The Beautiful (band) 2006, Frank Ferrer has been a member of Guns N' Roses (replacing Bryan Mantia)—supplying drums on the songs "Chinese Democracy", "Better", "If the World", "There Was a Time" and "I.R.S." on their 2008 album, "Chinese Democracy", and touring throughout the world with the band. After the Beautiful and prior to joining Guns N' Roses, Ferrer also played drums for a variety of acts, including The Psychedelic Furs, Perry Farrell, Wyclef Jean and Tool, among others. The musical style of the Beautiful has been described as "A mix of Jane's Addiction at their most wistful and the broody flowery sway of
Chinese Democracy Geffen had removed "Chinese Democracy" from its release schedule and withdrawn funding, stating: "Having exceeded all budgeted and approved recording costs by millions of dollars, it is Mr. Rose's obligation to fund and complete the album, not Geffen's." Around that time, manager Merck Mercuriadis said the album was close to complete. According to a March 2005 "New York Times" article, production costs for the album had reached $13 million, making it probably the most expensive recording "never made". Mercuriadis dismissed the article, writing in a letter that the newspaper's sources had not been involved with the project for several years.