Dirty Honey were recently announced as one of the support acts on Guns N’ Roses’ 2023 North American tour. When we last caught up with the up-and-coming Los Angeles rock band, singer Marc LaBelle told us about a chance meeting he had with GN’R singer Axl Rose.
Guns N’ Roses’ stateside outing will feature rotating support from Dirty Honey, Alice in Chains, The Pretenders, Carrie Underwood, and The Warning, with tickets available here. With Dirty Honey having previously supported GN’R, a bit of backstage confusion led to LaBelle getting a one-on-one sit-down with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band’s iconic frontman.
Along with Dirty Honey guitarist John Notto, LaBelle spoke with Heavy Consequence about the surreal experience. “That was an accident,” he told us in the video above. “It was great. It’s after we opened [for] them in Vegas. He was super sweet, and in very good spirits, and totally was a 180 from all the things you hear about Axl. But he was very nice. We just talked shit for like 20-30 minutes, and I’m very aware of not taking up too much of somebody’s time. But yeah, he was awesome.”
As for how the meeting took place, it was a bit of a Spinal Tap moment that led LaBelle to his conversation with Rose. “The way it happened was crazy. I was looking for [my band], and [I asked] their manager, ‘Where’s the band?’ and he was like, ‘I’ll bring you right to ’em.’ And he walked me to Axl, not my band.”
Notto chimed in, “That was the best part. He was like, ‘You looking for the band?’ And he takes him into the dream scenario… Meanwhile, we’re stuck in the friends and family room eating cold pizza.”
LaBelle went on to share another story involving retired New York Rangers star Henrik Lundqvist and Slash, and how Dirty Honey eventually opened for Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, as one of their first big tours.
Dirty Honey have been working on a follow-up to their 2021 self-titled debut album, sharing images from the studio on Instagram in recent weeks. Watch our interview with Marc LaBelle and John Notto above.
Trouble viewing the interview in the player above? Watch on YouTube.
