Episode #4: Chris Weber Discusses A.X.L, Rose and Hollywood Rose

For our final interview of Season One, we catch up with Steven Adler in his home in Los Angeles to talk about his early days with Slash, Marc Canter’s dedication to the band, the first rehearsal of the Appetite lineup, and the infamous Hell Tour. Steven grew up in the San Fernando Valley and became friends with Slash in junior high school. They cycled in and out of various bands between 1984 and 1985 such as Roadcrew and The New Hollywood Rose. In June 1985, Steven was called by Slash to replace Rob Gardner as the drummer for the newly formed Guns N' Roses and completed the Appetite lineup with Axl, Izzy, Duff and Slash. Steven can be heard on Appetite for Destruction and their second studio album GN'R Lies, and he toured the world with the band before leaving in 1990. In this episode you’ll:

We pick things up only 48 hours after the newly formed Appetite lineup finishes their first gig together at The Troubadour on June 6, 1985. The band quickly packs up their gear and heads north on the I-5 corridor toward Seattle for a Northwest tour that Duff originally coined, “The Shakeout Tour,” but quickly becomes known as “The Hell Tour” instead. Danny Biral is our guest on this episode; a friend and roadie for the band and the captain of their ship who commandeered a green Pontiac Catalina station wagon and a stolen gas card for this excursion to the Northwest. In this episode you’ll:

We pick things up after Tracii and Rob leave Guns N’ Roses and the revolving door of band members spins for the final time. Slash and Steven agree to join Guns N' Roses and hit the road for the Northwest Tour that Duff planned but need to quickly get up to speed on the set list for an upcoming show at the Troubadour -- the Appetite lineup's first gig as a band that featured Axl, Izzy, Duff, Slash and Steven. In this episode you’ll:

During the Fall of 1984, The New Hollywood Rose had called it quits, Izzy had joined London, and at that time, Rob Gardner was playing drums in a band with Tracii Guns called L.A. Guns. Eventually Raz Cue would get involved with L.A. Guns and encourage not only a member lineup but also a name change which would result in the creation of Guns N’ Roses. As the original drummer for Guns N’ Roses, Rob helped create and influence the band’s sound and although his involvement with the band ended early, the blood, sweat, tears and grooves that Rob poured into Pyrrhus, L.A. Guns and Guns N’ Roses can still be heard today as it is forever pressed into the vinyl of Appetite for Destruction. Rob shares with us his first-hand account of everything that led to the creation of the original lineup of Guns N’ Roses. In this episode you’ll:

We got The First 50 Gigs team together to recap the first five episodes of the First 50 Gigs and the Appetite lineup origin story. In this episode, Marc Canter, Jason Porath, and host Mina McNair fill in the gaps as we spin our way through the incestuous revolving doors of bands and musicians that ultimately led to Guns N' Roses. From Slash's garage bands Tidus Sloan and Roadcrew to Rose and the New Hollywood Rose, we talk about what we learned from our guests, take you behind the scenes of our production, share new stories and preview what's to come for the rest of Season One. In this episode, you'll: