Aug. 21, 2007
Glam-Metal.com recently conducted an interview with VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash. They sat down with Slash right after his sound check backstage at Darien Lake as he and his band mates were getting ready for a show with Alice in Chains and Kill Hannah. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:
Glam-Metal.com: A couple weeks ago I was at the 20-year anniversary show [of "Appetite for Destruction"] with ADLER'S APPETITE at the Key Club in Hollywood. Duff and Izzy came out and played and I was wondering why you didn't come out to play?
Slash: That whole thing was blown out of proportion. I finally managed to get Steven out of Vegas and cleaned up, back on his drums and all that kind of stuff. Then (to no fault of Steven's) he did his first sort of interview having to do what he was doing and he mentioned that gig. He said that Duff would be there, Izzy would be there, and I would be there. I did say that I would be there. Izzy sort of mentioned that he may go and Duff had no idea and that Axl might be there. And it turned into this glorified GUNS N' ROSES reunion thing all over the world. I didn't want any part of that, because that's not what it was. I was even reluctant to go down there, to be seen there. But I did go down there for a couple minutes to say hi to Steven and never even entered the building; I was in an alley in the back.
Glam-Metal.com: A couple of my friends saw you and said the same thing. I was wondering why you would be there and not come into play?
Slash: There was no way I was going to go up and play. Even Izzy and Duff played separately.
Glam-Metal.com: Actually they did play together on Mr. Brownstone and then Izzy came back out a played separately for a couple of songs later...
Speaking of "Appetite", this was a monumental album that is classified in the likes of AC/DC's "Back in Black", THE BEATLES' "Sgt. Pepper" and LED ZEPPELIN "IV". Looking back at it now, how does it feel that you are part of such an influential album and band?
Slash: The most gratifying thing you can do in anything (there's a lot of gratifying things you can do?) (laughs) in music is to make the record which becomes that key record for a certain time, something that stands out as to be really important to people. I'm a big rock fan. When I was a kid, there were key records from ever since I was born really. Especially, in my teenage years when I really started not to listen to my parents music but started to discover my own stuff. Bands that were out at that time, there were key records from 13 to fucking 19 that were background music to your life. They were really important to the experiences of you growing up. So this became, apparently, one of those records. I think that's the most gratifying thing you can ever achieve as far as making albums are concerned! I feel very strongly and proud of it!
Glam-Metal.com: What can you recall as one of the biggest delusions regarding the music business once you made it to the top?
Slash: I don't really have any. I was pretty much raised around this. I sort of take everything as it comes. I didn't have those. Steven Adler is a great example. He had the dream, like the chicks and KISS kind of rock star fame, the excess and parties and stuff like that. I'm just a musician, so that's always been my thing, just to be able to play what I want to play. Do it with integrity and stick to my guns and do it my way. It's always been about playing. That's all I really ever concentrated on. Everything else that came with it the craziness (yeah, I was pretty fucking crazy.) I didn't have any, "Oh, it was going to be like this or it was going to be like that." Some of it was bigger than I thought it might be. Certain nights it can be so emotionally overwhelming because the audience for a particular reason was into it the way the band was performing. There were key, key, shows in my life that stands out for being that moment. Then, there is a lot of stuff that is like "That's all that?" "That's it?" I sort of like to go with it see how the absinthe flows and what not. The pinnacle moments are those things that have happened and you can't really predict. They are special moments, you know?
Glam-Metal.com: Have you even thought of penning a book on your life experiences?
Slash: It's almost done! I thought about doing it forever, but I didn't want to look like I was getting bored from what I was doing. Then VELVET REVOLVER happened and some people thought if I was going to do it, it's a good time to do it because you have another career started. Then I started realizing the amount of rumors and shit that GUNS N' ROSES has generated in all the books that are unauthorized. I hooked up with this guy and I started to do an autobiography and so it's coming out.
Glam-Metal.com: Any release date?
Slash: I think we will try to get it out in November of 2007. The writing is done and now is just the editing.
Glam-Metal.com: Will you be doing any promos for the book?
Slash: I have to do signings. I think I'm contracted to do 5. It's hard to write a book, because it seems like it's all about me. It's sort of weird. It's got some funny shit in it. It's not really a book that I'm out attacking anybody or venting all my grievances on it or that kind of shit. It does sort of factually tell everything that happened since I started till now.
Read the entire interview at:
http://www.glam-metal.com/slash.html
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