Hilly got a call from his old friend Danny Heaps, from Geffen Records. He needed a gig for one of their new bands called “Guns and Roses.” He said they were a lot of trouble and unreliable, but he needed them to do something cool. Hilly told Danny that he would love to have them do an in store at the Record Canteen. At the time, CBGB’s Record Canteen….
Hilly asked what the band needed in terms of a performance fee. Danny replied that all they needed was a bottle of Jack and a case of Bud.
On the day Guns and Roses appeared we prepared for the worst. Extra security and barricades were in place. They were tough looking in a metal kind of way, but really polite and seemed surprisingly professional. Their crew set up their gear for an intimate acoustic set. The fans were so happy to see them up close and they knew all the lyrics.
After the set, the band signed autographs and had more drinks. As I was picking up their empties, Slash reached out and put his hand in my shirt pocket. He grabbed my pack of Marlboros, copped a feel, and winked.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked.
He just smiled and asked for a light, so I gave him one.
A fan standing next to me in shock, told me how lucky I was. I just shrugged and said, “I guess.”
She seemed insistent, and finally asked if she could have my shirt. I gave it to her. I was down to a very pretty purple bra when Curtis, threw me a tshirt from behind the bar.
Sal, our doorman had watched this all go down. So in rock and roll spirit, he spent the next five years telling anyone who would listen about that night when Gun’s played and Louise took Axel home.”
To this day people think Axel and slept together – I’ll never tell.CBGB.COM
