I mean, sure, we can agree to disagree, but I believe this is downplaying their friendship a lot. Note Izzy refers to Axl as his best friend, so he’s not just talking about a singer that’s gonna take his music aspirations to the next level. "Izzy was reluctant to be in a band again with Axl and was even talking abt quitting LA altogether." Yet Izzy still came around every time. They only separated when Hollywood Rose was stagnant, and filled whatever spots were available in other bands, according to Steve Darrow. Axl joined LA Guns first because Tracii Guns asked him, and they opened for London, whom Izzy played for. Axl ripped up London's poster because of the beef they had w LA Guns as the story goes, and he and Tracii asked if Izzy wanted to join. He did and quit London, and they formed Guns N' Roses. The rest is history. At the end of the day, it was Izzy's choice.
Steve Darrow, Pamela Manning, Tracii, and even Izzy’s ex-fiancee, to name a few, have confirmed it one way or another that Izzy and Axl were always together. They’ve been sticking together for a long time, so no, absence did not make the heart grow fonder, they genuinely enjoyed each other's company. To reiterate, if you came across one of them, the other was sure to follow. Sure they had their fights (they themselves have been open about it, like the one that led to Don't Cry), but they always found their way back to one another. More fans than there should be act like Izzy was just putting up with Axl or something, no.
As Izzy said in 1989, “It’s been 14-15 years already. I might be the person who knows him the best. Oh, certainly, [Axl’s] a man that invites misunderstandings. But he's a normal guy. At least for me. (laughs). Me and him, we're not exact opposites but, how do I put it, we fit together like puzzle pieces. Sometimes he disappoints me, sometimes I disappoint him. If he's in trouble, I help, and sometimes I need help from him. I trust him. That's what this kind of relationship entails.”
As for the drug use, there was a point when Axl himself dabbled in Heroin, LSD, etc, not enough to ever fully get into it, but still. It started to bother him way later down the line, and it was more directed toward the others, specifically Slash and Steven. When Axl made his Mr. Goddamn Brownstone rant, Izzy was already on his journey to get clean, and was described a few days earlier as “clean and sober” by Marc Canter.
Their friendship got strained after 1990, while they were recording UYI, when Izzy realized that his opinion no longer influenced/moved Axl, which is sad, because for the longest time, they were a team, and if anyone could get through to Axl, it was Izzy.
I personally don't find anything too complicated about their friendship. Their life was chaotic and it ended up dictating their friendship, but it didn't change the fact that they cared about each other (if they didn't, then their relationship would be pretty simple, actually).
Again, we can agree to disagree.
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