2001.05.23 - Bankrate.com Newsletter - Guitarist Slash On Money

Guitarist Slash on money: '$6 million here, $90 million there'

by Larry Getlen

The members of Guns N' Roses, arguably the greatest rock band of the '80s, behaved like stereotypical rock stars: drank and drugged to excess, dated porn stars and self-destructed.
On stage, however, there was energy and discipline, mainly supplied by Slash, GNR's former lead guitarist. Slash (birth name: Saul Hudson) supplied tasteful blues-oriented licks that perfectly augmented GNR's catchy riffs.

Talking with Slash today, soon after the second release from his band Slash's Snakepit, is a decidedly mellow experience. Slash conveys a sense of enjoying life. His heavy drug days and equally heavy success are behind him, and he still enjoys playing with his band as much as ever. Bankrate spoke to Slash about the business side and aftermath of the musical monolith that was Guns N' Roses.

BANKRATE.COM: Many rock bands wind up in much worse financial shape than they should be. How did GNR leave you situated, financially?

SLASH: You know what? It's neither here nor there (Laughs). It's never been the issue with me. But obviously when you're at the airport or some local restaurant bar, and your credit card doesn't work because of any number of whatever incidents might have happened, there's some people that, when they're talking about $6 million here and $90 million there, not any person on this planet can sit there and go, 'I wonder if he has any real financial problems?' When you're getting $180 million a season, it's like 'I bet his parents call him a lot.'

But then, life does happen in some shape or form, and you start to lose track of where it's all going. So you end up having to grow up a little bit, and stay a little bit grounded or rooted so you don't blow everything. It's not like when you got your first big record advance check, and you bought your old lady a Lamborghini Countach and yourself a Countach and a new house, and then next thing you know you're broke.

I've seen people do that. That does happen. But for me, I basically have been focused around playing, and the only money I really lose, the only big expenditure, the most frivolous I am with money, is dealing with attorneys. You have to watch them, and you have to hire people to help you watch them (laughs). So that's where the money really goes, it's not really me or my old lady or my eccentricities, having this lifestyle, or drugs or anything like that. But I am aware of what to watch out for. It doesn't mean I'm all that great at it, but I have my act together. No matter how much of a rock 'n' roller you are, at some point you have got to pay attention.

Bankrate: Were you lucky enough to have your money managed by someone who was trustworthy?

Slash: Nope. In a perfect world, it could have been, but the more money that guys like us make, the more money that people who work for us rip off. Being a musician and doing what it is that we do, we actually have a life. A lot of the people that work around us live vicariously off of that for fun, and financially off that because they think we're not paying attention. There are people who've been working together for years, and have a mutual relationship where one hand feeds the other and it just goes smoothly that way, but in my short experience, I realize you have got to watch your back (laughs).

Bankrate: Are you still making a lot from catalog sales and guitar endorsements?

Slash: Yeah. But we're also still paying back a lot of people. I'm not tremendously excited about it. My whole reality is that I'm not sitting around and waiting for the next Guns check to come in. I pretty much just move forward and try and keep my slate clean as I go.

Bankrate: Are you in the stock market?

Slash: I didn't get caught up in all the stock stuff. Don't expect to. Being as I'm as disinterested in finances as it is, and I don't gamble, not as a rule, it just never interested me. Money for me is a necessity, depending on your lifestyle standards, and mine aren't necessarily that high. I need a TV set, I need a couch -- you know, basics.

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Source:
https://web.archive.org/web/20021212233235/http://www.gnrunlimited.com/articles/brate-5-23-01.html