Your Illusion Tour, which ran for over two years and visited 27 countries, and the release of cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?" in November 1993, the band began to write new material. Relationships between band members began deteriorating, however, and the future of Guns N' Roses was in doubt. As members turned focus to their own side-projects tensions began to grow. Gilby Clarke was the first to leave the band, reportedly being fired in June 1994. On October 30, 1996, it was announced that lead guitarist Slash had officially left the band, after having not been involved since 1995 due to a poor relationship with vocalist Axl Rose. Drummer Matt Sorum was fired from the band after an argument with guitarist Paul Tobias, and Duff McKagan became the last member to leave in 1997. With only one remaining original member, Axl Rose, and one other member from the "Use Your Illusion" lineup, Dizzy Reed, Guns N' Roses began the search for new musicians, while the former members continued with their respective solo and band careers, with Slash, McKagan and Sorum later forming Velvet Revolver with Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland in 2003. Robin Finck became the band's lead guitarist in 1997, followed shortly the next year by drummer Josh Freese and bassist Tommy Stinson. Finck left the band in 1999 to rejoin his former band Nine Inch Nails, before the band recorded and released their first new song in six years in the form of "Oh My God". A number of changes to the band occurred in 2000, including the departure of Freese, the hiring of lead guitarist Buckethead and drummer Brain, and the return of Robin Finck. Along with these changes came the news that Guns N' Roses were planning a tour in the summer of 2001, and would be playing at the Rock in Rio festival in January. Warm-up shows The first warm-up show for the upcoming tour of Europe was announced in December 2000 as a New Year's Day performance at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. It was also rumoured that the long-awaited Chinese Democracy would be released in June 2001, for which the scheduled European Tour would be promotional. Guns N' Roses – then composed of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarists Buckethead and Robin Finck, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias (who joined in 1994 to replace Gilby Clarke), bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Brain and