1995.05.04 - The Province - Slash Is Burning With Pride In The Snakepit

Slash is burning with pride in the Snakepit
 
By TOM HARRISON
 
What put the fangs in Slash's Snakepit?
 
Earlier this year, Guns N' Roses guitarist, Slash, released his first "side project," It's Five O’Clock Somewhere, under the name of Slash's Snakepit.
 
With songs about beggars and hangers-on. rock star junkies, wannabe rock stars and other Hollywood poseurs and drones who hover around the G N’ R circle, in the centre of which is Slash, the album's coiled, rattling rock also has a poisonous bite.
 
“It's a very sarcastic record," says singer Eric Dover, who was invited by Slash to write most of the lyrics to the tunes the latter had recorded. “We were watching Absolutely Fabulous at the time."
 
Really? Absolutely Fabulous, the (some would say) scandalous English series about the amoral adventures of the unravelling Edwina. That set the tone?
 
“Yeah,” says Eric, “The Comedy Channel had an Absolutely Fabulous marathon and I was watching that and writing the lyrics.”
 
With It’s Five O'Clock Somewhere, Dover has stepped to the front from his previous role as a background singer and support player in the also fabulous Jellyfish. He is quick to point out, however, that as lyricist for Slash’s Snakepit he wasn’t getting on a soapbox.
 
ACCUSING FINGER
 
“Not as a spokesman,” he says. “Not to wave an accusing finger at anyone. Because, even with all the bad people in those songs, there's not one that doesn’t have a little bit of me in it.”
 
“We’re humorous realists,” says Slash, joining the conversation. “You can laugh or be depressed by what goes on around you. We were laughing all of the time.
 
“What the record is, is very simple. It’s just a bunch of guys jamming. It’s not a record that can be analyzed."
 
Left emotionally drained from the marathon two years of touring with Guns N’ Roses that ended in 1993, Slash ran away from the circus and joined his home. In other words, he had recording equipment somewhere among the cages containing his collection of snakes and took the only escape route left to him — playing music.
 
As he began to record tracks, as other Gunners Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke and Duff McKagan joined in, and as the other Gunner, Axl Rose, didn’t seem interested, Slash realized that something was taking shape that would not be a Guns N’ Roses album. Nor would it be a solo LP.
 
“It was only when I booked us into a studio that 1 knew I was making a record,” Slash says. “Even then, we didn’t have vocals. It wasn't until Eric got involved that we started writing lyrics.
 
“It really is a collaborative effort,” Slash says. “It might have started as my thing but I want to establish it as a band thing.”
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
 
Slash's band thing was never a given. He’s out on the road with it now and will be at the Commodore Ballroom on Tuesday but at the time of the album’s release, Slash, Dover, Clark, Brian Tichi and James Lomenzo didn’t know they could cut it as Slash’s Snakepit until they made a video of Beggars and Hangers-On.
 
“That’s why we shot the video in a live setting,” the guitarist says. “I have to admit I was nervous. We got up there and had a great time. I could feel the vibes and thought, ‘This is going to be cool.’
 
“Guns is one of the most unpredictable bands but after months of playing stadiums I got tired of it. It was a hassle for the band, a hassle for the audience. You can’t see anybody and they can't see you.
 
“But because this band is made up of more level-headed back line guys, I think we can keep it under control. Just because Snakepit is so simple, it's different from what Guns N’ Roses was by the end of the last tour. It’s a release for all of us from our respective careers.
 
“I know for me that this may help when I go back to deal with Guns N’ Roses — after being so stressed out after the last tour."