GUNS N' ROSES guitarist DJ Ashba is featured in a new interview with Craig Mathieson at The Sydney Morning Herald. An excerpt is available below:

''We're a solid band now,'' Ashba says. ''Before that, members were coming and going and it was a different time. We've toured for four years almost constantly and we haven't missed one show since I've been in the band. All that stuff has come to an end and Axl is very inspired.''

Ashba and fellow guitarist Ron ''Bumblefoot'' Thal have become the band's public face, giving interviews and attending meet-and-greet events with fans. It is a small price to pay for being able to play the iconic lead guitar parts for tracks such as 'Sweet Child O' Mine', a song that a teenage Daren Jay Ashba practised religiously on his first guitar.

Ashba's ease within a notoriously fractious band may also stem from his outside business interests. Instead of perpetually obsessing over Guns N' Roses, he plays shows and then focuses on his media consultancy, fashion line and automotive detailing group.

''I always joke that I play guitar for a hobby and that really I'm an entrepreneur,'' he says. ''If you hung out with me at my house you would never know I played in Guns N' Roses. I'm not the guy sitting around patting myself on the back. I don't even like the word 'rock star'.''

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Guns N’ Roses upcoming Australian tour dates are as follows:

March

9 – Perth Arena - Perth, Australia
12 – Allphones Arena - Sydney, Australia
13 – Hunter Stadium - Newcastle, Australia
16 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl - Melbourne, Australia
17 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl - Melbourne, Australia
20 – Entertainment Centre - Brisbane, Australia

On March 9th, Guns N' Roses' June 2012 performance at London, England's O2 Arena will be broadcast via VH1 Classic. Start time is 8:00pm featuring a one-hour G'N'R video block hosted by That Metal Show's Eddie Trunk prior to the concert. The Axl Rose episode of That Metal Show will also be re-broadcast on the night.

The concert film was initially meant to be shown in Europan cinemas back in October 2012 before management pulled the plug. A trailer can be viewed below:

Guns N' Roses played a nine-song intimate and unplugged set on February 13th at the Soho House on Sunset in West Hollywood, CA. The occassion? The after-party for the launch of Tommy Hilfiger's new flagship store on Robertson Blvd.; admission was by wristband only.

Ironically, in 2006 Axl Rose and Tommy Hilfiger were involved in a scuffle in New York City at Rosario Dawson's birthday party at The Plumm Nightclub.

GN'R's setlist was as follows:

'You're Crazy'

'Used to Love Her'

'Welcome To The Jungle'

'Better'

'Sweet Child O' Mine'

'Patience'

'Don't Let It Bring You Down' (NEIL YOUNG cover)

'Paradise City'

'Knockin' On Heaven's Door. (BOB DYLAN cover)

Fan-filmed snippets of 'Paradise City' and 'Sweet Child O' Mine' can be seen below: