Gilby Clarke discussed how Axl Rose wanted Guns N’ Roses to become a three guitar band in the mid-90’s when he and Slash were still in the band. Based on the timeline, it appears that Rose may have wanted Slash, Gilby Clarke, and Paul Huge to be the three guitarists. Rose’s vision later came to fruition with different guitarists during the Chinese Democracy era. Clarke discussed Rose’s plan in a new Ultimate-Guitar interview.
“We had a good relationship but in the ending did we agree? Absolutely not. I didn’t think Guns N’ Roses should have three guitarists in the band. [Laughs] I was pretty stern about it so we didn’t agree but it doesn’t mean I didn’t respect him or care about him and vice versa. He came out to some jams I had over the years and stuff. No, there’s no bad blood.
Still to this day, I try to remember the good stuff and not the bad stuff and I always say, “We’re all on the same fuckin’ team.” They care about music, they care about rock and roll and I care about music, I care about rock and roll. I would never ever do anything to tarnish the image of the band. I want that legacy to live on and I want them to make new records. I want it to live.
He said his split with Guns N’ Roses was not ugly.
“No, not at all. But there will always be stuff. You can pick apart little things where people don’t agree with each other and make something bigger out of it. But the core stuff is good and that’s important.”
