Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose had the idea for what would have been the biggest tour of the 90’s, as he wanted to play with Pearl Jam and U2 at the apex of all three bands’ popularity.
Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard finally responded to this rumor in a new Appetite for Distortion podcast interview, as can be heard below, with Alternative Nation exclusively transcribing his comments. Gossard also discussed his new band Painted Shield, which also features Mason Jennings and Matt Chamberlain. Former Guns N’ Roses manager Doug Goldstein told the Guns N’ Roses Central the story a couple of years ago, claiming that Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis passed on the offer.
Gossard said, “That’s juicy gossip is what that is. I’ve never heard it, but who knows. So somebody thought the idea was that U2, Guns N’ Roses, and Pearl Jam would go out together?”
Host Brando mentioned how Axl wanted to put together the massive tour, and Gossard said it sounded like something Axl might have wanted to do.
“I believe that Axl Rose would have that kind of idea, maybe. But U2 at that point, they weren’t doing it. I mean U2 were the biggest band in the world, they’re still the biggest band in the world probably. That’s super juicy gossip, nobody ever asked me. Nobody said, ‘Hey Stone, do you want to go out with Guns N’ Roses?’
He then quipped, “How can we fit all of that equipment on the stage?”
Brando seemed hopeful that the bands could play together in the future, and then asked if Stone is friends with any Guns N’ Roses members.
Stone responded, “Well Duff McKagan is a Seattle fixture, Duff is a total gentleman. I’ve met Duff a handful of times, and he’s very good friends with a lot of mutual friends.”
Alternative Nation transcribed Goldstein’s comments as well with Guns N’ Roses Central a couple of years ago.
“What happened was Axl [Rose] came to me, Pearl Jam had just broke, they had released Ten and it was on fire, I was [somewhere] in Tel Aviv, Israel, we were playing there. Axl had come to me in the morning and said, ‘I don’t care if we open, I don’t care if we don’t get paid, I want to do a show or a couple of shows with us, Pearl Jam, and U2 closing. Can you please call everybody?’ I said, ‘Sure.’
So I called Paul McGuiness from U2, he was in, ‘Absolutely Doug, that would be great. We can talk about who will headline.’ I said, ‘No, no, no. Axl already said he wants you guys to close.’ We were bigger than U2 at the time, but it wasn’t about who was going to close, and it wasn’t that Axl wanted to kick their ass, he just wanted to do this show. So I called Kelly Curtis in Seattle, who manages Pearl Jam. I’ve got a finger in my ear, because the music is going on, I’m at a closet hut in Tel Aviv, and he has me on speakerphone.
I said, ‘Kelly, can you please pick up?’
‘No.’
‘Kelly, I need to talk to you, it’s kind of important.’
‘Yeah I don’t care, what do you want?’
‘Kelly, I can’t hear, I’m in a closet.’
‘I don’t care, what do you want Doug?’
So I told him, he goes: ‘Eh, no. We’re going to pass.’
I said, ‘Okay hang on a second, I manage Guns, and when an idea comes to me, I usually talk to the band.’ I go, ‘Are you speaking on behalf of the band?’
He goes, ‘Yeah, we’re going to pass?’
I go, ‘Don’t you have a moral ethical responsibility to at least discuss it with the band?’
‘Don’t fucking tell me my fucking job.’
‘Okay, nice talking to you, you have a great life!’
At that point there couldn’t have been a venue big enough to hold all three of those bands.”
