Duff McKagan talks Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and more

The MusicRadar podcast interview

Joe Bosso, Mon 3 Nov, 3:41 pm UTC

Duff McKagan has spent more than 20 years in the rock ‘n’ roll fast lane, first as bassist for the legendary Guns N’ Roses and now as a member of Velvet Revolver. After all this time, he’s still keeping irregular hours.

As proof of this, on the day of his interview with MusicRadar, McKagan rescheduled our conversation three times. But the reason wasn’t what you would think: he and his wife, Susan, had to attend a parent-teacher conference (the couple have two daughters, Grace and Mae Marie).

“Going to talk to my little girl’s teacher is a far cry from what people probably think I spend my time doing,” says McKagan during a pre-interview chat. “But after wasting years trying to kill myself with drugs and alcohol, and coming close to succeeding, real life is a relief. Unfortunately, there’s other people who haven’t gotten that message.”

McKagan could be speaking about anybody, but during our talk he makes it clear that he’s speaking about ex-Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland, and he makesno bones about the fact that the real reason for the singer’s dismissal from the group was his unrepentant drug use. “The people around him, they don’t really care,” says McKagan. “They just want to keep him out there. But the thing is, if you really want to change, you’ve got to do it yourself.”

These are busy days for McKagan, who divides his time between Los Angeles and his hometown (and now home base) of Seattle, Washington. In addition to rehearsing with potential replacement singers for Velvet Revolver, he’s been touring with his side band Loaded, in which he plays guitar and sings lead. (They’ll have a new EP, Wasted Heart, out soon.) He also pens a weekly column for the Seattle Weekly.

The interview

In a frank talk with MusicRadar, McKagan spoke about the Velvet Revolver singer conundrum and about the problems the band had with Scott Weiland. He also talked candidly about his relationship with Axl Rose and his thoughts on Chinese Democracy. And he happily strolled down Guns N’ Roses memory lane before answering your questions.

Part one – Duff on Velvet Revolver’s singer search, early punk days and Weiland’s drug use

Part two – Forming Guns N’ Roses, working with Slash, and thoughts on Chinese Democracy

Part three – Duff answers your questions

Just right-click and save as

Chinese Democracy press release from management and Best Buy

MINNEAPOLIS, October 22, 2008 – Best Buy and Geffen Records announced that one of the most highly anticipated albums of all time, Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy, will be available beginning Nov. 23 at Best Buy and BestBuy.com on CD, vinyl, and digital downloads. The title track, the first single from the album, was released to radio today, October 22. Chinese Democracy is the first album of new material from one of rock’s most influential bands since the 1991 simultaneous releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.

“The release of Chinese Democracy marks a historic moment in rock n’ roll,” said co-managers Irving Azoff and Andy Gould. “We’re launching with a monumental campaign developed by Gary Arnold and the Best Buy team that matches the groundbreaking sound of the album itself. Guns N’ Roses fans have every reason to celebrate, for this is only the beginning.”

“Chinese Democracy is one of the most highly anticipated albums in music history, and Best Buy is thrilled to deliver this explosive and previously elusive release to Guns N’ Roses fans. Longtime fans will be rewarded for their patience and loyalty to this great band, while a new generation of fans will be blown away,” said Gary Arnold, Senior Entertainment Officer for Best Buy. “Axl Rose is one of the most dynamic and gifted writers and performers in modern music. Best Buy is excited to work with Axl to make the release of Chinese Democracy THE musical event of 2008!”

“Guns N’ Roses is THE premier American rock band,” commented Steve Berman, President, Sales and Marketing, Interscope Geffen A&M Records. “Partnering with Gary and everyone at Best Buy to release one of rock’s most anticipated and legendary albums is truly a moment in music history. We’re thrilled to be able to announce that Chinese Democracy is coming, it’s coming this year, and it’s coming to Best Buy.”

Produced by Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo, the album, which will be released on Black Frog/Geffen Records, includes 14 tracks. “Shackler’s Revenge” debuted September 14 through the Rock Band 2 videogame and “If The World” can be heard in the film Body Of Lies, which premiered on October 11.

Chinese Democracy is being released in three formats: CD, Vinyl LP (with a free digital download of the tracks), and as a digital album. Pre-orders at www.BestBuy.com/chinesedemocracy begin today.

Slash: ‘I’m Trying To Be More Patient When I’m Writing Songs’

If Jimi Hendrix is recognized as the musician who put Fender on the map through his exquisite manipulation of a Stratocaster, then Slash has to be identified as the player who brought about the rebirth of the Gibson Les Paul. When his band of misfits, Guns N’ Roses, released Appetite For Destruction in July 1987, rock music was in the midst of the hair bands and most of those strummers were picking guitars with whammy bars. Slash changed all of that.

Since then, he went on to record several more records with GN’R before lead singer Axl Rose sort of imploded. He formed Velvet Revolver in 2004 and recorded a pair of albums, Contraband and Libertad, before that band also succumbed to the curse of LSD (Edward Van Halen’s designation for Lead Singer Disease).

Throughout both band’s recorded history, the man in the black hat played a Gibson Les Paul almost exclusively. Recently, he was recognized for his allegiance to the instrument when Gibson USA created the fourth Slash Model Les Paul, this time a Gold Top Standard.

Here, he talks a bit about the new instrument, an upcoming solo album, and about the unique world of six-strings as only Slash can see it.

UG: Can you talk about your upcoming solo album that you’ve been working on?

Slash: It’s not really much to say; I’m probably about 80 per cent done with demoes right now and probably going into the studio because it’s the holidays and all that stuff, I’ll probably start off the beginning of the year recording and doing vocals and all that kind of stuff. So that’s basically where that’s at.

So far, it’s going really great and I just have to hold the reins until it’s finished because it’s one of those kind of things where it always sounds best when it’s as simple as possible. And through the whole sort of recording process and working with engineers and this and that and the other and depending on what studio you’re working in, things are subject to change. So, it’s something I have to be very hands-on with throughout the whole process.

Though the recording is still in its early stages, this will be your first solo record as opposed to a solo band project? You want to bring in various singers with whom you’d like to work?

Yeah, that’s what I’m doing.

That could really be something truly revealing for you as a musician.

Yeah, it’s exciting; the whole prospect. And just even in the demo phase of just songwriting, it’s been really exciting and rewarding and all that kind of stuff. So, it’s been cool. And at the same time, a couple days a week we go down to Matt’s (Sorum, Velvet Revolver drummer) studio and do Velvet Revolver stuff and that’s very band-oriented. And then I come back and work on a new track for the solo record and it’s just basically myself and the guy who is engineering the recording (quiet laughter). Sitting there in the middle of the night, putting shit together, it’s been very, very cool.

As you are going through the writing process and putting the demos together, are you thinking, “This would be a great track for …”

We’re just now getting to that point where I’m starting to go, “OK, this song is,” as far as my ear is concerned, “perfect for so-and-so.” And that’s just starting to happen because when I originally started, it was just music. But now that I’ve actually completed a lot of material, I’m starting to see which people the songs are tailor-made for.

Can you talk about some of the singers and musicians, in a perfect world, with whom you’d like to work?

(Nervous laughter) No, I can’t; it would be a little presumptuous right now.

That is completely understandable. So, how is the approach different than writing for Velvet Revolver?

It’s a different process because with Velvet Revolver or even Snakepit or Guns N’ Roses or whatever, in a band situation you have this sort of collaborative effort. Where you bring in a couple ideas and everybody riffs around on that and it becomes something that is produced by the group and everybody has their mark on it and that’s the way it comes out. And that’s what makes band stuff so dynamic. For the solo stuff in this particular situation, where it’s just me by myself, the only judge is me, you know? If I can’t find a bridge, there’s no other guy to go and find a bridge so I have to come up with it. So, I’m trying to be a little bit more patient when I’m writing songs. I don’t like force a completed thing out in the span of a couple hours; sometimes I’ll leave it and come back to it in a couple of days and work on something else. It’s been working; it’s been moving at a good pace but it’s been relaxed enough so I’m not stressing out over it too much.

You have always said that you are, first and foremost, a band guy; you love that camaraderie and the idea of other musicians in the room. Was this solo album merely a way to keep your sanity while Velvet Revolver found a new singer and other pieces fell into place?

I need different outlets every so often and I think having been working out sort of with the personalities within the confines of a group and the different dynamics and the different politics and all that kind of stuff for so long, sometimes you just need to come up for air. And just not have to listen to anybody for a minute. But I’ll always be a band guy and like I said, I’m still doing Velvet Revolver at the same time. Like I work in the afternoon and work with Matt and Duff (McKagen, bass) and Dave (Kirshner, guitar) and listen to singers and this and that and the other, and then that evening go in by myself and just start working on separate tracks for what I’m doing.

From what you’ve described of the solo record, it sounds like it could really be something truly different for you.

I have to say, without getting overly excited about it, but it does sound really, really cool.

Do you ever feel like a man without a country? For whatever reasons, the bands you’ve been part of tend to fall apart. Do you ever think about how some guys are able to find bands that just seem to go on? Aerosmith and the Stones and that type of thing?

It’s never been an issue with the band per se (lots of laughter). I mean, I’ve been playing with Duff for, you know, 25 years.

That is true.

But yeah, there are certain dynamics in the band that are a little more volatile than others. And, you know, I’ve tried to take some cues from some of the guys that I know that have been doing it with the same guys for a long time. But the individuals are different and one group’s sort of dysfunctionality is different than another group’s (more laughter), you know?

On your solo record, then, it’s you and your Les Paul just putting down song ideas at this point? Pro Tools and programmed drums?

Yeah, just for the demoes, it’s the simplest way to do it. Although when I go in to actually record, I’ll pretty much do it old-school style – live drums and recording to tape and all that. But I’ll probably still record to tape and go through Pro Tools ‘cause it’s great for editing and whatnot.

Are you playing bass parts and all the other instruments?

Sometimes; I’m pretty lazy when it comes to that. I have my bass and what you try not to do is, you know the term of “demo love?” Have you ever heard that? Try not to get so intricate with the demo; just try to keep with the basic ideas. So, sometimes I’ll feel like I really just want to complete the whole song and I’ll put bass on it. And other times, like last night, I’ll just leave the guitar bits. You want to play the song for somebody so it still has room for growth; you don’t want to make it so finished that nobody can come up with their own ideas.

See, that’s still group thinking, band thinking; band mentality.

Do you sing at all?

I hear melodies in my head but I hate even singing under my breath.

Even on your own solo record, you wouldn’t commit to one track?

You’d have to twist my arm! I did it once with Guns N’ Roses, I sang on a T. Rex song (“Buick Mackane”) when we did that, what was it called, The Spaghetti Incident? record. That was because Axl was adamant that I should sing that particular song. I hid myself away behind iso booths and that’s the way I did it. So, yeah, I don’t have any plans on singing on this one. Maybe an instrumental ..

The new guitar, the Gold Top that is coming out right now, actually that’s what I’ve been using for all these demos for a month-and-a-half. It’s just a great sounding guitar. I had one in the 90s when I was touring with Guns N’ Roses and I used it for all the big ballad songs: “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “November Rain” and “Estranged,” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and a couple of other ones. ‘Cause it has this amazing sustain; if you turn the tone down on the rhythm pickup and you just have these really sweet, creamy notes that just last for days. That guitar was ripped off, I think it was like ’98, out of my studio; I got robbed and I lost a bunch of guitars and I got them all back. And the only one that I didn’t get back was the Gold Top.

So recently I asked Gibson to put one together for me exactly in the specs of the 1991. And that’s what they built me and they thought it would be cool to put it out as a signature model. And given how cool the guitar sounds, it would be very cool. And it’s got a custom pot in the rhythm position so when you switch the tone down and put on the rhythm pickup, it keeps the same exact volume and presence. It doesn’t change at all; it sounds really amazing. This is definitely an exciting guitar for me.

If you sat down in a room with 25 Les Paul-type guitars, and some of them were from your own collection, could you tell them apart? Could you tell the difference between a real ’59, for instance, and one of your Slash models? Are your ears that finely tuned?

Only if I was playing it.

That’s really interesting. So, if somebody else was strumming these guitars, you probably couldn’t tell?

Unless it was a really obvious characteristic and I’m talking about something a guitar with soapbars in it compared to one with humbuckers. The thing with guitars and amps to some extent, is it’s really the person playing ‘em that makes it sound a certain way. A good sounding guitar proves a good foundation for whatever it is that individual guitar player will do but it’s really about the actual player. So you can have the same guitar played by four or five different people and it will sound different.

You bring up an essential point: You’ve absolutely earned the right to have your own signature model guitar. But the truth is, someone buying this Slash Model Gold Top is not going to sound like you.

To an extent. When I was a kid working in guitar stores growing up, there was guys coming in and Eddie Van Halen was the flavor of the decade at that point. And they all played like him and they all learned licks off of any number of Van Halen records and all sort of gearing up for the same kind of guitar. But they sounded like somebody else playing Van Halen licks.

A question most guitarists find incredibly difficult to answer is, “Can you describe why you sound like you when you pick up a guitar?” In other words, what is it about your touch and your picking technique and your finger vibrato that makes you identifiable as Slash? Can you step outside of yourself at all in analyzing this?

What I was gonna say when I was talking about Van Halen was, you can take the same guitar and close to the same amp or the same amp and learn somebody else’s playing or technique or whatever it is, and actually realize that at least you’re starting off with the right gear (laughs). You can do that. If you’re trying to do the sound of somebody, it helps to have similar kind of gear and then basically it’s all about technique and stuff. But for me personally, I don’t know what it is that I do. I don’t know if I could stand back from it. I know there are certain things I do that are very identifiable to me – I hit hard or I attack hard; the vibrato thing is something I don’t know anything about. I’m very keen on intonation and stuff like that; it’s something I learned early on because I really hate bad intonation in lead guitars; it drives me insane. But I don’t know too many different combinations of things that I do that I could really stand back and go, “Well, you have to do this and this and this.” I’m way too insecure a guitar player to even go there!

You’ve also remained pretty much of a purist in your approach: It’s still basically you and a Marshall. You don’t mess around with dropped tunings or 7- and 8-string guitars; and there aren’t a lot of pedals in your rack.

A lot of it really comes from the stuff I was turned onto; the direction that I went which was inspired by countless rock guitar players before me. And that combined with whatever I might have personally that’s uniquely mine. And that’s pretty much it. And the Les Paul and Marshall thing was something that I just, I didn’t even know that when I first started. I felt comfortable with a Les Paul so that was a start; I went through a bunch of different amps and realized that the Marshall was basically what a lot of these guys I was listening to were using but I couldn’t afford it. And once I managed to get a good-sounding Marshall and I had a functional Les Paul, the rest of it was just trying to get better; which is really what I’m still doing. I’m just on this journey to get from point A to point B to point C as a player.

Interview by Steven Rosen
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008

Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy Tracklist released

As most people already know that the very long awaited Guns N’ Roses album “Chinese Democracy” will be released through Best Buy,and will be released this year.Best Buy has posted the tracklist for “Chinese Democracy” on their website,so here it is,they also posted the album artwork.

Chinese Democracy (Cover A) (Bb) – CD

Format

CD

Release Date

11/25/2008

Genre

Rock

Label

Interscope Records

Tracks

• 1. Chinese Democracy
• 2. Scraped
• 3. Shackler’s Revenge
• 4. Street Of Dreams
• 5. If The World
• 6. Better
• 7. This I Love
• 8. There Was A Time
• 9. Riad N’ The Bedovins
• 10. Sorry
• 11. I.R.S.
• 12. Catcher
• 13. Madagascar
• 14. Prostitute

Source: Best Buy

*The song “Shackler’s Revenge” was released on the latest version of the game Rock Band and the song “If The World” plays at the end of the movie “Body Of Lies”

Guns N’ Roses – If The World

Axl’s Body of Lies contribution comes off smoothly.

by Spence D.

It may have taken Axl Rose more than a decade (actually 15 years) to deliver a new Guns N’ Roses album, but the light at the end of the tunnel is slowly beginning to shine a little brighter.

While Rose has been coy with the media and harsh with anybody who has leaked tracks online, he’s been a shrewd man in terms of how he is officially setting up the proposed November 25th release of the long-awaited Chinese Democracy.

First was the high profile placement of “Shackler’s Revenge” on Rock Band 2. Now comes the equally high profile placement of the next official track from the album, “If The World.”

Tacked on at the end of Ridley Scott’s new international thriller Body Of Lies, starring box office icons Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, the song is the first thing you hear once the end credits begin to roll.

In stark contrast to the abrasive electro shock and generic industrial glitz of “Shackler’s”, this track flips a complete 180 in the opposite direction.

Keeping in tune with the film’s distinct Middle Eastern thematics, Axl and band have laid out a slinky, neo-soul number that is surprisingly good.

Drenched in electronic funk slither with Rose affecting a slightly effeminate vocal croon, the track would actually have made a stellar James Bond theme song.

At the core of the song is a syncopated drum and bass groove that is warm and supple. It’s wrapped around a slow burn expanse of guitar and then topped off with Rose’s sedated caterwaul cum croon.

As with the sinewy vibe of the music itself, the core lyrical refrain of ” If the world would end today/then all the dreams we had would all just drift away, oh/You know there’s nothing more to say/if the world would end and our love slipped away…” is a perfect fit to the film’s thematics of global peril and dangerous love.

Having only gotten one listen (and the song is relatively short, to boot), it’s hard to really nail the song and how it will fit in with the rest of Chinese Democracy, but first impressions were strong, with the strange floating funk ambiance working surprisingly well for Mr. Rose. If the rest of the album is along these lines GN’R may be back in force, albeit on a uniquely different tact.

The only bummer is that those looking to score a copy of the track will have to settle for going to the movies instead. As of now there are no plans to include it on the official soundtrack.

Source: IGN.COM

Slash Interview – Modern Guitars Magazine

Slash Interview

by Rick Landers.

Slash poses with new Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop signature models

Slash…the name alone conspires to attract and enthrall a cult following of guitarists and fans. Add the nonchalant tilt of a black top hat, a skull and bones talisman, a classic Les Paul, exotic good looks and voodoo charm with monster music talent and you’ve mixed the cauldron with a roll of the dice to conjure a rock god.

Oh, okay, so during our interview I suggested he joined the “soccer mom” league, not with disrespect, but to highlight the tectonic life altering shift he’s experienced from that of a singularly focused rock star to husband and father. Life changes and Slash [Saul Hudson] is now the father of two boys, London Emilio and Cash Anthony, and married to the lovely Perla Ferrar. His paternal love shone bright in his recent autobiography Slash, and it seems he’s handling the father-rock god balance with finesse.

There’s plenty of ink written about Slash, so let’s run through a short list of some of his awards and honors, to highlight his legacy. In 2005, Esquire magazine honored him with its Esky Music Award for “Best Guitarist.” He joined other guitar legends with his own star planted on Hollywood’s Rock Walk of Fame (2007). That same year, at the 4th Annual Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards, he was awarded the title of “Riff Lord.” His guitar solo on the amazing “November Rain,” garnered him several honors including the song being listed at number 6 on the “The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos,” by Guitar World magazine. His work with Guns n’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and Snakepit have all been coveted by rock guitarists and highlighted by bullets running them up the charts.

And now a new book, Reckless Road: Guns n’ Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction, shows Slash’s life from the early days to today, written by his long-time friend, author and rock photographer, Marc Canter.

“Slash is in a great place in his life. He has accomplished so much with his music, guitar playing and tone, the spirit in his guitar solos and the coolest rock image on the planet. He’s been a monumental influence on guitar playing, leading to a huge wave of people picking up guitars and learning to play. And his love of Gibson’s Les Paul guitars has been a major factor in keeping it the guitar of choice for guitarists around the world. He brought the axe back in style with his heavy handed riffs that rock! He’s a great friend and wonderful father to his kids. Over two decades on the scene and Slash’s music is a gift that continues to inspire, making a deep impression. Slash has helped change Rock ‘n’ Roll forever.” Marc Canter

When Modern Guitars spoke with Slash last week, we talked about recent happenings in his life, along with his thoughts on guitar legend and innovator, Les Paul, Slash’s musical career, his new recording project and the new Limited Edition Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Goldtops that bear his name and embody his musical inclinations.

* * *

Slash. Photo credit: Jack Lue.

Rick Landers: Before we start talking about the new Gibson models, I’ve got a couple of other questions to preface those. How about telling us a little bit about your contribution to the new CD, Les Paul and Friends: A Tribute to a Legend, how that came about and why you chose “Vocalise,” as your contributed song?

Slash: I actually was working with the guys who played the rhythm section for that particular song, Abe Laboriel Jr. and Abe Laboriel Sr. Are you familiar with those guys?

Rick: Yes, I am.

Slash: It’s a take on a classical piece. I can’t remember the composer. It’s sort of an, almost improv, but based on that feel. It was picked out by Bob Cutarella who is basically the producer on the record. We got together and he showed me some different bits of what he had going on and chose that one. It sort of just took on a life of its own. So, one evening and we’re jamming.

Rick: Okay, thanks. I’ve met Les a couple of times, he’s a great guy. Beyond guitar playing, how has he influenced you as a person, not so much as a guitarist, but as a person?

Slash: Aside from the obvious guitar stuff, and also him as a technician and tinkerer and all that stuff, as a person, it’s hard to separate the person from the stuff that he does. I’ve never really hung out with Les outside of a musical environment, you know? So, I always see him as a musician. But at the same time, as a person, he’s great because he’s full of energy. He’s one of those people who doesn’t take “No” for an answer. He’s a bit of an adventurer, you know, a little bit of a maverick. He’s well-mannered, very astute, very loving, good sense of humor, but definitely a caring guy. And at the same time he’s a little tough guy, too, when it comes down to it. [Both Laughing]

I just love him to death. We met a long time ago and it was in Fat Tuesday’s in New York. I got up to play with him for the first time ever and he basically wiped the stage up with me. I used that experience as a bar, so that any time I’ve ever played with him since then, I could always use that bar to see how much better I’ve gotten as a guitar player.

Rick: You must feel especially honored to have your name associated with Les and with the Gibson family. Wasn’t there a 1988 Slash Les Paul model?

Slash: There was. It wasn’t available commercially. No, wait, that wasn’t 1988. There was one in 1990, roughly 1990. In ’88 was the first guitar that Gibson ever sold me directly and it was just a typical 1988 Les Paul standard. I’ve been using it for so long that they finally came out with a guitar called an ‘Inspired By’, which is basically an identical replica of that guitar.

Rick: Okay. Much different, I guess, than your first…

Slash: Over 20 years difference in the finish…

Rick: Probably much different than the Les Paul copy that you started with.

Slash: Yeah, very different.

Rick: How did you collaborate, how did the collaboration begin with Gibson, and what level of involvement did you have in helping create both the Epiphone model and the Signature Goldtop Gibson model?

Slash: Do you want me to go back to the beginning and how our relationship developed or just over these guitars?

Rick: These guitars…

Slash. Photo credit: Marc Canter.

Slash: Obviously we’ve had this relationship for a long time and I’m constantly going to them at the beginning of the tour cycle or whatever and going, “I need a guitar for this. I need a guitar for that,” and when Velvet Revolver first started, I’d wanted to take my 1988 Les Paul and retire it. So, I went to Gibson and they built me sort of a Slash model, let’s say. It sounded amazing, so I had a couple of those and did the first Velvet Revolver record with that particular guitar.

I think they sold a couple commercially. But, it wasn’t like a big launch like this kinda thing. It was a very limited edition. And then at the beginning of this next tour that we did for the Libertad record last year, I went to them, I said, ‘I need another guitar.’ I specified what I wanted and you know, because Les Pauls are pretty much perfect right out of the box, I don’t have a lot of things to have to tweak on them.

I’d like to make sure that it’s a particular size neck that I feel comfortable with and I put the Alnico pickups in them. I usually choose old-looking hardware, just because it looks cooler to me. I’m very particular about the finish, if I have a choice, right?

That’s basically how it starts and when we did these Goldtops, we took it a little bit further. We redesigned the tone pots so that they wouldn’t diminish volume or presence when you turn them all the way down. Because one of the great things about the Goldtop is, on the rhythm pickup, if you turn the tone down or are using a Marshall with a certain amount of gain, you get one of the sweetest, creamiest lead sounds, which is great for blues or any kind of long-sustaining notes that you wanna do.

Basically the Goldtop is a reissue of the 1991 Goldtop I got from them back then. And I used it for the whole two and a half year Guns N Roses “Use Your Illusions” tour. That was the guitar I did all those real epic solos for, or epic songs rather, like “Sweet Child of Mine” and “November Rain” and “Estranged” and “Heaven’s Door.” And all of these had these very melodic, sustaining solos. That guitar was just perfect for it. It got stolen in 1998 or ’99 along with a bunch of other guitars. I got everything back, except for the one guitar.

Finally, I went to Gibson and said, “Could you check your logs and see if you can find the specs for a 1991 Goldtop?” And they did and so they built me one. They said, “Oh, this is a great guitar. Maybe we should put this out commercially.” So, here we are.

Rick: I’d think there would be more demand than the numbers of models that are gonna be produced. I think there’s gonna be 2,000 Epis and 1,000 Gibsons. Once those guitars are sold, will there be any follow-up production of those models, or are they limited?

Slash: They are limited. They’re not gonna be like a regular season-long kind of production. As far as I know, it stops there.

Rick: And the information I have says that the Epi comes with a personally-signed certificate by you. Does that mean that you signed 2,000 certificates for the Epiphone?

Slash: I’m actually sitting on the same couch right now where I actually signed all 2,000. It’s a bitch to sign 2000 certificates! Let me tell you, you do it in increments of 500!

Rick: Will the Gibson also have a signature?

Slash: The Gibson does as well, yeah.

Rick: So are your hands okay?

Slash: Yeah, yeah. They’re fine.

Rick: [Laughs] Okay. I understand that you’ve also got a new book coming out by Marc Canter. Can you tell us a little bit about the book?

Reckless Road: Guns n’ Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction

Slash: Yeah, that’s Marc’s book. Mark is a really close friend of mine from way back in the 5th grade and when I first started playing guitar, he used to just bring his camera. He used to shoot a lot of rock concerts. He used to sneak cameras in and shoot from Judas Priest to Aerosmith and whoever else you can think of. So, he’s pretty handy with a camera.

When I first started in my first band and what not, he used to always come and take pictures and physically record the shows. When Guns first started, I guess he saw something in Guns that we, maybe, didn’t necessarily see at the time. But, he really thought it was gonna go somewhere.

He started shooting all the shows, recording all the shows and never missed one. Really, for the whole time that we were a club band up, until the point where we got signed. So, this book is really, really candid stuff from all these different dates, backstage and some other casual stuff.

But, it’s the kind of pictorial history that most bands don’t have because they either weren’t fortunate enough to have somebody that saw more in them than the band itself saw or, you know, just having somebody around with a 35mm on a regular basis. But, it’s really a cool, cool book. It’s probably the coolest rock and roll table book I’ve seen in a long time.

Marc Canter poses with Guns N’ Roses in 1987. Photo credit: Robert John.

Rick: You and Anthony Bozza came out with the autobiography, Slash by Slash about a year or so ago.

Slash: Marc’s books is almost the pictorial…like the picture counterpart.

Rick: That last book was kind of fueled by the sex, drugs and rock and roll theme. But near the end, I got the impression that you were beginning to side a little bit more with soccer moms, and you were looking at yourself more as a real father and family man. Is that the case?

Slash: Yeah, I mean, all things considered, it goes through all the basic craziness and then, somehow, towards the end of it, I ended up married and now with two kids. So, having this sort of rock and roll craziness and domestic life sort of mixed, sort of getting rid of all the real hardcore stuff that I used to live on. You know, it all sort of works together. It is what it is. I guess you get the idea from reading it.

Rick: Yeah. Now, London and Cash are your sons. Are they following in your footsteps as far as music, or do they have other artistic endeavors?

Slash: Well, they’re four and six. One of them, the six-year old seems to like sports more than anything, avoiding girls and that kind of thing. And then the younger one is probably the one that seems the most artistic, because he does a lot of drawing and he plays his piano, and is attempting to learn how to play the guitar. So, he seems to be going in that direction.

Rick: I’ve heard that you’re working on a new solo album. Is that true?

Slash: Yeah.

Rick: And that you plan on having more than one lead singer?

Slash: The plan at this point is where I’m just using different singers for every song. So it’ll probably be…if there are 12 songs, there will be 12 singers, put it that way.

Rick: I’ll ask you a coded question: Will there be a rock ‘n’ roller who is really good at golf on that album?

Slash: Actually, to tell you the truth, I couldn’t tell you. [Laughing]

Rick: Okay. I was thinking Alice Cooper.

Slash: Yeah, I know you were. He’s the only rock ‘n’ roller that I know who’s really good at golf. I just played on his record. Most of these people are people that I’ve worked with in the past.

Rick: Did you? What’s it called?

Slash: His new record’s called Along Came a Spider and I did a song on there called “Vengeance is Mine.” We just did a video for it, so I don’t know exactly when it’s supposed to come out.

Rick: Okay, thank you. Over the years, have you found that you prefer to be working in an ongoing group, or is it more fun for you now to work with various artists on various projects?

Slash. Photo credit: Marc Canter.

Slash: My core is definitely group-oriented. I’ve always been in a band ever since I first picked up the guitar. Within the first six months of learning how to play guitar, I was in a band, and I’ll always be a band guy. But, I also love the experience of going and doing sessions with people I’ve never worked with or people that I really admire that I grew up listening to or whatever, and learning how to adapt and sort of think on my feet. I do that a lot.

Working on a solo record, which is really my first solo record where I’m not using a fixed band, has just been a new experience for me because I don’t have to answer to anybody.

And, you know, it’s a little liberating in a way. But, at the same time, while I’m doing that, I’m still in Velvet Revolver and we’re still looking for a singer, and we’re still writing every day as a group. I like to be able to do it all, you know?

Rick: Yeah. Have you found any performer that you’ve worked with that wasn’t part of your regular band that has particularly impressed you when you first met them, that you really weren’t expecting them to be that good or that unique in their style or playing ability?

Slash: I know what you’re saying. I don’t know if I come into a situation in that kind of a judgmental…you sort of, you go in and I have been pleasantly surprised with 90% of the people that I’ve worked with. But, you know, like I did a tour with Ronnie Wood, and this was a few years back. I was really amazed at what an amazing musician Ronnie Wood is, because he doesn’t always give the impression of being that good [Both Laugh].

Michael Jackson amazed me, even though I’ve always thought he was great, to work with him in person was a phenomenal experience. And it goes the other way. There can be guys like Bob Dylan, who was extremely difficult to work with. But, working with Iggy Pop was a great experience and I had no idea that working with Iggy could be so inspired and cover so much ground musically, you know, in just a couple of days.

And so, they’re all different. Everybody’s got their own really cool characteristics that identifies them as being unique.

Rick: One of our columnists, Billy Morrison, you know Billy?

Slash: Yeah.

Rick: He’s got a group, I think he’s still got it, called Camp Freddie. Have you played with Camp Freddie?

Slash: A dozen or so or more times.

Rick: How is that type of experience when you’re going on stage. Are you playing almost impromptu or what?

Slash: It’s very impromptu. The first time I ever played with Camp Freddie, I was like, “Oh, this is dynamite!” Because they have all these guest people come up and the first time I played with Camp Freddie, I got up there and was doing “Whole Lotta Love” with…oh, man, I always forget this guy’s name…born in the same town as me in England. He’s a real huge pop guy in England. But, he’s never broke over here. Maybe it’ll come to me. He was on stage and then also I was playing with Macie Gray. That was like two people I’d never played with before. So, the experience with playing with Camp Freddie is you can get up there and end up working with somebody on one or two songs that you might never have expected to work with.

Rick: I saw Billy play at the Gibson NAMM party with sort of the same kind of group. I don’t think it was called Camp Freddie, but it was a Gibson group, and it was just pretty amazing how a number of different artists who weren’t a band, could basically get on stage and just crank out some great rock ‘n’ roll.

Slash: Yeah, I think that’s one of the great things, one of the things that’s very important as a musician, to be able to pull together to work with people you’ve never worked with at the spur of the moment and be able to go up there and make music together. I think that’s one of the things that makes music such a wonderful experience. When you, as a player, can get together with people. It really shows how music brings people together.

Rick: Yeah. I think that’s true. I’ve got one last question and it’s a question that I asked Les Paul last time I met with him. I want to see how your answer compares to his and, then I’ll tell you what his answer was when we’re finished. I asked, “How do you think you’ll celebrate your 100th birthday?”

Slash: [Both Laughing] My 100th birthday. Oh, Christ.

Rick: You know, he’s getting close.

Slash. Photo credit: Marc Canter.

Slash: That’s a lot to ask. [Both Laughing] Let’s leave it at that. If I have my druthers, though, it will probably be doing a jam somewhere like I did on my last birthday and that’s probably the most fun I could have on a birthday is if I just have a gig. So, I’ll probably be doing a gig with some other people that I’ve known all that time, you know? It’ll still be festive and it’ll probably be in Las Vegas or something.

Rick: Okay, well his answer was, “Well, I think I’d celebrate it very much like my mother who was glad to be here on earth.” He said he was very grateful and you’ve got to be very grateful and to celebrate would be to say, ‘Hey, you know, I’m gonna keep going until the time comes and when I’m not supposed to be here, and none of us know that answer.’ It’s a little convoluted. But then he says, “We only know that we all have the same ticket.” [Both Laugh]

Slash: Yeah, that’s probably true.

NIKKI SIXX And Make-A-Wish Foundation

Tanner Onder (see photo below) recently met with his favorite rock star, MÖTLEY CRÜE/SIXX: A.M. bassist Nikki Sixx. The backstage meeting was arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which flew Tanner and his family to Denver, Colorado to see the concert on July 25, 2008.

Commented Tanner: “While on stage, SIXX: A.M. dedicated my favorite song, ‘Life is Beautiful’, to me, as being a cancer survivor. Life is indeed BEAUTIFUL!!”

Visit Boston.com for more information.

KIX: New Dates Announced

Reactivated hard rockers KIX have scheduled the following dates:

Dec. 12 – Dexter’s Entertainment Complex – Riverdale, NJ
Dec. 13 – Club Loaded at The Crazy Donkey – Farmingdale, NY (Long Island)

According to a source close to the band, “the Friday, December 12 show was originally announced to be in Allentown, Pennsylvania but was moved due to a contract problem and not due to low ticket sales.”

Bring Back Glam! recently reported that KIX will release a new album and DVD. The CD will feature live cuts from a 2007 XM Radio special and performance at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, including such KIX classics as “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” and “Blow My Fuse” and other songs not found on the 1993 “Live” release. The DVD will contain the 2007 Rams Head Live performance as well as possibly some “vintage video” of the “Hot Wire” recording sessions.

This new live package will be the first KIX album since the 2002 “Essentials” release. A late 2008 release is expected.

Four-fifths of the original KIX lineup — frontman Steve Whiteman, guitarists Ronnie Younkins and Brian “Damage” Forsythe and drummer Jimmy “Chocolate” Chalfant — has teamed up a few times a year for the last several years to do KIX reunion shows in its hometown areas of Maryland and Eastern Pennsylvania. It also performed at this year’s Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma.

Original bassist Donnie Purnell is not taking part in the reunion and is being replaced by Steve and Chalfant‘s FUNNY MONEY bandmate Mark Schenker.

Originally calling themselves SHOOZE and eventually changing their name to the GENERATORS and ultimately KIX, Baltimore’s favorite hard rock band garnered quite a reputation for themselves as one of Maryland’s most exciting live cover bands prior to signing to Atlantic Records in 1981. Led by frontman Whiteman and creative mastermind Purnell, the band hit the club circuit six nights a week for three straight years, resulting in the band cultivating a huge local fan base that led to a contract with the Time Warner affiliate. Releasing their self-titled debut in 1981, “Kix” featured live favorites like “Atomic Bombs”, the glorious “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”, and “The Kid”. To support the release, the quintet set out to hit every club up and down the East Coast.

KIX performing at this year’s Rocklahoma:

MEGADETH Mixing New Live DVD; Special Announcement Coming Tomorrow

MEGADETH will make a “special announcement” tomorrow (Tuesday, September 30) at 6 a.m. PT / 13:00 GMT via Megadeth.com.

According to a posting on the band’s web site, acclaimed British record producer/engineer Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, NEVERMORE, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY) arrived last night to meet up with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and the crew at the band’s new studio near San Diego, California. The studio is being custom-built to record the next MEGADETH album and more. Over the next few days Andy will be tweaking and mixing the new MEGADETH live DVD which was recorded in San Diego during the last tour, and will soon be seen on HDNet TV.

Sneap produced MEGADETH‘s last album, “United Abominations”, which came out in May 2007 via Roadrunner Records. Mustaine previously stated about working with Andy, “We’d been working with Jeff Balding, who does a great job. But we knew we needed something else to give the material that extra push, so we brought in Andy. It was cool because he isn’t like some big rock-star producer. He was just another Joe to me. So we were trading jokes and laughing and it was fun. My sense of humour is pretty close to a British one, so we worked well together. Also, Andy told me I was the reason that he got into playing metal in the first place, which was really flattering.”

MEGADETH‘s forthcoming album will be the group’s first with guitarist Chris Broderick (NEVERMORE, JAG PANZER), who replaced Glen Drover (Shawn‘s brother) at the end of last year.

SEBASTIAN BACH: ‘It’s A Complete Honor’ To Win ‘Gone Country 2′

Host John Rich tapped rocker Sebastian Bach as the winner of the second season of CMT‘s hit series, “Gone Country”, in last Friday night’s (September 26) season finale. Bach is set to immediately release “Battle With The Bottle” to radio, the song he penned with Nashville songwriters Jeffrey Steele and Vicky McGehee while taping the series. The song is produced by John Rich. The accompanying video, directed by Wayne Isham, is currently available on CMT.com and will debut on CMT on Saturday, September 27.

Bach, who edged out tough competition from fellow “Gone Country” contestants Mikalah Gordon, Jermaine Jackson, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lorenzo Lamas and Sean Young, performed his song before a live audience at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon in the show’s finale. In the end, Rich dubbed Bach the winner because of his ability to connect to his audience and his lyrics, something that is essential in country music.

Sebastian will premier “Battle With The Bottle” and take part in a live interview on the following radio stations tomorrow morning (Tuesday, September 30):

08:00 – Dave Kelly & Susan Brown KNTY Sacramento, CA
08:10 – Scooter & Myla WBVR Bowling Green, KY
08:20 – KC WCOY Quincy, IL
08:30 – Tim Leary & the Morning Showgram WCTK Providence, RI
08:40 – Dutch Dooley, Nancy Lynn WJCL Savannah, GA
08:50 – Lee, Alana, Jim E, & Earthquake Jake KUPL Portland, OR
09:00 – Mike Patrick & Kate Sullivan WFFG Albany, NY
09:10 – Tim Leary and the Morning Showgram WCTK Providence, RI
09:20 – Dawson & Kristina KRST Albuquerque, NM
09:30 – Joe & Ronni WOWF Crossville, TN
09:40 – Bob & Mark KWAY Waverly, IA
09:50 – Thane & Tom KDBL Yakima/Spokane, WA
10:00 – The Morning Jumpstart WFGS Paducah, KY

Commented Bach in a posting on his web site: “My mom is a huge country fan, and she raised me on Willie Nelson. My dad loves Neil Young, who’s not maybe a ‘country’ artist but has a lot of country songs. But mainly Willie Nelson, that’s the main country influence for me. I met Willie, I love his music, I’ve been on the ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ before, and a lot of the reason I took this show is just to blow my mom’s mind! I just loved calling her and saying, ‘Mom! I’m in Barbara Mandrell‘s house!’ Just that alone blows my mom’s mind, she can’t believe that!
“When I first said I’m doing a show with John Rich of BIG & RICH, my mom goes, ‘Oh honey, you’ve got to be careful with those guys, they’re wild! Those are some wild boys, BIG & RICH!’ And I didn’t really know. But now I know! They’re wild boys and I’ve had a great time with John Rich. I’ve been to his house, I’ve had barbecue with him, shot guns with him, gone fishing with him, he’s a great guy. But he’s really intense, too.

“It’s a complete honor to win and I really have to thank John Rich. He’s an extremely gracious man. I mean, you should have heard that call to my mom! It was like, ‘I won!’ And there was nothing but crying and sobbing for ten minutes.

“Chris Kirkpatrick ended up helping me a lot. Because part of my process as a songwriter and a singer is I am always recording my demos — like when I write a song, I immediately make a very crude mp3 of it to play in my iPod just so I can listen back and see if I like it or not. But I just got a new laptop and I didn’t have my recording software in there, so Chris Kirkpatrick, I asked if I could borrow his laptop, and it actually helped me a lot. And he didn’t have to do that. I have to thank Chris for lending me his laptop!

“Lorenzo Lamas is a really straight-up professional actor guy, who is very nice and I really thought his song he made was killer.

“Jermaine Jackson is a class act. That’s the word that I think of when I think of Jermaine, he’s very classy. He adds another level of professionalism to the room. When he’s in the room you don’t really swear or cuss in front of him, I don’t know why; he just has that air about him. He’s very proper and reserved, and I’m not! He’s very soft-spoken, but he has very heavy, meaningful things to say. He’s a very sensible, classy dude, and I’ve made a new friend in Jermaine Jackson.

“Sean Young is wild. Those of you who have seen my other TV shows, mainly ‘SuperGroup’ with Ted Nugent, if you like that show, it contained a lot of drunken mayhem and craziness and fights and drama and crying and mayhem, and ‘Gone Country 2′ had all those things, just not from ME this time!

“Mikalah Gordon is 20 years old, and she is a true 20-year-old. You know, I don’t ever think I’m old or I’m my age. I am 40 years old now. Hanging out with Mikalah Gordon reminds me that yes, I AM 40! She’s just a wild spitfire. She’s funny, she’s got so much energy, and just youth personified. She comes from the ‘American Idol’ world and I come from SKID ROW — it’s two different worlds.

“I did like Irene Cara. She was only there the first day. She split, and I liked her. I did ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ across the country, the national touring production, and she played Mary Magdalene on a touring production, too, so we talked about theater the whole time. I thought she was going to stick around, but she split and I wish she had stayed. But that was her decision to make.

“A lot of this show has to do with me trying to quit drinking, and I’m struggling with that as a lot of people do in this world. And they say that one thing that comes when you stop drinking is you’re not ready for the great things that will happen to you. And I think ‘Gone Country 2′ was the ultimate example of that. I wrote two songs. One was about drinking, and one was about not drinking. One’s called ‘Jumping Off The Wagon’ and one’s called ‘Battle With The Bottle’. So that’s what I was thinking about during the show.

“I am just so happy that I get to make music with John Rich. We’ve already cut the two songs in Nashville. They sound incredible. I’m so happy with them and I know my fans will like them. That’s always important to me. I wrote the songs with Jeff Steele from ‘Nashville Star’ and Vicky McGehee who was BMI songwriter of the year, and I’ll never ever express my gratitude for CMT and John Rich for putting me with the two best songwriters in Nashville. Making great music is what I’m alive for, and the great music that we made on ‘Gone Country 2′ will last a lot longer than me or the TV show. This is a part of my catalog and anything I put my name on I’m extremely proud of.

“Everybody knows I can go crazy and scream at the top of my lungs and go nuts, but people don’t know — can I sing this like a country music singer? That was in my head. And that was why I sang that song at the Wildhorse Saloon. And they told me later they couldn’t believe that I went against them on it. They all told me, if you do the uptempo one, that’s going to be better for you, you’re going to win probably. But I went the other way. And they said that’s what real country music’s about. If you’ve got something to say, say it, and that’s really what I had to say.

“CMT flew in my 20-year-old son, and he’s seen me wild as wild can be. I was trying not to drink, and try to set this example for him. And I said I’m not going to sing ‘Tonight I’m Jumping Off The Wagon’. My son was right in the front of the audience staring at me. And that was a message to him, and that was from a father to his son, and that’s good enough for me. And everybody else in the room was watching that, but I was really singing to my son. I always have to find emotion in my music, and you can’t get more emotional than a relationship between a father and a son. And when you guys flew him down there, then I knew I had to sing that song.

“It was a lot of fun doing to the show. John Rich is so hospitable, and Mark Oswald, his manager — I would like to thank all of them, and John Rich‘s granny who came over and cooked for us. She treated us to some southern hospitality. I’d like to thank Granny Rich, and the musicians that John hired were all of the ultimate caliber.

“I made a lot of great friends on ‘Gone Country’.

“Thanks to the fans for watching it, and get ready for some great music!”

“Gone Country 2″ preview:

Fan-filmed video footage of Bach singing “One More Battle With The Bottle” during the show’s finale:

Bach singing one of his country songs during a “Gone Country 2″ rehearsal: