Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke recently shared that he had never been officially notified that he was dismissed from the band and only knew about it when payments stopped.
In a new Guitar World interview, Clarke reminisced on joining Axl Rose’s band for three years back in 1991, which was a tumultuous time after classic-era guitarist Izzy Stradlin left. He said despite the rocky period, he enjoyed his time with the band.
Clarke said after two years with Guns N’ Roses for the Use Your Illusion tour, he offered songs he wrote to the band, but Rose didn’t want to use them, which led to Clarke’s pursuing a solo career on the side and releasing his album “Pawnshop Guitars” featuring some of his bandmates.
He then revealed that Slash called him out of the blue to say Rose didn’t want him to be part of the band anymore.
About a week later, Slash reportedly called back saying, “Forget all that. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry. I chatted with Axl; we’re back, and we’re good.’”
However, Clarke said that was the last time he heard from the band as payments suddenly stopped.
Clarke, who has been performing solo in recent years, has upcoming shows on April 26 and 27 at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, Calif. as well as in Montclair, Calif. He will also perform on May 10 and 11 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, Calif. and Nile Theatre in Bakersfield, Calif.
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Saleah Blancaflor may be reached at sblancaflor@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @saleyley and Instagram.