ASHBA: GUNS N' ROSES 'Is The First Band That I Felt That I Could Bring Something To The Table'

February 21, 2012

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist DJ Ashba tells Nancy Dunham of WashingtonExaminer.com that he is looking forward to getting in the studio with his bandmates to begin working on the follow-up to 2008's "Chinese Democracy".

"I have been approached to join many, many big bands throughout my career," he said. "This is the first band that I felt in my heart that I could bring something to the table.

"I have been watching what's been going on over the years. The music has always touched me in a way. It's very inspiring to me, so as a songwriter and producer, it means more than just coming in and playing guitar."

When asked if there's a target date for a new album, Ashba said, "It's a matter of sitting down with Axl [Rose, GUNS N' ROSES lead singer]. He's got a pretty clear vision of where he wants to go, but we've been touring so much [we haven't been able to work on songs]. For me, as a producer and songwriter, it's trying to bring his vision to life. I'll make it mine as well, but really it's up to him to set the direction and then we'll bring that to life. And that's the fun part. . . It's a big challenge for me. . . Like I said, my goal was never to join the band to just play guitar but to sit down and write some songs with Axl and my goal is to put together the next best GUNS N' ROSES record. I think that is everybody's goal in the band."

In addition to sole original member Axl Rose and Ashba, the current lineup of GUNS N' ROSES includes guitarists Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer.

"Chinese Democracy", the 2008 album released by the current edition of GUNS N' ROSES after a 15-year wait, was officially certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 3, 2009 for shipments in the United States in excess of one million copies.

"Chinese Democracy" was made available exclusively through Best Buy.

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