WSJ Tries To Catch Up With Izzy Stradlin

Happy Memorial Day. Enjoy your long weekend - I know I am. 

Great article from the Wall Street Journal about Izzy Stradlin missing out on gobs of cash and the big Guns n' Roses reunion. If you don't have a subscription, TIP: get beyond the paywall by typing outline.com/ in front of the address for the piece.

Izzy Stradlin And The Ju Ju Hounds

Izzy Stradlin, the Man Sitting Out the Highest-Grossing Reunion Tour in History: https://t.co/rneLhL7Amz pic.twitter.com/zGhuwEWxSq

— Neil Shah (@NeilShahWSJ) May 27, 2018

Comments

[Him]

Interesting to see this in the WSJ. And the writer is a bit "surprised" by some things that have already been stated in the years before, and since, the GnR reunion.

If I might use an analogy (not a simile, even if I am using the word "like") involving a lesser example: it would be like Pilson sitting out the recent Dokken reunion because he had integrity. Now please note, I am not suggesting that Pilson doesn't have integrity. But you get my point.

I am also quite well aware that Izzy has no big axe to grind with the rest of the band, Axl included (otherwise, why appear on stage with Axl during the "lost" years?). He simply sees this reunion as unequal in terms of (his words) "sharing the loot." But that again speaks to his integrity. Consider it: a person who was largely responsible for the band's sound, who still respects those other members, but who won't engage in a dog-and-pony show where he profits less from his legacy than others who are lucky to have had him around? That is a pretty amazing balancing act, and one that not many people could pull off.

I also realize he is a recluse who prefers to release music on his own terms and when it suits him. He hates the trappings of fame and is allergic to the pitfalls that comes with it. So I say: good for you, Stradlin. You have found some peace in your life. You escaped a path that was going to see you dead. You turned down a chance to cash a corporate check (not once, but several times), even as you can live off of the royalties to which you are entitled. That isn't the sleazy tale that some might like, or even admire. But it is a good story still well told by all accounts.

[Bkallday]

Very high chance that whatever music he releases in the future, will be very underground, and if that's what he wants, good for him. Most GNR fans miss Steven Adler and some don't even have a clue that Izzy was ever even in the band, so I doubt his absence is missed by all that many.

[Mike]

Maybe he just didn't want to stand on stage every night with that turd Dizzy Reed, a drummer who is not Steven Popcorn Adler, and a completely pointless 2nd keyboard player; playing 3 hour sets which needlessly include Axl's godawful solo material and Willie Nelson covers ... now that's what I would call integrity. Kudos to you, Izzy!!!

[TheCheapSeats]

I had no idea Izzy had been that busy making music. For those of you who use Spotify, most of the albums are available there, starting with 117. I'll probably make my way through all of them in the coming weeks.

And hell, WE all knew how integral he was to Appetite. It's two different albums listening to the right or left channel. Haven't done it in a while, but I think Izzy was on the left and Slash on the right for the rhythm parts. Slash's solos are stereo, which are the majority, but any Izzy solos are not.

[Shawn]

There is something deeper than $$ that kept this from happening - It has been reported the Izzy showed up for sound check, plugged in and then left - I know money was a big part of it but there is something else that we may never know. Cheap Seats you are correct Izzy is on the left and Slash is on the right for the rhythm parts of Appetite. Izzy has been producing music throughout the years - it is hit and miss. But when he gets it right he gets it right. There are also many you tube videos of Izzy.

[Bkallday]

Sorry Mike but GNR still kicks mucho ass.