1995.03.DD - MTV - Interview (Slash, Gilby) and News Report (Axl)

Transcript:
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Kurt Loder (voice-over): Having already wallowed widely in the rock high life of Guns N’ Roses, guitarist Slash is whipping his auxiliary band Snakepit together on the small club circuit, where the bar oriented group seems right at home.

[Live footage: Slash’s Snakepit in Memphis, TN, USA]

Slash: The main thing about Snakepit that’s cool is there’s no preconceived kind of “We’re gonna be this” or “We’re gonna be that.” It’s really more focused on just playing.

Gilby: I think this band was kind of like put together as the degenerates of other bands and stuff (laughs). It’s like, none of us are the leaders of bands and stuff; it’s like all the backline guys, you know? So when it was put together, it was kind of like everybody’s freedom to just go, “Ahh, just play whatever you want.”

Voice-over: Snakepit’s biggest challenge was finding a singer who had just the right Slash-like qualities to front the group. Oddly enough, this turned out to be Eric Dover of the very poppy Jellyfish.

Eric Dover: I grew up playing in rock ‘n’ roll bands, so this is, like, a natural extension; maybe different side of the multi-faceted diamond that I consider myself to be (laughs).

Gilby: (Laughs)

[Live footage: Slash’s Snakepit in Memphis, TN, USA]

Voice-over: The Snakepit album was recorded with Guns’ drummer Matt Sorum and bassist Mike Inez from Alice In Chains. They weren’t able to tour, though; a problem, but relatively a minor one.

Slash: When it comes to the bass and the drums, there were certain bass lines that became a key part to the song and so on. But we worked it out. I mean, there’s always somebody who knows something and you just have to find them (laughs).

Voice-over: Watching his new band in the nation’s barroom, Slash offers the traditional back-to-the-roots statement.

Slash: Playing a stadium is something where Guns evolved to and then, once we’ve done that for two and a half years, I was just like, “Okay, I gotta get down to earth here. This is a little bit too mega rockstar kind of vibe going on,” you know.

Gilby: This why this album was made. It’s like, just to get back to reality, to get back to what – you know, why we all wanted to play music in the first place. And this is where we want to play it.

Voice-over: Snakepit isn’t Guns N’ Roses and wasn’t intended to be. But the group already has fans, and they don’t seem to care.

Fan 1: Gilby, man. Gilby is the shit!

Fan 2: Slash is the best. Man, he can put a guitar down by his ankles and he could make it go, “Wah wah wah.” That’s all I’ve got to say.

[Live footage: Slash’s Snakepit in Memphis, TN, USA]

Kurt Loder: On the News From the World, Axl Rose, the Guns frontman, had been headed to court with his ex-girlfriend, model Stephanie Seymour. She charged that he hit her and he seemed to recall that she hit him. In the end, the sundered couple decided this week to spare the legal system another infusion of celebrity drama and settle it quietly.