2006.MM.DD - Hawaii Radio - Interview with Slash by Dave Lawrence

Transcript:
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Dave Lawrence: ... Dave Lawrence with you, and today I’m joined by one of the amazing guests on Carmine Appice’s new Ultimate Guitar Zeus release. He’s a distinguished guitarist, a songwriter, an artist really loved and admired by many people for both his talents and his down-to-earth nature. It’s a great thrill to welcome to the Workforce Afternoon, the one and only Slash. Aloha, Slash.

Slash: Aloha, what’s happening?

Lawrence: Welcome to the show, dude. Thanks for taking a few minutes.

Slash: No problem.

Lawrence: When and how did you first get to know Carmine Appice?

Slash: You know what, Carmine is one of those guys that’s been around forever, and I think the first time I met him was at a drum clinic with Steve Adler, when we were, like, 15 or 16 years old; he didn’t have any idea who we were and neither did we at that point. But that was the first time I met him and I just got to know him over the years. You know, I’d bump into him here and there. So I don’t know, we just know each other for a long time.

Lawrence: Yeah, it’s sort of the way it is with a lot of people with him, especially because, you know, his history goes back to before Led Zeppelin really had even come here. So I’m always just curious, because he seems to know everyone, and wherever I am with him - I saw the Cream show in New York with him last fall and it’s just like everybody seems to know him. It’s just, you know, when you look at the back of the Guitar Zeus records and you see all these other cats on there, it’s a crazy list of folks. The one that you’re on is where you belong. And to my ears, and maybe it’s just me, but it reminds of a sort of like a November Rain kind of production quality on that.

Slash: Right. It was released in Japan a long time ago, and it’s just now being introduced in the States.

Lawrence: Yeah. It was one of those tracks. I’m familiar with how he didn’t get these out in the United States and there were a couple of different versions of it. And now he sort of got what he’s calling the Ultimate Guitar Zeus record. The one that you’re on, it’s Kelly Keeling, Tony Franklin...

Slash: Yeah.

Lawrence: And then yourself. So when you were recording with him, I get the feeling that you recorded more than one thing, you did a bunch of different things.

Slash: Well, I know I did the one. I think I did more than one, but not like a handful or anything, right? I wasn’t there long that day. I just came in and did a couple of things and that was that. So I’m positive about the one, obviously, and there might have been another one. So I’m not sure.

Lawrence: Another recent guest appearance that you did that I’ve been fascinated by and curious just to hear a little bit about was that you got to perform for the Queen of England, covering the Beatles with Ozzy.

Slash: Yeah. That was a lot of fun. That was well worth the trip. I just got a phone call from Ozzy asking if I wanted to come out and do this thing and, you know, I’m from England, so I was really honored to do it. It was a big production and it was a lot of work, for sure (laughs). Because we went in, we rehearsed it – we did it early in the morning, we rehearsed it, and the gig itself was out in... let me try and remember the name of where it was... anyway, it was a good drive from London. So then there was an all-day event, where we had to go in and do the sort of soundcheck type of deal and sort of dress rehearsal kind of thing, and we didn’t play for hours and hours later. But it was interesting to actually meet the queen, and I had my son with me...

Lawrence: Oh cool!

Slash: That was sort of cool.

Lawrence: Wow, that’s really special.

Slash: In fact, the queen knew who I was. That was what tripped me out.

Lawrence: So you got, like, a personal – how much time with Queen Elizabeth?

Slash: Oh, just... I mean, she just did this thing, it’s called the horseshoe, where there was a whole bunch of different - like a variety show, so every type of music and entertainment going on.

Lawrence: Yeah.

Slash: There was about 50 different performers, so she got on stage and walked around this sort of horseshoe line of all these people lined up, and so we were on one end, we were at the tail end of the horseshoe.

Lawrence: (Laughs).

Slash: And they had this huge arc, and she started at one end and made her way all the way around. It took about an hour-and-a-half. So I just met her for... you know, briefly.

Lawrence: But you got to stand there in this horseshoe. It was like a receiving line, essentially.

Slash: Yeah, more or less.

Lawrence: And she went through it, and you had to stand there for an hour-and-a-half. And you got to watch her start on the one end of it, and go all around meeting other celebrities and other cats in this line like yourself. Then, all the way at the end, it was you standing there with your family and the Osbournes?

Slash: It was Ozzy, Sharon, myself and London. London is my son.

Lawrence: That is what a moment!

Slash: I might have exaggerated. It might have not been an hour-and-a-half, I wanted to say (laughs).

Lawrence: But it was a while.

Slash: It was a lot of time, though.

Lawrence: Yeah, yeah. I get it. And, I mean, that’s a stunning experience, yeah, because I’ve heard from other people, my buddy John McDermott, who works at Experience Hendrix – you remember John?

Slash: Yeah, yeah. I know who you’re talking about. The guy who does a lot or Jimi stuff.

Lawrence: Yeah, he’s, like, their writer, and he works for the estate and does some stuff.

Slash: I just did the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame with him.

Lawrence: Yeah, right, exactly. That. And you performed with Billy Cox and...

Slash: Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell.

Lawrence: Right.

Slash: And...

Lawrence: Steve Winwood and Corey Glover too, right?

Slash: Yeah, exactly.

Lawrence: That must have been so cool to do and be a part of. And then aren’t you doing, like, a Zeppelin thing coming up, too?

Slash: I’m actually doing a Led Zeppelin Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame right now as we speak. They’re being inducted this year, so I’m introducing them.

Lawrence: Are you?

Slash: Yeah, I will be doing this thing on TV. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing at the show.

Lawrence: Yeah, I heard you were doing the Zeppelin induction over there. That’s wild you’re working on it right now. I wish you lots of luck on that project, Slash, and you’ve been very generous with your time. Keep in mind we’d love to see you out here, if you get the chance, and I really appreciate you taking a few minutes to be on my show.

Slash: No, no, great. Thanks for having me.

Lawrence: He’s in Velvet Revolver these days and is featured heavily on the Carmine Appice project, Guitar Zeus cd, and a great pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks so much for talking to me, Slash.

Slash: Thanks, Dave, I’ll talk to you soon.

The event with Queen Elizabeth was the Royal Variety Show, which took place in Cardiff on Nov. 21, 2005.

Ozzy recalled it like this (Blabbermouth, December 12, 2005):

Ozzy Says Slash Offerred Him Money To Moon The Queen

Australia's Herald Sun is reporting that Ozzy Osbourne admits he was a few beers away from mooning the Queen, and cannot fathom why she would want to meet the "tattooed lunatic".

He said former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash offered him cash to flash his rear at Royal Variety Performance last month and, had he not quit his wildman boozing days, he would have had the bare-faced cheek.

The Black Sabbath frontman, 57, said Slash offered him $9,000 to flash his behind during a recent Cardiff show.

"A few beers inside me and I would have double mooned the Royal Box," the self-styled Prince of Darkness told Britain's The People Sunday newspaper.

Osbourne from Aston, Birmingham, chatted with the Queen afterwards and said she was "really warm and friendly".

"I was standing next to that muppet thingy, Kermit the Frog, with Rod Stewart punching it in the head," he said.

http://search.blabbermouth.net/news/ozzy-says-slash-offerred-him-money-to-moon-the-queen/