1991.10.14 - Santa Ana County Register - Axl Roses Sees Familiar Figure on Melrose Ave.

Transcript:

PROMOTIONS
Axl Rose sees familiar figure on Melrose Ave.

One night last week, Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose was strolling down Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles when he spied something unusual staring down at him from the roof of a record store — two 8-foot-tall papier-mache sculptures of himself and bandmate Slash.

"He came in laughing and said he liked it," said free-lance artist Grady Gonzales, 26, who works part time behind the counter at Record Trader on Melrose. "Then he bought a few CDs and we took a picture of him with it."

Gonzales spent about 40 hours creating the giant likeneises out of papier-mache and wire at his Sun Valley home. The pieces portray Rose in sunglasses, and Slash wearing his trademark top hat and smoking a cigarette. Gonzales, a graduate of UCLA's School of Design, installed the 46-pound sculptures a few days after the new Guns N' Roses albums went on sale.

"We wanted to draw some attention to our store," he said. "Tourists have been taking pictures, and we've gotten lots of comments."

Gonzales said he received an offer for the Slash piece, but if they're not sold by the time they're taken down next month, he plans on "filling them with candy and making pinatas out of them."