Axl Rose: The Rolling Stone Interview
Is there any one lesson you’ve learned that you wish you knew a few years ago?
What I’d tell any kid in high school is “Take business classes.” I don’t care what else you’re gonna do, if you’re gonna do art or anything, take business classes. You can say, “Well, I don’t want to get commercial,” but if you do anything to make any money, you’re doing something commercial. You can be flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s, but you’re a commercial burger flipper.
Now the band is getting ready to work on the followup to Appetite and the G n’ R Lies EP. What’s your frame of mind?
As my friend Dave puts it, I’m jacking off. [Laughs] We’re trying to regroup. I’m ready to work. I’m creating, and finally I have an environment in which I can work. I haven’t had that for a long time, since three years ago, when we all used to live in one room, sitting around writing songs. Until recently, I haven’t had peace of mind. There were always distractions, but now it’s like we can finally work on our songs.
Do you feel heavy pressure to sell as many copies with your next album as Appetite?
We have two records out, both of them in the Top Ten, and everybody wants another record immediately. They all say, “Let’s milk this sucker.” It’d be nice to outsell that album. A lot of groups are trying to outsell it. For a debut, it was the highest-selling album in the history of rock & roll. Definitely in America, but I’m not sure that’s true worldwide. I read where Bon Jovi was saying nobody’s outdone their biggie, Slippery When Wet. He knew it was their biggie, and he didn’t know if New Jersey would be as big. Of course, you’re gonna want to outdo it. What I want to do is just grow as an artist and feel proud of these new songs.
Although you’re only in the preproduction stages of the next album, how do you feel it will compare with the others?
The next record will definitely be much more emotional. I try to write so the audience can understand what emotions I was feeling. Also, I think the songs are worded in a way that a great number of people will be able to relate to the experiences; it’s not so personalized that it’s only my weird, twisted points of view. We hope to make a very long record. It’d be nice to make one that’s seventy-six minutes long, a seventy-six-minute CD, with varied styles.
Axl Rose: The Rolling Stone Interview, Page 3 of 13