1993.06.13 - Swedish TV - Interview with Slash

Transcript:
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[Intro – clips from Guns N’ Roses videos – members’ biographies on screen]

[Cut to interviews at Stockholm Stadion, Sweden, June 12, 1993]

Wendy Laister: Hi, I’m Wendy Laister. I work with the band for about 18 months and I look after all the media on the road for the band. What we’re gonna do now, is we’ll go on a quick tour at the stage.

Interviewer: How many people are involved in this tour?

Wendy Laister: There’s 100 people that are on the road with the band. And then in each country we pick up local crew of about another 100 people. So it’s a huge production.

Interviewer: Let’s walk up on stage here.

Wendy Laister: Okay.

[They walk on the stage]

Wendy Laister: It’s about 900 lights up on stage. Then there’s over a couple of hundred speakers, so the PA system is fairly powerful; it takes about 250,000 watts of power to get the show going each night. Thousands of miles of cable. As you can see, everywhere you look there’s bits of cable lying.

Interviewer: I understand that there are three stages that you use during this tour.

Wendy Laister: Yes. They piggyback. One goes to the next third city along. So there’s three in each – in Europe, as we’re going through.

[They walk towards Axl’s tent/dressing room]

Wendy Laister: We’re just coming out towards the back of the dressing rooms here. This is Axl’s dressing room. He has put a few things in here. If you look inside, there’s a humidifier, which, when he comes off between songs, that means that his voice - his throat is kept moist to help his voice. There’s also oxygen, cos he does a lot of running around on stage. TV monitor set: you can see that everybody can see what’s going on on the stage; if, for example, Slash is doing a guitar solo out on stage and Axl is in here, he can see what’s going on outside.

[In Slash’s dressing room]

Wendy Laister: The next room from here, is Slash’s room, with all his guitars. Slash carries with him 13 guitars on the road, so you can see a selection of some of those. Here is Adam Day, who is Slash’s guitar tech.

Interviewer: What is your main job here?

Adam Day: I take care of the instruments and the amplifiers, to make sure that when he goes out there everything is working; I change the sounds during the show to keep him in a good and healthy frame of mind.

[In Matt’s dressing room]

Wendy Laister: This is Matt’s room in here. You can see a hammock there, for when the guys are having a bit of a break – not the band guys, but when the crew guys are having a bit of a break during the day, sometimes they use the hammocks, just lying up there just for comfort’s sake.

[In Duff’s dressing room]

Wendy Laister: As you can see, clearly signposted, so everybody knows where they’re supposed to be going, although it’s always in the same place on the stage.

[In Gilby’s dressing room]

Wendy Laister:These are Gilby’s down here. He’s got a couple of new guitars made while we’ve been out on the road. As we go round, there becomes more and more bits and pieces in these dressing rooms, more stickers, more flags; often it’s things that the fans throw up on stage and get collected. And also Gilby’s acoustic guitar that he uses in the acoustic set.

Wendy Laister: So let’s walk out through here. Okay, what you can see in front of us is two different barricades. This front barricade is very close to the stage. It’s where all the security guys work, so that they can hand out water, they can make sure the crowd is okay. And then, this first section here, where you can just see all these fans coming in and sitting down already, that’s for the first people that get here. As you can see, they’re all charging to get in. But these people, they get a great – they, obviously, get a front class view here.  

[Cut to interview with Slash]

Slash: The only thing that was screwed was that it rained all day. The stage was completely soaked. I found it really hard to try to run around on stage, because it was so fucking wet. Otherwise it was great. The crowd was fucking awesome.

Video Break - It's So Easy [Live from the Stockholm show]

Slash: As big as the band is, this is our first big tour and we've worked our asses off . We've gone through all kinds of… well, line-up changes. Obviously really stressful ones. You know how close a family we are. We've been put with numerous obstacles, that kinda stuff that would usually break up a band. Confrontations from all different ends. We just kept it together. And we've been out longer then pretty much any band has in the last decade or so. Well, rock n' roll band anyway.

Video Break - Live And Let Die

Interviewer: That has been a problem in the past…

Slash: Always the worst, because… We've been living in some strange sort of vacuum for so long, going at such a high pace and just living in this little world that the band was all about, that we didn't know anything else. So when the tour ended, we just go back out on the streets, more or less, and end up fucking up because we were bored. The whole success thing and the rockstar-kind-of-persona that we got labeled with, made it difficult to walk around in the neighborhood, so to speak, you know, Hollywood, without being recognized. And that was awkward. So we started hiding away and, you know, getting into drugs and all the stuff that goes with it, you know, drugs and chicks and chicks always had drugs, and it was all day-in and day-out. And it finally took its toll and that's what happened to Steven. And we just recently played with Izzy and Izzy is just not interested in this business anymore. And it was because of this dramatic affect that success had on everybody's personal psychic, you know. I managed to get over my situation just because I wanted to keep playing. Axl, I think, was the only one that wasn't strung out during this whole period. He was having more personal, emotional problems. And Duff had his… We all had these different things. But it kept up from getting any work done. So finally we booked the Rolling Stones gigs and that sort of got us back together. Despite the rumors of us fighting and all that. We came to realize that we really are focused on what we're doing and that's why we're managing to stick it out this long.

Video Break - Yesterdays

Slash: I have to admit that our social life, personal life, or whatever, is a little bit more restricted. I don't go out as much anymore. We stay in hotels and we don't come out during the day, and we hardly go to clubs anymore at night, just because it's a hassle. I sort of feel raped because of that. But it's a small price to pay for being able to go out on tour and play to all these enthusiastic people that like the band and everything.

Video Break - Dead Horse

Interviewer: Do you consider yourself to be a kind of a workaholic? Do you like to keep yourself busy?

Slash: Yeah. If I don't keep busy, I go crazy. Considering the amount of hours I spend awake, I really find it hard to… Even if I'm laying there watching TV, I have to be thinking about something I'm gonna be doing. A phone call or a practicing or something. And it's just because I like to be active. If not, I might start to get stagnant, then I find things to keep me… stagnant. You know, something I can just… lay back and not care about anything. Which isn't really the pattern I'm using at this point, to keep myself moving on. So I hide myself in working all the time.

Video Break - Always On The Run

Interviewer: You're the only one in the band that's actually been doing quite a lot with other people, outside the band.

Slash: I spend most of my time writing material that's focused towards Guns N' Roses. But there's some songs that we just ended up not doing. And so I just go recorded it with someone else. [laughs] I mean, when Steven was still in the band, he couldn't play certain songs. There were certain songs that didn't make the record that I recorded with other people. And Axl and Duff were like: "Why did you do that?" I was like: "'Cause Steve couldn't play 'em". And we got a new drummer and we could have played 'em. Especially the Lenny Kravitz tune. But I'm happy I did it with Lenny, 'cause he's great and I'm glad the way that turned out.

Interviewer: How do you think you will handle life when you're not on schedule?

Slash: That's always been my biggest dilemma. I'm building a studio at home. And, you know, I'm married now, which keeps me off the streets a little more then I used to be. Keeps me from waking up in some strange girl's apartment. And I love her very much so it's OK. That's curtailed my extracurricular, lunar activities, I think this expression goes. So I just plan on working on the next Guns record. And I keep doing outside material, just with other musicians and stuff. Just to keep busy and jamming. So I'm just gonna focus on playing and trying to get this punk-EP out. Get that finished. And then we'll work on the next original Guns record, and take it from there. I sound like one of those football players. "So what's for next season?" "Well..." [laughs]

Video Break - Paradise City

Interviewer: There are many people that consider you as a hero in their life. Do you see yourself as a hero?

Slash: [laughs] That's what you make of it, I guess. 'Cause I think of it, when I was younger and heroes that I had, which are still heroes of mine. Some of them I've been really fortunate to play with. I've played with John Mayall the other night. And I've played with Rory Gallagher, and I've played with Ronnie Wood, Aerosmith and Jeff Beck. I mean, those are heroes of mine, but I never approach them as being heroes. I try to be as natural and normal as possible. I know I've been listening since I was small. But, it's an uncomfortable feeling for the person, this so-called hero, to be labeled as that. So, for any fan that's really interested in what we're all about, I mean, just take it at face value and read into it what you want. And if you wanna take it seriously, that's fine. It's a subject that I avoid only because it makes me uncomfortable. It makes me a little more insecure that I like to be. Because no one wants to be put on a pedestal.

Video Break - Don't Cry [Original]

Interviewer: Were you a lonely kid when you were younger?

Slash: Yeah. I don't know. That's weird because I went through a period where I just didn't fit in. When I moved to the States I didn't fit in. My parents were completely different then all the other parents of the kids that I grew up around, you know, looser and cooler and, you know, more in the music business as supposed to being attorneys, doctors. So, I didn't really get on. I don't have too many friends that I can think of, that go back to my childhood. I think I can count maybe five. [laughs] These were kids that were outcasts themselves. So we just sort of… just naturally fell together.

Interviewer: You relate more to outcasts?

Slash: Yeah. I mean, I have to admit. Yeah.

Interviewer: What do you have in common then?

Slash: With outcasts?

Interviewer: Yeah.

Slash: Oh, come on. I mean, that's as deep as that question is, the answer's sort of obvious. It's just like… Whatever it is that draws you to somebody, that doesn't go by way of the normal routine of life, you know, someone who takes a little chances, goes out and do something different, has his own ideas, or her own ideas, or whatever. Those are people that usually are considered outcasts.

Video Break - Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Interviewer: Some people might want rock-stars, and people who deal with music, to have some kind of responsibility in what they do onstage…

Slash: That's for Sting. Sting and Bruce Springsteen and, you know, all these other guys. They have responsibilities to do that. We're just a rock n' roll band. I mean, we're just being completely honest about stuff that we see or how we feel. And you can take it or leave it. It's not something that's supposed to be judged so harshly. It's really not to such an extreme as that offensive. I mean, we have certain morals, that I know wouldn't come out. We would not go against some lyrically, or idealistically, as the band's concerned. Just 'cause there's people that we're not into. Within the limitations of what we're about as people, we write about that and we're not out sending any message. We're not on some sort of fucking "Save The World" brigade, because that's all… That's something else altogether. That's not why we make records.

Interviewer: Aren't you afraid of people might misinterpret songs?

Slash: Oh, it's happened.

Interviewer: Like what?

Slash: I mean, obviously, there's a lot of songs. We've been charged with being racists…

Interviewer: Are you thinking about "One In A Million"?

Slash: Yeah. Homophobic, um, anti-feminist and all kinds of shit. There's bands that lyrics that are ten times as harsh as ours. But because we're so much in the limelight and such public… You know, amazingly enough, 'cause we're such the bad guys at one point. That they come down on us for our lyrics, because we're a bad influence on the kids. I guess 'cause the kids listen to our records more so, then some of the bands that are a little more underground. I don't fucking know. 'Cause… I mean, as people, we're definitely not homophobic. You know, my mom… The closest I grew up around… You know, gay... I'm very fond of gay women. So, I mean, I'm not homophobic.

Interviewer: What is it that you find interesting about gay women?

Slash: We don't wanna get into all that. And then as far as the whole racist thing is concerned, it had nothing to do with racism, or us speaking out against blacks or anything. I'm half black, so I was like: "Ok, this is a good one." I knew when Axl wrote the lyrics and I knew the story that went with it. I knew when he put it down on paper, it was gonna be recorded, it wasn't going to come across positive. So I took that one with a grain of salt. We got a lot of flack for that. And then, as for us being anti-feminism. It's like, you write songs about relationships, everybody knows that somewhere along the way, they all have their moments when they're fucked. Being guys and having relationships with women and being pissed off at them for whatever reason.

Video Break - Garden Of Eden

Interviewer: You've recorded some punk songs. Are you planning on putting out a punk-EP? Or punk songs involved in the new album, or…?

Slash: Yeah. It's just and EP of stuff that we wanted to record. Sort of to tie everybody over while we're working on the next record. But it's something we wanted to do and we all picked songs that we liked.

Interviewer: Why punk-songs?

Slash: That's just stuff that we grew up with, that we dug. I think it's probably gonna turn the corner on everybody, because we keep changing all the time. No one seems to understand what the fuck is going on, because the rest of this industry is so predictable at this point. There's some great bands out there, but they never get a chance, no one ever signs them and they don't get a break. Fortunately, somewhere along the way, we found a hole in the door and managed to get a foot in and we've been doing things our own way. So we change all the time. No one seems to understand what we're doing. So this is just something that we wanna do.

Video Break - November Rain

Interviewer: You mentioned earlier that you're married. Do you see yourself as a father?

Slash: I have a really hard time with that. [laughs]

Interviewer: Why?

Slash: Why? 'Cause I'm just not ready for it. I wasn't even ready to get married actually. I was the least likely candidate for marriage I ever met.

Interviewer: But you married anyway.

Slash: Yeah, 'cause I loved her too much. And I was afraid I would end up losing her and then I would be more pissed off, eventually. I had other little reasons why I wanted to stay with one person.

Interviewer: Music is your baby.

Slash: Yeah. It drives her crazy, 'cause she's not from, what you call, "my side of the fence" at all. So she doesn't understand what all this fucking craziness is about. So to her I'm just Slash. The guy that snores… And smokes too many cigarettes.

Video - Patience