1999.05.DD - Guitar World - Snake, Rattle 'N' Roll (Slash)

Snake, Rattle 'N' Roll

Roses are dead but not Slash, who returns to the scene with his Les Paul loaded and a rockin' rock band.

Guns N' Roses still exists, if in name only, but to those who remember the glory days when Axl Rose, Slash and company dominated the hard rock terrain the band might as well be called Done N' Over. While rumors of a new Guns N' Roses album coming sometime this year abound, fans can only speculate what the Big Return will be like. Right now, the album exists only in Axl Rose's bony cerebral orb, and considering the amount of gray matter taken up by his ego and advanced dementia, it will be a major miracle if we see a new Guns N' Roses album by the time the last bottle of champagne celebrating the new millennium has been uncorked.

But fans who appreciate Guns N' Roses the way it was meant to be will be relieved to hear that Slash is releasing a bona fide hard rock album this year. Since early 1997, when he was unceremoniously ousted from Guns by the Rose, Slash has concentrated on putting together a new band that would give the rock and roll world a healthy kick in its flabby backside. It look Slash about a year and a half to find a crew with the talent, ambition and all-important attitude to fulfill his needs. After six months of rehearsing and writing songs at Slash's brand new, state-of-the-art home studio, the band, which includes rhythm guitarist Ryan Roxie, bassist Johnny G and singer Rod Jackson ("We call him Hot Rod Lickin'," laughs Slash), are preparing to record their first albun together as Slash's Snakepit.

"This band is fuckin' rockin'!" says Slash "Working with these guys is like going back to day one when I first started playing with Guns. We're all street kids, so we relate to each other real well. I feel like I'm getting another shot, and considering how thoes kinds of opportunities don't come around too often in a lifetime, I feel really lucky.

INTERVIEW:

GUITAR WORLD: What kind of music can we expect from Slash's Snakepit?

SLASH: The band is still hard rock band. The music is the kind of stuff that I've always played and always want to do. We wrote about 50 songs, and we've been picking out the 12 that we are going to be on the record. It's been an interesting process. I've been writing with differenet guys, so some of the songs are really heavy-heavier than anything Guns ever did. Some songs are more pop. There are a lot of different influences because I'm working with a lot of different individuals. Everybody meshes really well and the chemistry is great. We all get along-everybody is humble and apprechiate everyone else's input.

GUITAR WORLD: How do you like the convenience of having a fully equipped recording studio in your home?

SLASH: It was a greaet investent, but my house has become a glorified lounge with a bedroom in it. My studio is one of the better studios in town, and I can say that because I've recorded in about every studio in L.A. The drawback is when you come out of the studio at midnight or two in the morning every single night and instead of going to Crazy Girls or McDonald's or whatever and being out, you walk right back to your own fuckin' kitchen. The positive side is that I can be very productive and get a lot of work done. A real negative side is that my girlfriend and I have had to move into an apartment down the street, because every day of the week there are at least 11 people over here just hangin' around.

GUITAR WORLD: There are not a lot of hard rock band out there any more. Do you worry that people won't be interested in the type of music you're playing?

SLASH: The same kind of thing was going on when Guns N' Roses started out. I'm going with my gut feeling. Everybody is confused right now, but I think people are really hungry for a good hard rock record and we're one of the only hard rock bands who are about to put out a new record. Plus, the reaction has been great when we've played the new songs live. As far as I am concerned, a record shouldn't be recorded until the songs have come together through being played live. Songs develop so much better after you've played them in fron of an audience. The songs really kick ass, which is what a hard rock song is supposed to do. But you can't think about these things too much. Rock and roll is best when you recognize it for what it is and you don't try to make it into something that it shouldn't be.