"Axl Rose's voice is like fingers on a chalkboard"

Says producer Steve Lillywhite

Steve Lillywhite, who has produced albums for Dave Mathews Band, Phish, Morrissey and The Rolling Stones, declined the opportunity to produce Guns and Roses' "Chinese Democracy".  In a recent interview with KROQ, Lillywhite recounts his meeting with Axl Rose. 

“I was summoned to Los Angeles to meet with Axl Rose, we went for sushi, and then we went to the studio to listen to some tracks and he played me some instrumentals,” Lillywhite said. “I thought, ‘I can understand why he’d want me to work on this.’ And then I said, ‘Do you have anything with vocals on it?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got one song.’ I was listening to it and I thought ‘Oh my God, I’d forgotten how much I hate his voice.’ I’m sorry! To some people, Axl Rose is royalty. To me, it’s like fingers on a chalkboard. Now, He was a very nice guy. We finished the evening – he paid – the next morning, the manager called and said, ‘Steve, you’re in. He thinks your fantastic. ‘ I said “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m the right man for this job.” And that was it and I left it at that.”

Lillywhite admits that he would not have shared his thoughts if Axl didn't wrong him first.  “I wouldn’t be telling this story,” Lillywhite says, “except, the next issue of Rolling Stone came out and it said ‘Axl Rose Turns Down Steve Lillywhite!’ I would have said nothing if he said nothing!”