Guns N' Roses

The Hottest Censored Album Covers, 1981-Present (NSFW)

Longtime readers of Rocks Off might remember that back in 2009 we ran thorough look at censored album covers that spanned the years of 1966 to 1980, with two more recent covers at the end. Of course, album covers didn't stop being censored just as frequently after 1980, and the two examples in our f ... More >>

Best in Show

A taste of the 2013 Houston Press Music Award nominees.

UPDATED: Guns N' Roses at House of Blues, 5/28/2013

UPDATED: Rocks Off just got off the phone with someone in the GN'R camp, who told us it was she who pulled our credentials, and that Axl had not even read our post from earlier Tuesday. So there it is. Guns N' Roses, Venomous Maximus House of Blues May 28, 2013 An aging has-been milking the nostal ... More >>

Question: Who the Hell Is Even In Guns N' Roses Nowadays?

Tonight, Guns N' Roses plays what's being billed as an "intimate" performance at House of Blues. From our perspective here at Rocks Off, that's a good thing. The opportunity to get close enough to W. Axl Rose to check carefully for plastic surgery scars is one many longtime fans never dared dream of ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: DJ Sun, Guns N' Roses, Shinyribs, Quiet Company, etc.

DJ Sun The Flat, April 1 Now that some of the well-deserved publicity surrounding DJ Sun's first-ever full-length release, One Hundred, has subsided a little, his true accomplishment on the disc seems even more impressive. In the span of 70 minutes, he pours his 20-plus-year career as one of Houston ... More >>

The 10 Worst Rock Singers of the '90s

In about 12 hours or so, the editor of Rocks Off expects to be a very happy man. One of our favorite bands of all time, and one that we haven't seen live in almost 17 years, is playing tonight at Bayou Music Center: Soundgarden. Certainly Soundgarden has a lot to recommend them. Guitarist Kim Thayi ... More >>

Happy Birthday Izzy Stradlin, Forgotten Guns N' Roses Lead Vocalist

Today is the 51st birthday of Izzy Stradlin, who most simply remember as the rhythm guitarist in Guns N' Roses. But if that's all you know about him, it's really sad, because a lot of what made GN'R the band it was was due to Stradlin's inspired writing. His dedication to fusing punk and Rolling Sto ... More >>

Viva La Dome! Check Out These Old Concert Tickets

The close of RodeoHouston's season gives us all a respite from having to look at the adjacent Astrodome while we eat our third turkey leg and wait for our turn on the ferris wheel. Truth be told, some of us can just stare at the Dome for hours without a problem, myself included. Rewind: Digging ... More >>

Five Art Masterworks That Should Be Metal Album Covers

It's not often that you get the opportunity to combine masterpieces of painting and metal. It's not completely unfounded, considering Guns N' Roses copped from Raphael's School of Athens for the cover of their Use Your Illusion set. But it's rare, like mixing pro wrestling and classical literature. ... More >>

Top 5 Reasons Velvet Revolver Shouldn't Reunite

You might have read recently that Stone Temple Pilots front man Scott Weiland is teasing a full-time comeback for his other band. You know, the one with the guys from Guns N' Roses. That's right, Velvet Revolver. I know, I tried to forget about them too, but apparently the guys in the band are inten ... More >>

The 5 Worst Cover Albums of All Time

I think when they're just starting out, every musician dreams of making a cover album at some point down the road. We all have our favorite songs that we wish we had written and we all fantasize about singing and playing them ourselves. It's why karaoke bars exist. Of course, everyone thinks they w ... More >>

MTV's Best Year: The Top 5 Videos of 1992

In 1992, the recording industry was riding high. The compact disc had become a major success, with music lovers purchasing new albums and old releases in astonishing numbers despite the format's comparatively steep price tags. And the music-video juggernaut known as MTV was helping major labels to b ... More >>

Top 5 Video-Game Characters Inspired by Slash

When I was a kid just discovering Guns N' Roses, I always pretended to be Slash while reenacting the music videos I saw on MTV. Maybe a part of me could sense that one day Axl would swell with both girth and wackaloonitude, or maybe I just admired the pimp daddy top hat and undeniable skill. Regardl ... More >>

Last Night: Slash at House of Blues

Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Foxy Shazam House of Blues September 9, 2012 See more with Slash, Myles Kennedy and various other conspirators in our slideshow. Seeing Slash is actually a more value-packed way to get the Guns N' Roses experience here in 2012, a year that saw any ho ... More >>

T.S.O.L.

Hate Axl Rose? Just Go See Slash Instead!

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is heading back to Houston and the House of Blues on September 9 with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, plus extra-special beautiful openers Foxy Shazam. Mr. Saul Hudson was last in town opening for Ozzy Osbourne at Toyota Center in January 2011. That night w ... More >>

Lose Your Illusion: 5 Lowlights of the Tour That Tore Guns N' Roses Apart

On May 24, 1991, Guns N' Roses embarked on its Use Your Illusion Tour, a massive 192-date concert spectacular that took the band to every place on the planet with electricity. The string of shows marked the very height of Guns' popularity, with more than seven million people in 27 countries plunkin ... More >>

Jane's Addiction & Other Big 1987 Debut Albums

Tonight Jane's Addiction comes to the Bayou Music Center, touring behind last year's The Great Escape Artist, only their fourth studio album in their nearly 27 years as a band. A few weeks back Rocks Off talked to lead singer and Lollapalooza honcho Perry Farrell about the band's future and what cou ... More >>

Readers Poll: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Vs. "Welcome To The Jungle"

Sometimes the hardest questions to ask are also the most fun, at least when it comes to pop music, because you end up managing to illicit the most angry and passionate responses. Which is exactly what happened when we pit two bands and their most damaged fist-pumping anthems against one another. N ... More >>

Axl Rose Declines Guns N' Roses Hall Of Fame Nod, Somehow Makes Sense

Following in the footsteps of the Sex Pistols in 2006, Axl Rose and his Guns N' Roses have also declined their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction/ Rose spelled out his misgivings about the event in a Facebook note posted to the GNR official page. Somehow he managed to make total sense, even while ... More >>

Who Should Induct Axl Rose And Guns N' Roses Into The Rock Hall?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is coming up quick on April 14, and the presenters for the event have been announced, except for one artist. Just who will speak about and induct Guns N' Roses? Who is even qualified? Rapper Chuck D will induct the Beastie Boys, while funnyman Ch ... More >>

If Axl And Slash Can (Maybe) Get Along, There Is Hope For Us All

When it was announced that Guns N' Roses were to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame back in December, a kind of hush went all over the world as everyone pondered whether or not lead singer Axl Rose and former lead guitarist Slash would share a stage, or even a podium together. This was ... More >>

Indiana Farm Boy: 50 Glorious Years Of Axl Rose

W. Axl Rose, born William Bruce Rose, Jr., turns 50 today, shimmying and snake-dancing into this world on February 6, 1962. It's been a fun -- and rocky -- past 25 years with the man, full of great music, great fights, and great fashion choices, and that ever-present squeal. Rose isn't the only th ... More >>

No Surprises: Rock Hall Set To Induct Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys

Photo By Marco TorresGuns N' Roses are Rock Hall bound, but which version of GNR will show up? ​This morning (well, it leaked last night) the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland announced their 2012 class of inductees. Included on the list are Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Bo ... More >>

Friday Night: Guns N' Roses At Toyota Center

Photos by Marco Torres​Let's get it all out in the open. Axl Rose, we've been told, is a head case who ran off Slash and Izzy and the rest of his former bandmates with his increasingly erratic and dictatorial behavior. The delays behind "Guns N' Roses" latest album, Chinese Democracy, became ... More >>

Rocks Off Is Giving Away Five Pairs Of Guns N' Roses Tickets On Facebook

​At 4:30 p.m. on Rocks Off's Facebook page, we will be throwing out five pairs of tickets to the much-anticipated Guns N' Roses show tomorrow night at the Toyota Center. That means you must "like" the page to have a chance to win. In order to win, be one of the first five people to correctly a ... More >>

Top 5 Guns N' Roses Riots

More literal than metaphorical.​"The World's Most Dangerous Band." That was the tag applied to Guns N' Roses in their late '80s heyday, and though the smacked-out bad boys of Appetite for Destruction have largely mellowed into comfortable, safe middle age, Axl's crew can still lay a claim as ... More >>

Duff: A Failed Arson Attempt & Soundgarden Show In Seattle

Former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan is now, among other things, a columnist for Rocks Off's sister music blog in Seattle, Reverb. This month Touchstone Books will publish Duff's memoir, It's So Easy: And Other Lies, and he agreed to publish an excerpt on Reverb. In turn, Reverb agreed to share ... More >>

Duff: Speed Freaks Make The Best Chauffeurs

Former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan is now, among other things, a columnist for Rocks Off's sister music blog in Seattle, Reverb. This month Touchstone Books will publish Duff's memoir, It's So Easy: And Other Lies, and he agreed to publish an excerpt on Reverb. In turn, Reverb agreed to share ... More >>

Duff McKagan Remembers Guns N' Roses' First Tour

Former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan is now, among other things, a columnist for Rocks Off's sister music blog in Seattle, Reverb. This month Touchstone Books will publish Duff's memoir, It's So Easy: And Other Lies, and he agreed to publish an excerpt on Reverb. In turn, Reverb agreed to share ... More >>

G N' R, The Cure & Chili Peppers Could Be Hall Of Famers Next Year

Oh, this will be a fun induction ceremony...​This morning, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland announced the list of nominees for its Class of 2012: The Small Faces & The Faces, Freddie King, The Cure, Guns 'N Roses, Heart, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Spinners, War, Joan Jett and the Bl ... More >>

10 Albums Guaranteed To Blow Your Car Speakers

G N' R: Keeping Best Buy In Business Since 1987​It started innocently enough, leaving a friend's house in the Heights, when during one of our epic air-drum solos to the Foo Fighters' "Bridge Burning," we heard the speakers on the left side of our car, a hearse-like HHR, just pop and die, reduc ... More >>

The Best Summer Movie Soundtracks Of The '90s

This movie is old enough to drive.​Summer is officially here, even though it's been ball-dripping sweaty since at least early May. This is also about the time that we are already steeped in big-budget Hollywood summer would-be blockbusters, the kind of movies that have fast-food promotions and ... More >>

1991: Best Music Year Ever?

Rocks Off Sr.'s choice for 1991's best album.​1991 was one of the biggest years in modern music. It was when metal went pop, radio country ruled, grunge went mainstream, and rap began its climb to chart dominance, even if it was spearheaded by a white candy rapper from Dallas. There were man ... More >>

Axl And Slash, Still Causing Trouble

Rocks Off is following our sister Houston Press blogs into the choppy waters of "Comment of the Day," choosing a comment or a handful of comments from the previous day we find especially enlightening, infuriating or just plain hilarious. We're glad our readers have opinions, whatever they are, about ... More >>

Guns N' Roses, Rolling Stones, Prince Coming In 2011?

Sind Axl und Slash wieder Freunde geworden?​Rocks Off is in the concert business for all intents and purposes. We scour Pollstar and other Web sites and almost hourly looking for new shows and tours to tell you about around the clock. In the span of writing this introduction we just listed Luc ... More >>

11 Songs You Shouldn't Sing At The Office Holiday Party

​'Tis the season for office Christmas holiday parties. No doubt you have already had yours at work, or are getting ready for one. They all include copious drinking, great food, stolen glances, slurry conversations, "Can ah bum ah cigarette?" and intentional accidental groping. No bonus this ... More >>

Happy Anniversary, Appetite For Destruction

​July 21, 1987 began as a day like any other. The Reagan Administration told The New York Times that any discussion of presidential pardons in the Iran-Contra affair were "inappropriate at this time." Iran announced it would ignore the cease-fire with Iraq unanimously approved by the United Na ... More >>

Crüefest

Free DP and Tacos for All!

Holy Crap: "Chinese Democracy" is Real

L.A. Guns

Get Lit: W.A.R.: The Unauthorized Biography of William Axl Rose, by Mick Wall

I See Hawks in L.A.

Friday, June 9, at the Continental Club, 3700 Main, 713-529-9899

Buckethead

Sunday, March 5, Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-629-3700.

Playbill

Letters

Use Your Illusion

Velvet Revolver is the best hope in a dismal lot of Guns N' Roses substitutes

U.K. Subs

Thursday, November 6

Royal Slash

Slash charms over a new den of snakes