Burlesque Magazine

Thinking Lately...

2008-12-11T22:19:00.001-08:00

Written Tuesday, December 9, 2008 1:30 a.m.:

It's been raining steadily for hours.

The lawn outside my apartment is flooded.

I might put on some old clothes and galoshes and jump in the puddles.

My cat is mad at me because I locked him inside.

He was trying to eat a worm that slithered into my screened-in porch to find dry ground.

I batted him away from the worm, but he was quite adamant on grabbing the worm in his mouth and sneaking it back inside.

My house is dirty enough without having my cat harboring fugitive animals into it.

Mom's visiting tomorrow, so I'm working on keeping my house spotless.

It's not even cold outside, but I can see my breath as I exhale.

And my cigarette smoke hangs in the air,

Not wanting to flow out into the cold, hard rain.

I have to learn to fully extinguish my cigarettes to avoid my beautifully painted ashtray from busting.

My dad gave me that ashtray this past summer.

It's ironic that my dad and I have bonded more this past year.

I think it's only because we take many smoke breaks together when I'm home.

Not to say that my dad and I weren't close before...

I'm a daddy's girl and always have been.

I'm exactly like my dad, so we've never had to force a bond between us.

There are understood words and actions that accompany spending time with my dad.

Mom and I are very close, but I've always felt I need to explain myself to her,

Even though my whole life she's been able to read me like a book.

It's raining even harder now and the rain is making spectacular designs on the porch screen.

Some neighbors across the lawn have decided to enjoy the unseasonably warm rain shower also.

I feel like my privacy has been invaded.

Time to finish cleaning.

Friday, December 12, 2008 12:11 a.m.

My last journal entry the weather was warm with a cold rain. Now there's a shivering blanket of snow covering Murfreesboro. I don't think I've seen it snow so hard in four years. I remember it; my freshman year of college my mom, sister, and my best friend Austin were visiting for the weekend and it snowed a foot.

2008-05-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at a Border's bookstore in north Atlanta. I'm assuming that they keep raw meat around here somewhere because I'm getting frost bite on my fingers trying to type. Border's has a lot of books; a lot more than Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. I just say that because they have more Hunter S. Thompson books than just Hey Rube and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. They're so expensive though. I don't particularly want to pay $17 for a Thompson book that I could find at a random mom & pop store for $3.

There are two African American construction workers across the street sitting in lawn chairs with beer. One watches every car pass by. The other just slurps at his beer and rests his head back trying to relax in the hot morning sun.

Atlanta is much more beautiful than Nashville - especially at night. The building's lights have more personality and uniqueness to them.

One of the construction workers gets up, moves a 2x4 behind his chair and yells to someone across the street. They wave and go about their owns lives again.

I'm seriously thinking someone that works here is from Alaska and they only turn up the A/C so high to make them feel more at home.

Everyone is on their laptops. Paying six bucks an hour to access that little thing Al Gore likes to call his internet.

I bought a journal. A book journal. I write down what books I want to read and cross them off as I go. I'll be able to put most of the books in my bookshelf down, with the exception of most of my Bukowski books and Chuck Klosterman novels.

Good ol' Charles Bukowski. He was a hard working man when he wanted to be. Other times he was just a misogynistic drunk. But sometimes good poetry comes in the strangest places.

Maybe a construction worker has written a book of poetry.

I should look that up.

Arena rock band's new album hits stores!

2007-05-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

This, my friends, is the year of the comebacks. So, we thought Van Halen was going to get back together... I was almost as disappointed as Sammy Hagar... But let's see - The Police are reunited. If you've seen the annual VH1 Rock Honors concert you saw great performance by Heart, a reuniting performance by Genesis, a home-cooked Southern performance by ZZTop, and a "crazy" show by Ozzy Osbourne. The time has come when we finally get to experience an comeback album from none other than the arena rock band REO Speedwagon.

REO Speedwagon's new album, "Find Your Own Way Home," is the newest batch of new songs since REO`s 1996 release 'Building the Bridge.'
Any REO fan, young or young at heart, will enjoy this album that definitely brings back that urge to break out the lighter and clap your hands.
The first track on the album, "Smilin' In The End," will definitely have you nodding your head, singing along, reminding you of hits such as "Keep Pushin'" and "Ridin' the Storm Out." Who can forget REO's trademark power ballads? Don't worry. "I Needed To Fall" is just the song you're looking for.

REO's tour begins June 2 in Roeselare, Belgium and hits the U.S. on June 14 in Stockton, CA. To find a show near you or to purchase the new album head on over to REO Speedwagon's official website

LDM

Untitled

2007-04-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't eaten
Music and words begin
To affect my life
In ways I strive
To hide from
The words and notes
Surround my head
Turning in circles
Making me dizzy
Falling to the ground
Remembering nothing
Realizing I must start all over
I wipe the tears away
And press on.

Weekend of realization

2007-04-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I realize it shouldn't have been a hard decision for me whether to come home for Easter or stay in Murfreesboro. True, if I had stayed in Murfreesboro I would've been with a couple of friends and my boyfriend. However, I didn't realize how much I needed to take a good look in the mirror and see how much my family means to me.
I went to the Saturday night Easter service at First Christian Church of Johnson City, the church I am part of, last night. I had never felt so alone despite the hundreds of people around me in the sanctuary. I've been in college for almost two years now, and I just now realized that church used to be a routine for me. I knew that I would get up on Sunday mornings and go to the 11 o'clock service with my family. It was a given, and I never appreciated it. I never appreciated the freedom that I have to worship my God, that not surprisingly, I have drifted far away from this year.
My church has been doing a lot of construction over the past few years to make our church larger and so much more beautiful than anyone could imagine. I looked around last night at the changes and realized that I grew up in that church, and I've changed a lot too. I looked around during the service and saw children that had grow up so much since I had left for college two years prior. It was amazing to see all the changes.
I know one of the reasons that I'm still unhappy despite the medications I'm on: I've gone astray from the road I loved and cherished. That road is the path God laid out for me. I haven't stopped loving Him, but I've gone so far away from that path that it feels awkward to pray silently by myself.
I'm leading myself back to that path that I loved and worshiped in the name of Christ. I need it.

Words

2007-02-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

Words

Not but shapes bound together

Attached like a .riff

.of

.notes

.l.i.n.k.e.d

by one musical harmony

Music is my boyfriend.

2007-02-01T21:48:00.000-08:00

Dating has been a huge issue in the lives of a lot of people I know lately, including me. Being so close to Valentine's Day, of course it's an issue. It's a time of the year when couples can be as mushy as they want and they can have an extremely good reason to spend lots of money on their significant other. It's also a time of the year where the singles walk around saying, "Bah. This holiday was created by candy companies and gift shops."

I had a conversation today about the concept of dating. I told my friend I had found a funny quote in a book I was reading that practically defined how I felt right now. That quote was from Brett Milano's book titled Vinyl Junkies: Adventures in Record Collecting. The quote is from Roger Manning, NYC singer-songwriter: "Who collects records? Mostly people that don't have a dating life."

Now, I definitely wouldn't call myself a hardcore record collector - seeing as how I don't have the money or transportation to acquire these records at the moment. However, I do like to think that I have a pretty good record collection so far (19-years-old, common). I definitely don't have any obscure psychedelic records that would put me under the "nerd" category. Let's see... I have some AC/DC, Aerosmith, Boston, Beatles, Chicago, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Eagles, Elton John, Glenn Frey, Genesis, Sammy Hagar, Don Henley, plenty of Journey, Judas Priest, Molly Hatchet, Steve Perry, the Police, Ratt, REO Speedwagon, Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Rod Stewart, Styx, Van Halen, and Whitesnake. So you can make your own assumptions about that collection of just 44 records.

But back to dating. I told my friend Manning's quote, and he proceeded to ask me whether my lack of dating life was by choice or not. I hadn't really thought about this question up until this point. I replied saying I definitely wasn't against dating; however, I hadn't been seeking out anything really. He told me, in so many words, that I should date around if I wanted to. If I was attracted to someone, then I should go for it. However, I don't think this is how I want to go about it. Instead of dating around and whatnot, I would rather get to know someone as a friend and then proceed to either have a relationship with that person to see where it goes or simply be friends (or not, if I've really pissed someone off, or vice versa).

I told my friend that I would definitely want to date someone that could put up with my useless music trivia and always bringing up what's going on in the music business, and getting that person's opinion (of course, I don't have a one track, useless mind. This wouldn't be the only thing that I talk about with this potential relationship...so...if I turned you off with that last sentence then come back. Keep reading. Oh, and call me sometime *wink*).

Then, the conversation began to take a turn that I figured I wouldn't agree with. My friend started saying how if I wanted something, I should get it, and if I wanted to do something, then I should do it. So, I asked him, "What about obligations and responsibility?" He replied with an example, using the class we were in. He said that even if I said I didn't want to be in the class, that I was there, so I obviously did, since it furthers me in my education and gets me that much closer to my desired degree. I agree with that. However, he said that he didn't like when people used the term 'selfish' in a negative way. Well, I have been brought up to understand that selfishness is not something that I want to surround myself with. He said that being selfish is the best thing someone can do for themselves, and that worrying about yourself and caring about your needs should be above everything else.

Now, I'm not sure if I took this the way I should have, but I immediately disagree, because I definitely have family and friends that I will always put before myself. My status as a daughter, sister, friend, etc., is much more important than my status as a student.

So, what does this have to do with dating? Everything. I don't want to date around just to date around because it's fun and enjoyable and I get to meet people that I like and/or could be attracted to. If I'm going to go on a date I want to know that person prior, whether it is from a job, a class, etc. Then I want to pursue a potential relationship with this person if it's right. From there I want to know the qualities of this person inside and out. After all, we are in college, and don't most people meet their life partner in these years? I'm not saying that I want to get married anytime soon. That's definitely not the case. But it is in the future. I want it to be in my future. So, that's what I'm looking for.

What does this have to do with music? Everything. Music is my passion. I want to share that passion with the people I love and the people I care about.

Perhaps this Valentine's Day if you're single, like me, maybe you can just go to a great concert, sit around and listen to some good music. Just do something you love with the people you love. Love isn't just for couples. Just the same, if you're in a relationship, you don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money just because it's a holiday. Go sit at a coffee shop at a table for two, watch a live band, and remember the good times - past, present, and future.

Hippies, the Orange Peel, and mushrooms that are quite mellow...

2007-01-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

I drove a long and perilous journey back home Thursday morning. Driving through Knoxville is better than any roller coaster on this planet. If you're ever going east through Knoxville get in the left freakin' lane and ride it the whole way through town. It's so much fun. I had a seatbelt on and I was all over the freakin place. Anyway, I got home around 2:30 pm and that's when the real fun began...

Ryland, Austin, Zach, and I parked on Rankin Ave. in downtown Asheville, and started to ascend further into the glorious part of Asheville we know as "downtown Asheville" where the hippies run free, have acid trips, and recite poems for "gas money." Thus begins the next few parts of my story.

Not having any clue where we wanted to eat, of course we ended up at Mellow Mushroom. Just like any other time three or more of us go out we had to practically harass the waiter. He takes each of our orders and finally comes to Austin:

Waiter: And what will you be having?

Austin: *in raunchy voice* I'll have the ten-inch Italian SAUsageeee

*fits of laughter break out*

Yup. Then we got to observe some guy have an acid trip. He was slapping himself and everything. However, this seemed to amuse Zach more than the rest of us... *looks around*...BTW Ryland's "Magical Mystery Tour" pizza, or whatever the heck it was called was f'ed up. Don't ever eat green pizza you freaks. BTW#2: I definitely saw Matt Martin on the patio of some restaurant. It was the most random thing that's happened to me since... Well I would've said attempting to crash Hickie's party, but that was last night. Oh well. IT WAS RANDOM. Matt Martin's awesome. Anyway...

After dinner we ventured up the street to where we were greeted by three charismatic males that looked to be in their early to mid-twenties. One of them proposed the idea in exchange for a bit of "gas money" we would be entertained and enthralled by a simple poem that he would recount for us. Not having any coins I didn't partake in this "gas money" giving ritual, but I did confess to the guy that I would love to hear a poem. Ryland, Austin, and Zach gave them a couple of coins, and I knew exactly what was coming seeing the guy put his hands together in a praying fashion, closing his eyes, so I sat down on the brick wall behind me. I was entertained too many times in Mr. Jolley's class to not know that a slam poem was coming directly our way. Before he began the poem he explained that the place he was describing was his hometown. It was definitely one of the best slam poems I've ever heard. He had the perfect attitude and stance about himself to present the poem. Experiences like that shouldn't require money because you never know when you're going to change some random person's life by simply closing your eyes and reciting a poem. I commend that fellow.

At this point I realize you're wondering where the concert review comes into play. My friends, patience, for this wasn't just the experience of the concert I want you to realize was amazing, but the whole evening was a grand adventure.

Then, we began walking the four blocks down the street to the Orange Peel. We purchased our tickets and hung around outside for a while before going inside the 'venue'. After having our hands covered with black, permanent marker and branded by 'the man' we walked inside the Orange Peel. And I must say, whoever designed it did a very good job. Sound booth in front of a wall that had a hall leading the the restrooms, a colorful bar running the length of the building to the left, tall chairs and tables at the back and to the right of the stage, the stage - fairly big, good size, and of course the merch counter. And for those of you not down with the music biz terms, I'm sure you can figure out 'merch' is the ever-money-making term coined for merchandise.

The first band, as we figured out, was the much anticipated Holy F***. Holy F*** is a band that originates from Toronto, Ontario. If you're like me...not a huge fan of Canadian bands... I was a little concerned with the fact that I paid $15 to see a potentially sucky band. I suppose there's always that risk though. I was disappointed with this band. I'm not a fan of electronic bands. I love the art of songwriting, so obviously I was at a loss here.

As far as I could tell (watching the concert-go-ers on my half of the venue) the crowd wasn't exactly into their music. There were a couple of people acting like they were at a rave, but they weren't even dancing to the beat. I guess all Canadian electronic bands can't make it in hippie-Asheville.

I was expecting another opening band to come on before Wolf Parade, since there was another band listed on the set list, however, Wolf Parade went on about twenty minutes after Holy F***. Yes, we had to part ways with Holy F***. It was hard for me, personally, but I had to let them go.

Wolf Parade has an extremely unique sound. Now, who's to say if that's good or bad... Not me, this time. This was actually the first concert I attended where I was in awe of the kind of music that was being performed. And when I say performed I mean the guys in the band kicked ass by getting the crowd into their music, perhaps more than they already were. But first me in all of my awe-ness. The lead singer's voice was daunting to anyone that was hoping there were going to be amazing vocals involved with this (also Canadian) band. However, Zach brought something to my attention. I was trying so hard to see the lead singer's voice as impeding. However, it fit perfectly...and I mean ideally, with the band's sound. That's where my explanation of how they performed comes into play. It wasn't a lead singer singing with his band. It was a full band playing their hearts out, hardly even paying attention to the crowd, because it's exactly what they love to do. That's an amazing thing to experience. You hear plenty of bands that just play and sing together, but seldom do you find a committed band that performs together.

Everyone keep a sharp ear open for Wolf Parade. They're going to go as far as their talent takes them, and from what I saw...that's to the moon and back.

Lindsay Marcus

(written: Apr 16 2006)

NEED NEW MUSIC??

2007-01-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for something to heat up your music collection?

Are you tired of hearing the same lynyrd skynyrd and fleetwood mac songs on your crappy classic rock station?

Are you tired of me asking questions??

Well you should definitely go to myspace.com/ivorytowerproject and check out this amazing band called IVORY TOWER PROJECT

The hottest new classic rock sound around!

You can check out their myspace and listen to a couple of their songs.

Also, head on over to their website @ http://www.ivorytowerproject.com/

There you can catch up on ITP news and what the press has to say; you can read biographies and interviews with the band; discography, lyrics, downloads, radio stations to check out and listen to and join the mailing list!!!! What more could you ask for?!?!?!

What more did you say?

Well, as one of ITP's street team captains I will be receiving a load of ITP flyers, demos, and stickers. If you're in the Johnson City/Murfureesboro/Nashville area then just say the word and I'll hook you up with some crazy awesome merch, and if you like what you hear then you can go download their songs and ROCK OUT ALL FREAKIN DAY AND NIGHT!!!!

This is Lindsay saying peace, love, and ITP. Keep rockin'!

Johnny Depp as Freddie Mercury??

2006-12-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

Somehow this just seems wrong............... Maybe it's just me...............

http://www.independent.co.uk/

Depp tipped for Freddie Mercury film role

By Louise Jury, Arts Correspondent

Published: 23 December 2006

He is a keen guitar player whose admiration for the Rolling Stones stretched to modelling his character, the pirate Jack Sparrow, on the mannerisms of Keith Richards.

Now the Pirates of the Caribbean star, Johnny Depp, is being lined up to play a rock star for real in a biopic of the late Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury.

Robert de Niro's company, Tribeca Productions, is said to be behind the project, which Brian May, the Queen guitarist, confirmed was in development. "Discussions are at an early stage," he said on his website.

May described Depp as "fantastic". "He would be a worthy counterpart for Freddie on screen. I don't think I can say any more right now," he added.

De Niro has known Brian May and Queen's drummer, Roger Taylor, since they met at the Venice Film Festival in 1996 and ploughed his own money into their hit stage musical, We Will Rock You. The musical was originally going to be about the band but the surviving members decided that would be too embarrassing for all involved.

"It would be too painful, too close, and a bit grand. It would be for somebody else to do, you can't supervise your own history," May said at the time.

Instead, Ben Elton, the comedy writer and novelist, devised a story that incorporated the band's back catalogue of songs. When the show opened in London in 2002 after six years in development, De Niro attended the first night. "It's an adventure. I've been involved in this for a long time. It went through a lot of stages and finally got to this stage - it's going to be terrific," he said.

The £7.5m production, which is still running, is set in a future where musical instruments have been banned but a group of rebels go in search of mythical electric guitars.

But the proposed biopic would tell the life story of Mercury, who was born in Zanzibar in 1946 and died from complications of Aids in 1991, the day after confirming he had the disease.

His real name was Farrokh Bulsara but he adopted the name he was best known by at school in India, where he grew up. His family settled in England when he was in his teens. He performed with several bands before co-founding Queen in 1971.

They signed to EMI a year later. His distinctive voice, which ranged across four octaves, was a key factor in their success on songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody. It lasted nearly six minutes and stayed at number one in the UK charts for nine weeks.

It has since been voted Britain's best single of all time by music fans in a Guinness Book of British Hit Singles poll, defeating John Lennon's Imagine and Hey Jude by the Beatles.

Although Mercury had a close friend, Mary Austin, with whom he lived for several years and who inherited his estate, he was fairly open about his homosexuality. He lived with Jim Hutton for the last six years of his life.

Reformed character vs flamboyant showman

* JOHNNY DEPP Born: 9 June 1963 in Kentucky.

Significant other: Vanessa Paradis, the French actress and singer, with whom he has two children.

Reputation: Once accused of selling drugs at his club, The Viper Room, where River Phoenix overdosed and died, he is a reformed family man.

Did you know? He has twice recorded with the band Oasis, including playing lead slide guitar on the track "Fade In-Out" from the album, Be Here Now.

* FREDDIE MERCURY Born: 5 September 1946 in Zanzibar. Died 24 November 1991 in London.

Significant other: Jim Hutton, a hotel barber.

Reputation: A flamboyant showman who had numerous affairs.

Did you know? He was of Indian descent but kept this from most of his fans and rarely mentioned his heritage in interviews. Some friends suggested it was because he feared a racist backlash.

Axl sets date for album. Oh look up in the sky! Is that a pig???

2006-12-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

From: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily

12/15/06, 4:49 pm EST

Are You Taking Notes? Axl vs. Former Manager Saga Gets Complicated

If you’ve been following the Chinese Democracy drama, you know that — in an interview with this magazine — Mercuriadis promised the album would be out sometime this year, and made good use of the now infamous “There are 13 Tuesdays left in the year” phrase. We now know that Axl — who has proven himself to be surprisingly literate and professional in the last 24 hours — was also aware of Mercuriadis’ comments as he quoted them in a letter he wrote to his fans, announcing that Mercuriadis has been fired and declaring a tentative release date of March 6th for G N’ R’s new album, Chinese Democracy.

Now Mercuriadis — perhaps similarly surprised by the sophistication and general level-headedness revealed by Axl’s statement — has released his own statement (full text after the jump) in which he, among other things, claims he wrote some of Axl’s letter and refers to his Rolling Stone-printed comments as “facetious.”

Look, guys: We’re not getting involved. We of course continue to find this back-and-forth fascinating and will totally be blogging about every exchange, but we’re not even touching that “facetious” comment. You two are plenty amusing all by yourselves.

An Open Letter To Guns N’ Roses Fans From Merck Mercuriadis

Along with all of the other Guns N’ Roses fans around the world I read “An Open Letter To The Fans From Axl” this evening with much interest. About half way through it occurred to me that I had read much of this before. In fact, I had written the blueprint for it in an email for Axl’s attention two days ago which I have copied below.

The reality is all of this year’s touring was planned and agreed between Axl and myself, with a view to the album being in the stores before the 31st of December ‘06. This was confirmed by Axl in numerous interviews - most famously at the MTV Video Music Awards. We planned the tour in February, just after Axl’s birthday and we were supposed to finish the album in May, before it started. We sent our engineers to New York, where we all waited, for over a month, for the muse to come but she never arrived. We then scheduled sessions in London in August and had our engineers meet us there at the end of the English tour. August came and went and once again the muse did not show. We postponed our proposed radio date of Labour Day for the first single and we came back to LA and tried to finish before the San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles shows but yet again she eluded us. Axl then asked me to postpone the North American tour which was due to start on 24th of September by a month and finally, early in that period after the euphoria of Inland Invasion, Axl made a break through and got two or three very productive days under his belt.

At this point we were very excited as Axl’s feeling was that we had two or three days of work left to tidy things up and we still had three weeks before the tour started, so we were in good shape. Unfortunately the muse disappeared just as fast as she came and the tour started with no single at radio to support it and the album still needing two or three days of work. Despite this, it was a break through period as Robin, Bumblefoot and Frank had all made important contributions to the album that made it even stronger. By the way none of the above is meant as a criticism of Axl. It is the reality of trying to create something special under incredible pressure from the public - that wants and DEMANDS the record - and the record industry - that NEEDS it. The creative process is not something you can dictate and Axl is a true artist.

At this time I seriously considered postponing the start of the tour, again, as the album was of paramount importance but the reality was that our historic track record left us with very little good will with you, the fans, and we needed the money to be able to complete the album and keep the band alive. We scheduled sessions in New York and once again sent the engineers there for the first two weeks of November while the tour was based there - but the hectic touring schedule meant nothing got done. The record company refused to conclude the renegotiation until we were ready to hand over the finished album and refused to prepare a marketing campaign or commission video treatments until they had it in their hands. This is still their position as of this week.

At this point despite the success of many of the dates on the tour the pressure on all of us became unbearable. While some of Axl’s letter is disappointing - As John Lennon once asked Paul McCartney “How Do You Sleep?” - until you have walked a mile in his shoes you cannot begin to comprehend the pressure he is under. I know I sleep well at night in the knowledge that when Chinese Democracy hits the streets in March that it is in large part down to my efforts over the last almost 5 years. I found the money and the motivation to keep Axl and the band alive and get the record made when everyone else had given up and walked away. We worked as a team united to make Chinese Democracy a reality. In the end the album will speak for itself but our relationship could not survive the pressure.

I have no regrets. I believe Chinese Democracy is one of the best albums ever made, Axl Rose is one of the greatest vocalists and front men and the new Guns N’ Roses (which kicks the shit out of the old) is one of the greatest bands. What we accomplished in 2006 only hints at what is to come.

I believe in Axl Rose. I am the artist’s manager and it is my responsibility and job to take the heat. I promise you Chinese Democracy is worth it and you should keep the faith. I will walk away knowing I have done my best and that next year will see Axl recognized not only as a great singer and rock icon but as one of the greatest artists of all time.

Merry Christmas and all the best to you for 2007!

Merck Mercuriadis

PS I apologize to all the fans irked by my facetious comments regarding the release date to Rolling Stone magazine. They were meant to poke fun at a magazine that had announced a definitive release date, causing us all lots of grief, when none had been set. Unfortunately many of you took them to heart and for that I am sorry.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Merck Mercuriadis
Date: 12 December 2006 14:11:02 GMT-08:00
Subject: Album Press Release

Regardless of the issues that exist between Axl and myself I believe it is important for an announcement on the album to be put out this week and at the same time cover the cancellation of the 5 shows in January. Further to this I have thought about the album release date taking into account the issues between Axl and myself and my view is that the album should be set for release on the 20th of March rather than the 6th of February. March 20th is the first day of Spring and a positive day. This allows for three months to set it up properly around the world without unmanageable pressure and for it to be well imbedded in the market place before the summer lull sets in. It also allows for the deal to be done with the label and any change in Management etc which may be made to be made as well as detailed meetings on the touring which on this basis would start in Dubai just before the album’s release. The note will be most effective if it comes from Axl as he will then be seen as the good guy who is giving people the information they want. Having said that it could come from either Howard or myself or both of us. I have presented two options the first not giving a release date and the second one stating it. The message would be posted as the lead story on gunsnroses.com and we would then point all of the media there. I would appreciate it if you would all let me know your thoughts on all of this keeping in mind that this is a work in progress.

Option 1

Merry Christmas To You All

We are into the last week of the tour and Christmas is almost here so I wanted to take the time not only to wish you Merry Christmas but to also explain why CHINESE DEMOCRACY is not under your tree or in the stores as we wanted it would be. We read the papers and we know you want - demand! - news. We have been in the final stages of renegotiating our deal with our record label and it has been a long slow process - not unlike making the record! The discussion started over a year ago but did not become serious until they started hearing the mixes. Everyone involved has worked hard to get the deal completed so we could get the record out this month but a few weeks ago it became obvious that was not going to happen. We then held out as we wanted to at least be able to give you the release date before Christmas but unfortunately we are still not there yet. This is not meant to spark a hate campaign on the label. This is an unusual and complicated situation as we have worked a long time on this album and it is important to us to make sure that everything including the deal is right. At the same time it is a business that has to work for everyone involved. We have all - you included - waited a long time for this and this is not the time to compromise. The first news you will hear from us in 2007 will be to announce the album’s release date. Without the album out it does not make sense to do the 5 shows we have scheduled for January in isolation so they are being cancelled and we will focus on getting the album out. Until that time we want to thank you for all of your support in 2006 and wish you all the best for the holidays and a happy new year.

W. Axl Rose

Option 2

Merry Christmas To You All

We are into the last week of the tour and Christmas is almost here so I wanted to take the time not only to wish you Merry Christmas but to also explain why CHINESE DEMOCRACY is not under your tree or in the stores as we wanted it to be. We read the papers and we know you want - demand! - news. We have been in the final stages of renegotiating our deal with our record label and it has been a long slow process - not unlike making the record! The discussion started over a year ago but did not become serious until they started hearing the mixes. Everyone involved has worked hard to get the deal completed so we could get the record out this month but a few weeks ago it became obvious that was not going to happen. We have all - you included - waited a long time for this and this was not the time to compromise. We then held out on making an announcement as we wanted to at least be able to give you the release date before Christmas so here it is. Chinese Democracy will be released on the 20th of March in the US and Canada - the first day of Spring and a time for new beginnings! - and on the 19th of March everywhere else in the world. Without the album out it does not make sense to do the 5 shows we have scheduled for January in isolation so they are being cancelled and we will focus on getting the album out. We want to thank you for all of your support in 2006 and wish you all the best for the holidays and a happy new year. We look forward to seeing you in 2007!

W. Axl Rose

-- Rolling Stone

________________________________________________________________

If you've ever been to Rolling Stone's Rock&Roll Daily page then you'll know that you can leave comments under the stories. In my last post I mentioned one that I had so enjoyably left. Let's take a look at some of the other comments that people willingly left for the onlookers of the world wide web to see:

Axl>Everything | 12/15/2006, 6:49 pm EST

Axl is godder then god and all the hater are either wiggers or penis loving ass jockeys.

Now that sounds like an intelligent human being right there. Let's give him a hand for showing the world his faith to his "godder then god" diety - the almighty, Axl Rose.

Let's take a look at another one, shall we?!

Anonymous | 12/15/2006, 6:03 pm EST

Do you think either of these losers really cares about the fans? Grow up. They’re already paid and will make a bit more to snort up their noses once this album drops.

They keep stringing their loser fans along their loser paths.

Now, now Anonymous... Of course they care about their fans! I mean, we (if you include yourself a part of this mania, which obviously this person does not) are what made them famous...right? However, Anonymous, you seem quite certain that the album will actually come out even if it's absent on said March 6, 2007 - "once this album drops."

Oh well, with Mercuriadis gone, I'm sure Axl's muse will come swooping around again and finally grant him the balls he needs to release Chinese Democrazy...oh I mean Democracy...of course...

Sebastian Bach catches the 10 o'clock moron train to Publicityville

2006-12-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

from: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/12/14/
sebastian-bach-parades-chinese-democracy-knowledge-in-our-faces/

So Sebastian Bach is essentially Axl’s publicist these days, right? That’s practically official already? The former Skid Row rocker has come to the defense of Axl et al, claiming that not only does Chinese Democracy have a release date, but that he knows what it is. He can’t say of course, because that would be a “betrayal of confidence.” Right.

His temporary solution for fans who are sick of this runaround bullshit? Come to the show. “Guns N’ Roses fans are not just interested in old songs,” the singer reportedly said. “They want to hear Chinese Democracy … If you want to hear the songs, come by the show.”

Who knew rock bands could be such shameless teases?

-- Elizabeth Goodman

I nonchalantly left a comment (the 44th to be exact) on that post on Rolling Stone's Rock Daily page that said:
"chinese democracy will go down in history as some myth...like bigfoot...or the abominable snowman. axl's sitting on his butt laughing at all of his fans. he's not smart enough to take over the world like bono but he sure likes confusing people."

Now I realize that this might be stupid on Axl's part - lying to all of his fans creating a sort of Metallica/Napster vs. fans deal. Or, he's just jealous of Velvet Revolver and wants to find some way to once and for all give Slash a huge slap in the face, saying "Ohh you might be ten times more attractive than me and my voice is no where near the equivalent of your guitar playing, but look at me, I can lead everyone on for over a decade and people are buying more of my albums because of it!"

Ok, maybe he wouldn't say exactly that. Who really knows what's going under all those dreadlocks in his wasted, shriveled up brain? No one. Not even Sebastian Bach. Which brings me to my point:

Axl's a butthole and he's finally dragged Bach onto his train of fools.

Common Sebastian... We all know you're better than that.