2019.08.21 - In The Land of Giants with Butch Bradley - Interview with Dj Ashba

by **Blackstar** Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:53 pm

Blabbermouth:
-------------------

DJ Ashba says that he is "grateful" to have "gained a lot of fans" while he was a member of Guns N' Roses.

Ashba, who joined Guns N' Roses in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck and stayed in the band until July 2015, spoke about his time with the group during a recent interview with Butch Bradley.

Asked if he ever got any flak from Guns N' Roses fans for stepping into Slash's shoes, Ashba said (see below): "Oh, yeah. [I] got the 'Fuck you! You're not Slash.' I'm, like, 'I never was trying to be Slash.' I respect him so much. I love the music he created with GN'R.

"I immediately went from having the coolest gig in the world to, like, 'Woah! Wait a second.' It was one of those things where it's just, like, you try to do that gig justice and you go out on stage and give your all every night."

According to Ashba, his GN'R bandmates advised him early on not to pay attention to the haters. "I remember the band going, 'Don't go to message boards,'" he said. "'Cause they've been in the band longer, and they're, like, 'Whatever you do…' And I remember going to message boards and [reading], 'You homo.' And I was, like, "Woah!' They're, like, 'You're smoking a cigarette. That's because you're trying to be Slash.' I was, like, 'No, honestly, I've been smoking since I was 14.' But it was just this weird… 'You're wearing a hat.' It's, like, 'Yeah, I wore a hat in Sixx:A.M.'

"There was times where, fuck, I just wanted to hang myself in my hotel room," Ashba admitted. "But I look back now and I'm so thankful and grateful to have these memories. And I gained a lot of fans — don't get me wrong — and for that I'm grateful. I have memories that nobody can take from me and money can't buy."

https://blabbermouth.net/news/dj-ashba-is-grateful-to-have-gained-a-lot-of-fans-while-he-was-a-member-of-guns-n-roses