Axl Rose Blog

I am going to try not to leave anyone out!

Yeah we ended up hanging out with AXL F*cking ROSE. For the whole story and for pics of Jayme doing shots of petron tequilla with him on his birthday you’ll have to read on.

We stayed with Erin Rodda and her husband Aaron in Phoenix. They helped us with a package I had delivered, and they made us a great meal. It was very nice to get away from gas station peanuts.

Here Jayme is sweating out the beats in AZ. The show in Phoenix was great. Thanks to all the people that came out, and thanks especially to Ryan and Keith of Hillgrass Bluebilly Entertainment. They are our desert brothers.

Marilyn and her friend Katie helped us sell our merch. I know we did better thanks to them. Could you resist buying stuff?

The first night with Derek Trucks was awesome. I am trying to gather pictures from the show, but regardless this is Chris Edwards. He is the tour manager for the Derek Trucks Band. He, Derek, and the whole band and crew treated us like family. We’ll never forget it.

This is Howard Emmons. Luckily he was at the show at San Luis Obispo. Jayme broke a drum head, and he really hooked us up at his shop in town called the Drum Circuit. We can’t thank him enough.

I am working on gathering pictures from our show at the Doll Hut too. That place is great. It is one of those real jukes like the Melody Inn in Indianapolis or Burt’s Tiki Lounge in SLC, Utah. It was packed, and the crowd was amazing. The owner was one hell of a nice guy too. Thanks to Rose’s Pawn Shop for inviting us, and thanks to all of our friends who came out. Thanks to the band Hill Stomp for staying an extra two days in LA just to see the show!

After the Doll Hut show we went and stayed with Sean Junkins an old friend. It was great to see him out there doing well. Here he is in the Green Room at the Roxy.

We met up with Chris Francis before the Roxy show. He is an amazing human being, and a real inspiration. He took all of these photos of us at the Roxy. I’ll write more about him later on in the blog. Here he is backstage, in the green room.

The Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band at the Roxy! The place was sold out, and the crowd was great. We had a lot of fun playing. Doing these dates with Derek Trucks was nothing but positive for us.

Breezy at the Roxy.

Jayme and Breezy at the Roxy.

Here Jayme and I are on the Roxy stage.

Another fun one of Breezy.

When Derek Trucks took the stage he brought out his wife Susan Tedeschi. It was magical.

Not only are they talented people, but they are good people too. After the show everyone was having a great time at the VIP after party at “on the Rox” above the Roxy. I know I was laughing pretty hard. Jayme was having fun! Axle Rose was there too.

At midnight it became Jayme’s Birthday. Axl Rose insisted on paying for drinks in honor of the occasion. He was really nice to us, and we spent a long time talking about Indiana. (He is from Indiana too). It was great to hear his stories.

This is Trevor, the GM of the Roxy. He was so kind to us. I had heard that the Roxy had a bad reputation among bands, but man they were really good to us. Everyone went out of their way. They really made us feel at home. Thanks to all of them.

We continued the party on Derek Trucks’ tour bus when the bar finally threw everyone out. This picture of Axl Rose, Breezy, and me was taken by Derek Trucks. I promised him I would credit him for the photo! Trucks had us listen to some great mix CD’s, and Axle played everyone tracks from his CD that will be coming out soon.

After we left the gang on the bus, we went to the lodge. That is the home of Chris Francis. He is currently a carpenter in LA, but at other times in his life he has been a sword fisherman, a tree topper, and a freight train jumper. He is a legend. Not only that, but he is only 29, and he already a hero amongst stencil artists. You can see his work on the covers of Otis Gibbs’ albums and Utah Phillips’ albums (among others).

He makes his home like a lodge in Montana, because he said it helps him live in LA. The smell of burning cedar chips and the sound of 78 records soothed us to sleep and I think had a healing effect. I forgot all about the traffic!

I can’t wait to get back.

All of these pictures are at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. They were taken by Mike Sherry. He is obviously an amazing photographer.

The crowd was awesome.

RPBDB Belly Up, Solana Beach, CA

Breezy destroys it in Solana Beach, CA

I like to play guitar in Solana Beach, CA.

Thanks to the Derek Trucks Band, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, their son Charlie, and the whole crew. They were awesome. It was fun talking slide guitar with Trucks, and Susan gave us some great info. It was just great getting to know everyone.

This is Daniel from the band Slab City. Thanks to him we had a great show at Tommy’s Casino in El Centro. He is the one that hooked us up there. Next time we are staying with him. We slept in the van.

Everyone in El Centro was awesome. It got a little rough when a fight broke out, and some guns were drawn. But the bad guys were removed with malice by the guy at the door and I think Slab City! The show was great. These are the last few people still hanging out after the bar closed.

Keep spreading the word, and we’ll keep living in our van and sleeping on floors. This one was easy though. Look at the scenery