NYC's Mr. Brownstone currently refer to themselves as "The Universe's Greatest Tribute to Guns N' Roses." However, the band's act started out as just a goof. "The first time we performed as GNR we just threw on some vaguely ‘80s-looking clothes and took a couple days to learn the songs," remembers Axl Rose wannabe Sean Greenhalgh, who spends his un-wigged days drumming for indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
Although the band's duds have become more authentic over the years, the entire Mr. Brownstone enterprise is still characterized by recklessness-they may not get all the notes right, but these guys are more interested in reproducing vintage GNR hedonism, in all its train-wreck glory.
On Nov. 28, Mr. Brownstone will celebrate the "real" Guns N' Roses release (of their 15-years-in-the-making "Chinese Democracy") with a show at Irving Plaza. And this Wednesday Mr. Brownstone will bring its unhinged mimicry to the Ed Sullivan Theater when the band performs "Welcome to the Jungle" on "The Late Show With David Letterman." Edit: Here's the footage.
Before these momentous gigs, we spoke with Greenhalgh...who is much easier to reach than Axl.
What's your first GNR memory?
I remember hearing a 2 Live Crew song that sampled the "Sweet Child O' Mine" guitar lick. I was probably 11.
That's pretty young to be listening to 2 Live Crew.
Yeah, I was hardcore.
Have you met any of the original members of GNR?
No, but Richard Fortus, who's in the current lineup, happened to be at our show at the Bowery Ballroom four or five years ago. He thought it was really funny and he called Axl, who was at a Lakers game, and held his cell phone up. They apparently got a good laugh out of it.
Have you run into anyone who has ties to Axl?
We played down in Nashville in 2003 and met the guy who used to run around and retrieve Axl's mic stand. He said, "I have about 20 of Axl's old mic stands and I'll give you one." But I never followed up on it. I've been kicking myself for that.
What would you say to Axl if you met him?
I have a feeling he'd probably punch me in the face. There's definitely a tongue in cheek aspect to what we do. We obviously love the songs, but we're celebrating the songs as we mock the lifestyle a little bit.
You're sometimes billed as the "World's Drunkest GNR Tribute Band." What's the most wasted you've been during a Brownstone show?
Personally, I've never blacked out during a show, but unnamed members of the band definitely have. There'll be a bottle of champagne and two bottles of Jack Daniels circulating the stage and the audience is feeding us beers. The first half will be tight and we'll move quickly from song to song. Then, about halfway through, words start to get slurred and we're missing chord changes and whole parts of songs are dropped. If you go through some live GNR footage, they were not a tight live band. So we're re-creating that.
Have any of you ever gotten hurt while flailing about on stage?
Yes. I took a can of beer to the face while singing "Patience"—it wasn't even opened! The guy who plays Slash has fallen straight off a five-foot stage onto the floor. He also had someone bite him in the ankle.
Like a love bite?
Yeah, it was in New York. I just looked over and it was like there was a dog biting his ankle. He had to shake him off. That guy shows up to a lot of shows. We have a polite relationship with him-you don't want to get too close.
How are the Clap Your Hands crowds compared to the Brownstone crowds?
You'd be surprised. In NYC, I think there's some crossover. In Boston, you get your more introverted types at CYHSY and more of the crowd surfing, moshing, fights-breaking-out sorta thing at Brownstone shows. The thing with Brownstone is the crowd becomes part of the show—we're pretending to be stadium rock stars and the crowd is pretending to be a raucous stadium audience.
Do you ever wish the CYHSY crowds were more like Brownstone crowds?
I would say no.
What do you think of the new GNR single, "Chinese Democracy"?
I don't really know what to say about it—there's Axl singing and there are some guitar solos. It's missing the parts that would make it a song. There are like 90 billion Pro Tools tracks on there and it's flawlessly done, but you need some chord changes to hold your hat on. I bet you there will be some good songs on the album, but I'm sorta past the point where I can completely invest emotionally in a GNR record. It's sad but true.
Is there one part of the costume that is more troublesome than the rest?
Sometimes the kilt provides easy access for anybody to just ... reach up there. That's been an issue particularly when my fiancée is in the audience.
Is she angry other people are reaching up there or is she reaching up there herself?
She's angry. It's a recurring issue. I guess it comes with the territory.
Have you ever used your Axl powers for evil, as far as getting groupies or generally acting like a jerk?
Certainly, I think those powers could be used for evil in the wrong hands. Our bass player Drew is an example of that—he definitely reaps the benefits. I haven't used them for evil but I did meet my fiancée for the first time at a Brownstone show. She stumbled onto the gig by accident. I was getting a drink at the bar after the show and she just came up and said Hi.
Were you in costume at the time?
I was not, thankfully. It's not the most flattering ensemble.
What do you think of Mr. Brownstone's appearance on Letterman?
I've actually been on Letterman before with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but I'm more nervous this time because I'm gonna be up front. Still, the thing with Brownstone is that you can disappear into the character—it's more like musical theater. I tried to discourage the word from getting out to too many extended relatives because I'll most likely be swearing on national television.
Are you planning on taking the Letterman stage sloshed?
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