It must be cool to be a rock star, even a washed up one who is known to be a major PIA. Blic Online has posted the rider (a list of backstage demands) for the “Gun & Roses” – or Axl and the Replacements – show in Belgrade on September 23rd.
Besides a black room decorated with 18 red and 18 white roses (get it, roses?) he also has some very specific demands when it comes to what’s on the menu:
Axl has demanded salt and pepper mills, olive oil, Balsamico vinegar, soy sauce, two bear-shaped tubes of honey, exact brands of white, red wine and vodka, Patron Anejo tequila and Jose Cuervo mixed cocktail drink.
Moreover, the organisers will need to come up with six bottles of Lucky Budha beer and as many bottles of Grolsch and Checkvar beers.
As for non-alcoholic drinks, the rider includes Red Bull, Coca-Cola, 7 Up, a carton of orange juice, as well as Pellegrino mineral water and Smart Water.
Besides fresh fruit – bananas, apples, strawberries, raspberries, water melons, mangos and grapefruits – the band will have at their disposal carrot, celery, cucumbers, various kinds of crackers, seven kinds of cheese, strawberry jam, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, white bread, while the rockers will be enjoy a dinner with the menu comprising roast chicken, two portions of medium rare filet mignon, Cesar salad, four cheeseburgers and a spinach salad.
Not sure I agree on the beer selection and the whiskey is missing, but otherwise I’d say Mr. Rose is a man of good, if not simple, tastes. It would be cool to have someone cater to you like that, no?
Actually, after reading Van Halen’s rider from 1982 (the one with the famous “no brown M&M’s” clause), I’d say Axl’s demands are downright reasonable. And the fact that it doesn’t call for “One (1) large tube KY Jelly” like Edie and the boys did back in the day brings me a strange feeling of comfort.
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Little known fact is the “no brown M&Ms thing was done solely as a check to ensure that the other important demands were taken care of. If they went into the dressing room and saw brown M&Ms they immediately checked the stage set up as they were sure that many of their stage specifications would be missing, and they were correct! Their stage set up was quite technical and if the brown M&Ms were there the stage set up was wrong, 100% of the time. So there you go. Plus who like Brown M&Ms?
I heard the same thing about Van Halen, Don, but the rider itself was 53 pages long, which is crazy.
Do you think Axl insists on the roses because he wants to make sure that they don’t miss the black napkins he’s requested. A man can’t perform if there are white napkins back stage!