4/17: AXL JOINS AC/DC, MY TAKE.
Well now the news is official about Axl’s involvement in AC/DC, at least to fill in for these remaining shows. If you heard my podcast this is what Axl and I discussed at the Vegas show last weekend and he asked me not to speak about until it was officially out. Needless to say for Axl this is a moment for him to play with his heroes. He told me how excited he was to have the chance to do this and said he would do an interview with me about it if I didn’t say anything until official word comes out. So hopefully that is coming! You also no doubt know Angus jammed with GnR last night at Coachella to make it official. The clips on YouTube sounded cool and clearly vocally Axl can handle the gig. But there are way more questions than that. The release from AC/DC made it pretty clear they are done with Brian Johnson. What really happened with Brian is anyone’s guess. But nobody is buying the hearing thing that I know. My sources tell me Brian was slowing down and didn’t want to work as hard as Angus (who is younger) did. I also know that on the latest tour Brian only wanted to do 2-3 shows max a week. Something that is expensive for a band when off that much on the road (Aerosmith has to do this with Tyler). It comes with age and guys slowing. I suspect it reached a breaking point and that was that. I can not believe it was a sudden hearing issue. Maybe it played a small role, but no way is it the real story in full. I can’t believe after 36 years AC/DC would say goodbye to their singer and not find a work around. MANY have hearing issues and find a way to make it work in rock. And until Brian speaks, we will never know. Brian is a total class act. So very possible he takes the high road here. But it still blows me away how so many fans are not demanding a real answer on Brian and are so quick to move on.
But none of this has anything to do with Axl who will be a kid in a candy store! What a story for him. He has Guns back to mega stadium level, and is joining a band of heroes about to do stadiums in Europe! Hopefully his leg is mended so he can move some. Also note the remaining AC/DC dates all already fall in a window GnR was off. So this doesn’t impact them at all. AC/DC needed a massive name to keep people from returning these already sold tickets for the remaining dates. They certainly got that with Axl. But that doesn’t answer their long term issue of a singer IF they want to go on beyond this. I doubt Axl can do both gigs full time? If this is a victory lap for AC/DC then cool. Finish up and say goodbye. If they want to go for another 10 years, and that may have been they very issue with Brian, then they need a new younger singer they can build with. I also wouldn’t be shocked if Axl/DC leans a bit more on Bon era material since that really fits him slightly more. Will this work? Will they mesh personality wise? Axl will have to go on at a normal time. Does that work? I think Axl will do everything to kick ass in this gig. It is a major dream for him. He knows he’s having a fun fling here and that while Guns is very much his band, AC/DC is just filling in and doing something he never believed as a kid he would do. It will be another very interesting chapter to watch for sure!
I will take calls on this tomorrow on my SiriusXM show live 6-10P ET on channel 39. I will also have Bret Michaels on at 7P ET with an exclusive announcement on a major event in S CA, and Rudy from Scorpions on live at 8P ET. See you tomorrow for TRUNKNation.
The wording of the official statement on the band’s website leads me to believe that even if Brian will be able to record and/or play live in tghe future, according to his recent official statement, there will be no return – why would you wish somebody all the best with “future endeavours” if yoiu still think that you might go on working together and are willing to wait?
Axl;s attitude is right on to jump at the chance, however his voice for example on November Rain in Coachella,… was well… questionable. I watched him on the Mexico City GNR concerts this morning and his voice sounds better. At Coachell he was not the Axl of 1988. Business wise, Axl filling in for Brian is a win, win financially for AC/DC and Axl. It brings some excitement to the genre we so love, but I have to feel is past the September of it’s years. If AC/DC intends to take it further than that, it seems to be purely the “Angus Show”, no longer AC/DC. I am older than most here, and for me to look at all these guys still trying to hold together bands wth one original member- well it seems only about the money. Where are the new replacement bands??? those guys who will replace Steven Tyler, Axl Rose, David Lee Roth??? where are they? I watched the entire lineup at Coachella and all you see is wimp rock, The Deerhunter band for example- that lead singer looks like he should be fly fishing and doing a “Cure” tribute band instead. What is happening with all this mediocre rock???? On the other hand- The Pretty Reckless however, I discovered thanks to Eddie and your show- great band and great hope for younger bands. I just wish they could maintain momentum and actually keep rock going. It’s the young bands that will, and the current line up is either super hardcore death metal sounds or wimp rock- there is little if any good “hard rock”, accessible to the masses type of rock that has some widespread commercial value. My 2 cents.
Attn: Eddie and Dana
I know Eddie insisted the GNR podcast was posted on iTunes, but it wasn’t. Check iTunes right now. There’s no podcast for April 13. It’s just Ace Frehley and Rob Halford, but nothing for last week.