No way G n' R should be in the hall of fame. And Axl Rose is a grandstanding prima donna who doesn't deserve the attention he's received. He was petty enough to instruct security at some of his later iterations of Guns 'n Roses to deny entry to the arena to anyone wearing a Slash hat or tee shirt featuring the true talent in the group. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is only 120 miles away from me and because they induct popular but not great bands like this, I don't see myself visiting anytime soon.

[jobeterob]

But Jerry, isn't the RR H o F about popularity mostly??

If they wouldn't be about popularity, they would be nothing.

It's an ages old argument, but without commercial popularity, we might not even know much about Motown.

[soulster]

The R&R HOF did not start out as a popularity contest, and it still isn't. There are certain criteria that dictates who can be nominated. It's not even about what the fans want.

The fault of the R&R HOF is that they did not promote this concept. They also should have defined exactly what R&R is to quiet the rockist fans.

[Jerry Oz]

I thought it was more then popularity. I thought that only icons and influential musicians/bands were the only ones considered worthy of the hall. That's why Muddy Waters is enshrined even though 98% of the people who view his exhibit wonder who the heck he was. I can see Kurt Cobain and Nirvana one day being enshrined because he influenced, and even altered the course, of alternative rock immensely. But not Guns 'n Roses.

I guess I need to read the criteria. I'm not disparaging G 'n R at all, but I don't see anyone in 20 years talking about them in the same breath as people from my generation discuss the Rolling Stones, Jackson 5, Temptations, Beatles, etc. God bless them, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seems to be the Rock and Roll Hall of Anyone in Rock That You Remember From 25 Years Ago.

[jobeterob]

I pretty much agree with that analysis................particularly the part about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seems to be the Rock and Roll Hall of Anyone in Rock That You Remember From 25 Years Ago.

In the process they sold the whole thing down the road. And they've left out some hugely popular and influential pop singers, r & b singers and female singers.

[nomis]

There has been internal fighting and politics in GnR for nearly two decades..Axl is an articulate and complicated character..both he and Slash are very talented..when i was at school everybody was crazy about the group while i was the only kid listening to Anita Baker lol.. and there was huge anticapation in the industry when they released the two volumes of Use Your Illusion in 1992 they toured in 1993 then things went sour between the members..Geffen made a fortune off them...

[Jerry Oz]

A co-worker told me that Axl wrote a song using the "N-bomb" in order to make a point, not to be racially divisive. Slash's mom is black and he took umbrage and that either started the divide or made it too broad to divide. Axl is a jerk of herculean proportions who probably takes his fame as an entitlement, not something to appreciate.

[nomis]

things got very heated backstage at the 1992 MTV awards he told Kurt Cobain he was going to punch Courtney Love and bodyguards had to intervene..the dudes got some serious anger issues..

[jobeterob]

The Beastie Boys were forced to scrap a planned performance at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday night [[14Apr12) when rapper Adam 'Mca' YAUCH pulled out of the event.

The trio was saluted by rap heavyweights Chuck D and LL Cool J but only Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz were on hand to accept the accolade.

Hours before the ceremony the group's publicist released a statement which read: "Beastie Boys regret that Adam 'Mca' Yauch will be unable to join Mike 'Mike D' Diamond and Adam 'Adrock' Horovitz at the band's induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

"Mike, Adam and Adam are truly grateful for the honor but with only two of the three Beastie Boys attending, they will unfortunately not be able to perform at the ceremony."

Taking to the stage without his bandmate, Horovitz - alongside Diamond and longtime DJ sidekick Mixmaster Mike - read out a statement from Yauch, who thanked the Beastie Boys' fans, writing, "This induction is as much ours as it is yours."

No reason was given for Yauch's no-show, but the Beastie Boys star has been battling cancer in a salivary gland since the summer of 2009.

He wasn't the only major no-show at the Hall of Fame celebrations - Rod Stewart pulled out of a planned reunion with his old band The Faces, who were among the inductees, because of illness. He was replaced onstage by former Simply Red star Mick Hucknall, who flew in from England at short notice to perform.

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose declined his induction honour as a member of the band and announced he would not be attending the ceremony earlier this week [[beg09Apr12) - and his decision infuriated the crowd, who booed the star when his name was mentioned.

Green Day rocker Billie Joe Armstrong asked the audience "who was missing" as members of Guns N' Roses were up on stage accepting their award, and added: "Most singers are crazy. I can vouch for that."

He also praised Rose, declaring, "He is one of the best frontmen to ever touch a microphone. Sometimes you have to look back at chapters of your life to move forward."

The evening was also bittersweet for family members, friends and fans of late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro, songwriter/publisher Don Kirschner and dead bluesman Freddie King.

Sara Bareilles performed as part of a tribute to the former after Bette Midler inducted Nyro, and her son Gil Bianchini accepted the accolade on his mother's behalf, and ZZ Top stars Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons welcomed King to the Hall of Fame and handed his trophy to his daughter Wanda. Carole King inducted her friend Kirshner, who died last year [[11), and Darlene Love performed King's song Will You Love Me Tomorrow as a tribute.

Other inductees were folk legend Donovan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and producers Cosimo Matassa, Glyn Johns and Tom Dowd.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Big yawn! I didn't pay much attention to this year's class of inductees. It was like scrapping the bottom of a worn out barrel. Boring!! I guess LL Cool J, USHER, Ashanti and Courtney Love will be inducted next year. Who is Axel Rose? I could not tell you what songs Guns 'n' Roses recorded.

[soulster]

Who is Axel Rose? I could not tell you what songs Guns 'n' Roses recorded.

Axl Rose is the frontman for Guns & Roses, and has an erratic personality. he has a unique vocal style.

I'm guessing you don't like hard rock, but their first album has some of the best! Check out "Paradise City", my favorite. They were huge in the late 80s and early 90s. Their big hits include "Sweet Child 'O Mine", Paradise City", Welcome To the Jungle", Don't Cry", and "Patience". Other famous former members include Slash, who did the guitar solo on Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana", and Izzy Stradlin, both whom have personality differences with Rose.

I like their first album "Appetite For Destruction", which was well-recorded and mastered. and "Use Your Illusion I".

[mark speck]

Gotta hand it to A--hole Rose...just by making a big production number about not showing up, he's managed to steal all the attention!

Even though I live in Cleveland, I didn't bother going to the Induction ceremonies, primarily because I can't stand G 'n' R, and I'm only a minimal fan of the Beastie Boys and RHCP. My brother did go, however, and he said that the crowd was mainly comprised of fans of those three bands...the crowd could care less about any of the other acts nominated, which to me seems a damned shame.

Best,

Mark

[jobeterob]

Typical and just what I would have expected.

I pretty much agree with Kamasu Jr.

[smark21]

First and foremost the R and R Hall of Fame is a tourist attraction. Most of the big acts of the 50’s and 60’s have been inducted. Most of their fans are now dying off and checking into nursing homes. To keep the place viable, it’s now big acts of the 80’s and 90’s being inducted. Guns N’ Roses were huge in the late 80’s and early 90’s. If you never heard any of their songs, then it’s your fault for sleeping under a rock, so to speak.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Some people are just not interested in particular kinds of music. It's not a crime, but a personal choice. I've heard many fans of hard rock state how much they hate or dislike country, classical, soul or gospel music.

[Jerry Oz]

I am a fan of most music genres. Typically, I'm more apt to appreciate non-soul/R&B music if it sounds like the artist wasn't making the song just to sell records [[read: "fresh" take on the genre). I appreciate a lot of G&R songs, especially "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain". However, I think anyone enshrined should be iconic, or a "no brainer" selection. The Stones, Aerosmith, Beatles, and many other rock outfits had staying power to this very day. I think that Guns 'N Roses have been replaced in their format by the groups that they influenced, and that is probably why I think they're a notch below this level of recognition.

[soulster]

Some people are just not interested in particular kinds of music. It's not a crime, but a personal choice. I've heard many fans of hard rock state how much they hate or dislike country, classical, soul or gospel music.

Why are you getting defensive? It's perfectly OK to not like something.

[jobeterob]

Smark is right.............it's a tourist attraction and if they don't move on, they will lose their appeal and soon have more wheelchair attendees than walkers. Sadly, for me at least, G n R has more appeal than the Temptations and Diana Ross.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Why are you getting defensive? It's perfectly OK to not like something.

Exactly. I don't know anything about Guns and Roses and I'm Okay with it.

[soulster]

Exactly. I don't know anything about Guns and Roses and I'm Okay with it.

Your choice. I will say, however, that it's always good to check out something out of your comfort zone. You just may find something you like.

[mark speck]

First off, I am VERY familiar with G 'n' R's songs, unfortunately...I'm not a much of a metalhead and most people who are, I can't stand 'em...they used to pick on me in school, so screw 'em. I do like "Patience", but that's about it.

Secondly, there are PLENTY of '50s and '60s acts who still deserve to be in the hall...I won't rehash 'em here. You're better off looking for those threads that we've had in the past every time nominees are announced.

Best,

Mark