Axl Rose Talks Cornrows, Tardiness and Politics with Jimmy Kimmel
Axl Rose proved to be an extremely charming guest during his first "live" television interview in two decades, gamely joking with late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel about Guns N' Roses' lineup changes, his penchant for starting concerts late, and his less-than-stellar voting record.
Kimmel joked during the show's opening that Rose hadn't arrived yet, and the often-controversial singer played along during his segment by declaring his timeliness a "miracle." He did non-defensively point out that "we've been doing a lot better lately" in terms of on-time concert arrivals, and expressed excitement about the band's upcoming Las Vegas residency.
Rose also bravely declared that he was not ashamed of his old and much-maligned cornrows hairdo, and revealed the reason he once dressed up as an ear of corn for Halloween: "We have a saying in Guns N' Roses, when somebody's gonna get yelled at, they're gonna get the corn. So one year I was the corn."
He also stated that his most fun time in the band has been in the last five or six years, joked that keyboardist Chris Pittman was the next in line to be fired from the group, and spared no superlatives while singing Neil Young's praises. (Rose and Young recently performed together at the Bridge School benefit concert.)
If there was anything to criticize about Rose's appearance -- oh, did we mention he treated the whole audience to burgers and hid free concert tickets under some lucky audience member's seat, just like Oprah? -- it came when he revealed that he doesn't vote very often. He explained that his home state of California tends to lean towards his natural Democratic tendencies, rending his ballot a bit redundant.
Watch Axl Rose's Interview with Jimmy Kimmel
Part 1:
Part 2: