Gerry Gittelson at Metal Sludge recently caught up with former GUNS N' ROSES manager Alan Niven for an exclusive behind-the-scenes interview. An excerpt from Part 2 is available below. Go to this location for Part 1.

Metal Sludge: I thought I remember Guns N’ Roses touring with Aerosmith, that tour was a key turning point for the band. That’s when they really got big.

Niven: "Axl actually wanted to cancel that tour. He did not want to do it. By that time, it was very evident he had a form of stage fright. He’s a singer, and singers who have to go out there three, four or five times a week, they invest their spirit in what they’re singing. The guitar players have something in their hands. They’re not naked. The singer is out there naked, and sometimes that’s hard to do. Obviously, Axl still has problems with it because he’s still late."

Metal Sludge: So what happened?

Niven: Well, I empathized with him, but I told Axl, 'Look, I signed five individuals collectively as Guns N’ Roses. My responsibility is to the entity, not the individual,' but he called back again and said he just could not do it. Now, even though there were some days when Axl would scream at me, that kind of stuff would usually just go in one ear and out the other. But this time, he was very quiet and reasoned. I always listened carefully when he was low-key and soft. He said he just couldn’t do it.

So this is what I did: I had been in Vegas for a GREAT WHITE show the previous weekend, and I brought some dice home from the Aladdin. You know, the big red and white dice. I had been reading this novel, and the main character had this neurosis about making decisions, and the way he surrendered to the decision was to literally throw the dice. So I remembered that book, and I pulled out the dice, and I gathered everyone in the office together, and I said, 'Look, I’m going to throw these dice. I’m going to weight it in Axl’s favor, so a one-through-10, he does not do the tour and we cancel.'

I threw an 11.

So the next thing I did, I had the rest of the band fly out to Detroit for the first date, all our gear, everything. Axl had no choice, he had to do it. He was really mad at me. He didn’t talk to me for a long time after that."

Click here for the complete interview.