2020.11/12.DD - Consequence of Sound - Interview with Slash

Consequence of Sound is publishing the interview in parts. Two parts have been posted so far.
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First part, published on November 20:

Slash on AC/DC’s New Album: “It’s a Great F**king Record”

"I've had it in the car for the last couple of days and it's probably gonna sit there for a while"

BY SPENCER KAUFMAN ON NOVEMBER 20, 2020

BY SPENCER KAUFMANON NOVEMBER 20, 2020, 12:00AM

AC/DC’s new album, Power Up, has been met with widespread acclaim by fans and critics alike. One of those fans is Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who tells us that the LP is “a great f**cking record.”

In our own review of Power Up, we declared it AC/DC’s best album in 30 years. The LP features the return of classic members Brian Johnson (vocals), Phil Rudd (drums), and Cliff Williams (bass), who all came back to the band after parting for various reasons. Along with mainstay lead guitarist Angus Young and rhythm guitarist Stevie Young (who stepped in for the late Malcolm Young), the legendary rock band has made a triumphant comeback.

Slash has long expressed his love for AC/DC, calling them one of his biggest influences. So, when we had a chance to speak with him about the new Guns N’ Roses pinball machines and his new collection of custom Gibson guitars (full interview coming soon), we couldn’t help but ask the guitarist about his thoughts on the new AC/DC album.

“I obviously have a long history with AC/DC, and then Axl [Rose] was singing with them for a minute when Brian was out, so we got reacquainted during that period,” Slash told us. “So, the first bit of great news, I talked to Brian and he was telling me about this hearing [device] that he got, and that he’s back in AC/DC. And that was just f**king awesome news.”

He continued, “And the tragedy of losing Malcolm … the fact that Angus and company would survive that and keep it going, in the spirit of probably what Malcolm would have done, was great. I just love those guys because as far as rock ‘n’ roll is concerned, they just are driven.”

The GN’R guitarist then went on to talk about AC/DC’s steadfastness, saying, “They’re a great influence on people who think that rock ‘n’ roll is sort of just fun and games, and then as soon as any kind of mishap happens, [bands] break up or they fall apart or they quit. AC/DC is a great example of longevity. They’re a great example of tenacity and perseverance, a great example of talent, and a great example of what rock ‘n’ roll is all about. So, I’m so stoked that they just continue to do it.”

And that brought Slash to AC/DC’s Power Up, which was released on November 13th after much anticipation. “Then, on top of it, they make such a great f**king record at this point in the game. It’s a really inspired album. I’ve had it in the car for the last couple of days and it’s probably gonna sit there for a while. It’s exciting for me. I’m happy for them, and I can’t wait for this virus situation to end so we can go check them out on tour somewhere.”

https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/11/slash-ac-dc-new-album-great-record/

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Second part, published December 2:
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Slash: I Named My New Gibson “Victoria” Les Paul After the Person Who Stole My Old Guitars

"Her name was Victoria, so I decided to name the guitar after her!"

BY SPENCER KAUFMAN ON DECEMBER 02, 2020

On Tuesday, Slash announced the latest guitar in his ongoing collection with Gibson, the “Victoria” Les Paul Standard Goldtop. What he didn’t reveal in the press release was the significance of the guitar’s name, a fascinating detail he shared with us during a new interview.

The “Victoria” Les Paul Standard Goldtop is a beautiful guitar, with a maple top, a solid mahogany body, a dark back finish, a C-shaped neck profile, and more of Slash’s personal touches. It’s available now via Gibson and authorized sellers.

We spoke with Slash about his partnership with Gibson and the “Victoria” Goldtop, in particular, and the legendary musician told us an intriguing story about the guitar’s name.

“I’ve been using a Gibson since the first [Guns N’ Roses] record [Appetite for Destruction], but I established a relationship with them starting in 1988. It’s been developing all these years. [Recently] I did this line of different Les Paul Standards that are all different colors. And at the end of that, I said, ‘You know, I’d love to do a Goldtop, as well’.”

He continued, “Back in the late ’90s, I had a bunch of guitars stolen out of my studio in my house. I’ve actually managed to get [just about] all the guitars back, but I never knew exactly who was behind the theft. And one of the guitars I didn’t get back was a Goldtop that was stolen. So, I’ve been trying to find another Goldtop to replace it over the years. Then at some point I found out who was responsible for the theft, not long ago, and her name was Victoria, so I decided to name the guitar after her!”

Stay tuned for more from our interview with Slash, including his insight into the recently released Guns N’ Roses “Not in This Lifetime” pinball machines, his life during the pandemic, and other topics. He also shared his thoughts on AC/DC’s new album, Power Up, calling it a “great f**king record.”

https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/12/slash-name-gibson-victoria-les-paul/

The third part, published December 10, 2020:
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Slash: New Guns N’ Roses Pinball Machines Are “Way Beyond My Expectations”

The "Not in This Lifetime" machines feature a 21-song GN'R setlist

BY SPENCER KAUFMAN ON DECEMBER 10, 2020

A couple of months ago, Guns N’ Roses announced a series of “Not in This Lifetime” pinball machines, modeled after the band’s mega-successful reunion tour of the same name. The arcade games were co-designed by Slash, who caught up with us to discuss all things pinball and his involvement in the creation of the machines.

The “Not in This Lifetime” machines are manufactured by Jersey Jack Pinball, and are available in three editions — Standard, Limited, and Collectors — each with a different design on its body. The machines feature a 21-song soundtrack that closely mirrors the setlists that Guns N’ Roses played on their “Not in This Lifetime” tour, which saw the return of classic members Slash and Duff McKagan.

As we learned from Slash while speaking with him about the machines, his love of pinball didn’t come during his teenage years, but later on, when he was already a world famous guitarist in Guns N’ Roses. He has since amassed an impressive collection of machines at home, and he played a major part in the design of the “Not in This Lifetime” pinball games.

Read our interview with Slash about the “Not in This Lifetime” pinball games and check out photos of Slash at the Jersey Jack Pinball factory, plus a promo video for the machines and the full tracklist, below. The Collectors edition is already sold out, but the Standard and Limited editions are still available here.

On whether pinball was a big part of his life as a teenager in the ’70s

The funny thing is I never played pinball [as a teenager]. I was in high school when Asteroids and Missile Command and Galaxian and all those new video games first came out. I sort of played those on occasion ’cause there was an arcade across the street from Fairfax High, which is where I spent my last years of high school. I always loved arcades. I loved pinball from an aesthetic point of view, but I just never played games really. I was more into guitar and that was it.

I didn’t really get into pinball until the very early ’90s, suddenly I got turned onto pinball. The first game that I remember getting was “The Addams Family”. And so it was around that time, which I think was like 1993, and then it was the Data East “Jurassic Park”, and I just got so into it. I went to the company Data East and we ended up doing a Guns N’ Roses pinball machine back in 1994. So, I’ve just been obsessed with it ever since. Now I have like 17 pinball machines that I play all the time.

On whether the original KISS pinball machines had any influence on his design choices

I can’t say that they did. I always loved the Rolling Stones, the KISS machine, there was even a Ted Nugent machine back then. One of the things that has always drawn me to pinball are the themes, that really sort of defines the aesthetics for me of a pinball machine. And then hopefully the game play is great. I always thought that was a turn on, that there was rock ‘n’ roll pinball machines, but when I got into doing the Guns machine with Data East back in ’94, I totally was going after my own idea and didn’t use any of those machines as inspiration. I don’t think I had even played them at that point.

On playing a big part in the creation of the new “Not in This Lifetime” GN’R pinball machines

I wanted to use Jersey Jack just because they are the most original and most boutique-y of the pinball companies that are around right now. And they have that sort of hands-on, homemade, love-and-care kind of machines, and really original ideas and a lot of creative depth. And they’re just amazing. And so when I had this idea that I wanted to do a Guns machine and have it represent the “Not in This Lifetime” tour, I thought it’d be really great to do that, since [the band] had gotten back together and so on. So, I called up Jersey Jack and said, “I want to do this ‘Not in This Lifetime’ pinball machine, would you guys be into it?”

And I wanted to make it like an immersive concert experience and really bring in a bunch of the elements from our actual shows. And [the Jersey Jack rep] says, “Well, let me get back to you on that.” And a month later or something, he called me up and there was a green light. So he hooked me up with Eric Meunier, who’s the official sort of game designer or head of the team. And I started going over a lot of the different ideas that I had, about having concert lighting, and also to bring some of the content from our live videos that we have behind the stage, and to just have all these other different elements in it. And also to have all the songs — I think it’s got 21 songs in it.

So [I wanted] to have all that and to just make it as close to one of these shows and have it represent an entire tour. So, I went to them with all this stuff and Eric was just f**kin’ on it. One of the most amazing people I’ve ever worked with in any capacity. And so he put together a great team of programmers and artists and technicians, and just went to town in really putting their heart and soul into making this game great. And they did — it was way beyond my expectations.

“Not in This Lifetime” Pinball Setlist:
01. Sweet Child O’ Mine
02. Welcome to the Jungle
03. Paradise City
04. November Rain
05. Patience
06. Live and Let Die
07. Don’t Cry
08. You Could Be Mine
09. Civil War
10. Coma
11. Double Talkin’ Jive
12. Estranged
13. It’s So Easy
14. Mr. Brownstone
15. My Michelle
16. Nightrain
17. Out Ta Get Me
18. Rocket Queen
19. This I Love
20. Better
21. Chinese Democracy

https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/12/slash-guns-n-roses-pinball-machines-interview/

Another part, published December 15, 2020:
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Slash on Eddie Van Halen: “Any Instrument He Had Chosen to Play Would Have Been Phenomenal”

"For somebody with that kind of musical talent to get turned on to rock 'n' roll guitar was sort of unique unto itself"

By Spencer Kaufman

There have been countless tributes to the great Eddie Van Halen since his passing on October 6th. One of the millions of fans mourning his death is fellow guitar legend Slash.

Van Halen released their groundbreaking self-titled debut in 1978, and by the time Guns N’ Roses formed in 1985, one can easily argue that Van Halen were the biggest hard-rock band on the planet — until GN’R took that title with their own masterful debut, Appetite for Destruction.

We recently caught up with Slash to discuss the new Guns N’ Roses pinball machines, as well as his new custom collection with Gibson Guitars. While speaking with the GN’R axeman, we asked him for his thoughts on Eddie Van Halen, specifically what it was about the Van Halen legend’s playing that made him such an iconic guitarist.

Slash graciously provided his take on what made Eddie so unique among his fellow rock guitarists, offering the following response:

“The thing about Eddie is that he was such a gifted musician. Any instrument he had chosen to play would have been phenomenal, because he just had that pure musical talent. And he chose guitar, because that’s what turned him on. And for somebody with that kind of musical talent to get turned on to rock ‘n’ roll guitar was sort of unique unto itself, because most of us guitar players are a ragged bunch of rock ‘n’ rollers who don’t have too much technical ability or schooling. We just sort of go for this raw thing. And he had that, but he also had this musical, sort of classical gift.

"Then, on top of that, just being somebody sort of like Les Paul, who hears something in his head or has an idea and creates it. So it made him a triple threat. He was a great guitar player, but he was also this amazing musician, so it just made his guitar playing that much greater. And then he was an innovator on top of it, creating new things with whatever his imagination came up with. So he was just an amazing artist, period.

"And he was just a really, really sweet, humble guy, too. So, I was really shocked. I was actually in Chicago working on the release of the [Guns N’ Roses] pinball machine when I got a text from Duff [McKagan] saying that [Eddie had passed away]. And it was just a shock. I was stunned. And so I just miss him a lot, but the world is definitely a changed place since 1978, when [the debut album] Van Halen came out.”

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https://consequence.net/2020/12/slash-eddie-van-halen-phenomenal/