2016.01.11 - Trunk Nation/Blabbermouth - Slash's Conspirators Bandmate On Guns N' Roses Reunion

Slash's Conspirators Bandmate On Guns N' Roses Reunion: 'This Thing Is Bigger Than All Of Us'

Todd Kerns, the bassist for Slash's backing band, Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, was interviewed for a recent edition of "Eddie Trunk Podcast". A few excerpts follow (transcribed by Blabbermouth.net):

On how he was first told that Slash was reuniting with Guns N' Roses:

"One thing I'll say for Slash is he's never been really kind of… I don't think he's really keen on the whole, 'Let's sit down and have a meeting,' that kind of very formal kind of thing. It's more like a… I always use the term 'bros,' and it tend to sound a little douchey, but I mean it like as in like we're friends. Friends as much as friends can be in this crazy, wacky business. But I think that Slash… he had to tell us what was going on. And I can't say how much I appreciate the idea that he actually sort of said, 'Look, this is what's going on, and I just want you guys to know.'"

On whether it was a surprise to find out about the Guns N' Roses reunion:

"This was obviously a thing that… It's been an elephant in the room for… I don't know… since '94 [laughs]… whenever Slash left the band. His whole life he's had to answer the question, 'So when is this gonna happen?' And I just think that a number of things kind of led to this, and it's kind of like, 'Fuck it! I'm gonna do this.' You know what I mean?"

On how the Guns N' Roses reunion will affect Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators' plans to record a new studio album:

"We already knew we were kind of off for 2016, other than kind of maybe chipping away at… you know, bass and drums here. Even the way we had done 'World On Fire' was very piecemeal. We had done bass and drums and then Slash went off to do guitars on his own. This time, if everything goes according to plan, we will do exactly the same thing; it'll just probably be a little bit more broken up by Slash's schedule, essentially. You know, like anything else, I'm always aware that anything can change, anything can happen.

"We've always had a springtime plan to get into bass and drums recording. And we've already got an album-plus worth of music together.

"I think he's gonna go off and have this great experience and then we're gonna make this record. There's no reason to not make it or whatever other than scheduling getting really crazy, which, let's be honest, could happen, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I'm perfectly okay with just sort of playing it out and see what happens."

On how he personally feels about Slash going back to Guns N' Roses:

"I think that this thing, as I had mentioned before, is bigger than all of us. This whole thing is history of rock occurring right under our noses, which is interesting for a guy from my perspective.

"This is something that is important for him to do. Guns N' Roses, obviously, it's important for multiple reasons. I think it's an important part of his life that he has to kind of embrace a little bit. I think it's a really great thing for the entire planet, but for the individuals involved, guys like Duff, who I know and love to death too, I think this is an important part of a return for them."

On the mystery and cloud of uncertainty that is constantly hanging over Guns N' Roses:

"Isn't that part of the awesomeness of this situation — the kind of, like, 'Who knows?' The Guns N' Roses thing is… When we talk about it, there's, like, five bands in the history of rock that have that kind of a reputation of just completely, who knows what could happen? And I think that that's the beauty of this."

https://blabbermouth.net/news/slashs-conspirators-bandmate-on-guns-n-roses-reunion-this-thing-is-bigger-than-all-of-us