New Slash interviews (The Times, Classic Rock)

[Blackstar]

Source (requires subscription):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-guns-n-roses-guitarist-slash-on-30-years-of-hell-raising-m2q9qbkmg

But you can read the full article here:

http://www.a-4-d.com/t3100-2018-08-10-slash-interview-with-the-times

The Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash on 30 years of hell‑raising

Will Hodgkinson

August 10 2018

[...]

We’re meeting in slightly strange circumstances. Guns N’ Roses have granted no interviews during their two-year reunion tour of the original members of Rose, Slash and the bassist Duff McKagan, presumably for fear of someone saying the wrong thing and sending the wheels of this mammoth but delicate juggernaut spinning out of control. But Slash has a riff-heavy album coming out, Living the Dream, with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, and he has a day off before the Reykjavik gig. So here we are, on Slash’s 53rd birthday, talking about his lifetime in rock ’n’ roll while an enormous Samoan man called Kimo waits outside. When you are as wealthy and as recognisable as Slash, you need someone like Kimo.

[...]

Damaged individuals tend to make the most interesting music, but that doesn’t make them the easiest people to be in a band with. I ask Slash to describe the various personalities in Guns N’ Roses. “Now we get into . . . er . . . an area where it’s hard for me to make a description in words,” he says, sounding uneasy for the first time.

“Duff was the responsible one. He answered an ad I put in the paper, showed up at Canter’s Deli in LA, had his own apartment and car, and was kind of jovial. Steven Adler was happy-go-lucky. Izzy was like the Artful Dodger. And Axl is an immensely talented but not very predictable individual. I don’t know what I was about — still don’t — except I wanted to play rock ’n’ roll. Somehow these personalities were drawn to each other.”

[...]

Slash cites Rose’s constant lateness as his own reason for leaving Guns N’ Roses in 1996, after which he formed Slash’s Snakepit (he’s a big snake fan) and then Velvet Revolver, leaving Rose as the sole founder member. Velvet Revolver fell apart in 2008, with Slash citing his own and the singer Scott Weiland’s “chemical issues” for the dissolution. He had a defibrillator fitted to correct a heart conditon resulting from his years of excess and, by the time he formed Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators in 2010 he was clean. That helped to pave the way for the Guns N’ Roses reunion few thought could ever happen.

“There is not a lot for me to say about it except that it’s been a huge f***in’ weight off my shoulders,” says Slash. “As soon as we started the rehearsals Axl and I got past a couple of decades’ worth of bullshit and found the camaraderie again. It was only meant to be two shows and a couple of warm-up gigs. Now we’re touring the world.”

I went to the massive Guns N’ Roses show at London Stadium in 2016 and was amazed to find a band starting on the dot of 7.30pm, Rose and all. “There was a rumour going round that we gave him an ultimatum, but actually Axl showed up on time from rehearsals onward,” Slash says on his lead singer’s new-found punctuality. “It’s a trip for me because we had a lot of issues with that back in the Nineties, but he came in so professional and in great spirits, even after he broke his foot and did the first two shows in a chair.”

Now Slash is touring the world’s biggest stadiums with Guns N’ Roses while doing theatre shows with his own band, whose latest album is filled with the kind of big, heavy riffs that make you want to learn guitar; bluesy, ballsy and exciting. “Doing these two bands is like having a mistress and a wife,” he says. “With Guns N’ Roses there were four and a half leaders [the frequently drugged-out Adler presumably being the half] whereas this is my band but I don’t dictate. I write the music, Myles comes up with the words and we’ll sort out the songs through jamming. It all goes back to my love of live records. I never wanted to sit around and be a soloist. Having a bunch of guys around you and bashing out a song is what makes it rock ’n’ roll.”

[...]

--------------

Another interview, for the upcoming issue of Classic Rock, where he opens a little more about the new music question:

https://www.loudersound.com/news/slash-everyone-would-like-to-make-a-new-guns-n-roses-album

Slash: Everyone would like to make a new Guns N’ Roses album

Slash says that he thinks that everyone in the Guns N’ Roses camp would like to make a new studio album, but due to their touring commitments, they haven’t had the chance to sit down and plan it out yet.

The reunited lineup featuring Slash, Axl Rose and Duff McKagan have been on the road almost constantly on the Not On This Lifetime tour since getting back together in 2016, leaving fans wondering if a studio return was on the cards.

And while Slash says “there’s no shortage of ideas from everybody involved” they still have to properly plan out their future movements.

He tells the upcoming issue of Classic Rock magazine: “When Guns N’ Roses started doing its thing on the Not In This Lifetime tour, then the kind of writing I was doing was actually more tailored towards Guns, because that was the environment I was in. 

“But, then we took the break and I started thinking about doing the Conspirators record.

“When it comes down to it, a riff is a riff. It could work in either context. But with The Conspirators, anything I come up with, Myles Kennedy will come up with something – and that’s why it’s such a diverse record.  

“With Guns, you have no idea where that’s going to go either, so it’s really hard to focus on one or the other, but I feel like while I’m out with Guns I’m thinking about Guns stuff. When I’m out with Conspirators I’m thinking of Conspirators.

“I’ve been doing The Conspirators for eight years now, so there’s a certain kind of rhythm that I’ve gotten into with doing that.  

“With Guns, we’ve just started to touch the surface of what that’s going to all be, so I haven’t really fallen into that groove yet. Right now, there’s more of a question mark around that than with Conspirators.”

Asked if he’s started to write material for a new Guns N’ Roses album, Slash replies: “Well, it’s not been announced because there’s nothing official, so there’s nothing to talk about.

“I think everybody thinks it’s a good idea, and everybody would like to do it. There’s no shortage of ideas from everybody involved, but we’ve been so busy on the road there hasn’t really been time to go in and sit down and go, ‘Okay, we’re going to make a record.’”

Slash is the cover star of the upcoming issue of Classic Rock magazine, which will go on sale from August 21. 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Blackstar

[Georgina Arriaga]

Thank you @Blackstar

Great article. 

When you read that Rose' biological father was murdered and his stepfather was a violent individual...you cannot help to think why he is the way he is.

Interesting, he was trying to promote SMKC but the article was basically about GNR and his relation with Axl. I guess it will be that way, you cannot ignore the big elephant in the room.

[ZoSoRose]

Will Slash be fired for not mentioning Axl's jokes? 

[Tyler Drama]

14 minutes ago, Georgina Arriaga said:

When you read that Rose' biological father was murdered and his stepfather was a violent individual...you cannot help to think why he is the way he is.

Jeez.

[DieselDaisy]

Quote

 

- Axl is a...not very predictable individual.

- It’s a trip for me because we had a lot of issues with that (Rose’s constant lateness) back in the Nineties

 

Reunion over!

[Twinfoot]

Could someone post the whole article? I really don't want to register on that site just to read it 

[Blackstar]

21 minutes ago, Twinfoot said:

Could someone post the whole article? I really don't want to register on that site just to read it 

http://www.a-4-d.com/t3100-2018-08-10-slash-interview-with-the-times

[Twinfoot]

40 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

http://www.a-4-d.com/t3100-2018-08-10-slash-interview-with-the-times

Thank you very much! 

[ludurigan]

Slash is nostalgic for the early years when the five members [with Izzy Stradlin, the rhythm guitarist] of Guns N’ Roses led druggy, poverty-stricken lives with no responsibility for anyone but each other. (...) “It was us against them and we were our only support system,” says Slash, looking amused at the memory. “We found a little storage unit with a sliding door that faced an alley and that was our band lodging. We were in a very different place from the LA glam bands like Poison. “We knew we were the best at what we did, even when we were doing the opening set on a Monday night at the Troubadour. We just had the chemistry, and if that happens once in your life, you’re fortunate.”

 

slash nostalgic?

so maybe there is still a chance for a reunion?

[IncitingChaos]

I wonder if Slash’s album sales will be up on this record due to the reunion. 

[Scream of the Butterfly]

8 hours ago, Blackstar said:

“Doing these two bands is like having a mistress and a wife,” he says.

The voice of experience. 

[tsinindy]

 Can someone please maybe put an asterisk or some other unique alert in the title when one of these interviews produces a relevant revelation of news or information not previously known.  Thanks!

[sidman69]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-guns-n-roses-guitarist-slash-on-30-years-of-hell-raising-m2q9qbkmg

 

Anybody who can unlock this interview can't read the whole thing because they have a paywall. 

[GNRfanMILO]

 

[RussTCB]

1 hour ago, sidman69 said:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-guns-n-roses-guitarist-slash-on-30-years-of-hell-raising-m2q9qbkmg

 

Anybody who can unlock this interview can't read the whole thing because they have a paywall. 

Merged this with a topic someone started on it prior. I think everything you need is in the OP of this thread

[ChristmasFnatic]

WTF. He described the personalities of past members. What about Mellisa, Fortus, Dizzy, and Frank’s? Especially Frank’s!

[Nikki_Sixx]

4 minutes ago, ChristmasFnatic said:

WTF. He described the personalities of past members. What about Mellisa, Fortus, Dizzy, and Frank’s? Especially Frank’s!

What about them ?  

Those people have nothing to do with GNR.

Except maybe Dizzy.

Maybe.

[Kwick1]

@BlackstarThanks for posting the entire article! I enjoyed reading how the times with Axl now are different from the 80's and 90's. I'm sure Axl would say the same about Slash. They've grown up. We all have. 

Now I'm hoping for some new music from GnR. 

[Blackstar]

He did another interview for the next issue of Classic Rock and he talks more about new music:

https://www.loudersound.com/news/slash-everyone-would-like-to-make-a-new-guns-n-roses-album

“I think everybody thinks it’s a good idea, and everybody would like to do it. There’s no shortage of ideas from everybody involved, but we’ve been so busy on the road there hasn’t really been time to go in and sit down and go, ‘Okay, we’re going to make a record.’”

EDIT: I updated the the title of the thread and added this interview to the OP.

Edited August 10, 2018 by Blackstar

[Gackt]

Sounds like a definitive "no" on a new GNR album.

[t-p-d-a]

i say Slash leaves the band in 2020, Duff in 2023, Axl reunite with DJ Ashba & Bumblefoot and Tommy Stinson in 2025. Chinese Democracy Round II starts now

 

[Padme]

36 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

He did another interview for the next issue of Classic Rock and he talks more about new music:

https://www.loudersound.com/news/slash-everyone-would-like-to-make-a-new-guns-n-roses-album

“I think everybody thinks it’s a good idea, and everybody would like to do it. There’s no shortage of ideas from everybody involved, but we’ve been so busy on the road there hasn’t really been time to go in and sit down and go, ‘Okay, we’re going to make a record.’”

EDIT: I updated the the title of the thread and added this interview to the OP.

Slash is the new Fortus. Confirmed 

[soon]

Huh, thanks to instagram we have oodles of photos of Slash and Duff just sitting around near spreads of food in their separate rooms. They haven't been busy with interviews. They cant just walk around town. Mel is so bored she is left to discuss every piece of candy that she consumes, at length.  So, I do not believe that they have been too busy to discuss an album.

[bucketOtrouble]

22 minutes ago, soon said:

Huh, thanks to instagram we have oodles of photos of Slash and Duff just sitting around near spreads of food in their separate rooms. They haven't been busy with interviews. They cant just walk around town. Mel is so bored she is left to discuss every piece of candy that she consumes, at length.  So, I do not believe that they have been too busy to discuss an album.

well said and unfortunately true

[MaskingApathy]

26 minutes ago, soon said:

Huh, thanks to instagram we have oodles of photos of Slash and Duff just sitting around near spreads of food in their separate rooms. They haven't been busy with interviews. They cant just walk around town. Mel is so bored she is left to discuss every piece of candy that she consumes, at length.  So, I do not believe that they have been too busy to discuss an album.

Actually they did go around town sightseeing while in Europe (Slash and Meegan, Duff and Susan). I don't think they've just been sitting around doing nothing and snacking on catering.