Axl Rose has been linked to Guns N' Roses since the beginning of time. The erratic frontman, however, was in a few other bands prior to making it big in the late 1980s. He was in the first lineup of L.A. Guns before forming his own band, Hollywood Rose with GN'R guitarist Izzy Stradlin. Their five-song demo was released in 2004 from the archives, and now fans are able to download an EP from Rose's first project, Rapidfire.
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Rapifire's demos have been available online for a few years, but the official release only came after Rose's legal blessing. Loudwire even reported earlier this year that a YouTube clip of Rapidfire was taken down at the request of Rose's lawyers even though it belonged to guitarist Kevin Lawrence.
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead man," Lawrence wrote prior to the release. "Oh, and I can't wait for the 500-page illegal harassment of a cease and desist. Snore .. zzz ... zzz. Heard of interference of business and SLAPP suits? I own the copyrights, the masters, the photos, the performances and I have the receipt that I paid for it all ... LOL ... open and shut."
The EP, Ready to Rumble, is available for purchase. Fans can learn more about the band on its Facebook page and even listen to a snippet of the music below.
Yesterday, Nov. 16, news surfaced that a Guns N' Roses biopic based on Marc Canter's 2007 book Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction, was in the works.
"As you all know Axl doesn't support anything to do with the old band except playing their songs live," Canter wrote. "However, I do think he will be happy with the fact that it will clear up some stories that have been said about him from those days that were told incompletely. So setting the record straight on some of those events will be a good thing for him to see happen. Axl should know by now that I have his back and that it will be done right."
