Izzy Stradlin: ‘No Involvement’ in Guns N’ Roses Reunion

Reclusive former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin has stepped forward to tell fans that he will not be participating in the band’s upcoming reunion concerts. “At this point in time, I will not be playing at any of the April 2016 GNR shows,” the guitarist said in an e-mail to Rolling Stone. “I’ve also not been in the studio recording or writing with any of the others recently. There is so much speculation, but so very little info, [that] I thought I should reach out.”

Stradlin began communicating with the public via the Twitter account @IzzyStradlin999 early last week. It caused a frenzy in the online Guns N’ Roses fan community, with many speculating on the account’s authenticity. On Tuesday morning, Stradlin confirmed it was him behind the account with a new 20-second video showing the musician singing a snippet of the 1971 Jonathan Edwards song “Sunshine.”

“I know there’s a lot of questions regarding my Twitter account,” he said in a voicemail to Rolling Stone. “But it’s me. I opened the Twitter account. There was just so much speculation going on regarding my involvement and studio recording. There’s so much misinformation, so I wanted to clarify that I’m not in the studio recording with any of the Guns N’ Roses guys. At this point in time, I’m not involved in the actual shows … A lot of stuff [fans] are reading isn’t true.”

Stradlin co-founded Guns N’ Roses with childhood friend Axl Rose in 1985. He played a crucial role in creating their 1987 debut LP Appetite for Destruction and the two Use Your Illusion albums in 1991, but quit the group that same year. The guitarist maintained a low profile over the next 15 years, recording under-the-radar solo albums, but in 2006 he made a surprise appearance at a Guns N’ Roses show and continued to periodically guest with them through 2014. He is the first member of the classic lineup of the group to publicly comment on the reunion.