1991.07.09 - Interview with Slash by Malcolm Dome

As printed in Rock Candy Magazine, February 2020. It seemingly hadn't been published before.
Credit: Gibbo.
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SLASH
THE LOST INTERVIEW

Is there still a strong sense of togetherness in the band?

F*ck, yeah We’re as close as ever. Not sure why you need to ask.

Well, Axl has his own floor at this hotel, and nobody - not even the other band members - can go up there without his permission...

That's true. But we all agreed to him having this arrangement. He wants his own space and that’s the way he chooses to deal with the incredible pressure that's on this band now. And if that’s what it takes to get him in the right frame of mind, then that's OK by me.

That sounds like you'll do anything to keep him happy.

I would. Whatever it takes to get him onto the stage every night is f*cking cool. You see, the rest of us in the band understand him better than anyone outside. Unless you walk in our shoes, you can’t appreciate what we go through.

Even when he keeps you and the crowd waiting for ages, like the other night...

Yes. Listen, I don't like going onstage late, but Axl doesn't do it to needle anyone. It's the way he is. We know It, and the fans know it. Would everyone rather he's forced onstage earlier and then delivers a sub-standard performance? Because that’s what will happen! No, when he’s psyched up enough to be the Axl Rose we all love, then - and only then - should he go out and perform.

But isn't it true Matt Sorum confronted Axl in the dressing room after that first show, because he was unhappy with his behaviour?

He and Axl had a chat, yes. But it all ended amicably. Matt’s still new with us, so he's getting used to the way Axl works. But he was fine with it all afterwards. People are always looking for ways to have a go at the band, because we're so high profile. But the truth is that we’re still a tight gang. Matt and Axl have no problem. They aired their views the other night and moved on.

You're the biggest band in the world right now. How are you dealing with all the attention you're getting?

It's tough. No other band has ever had such a fast rise. One day we're nothing and the next we’re the band everybody wants a piece of. Who else has ever done that? Not even Zeppelin. But the way I deal with it is by keeping my feet on the ground. I don't allow myself to get carried away. I still have sh*t that smells. I still have to eat, and do normal kinda stuff. But all of us are coping in our own way.

I saw Duff earlier and he was already drinking from a bottle of vodka. Do you worry about him?

No. Look, I know what Duff Is doing -and that's his choice. I don’t tell him what to do and he doesn’t tell me. If I decided he should stop drinking then I'd be a hypocrite. And he’s not as bad as you're making out now.

How did you take it when Axl called you and Izzy out onstage for using heroin when you supported the Rolling Stones in 89?

He was right. We were both getting strung out too much. And we needed that wake up call. It got us back on track. So thank goodness he did it.

But that goes against what you just said about allowing everyone to do what they want to...

Yeah, but we’d both gone too far. We had to be reined in otherwise we might have OD’ed. That's not the case with Duff. If we ever think he's drinking too much, then we'll tell him. We're all there for one another. What happened two years ago in LA with the Stones was necessary, and Axl had our backs by going public as he did.

Have you compromised by changing drummers?

No, keeping Steven Adler in this band would have been a compromise. He did a great Job on 'Appetite For Destruction'. Nobody could have done a better job than him. But this time round we needed something a little different and Steven wasn’t able to do what was needed. We realised this early on, so brought in Matt Sorum, who's a lot more able to do the things we want. Yes. we could have stuck with Steven, but then we'd have had to accept a very limited drumming technique from him. That would have been us compromising on the standards we've wanted to hit just to keep him in this band. And I know we'd all have been unhappy, including Steven. With Matt on board we've grown as a band, and that's important to us.

Did Steven have real drug issues?

Yes, Steven had bad drug problems and that was making him unreliable. We did everything we could to encourage him to come to terms with his addiction. But he just couldn’t stop. Steven's habits were bad for this band, so we took action to try to help him. And when it became obvious that it wasn’t working and that we were faced with having a sub-standard album as a result, then we did what was necessary.

You're on tour right now, but the new album isn't out. Is that risk?

Not for us, because everyone wants to see the band. We thought the new album would be out, but it isn't. However, there was no way we were gonna cancel these shows There are just so many people who'd already bought tickets and we can play some of the new stuff live and give them a taste of what they can expect on the album.

When will the album be released?

It's almost ready. And it's amazing, a lot more diverse than 'Appetite For Destruction'. We've recorded so many great songs and we want them all out. So this will be a double or even a triple album - maybe even bigger!

And Geffen were OK with this idea?

We told them, 'This Is how It's gonna be!' There are loads of bands from the past that probably would love to do what we’re about to do, and release all the songs they wrote and recorded for an album. But for whatever reason that didn't happen for them. But you've known us now for a few years and understand that we always do what we want. This is no different. People told us in 1987 that 'Appetite...' wouldn't sell because It didn't fit in with the music trends of the time. Well, we all know how that went, right? Now there are gonna be those who say we're mad for thinking of a triple album. Do we care? F*ck no! That's what we want to do. We don't want to have to cut out a lot of songs from the album.

You have a reputation for being outrageous and uncontrollable. Does that annoy you?

Not usually, no. But every day I hear stories about what we’re supposed to have done. Most of these are bullsh*t. There are times when we're irritated by what’s said about us. For Instance, we were supposed to tour America early in 1988 supporting David Lee Roth, but just before those dates we were thrown of the bill. Dave claimed our reputation as bad boys concerned him. But I think that was nonsense. The reality was that he was scared of trying to follow us onstage every night, we were so hot. But he couldn’t come out and say that, could he? Instead, he invented this excuse about our attitude worrying him. I still love Dave and will always be a fan of his. But that was bullsh*t. The day we’re worried about what a support act will do to us is the day we stop.

You don't make it easy for yourselves by doing a song like 'One In A Million’, with words like 'ni**ers' and 'fa**ots' in the lyrics...

I know. When Axl came up with it I was worried about recording the song. I wanted Axl to change the lyrics, because it would be seen by many as insulting. But hey, we did it, and I know Axl is talking about personal experiences and not being anti-black or anti-homosexual. So it should be looked at In this context. But we're being slammed for it. I do understand why some people object to those lyrics and I can't defend Axl for his language. But knowing where this came from, I appreciate he's not being racist or homophobic.

Do you think there will still be a Guns N' Roses in the 21st century?

Who knows? That's nine years away. If you'd asked me in 1987 where this band would be in 1991, I could never have predicted the success we've had. So I wouldn't even start to think about where I will be In 2000. As long as it makes sense Guns N' Roses will be around. The one thing I will tell you is that if we ever compromise on anything, however small, then this band Is over. Finished. What we want to be remembered as is the band that did everything on its own terms, no matter what.

Malcolm Dome referenced this interview in the Chrome Heart Media documentary:

Malcolm Dome (Kerrang!): Axl was becoming more and more of a control freak, more and more paranoid. He had a bigger and bigger entourage around him who was there to fuel his paranoia and to suck up to his ego. And the worse it got with Axl, the more the rest of the band pandered to it. I remember in Dallas, just before the Use Your Illusion albums came out, they were staying – obviously – at a very nice hotel. However, Axl was on a different floor to the rest of them. Not only that, but none of the band could actually go up and say, “Hey Axl, shall we hang out and have a drink?” They’d have to actually go through his personal assistant and his bodyguard to get to talk to their own singer. I remember talking to Slash: “What’s going on?!” Slash said, “It’s what Axl needs to deal with the situation. If that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes.” They were seeding more and more ground to Axl, to the point where eventually Axl could threaten them as he did: “I’m not going to go on stage tonight, unless you sign this piece of paper giving me control of Guns N’ Roses;” which they duly did - which was a daft move. So yes, Axl was becoming more and more of a recluse, more and more of a control freak, more and more distant from the rest of the band. But the rest of the band allowed that to happen, and everyone around Axl and the band allowed it to happen, to the point where the band were disintegrating. They were no longer a band. It was a bunch of guys who turned up when on stage – maybe.

https://www.a-4-d.com/t3437-2005-08-02-chrome-media-axl-rose-the-prettiest-star-documentary

That was a pretty hard-hitting interview. Refreshing.