(July 2, 2015 at 11:14 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote:

(July 2, 2015 at 9:21 pm)Dystopia Wrote: I don't know if we can really say GnR was a  soul/funk band, even though they have influences from many genres - Noticeably Axl Rose mentioned Aerosmith as a major influence and it's not surprising.

No, I wasn't saying they were a soul or funk band, but they had elements of that that made them stand out from their hair-metal Sunset-Strip peers.  They were obviously a hard rock/heavy metal band. But Izzy and Steve played ahead and behind of the beat in a way that made their first album much less mechanical.  I don't know if you're a musician or not, and it's hard to explain to a nonmusician, but where you land in relationship to the beat is what determines the feel of the music.

I'm not a musician but I understand your point - GnR had a different sound from the rest of the late 80's bands and that was an important element on how successful and influential they were (and are) - I was more prone to say blues, funk and alt rock but I never thought of labelling them as funk - I think there's also some glam elements because of how they promoted their image.

(July 2, 2015 at 11:14 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote:

(July 2, 2015 at 9:21 pm)Dystopia Wrote: I don't know if we can really say GnR was a  soul/funk band, even though they have influences from many genres - Noticeably Axl Rose mentioned Aerosmith as a major influence and it's not surprising.

No, I wasn't saying they were a soul or funk band, but they had elements of that that made them stand out from their hair-metal Sunset-Strip peers.  They were obviously a hard rock/heavy metal band. But Izzy and Steve played ahead and behind of the beat in a way that made their first album much less mechanical.  I don't know if you're a musician or not, and it's hard to explain to a nonmusician, but where you land in relationship to the beat is what determines the feel of the music.

Haha.  Thinking of Axl as a kind of white rocker James Brown is funny.

To me, GNR sounds like they caught a sidesplash from Seattle around mid-80s.  Maybe I'm on crack, but to me, it sounds like Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Soundgarden had a 3-way baby.

I agree bennyboy, usually I think they're some mix between rolling stones and Aerosmith as they remind me of both bands, but now that you mention soundgarden it makes sense despite the fact Axl seemed to dislike grunge because of Kurt Cobain (But then again he basically bashed everyone who didn't please him)

(July 3, 2015 at 10:27 am)Dystopia Wrote: I agree bennyboy, usually I think they're some mix between rolling stones and Aerosmith as they remind me of both bands, but now that you mention soundgarden it makes sense despite the fact Axl seemed to dislike grunge because of Kurt Cobain (But then again he basically bashed everyone who didn't please him)

I think the Seattle and LA scenes probably had a bit of animosity in general, but there's definitely a little overlap as well

(July 2, 2015 at 7:48 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote: https://soundcloud.com/thumpalumpacus/going-tharn

Interesting stuff.  I'm hearing some of the same influences you talked about for GNR, and so many others.  I definitely hear a strong Seattle groove in there-- maybe more in the way you mixed so that your guitars left plenty of room for the bass-- something Soundgarden does so well.  I also feel hints of Hendrix and Sabbath in there-- amiwrong?


I'm not very well versed in Metal, but since you are sharing I want to, too.  This is me trying to be intense-- mainly because I can't sing worth shit.  You are waaayyyyy better than me, obviously. In my defense, I know that the mixing is for shit, but I lost the original project almost right after I uploaded this:

https://soundcloud.com/benjamin1973/devil-music

(July 3, 2015 at 10:25 am)bennyboy Wrote:

(July 2, 2015 at 11:14 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote: No, I wasn't saying they were a soul or funk band, but they had elements of that that made them stand out from their hair-metal Sunset-Strip peers.  They were obviously a hard rock/heavy metal band. But Izzy and Steve played ahead and behind of the beat in a way that made their first album much less mechanical.  I don't know if you're a musician or not, and it's hard to explain to a nonmusician, but where you land in relationship to the beat is what determines the feel of the music.

Haha.  Thinking of Axl as a kind of white rocker James Brown is funny.

To me, GNR sounds like they caught a sidesplash from Seattle around mid-80s.  Maybe I'm on crack, but to me, it sounds like Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Soundgarden had a 3-way baby.

Aerosmith I can definitely hear a lot of, Soundgarden not so much -- but they did foreshadow grunge with their grittier take on hair metal.

Axl doesn't have much soul as singers go, imo. I really can't stand his voice, either.

(July 3, 2015 at 11:47 am)Parkers Tan Wrote: Aerosmith I can definitely hear a lot of, Soundgarden not so much -- but they did foreshadow grunge with their grittier take on hair metal.

Axl doesn't have much soul as singers go, imo. I really can't stand his voice, either.

I love Guns and Roses. I think the influence I haven't seen discussed which was huge for their early sound was punk.

Favorite G n' R tune. No radio play for this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDhkVTKTBoY

(July 3, 2015 at 11:47 am)Parkers Tan Wrote: Aerosmith I can definitely hear a lot of, Soundgarden not so much -- but they did foreshadow grunge with their grittier take on hair metal.

Axl doesn't have much soul as singers go, imo. I really can't stand his voice, either.

Okay, I still like Alice Cooper in the mix. Let me take out Soundgarden and add in early RHCP, which was at least an LA group and preceded them, and had a strong funk to it. So now: Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, RHCP.

To get a good idea of some of their influences, just check out the bands they covered on The Spaghetti Incident?. They also covered Mama Kin on G N' R Lies.

I agree that G n' R didn't foreshadow grunge musically, but created the vacuum it filled when they put the final nail in the coffin of glam metal.