1999.MM.DD - BURRN! Magazine - Interview with Slash

SLASH'S interview from BURRN! magazine

I need no explanation. Saying from '87 to '93 is like very beginning to almost the end. No matter what happens in the future, I want AXL to release his album. My new Snakepit album is supposed to come out soon. No one of the members include Izzy and Steven are not thinking of reforming so far. But this doesn't mean the end. This doesn't mean we won't do anything from now on. I don't know what I'm going to do if one of the members wants to do something together. But no one is planning the day of reforming, even AXL. Because he has his own band GN'R. This live album closed the chapter. The things will be what it should be and I need to work hard and learn. All I know is that's life. Just keep going. If push comes to shove after you did as much as you can, I don't need to panic. It might be the way it
should be.

I have no preconception to new GN'R. I also don't need to worry about money. We kept refusing the good deals like play two songs at the stadium. We had no intention of taking it at all. We broke up, period. It's different story if we agreed to reform for only one show in the future, but we will need huge effort to
make it happen. There is a chance if it happens like that. That's OK with me if that will be next week. I don't care about the timing, because those shitty things fucked up us. And it has to be original members. But I think AXL would rather shoot himself than reforming with original members. He has hatred to ex-members. I hope he wakes up and smell the roses. Even if he wakes up, he needs huge change to make me and other members understand. That's why I want him to release his own record that shows what he really wanted to do.

Anyway I want him to finish the album. Then I'll listen to it once and each one of us go on our own way. That's OK if other guys say that AXL thinks something else and just a big game(project). Have done your work and show me what his "Target" is. There is nothing personal, because all of us used a fame of GN'R. That's OK, he records a different version of "Appetite for destruction". I want to know what the sounds like. What type of music he wants to do is not the issue.

I don't know why he puts so much effort to renew a huge band from the root. That's our own fault why he needed to renew. Destroying the huge band and disappoint millions of fan breaks my heart. Millions of loyal fans were really counting on us. Actually I've met those fans. Destroying those things and he is thinking
to release what he has already done before. I have no idea what AXL wants to do as a musician. Because he has nothing new released for many years.

Let me say like this, each of us had responsibility, and each member was one fifth(1/5)of the band. I think GN'R has to be those five guys. AXL might not think so, and speaking of Steven, it's obvious that he was not thinking like I was. But AXL was counting on Duff, so was Izzy and me. Now I can picture it, but I don't care and want to talk about it. When we get together, we could create best thing, so we don't care the rest. Each part had strong power, so we might scared that one of us leaves the band. There's no way to play with that vive, because that was the foundation of GN'R. I guess he might not notice that, cause we didn't hang out with him. He started first to insult me, so I did it back.

(Are you all done with GN'R?)
When I made my decision, that's the time. My dad taught me not to be with a sinking ship. That's it. I was so desperate when I left the band. I came back from rehearsal at six or seven in the morning and I was so desperate after an hour sleep. I'm sure I was dead if I did that(heroin) then. No one can imagine how much I
depressed. After a while I tried to make some cocktail, smoke cigarette and watched a few episode of "Wings" then went back to sleep. It was a little better when I woke next, but I was still unstable. Most important thing is peace of mind to me. But it was too far to be stable. There is no light at the other side of tunnel. I was like wandering in the dream. But I was awake though. I went back to sleep again and I was alright next time I woke up, so I quit the band. I started to call around and said "That's it. I can't go back there!" That's the final decision. There was no other way to go, but I had it. Let me go on. Now I don't wanna go back in those days. There was nothing fun at all. Three hour delayed show caused by only one brat. And twelve year old girl was beaten up during the riot, police was carried on a stretcher. There's nothing good.

After Izzy and Steven left, I realized core of the band was lost. I was pushed to the point that I leave the band to keep the state of mind. I don't want to say anything negative about what AXL is doing with new GN'R. He has his own idea and people would take his work for granted. I think he will make killer thing. Because he is brilliant. I'm not the person who gives up easily, but terrible situation made me to do it. That was the only way left, I have to take care of myself. Replacement is OK with me, but I have to choose "quit" when the band itself has broken. That was all up to me, other guys were quit or fired though. Leaving the band eased my mind. I could do differently when I recall now, but I couldn't even think that time, because we were so fucked up. It took two and half years to think that way. It feels like home when I form friendly band, an album with low cost and went back where I started. I was OK with making even a little of profit. I could get my happiness back after all. I'm happy just to play gig to gig. I just keep going and try hard. You can't have an ambition like play at a stadium a week after play at a club. The process to success makes you fun. You will be stronger when you struggle and learn on the way to the top. Once you stand at the top, you keep your eyes on the situation inside. Did you get enough on this topic? I feel like cleaned up. There's nothing left.