Slash Interview - Miami Herald

[FunkyMonkey]

No looking back for hard rock vets

Posted on Fri, Oct. 05, 2007

BY ROBERTO SANTIAGO

Hailed as one of the world's great rock guitarists, Slash, lead ax man for Velvet Revolver, was both honored and perplexed when he was knighted ''Riff Lord'' earlier this year by Metal Hammer, a British headbanger magazine.

''I was surprised, I was honored, and then I didn't know how seriously to take it,'' said Slash, 42, whose 4-year-old hard rock band, Velvet Revolver, plays the Sound Advice Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach on Sunday.

Fellow hard rockers Alice in Chains -- which had hits in the 1990s when Slash was with Guns 'N Roses and Velvet Revolver's lead singer, Scott Weiland, fronted Stone Temple Pilots -- opens the show at 7 p.m.

''Although we would love to just play material from our 2004 and 2007 albums, having Alice in Chains doing their '90s cuts does require us to give fans at least one GNR cover,'' said Slash, who will be strumming and picking a double-neck electric acoustic as Weiland softly croons the melodic ballad Patience.

In contrast, the STP cover will be the spirited, soulful angst of Interstate Love Song, Slash said.

While modest about the ''Lord'' tribute, Slash is responsible for creating some of hard rock's best riffs over his 20 year professional career -- Sweet Child O' Mine,and Welcome to the Jungle for Guns 'N Roses; and Slither and Fall to Pieces for Velvet Revolver.

Slash said the songwriting process for Velvet Revolver's recent sophomore release, Libertad, often involved him and bass player Duff McKagan (also of GNR) composing riffs and bridges to fit Weiland's lyrics.

''Sometimes Duff would do the riff and I would do the bridge and vice-versa,'' said Slash, who says he doesn't agree with criticism that the album, which debuted in July, embraces a softer modern rock sound.

''We weren't as angry as we were the first time,'' said Slash. ``With Contraband we felt as a band made up of former members of GNR and STP that we had something to prove. So we came out loud, hard and angry. But with Libertad it was just about the music and that we are more comfortable with each other as a band.''

Nonetheless, Slash is at his best when lost in power chords and feedback-sustaining notes. Slash says his signature wild, cathartic, fast vibrato technique is inspired by British rockers of the '60s and '70s.

Curiously, this July also marked the 20th anniversary of the release of GNR's Appetite for Destruction, which has sold 26 million copies since 1987.

Reflecting on his once-close friendship with GNR front man Axl Rose, Slash expressed a sense of loss that the good times never last forever.

''There is nothing bad between me and Axl -- it is just a dead relationship,'' said Slash, who said the two met in 2005 to iron out old business matters.

"When I quit GNR, I never looked back. It's all Velvet Revolver now.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/234/story/259817.html

[Jim Bob]

wait so now he did meet with Axl?   

first there was no truth to any of it

then he went up there and spoke with Beta

and now he ironed stuff out with Axl?

Which is it?

[AdZ]

It's: Slash is a liar but that's okay!

[Ali]

Well, he said just the other day that he did lie about going to Axl's house initially.  Though that part about actually meeting with Axl is obviously false.  He even admitted he met with Axl's assistant.

Ali

[oldgunsfan]

thats a reporter putting words into Slash's mouth; not a direct quote....people look for any reason to bash slash

[MikeD]

Yeah sure the reporter lied. What the fuck ever. I guess it's every reporter out there lying. Naw, it couldn't be that Slash can't keep his story straight. (And I like Slash, but that doesn't mean he's full of shit.)

[lynn1961]

Thanks for posting the interview, FunkyMonkey!

Why does everything have to come down to the same old, stupid argument? 

[SpiritDave]

wait so now he did meet with Axl?   

first there was no truth to any of it

then he went up there and spoke with Beta

and now he ironed stuff out with Axl?

Which is it?

They did not quote Slash saying that he met Axl.  That was the journalists own words.  Read it again man.  You gotta ignore everything outside the quote marks.

[SpiritDave]

Yeah sure the reporter lied. What the fuck ever. I guess it's every reporter out there lying. Naw, it couldn't be that Slash can't keep his story straight. (And I like Slash, but that doesn't mean he's full of shit.)

LOL.  No... no one said the reporter lied ... the reporter is writing his article... he just has the facts wrong.  If the reporter was lying, he'd have said "Yeah, me and Axl met up" says Slash.  But he didn't.  He wrote it outside quotes.  Remember... the article wouldn't have been written when Slash was in the room!  lol.  Get your facts right man

[Locomotive98]

wait so now he did meet with Axl?? ?

first there was no truth to any of it

then he went up there and spoke with Beta

and now he ironed stuff out with Axl?

Which is it?

They did not quote Slash saying that he met Axl.? That was the journalists own words.? Read it again man.? You gotta ignore everything outside the quote marks.

Its sad isn't it when people are so quick to attack Slash that they don't even think and make themselves look stupid. Its always the same culprits as well. You'd think they'd have learned by now.

Asides from that, its a good interview. Its always good to read interviews from from Slash etc.

[cfcsfc]

I was wondering what was going to be jumped on and nit-picked to show how 'Slash liez!!' and as soon as I came to the penultimate paragraph I spotted it.
Read it- Slash didn't say that- the reporter did, he was paraphrasing probably, but it wasn't Slash's words.

Anyway, the way he described his relationship with Axl is probably the most well put- dead. Nothing bad nor good, just nothing.
And I'm glad to see that he's totally dedicated to VR

[estrangedpaul]

wait so now he did meet with Axl?? ?

first there was no truth to any of it

then he went up there and spoke with Beta

and now he ironed stuff out with Axl?

Which is it?

The fact its not in quotes leads to be believe it was an assumption the writer made based on something Slash said about visiting the house: Beta did say it was her Slash met.

[CSS]

It goes both ways, I suppose.

He actually have said that he talked with Axl and his "assistant".

But who cares? It's old.

[ppbebe]

It goes both ways, I suppose.

He actually have said that he talked with Axl and his "assistant".

Axl said he hadn't talked with slash for 10 years at korn party in jan 2006.
subsequently to this it was also reported that slash spoke to the same effect.

[CSS]

Well, I don't know what happened at all.

I'm just "quoting" what Slash said, and it's not up to me to decide whether it's true or not.

[ppbebe]

Well, I don't know what happened at all.

I'm just "quoting" what Slash said, and it's not up to me to decide whether it's true or not.

I know.  neither does slash, it seems. 

[MikeD]

Yeah sure the reporter lied. What the fuck ever. I guess it's every reporter out there lying. Naw, it couldn't be that Slash can't keep his story straight. (And I like Slash, but that doesn't mean he's full of shit.)

LOL. No... no one said the reporter lied ... the reporter is writing his article... he just has the facts wrong. If the reporter was lying, he'd have said "Yeah, me and Axl met up" says Slash. But he didn't. He wrote it outside quotes. Remember... the article wouldn't have been written when Slash was in the room! lol. Get your facts right man

You're right, my bad

[isa]

what is it? , first he said he didn't, Axl said he did. Then that he talked with his assistent, n now the both of them actually talked.

[Ines_rocks!]

god... who cares?

[Jim Bob]

I was wondering what was going to be jumped on and nit-picked to show how 'Slash liez!!' and as soon as I came to the penultimate paragraph I spotted it.
Read it- Slash didn't say that- the reporter did, he was paraphrasing probably, but it wasn't Slash's words.

the reporter said they met which would mean Slash told him they met.   Paraphrasing or not.     We know the truth anyways, its just silly that this comes up in almost every interview he does and its always something different that happened.