My interview with Slash
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:24 am
***A condensed version of this interview originally appeared in the Jan. 31 print edition of College Times. http://www.ecollegetimes.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ***
With Diddy, Snoop Dogg and LL Cool J in town for the weekend, high rolling hip-hop fans can pick from a wide variety of Super Bowl parties to attend, but when it comes to good, old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, the choices are less abundant. Fortunately for rock fans, Velvet Revolver is coming to the rescue. Moreover, with former members of Guns N’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots in the fold and their penchant for playing classic cover songs, Velvet Revolver is like getting several bands for the price of one. College Times recently spoke to Velvet Revolver’s Slash before the band played their first gig of the year in Chicago. The legendary guitarist shared his thoughts on the Super Bowl, supergroups, video games, former band mate Axl Rose and the joys of digital recording technology.
First things first, do you have a Super Bowl prediction for us?
Ooh. That’s a tough one. I think it’s going to be New England.
Do you think they’ll cover the spread?
You know, this is one of those games where it could be a big upset, but I would imagine that they’re just going to slam them. I don’t know what the spread’s going to be, but I would imagine it’ll probably be a lot of points.
Velvet Revolver is about to play their first show of the New Year. After 25 years of playing gigs, do you get pre-show jitters anymore?
Yeah, I get that more that anybody else I know, probably because I’m sort of an insecure player. So yeah, pre-show, I’m always very nervous. As soon as I get up there, then I relax, but right before the show I get the whole jitters, the whole fuckin’ nervous anxiety and all that.
Past supergroups have often fallen victim to clashing egos. How have you guys managed to avoid those conflicts?
Well, for one, I don’t label this band as a supergroup. Everybody tries to. I mean, there is a pedigree because everybody’s been in successful bands before, but we sort of came together out of a desperation to put a rock ‘n’ roll band together. So it wasn’t really about who we were, necessarily. It was about putting the right band together. As far as clashing egos and all that kind of stuff because of the status of each of the members, (it) hasn’t really been an issue.
You’re playing Vegas on Super Bowl Sunday. Does that mean even world-famous rock stars have a hard time scoring tickets for the game?
All things considered, that was just how it was booked. I never really thought about that either. I’ve never even been to a pro football game. I’ve been to a couple college games and I watch it on TV, but I’m always too busy to be sitting around on Sunday trying to get tickets for a game, you know?
I’m kind of an old-school guy in that I play a real instrument, albeit poorly, but my co-workers want me to ask you if you’re any good at “Guitar Hero III”?
I was when I… well no, “Guitar Hero III” I suck at. I was good at “Guitar Hero II” because I had a minute to play it and learn it. I was off the road at the time and the band was in the studio making a record, so every time I had a minute, I would pick it up and I got pretty good at it. But I’ve been on the road since then, all the way up until now. I got the new “Guitar Hero” a little over a month ago and realized that, because I’ve been playing real guitar so much since the last time I played “Guitar Hero,” I suck at “Guitar Hero III.”
One of the best things about those games is that they’ve introduced classic songs and artists to a whole new generation of fans.
You know, it’s really been a huge plus. It’s introduced a lot of really cool music to kids who would probably, the odds of them ever hearing that music would probably be pretty slim. It’s stuff that they’re not going to get turned on to unless their older brothers and sisters or parents are turning them on to it. So that’s cool, and it’s also inspired a lot of kids to pick up the guitar, which was sort of a debate earlier on – if you pick up “Guitar Hero” would it keep you from playing real guitar or would it inspire you to play real guitar? And it turns out that it’s inspiring a lot of kids to pick up a real guitar, which is cool.
Have you had the experience yet of having a kid who wasn’t even born when “November Rain” was a Top 10 hit come up to you and say “Hey, aren’t you the guy from ‘Guitar Hero’?”
Since “Guitar Hero” came out, every day.
You’ve collaborated with a long list of artists, from Eric Clapton to Insane Clown Posse. What were some of the more memorable experiences, either positive or negative?
I haven’t really had any what you’d call negative experiences. The only negative experience I can remember, which actually turns out to be a positive, because any experience that you get when you’re doing session work or just playing with other musician who are of a high caliber, any learning experience is good. But I remember the first time I had the pleasure of working with Pro Tools in the ‘90s doing a Rod Stewart record as being a really, really hard fucking session. Being an old-school recording guy, Pro Tools was so new, and the engineers really didn’t know how to use it that well, and it made the session, what should’ve taken 20 minutes took fucking five, six hours. And then, all the positive ones, Michael Jackson was a good one. Lenny Kravitz was a good one. Iggy Pop was a good one. There’s a lot of them. Carole King was a good one. I could go on and on.
Are you sure you don’t want to dis anyone? You could start the next great rock star feud in our humble pages.
I don’t have anybody to dis.
So do you think analog recording is a dying format or will it stick around?
I think it’ll stick around. A lot of purists will always want to use analog for a lot of different applications. I find that digital and analog work very well together and you get the best of both worlds. I think we’ve come to terms with what the drawbacks to digital are and what the pluses are at this point. We also know what the drawbacks and pluses are to analog. I think they’ll work in harmony for a while, until, of course, something else comes out.
Vinyl hasn’t gone away...
Well, the only people that really have vinyl are vinyl purists when it comes down to it. If you asked your average kid with an iPod what vinyl is, he wouldn’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.
Have you ever been this far into an interview without Axl’s name coming up?
As of lately, yeah, actually. You’re the first person to bring him up.
This interview started with a prediction, so we’ll end it with one too. What do you think we’ll see first, Chinese Democracy or an actual democracy in China?
I think, in all honesty, Chinese Democracy is pretty close to coming out. Like really close to coming out. So I’ll say the former.
With Diddy, Snoop Dogg and LL Cool J in town for the weekend, high rolling hip-hop fans can pick from a wide variety of Super Bowl parties to attend, but when it comes to good, old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, the choices are less abundant. Fortunately for rock fans, Velvet Revolver is coming to the rescue. Moreover, with former members of Guns N’ Roses and Stone Temple Pilots in the fold and their penchant for playing classic cover songs, Velvet Revolver is like getting several bands for the price of one. College Times recently spoke to Velvet Revolver’s Slash before the band played their first gig of the year in Chicago. The legendary guitarist shared his thoughts on the Super Bowl, supergroups, video games, former band mate Axl Rose and the joys of digital recording technology.
First things first, do you have a Super Bowl prediction for us?
Ooh. That’s a tough one. I think it’s going to be New England.
Do you think they’ll cover the spread?
You know, this is one of those games where it could be a big upset, but I would imagine that they’re just going to slam them. I don’t know what the spread’s going to be, but I would imagine it’ll probably be a lot of points.
Velvet Revolver is about to play their first show of the New Year. After 25 years of playing gigs, do you get pre-show jitters anymore?
Yeah, I get that more that anybody else I know, probably because I’m sort of an insecure player. So yeah, pre-show, I’m always very nervous. As soon as I get up there, then I relax, but right before the show I get the whole jitters, the whole fuckin’ nervous anxiety and all that.
Past supergroups have often fallen victim to clashing egos. How have you guys managed to avoid those conflicts?
Well, for one, I don’t label this band as a supergroup. Everybody tries to. I mean, there is a pedigree because everybody’s been in successful bands before, but we sort of came together out of a desperation to put a rock ‘n’ roll band together. So it wasn’t really about who we were, necessarily. It was about putting the right band together. As far as clashing egos and all that kind of stuff because of the status of each of the members, (it) hasn’t really been an issue.
You’re playing Vegas on Super Bowl Sunday. Does that mean even world-famous rock stars have a hard time scoring tickets for the game?
All things considered, that was just how it was booked. I never really thought about that either. I’ve never even been to a pro football game. I’ve been to a couple college games and I watch it on TV, but I’m always too busy to be sitting around on Sunday trying to get tickets for a game, you know?
I’m kind of an old-school guy in that I play a real instrument, albeit poorly, but my co-workers want me to ask you if you’re any good at “Guitar Hero III”?
I was when I… well no, “Guitar Hero III” I suck at. I was good at “Guitar Hero II” because I had a minute to play it and learn it. I was off the road at the time and the band was in the studio making a record, so every time I had a minute, I would pick it up and I got pretty good at it. But I’ve been on the road since then, all the way up until now. I got the new “Guitar Hero” a little over a month ago and realized that, because I’ve been playing real guitar so much since the last time I played “Guitar Hero,” I suck at “Guitar Hero III.”
One of the best things about those games is that they’ve introduced classic songs and artists to a whole new generation of fans.
You know, it’s really been a huge plus. It’s introduced a lot of really cool music to kids who would probably, the odds of them ever hearing that music would probably be pretty slim. It’s stuff that they’re not going to get turned on to unless their older brothers and sisters or parents are turning them on to it. So that’s cool, and it’s also inspired a lot of kids to pick up the guitar, which was sort of a debate earlier on – if you pick up “Guitar Hero” would it keep you from playing real guitar or would it inspire you to play real guitar? And it turns out that it’s inspiring a lot of kids to pick up a real guitar, which is cool.
Have you had the experience yet of having a kid who wasn’t even born when “November Rain” was a Top 10 hit come up to you and say “Hey, aren’t you the guy from ‘Guitar Hero’?”
Since “Guitar Hero” came out, every day.
You’ve collaborated with a long list of artists, from Eric Clapton to Insane Clown Posse. What were some of the more memorable experiences, either positive or negative?
I haven’t really had any what you’d call negative experiences. The only negative experience I can remember, which actually turns out to be a positive, because any experience that you get when you’re doing session work or just playing with other musician who are of a high caliber, any learning experience is good. But I remember the first time I had the pleasure of working with Pro Tools in the ‘90s doing a Rod Stewart record as being a really, really hard fucking session. Being an old-school recording guy, Pro Tools was so new, and the engineers really didn’t know how to use it that well, and it made the session, what should’ve taken 20 minutes took fucking five, six hours. And then, all the positive ones, Michael Jackson was a good one. Lenny Kravitz was a good one. Iggy Pop was a good one. There’s a lot of them. Carole King was a good one. I could go on and on.
Are you sure you don’t want to dis anyone? You could start the next great rock star feud in our humble pages.
I don’t have anybody to dis.
So do you think analog recording is a dying format or will it stick around?
I think it’ll stick around. A lot of purists will always want to use analog for a lot of different applications. I find that digital and analog work very well together and you get the best of both worlds. I think we’ve come to terms with what the drawbacks to digital are and what the pluses are at this point. We also know what the drawbacks and pluses are to analog. I think they’ll work in harmony for a while, until, of course, something else comes out.
Vinyl hasn’t gone away...
Well, the only people that really have vinyl are vinyl purists when it comes down to it. If you asked your average kid with an iPod what vinyl is, he wouldn’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.
Have you ever been this far into an interview without Axl’s name coming up?
As of lately, yeah, actually. You’re the first person to bring him up.
This interview started with a prediction, so we’ll end it with one too. What do you think we’ll see first, Chinese Democracy or an actual democracy in China?
I think, in all honesty, Chinese Democracy is pretty close to coming out. Like really close to coming out. So I’ll say the former.