2006.11.08 - HTGTH - Message from Merck and Axl

I normally do not respond on HTGTH but a number of your posts have been brought to my attention today and I feel it is right to take the time to dispel the negative speculation through a statement of facts:

1. The show in Portland was cancelled last night because the fire marshall made it impossible for us to believe we could do our show without putting at risk the safety of the fans and the band. They made it clear that they intended to harrass our fans, crew and the band through enforcing rules and regulations that are 200 years old to an extent that has not been applied to other artists and that we believed would make the gig a potential time bomb that would explode. Our Production Manager Chris Gratton is a seasoned pro who has worked with everyone from Korn to R Kelley and has terrific relationships with Fire Marshalls and authorities all over the world. This is the first time he has ever come to us and said this is a dangerous situation and these people intend to use their authority in a negative way against our fans, our band and our crew and I need you to do something about it.

The cancellation had nothing to do with pyro or ticket sales. Putting our fans, band and crew first cost $200,000 last night so we did not make the decision without great thought and care and it was made in consultation with our agents and our promoter both of whom lost money as a result and both of whom supported our decision 100% as they too could see that the authorities were more than overzealous in their approach. For all of you to be speculating without any knowledge or credible information that the responsibility for this is Axl's or the band's is nonsense. This band has performed more than 50 shows this year without incident and had every intention of performing last night. They did not perform because we - the professionals around the band - stopped them as we did not feel it was safe for them or for the fans. We take our responsibility to the band seriously and we take our responsibility to the fans seriously. Now if you want to vent your spleens about this do it to the people responsible ie the fire marshalls. We named them for a reason. They are the reason why the Cumberland County Civic Center did not rock last night.

2. I see a number of people flaming Jarmo and the moderators for removing posts at our request. I understand that you feel that we are using our influence to censor you. We are not. If someone wants to express their opinion or critique the band and its performances, recordings, actions etc that does not bother us but when you spread lies and disinformation about everything from ticket sales to release dates to how Pollstar calculate their chart we will use our relationship with Jarmo to shut you down because you cause chaos and confusion and you try to take something good and turn it into something ugly. When GN'R gets on stage every night for two and a half hours it is a positive force. The thousands of fans who are there every night lose themselves and have a great time. That is what rock n' roll is all about but unfortunately the 300 of you that aren't even at the gigs spread a negativity that does not reflect the reality at all as evidenced by the original thread on the Meadowlands show. We were there. We saw 11,000 fans having a great time. We had a great time. For the people in the room it was a great night but it wasn't to be for those of you at home sitting around your computers.

Jarmo is your greatest ally and he has a proximity to us that is to your benefit. No one else in the online community has it. He has credible information for you directly from the source. We are not looking for any negative favours. It is not how the band has ever operated. It is not how Axl operates and it is not how I operate.

3. Ticket sales.

Guns N' Roses have sold almost 200,000 tickets already for this run and we still have 7 weeks to go. We have sold almost 50,000 tickets in the New York area alone this year between Hammerstein Ballroom, the Meadowlands and Madison Square Garden on the back of one interview with Ed Trunk and before the album has come out. Most bands do not go to Portland, Maine because it is what the music business calls a "soft market" but we had a lot of letters from fans in the area and we were determined to play there regardless of whether it was "only" 3500 people. We are doing something positive in a negative world. If you are with us fantastic. If you want to live your live in an adverse way stay at home.

4. This is from Axl:

I would like to apologise to all of the fans in Maine for the show not happening last night. It was important for us to play there and it is a shame that what should have been a great night for all of us was not possible due to the actions of two people. I agree with and ultimately take responsibility for the end decision not to jeopardise the safety of the fans, the crews, the bands and myself as a result of the methods of these particularly draconian authorities. We are not trying to get away or get out of anything or pull a fast one by combining ticket sales as has been speculated. There are reasons that I have not spoken more about Montreal and Philadelphia that have been extremely complicated and are not legally resolved behind the scenes to this day and could have possibly jeopardized the future of Guns N' Roses.

We have chosen to take the public heat for these events in order to have another shot at the future today with a new album.

The professionals around me felt that Portland was a potentially explosive situation that could have had a somewhat similar result based on the behaviour of the two aforementioned fire marshals (it's not my 1st barbeque!) had the fans been given entry to the building and the show started. In respect of these opinions , our fans, the people of Portland, and the bands scheduled to play with us that night, unfortunately the only sensible decision was not to take that chance. We hope to find another way to play for you in the future. Thanks for even trying to see us. It sincerely is much more than appreciated.