interview with slash during period leaving gnr

[widevu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJDzHjOy0cI&feature=related

Here is a video from around that era... I think jarmo is right.  I got confused.  Monsters of Rock in 95, budapest with Blues Ball 96...

this is not bluesball but snakepit
and i doubt if it's in budapest

[Smoking Guns]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJDzHjOy0cI&feature=related

Here is a video from around that era... I think jarmo is right.  I got confused.  Monsters of Rock in 95, budapest with Blues Ball 96...

this is not bluesball but snakepit
and i doubt if it's in budapest

Still a good clip... As is this one....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJDzHjOy0cI&feature=related

[Jim Bob]

Honest to GOd u sound like some fookin GNR noob who only discovered them in 2002 or something. its people like u that make it impossible for me to enjoy the new band.

u poll 1 million people and I say even members of Finck's family vote for Slash.

its your own stupid fault that you let someone else's opinion effect your enjoyment of music.   how fucking retarded. 

i discovered GnR in 1991, I was 11 years old.   just because i dont bow down and worship that overrated hack doesn't mean shit.

oh by the way, you are bashing people on this board who are actually in the band now.

[Smoking Guns]

Honest to GOd u sound like some fookin GNR noob who only discovered them in 2002 or something. its people like u that make it impossible for me to enjoy the new band.

u poll 1 million people and I say even members of Finck's family vote for Slash.

its your own stupid fault that you let someone else's opinion effect your enjoyment of music.   how fucking retarded. 

i discovered GnR in 1991, I was 11 years old.   just because i dont bow down and worship that overrated hack doesn't mean shit.

oh by the way, you are bashing people on this board who are actually in the band now.

If Slash is an "overrated" hack, what does that make Finck? 

[Jim Bob]

very underrated.  not as well known. 

but seriously, go to a site for another band and ask opinions on your hero.    you will hear a lot of overrated.   just because the guy has a marketable look and became a brand dont mean shit.

[Smoking Guns]

very underrated.  not as well known. 

but seriously, go to a site for another band and ask opinions on your hero.    you will hear a lot of overrated.   just because the guy has a marketable look and became a brand dont mean shit.

I agree.. Shredders are very jealous of him.  They hate the fact they can play circles around him yet he gets all the fame and they never "made" it.  Nobody connects with them.  Their playing is sterile.  Other web sites also really hate Finck and mixed on Buckethead.  True Rock N Roll fans love Slash.  There is a lot of jealousy out there that Slash made it so big with out really bringing anything new to the table.  Some people like to call him a punk rocker or a sloppy player or whatever because his playing isn't filled with sweeping arpeggios and whammy abuse.  Must I go on? 

[Jim Bob]

True Rock N Roll fans love Slash.

i am, and i dont.

maybe its not jealousy, maybe its just personal taste?

[Smoking Guns]

True Rock N Roll fans love Slash.

i am, and i dont.

maybe its not jealousy, maybe its just personal taste?

Okay, what I mean is a neoclassical player is less likely to like Slash than a traditional rock player.

[Hudson]

Who ever says at the present time that Slash is a washed up hack needs to get a reality check. As a matter of fact why don?t you name a guitar player who is more popular right now than Slash? Exactly! Therefore, how can he be washed up? I do not understand the argument behind that statement.

Slash is even more relevant these days than even Axl. I love Axl and he will be back when CD comes out but he has been out of the lime light for 14 years. Even when CD is released and Axl comes out you know he is going to be bombarded with Reunion questions and questions about him and Slash, because Slash gets it from the other end as well. Plus there is absolutely no chance no matter how great CD is and I do hope it is great and worth the wait. Still, it will never ever be more successful than any previous GNR album for the simple fact that the music industry has changed and they will not sell 10 million copies period. Therefore, there will always be that Stigma (at least by the popular media that the original GNR is better than the new GNR for the simple fact that they sold more records). I think that is not completely accurate or fair but that is what will be said and debated.

Even worse is when they compare the new members to the old. The media is going to have a field day with this. Have you heard a riff from the new material like the one in the intro to WTTJ, a solo like the one in SCOM? A drum beat like brownstone or YCBM. What about a base line like Its So Easy?  You think they are going to say Richard Fortus is a better guitar player than Slash. Please! Do you think as talented as BBF is that he is cooler than Slash with his foot guitar? You think they are going to say Frank is better than Steven or Matt. Never! Or that Tommy blows away Duff. Let?s be realistic.

I saw the new line up in 07 and as talented as they are they all fade away in the distance next to Axl. Whereas the originals where all unique individuals that you could not help to be drawn too naturally. The new members will not be respected by the media and will be criticized and compared to the originals for not capturing the essence of GNR which is a blues, rock, punk feel.

Fans will still go to concerts and they will sell records but never like before. This is truly terrible for the new members because they really do not deserve that after all the efforts after all these years.

Slash is everywhere these days. Slash achieved commercial success with VR, won a Grammy, is constantly playing and performing with world renown musicians, at different events, charities, award shows, and festivals, on their records, movie soundtracks, on the cover of video games, signature guitars and amps, you name it Slash is there. On the other hand Axl is finishing up CD and singing on Angel Down with Bach.

Not everything that Slash has touched since GNR has turned to gold, but Axl has only touched Angel Down in the 17 years which has been released. So I guess Axl is washed up, a has been, or a washed up hack. At least arguably speaking Axl would fit the definition a little more accurately than Slash would since Slash is all over the place these days.

I don't think Axl is washed up or a hack. As a matter of fact I think he is a fucking Bad Ass and so is Slash because of what they have achieved and contributed to music together along with a few other guys in the original line up. Whatever the new line up achieves is yet to be scene and is all speculation.

No disrespect to Buckethead, BBF, Richard, and Robin but they will never be able to hold Slash's Jock Strap. Bucket and BBF are shredders and play fast. Big deal so is Steve Vai and Joe Satriani! How many albums have Satriani and Vai sold? Who even knows who they are besides guitar aficionados and some hard core fans. The same goes for BBF and Buckethead. The only reason they are more popular now is because of GNR. Their music even their contributions in GNR will never attain the success and notoriety of anything that Slash has done, not because they are less talented or they suck but because new GNR will probably not even get the airplay that WTTJ, SCOM, NR, DC, PR got.

It has been 20 years since Appetite and fans and critics still praise the riffs and solos of WTTJ, SCOM, PR, not to mention NR, DC, Estranged, etc, etc, etc. Slash is total Package as a guitar player. He plays with feeling and emotion, he knows how to come up with creative and catchy riffs and emotional solos that may not be the fastest or most difficult to play but they always leave you wanting more, he has a stage presence like no other player I have scene, and he is a Guitar Icon plain and simple. 

Bucket and BBF are amazing players but their musical contributions are no where near Slash's regardless of their ability. Even the songs we have heard from the new line up are great songs, but are there any songs that have one of those awesome guitar intros or outros that resonate the moment it is played such as a WTTJ or SCOM? Or a solo that captivates the way Nightrain, SCOM, Its SO Easy, etc. does.

The new music is great because the arrangements sound good as a whole, but I still have not heard anything which I believe 20 years from now will be discussed as one of the greatest riffs or solos of all time. Even Madagascar which i think is going to be a great song does not have that awesome riff or solo like NR, DC, or Estranged. Perhaps this may change with the release of CD, but it yet to be seen.

Until then Slash is still the best and everyone else is just the rest.

[oldgunsfan]

very underrated.  not as well known. 

but seriously, go to a site for another band and ask opinions on your hero.    you will hear a lot of overrated.   just because the guy has a marketable look and became a brand dont mean shit.

he's very good at playing songs other people wrote for him

[oldgunsfan]

Who ever says at the present time that Slash is a washed up hack needs to get a reality check. As a matter of fact why don?t you name a guitar player who is more popular right now than Slash? Exactly! Therefore, how can he be washed up? I do not understand the argument behind that statement.

Slash is even more relevant these days than even Axl. I love Axl and he will be back when CD comes out but he has been out of the lime light for 14 years. Even when CD is released and Axl comes out you know he is going to be bombarded with Reunion questions and questions about him and Slash, because Slash gets it from the other end as well. Plus there is absolutely no chance no matter how great CD is and I do hope it is great and worth the wait. Still, it will never ever be more successful than any previous GNR album for the simple fact that the music industry has changed and they will not sell 10 million copies period. Therefore, there will always be that Stigma (at least by the popular media that the original GNR is better than the new GNR for the simple fact that they sold more records). I think that is not completely accurate or fair but that is what will be said and debated.

Even worse is when they compare the new members to the old. The media is going to have a field day with this. Have you heard a riff from the new material like the one in the intro to WTTJ, a solo like the one in SCOM? A drum beat like brownstone or YCBM. What about a base line like Its So Easy?  You think they are going to say Richard Fortus is a better guitar player than Slash. Please! Do you think as talented as BBF is that he is cooler than Slash with his foot guitar? You think they are going to say Frank is better than Steven or Matt. Never! Or that Tommy blows away Duff. Let?s be realistic.

I saw the new line up in 07 and as talented as they are they all fade away in the distance next to Axl. Whereas the originals where all unique individuals that you could not help to be drawn too naturally. The new members will not be respected by the media and will be criticized and compared to the originals for not capturing the essence of GNR which is a blues, rock, punk feel.

Fans will still go to concerts and they will sell records but never like before. This is truly terrible for the new members because they really do not deserve that after all the efforts after all these years.

Slash is everywhere these days. Slash achieved commercial success with VR, won a Grammy, is constantly playing and performing with world renown musicians, at different events, charities, award shows, and festivals, on their records, movie soundtracks, on the cover of video games, signature guitars and amps, you name it Slash is there. On the other hand Axl is finishing up CD and singing on Angel Down with Bach.

Not everything that Slash has touched since GNR has turned to gold, but Axl has only touched Angel Down in the 17 years which has been released. So I guess Axl is washed up, a has been, or a washed up hack. At least arguably speaking Axl would fit the definition a little more accurately than Slash would since Slash is all over the place these days.

I don't think Axl is washed up or a hack. As a matter of fact I think he is a fucking Bad Ass and so is Slash because of what they have achieved and contributed to music together along with a few other guys in the original line up. Whatever the new line up achieves is yet to be scene and is all speculation.

No disrespect to Buckethead, BBF, Richard, and Robin but they will never be able to hold Slash's Jock Strap. Bucket and BBF are shredders and play fast. Big deal so is Steve Vai and Joe Satriani! How many albums have Satriani and Vai sold? Who even knows who they are besides guitar aficionados and some hard core fans. The same goes for BBF and Buckethead. The only reason they are more popular now is because of GNR. Their music even their contributions in GNR will never attain the success and notoriety of anything that Slash has done, not because they are less talented or they suck but because new GNR will probably not even get the airplay that WTTJ, SCOM, NR, DC, PR got.

It has been 20 years since Appetite and fans and critics still praise the riffs and solos of WTTJ, SCOM, PR, not to mention NR, DC, Estranged, etc, etc, etc. Slash is total Package as a guitar player. He plays with feeling and emotion, he knows how to come up with creative and catchy riffs and emotional solos that may not be the fastest or most difficult to play but they always leave you wanting more, he has a stage presence like no other player I have scene, and he is a Guitar Icon plain and simple. 

Bucket and BBF are amazing players but their musical contributions are no where near Slash's regardless of their ability. Even the songs we have heard from the new line up are great songs, but are there any songs that have one of those awesome guitar intros or outros that resonate the moment it is played such as a WTTJ or SCOM? Or a solo that captivates the way Nightrain, SCOM, Its SO Easy, etc. does.

The new music is great because the arrangements sound good as a whole, but I still have not heard anything which I believe 20 years from now will be discussed as one of the greatest riffs or solos of all time. Even Madagascar which i think is going to be a great song does not have that awesome riff or solo like NR, DC, or Estranged. Perhaps this may change with the release of CD, but it yet to be seen.

Until then Slash is still the best and everyone else is just the rest.

This kind post expanded what I was getting at earlier.....thankfully I didn't have to type it or think it up
great work Hudson

[IzzyDutch]

I always had a feeling that Axl when ready to do that style of album again, would come calling to Slash and didn't want this band to go there.  Also the 2002 album Slash, Duff, Matt, and Izzy wrote is supposed to be a GNR style album.  So who knows.

With the help of statements of JT (Izzy's bassplayer and engineer) and Duff, basically it's made clear that Izzy's Like A Dog album contains ideas that are the same ideas of that 2002 album. Here's what happened: Izzy brought with him the ideas in October 2002. They recorded those songs at Rumbo's (while at the same time Kelly Shaefer was at the rehearsel space waiting for his vocal audition). Slash has called it probably the best instrumental GN'R album, he also said Izzy sang the songs. In his bio there's a pic of the four of them in a rehearsel studio with a capture above it saying 'they might or might have nog been working on a song called 'Snafu'. Which is a track on Izzy's album describing the fucked up drug days in GN'R.

The guys ended up not using his stuff like we all know, but some ideas got thru like the intro riff of Do It For The Kids (same riff on Izzy's 'Bomb', they nicked it Duff said). Then Izzy bailed, now it's April 2003 and Izzy brought those same ideas on cassete (yeah they where in acoustic form ideas on cassette) to his solo band guys where they added their own ideas/arrangements and then it resulted in Like A Dog.

So basically listen to Izzy's Like A Dog and you'll have a good idea what an album of Izzy/Slash/Duff could sound like these days

[Rapunzel]

So basically listen to Izzy's Like A Dog and you'll have a good idea what an album of Izzy/Slash/Duff could sound like these days

Will do!

SNAFU!   

[IzzyDutch]

Izzy has been having it thing for titles like that lately.. Snafu (Situation normal, all fucked up) and also FSO Ragga (Fuck straight off ragga) 

[oldgunsfan]

I always had a feeling that Axl when ready to do that style of album again, would come calling to Slash and didn't want this band to go there.  Also the 2002 album Slash, Duff, Matt, and Izzy wrote is supposed to be a GNR style album.  So who knows.

With the help of statements of JT (Izzy's bassplayer and engineer) and Duff, basically it's made clear that Izzy's Like A Dog album contains ideas that are the same ideas of that 2002 album. Here's what happened: Izzy brought with him the ideas in October 2002. They recorded those songs at Rumbo's (while at the same time Kelly Shaefer was at the rehearsel space waiting for his vocal audition). Slash has called it probably the best instrumental GN'R album, he also said Izzy sang the songs. In his bio there's a pic of the four of them in a rehearsel studio with a capture above it saying 'they might or might have nog been working on a song called 'Snafu'. Which is a track on Izzy's album describing the fucked up drug days in GN'R.

The guys ended up not using his stuff like we all know, but some ideas got thru like the intro riff of Do It For The Kids (same riff on Izzy's 'Bomb', they nicked it Duff said). Then Izzy bailed, now it's April 2003 and Izzy brought those same ideas on cassete (yeah they where in acoustic form ideas on cassette) to his solo band guys where they added their own ideas/arrangements and then it resulted in Like A Dog.

So basically listen to Izzy's Like A Dog and you'll have a good idea what an album of Izzy/Slash/Duff could sound like these days

I bought like a dog off of izzy's fan site and loved it; the production/mixing could have been better; but I could definitly hear the old school GnR influence in some of the riffs; and with the GnR guys doing, could of really polished that off nicely

[marknroses]

Even if a GNR fan can somehow critique Slash's playing (which is like being a practicing Jew/Christian/Muslim and doubting G-D at the same time), you cann't avert your eyes from his performing abilities or his personality and charisma.

He is in my opinion the most gifted guitar performer that there ever was. He was the Axl of guitar playing and together they created the greated front-man, guitarist onstage dynamics in rock history that has yet to be matched by any other tandem.

It sickens me how people can worship Axl alone without remembering who helped prop him up to fame and fortune.

MNW

[marknroses]

How can one be a GNR fan and dismiss Slash? If GNR is a religion, Slash is a major holiday that deserves a day of worship even today with the new band. He has his riffs on 75% of the songs played in shows still and even when the new music is made, he'll have a 25%-50% influence on the way GNR shows sound.

MNW

[Hudson]

^ I could not agree more with Marknroses has stated. You hit the nail on the head. One of the reasons that I believe so many people love Slash aside from his ability to play guitar is the energy, charisma, chemistry, personality, and presence that he brings on stage. It is hard to describe unless you have seen him perform, which most people on this board have seen at least via internet and youtube.

Slash  and Axl give off an attitude when they perform as Marknroses has stated that is also IMHO yet to be matched by anyone in rock history. I would argue no other frontman has equated the energy and attitude that Axl brings to the stage. That is why I enjoy watching Axl perform and beleive that he is no doubt the greatest lead singer ever. His voice, writing ability, stage presence, charisma, attitude, etc... he is the total package. Slash is also the total package, and when you put those two together itss fucking MAGIC!

I am sure there are fans of other bands or even critics that would argue that Axl is not the best lead singer and obviously this is a matter of opinion and not a fact. So it will always be up in the air as to who is the greatest guitarist/lead singer, whatever. Point is that it is undeniable what these two individuals created together and the performances that they had together.

I understand the arguments why people want to see, listen, and support  the new band, I actually think it is well deserved after all the work that they have put in. I can also understand as adults with different personalities, and even more as millionaires with money and ego why Slash and Axl may not have a reunion. However, I will never understand why people who say that they are GNR fans would never want to see Axl and Slash one day perform together again. That is like saying fuck the police they are better without Sting, or fuck Pink Floyd who needs Roger Waters, David Lee Roth is definitely better with his cover band... why would anyone actually want to see him with Eddy again... Eddy is so overated!

I mean even if you think that the new band blows away the old what is everyone so afraid of if the old members would do a tour after lets say one or two years after CD is released, promoted, and toured. What is the big problem with that. You could have the best of both worlds. Instead by your logic you would rather have these people continue to have this anger toward each other after all these years and basically take it to their grave. Why? Fuckin forgive, forget, and move one. It was all because of musical differences, its not like Slash had sex with Axl's sister or killed his dog.

I can't wait to see what CD sounds like when it gets released. But I will always keep my fingers crossed that the Axl and the origial members at least mend their friendship and hopefully see if one day we can all witness the magic of the original GNR and see them perform.