Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro recently appeared on the Appetite for Distortion podcast and revealed his funny story with Axl Rose when they performed the song ‘Oh My God.’
Although this may surprise you, Dave Navarro’s connection with Guns N’ Roses goes way back. In the early 1990s, Guns N’ Roses rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin had decided to leave the band, and they were looking for a new guitarist. At the time, Navarro was one of the first names who had been considered to replace Stradlin.
Axl Rose really wanted Dave to join Guns N’ Roses, and they would daily discuss what they could do together. However, Navarro didn’t appear on the audition day due to his struggle with drug addiction. Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity to perform live with Axl Rose, but luckily, he got another chance when Rose invited him to play in the ‘End of Days’ soundtrack.
Dave Navarro recalled this special moment during the conversation and stated that he felt delighted and excited when Axl Rose invited him. They started recording in the studio, but Navarro couldn’t see Rose around. Then, suddenly, Dave heard Axl’s voice coming from the background, which shocked him.
Apparently, Axl Rose was at home but didn’t want to miss the session. Hence, he listened to the recording session from his speakerphone, which he also used to give Dave Navarro directions. The guitarist found this very weird and funny but noted that it made that recording session unforgettable.
Here are Dave Navarro’s words on his strange recording with Axl Rose:
“Axl called me one day and said, ‘I’m working on this record. It’s for the ‘End Of Days’ soundtrack. Do you wanna come and play guitar on it? And I was, like, ‘Fuck yeah! Of course, I do.’ So I was given a location and a time and a studio and I showed up with my gear. And there were 10 people in the studio.
And I was, like, ‘Where’s Axl?’ And they were, like, ‘He’s coming. He’s coming. But let’s get started anyway.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ And I sat down and I plugged in. They played the track. I said, ‘This fucking sounds great.’ And I recorded a couple of passes. And then, I shit you not — I swear — all of a sudden I hear in the background, ‘Yeah, that sounds really good. Why don’t you keep that one?’
And what it was Axl on speakerphone from his home listening in the whole time. I was, like, ‘What?’ It was just Axl’s voice out of nowhere — like out of a fucking speaker. Then he kind of gave me some direction, and I was, like, ‘Okay, cool.’ And then we were stoked, and that was that. It was very strange but I love that it was strange. You know what I mean? Because it makes the story so much juicier and more fucking just memorable and fun.”
Below, you can watch the part Navarro talked about the ‘Oh My God’ recording.
