Slash Q and A with Ultimateguitar.com

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FrustratedRocka: What are some practice exercises you'd recommend to improve technique? Also, Sweet Child o' Mine was the first song I ever played live. Is it true that you've always disliked that riff?

SLASH: I never disliked the riff, just the song because it was an up-tempo ballad, which I thought was sort of sappy. It?s grown on me since.


Random88: Who are your favourite new bands to come out in the last few years? (I read somewhere that you were a fan of Zico Chain?)

SLASH: Airborne Toxic Event, The Dead Weather, Them Crooked Vultures.


Hakoon1: Which of the songs on your new album are you most proud of?

SLASH: I?m really proud of the whole record. It was a completely different type of experience for me.


Sid McCall: What is the best (or worst, but that's not as fun) thing your management team has come up with for you?

SLASH: Encouraging my online presence, getting me different distributors in different territories. Really, everything having to do with helping me with this record.


aaciseric: Do you have any opinions on the direction that Gibson Guitars is currently going in? As a long time user of Gibsons I was just wondering what you thought of some of the recent designs they've used, as they certainly seemed to take an odd turn under the new CEO.

SLASH: I honestly haven?t paid that much attention to anything other than my own LP?s; but the quality of the new guitars is stellar.


FrenchyFungus: What's the deal with Velvet Revolver at the moment? Someone said the 4 of you had an album written; did any of those songs end up on your new album?

SLASH: We have a lot of new material, which will make the next record as soon as we find a singer.


Ylasto: Slash, is it true you got invited to join Megadeth back in the days before Appetite came out?

SLASH: Not really. Dave & I were pretty tight for a while there & thought starting a new band together would be a great idea. We soon thought better of it.


JohnnySolo: So what advice do you have for bands trying to get signed? In your experience as a professional musician, what are the main do's and don't's for any new band trying to get their music out there?

SLASH: Do not give the label complete control of your material or let them do anything with it that you don?t want to do.


isabiggles: Did you have any worries going into the new album that people would react badly towards the addition of singers who aren't typically viewed as rock singers (like Fergie)? Obviously it's a risky decision but it seems to have paid off from most of the comments I've heard from the album.

SLASH: I knew that I was doing something risky, but I also knew what I was doing. They?re cool songs, not pop at all.


IRISH_PUNK13: Do you really like Guitar Hero?

SLASH: I love Guitar Hero, one of the coolest video games out there. Guitar Hero really exposes young kids to some really cool music they might not have heard otherwise.