SoHood.com: Were you afraid that without Axl Rose that one might think it would be one-sided , as many others were? (Ie.Vh1 Special)
Paul:  I think it would have been more one sided with Axl on board. Already some people think I wrote an Axl Rose biography. Some guy even suggested I had my head up his ass. Well, not exactly. I'm a huge admirer of the vocalist for many reasons but it's the band as a whole I love and that dates back to before Axl sought sole control, so although the content of the book was focused on Axl a lot, I really did try to be balanced. It's an achievement to portray Axl favorably because so many people do not, so I achieved that, but then certain people think I'm kissing his ass, so you really can't win. Someone will always have something bad to say but then these are people too scared or too talent less to write themselves. Remember: those who don't create, dictate.

SoHood.com: The finger is always mostly pointed at Axl Rose for the band breaking up, what's your thoughts?
Paul:  Well if by the band breaking up people mean getting rid of original members like Slash, Izzy and Duff then of course it was his fault because he realized to make G N'R into the force he wanted he needed to push the others out. He may have done it subliminally at first and the others were too chemically enhanced or dumb to notice but I actually admire him for that. If Slash did not know what was going on that's their fault, not Axl's. And you can see from their other projects they don't have the same ability as Axl, so although he has pushed them all out, bar one, I don't think that really matters. The only people upset by this are those involved and the fans who cannot conceive Guns N' Roses as a band unless it contains Slash, Duff and Izzy. But that viewpoint is so marginalized and simplistic the same people should not even say they are a fan of Guns'. Bottom line is if you don't like or respect Axl you are living in the past as a G N'R fan and should probably move on.

SoHood.com: Did the record labels help you out in anyway?
Paul:  No they all fucking suck and haven't got a clue what is going on. Would have hoped he might get in touch with me, and if he had anything against it I might have heard from his lawyers.

SoHood.com: Axl recently signed to a management company (Sanctuary) do they really know what's going on?
Paul:  They have no idea, or at least say they don't. But I genuinely think they are just praying Axl will put a new product out without really knowing for certain if or when that will be. I mean, when your manager (Doug Goldstein) books a tour without you even knowing then the communication link is severely broken. I believe Goldstein, Axl's right hand man for a long time, is the only one who really knows what is going on in the business side of G N’ R but that doesn't exactly help the legions of very patient fans.

SoHood.com: What's your take on the New Guns N’ Roses, are they a band or just hired guns?
Paul:  At first I wanted to believe they were a real unit, but it's hard to keep that belief when they are being chopped, changed, fired or leaving of their own accord. It seems to me no one has any respect for the Guns' name or Axl Rose bar a very small number of people, Dizzy Reed being one. So when he is not shown respect those people get ousted, Buckethead seems to be someone who used Axl to further his own career and I imagine this kind of disrespect pisses Axl off to the point where it doesn't really matter who is playing guitar. There are thousands of guitarists in the world who can play the Guns' repertoire but there is nobody on this earth who can sing like Axl. It's a shame to see a changing band line up all the time but ultimately it's bound to happen unless the band gets a momentum going like most other groups. i.e. release a record, tour, release a record, tour. When that doesn't happen there is very little opportunity to bond together and get that attitude they used to have - all for one and one for all. But when recording, if Axl is doing all his parts on his own that suggests to me (as does other info) that he is far happier being alone with no one around to interfere. When you start to feel like that there is little chance you are going to develop a group of buddies and go out to be a unit.

SoHood.com: How long did this book take you to complete?
Paul:  About 6 months the first time around. With the second edition it was more like two because most of the work was done, it just needed a thorough checking over and a few well placed additions. One of these is a chapter on Velvet Revolver.

SoHood.com: The detractors in the media believe 'Chinese Democracy' won't ever come out, what do you think?
Paul:  I think it's more than likely it will at some point. Here are my odds:
2005 - 7/4
2006 - Evens
2007 - 3/1
2008 - 7/1
2009 - 12/1
2010 - 33/1
Never - 10/1
If anyone wants to place money with me I will start a book on it!

SoHood.com: The album is set to be the most expensive of all-time, what does that say about Axl Rose?
Paul:  That he is good at spending money! It indicates what many have known all along - that he is a perfectionist, or if you want to be negative that he is indecisive and wasteful. It seems like there has been a lot spent for no real reason yet very few people really know the story of what happened or what is happening so how can we judge whether it's been money well spent or not? All I personally can say is the best records of all time tend to happen naturally, somewhat spontaneously, and get recorded quickly and cheaply. The more you tweak something usually the worse it turns out because you are fighting your instincts and tampering with a product that was possibly better in the first place. If Axl just went with his gut instinct who knows what it would sound like? But then I don't know for sure if his gut instinct doesn't take years to materialize. Ultimately the record, if it is indeed the most expensive ever, has to be 1000% brilliant, if it isn't Axl is going to regret taking so long. And it's a catch 22 because the longer he takes the better it has to be and the more pressure there is on him for a release date and a wonderful album. But then, personally I kind of like this waiting game, the tense debates over if it will ever come out. It's also pleasing to see clueless record companies spending millions on something that could be written off as a bad loss if it goes much longer.

SoHood.com: What next for you?
Paul: I have just finished a biography of AC/DC, which covers a lot of new evidence about the death of Bon Scott. The next book I think could well be on Iron Maiden.