2024.07.31 - The Aquarian - Beyond Rock & Behind the Curtain With Slash

Beyond Rock & Behind the Curtain With Slash

From the pinks of the Barbie soundtrack to the most authentic of blues, Slash continues to use the 2020s as a way to add to his already colorful resume.

By Robert Frezza

Few musicians are as busy as Slash. He may go by a single name, but the list of projects and accolades to that one name are tremendous. Most notably a rock guitarist Slash has released a blues-based solo project on the side called Orgy of the Damned. The legend, known for his work with Guns N’ Roses and alongside Myles Kennedy, continues to outdo himself, and as a whirlwind as it is to be recording and touring with the GNR camp that he’s been part of four over 40 years, Slash still found the time to record this new album. Full of covers of songs that he has loved much of his life, Orgy of the Damned (on its ninth week at No.1 on Billboard’s Blues Albums Chart) is complete with an array of equally iconic guest vocalists; from the classic punk rocker that is Iggy Pop to the head-banging pop star that is Demi Lovato to globally-adored country singer Chris Stapleton.

Within this hectic, musical schedule, Slash also found the time to put together S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Fest, a blues-centric festival that is coming to a town near you this summer. The trek began this month and continues throughout August, garnering praise along the way for its diverse, bluesy, yet rocking lineup of talent (headlined by the icon, of course). This is a first for the guitarist, as he was always associated strictly with rock festivals, but putting together his own festival in the midst the Orgy era is something he holds closely to him.

The Aquarian hopped on Zoom with the legendary rockstar to discuss his new album, the styles of music he himself appreciates, and putting together something he grew up loving: a summer music festival.

Why did you decide to make an album of blues covers versus an album of original blues material?

I had a blues cover band back in the late nineties with a couple of guys that were on this record. It was something that was really fun to do and it was a great outlet for me to be able to play straight-up blues stuff and play all these favorite songs of mine. It was something that – back then – I thought I would love to record, but it wasn’t really something that we were taking that seriously at the time; I had other stuff going on that took precedence. Fast forward all these years later and it has been in the back in my mind, especially recently. I took the opportunity to make the record during a break between legs on the Guns N’ Roses tour and it just popped into my head to do this right now.

How did you pick the songs you were going to cover for this project?

You know that’s a good question. When we had the cover band back in the 90s, we had songs we done—mostly blues tracks, some R&B tracks, some old school rock and roll songs. So, when it came to do this record, I wanted to do a certain amount of songs. There were a lot of songs that we did back in the 90s that we played live that I didn’t want recorded. There were some essentials that were really important to my DNA and influential and impactful to me.

How did you envision, or pick, the artists for Orgy of the Damned? Did anyone express interest to work with you?

The thing with the Orgy of the Damned record was that when I started thinking about having guest singers doing it, I’d pick the song, then I would just imagine in my mind who would sound good doing it. These were all the first people who came to mind. It was a simple and quick process to pick everybody, except for the Iggy Pop track.

My bass player read that Iggy Pop had always wanted to do a blues thing, so I called Iggy. Iggy said that it really was something that he always wanted to do. I asked him if there was a song he wanted to cover if he had the opportunity, and he said “Awful Dreams” by Lighnin’ Hopkins. That’s how the Iggy Pop song happened.

How did you tailor each song per vocalist?

It was very simple; we put the arrangement together before we called anybody. They were loosely close to the original, so we didn’t ask the singers to diverge on some crazy path to do the version that we were doing. In some cases, we got together with the artist and jammed in the studio. In all the other cases, we brought the tapes to the vocalist as is and they adapted to it.

We did all the recording and some of the vocals [at] EastWest in Hollywood. Some of the vocals we did were in a small studio that I use. We used Burnt Orange Studios and did some vocals at the Church Studios in Palm Springs. Chis Stapleton’s vocals were done in Nashville.

Your style is obviously steeped in the blues, and Orgy of the Damned continues this tradition, but were you ever interested or inspired by any other rock genres like nu-metal, industrial, or grunge?

I’m into a lot of different stuff. When you say nu-metal, that is a genre I’m really not into. I think it’s very homogenized. I’m not saying there are not good bands or songs in that genre, but that production technique takes all the life out of it for me.

I like industrial because it comes from a raw place. It’s designed to be technological, so you accept it for what it is. I love everything else. I love a lot different kinds of blues, and I love different kinds of hard rock, and I love all kinds of music.

There are many spiritual references throughout Orgy of the Damned, especially in the beginning of the album. Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?

That wasn’t intentional. A lot of music lyrically and musically has spiritual connotations and a spiritual through-line. I’m not super spiritual, though I believe in certain things that I follow or how I was raised.

How was the experience working with producer Mike Klink? What new techniques (if any) did he bring to the table for the album?

Working with Mike was great. He came down to rehearsal and sat in and listened to us rehearse for three hours, which was just patient of him, and he gave us a few notes at the end. I always enjoyed working with Mike. As a producer, he’s great, because he’s not trying to put his personal stamp on anything. He has great ears and makes suggestions, otherwise he lets you do what you do. That’s why Guns N’ Roses worked with him. More importantly, he is a fantastic engineer and he knows how to record a guitar, which is a dying art. He knows bass sounds and drums. He records a band as they sound and brings out the best of them. It’s something he’s innately talented at.

Orgy of the Damned got some mixed reviews. Do you read them?

No. I learned over the years, whether good or bad, you don’t need to read it.

Either way, how does it feel to have your music speak to so many generations now?

I’d be lying to say it isn’t gratifying to look out at an audience of all mixed ages – from my age to young ones. Then you meet them after shows here and there… it’s encouraging.

What does S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival mean to you?

I grew up in a very healthy musical environment. I always loved live shows and see the mystique of the gear setting up – that always fascinated me. As a teenager, though, I always loved the summer festival concept. Hanging out all today and listening to a day’s worth of great music? It’s just, to me, the ultimate entertainment experience. That always stuck with me, and I’m really a live music kind of guy. It’s a means-to-an-end to go out and perform. Doing a summer festival with a bunch of cool artists is just a special event.

I never really been involved in a blues festival. I’ve been involved in metal and rock and roll festivals in Europe and here in the States, but to do a blues-kind-of-centric festival is a new thing to me.

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