My Favorite Band is Guns N’ Roses.

————[OK THIS IS EXCEPTIONALLY LONG I APOLOGIZE]————

Call it ~unorthodox, but the first album of theirs I had was Live Era. It had most of the songs our cousin Jared (who was a huge fan at the time) had recommended to my brothers and I, and rather than buying their entire discography we started with that. So, aside from he really obvious ones like “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, and such, when I heard their songs for the first time, and grew to love “My Michelle”, “Nightrain”, “Pretty Tied Up”, “Move to the City”, “Rocket Queen”, and so forth, all I knew were the live versions.

Anyway, eventually Rob picked up Appetite for Destruction, and the two of us sat in his room and listened to it. At this point in my life, my family had recently moved from New York to The Wang, Florida. I had zero friends and nothing else to do with myself, so I would just cling to Rob and listen to music with him. I really attribute much of my ~passion for music to Rob. Even before we moved, the two of us would always listen to music together, and he’d always pause and replay parts here and there, telling me to listen for certain things, explaining what exactly he liked so much about the way a song was structured, and pointing out individual notes he had that inexplicable love for.

Anyway, I recall the first time we listened to Appetite, we were a bit… disappointed, for lack of a better word. The thing is, we were so used to the live versions, that the album versions were just… weird. With that, I didn’t think too highly of it the first time around. It wasn’t until about two months later that I’d decide to give it a second go. I took it into my room and listened to it alone.

It was much lovelier the second time around. The studio versions weren’t weird to me anymore. I started to fall in love with them as I had with the live versions. It was a cool thing, being able to fall in love with these songs all over again. It’s one thing to hear the studio version first, and then the live— noting all of the subtle (and the not-so-subtle) differences, and experiencing the band ‘in the moment’, so to speak—but to hear the live first, and then the studio versions, you’re taking a liking to the energy, the attitude, the performance itself, rather than admiring the musicianship and such things. After acquainting myself with Appetite for Destruction more, everything just sort of came full circle. From that point on, I would consider Guns N’ Roses to be my favorite band.

While I had had other favorite bands before (namely Van Halen and Aerosmith), there was something more to Guns N’ Roses. For the first time, I didn’t just enjoy the music. I had this insatiable yearning to know more about the band itself. At that point, I wouldn’t consider it a matter of relating to the music necessarily— and to be honest, to this day I can’t put my finger on it— but I just felt that I had to know more about who the people behind the music were. And so an obsession was born. As any child of the day would do amidst an obsession, I took to the internet. Learning their names, recognizing their faces and how they dressed, memorizing lyrics, looking up more of their songs, how they broke up and who replaced who, and eventually, I would pick up the Illusions.

The same listening ritual as Appetite took place. My brothers and I listened to them together. We only liked the singles, and everything else we just didn’t ‘get’. Robert thought they were pretty much pure crap, actually. So between the two albums, we only really liked about five to ten songs and were quick to abandon the rest. Again, months later, I would get the urge to listen to them a second time. So alone, I listened to each of the Illusions from beginning to end. At first, I didn’t like them much more than I had before. But there were one or two other songs I liked this time. And then I listened to them again. Just over and over, each time thinking, “Well, I like this one too”, or “How did I not notice this one before?”, until eventually I was in love with just about every song from the albums. By the time I got around to listening to Lies and Spaghetti Incident, I was a lot more familiar with their sound, and so I took a liking to them rather quickly.

But OK, now that I’m done rambling forever about the hows and whens— the music, the music, the music. It’s just perfect to me. In every way. Guns N’ Roses had a ton of attitude— the right attitude— and all the musicianship to back it up. Hearing Axl sing… he has such tenacity, and uses his range so effectively. His vocals against Slash’s guitar playing… it’s just magical to me. His style just resonates with me on this level no one else’s does, and all his melodic embellishments are just so impeccable; they never sound too safe nor too contrived. Izzy has such a wonderful sense of rhythm, it’s so natural and it’s never dull. It’s as if his playing is alive, thriving within the songs. Duff’s bass playing complements the their music so beautifully. It serves as so much more than a musical cushion for their songs, but without taking over them and sounding ostentatious. It has this level of musicality about it that interacts with the song. And last but certainly not least, Steven. While he was only around for the first five years, I couldn’t imagine any of that material with any drummer other than him. His style gave their music a backing that was just so full of energy. And you know what? I’m going to ~go there and say it— haters gon’ fuckin’ hate— but I enjoy Matt Sorum’s drumming as well.

So yes. Guns N’ Roses is, for me, musical perfection.
But the thing is, just about everything about Guns N’ Roses fascinates me.

Beyond their attitude and their music, this band captivates me. For instance, how these five men from different walks of life managed to come together just amazes me— Axl and Izzy as friends from Indiana. Slash from England, coming to LA with his parents and pursuing music with Steven. Duff making his way into the scene from Seattle. How the five of them all had wound up working with each other at some point or another prior to the band’s formation… I don’t know, but when I think about it too long, I get chills.

And let’s be honest- one of the most heartbreaking things about loving this band so much is the fact that I’ll never be able see the five of them make music together in my lifetime. But even so, the manner in which they broke up holds this sort of intrigue to me as well. Guns N’ Roses isn’t just another band that just decided to call it quits one day. The five (or seven, rather) of them stuck together as long as they possibly could, tried everything to keep the band going, and I admire the Hell out of them for that.

And finally, the five of them as individuals. I love them. I really do. Before this band, I never quite understood how anyone could ‘love’ someone they’ve never met, but words cannot express how much I love each of them. I love how each of them carry themselves. I love how dorky they can be. I love how lewd they can be. I love how cool they can be and how hot-headed they can be. I just fucking love them.