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Re: Slash in the process of developing a cartoon?!
Interview with Slash from Velvet Revolver...
ICONS need only one name. Type in Slash into Google and there he appears. The top hat. The hair. The dangling cigarette. The Les Paul. The legend...
The former Guns N' Roses guitarist simply oozes rock'n'roll. And more than two decades since he first shot to fame, he's barely changed. Something he puts down to his lifestyle.
'I play a lot of guitar and have a lot of sex,' he purrs. 'I think that makes you healthy, wealthy and wise.'
Well that answers that one then.
Dressed in black leather and a battered T shirt, he's the definition of a rock star.
But despite the throaty Californian drawl and that undefinable American glow, he was born and raised in England.
Born Saul Hudson and growing up in Stoke, he came from a musical family - his mother worked as a costume designer for David Bowie, and his father was an artist who worked for Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
At 14, Slash was given his first guitar by his grandmother, and hasn't looked back since.
Hailed as one of the greatest guitarists alive, his big break came with Guns N' Roses debut album Appetite for Destruction, which sold 15 million copies in the United States, making it the second highest selling debut album of all time.
Mega-stardom followed, and Slash and the band became the poster boys for rock excess. Never was their excess more marked than the Use Your Illusion World Tour, which lasted for more than two years.
When the band imploded in 1996, Slash went on to record with the likes of Alice Cooper, Ronnie Wood, Bad Company, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, turning his hand to a wide variety of genres.
'I like the variety,' explains Slash, 42. 'I like to play with people that are better than me.'
Who could be better than Slash?
'Loads of people,' he chuckles. 'It keeps me humble to think just how many. I'm very shy. I have to force myself to talk to people, but if I've got a guitar to hide behind I'm OK.'
Who have been your favourites?
'So many - I've been so lucky - I've played alongside my heroes: Iggy Pop, Ray Charles, Carole King, Lenny Kravitz...'
He trails off. His way of speaking, like his way of being, is reassuringly laid back. When you're that cool, you don't have to try too hard.
But, when I ask him about the music he listens to, his languid persona makes way for something much more animated.
'I listen to everything,' he enthuses. 'I have my iPod on shuffle - it's the only way I can listen to it. I can't understand the thing of having all your music in this tiny little box. There's a lot of Jimi Hendrix on there, a lot of ACDC, a lot of weird stuff I don't even know what is. There's a lot of Beatles stuff on there actually. There's everything.
'I'm known for Guns N' Roses and what I did in that particular scene, but that isn't how I'd define myself. I'd say I'm a blues-based guitarist, but I love all kinds of music. It's bad to shut yourself off.'
Is it frustrating that people associate you with one genre?
'You get stereotyped in a way, but you can't knock having made an impact in your career,' he says. 'To be as successful as that band was was a gift.
'I can think of a lot of worse ways to be well-known than being in a band.
'It's better then being on Dancing with the Stars.' He laughs again.
Now after a break from touring he's back on the road with Velvet Revolver, the band he founded with two fellow Guns N' Roses bandmates - Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, plus ex-Stone Temple Pilot singer Scott Weiland and former Electric Love Hig Dave Kushner.
Their first album Contraband went platinum and gigs sold out in an hour.
Rock fans are a loyal bunch, and rock icons don't get much bigger. As a result they are now selling lorry-loads of records.
Second album Libertad revels in the staccato pop sensibilities of first single She Builds Quick Machines to the rousing ballad Gravedancer.
Slash says he's looking forward to bringing his new material to Liverpool.
'I like Liverpool,' he grins. 'I know all the obvious stuff, but I haven't been for ages, so I wouldn't know where to get a good drink, or where to hang out.'
Obvious stuff?
'The things that everybody knows,' he continues. 'Like The Beatles. I love The Beatles. There's no one else that has a catalogue like that. Growing up I listened to them all the time, and they shaped so much of what I've gone on to do. You can't overestimate what they did for music.'
And after Liverpool, what's next for you?
'We have some more touring to do, I want to get started on a solo record,' he ponders. 'Oh, and I'm working on a cartoon.'
A cartoon? Are you doing the music or drawing the pictures?
'Both,' he laughs. 'But I'm not really supposed to talk about it yet, it's about a high school band, based on my experiences growing up. I've drawn it. Don't ask me any more though - you'll get me in trouble.'
Is art a new thing for you?
'No, I started as a kid, I was always drawing, always with a pencil and paper. That's what I thought I'd do with my life, and then I found the guitar.
'I do all the band logos, and all my own tattoos.
'I'm not one of those people that are completely covered - I like the sleeved look on some people, but it makes it hard to make out the individual artwork.
So it seems he's left room for a few more designs on his heavily tatooed frame.
'I have a couple of cool spaces left,' he grins. ' But you don't want to know where.'
The mind boggles.
Velvet Revolver play Mountford hall on Saturday March15, tickets £32.50 from 0844 576 5483 or www.livenation.co.uk. The album Libertad is available now. For more information, see www.velvetrevolver.com or www.myspace.com/velvetrevolver.
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Slash in the process of developing a cartoon?!
"My favourite cartoon characters are Metallica and Slash" (Axl Rose)
Great interview, thanks for posting! It seems that Slash has serious plans for his future 
- DoubleTalkingJive
- Rep: 74
Re: Slash in the process of developing a cartoon?!
I commend him for that and have much respect. He constantly keeps himself working. 
