1989.07.DD - Hit Parader - Guns N' Roses Walk on the Wild Side (Slash, Duff)

Guns N’ Roses Walk on the Wild Side
Self-Destructive Quintet Plan Next Career Moves

Hey, have you heard the latest news? Axl Rose died in a bizarre gardening accident last week! Or maybe it was Slash. No, wait a minute, it can’t have been Slash because he O.D.'d twice last month on Flintstones chewables. So it could have been Izzy. Hold on, it couldn’t have been Izzy because he was last seen alive and well on Hollywood’s Melrose Avenue selling stale Girl Scout cookies to senior citizens.

Just kidding!! But there are some of the nutty National Inquirer type rumors that seem to float around every day about Guns N’ Roses Actually, some of the off-the-wall stories you hear are true, but by now, they’ve lost some of their original shock value.

With all of the attention on Guns N’ Roses’ “bad boy” image, people often overlook their music. Look at what Guns N’ Roses have done for the industry. How about the kick in the butt they gave radio because listeners kept requesting them, so GN’R filled the airwaves instead of l-luey Lewis clones?’ You’ve got to admit, whether you like the band or not, they’ve sure made the last year interesting.

Hit Parader: Why did you decide to release an EP like 'Lies'?

Duff McKagan: This band thrives on a cult following you know word of mouth and stuff like that.

Slash: It wakes the kids feel like you’re more “their” band.

HP: Do you plan out your live shows, or are they totally spontaneous?

Slash: When we rehearse a set, we just play a bunch of songs. One after the other, that’s how we rehearse. Then we go out and try to make a show out of it.

DM: We have a set list onstage but it’s more like a song list. Like which one do you want to do now?

Slash: Yeah, it’s like a reference sheet Sometimes 1100k down at the set list and I don’t see two or three songs listed. So I start out the song that I thought was next, but it turns out it was the fourth or fifth, because I looked at the list too quick. Shows are real off the cuff.

HP: How do you decide what cover songs to do, like Mama Kin?

DM: In New York, for example, if it’s a real good crowd we’ll do Whole Lotta Rosie and Nice Boys Don’t Play Rock And Roll, but if it’s an audience in Toledo, where they liked it but they’re not jumping off the balcony, we’ll play your basic Mama Kin.

HP: Why did you decide to edit down Sweet Child 0’ Mine for radio airplay?

Slash: We weren’t too proud of editing use of our songs purely for radio purposes, but we finally broke down and did it anyway at the request of our record company. We figured if it will wake that many more people aware of us who normally wouldn’t be, then cool.

HP: How do you feel about what the group has accomplished?

Slash: Well, we’re headlining places that I remember Aerosmith and AC/DC headlining when their best albums came out. And we’re playing those places now. It’s a trip!

HP: It’s kind of amazing what you guys have done.

Slash: Yeah, I don’t think Bon Jovi would have lasted in the circumstances we had to deal with. It was a breakthrough for us to get accepted as a hard rock hand, instead of lost being saws fly by night “glam” hand. I appreciate the fact that me don’t get looked at as sort of a mock rock band, you know what I wean -the fact that people like us for what we are and accept us for that, even though they might think we’re a little bit ill-behaved. But that’s OK.

HP: What about the hand’s image? It seems that your fans can really relate to you.

Slash: A lot of bands, especially nowadays, work too hard at creating an image too distant from the people who listen to them. They start to look so plastic and unreal that the fans think they couldn’t actually get close to these people that they’re listening to. With us, we are more accessible we’re there for the people that are there for us.

DM: Most bands these days are all preconceived. Its like, Well, we’re going for this Whitesnake type of thing or Bon Jovi type of thing.’

HP: It’s almost like they forget about something called “the music”.

Slash: Yeah! It’s like a new car or something. It comes out and it’s nifty, and then another model comes along next year.

HP: So what do you think about all the bands that are now coming out with the Guns N’ Roses look?

Slash: I don’t pay much attention to that kind of stuff. They say imitation is the best form of flattery, but i’s not something I want to pay attention to and be monitoring.

HP: Does it bother you when you see a guy wear a hat like yours?

Slash: In a way it does. It’s like, what the fuck what are you doing?? It’s a good enough compliment just for somebody to say “Your music is great” or “I enjoy your band”. To walk, talk and dress like me in taking it a little far.

HP: How have things changed now that the band’s had such great acceptance and success?

Slash: Things have changed in some ways and in other ways we haven’t changed. The world’s whizzing by and time is going on and everything’s expanding, but we’re still five kids that just basically like to play. Although there is this whole corporation now, this Guns N’ Roses industry with merchandising and concerts and tickets.

HP: Are you going to coming out with a lunch box next?

Slash: No, no lunch box.

HP: Remember when Kiss did that?

Slash: I hated that when they started selling folders and stuff like that.

HP: What about your lifestyle ... has that changed?

Slash: I really don’t know, because I basically have been living with the band so much that when we’re off the road I don’t know how to function You know, I get sort of lost.

DM: I don’t see any of us really changing.

Slash: I mean, you can stay in the most expensive hotels and you can he a huge rock band and have a lot of fame and recognition and all that stuff, hut when you get into the rooms, toilet paper is still toilet paper.

DM: And all that goes along with it!

Slash: Yeah, so it’s not that big a difference. The only thing that changes is your mental attitude. But you’re just one guy in the middle of millions of people; you’re not that different from anyone else.