ᴀɴᴀꜱᴛᴀꜱɪᴀ ꨄ︎

ᴊᴀᴘᴀɴ

Slash's pov: [Tokyo,Japan]

Night 1 Japan was the first show of the whole tour,Izzy finally came to his senses and promised Pam he wouldn't take anymore Valium to avoid pissing of Axl more than he already was.I could hardly deal with the Japanese fans they would wait in the hotel lobby and follow us whenever we went anywhere swarming us like the groupies attempt to back home but these Japanese girls were on another level,just before the show we were invited by a radio show to do an interview for Okinawa city,that none of us were really willing to do but Niven said it would be good for publicity and to gain more recognition here.

There were fans,lots of fans but most of America knew who we were to the average person over here we looked like a girls who know how to play instruments.Diversity was so common in Japan so we didn't stick out too much despite being followed around by people holding signs and throwing items at us to autograph.One fan even grabbed Steven as we were walking outside to the cab to take to the radio station,she kissed him like her life depended on it and he kissed her back as cameras flashed around us.

"come on loverboy."Axl grumbled grabbing Steven's shirt and pulling him into the cab as he sat there with a smirk on his face and blushed cheeks.

We were welcomed by the radio hosts who spoke some English as they sat us in front of the mics and began interviewing us.This Japanese radio host trying to say 'Slash' made Steven burst out into laughter.

"who writes all the songs because it is split evenly between you five?"The host asked

"Axl."Steven muttered.

"Well Izzy and I write many of the lyrics but we all write the music when they're not all high of their minds."Axl stated as the host laughed not realising he was being serious.

"I co-wrote a song for this album!"Steven shouted excitedly.

"for the first time."Axl said as Steven rolled his eyes.

"first show tonight,Are you nervous and many of the fans would like to know the setlist."The host asked us all.

"We don't have a setlist."Izzy said.

"We just have a sheet of paper and all the songs we know at the front and just pick them at random."Duff nodded.

"We play a lot of the newer songs from use your illusions obviously but we never play shows without playing 'Sweet child' that I wrote for my girlfriend and 'welcome to the jungle' obviously but this tour is mainly about the new music and showing it to new fans and a new generation."Axl rambled on as I groaned at the thought of playing sweet child again for maybe the hundredth time.

"Slash you don't like sweet child?"the host asked us.

"it's a great song,I meant we wrote it but it's probably the most popular and the most overplayed every time I play the first chords it's just repetitive."I groaned.

"We don't rehearse very often so we never really practice our songs unless we're recording"Axl said,We answered a couple more questions about the new albums until we were shown to the room covered in all the fan art that was submitted as we all chose our favourites as Duff and Steven laughed at some of my work but someone drew Steven as a woman so I got him back.

The first show was amazing,one of my favourite shows we'd played before we started with 'Welcome to the Jungle'.

"Do you know where the f*ck you are Tokyo?"Axl screamed down the mic as the crowd went crazy jumping around and throwing stuff on the stage to us.I found myself more worried about dodging bras being thrown at me than actually worrying about my performance.

I always made sure to glance to my left as I'd see Anastasia in the wing of backstage either cheering me on or dancing,she was my muse and it was reassuring to see her. Ana was more passionate about the band than I'd probably ever been,she was so supportive of me and Duff not so much Axl as she'd grown a strong hatred towards him because of her loyalty she felt she owe to Erin.I admired that about her.She was loyal to everyone although she drove me crazy it was comforting that she followed me across the world to watch me play in front of thousands of people.

Night 2 was even better,Okinawa,who we had done the radio show for the previous day was so busy there were bodyguards everywhere kicking people out of the very crowded stadium.There wasn't barrier in front of the stage so my feet were literally in reach of everyone,knowing these Japanese fans I was scared,they tried to cling to us wherever we went.One girl even attempted to climb into the cab with me on the way to the show until Ana slammed the door in her face.I stayed in my hotel room with Ana mostly to avoid any more confrontation with fans for the rest of the week.
Steven didn't mind the attention.I was flattered but it was pretty strange.

The last couple of nights/shows were long and tiring as after a long week we had finally conquered Japan and had enough of the repetition.The new albums were a hit all across Japan.I definitely wouldn't forget this tour,well I wouldn't forget the parts where I was sober which wasn't very often but it was a great start and on the plus side I was introduced to Japanese blow which I managed to smuggle onto the plane to Italy.I didn't tell anyone,not Ana because she would kill me,not Alan because he would also kill me,Axl would just treat me like Steven and Izzy and they'd both probably try and steal it from me.