2010.11.04 - Backstage Axxess - Interview with Slash

Slash Interview

Written by Gus Griesinger

There are few names that garner more immense credibility across multiple music genres than that of our next interviewee. Slash is not only a highly respected musician, but the name and image is starting to become a powerful brand name as well. Slash just completed a run of tour dates all across the world in support of his first solo effort ‘Slash’ and has a tour planned for 2011 as the opening act for Ozzy.

Backstagexxess.com talked to Slash in detail about all the aforementioned things and much, much more. Personally, this is my second time interviewing Slash and a first for Backstageaxxess.com. In my opinion, you would be hard pressed to find a more humble artist than the man underneath the top hat. So let’s sit back and enjoy a chat with a true rock and roll icon, Slash…

Gus: How are you doing today?

Slash: I’m all right.

Gus: I’m going to get right into the interview but before I do, I want to say that out of all the discs we review here at Backstageaxxess.com, that yours is my personal pick for album of the year.

Slash: Oh no, god really? (laughs)

Gus: I think it’s a really well put together album. The first question I have for you is that every singer you have fits that vocalist style so perfectly. Ho much did the vocalist contribute to the writing and the creation of the music?

Slash: With every song it was different. When I worked with Kid Rock that is when I presented a piece of music to him and it wasn’t anywhere near finished. It was more like a hook, a verse, and maybe a chorus. He and I got together in Michigan at his house and really worked the song from the ground up and made to what it is on the record. Where as in Fergie, the arrangement was exactly how I wrote it and demoed it and she just put the vocals right on top. That was two examples of extremes. Having nothing to do with the actual musical part and just putting vocals and melodies on it; and sculpting it out of nothing.

Gus: The tour you just did with Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge fronting it; how was he chosen along with the rest of the band?

Slash: With Myles Kennedy it was a crazy little Cinderella story. When I worked with Myles, I never met him prior or was real familiar with his voice per say. I heard him on YouTube with Alter Bridge and we have been checking him out for Velvet Revolver and I realized he had a really good voice. When I was making the record I had two songs that I couldn’t figure out who should sing. The whole rest of the album was finished. Then I thought, “What about that Myles Kennedy guy?” Just called him up to see if he was interested and I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t want to lose those two tracks. I sent him one of them and waited around to see what he did and he came back with the song “Starlight.” It was like a huge revelation for me as I like “Wow! This guy is pretty awesome!” So I flew him out to LA and we recorded that song and consequently did “Back from Cali” as well. At that point I asked him to see if he was interested in doing a tour and it went from there. Once he signed on to do the tour I was out looking for the next most important component in a band for me which is a drummer. I started looking at different drummers and setting up auditions and stuff. I got these phone calls recommending I work with this guy Brent Fitz. So I ended up calling him and he came down and we jammed and he was perfect. He then introduced me to Todd Kerns who is playing bass. Bobby Schneck is somebody I knew from along time ago from one of the thrown together blues jam bands I had going in the 1990’s. There you have it. The chemistry just worked from the get go. We only had 2 weeks to rehearse to get it together before the tour started and it just fell into place. That always doesn’t happen ya know?

Gus: I’ve seen the tour and it was fantastic along with the selection of songs. I wished you would have played a little bit more of the solo material but I understand you have to balance everything out and appease everybody. Definitely a great selection of artists to be in your band and it was a great show for sure.

Slash: Thanks, Thanks. I appreciate it!

Gus: I have in my hand, which I just received last night, the new deluxe edition of your solo album. Looking at it now it has really cool packaging. How did this come about to do a deluxe package?

Slash: Well, it’s just really an excessive excuse to get the four remaining songs I recorded out. When I made the record, there were 19 songs in total. I knew I couldn’t put 19 songs on the first solo record and expect everyone to just sit through it. So we narrowed the record down to 14. Because of the sequencing and getting the record to flow those 4 songs didn’t make it on the record… some good songs. It was a hard decision to really have to make. Anyways, I always really wanted to get that together. So I figured in order to release those other 4 songs that I would have to put something together interesting that would make anyone’s worth while to go out and buy it, especially if they purchased the first record. So I tried to come up with some cool stuff to make it interesting. I come from a background where live records and box sets from the old days where you really just spent time with an album cover looking at the liner notes and all the other interesting stuff. So I wanted to put together something that hearkened back to where we still had vinyl and package it like that.

Gus: It’s a cool package. Everyone should pick it up. You can get a pick in there, a poster. It’s pretty cool.

Slash: The poster’s cool. Fans can send in their pictures and the picture on the poster of me is actually made up of fans faces, little tiny pictures.

Gus: I got a question and don’t know if you have ever been asked this but are you more conscious today of the brand Slash, as your image is being used in things like Slash’s Arcade Rocker or Guitar Hero. Like the business aspect of the brand Slash than Slash the musician?

Slash: Nah. I’m more of Slash the musician. I think people around me are probably more aware of the actual brand. When the word brand first became anywhere near synonymous with my name it didn’t come from me (laughs.) I think there has been a sort of a lot of interest in what they consider is a sort of an image. I just do what I do. I don’t spend that much time cultivating that ya know?

Gus: Going on with the singer auditions with Velvet Revolver… when will we see this band take flight again?

Slash: I have no idea. We had a couple of guys in the week before last. We have some more guys coming in next week or the week after. Yeah, the week after. All things considered they are all great guys of everyone we have been trying out so far. For the most part anyways there have been some really good singers. Trying to find the right guy for this thing is a lot more complicated than one would probably think. So we will keep on toiling away it until we hit that magic and when that happens then everything will start rolling.

Gus: You are going to be co-producing a horror film. Do you want to tell the people about that?

Slash: Well… I have an amazing script! I have been sort of been working on tweaking this script and finally got it to a place where it’s completely presentable and we’re now just shopping it. We are getting a ton of offers cause the script is really good! I don’t think I ever hid the fact that I’m a huge horror fan. I have a friend in Scott Productions who turned me onto this writer and just got involved in this script. It’s something I would love to get behind. If this works out, then it would be something I would do…some producing and stuff when a good script came my way.

Gus: Cool. When can we expect that to be on the silver screen so to speak?

Slash: Umm...well we haven’t even begun production, obviously, so it will probably be in 2012.

Gus: Next year you will be touring, opening for Ozzy. Is there a chance Oz will come out and do “Crucified for the Dead?” Is this something you are working on?

Slash: You know, that would be something I would love to do with Ozzy on this tour and I’m going to be behind it. It just depends on what Ozzy wants to do. We will see how that develops. That should be an interesting thing to see.

Gus: Out of all the accolades you accumulated over your illustrious career, which one stands out to you the most?

Slash: Hmmm... which one stands out to me the most... it’s hard to say. I’m not really sort of big on recognizing accolades. I don’t like them to get them into my head (Gus laughs) and have any influence on the way I perceive things. I think the coolest thing that has happened for me as a recognizable persona on the music scene was to get the cover of Mad Magazine (both Slash and Gus laugh.)

Gus: A couple of years ago when I saw you play with Velvet Revolver which was at the end of the 2007 tour I saw you throw out top hats to the crowd. When I saw you on your solo tour you didn’t do that. Is this something you do sporadically on different shows or was that something you were just doing with Velvet Revolver.

Slash: It was something that happened with Velvet Revolver and it was also something that was sort of sporadic. You know what happened, it was that it was such a demand for them that it was impossible to keep up with. You’re talking about, at that point, a massive production of top hats (Slash laughs.) And you have to sign them all and it becomes a gig onto itself. There was a distinct reason why I’m not doing it now. It got too much for me to handle.

Gus: In wrapping up, what can the fans expect from Slash the rest of 2010 going into 2011?

Slash: Well, obviously I will be doing more touring through 2011 with Myles and company. Then, hopefully, a singer for Velvet Revolver at some point in 2011 and then a record in 2012 if not sooner, if not later, who knows? That’s basically it. I’m working on material for another record as well that I would like to do with Myles at some point down the road so just expect me to be around.

Gus: Thanks a lot Slash.

Slash: Thanks for all the kind words man.

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