2003.09.02 - MTV News - New GN'R Tune Leaked By ... Mets Catcher Mike Piazza?!

New GN'R Tune Leaked By ... Mets Catcher Mike Piazza?!

Piazza plays song called 'I.R.S.' on New York classic rock station.

This might be weird if it didn't involve Guns N' Roses.

Since it does, however, it shouldn't be at all shocking that New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza is responsible for playing a new Guns N' Roses song on the radio.

As he regularly does, Piazza appeared on New York classic rock station Q104.3's nationally syndicated Friday night show, "Friday Night Rocks ... With Eddie Trunk," with a CD marked "New GNR" which he said he received in the mail three weeks ago. He persuaded Trunk to play the song "I.R.S." at 12:15 a.m. Saturday morning.

Almost immediately the station was flooded with calls. One listener described it as combining rock and techno — Axl Rose's distinctive voice on top of Buckethead's unorthodox guitar work.

"It reminded me of Use Your Illusion-era stuff, with some modern flairs to it," said DJ Eddie Trunk. "The song had a loop track in the beginning, but then, when it kicked in, it was that same dramatic Guns N' Roses hard rock."

Not all of the calls were complimentary, however. One was from GN'R management, which issued a verbal cease-and-desist order.

"We've gotten hundreds, dare I say thousands, of e-mails since, urging us to play it again," said Q104 (WAXQ-FM) program director Bob Buchmann. "But we can't because the management flipped when they heard it on the air."

Because Trunk often deals with the same management company and has a professional relationship with them, he didn't argue with the request. There still was the matter of having a new GN'R song in circulation, though.

Trunk believes a fan aware of Piazza's love for all things rock sent him the CD-R, which also included the instrumental and complete versions of two other songs. So whoever sent Piazza the disc must have obtained it through the studio, he reasoned.

"People who listen to my show know that Mike is a fanatic about this stuff, as much as I am," Trunk said. "They know he's a regular part of the show ... And someone must have thought that this would be a cool way to leak the track."

The GN'R camp was so eager to retrieve the disc that they arranged to meet with Trunk, to whom Piazza had given the CD, as soon as possible. And that just happened to be at Shea Stadium on Sunday, while the Mets were hosting a game with the Atlanta Braves.

Since Trunk's show can be heard nationwide, it's likely not the last we will hear of "I.R.S." Although all traces of the segment were removed from taped broadcasts of the show, it's broadcast live in Minneapolis and Truck says many listeners routinely tape the show, which airs from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Axl himself has been lax in protecting access to his band's new material. Two months ago, the singer played new songs at a Las Vegas strip club in order to gauge the reaction from the dancers.

"I.R.S." joins "Madagascar," which Guns N' Roses premiered at the 2002 Video Music Awards, as new material that may appear on the band's long-overdue new LP, Chinese Democracy.

A spokesperson for Guns N' Roses' label, Interscope, had no comment, but given the fact that management "flipped," they wouldn't have had a reason to were it not the genuine article and instead a tune by Paradise City, Mr. Brownstone, Bent Axle or any number of the GN'R tribute bands.

As for Piazza being comeback rock's new litmus test, Buchmann said it happens more often than you'd expect.

"Mike is a huge music fan," he said. "The truth is, Mike is so passionate about certain music that I would argue that he's on the top-10 list of real music fans that a band might circulate their unreleased stuff to. Piazza's a riot. He's as passionate as they come."

The lucky catcher has probably been listening to those new Duran Duran joints for months now, too.

This story updated 09.03.03 at 4:12 p.m. ET

— Joe D'Angelo

https://web.archive.org/web/20050222153728/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1477813/20030902/story.jhtml

Related article in NME, September 3, 2003:

GUNS N' ROSES BASEBALL SHOCKER!

Confusion surrounds a new GUNS N' ROSES track, supposedly played on the radio by accident… by an American Baseball player.

The track, thought to be the first offering from long-threatened new Gunners album ‘Chinese Democracy’, was inadvertently played on New York Q104.3’s ‘Friday Night Rocks With Eddie Trunk’. New York MetsCatcher Mike Piazza, a guest on the show, persuaded Trunk to play a CD marked ‘Guns’n’Roses, ‘IRS’’ last Friday (29 August).

Described by callers as ‘combining rock and techno’, the track is said to distinctly feature G N’R frontman Axl Rose and guitarist Buckethead.

The track’s authenticity was cemented by calls from the band’s management, who demanded that the track was retrieved. Station Program Director Bob Buchman told MTV, "We’ve gotten hundreds, dare I say thousands of emails since, urging us to play it again, but we can’t because the management flipped when they heard it on air."

Only one track, ‘Madagascar’ – previewed at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards – had previously been heard from ‘Chinese Democracy’, although they have played the odd new song live.

While management did not take any legal action, Buchmann vouched for the credibility of a new Guns ‘N’ Roses track ending up in the custody of the sportsman. "Mike is a huge music fan. The truth is, Mike is so passionate about certain music that I would argue that he’s in the top ten list of real music fans that a band might circulate unreleased stuff to. Piazza’s a riot. He’s as passionate as they come."

There is still no news of a release date for the long-awaited ‘Chinese Democracy’.

https://web.archive.org/web/20040603130348/http://www.nme.com/news/106064.htm

The following were posted by Eddie Trunk on his website, eddietrunk.com, on September 1 and Sept. 2, 2003:

All The Details On Guns & Roses, as Eddie Trunk & Mike Piazza make world news playing the new song first!! Please read before eMailing RE: G&R;!!!!

Posted By Eddie Trunk on 09.01.03

I have been HAMMERED with email from all over the globe regarding my exclusive airing of the new Guns & Roses track IRS this past Friday. This has become a MAJOR story, and I'm trying to get back to as many people as I can, but simply can not respond to everybody. Here is the latest on what went down:

My friend and occassional co-host Mike Piazza paid a visit to the show close to Midnight. As you could imagine, Mike gets a tremendous amount of fan mail, and being a hard rock and G&R; fan, lot's of CDs in his mail. Mike came in with a CD that was labeled as new Guns. It was packaged anonymously. Mike wasn't sure if it was legit, but we put it on the air, and the phones went nuts. The song was called IRS and sounded like Illusion era G&R;, with a few modern touches (loops, samples in intro). I don't think it was 100% complete, but sounded pretty close. We took live calls about it, and people were blown away at the exclusive they just heard on my show (not to mention it was a star baseball player that came up with it!). I like G&R;, but I'm not a fanatic, but I must say, the song was really good. There were other tracks and music on the CD as well, but I only had a chance to listen to them on the ride home. Mike left the CD with me, so I could determine what to do with it from there. Questions of how legit this recording was were quickly squashed when I started to get calls and email from the bands management on Saturday. This was VERY legit! A few facts here:

It will NOT be played again! Now that I know it was legit, I have co-operated completely with the bands management, and have been asked to turn over the CD, which I did. I no longer have it. It was not labeled in anyway, it was just a burned CDR.

The song will not be included on the replay show. I have been forced to edit it out (another reason why my show is best heard live!). There are legal issues if you don't comply, and I will be served with papers to prohibit the repeated airing even if I still had it and wanted to!! It will not be heard again until it is an official release.

The rest of the CD was also cool. It sounded like a total of 3 songs, with instrumental versions of each of the 3, making a total of 6 tracks (I think). The last track, which I did not play, was the best. A great rocker, with tons of shredding guitar from Buckethead. I don't know what the title was, but I kinda wish I had the chance to play that one as well. Mike & I didn't really know what we had, so we just played the first track IRS.

We have no idea where this came from. Mike threw out the packaging when he went through his fan mail weeks ago. I would say it was somebody that works in a studio, or perhaps an intentional leak to build buzz. Of course I'm just thrilled they picked my show and Mike to send it to! If you remember, there were also reports a couple months ago of Axl playing this music in strip clubs, maybe another source? Again, we have no idea!

Again, I have co-operated fully with the bands management. It will not be replayed and I no longer have it.

Like I always say, you never know what's going to happen on the show! This is just another reason why you should be hammering your local stations to carry my show live. It is available anywhere in the US. Your voice counts! If you don't get the show, tell your local stations program directors you want it!! Piazza hung out for a couple hours total, and the always hysterical Jim Breuer dropped by after a Metallica club show. Just a great way to kick off the labor day weekend. A great mix of music, talk and giveaways, and of course, exclusive music!

https://web.archive.org/web/20031104062438/http://eddietrunk.com/columns/article.php?columns_id=476