Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d…
A rock star can do pretty much anything on stage and call it a “rock ‘n’ roll moment.” You can set things on fire, you can bite the head off an animal, and you can wear nothing but a sock, and everybody will love it as long as your tunes rock and you take some time to ask the crowd if they’re having a good time. The…
Among the many things that are difficult to comprehend in this strange universe is what life might be like backstage at a Guns N’ Roses show. Are Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, and Saul “Slash” Hudson merrily reminiscing about the old times while the stage crew works, or are the middle-aged musicians violently throttling one…
In an act that is both monumentally ridiculous and yet strangely satisfying, Guns N’ Roses invited fans onstage during a recent concert in Mexico City to destroy a giant, grinning piñata of Donald Trump. And, saints be praised, there’s footage to prove it. Having just played a string of shows in South America, the…
Here’s a video that’s equal parts weird, funny, and sonically pleasing (which is really all you can ask of the internet). On his YouTube channel Samuraiguitarist, musician Steve Onotera frequently posts odd musical challenges, like playing five guitars at once or creating a song using nothing but iPads. But this time…
Lest anyone worry that Guns ‘N’ Roses might be losing its edge after the band stunned Chicago fans by starting their Soldier Field show 15 minutes ahead of schedule—or two hours and 15 minutes earlier than they would have at one time—they did something to make everything right. They got caught traveling with a gun. On…
There must be a German word for something that is both a little silly and a little awesome. For the past 20 years, the lame nightclub act still using the name Guns N’ Roses was merely the former: A ridiculous shadow of its former self, the “Axl plus hired guns” lineup ran through the group’s standards with all the…
When Guns N’ Roses embarked upon the Use Your Illusion tour in 1991, it was arguably the biggest act in all of rock, with Appetite For Destruction going multi-platinum and an ambitious double album on the way. But Axl Rose and company were also garnering a hard-earned reputation as trouble-making “bad boys” and were…
It’s all too fitting that It’s So Easy And Other Lies, the new documentary detailing the tumultuous life of Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, opens on an image of McKagan’s book, an autobiography of the same name. The entire thing is basically an hour and a half advertisement for the written version, done as a sort…
With the benefit of hindsight, 1991 was a watershed year for rock music. That was the year of Pearl Jam’s Ten and Nirvana’s Nevermind. A documentary released in 1992 even referred to it as The Year Punk Broke. The alternative revolution was just entering its golden age, as evidenced by the popularity of the inaugural…
Some people really enjoy getting outside in the fresh air, listening to some good tunes, and dancing around in the mud while surrounded by thousands of smelly people. For them, going to a music festival is a lot of fun. For the rest of us, our definition of fun involves sitting in front of an internet-connected device…
In We’re No. 1, The A.V. Club examines a song that went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts to get to the heart of what it means to be popular in pop music, and how that concept has changed over the years. In this installment, we cover Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on…
After months of teases, rumors, and in-depth discussions about who would—Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, and Slash—and would not—Izzy Stradlin—be participating, Guns N’ Roses has finally released the official dates for its 2016 reunion tour. Besides its headlining appearance at Coachella, and the long-expected Las Vegas…
Good news for Guns N’ Roses fans who don’t want to go to Las Vegas for their reunion shows (although, if you’re a Guns N’ Roses fan, there’s a pretty good chance you’re into Vegas, too): This morning, the band sent out a press release teasing the American (and one Canadian) cities that are about to have a run on Jack…
Putting aside their differences about the proper spelling and usage of the word or letter “N”, ’80s and ’90s rock mainstays Guns N’ Roses and Alice In Chains are teaming up for a pair of sold-out Las Vegas gigs. Capitalizing on the key overlap between “people throwing their money away into slot machines” and “people…
Former best buddies Axl Rose and Slash are finally getting back together (along with bass player Duff McKagan) for a reunion at Coachella, but while it’s being billed as a Guns N’ Roses reunion, two members of the group’s classic lineup won’t be joining in on the fun: drummer Steven Adler and rhythm guitarist Izzy…
Shuffling its feet and avoiding eye contact, the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival is finally ready to be a grown-up and own up to what it did: namely, reuniting Guns N’ Roses for a couple of headlining sets, scheduled for April 2016 (and thus, considering Axl Rose is involved, likely to actually start some…
Confirming the speculative chatter that has been flying around over the past couple of months, both Guns N’ Roses—which encouraged the rumors—and LCD Soundsystem—which vehemently denied the rumors—are reuniting and will play headlining sets at this year’s Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival in Indio, California.…
Billboard is reporting that Guns N’ Roses—as in the actual Guns N’ Roses, Slash and Axl Rose, the twin scions of Goofy Top Hat and Ill-Advised Bandana—are planning to reunite. The pair—who last played together in 1993—will reportedly come together at next year’s Coachella Music Festival in April, which they’ll…
It’s time to roll out every possible Guns N’ Roses song reference, because a hot rumor is racing like a night train through paradise city. (Also, it’s November, so that one just writes itself.) According to Dish Nation, founding members Slash and Axl Rose have managed to come to an agreement to reunite the band for a…
