Being in a band is like being in a marriage with multiple partners who are also working together. It is intense at times and very challenging. If someone is not spiritually grounded then problems will escalate. When spirituality is a foundation in the band then all that unfolds is grace, even the hard times, and the personality quirks of the other band mates become seen as sand in an oyster helping to cultivate a pearl.
Very few are able to pull it off with such grace that they are able to be forgiving and accepting, which in turn leads to longevity and purpose. I have noticed that the bands that seem to get along within themselves are the bands where there is no one specific leader. Bands like The Grateful Dead, U2 and Rush bring a level of loving-kindness to each other which in turn likely makes it easy for them to find forgiveness towards each other and results in decades of relevant and purposeful music devoid of massive tabloid dramas.
Guns N’ Roses were quite literal when they named themselves that. They came onto the scene with guns blazing and in 1987 came out with an album adored by critics and the public. Appetite for Destruction was a huge success. So much so that it likely was the album that destroyed them as well. The band struggled with drug addiction and a front man who was known to be a narcissist.
Like most giant rock bands the two principal partners are the lead singer and the lead guitarist. When Slash and Axl Rose parted ways at the end of the Use Your Illusion tour in 1993 the band was done. Axl called Slash a “cancer” and refused to even attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction because his ex-bandmates would be in the room.
There are many rumors as to why Slash and Axl Rose had a falling out. According to the band’s former manager, it was said that Axl was unhappy about Slash collaborating with Michael Jackson. At that time there were allegations that Michael was a pedophile and Axl, scarred from his own wounds of being molested by his father, could not handle Slash and Michael working together.
Likely only Axl Rose and Slash will know the truth behind why they had a falling out. But it seems that forgiveness and a new found friendship may lead to a reunion of the band’s original classic line up.
The question that many hope for is if Oasis’s Gallagher brothers will ever find a way to forgive each other and get back together. With volatile and inflated egos, anything is possible. The Eagles, who vowed they would never tour again, did so and jokingly called it Hell Freezes Over tour.
Since 1994, Rishi Deva, founder and CEO of RishiVision and entrepreneurial coach, has empowered thousands of businesses. Rishi has an MBA in marketing and entrepreneurial studies and a BBA in accounting. He has spent nearly twenty years coaching, consulting, managing and supporting thousands of businesses from new startups to active global leaders.
For more information on Rishi, please visit rishivision.com.