Interview of Slash in Hard Rock Magazine number 61 of October  2000


Hard Rock :  The last time we met was 1995 in Paris, when you were doing the 
promotion of your first solo album : It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. May as well 
say itOs been an eternity since then.

Slash : Yes, it is true, it may sounds long to you! Five years, itOs something. 
To be completely honest with you, I didn't see the time go by. Once this album 
has been recorded and promoted live, I got back with Guns And Roses or I tried 
as much as possible to work in harmony with Axl.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out and I quit the band, period. I touring for 
months with Slash's Blues Ball. A project with no future, put together for fun 
then I decided to put the Snakepit back together, in a new form. It took me some 
time. I, as well, lots of sessions, just to play solo solos on my friends' 
albums (Duff McKagan, Doro, etc....) Slowly but surely, a whole new Snakepit was 
born. We wrote and recorded a whole album. Sincerely everything fell into place 
super fast, I didn't get the feeling that we were fucking around. Actually, just 
the simple fact of leaving Guns And Roses took me a whole lotta time, contract 
and business wise.

Hard Rock : We can imagine it wasn't an easy decision to take !

Slash : Not that much really. I was only one fifth of Guns And Roses. I couldn't 
go on like this. The solution became obvious to me : I needed to go, it was a 
life or death matter. It was four years ago and I haven't spoken to Axl since 
then. I think I got divorced at the same time too (Laughs)! Let's just say it 
was a very busy period of my life. My situation nowadays is more stable and I 
just recorded an album with Jack Douglas who has an amazing CV. I wanted him to 
produced Appetite For Destruction back in a days but  each Gunner has his word 
to say and it didn't come thru. With Ain't Life Grant I finally did.

Hard Rock : Your schedule with Guns And Roses was crazy to say the least and yet 
you have managed to go on and keep on working after your departure from the 
band, you didn't tour much though.....

Slash : It's very true and that what was the most frustrating to me, I never 
stopped playing live but I didn't properly tour, just play live here and there 
just to keep it alive, I guess.

Hard Rock : How come the new Snakepit lineup as nothing to do with the first 
album's lineup??

Slash : There is something to know : It's Five O'Clock Somewhere is the results 
of jams between friends, mainly Guns And Roses members. We used to jam at my 
house all the time right next to my Snakepit (where I raise my snakes) do the 
name was obvious to us.
With the time going by, we recorded some demos, then an album. Then, quickly. 
the question  was who was going on the road with me? Most of the people who 
helped my out in the studio were contractually bound to something, especially 
Matt Sorum. I, then, hired part time' members to help me out.

Hard Rock : What happened to your singer, Eric Dover?

Slash : I run into him a while ago, he was supposed to be working with one of a 
members of Jellyfish in a band called Pearl Drag. Apparently, it didn't work 
out. In 1995, after I toured with the Snakepit, I thought I was getting back 
together with Guns And Roses and put my solo project asleep. We all know how it 
ended. I decided to rethink the Snakepit completely. and truthfully, I didn't 
even have Eric in mind for this new album. His participation was kind of an 
accident to begin with, he was at the right place, at the right moment and he 
dug on the adventure. When time came to see things in a more long term and 
serious way, to be completely committed, it didn't turn out to be the right 
person. I wanted people to be completely committed to the Snakepit with no other 
plans in mind.

Hard Rock : Can you introduce up to your new line up?

Slash : Okay, Rod (Jackson) replaces Eric on vocals. It last the last piece of 
the puzzle : I had to audition a considerable amount of singers to get there and 
find this cat. The funny thing is that we were practically neighbors in 
Hollywood (Laughs)! Curiously, I never heard of him, we never even run into each 
other. Johnny G is on bass, he was backing me up in the Blues Ball. We both 
spotted drummer Matt Laug when we were Club hopping. Then, Keri Kelli (second 
guitarist), the first time I met him was when he played for Alice Cooper.
This is it! 

Hard Rock : How would you describe the new album?

Slash : It's the following of It's Five O' Clock Somewhere, same vein. Hard good 
old riffs, 
the kind of music that's been fascinating me for 15 years. The main change is 
coming from the new line up, from that particular mix of strong personalities. 
New musicians for a record that will let the fans feel home but yet will feel 
different, for the reasons I just mentioned, of the last one. We spent lots of 
time getting to know each other. I would throw an idea in and everyone would 
bring his personal input up. Like a real band instead of the first album that 
was nothing but what I considered to be my vision of what an album of Guns And 
Roses could be like.

Hard Rock : I heard that some of the titles off Ain't Life Grant were originally 
songs you've wrote for Guns And Roses and were turned down by Axl.

Slash : It's not true. Rumors, as always, as well as that the same songs were 
supposed to feature on Lenny Kravitz and Michael Jackson's albums, the songs of 
the Snakepit couldn't be played by Guns And Roses.

Hard Rock : It's Five O' Clock Somewhere was distributed by Geffen. The second 
album will be issued on Koch's label. Why this change??

Slash : Geffen turned to Interscope, which is everything but a record label. I. 
then took my tapes and got the fuck out to try to find a new record company, a 
human scale one not eaten alive by the Barnum (Corporate). Then, I dug in Koch. 
They signed me when Ain't Life Grant was recorded, names and artwork picked out, 
etc...... They didn't have a chance to put their nose in the songs and we just 
stick to releasing the album. We didn't have to jump into all the business hoops 
then.

Hard Rock : How did you get to open up for AC/DC in the States??? Many bands, 
and not the least ones were ready to do anything to get this gig.

Slash : Opening up for AC/DC was a dream came true. We signed a deal with Koch, 
we finally got to plan on a release date (Our album was out already in 
february), we were waiting for only on thing then : Going on tour. First, I 
parted with my old work relationships, manager, lawyer, agent, etc.... I got rid 
off of all the people I worked with for years, just to definitely severe ties 
with Guns And Roses. I didn't want to work with someone who had this idea in 
mind. Then, I hired new people with for first assignment to find me tour dates. 
Soon after, our agent gave me a list of bands who were planning on touring the 
States for the summer, I freaked out when I saw AC/DC's name. I passed on the 
album to their manager who dug it and offered us the guest spot of opening band. 
Crazy huh! Everybody in the Snakepit has absorbed and jammed on AC/DC' stuff 
when we started playing.

Hard Rock : What did you think of the first gigs you played in Grand Rapids and 
Auburn Hills?

Slash : Everything went great, even though it's very hard to open up for such a 
band. AC/DC's public is pretty exclusive. So, we did our stuff without worrying 
too much of the rest, kind of blending in. Then, once we were done playing, we 
just went in the audience to watch AC/DC's show, the best rock band I ever got 
to see. It was a good thing, since we had to outdo ourselves. I hate talking 
about business but it's undeniable that opening up for such a big name is the 
best way to reach out a large audience and have people hearing what we are 
doing. Then again, I repeat myself, it was over all a childhood dream came true.

Hard Rock : What do you think of Angus Young as a guitarist?

Slash : He is big! I stole my best solos from him!!! It's funny, last night, at 
the show, during the break, the DJ played the live cover we made of Whole Lotta 
Rosie with Guns And Roses. Most likely, Angus doesn't know such a cover even 
exists. I never talked to him about it. We run into each other the other day, 
just say Hello but we will be on tour for two months with AC/DC, we will have 
more time to get to know each other. We were dying 
to jam with them !!!

Hard Rock , Each of the two night, you guys have played a different Guns And 
Roses tune (It's So Easy in Grand Rapids and Mr. Brownstone in Auburn Hills). Do 
you plan on covering the whole Appetite For Destruction?

Slash : No (Laughs!) This two Guns And Roses titles are the only one we are 
going to play on tour cuz it meshes well with the Snakepit set list.  On the 
other hand, I don't see us covering Sweet Child O' Mine. Before we hit the road, 
we looked up Guns And Roses discography to determinate what was the songs we all 
favored, then again, it couldn't be too Guns And Roses labeled. It's impossible 
to play Welcome To The Jungle or Paradise City cuz such titles, in people's mind 
are closely related to Guns And Roses history. We decided to restrain ourselves 
to the two tunes you have mentioned.

Hard Rock : When you opened up for AC/DC. You are stepping on giant stages 
again. What's your feeling on it?

Slash : It's a weird feeling. The past few years, I played only clubs or theater 
only. It's great to be able to perform on big stage again but we know that in 
two months from now we will leave arenas to go back to the Clubs circuit. We are 
touring the States with AC/DC but we will headline in Europe without them 
(Latest news were that Slash would open up for AC/CD in Europe too). I miss 
Europe but I know now that the countdown has started and I just have to be 
patient.....

Hard Rock : Isn't it too frustrating to play a mere forty minutes?

Slash : Yes, it is hard! Just enough time to warm up then it's time to leave the 
stage already!  But it is how the game is played, you got to get used to it and 
give out as much as possible in a small amount of time. I don't wanna hear 
anyone complaining cuz we knew from the start that it wasn't going to be an easy 
one, it's quite a task!

Hard Rock : The World of Hard Rock has known multiples changes in the past five 
years. What do you think of the actual scene, the new bands?

Slash : I didn't have much time or desire to take interest to what's going on, I 
was focusing on the Snakepit. Here, in L.A. nothing existing is happening. The 
music business is biting is own tail. If feels like we are back in 1985 when 
Guns And Roses were still a primitive stage, no bands could get a deal and were 
all dying out form the lack of enough exposure to make it. then the record 
companies released a whole bunch of crap.... Guns And Roses is today the object 
of numerous tributes, successful or not such as  Appetite For Reconstruction.
Have you listen to it? I have a great story on the subject. One day, a barman in 
NY confide in me being a huge Guns And Roses fan and asked a friend to go buy 
him Appetite For Destruction for me to sign it for him When his friend came 
back, he handed me a copy of Appetite For Reconstruction. I tripped out even 
more when I realized, after looking up the credits that all the West Coast has 
been', losers, ex someone make a date to play  on that fucking record (Laughs!) 
even Tracii Guns played most titles. Fuck! This album is the one all those guys 
were dreaming to put out one day!! As a result, I didn't even listen to any of 
the covers. I don't feel honored or flattered at all, it's all a matter of 
money.

Hard Rock : We are convinced that you couldn't help but to listen to the new 
Guns And Roses title Oh My God.


Slash : I actually heard it when I went to see  End Of All Days at the movie 
theater. I didn't think much of it. My position of this is that I am dying to 
listen to what Axl will put out next, the stuff that more or less precipitated 
the split of Guns And Roses. Not that I mean bad or reject completely something 
I have no part of. After all, Axl and I, we could go at it but we could also 
share the same vision. We had a tendency of leading toward against nature 
association, messing around with the line up by integrating elements estranged 
from Rock music. So, when I left, I felt at peace with myself. And when I heard 
Oh My God, it conforted me that I didn't leave Guns And Roses on a whim. 
Definitely, me and Axl were no longer on the same musical kick. I can't wait to 
hear what he has written since we split.
It's his work, he lives for it and hasn't done anything else since then. I run 
into Izzy (Stradlin') the other day, it was my birthday, I asked him what was up 
with him? Everybody wanders (Laughs)! None of us changed much over the years 
really, aside from Axl of course.

Hard Rock : When you look back, don't you ever think : What a fucking mess??

Slash : No, cuz I left the band while  we were still cool. I have no times for 
regrets, life is too short and goes on with or without Guns And Roses. I still 
have a whole lot to accomplish. No, the only thing that bothers me is when  our 
true fans think You guys had everything to make it a big hit, so why?? The 
problem is, behind the scene was a thick tension. It was easy for me to plug on 
my guitar and play, it wasn't that simple for Axl. He always had to fuck it all 
up. It came to a point that all we did was fighting and regressing musically. I 
could see problem coming, I could feel them while we were recording Use Your 
Illusions.

Hard Rock : The Snakepit was a real breeze of fresh air in comparison.

Slash : Yes, you can't imagine what a kick it was when It's Five O'Clock 
Somewhere came out and we went on tour. I was not trying to recapture some 
magic, just stuck to play the way I knew how, with no restriction. We toured for 
four months, I met thousand of kids and totally got a kick out of it. So, you 
can imagine how brutal it was when I went back to Guns And Roses. Very quickly I 
thought O Fuck! I just wanna fucking play not deal with that shit!'
The Snakepit opened up my eyes. It's my band but it's also a whole band, a real 
one, trying to get off and move further. I left Guns And Roses out of love. For 
the love of music and for the love of being onstage.......