DJ Ashba Thinks Buckethead Didn’t Fit Guns N’ Roses, ‘He Took The Coolness Out Of The Band’

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist DJ Ashba recently joined an interview with Antihero Magazine and talked about the time Buckethead was performing with GN’R. He also explained why he thought Buckethead was not a good fit for the aesthetics of the band.

DJ Ashba joined Guns N’ Roses in 2009 and stayed with them as their lead guitarist for five years. He was not only a guitarist but also a huge fan of the band. His dream came true when he was offered to join GN’R. Before DJ Ashba joined, Buckethead was also responsible for the guitar duties.

In 2000, GN’R recruited Buckethead as their lead guitarist and tried working with him. The problem with Buckethead was the chicken bucket on his head that he refused to take off and his mask which he established his persona with. Even if he is in a band or not, Buckethead had adapted to a certain persona and he didn’t try to fit in.

In a recent interview, DJ Ashba stated that even though he loved Buckethead as a guitarist, he thought that he took the coolness away from Guns N’ Roses. Considering the ‘cool’ image Slash established for the band, DJ Ashba didn’t appreciate Buckethead running around with a chicken bucket on his head and criticized him for opposing the aesthetics of the band.

Here is what he said about Buckethead:

“Yeah, I didn’t know what to expect. I was hoping that one-day Slash would come back, and the reason I took the gig is that honestly, I was, no disrespect to Buckethead or anybody, but seeing a guy run around with a chicken bucket on his head, it’s like, to me, that took the coolness out of the band that I grew up loving.

That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to get in there and try to do whatever I could do to get justice, bring back that reckless rock and roll vibe of what Slash was all about and Guns N’ Roses was all about. To me, it was in a sense losing that thing that I loved about the band. And I love Buckethead as a guitarist, no disrespect at all, it’s just, in my opinion, he didn’t really fit the band.”

During his time with Guns N’ Roses, Buckethead not only contributed to ‘Chinese Democracy’ but also focused on his solo career. He was perhaps focusing too much on his solo ventures that he didn’t officially seem to announce he was leaving the band.