Rock Music Report. The place for Rock and roll news.

Photo: Rojo/AFP/Getty
Axl Rose’s former managers have slapped him with a roughly $1.9 million lawsuit that claims the Guns n’ Roses leader reneged on a verbal agreement from 2008. The $1.9 million represents the 15 percent commission Irving Azoff’s Front Line Management was promised of the estimated $12 million Gn’R have earned so far in their tours of Southeast Asia, Canada and South America.

In legal documents filed yesterday at Los Angeles’ Superior Court, Front Line accuse Axl, or “William Bill Bailey” as he’s referred to in the complaint, of breach of contract for “failing and refusing” to pay Front Line the promised fees. Neither Front Line nor Guns n’ Roses’ camp have commented on the lawsuit, and Rose has yet to remark on it on his active Twitter feed. Guns n’ Roses are currently on tour in South America.

Check out photos of Guns n’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy world tour.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, Rose revealed last month that he is now managed by Doc McGhee, Kiss’ manager since 1996 and the man credited with helping artists like Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and Hootie & the Blowfish rise to fame. The sudden shift in management came less than two years after Rose revealed that he’d joined forces with Azoff’s Front Line, which helped broker the deal between Guns n’ Roses and Best Buy for the exclusive release of Chinese Democracy in 2008. Months after signing Gn’R, Front Line Management was purchased by Ticketmaster, and Azoff was elevated to CEO of that company.

Related Stories:

• Axl Rose Refutes Rumors, Announces New Manager in Supersize Tweet
• Is “Chinese Democracy” Close? Axl Rose Gets Top Management Team
• Guns n’ Roses “Vigorously Contest” Claims “Chinese Democracy” Stole a Sample

Photo: McCarthy/Getty

Axl Rose never banned Slash-related clothing from the Chinese Democracy tour, smells better than you, and didn’t go on late at a tiny private gig in New York earlier this week: those are just a few of the things the Guns n’ Roses frontman gets off his chest in a 766-word tweet that takes aim at “mean spirited aholes” (journalists) and announces the band is under new management.

Check out photos of Guns n’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy world tour.

Rose starts off by enthusiastically recounting Guns n’ Roses’ two surprise shows — one at John Varvatos’ store and one at the Rose Bar — during New York’s Fashion Week (”Fuck!! The NY shows were insane!! Love the free form laid back vibe n’ both were completely different from r view”).

He then takes care of a little business, announcing he’s now working with Doc McGhee, Kiss’ manager since 1996 and the man credited with helping artists like Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and Hootie & the Blowfish rise to fame. Rose recently split with Irving Azoff, the high-powered manager he hired in May 2008 to help launch Chinese Democracy.

Next, Rose — who obviously keeps detailed notes on what’s written about him — addressed the numerous rumors that have surrounded the band in recent months in a jaunty, conversational tone. “Some just like 2 bitch 2 bitch. So if ur complainin’ n’ u drink beer, today I recommend a Lucky or perhaps a Red Stripe…if ur still peeved…again, fuck off,” he wrote to those who complained hard-core fans couldn’t get in to the exclusive Fashion Week shows. The only topic he didn’t cover: the clash with a paparazzi photographer that threatened the band’s first gig in Taiwan last December.

As Rolling Stone reported, Rose previously responded to the Slash ban claims, lashing out on a Gn’R message board at one fan who said there was evidence that Rose requested all shirts bearing Slash’s image be flipped inside out.

Barring any more secret shows — some are already being rumored for the Los Angeles area — Guns n’ Roses will next embark on a tour of South America starting March 7th, with a headlining slot at the Sweden Rock Festival planned for June. Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler, has also been added to the Sweden Rock bill.

Related Stories:

• Guns n’ Roses Rock Fashion Week With Second Secret NYC Show
• Guns n’ Roses Surprise Fashion Week With Set at Former CBGB
• Axl Rose Lashes Out on Message Board Over Slash Ban Rumors

Photo: McCarthy/Getty
For the second time during New York Fashion Week, Guns n’ Roses staged a late-night secret show in a tiny private venue, performing at the Rose Bar in the wee hours of Valentine’s Day night in front of a celebrity-filled crowd of 150 people. Like Gn’R’s surprise gig at the Varvatos store where CBGB used to be located, Axl Rose and Co. didn’t hit the Rose Bar stage until 1:30 a.m., delivering another hits-filled set list that was almost identical to their Varvatos show, New York Magazine’s Vulture blog reports, with the major change being “Paradise City” replacing “Night Train” as the night’s final encore.

Check out photos of Guns n’ Roses Chinese Democracy world tour.

Packing Guns n’ Roses’ stadium-sized performances into a small venue is likely a difficult task, and the leap from arenas to ultra-trendy clubs did affect the Guns’ Rose Bar show as Rose struggled to lift his voice above the instruments, Vulture writes. Mickey Rourke, Adrian Grenier, members of the Strokes and Zoe Kravitz were just a handful of the celebrities that were treated to this exclusive Guns n’ Roses performance, which had been rumored since last week.

A scary sidenote to the Rose Bar show comes from the New York Post, who report that a seemingly drunk man with a knife somehow infiltrated the extremely private show, but the ever-watchful Sebastian Bach managed to get the man thrown out before any violence ensued. A witness told the Post, “The man walked in while Guns n’ Roses was onstage and pulled out a knife and flicked the blade out. Sebastian, who was standing on a banquette said, ‘Nobody is getting anywhere near my man Axl Rose with a knife,’ and went after him.”

Check out Guns n’ Roses’ Rose Bar set list below:

“You’re Crazy”
“Mr. Brownstone”
“Used to Love Her”
“Welcome to the Jungle”
“Street of Dreams”
“Sorry”
“It’s So Easy”
“Patience”
“Rocket Queen”
“Catcher in the Rye”
“My Michelle”
“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”
“Whole Lotta Rosie”
“Sweet Child o’ Mine”
“Nightrain”
“Paradise City”

Related Stories:

• Guns n’ Roses Surprise Fashion Week With Set at Former CBGB
• Axl Rose Lashes Out on Message Board Over Slash Ban Rumors
• Guns n’ Roses Bring “Chinese Democracy” to North America With Marathon Winnipeg Gig

Raglin/WireImage
Axl Rose promised some “surprise gigs” at the tail end of a verbal assault on a fan, and Guns n’ Roses wasted no time making good on the frontman’s promise. The band staged a late-night performance at the John Varvatos boutique in New York City — a.k.a. the former home of CBGB — as part of Fashion Week festivities last night. More than an hour after Breaking band Alberta Cross warmed up the crowd, Axl and Co. finally took the stage at the boutique, rocking a 17-song hits-filled set that lasted until 2:45 a.m.

After a tour of South Asia and a trek across Canada, last night’s Fashion Week gig marked the first Guns n’ Roses’ performance in the U.S. since a brief, two-song set at another fashion-related event in Los Angeles in February 2007. “This was the best fucking show of our tour!,” exclaimed Axl to a fashionable crowd that included Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Sean Lennon, and buddy Sebastian Bach.

Check out photos of Guns n’ Roses Chinese Democracy world tour.

Fittingly, the concert began with “You’re Crazy,” a song Axl and his old Gn’R bandmates performed when they played the actual CBGB venue back in 1987 (Watch the video here). From there, Guns n’ Roses took a musical odyssey throughout their entire catalog — except for The Spaghetti Incident? — including four tracks off Chinese Democracy. The three-song encore featured “Sweet Child O’ Me,” “This I Love” and finally “Night Train.”

Alberta Cross frontman Petter Ericson Stakee tells Rolling Stone the band was surprised to learn Axl was in the house. ‘When we turned up for soundcheck it was the first time we heard that Axl might play after us,” he said. “We thought it was hilarious that we were gonna be the support band for Guns n’ Roses.”

As Rolling Stone reported yesterday, Axl is rumored to have another secret show up his sleeve, as the New York Post whispered about a potential gig at NYC’s Rose Bar. Until then, check out the set list, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan, below:

1. “You’re Crazy”
2. “Mr. Brownstone”
3. “I Used to Love Her”
4. “Welcome to the Jungle”
5. “Street Of Dreams”
6. “Sorry ”
7. “It’s So Easy”
8. “Patience”
9. “Rocket Queen”
10. “Catcher in the Rye”
11. “My Michelle”
12. “Knockin on Heavens Door”
13. “Whole Lotta Rosie” (AC/DC cover)
14. “Paradise City”
Encore
15. “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
16. “This I Love”
17. “Night Train”

Related Stories:

• Axl Rose Lashes Out on Message Board Over Slash Ban Rumors
• Guns n’ Roses Bring “Chinese Democracy” to North America With Marathon Winnipeg Gig
• Axl Rose Fights Photographer at L.A. Airport En Route to Guns n’ Roses Tour

Photo: Kravitz/FilmMagic

Last month when Guns n’ Roses’ tour of Canada began, a rumor surfaced that the band was banning all Slash-related merchandise from Gn’R’s shows. Shirts featuring Slash were reportedly asked to be turned inside out and top hats were allegedly barred from the Canadian venues. The rumor, which was reported by TMZ, turned out to be false, but over at the MyGNRForum, some fans — one in particular — continued to perpetuate the myth, forcing Axl Rose himself — under the user name “Dexter,” which he has used before — to make a rare online appearance to lash out at the fan with his trademark vitriol.

Look back at Guns n’ Roses early days in photos.

“What the fuck do you know? That’s right! You don’t know jack fucking shit you fucking ignorant, know it all, fucking deluded, misguided, self important, self righteous, pious, small minded, clueless, loud mouthed, arrogant cunt,” Axl wrote in response to one poster who claimed to have the name and phone number of a security guard who could corroborate TMZ’s “No Slash” story. “You’re not a fan or a voice of reason… you’re a sick n’ diseased mind spilling it’s bile over the internet.” Ouch. You can read the entire chain of events over at the MyGNRForum, Rose’s post appears on Page Nine.

Axl Rose’s paparazzi punch-out: photos of his LAX scuffle.

In more positive Guns news, at the end of Axl’s post he promised “Surprise gigs comin’!!” According to the New York Post, one of those surprise gigs will take place at New York’s Rose Bar in front of a scant and ultra famous crowd of only 100 people as part of Fashion Week.

Related Stories:

• Guns n’ Roses Bring “Chinese Democracy” to North America With Marathon Winnipeg Gig
• Axl Rose Fights Photographer At L.A. Airport En Route to Guns n’ Roses Tour
• Classic Photos of Guns n’ Roses