New Slash Interview- Slash and Burn,

[Grouse]

Slash is a chatty guy.

Unless the subject is a guy named Axl.

Articulate and with surprisingly clear diction, the former Guns N? Roses, current Velvet Revolver guitar slinger will wax poetic about most anything. Renowned for his face-obscuring curly locks and top hat, mouth-dangling cigarette and iconic riffs, Slash -- who plays Avalon on Wednesday with Velvet Revolver -- will tell you straight up that the guitars on Revolver?s debut CD were no good and that it was the press, not the music, that put grunge and metal at odds.

But he won?t talk about his former colleague, Guns N? Roses frontman Axl Rose.



Faster than you can say "take me down to the paradise city," Slash will firmly dismiss any questions about Rose and their past, current or future relationship.

"Sorry, but every time I talk about Guns N? Roses it comes back to bite me on the ass," he said from a tour stop in Chicago. "It was a band that I was in. I?m very proud of it. But let?s move on, thanks."

In the decade since GNR?s downfall and the Axl/Slash feud the media loved to fuel, the guitarist has gotten on with his life and career. With fellow former GNR bandmates bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum, former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland and unknown Dave Kushner, Slash formed Velvet Revolver in 2002.

Now squarely focused on the present, Slash is giddy -- or at least as giddy as a guy named Slash can be -- about the band?s guitar-heavy sophomore album, "Libertad," due in early July. After Revolver?s debut, which suffered from acute guitar anemia, Slash promises this one goes to 11.

"On the last record, the producer we worked with, Josh Abraham, didn?t know how to record guitars," Slash said. "We were lucky we got any guitars on the record. I never really used to say anything about that, but the guy that we worked with, who is a great guy, he had no experience recording guitars.

"It was hard to find someone for the second album, but we got Brendan O?Brien of Pearl Jam, STP-producing fame. He?s the only guy we found that had any rock ?n? roll chops. He had the perfect attitude for it."

But more of the guitarist?s famed Gibson Les Paul doesn?t mean "Libertad" sounds like a GNR/STP mash-up. Anyone expecting that will be disappointed.

"We?re not here to fulfill anyone?s dreams of what this band is supposed to be," Slash said. "There were a lot of expectations for us in the beginning, but I don?t give a s---. The first record, regardless of if there are enough guitars on it or not, is a cool f------ record. This one is even better."

Just to make sure the band stays one step ahead of fan predictions, Revolver has decided to buck the music industry suits by touring clubs and European festivals before the new CD hits stores. Slash describes the move as a mix of ignorance and genius.

"We like the challenge of going out and playing five or six songs off a record nobody has heard," he said, letting loose a gravelly chuckle. "We?ve got people telling us, ?But, but, but (fans) won?t know the material.? That?s the whole f------ point. We just want to go out and play."

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/...ticleid=1001261

[D]

Great interview and Slash is getting smart.

Anything he says about Axl will get turned around ultimately. He will either be hating Axl or hating Scott by complimenting Axl. So its best to just no comment everything.


Hopefully Libertad will feature Slash at his best.

[snakepipero]

"We?re not here to fulfill anyone?s dreams of what this band is supposed to be," Slash said. "There were a lot of expectations for us in the beginning, but I don?t give a s---. The first record, regardless of if there are enough guitars on it or not, is a cool f------ record. This one is even better."


http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/...ticleid=1001261

That's one of the main reasons because i like so much this fuckin' band, they do what they want to do and that's all they do  , they simply rock and WHAT A WAY TO ROCK!!!!!! 

[Jim Bob]

I applaud Slash for refraining from talking about Axl or GnR.  his comments about a reunion a month or so ago was just plain unnecessary.

[stolat]

Thanks for clearing that up Slash. Means a  lot. Now go out and be the best damn guitar player that you are!!!

[mrlee]

lol at that slash interview how they slash wont ever talk about gnr.

yeah right, this is the first interview where he hasnt gone into it.

[stolat]

There will always be a first time.......

[DeN]

"On the last record, the producer we worked with, Josh Abraham, didn?t know how to record guitars"

now i understand better 

[Deez Nuts]

What amazes me is Slash didn't stand up and say that he wanted his guitars recorded better BEFORE contraband was even realeased.  If Joe Fan can instantly hear it lacking, why couldn't Slash?  Oh well, this is a dead horse debate about the guitars on contraband.  Hearing alot of the reviews lately gets me pumped for Libertad. 

I think it's cool that Slash is honest about it though now. 

[estebanf]

"On the last record, the producer we worked with, Josh Abraham, didn?t know how to record guitars"

now i understand better 

I wonder WHEN he reached that conclussion... I mean, why releasing an album if you know that your producer doesn't know how to record guitars? Why not hiring another more competent producer BEFORE releasing the album? Maybe they dont care if they make disposable albums or not... ''at least we have an album''

[Intercourse]

wonder WHEN he reached that conclussion... I mean, why releasing an album if you know that your producer doesn't know how to record guitars? Why not hiring another more competent producer BEFORE releasing the album? Maybe they dont care if they make disposable albums or not... ''at least we have an album''

Why did U2 release POP and then savage it's sound a few years later?
Why did GNR record 'Since I don't have you'?
Hindsight is always 20/20.

[estebanf]

wonder WHEN he reached that conclussion... I mean, why releasing an album if you know that your producer doesn't know how to record guitars? Why not hiring another more competent producer BEFORE releasing the album? Maybe they dont care if they make disposable albums or not... ''at least we have an album''

Why did U2 release POP and then savage it's sound a few years later?
Why did GNR record 'Since I don't have you'?
Hindsight is always 20/20.

GN'R always wanted to record an album of punk rock covers...  VR always wanted to record an album with a producer that doesn't know how to record guitars?? 

[Booker Floyd]

GN'R always wanted to record an album of punk rock covers...  VR always wanted to record an album with a producer that doesn't know how to record guitars?? 

GNR also put out an album that some of the members werent completely satisfied with:

"I gave into a lot of pressure on Illusions both internally in Guns and externally in the press, those albums suffered as a consequence..." - Axl Rose

It happens sometimes, apparently.

[ShotgunBlues1978]

GN'R always wanted to record an album of punk rock covers...  VR always wanted to record an album with a producer that doesn't know how to record guitars?? 

GNR also put out an album that some of the members werent completely satisfied with:

"I gave into a lot of pressure on Illusions both internally in Guns and externally in the press, those albums suffered as a consequence..." - Axl Rose

It happens sometimes, apparently.

It's not really the same situation, Axl thinking that the UYI albums needed more work is not the same as a guitar band going out and hiring a producer who apparently doesn't know how to record guitars.

Call me crazy but you would think that a guitar driven band VR would have the clout, label support and common sense to hire a producer that has experience working with other guitar driven bands.  It sounds more like an excuse for why Contraband wasn't as good as it could have been.  After listening to the Libertad samples, it doesn't sound like the band has progressed that much from Contraband anyway

[D]

Yeah u don't get much more punk than "Since I Dont Have You"

[Ines_rocks!]

thanks for the interviews 

lol or either Slash was not in a good mood when he did these interviews or we?re beginning to see a new Slash that ain?t that open in interviews as he was before...