Axl Rose

With a five-record deal having just disintegrated, Andy Prieboy was in a creative funk in 1996. So the singer-songwriter, best known as front man for the critically acclaimed L.A. band Wall of Voodoo and for the soul-searching AIDS-themed song "Tomorrow, Wendy," started goofing with some heavy metal progressions on the piano. Suddenly his thoughts turned to his neighbors, who could often be heard composing bad Broadway-style musical pieces.

Dressed in an impeccably tailored business suit, Michael Koffler, general manager of the Hyatt on the Sunset Strip, backs down a hallway on the hotel's 10th floor. Thick artificial smoke chokes the air. Shuffling before Koffler is a gaggle of local travel writers who stop whenever he does. Koffler stops. "This floor is rather steeped in history," Koffler says, glancing at a card tucked in his left hand.

Guns N' Roses is history. At least, that was the conventional wisdom a year ago. The L.A. hard-rock band seemed on the verge of splintering, and music-industry pundits wondered whether there was even a place for its metal-rooted music among newer alterna-rockers like Alice in Chains and Nine Inch Nails. But as the saying goes, history repeats itself.

Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash may hail from one of rock's most volatile bands, but in the Hamburger Hamlet on the Sunset Strip there are no riots, groupies or shattered whiskey bottles around the 29-year-old musician. Slash, who's often portrayed in photos and videos as a dark and sleazy character, is laid-back as he smiles and tells jokes. He avoids eye contact the way shy people frequently do, but he graciously acknowledges fans who stop by the table to say hello.

Axl Rose's ex-wife sued the lead singer of the rock group Guns N' Roses in Los Angeles on Monday for assault and battery, sexual battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Erin Everly's Superior Court suit charges that Rose repeatedly beat Everly throughout their four-year relationship by punching, slapping, shoving and kicking her. The suit also says that Rose spit on Everly, hit her with "foreign objects" and dragged her by the hair.

Guns N' Roses is considering removing its version of a song by mass murderer Charles Manson from future copies of its new album, sources close to the Los Angeles hard rock group said Tuesday. The composition, "Look at Your Game, Girl," which appears on "The Spaghetti Incident?" album released last week, has come under fire from law enforcement and victims rights groups, as well as from the head of the band's record company, entertainment mogul David Geffen.

Guns N' Roses is considering removing its version of a song by mass murderer Charles Manson from future copies of its new album, sources close to the Los Angeles hard rock group said Tuesday. The composition, "Look at Your Game, Girl," which appears on "The Spaghetti Incident?" album released last week, has come under fire from law enforcement and victims rights groups, as well as from the head of the band's record company, entertainment mogul David Geffen.

"MAKIN' F@*!ING VIDEOS, PART I and II" Guns N' Roses Geffen Home Video * * * Critics may disagree about Axl Rose, but Beavis and Butt-head have it right: "Axl's cool." That's because in the copycat world of hard rock, he's someone who always does exactly what he wants. Last year's video for "November Rain" was a sprawling, unwieldy affair, but the independence and defiance in that very excessiveness made it one of the year's most memorable videos.