Where is Izzy Stradlin? Is He Writing New Music?
What is going on with the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist?
What is he up to these days? I was asking myself these questions not long ago just by looking at a guitar in a guitar store that reminded me of him. It was one from the Gibson ES series that he played at the beginning of The Ju Ju Hounds. There are lots of pics from that period; it’s a tobacco sunburst one. Never mind. It was not only that. If we look at what other current and former members of GnR are doing, the question becomes even more serious.
Slash is on tour for his new blues solo album, although it was canceled due to a loss in the family. Duff released a solo album this year along with a pro-shot live concert and is expecting a tour in the fall. Dizzy Reed announced a new solo album with a single. Matt Sorum is releasing Velvet Revolver’s Contraband anniversary edition. Even Axl— I mean, Axl is Axl, but we at least got these new GnR songs in the last three years. We did this unique (weird) review of those four songs so check that our as well.
So, what about Izzy than? What is he doing? The last time he appeared in the news was when he was talking about the reasons why he wasn’t a part of the GnR reunion. But that was a long time ago now. Time flies, you know. That’s why I asked good people on Reddit to tell me if anyone has seen anything or heard anything from him. And people on Reddit never disappoint.
People started talking about how Izzy was the coolest dude from GnR, always lurking at the back of the stage. One Redditor said Izzy had a YouTube channel called ClassicRockStuffs, but he deleted all the videos when channel became popular!?
However, there was one commentator who left some real news about Izzy along with a source attached to it. He wrote that Izzy was spotted backstage at a Rolling Stones concert back in May, chilling and saying he is writing new music. All that was confirmed, or better said, revealed by Rolling Stones backing singer Bernard Fowler on episode #457 of the Appetite for Distortion podcast.
If this is true, it would be the best possible way to get Izzy Stradlin back into the world of music because his last solo record, “Wave of Heat,” was released back in 2010. Fourteen years of silence, fourteen years of pain—kind of a thing? Sounds familliar? Anyway, it is too long, although he did release some singles back in 2016: “Walk’ N Song,” “F.P. Money,” “To Being Alive,” and “Call Me The Breeze.”
Now, I know some people are going to say, “He is in a great place and doesn’t need to release new music.” I get that, but I don’t agree. A musicians should make music, and that’s it. Period. We know Izzy as such, and we want Izzy back as just like that. Let’s hope all this is true and he comes back soon because, you know, the rock music world misses him, and it’s not the same with and without him, that’s for sure!
