S L A S H

(originally published in Music Media Magazine, October 2015)

Over the years I had wonderful experiences in rock & roll journalism. Meeting and interviewing those cats who once smiled from my bedroom wall - that's what I call priceless, so to speak. Despite adventuring 10+ years in this biz, with 200+ in-depth interviews under my belt, there are only a handful of guys out there who I have not caught yet. The Man With The Hat was among them until last September, when I recieved the once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity to conduct a brief conversation with him. Slash is still the original rock & roll guitar hero, and also a really nice guy who kindly answered all my questions regarding his latest studio effort called "World On Fire", however, some topics were initally not allowed to ask, for obvious reasons... Anyways, here it is, enjoy.

You have always worked with characteristic singers throughout your career, but your relationship with Myles Kennedy seems so special and unique. What are your thoughts on why it works so well?

You know, I don’t really think about why it works so well, it was sort of a god send that it happened when it happened.  It’s just a chemistry so it’s really hard to decipher exactly what makes it work, it’s just great that it does.

Myles is not just a badass singer but a great guitar player as well. Do you guys inspire each other when it comes to songwriting?

I can definitely say that Myles ability on guitar inspires me.  I dunno what my guitar playing does for him but he’s a very accomplished and very schooled guitar player who has a lot of harmonic sensibilities.  When it comes to song writing, it just makes it easier for him to understand exactly what I’m doing so that when we go to write a song together, form a melodic point of view, he just really understands it and gets it.

It’s been more than a year since „World On Fire” has been released. What do you think about this record now?

I’m proud of this record.  I thought it was a great milestone for the band, shows that since 2010 there’s been a progressive forward motion, you know?  But I’m really excited about the next record and we’re focused on that now at this point.

The „World On Fire” tour is not over yet. How is the setlist for this leg?

We went through a period where we were playing a ton of new material, just because it had just come out, so we were playing 7-8 songs in the set because we really wanted to play it ,but at this point, there are certain standards off the record that are now mainstays so we alternate a bunch of the other songs.  There are less WOF songs in the set overall but we still pay all of them live and it’s done well.  The songs still go over great live and it’s worked out really nicely.

Is there a single song in the setlist you cannot play for your own enjoyment anymore, and only perform it for making the crowd happy?

I don’t think there’s anything that I’ve ever really hated playing but if there was, I wouldn’t force myself.  Even songs that I’ve been playing for years and years, I always find interesting things to do that maybe the crowd doesn’t notice but to me, keeps it interesting.

You have just released a brand new live DVD, which captures the band at its finest at the Roxy. Do you still love to play smaller club gigs?

I like all different sized venues.  As long as I break them up, it keeps them all interesting.  There is something about playing in a small, sweaty club, that concentration of energy that I really enjoy though.

What is the plan for the next record?

We should be going into the studio to start recording in March or so to do basic tracks.

As far as your guitar playing is concerned, your style and tone is still unmistakable. How is your current gear setup?

Same as pretty much always. Marshall 100 watt, I change the model numbers of heads from time to time, a couple Marshall JCM 800s and a couple half stacks, basically.  Some Les Pauls, nothing real complex.

Do you use any overdrive pedals in front of your Marshalls?

I do have a boost pedal that I use for solos, just to sort of pick up the outputs for the solo sections.

It’s been a while since you use Floyd Rose-equipped Les Pauls, though you have never been a big whammy bar abuser. Why did you started to use these kind of Les Pauls?

I did for a little while, I was using the Axcess Les Paul because it had the Floyd Rose on it, because certain songs I recorded used a whammy bar.  Sometimes in a solo I’ll just think I want that sound but I’ve never really been comfortable with a les paul with a whammy bar and I haven’t had one on the road for awhile.  If any of the songs on the next record do have a whammy bar on it, I may bring one along for the next tour but we’ll see.

As a guitar player, now you are better than ever. Do you feel the constant evolution of your playing?

I think that because I play as much as I do, I’m just sort of making natural progress.  I just love guitar and sort of, finding new things or getting better at different technics.  Just becoming more fluids.  You feel a sense of accomplishment when you start to blossom a bit more so I’d like to think I’d be getting better after playing all these years.

Today’s young guitarists tend to learn playing the guitar using the internet rather than playing by ear just like your generation used to do. What advice could you give them regarding this? 

The internet is a great tool, being able to go on the internet and find different things that you may not have discovered playing by ear, especially in terms of technique, but at the same time, I wouldn’t recommend relying solely on the internet.  I still recommend just listening and learning by ear, it’s just as important so utilize both options.