SHARING THE STAGE WITH HIS HERO: SLASH TALKS ABOUT TOURING WITH OZZYInterview conducted January 14, 2011 by Jeb Wright
Jeb: You have got to be thrilled to be touring with Ozzy. You will get to see mybuddy Tommy Clueftos, who you played with on American Idol as he is Ozzy?s drummer on this tour.
Slash: Before I hooked up with Brent [Fitz] for my tour I actually called Tommy but he had joined Ozzy. I am thrilled about this tour. I am an old school believer in a great double bill for a rock show. I get to work with Ozzy, who is a good friend of mine, and someone that I respect and has always been a hero to me. To be able to do a concert with him is great. I think it will be a good pairing.
Jeb: Since this will be an Slash/Ozzy show I have to ask, who was more of an influence to you as a young guitarist, Tony Iommi or Randy Rhoads?
Slash: Definitely Tony Iommi. I never signed up for the ?80?s metal guitar thing. Eddie [Van Halen] came out in 1978 and I started playing in 1979. Everybody who came out after that paled in comparison and I just never picked up on that style. I love Ozzy and I do like a lot of the songs that he did as a solo artist. I don?t want to knock any of that but as far a musician goes, and an influence, I have to say Tony Iommi.
Jeb: Do you remember the first Black Sabbath album you bought?
Slash: The first Sabbath album I acquired, I don?t think I bought it, was a greatest hits album. It was We Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll. From that album I went back and bought all of the Sabbath records. Back in the day I didn?t have any money so I would get live records or greatest hits records so I could figure out exactly who it was I was dealing with. Live records are my favorites. I think live records are the best way to deliver a song for a rock n? roll band. I really got hooked on a lot of different bands due to their live records.
Jeb: This tour will really give a lot of people a great chance to check out the Slash band live and see what you are all about.
Slash: It is a killer band. Myles Kennedy is an amazing singer. We do a lot of stuff off of my solo album, which is going over really great. I have to say it is very flattering how well this thing has gone over. We also will pull out Guns stuff and we do some Velvet stuff. It is basically a snapshot of my entire career delivered at maximum velocity and attitude.
Jeb: Will you press record during the tour?
Slash: We have the technology to do that but with this particular tour being only a fifty-minute set with Ozzy then I doubt we will record any of it. After the Ozzy tour we are doing a headlining tour in South America. I might do something then.
Jeb: In one week I will be in Wichita, Kansas to review your solo concert.
Slash: That one will be a two-hour show. Last year we toured for eight months and it was really fucking great. I had not really worked with any of these guys in a band situation before, which is really cool. I didn?t just pull these guys from LA, which is how it usually happens when you do this sort of a tour. We have a really great chemistry. I am going to record this band at some point. I will tell you that this is really the sort of band, and the sort of rock gig, that bands just don?t do anymore.
Jeb: I like the solo album. I really think it is the best thing you have done since Guns n? Roses. I am saying that as a fan of Velvet Revolver and Snakepit.
Slash: I really appreciate that. I had a really great time making this album. It was great to work with all of the people who are on the album, as I love collaborating with other people, and I have been doing that throughout my entire career. It was nice to just see what I was made of on my own and it was nice to be the captain of my own project.
Jeb: Have you written songs in mind for this band?
Slash: I am working on some stuff with Myles right now. At some point, in the not too distant future, we will record it. He is very exciting for me to work with as he is a very talented singer and songwriter.
Jeb: And he is not insane. Between Scott Weiland and Axl Rose you have had your share of crazy singers.
Slash: [Laughter] No, he is not insane. I have to admit that from the first couple weeks of rehearsal before our first show, I realized that there was a likeminded vibe going on between the members of the entire band. We really hit it off right away. I really do consider it a blessing.
Jeb: Ozzy is on your solo album on the song ?Crucify the Dead.? Do you think at any point you will have him on stage to sing it?
Slash: We have rehearsed it over the last couple of days so it is in our repertoire now. Ozzy and I briefly talked about it but we will just have to see what happens. Ozzy is one of those guys who, when he gets his show together, likes to do his thing. He is also very capable of jamming though as I have jammed with Ozzy a couple of times. We will have to see what happens. I am obviously hoping it happens but I just don?t know if it will happen or not.
Jeb: Did the solo album hit Gold yet?
Slash: We have gone Gold and Platinum everywhere but the States. We have not gone Gold here yet. The rock scene is not like it once was. Everyone is downloading songs, especially by rock bands. You just sort of put it out there and live with it. I know everybody has it but who bought it is a whole different thing.
Jeb: Your band mate in VR, Matt Sorum, was quoted as saying there is a bunch of stuff in the can with that band.
Slash: There is a bunch of stuff but I don?t know about saying it is in the can. We have a lot of demos recorded. We have a bunch of material but the whole singer thing is not settled yet. The jury is still out on that one.
Jeb: If I can be blunt with you, what the hell is taking so long?
Slash: Finding a singer for a band like Velvet Revolver, at this point, is not like when we first started, even back then it was a hard position to fill. It is even harder now. We know exactly what we want in this band and there are just not a lot of really amazing rock n? roll singers out there right now.
Jeb: I saw an article yesterday about a town erecting a statue of you. Is your ego still in check? Do you feel deserving or do you feel it is a little embarrassing?
Slash: It is a little embarrassing. I don?t want to discourage them if they really want to do that. You hear about these things through the rumor mill but you don?t really attach yourself to them. You can?t really let things like that go to your head. They want to build a statue of Lemmy, as well as me, in this little town in England called Stoke-on-Trent, which is where we are from. It is really a very small town. Robbie Williams, Lemmy and myself are really the only famous personalities that are from this town, so it is special to them. It is really awesome. I hope to go back over there and actually do a show there this summer.
Jeb: Last one: I talked to Steven Adler recently and he told me that you stole your first black hat?
Slash: He said that he stole it? How could he steal it? We were in the same band.
Jeb: No, he did not steal the look. He said you stole that hat. Like stole it from a store.
Slash: Oh, I stole it. Yeah, I did steal it. I stole a lot of things back then because I didn?t have any money.
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