McKagan and Sorum as well as former Gunners Slash and Izzy Stradlin formed a new band last year which has been codenamed �The Project�. The band has been auditioning lead vocalists since their inception. Originally Josh Todd of Buckcherry fame was the rumored to be the favorite for the job but that apparently fell through and Todd went on to form a new band called Shotsfired. 

Travis Meeks of Days of the New, Kelly Shaefer from Neurotica and former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach as reportedly the frontrunners for the lead vocalist slot, however the members of the project keep looking and have even signed on to produce a reality based TV show for VH1 of the ongoing auditions. 

A couple of the former GNR members, McKagan and Sorum recently broke their silence about Axl Rose�s current Guns N Roses incarnation which includes guitarist Robin Finck, bassist Tommy Stinson, guitarist Richard Fortus, guitarist Buckethead, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia .  

Last week Yahoo�s Launch media ran a short Q&A with McKagan and Sorum and were asked what they thought of the current Guns N� Roses. McKagen responded, "It's not Guns N' Roses, you know? [Axl] should have probably done his own solo record, In  saying that, also, I do wish him the best. We went through a lot together and I still have a lot of love for the guy. It's a shame that there's a...he's doing a lot to...there's a lot of bitterness..." 

"Does Paul McCartney go around calling himself 'the Beatles'?" asked Sorum. When McKagan answered no, Sorum said, "There you go." 

"But he's doing what he thinks is the right thing," McKagan added. "You can't fault a guy for that, but it's not Guns N' Roses."

more on Guns N' Roses, Slash .