1988.11.DD - Smash Hits - Shooting From The Lip With Guns N' Roses! (Slash)

Thanks to @Surge for sending us this article!






Transcript:
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SHOOTING FROM THE LIP WITH GUNS N' ROSES!

The baddest boys in hard rock hell? Guns 'N' Roses live up to that and lots more. Guns guitarist Slash shoots his mouth off to Nick Gillespie.

If rocking harder than hard is a prescription for success, then the sky's the limit for Guns 'N' Roses. The L.A.-based bad boy band has an appetite for good times and rockin' hard.

"We just play good, straight American rock and roll, you know," says guitarist Slash. "I don't want that to sound too clichéd or anything. We play with a punch, with an edge to it."

Thousands of their fans agree. The band released their Live ?!*@ Like A Suicide EP in December of 1986 and sold over 10,000 copies in four weeks—with no advertising! Their current release, an LP with the no-fooling-around title of Appetite For Destruction, has already proven itself a hot item among those who take their rock hard and straight.

"We didn't go out and look for a record contract," growls Slash. "It came around to us. We signed with Geffen because they were the coolest company."

The boys in the band, (Slash; Duff McKagan, bass; Izzy Stradlin, guitar; Steve Adler, drums and W. Axl Rose, vocals), were hip to a record but they're still big on gigging live.

"Basically, we're a road band, we really get off on touring," says Slash. And that's where their reputation for being wired to the max comes from.

"We don't put much time into preparing for a show or anything. We just go out there wearing whatever we've got on and get on with it. That's what everybody wants to see, anyway."

Part of the energy comes from the almost spontaneous combustion between the G 'N' R dudes onstage. "There's always a lot of tension going down between us. There's always something happening, sparks flying," Slash puts it.

It seems inevitable that the five would get together—even though none of them originally come from the L.A. area. "Izzy and Axl are from Indianapolis, Duff is from Seattle, Steve is from Cleveland and I was born in London. All of us commuted to L.A. at different times. But we were like the only guys who were as hard core as we are and doing the same kind of thing. It just kind of happened, you know," explains Slash.

After having been in bands "that weren't doing it right," Guns N' Roses got together and their no-holds-barred attitude just sprung up.

"We don't want to sound just like everybody else, we don't want to mimic what people say and play. We go out there and play—you can just take it for what it's worth. We don't take orders or I crap from anybody!" insists Slash, and you get the feeling this is no bull.

"We're totally anti-social and rebellious as far as the Establishment goes," states Slash. "The more people get bent out of shape at us and the things we do, the more we just laugh. Like, the cover of the album was going to be a picture of a naked girl and people were freaking out and getting all upset," he laughs. " We ended up using a different cover —a really cool painting—just so we could sell more records. The picture is on the inside of the record anyway," Slash smirks.

"You know, we don't just do things to piss people off," he says, serious for a moment. "We just do what we feel like because we don't care. We all dig playing, we're all into being musicians and we figure on doing this for as long as we can. That's really important, that it's on our terms."

And so far it hasn't been too difficult doing things the Guns 'N' Roses' way. Slash, speaking for the rest of the band, has a pretty good idea of what he hates in a band. "We really hate Poison —they totally emphasize everything we hate in a band! They're like the type of guys who got turned onto rock 'n' roll by Circus magazine, you know? They saw pictures and said 'Oh yeah, this looks cool, we can get girls!' They probably went shopping and picked all their clothes and stuff and then went and bought their instruments. They pick up a guitar and learn how to play three chords and go out onstage."

Slash and the boys aren't just the negative type; they're outspoken about the bands they like, too. "I really like Metallica quoth Slash. "They're like the best band doing anything in rock 'n' roll in the past ten years. They're just like the greatest. I also really like Megadeth." They admire bands for the same reasons they hate them—it's a question of getting down to the business of playing.

Guns 'N' Roses have outside interests ("I drink a lot, I collect snakes" sez Slash), but when you come down to the wire, it's clear that they're die-hard road animals. "The band's so involving. It takes up all your time. When we're not playing, we're at a bar or a party somewhere," says Slash. "We're on such a short fuse, it's tough to say what we're going to be doing at any moment."

It's not that Slash isn't aware that hard living takes it toll on people: "I know that things catch up to you. I'm not the kind of person that goes into anything except with both feet. I learn all my lessons the hard way." You get the idea that he's talking for the band, too.

It's not always what people want to hear, but brutal honesty is a hallmark of Guns 'N' Roses. "You know a lot of people have a problem with us," reiterates Slash. "But it's 'cause they're jealous of us. We play harder and better than most. We don't hide behind props or anything."

And that message comes through loud 'n' clear in all they do—whether it's not posing for photographers, or blowing off potential record deals or tours because they were too limiting or fake.

"If there's anything we've got to say, it's don't take anything at face value, don't listen to other people's opinions before you've reached your own conclusions— most people don't know what they're talking about. We've gotten ahead by sticking to our roots and not taking crap from anybody. That pisses people off," proclaims Slash. But it seems to make a lot more of 'em listen.

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FIVE AMAZING FACTS ON GUNS N' ROSES!

- Their names are W. Axl Rose, Slash, Duff, Izzy and Stevan Adler. They are the type of boys your mother tells you to stay away from.

- Their first LP, Appetite For Destruction, is the first debut album by a hard rock band to sell as much as Led Zeppelin’s first album did!

- The fact that they are still alive to enjoy their success is a miracle to them, since they tend to indulge in a bit of the "rock n’ roll" lifestyle (man).

- “Sweet Child O’ Mine" is their second single; “Welcome To The Jungle" wasn’t played oh the radio, but it was the theme song to the movie, The Dead Pool. Guns’ incredible acting debut in this movie lasted about 10 seconds.

- Axl has bedecked himself with five big tattoos; one of a girl, one that says “Victory Or Death," one of a black rose from a Thin Lizzy LP cover, one with wings that says “Rocker,” and the Guns N’ Roses cross that he designed.

What is he talking about here? AFD doesn't have a picture of a naked woman on the inside cover, and GN'R Lies does have a naked woman but the cover isn't of a "cool painting". Seems like he is mixing up AFD and GN'R Lies.