2020.11.21 - The Oakland Press - Slash Talks Guns N' Roses Pinball Machine, Touring, New Music

Slash talks Guns N' Roses pinball machine, touring, new music -- 5 Things to Know

By Gary Graff

Guns N' Roses was unable to tour this year, like so many other bands.

But it's created a way for fans to still have a concert experience -- through pinball.

The brainchild of guitarist Slash in partnership with Jersey Jack Pinball, the three Not In This Lifetime machines are over-the-top affairs that feature all sorts of literal bells, whistles and power chords, as well as iconic imagery such as Slash's trademark top hat, 21 songs, live performance video, custom lighting and special effects. It's not cheap -- ranging from $6,750-$12,500 -- but Slash is confident the machines take GNR fans to "Paradise City" and back again...

• Slash (real name Saul Hudson) previously spearheaded a GNR pinball machine in 1994 but was, surprisingly, not a pinball obsessive until he was in his mid-20s. "When I was in junior high and high school, I went to arcades, yeah, I went to arcades but I never really got into pinball or video games. I was totally into guitar and focused on that. But somewhere in the very early 90s I suddenly rediscovered pinball and just got totally obsessed with it. Gilby (Clarke, fellow GNR guitarist) was a pinball player, too, and I remember he was really good at it so I got really turned on to the technique and gameplay and rules and how (stuff) works and levels and so on. In short order I went after doing that first Guns machine."

• Coming a bit later to the party, however, was a plus in terms of how Slash, 55, approached what the machines could do. "I think the reason why technology, for me, is sky's the limit is because I'm not limited to the old pinball machines or any of the limitations they had. I didn't have that much experience. So I just come up with ideas -- 'You can do this, right?' (laughs) As far as I was concerned, everything was possible."

• Working with designer Eric Meunier, Slash envisioned the Not In This Lifetime machines, named after GNR's 2016-19 global reunion tour, as a concert-like experience "that encapsulates the live tour experience. As soon as you plunge the ball there's songs and a light show that's unique to that song. From note one to the last note, everything that's happening during the game, visually, is unique to that song. So it's very much like a concert where you program the lights and certain highlights on the video screen, for that particular song. It's a total immersive experience."

• While his bands -- GNR and Slash & the Conspirators featuring Myles Kennedy -- have been sidelined from touring. the guitarist has been working on new material for both and is confident some of it will be released during 2021. "I'm just not good at slowing down and just sitting around. For the first month of the pandemic, when we were just getting knowledgeable about what we were dealing with, I spent a lot of time just hanging out with the missus and reading and doing stuff outside and just waiting to see what the next thing was that was gonna happen. But that only lasted for so long, and then I was like, 'I've got to get to work...'" Slash adds he's recorded for some other artists' projects and launched a new line of guitars with Gibson.

• Guns N' Roses does have dates booked for next summer in Europe and North America (including July 24 at Detroit's Comerica Park), as well as for the end of the year in Australia. "I know probably as much as anyone else. I would like to think there's enough time between now and then to be able to pull that off. We're hoping it can happen next summer, but it's hard to say. You can’t know for sure until the light at the end of the tunnel really starts shining, so we're just wishful thinking. We'll see what happens."

https://www.theoaklandpress.com/entertainment/slash-talks-guns-n-roses-pinball-machine-touring-new-music----5-things/article_0aacce66-2c00-11eb-9064-e7a426b36c4d.html

The full version of this interview has been posted on Cleveland.com (Dec. 21, 2020):
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Slash’s new pinball game brings concert experience to Guns N’ Roses fans

By Gary Graff, special to cleveland.com

Guns N’ Roses was unable to tour this year, like so many other bands.

But it’s created a way for fans to still have a concert experience -- through pinball.

The brainchild of guitarist Slash in partnership with Jersey Jack Pinball, the three Not In This Lifetime machines are over-the-top affairs that feature all sorts of literal bells, whistles and power chords, as well as iconic imagery such as Slash’s trademark top hat, 21 songs, live performance video, custom lighting and special effects. It’s not cheap -- ranging from $6,750-$12,500 -- but Slash is confident the machines take GNR fans to “Paradise City” and back again...

You can’t play on stage, but you can play pinball instead, right?

Slash: (laughs) I’d done a Guns N’ Roses pinball machine back in 1994...that was really cool and, back then, was the loudest machine and the first machine to use music off the masters (tapes) in the game. Fast forward to 2016 or 2017, and I thought with this (band) reunion and all this excitement going on, it’d be cool to do another Guns machine. I’d become familiar with this company called Jersey Jack and actually had one of their games at home, which is one of the most beautiful and exquisitely designed pinball machines ever made. It’s just this boutiquey, homemade company. A lot of love and care goes into their games and original ideas, and they’re not churning them out like other companies. So I contacted them and...they hooked me up with Eric Meunier, who is really the game designer, and he put together an amazing team of programmers and software guys and artists, animation guys and technicians, and they just went to town producing something that nobody’s ever really seen before. I knew we’d set the bar pretty high, but what we ended up with was way above and beyond my expectations.

So what is the game play experience you were after?

Slash: I wanted something that encapsulates the live tour experience. As soon as you plunge the ball there’s songs and a light show that’s unique to that song. From note one to the last note, everything that’s happening during the game, visually, is unique to that song. So it’s very much like a concert where you program the lights and certain highlights on the video screen, for that particular song. It’s a total immersive experience.

Did you find yourself marveling at what’s possible with a pinball machine now compared to what they were like in your youth?

Slash: The funny thing is that I didn’t play pinball back then. I was totally into guitar. When I was in junior high and high school, yeah, you went to arcades but I never really got into pinball or video games. But somewhere in the very early 90s I suddenly rediscovered pinball and just got totally obsessed with it. Gilby (Clarke, fellow Guns N’ Roses guitarist) was a pinball player, too, and I remember he was really good at it, so I got really turned on to the technique and gameplay and rules and how s*** works and levels and so on. And in short order I went after doing the first Guns machine.

So, in a way you haven’t been at all hampered by any ties to “classic” pinball.

Slash: That’s right. I think the reason why technology, for me, is sky’s the limit is because I’m not limited to the old pinball machines or any of the limitations they had. I didn’t have that much experience. So I just come up with ideas -- ‘You can do this, right?’ (laughs) As far as I was concerned, everything was possible.

Are you familiar with any of the other bands’ machines that are out there?

Slash: I have the Aerosmith machine. I have the Iron Maiden machine, too. I don’t have the AC/DC machine; I didn’t get one when they came out, so I haven’t gone back and looked for a used one, but that game is pretty cool. But I never picked up the old ones, like Ted Nugent and Kiss and the couple of Rolling Stones ones.

So we can get a concert kind of experience from the game. What’s your sense of when we’ll get the real thing again?

Slash: I know probably about as much as you or anybody else. We have dates (for summer of 2021) that are just sitting there; I would like to think it’s enough time between now and then to be able to pull that off. It’s hard to say. You can’t know for sure until the light at the end of the tunnel really starts shining, so we’re just wishful thinking. We’ll see what happens.

Have you been musically creative during the enforced time off?

Slash: The first month of the pandemic, when we were first getting knowledgeable about what we were dealing with and there was the whole lockdown going on, I spent a lot of that time just hanging out with the missus and reading and stuff, outside, just waiting to see what was gonna happen. But that only last for so long, and then I was like, “I got to get to work!”

You’re making an album with Myles (Kennedy) and the Conspirators, right?

Slash: We did a week of initial pre-production and there’s 20 songs and we’re gonna start back up next year. I spent a lot of time writing and demoing that stuff. And prior to that Duff (McKagan) and I did some jamming and we also worked on the Guns record, and I’ve had a couple of ancillary recordings and jams on top of that, so there’s been a lot of stuff going on. I’m really not good at slowing down and just sitting around.

When do you think we’ll hear some of this music?

Slash: I would like to think that we’d have some new stuff out next year -- from both camps, I guess. It’s hard to say, but I would like to think we’ll have stuff out next year, yeah.

How did Eddie Van Halen’s passing affect you?

Slash: That was a huge...blow. I actually met Eddie back in 1988; He came up to me at a Stevie Ray Vaughan concert and gave me a compliment on one of my guitar solos, which always sticks with me as one of the nicest, most selfless things any fellow guitar player ever did. We’ve were sort of friends ever since then. On top of the fact he’s a monster musician, he was just a really good guy, a really sweet guy. Towards the end I’d been in touch with him. I knew he was in the hospital, but I didn’t know to what extent. I had a vague feeling what was going on and was just sort of keeping in touch with him, but then around June or something I stopped hearing from him. I was in Chicago doing the pinball machine and got a text (about his death) and I was just completely shocked. It was just really sad and tragic and indelible news.

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/12/slashs-new-pinball-game-brings-concert-experience-to-guns-n-roses-fans-in-a-new-format.html

New music from both camps next year is extremely promising. That suggest the music is done.