SLASH Says Classic GUNS N' ROSES Lineup Isn't Together Anymore Because Of AXL ROSE

Bangkok Post recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES). A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On his famous top hat:

Slash: "It just became a thing. I just got it from a store one day. A five-finger discount. Are you familiar with that? I've always liked hats, and I saw this one hat. I thought it was cool, and it just became something I started wearing all the time. I didn't plan on it being stable part of my image. I just felt comfortable with it. I was 19 or 20."

On GUNS N' ROSES' song "Sweet Child O' Mine", the band's first No. 1 hit:

Slash: "Obviously, [with] 'Sweet Child O' Mine', I didn't it was a big deal at the time. I just thought it was an interesting riff. I had no idea it was gonna be as iconic as it became. So you just have these riffs, and you just think 'oh, that sounds cool.'"

On a possible reunion of GUNS N' ROSES' classic lineup:

Slash: "Do you feel like you're the only person in this whole room who's thinking about that question on this planet? No.

"It's been, what, 15, 16 years. No one in the original GUNS N' ROSES ever said, 'Let's try to put the band back together.' Also, it's all about [GN'R singer] Axl [Rose]. The reason that everybody left was because in the back of his mind I think that's the way he wanted it. So the reason why there's no GUNS N' ROSES was because of him. I've got nothing to do with it. I quit for the same reason that everybody did. So it's really his problem."

On whether he felt any pressure making his first real solo album after many years on the pedestal:

Slash: "I don't really think about it like that. I just try to put together decent music. I don't feel a pressure as a guitar player. I'm not as good in studio as I am live, so in the studio I try to loosen up and feel comfortable. That's the biggest challenge for me. But I don't think about my status as a guitar player. I just think about what is it that I want to be able to accomplish."

On his solo tour:

Slash: "Myles [Kennedy of ALTER BRIDGE] sings everything. It has to be a blessing. When I did the record, there were so many singers. So when I [first] had to go on tours, it was impossible [for anyone] to do all the songs from the solo record, let alone GUNS N' ROSES songs. I had Myles coming to sing on a record for the very last minute, and I'm just blown away by his versatility and capability. So I asked him to come on the tour. He's just miraculous."

On Time magazine in 2009 putting him at number two on the list of the "best electric guitar players of all time":

Slash: "All things considered, it's very flattering. But I was thinking today that there're so many fantastic guitar players and I sort of feel humbled by them. When people put me on top of the list, I think it's really nice, but I don't like to talk about it because I know that there are so many guitarists who are better than me and I'm working really hard to be as good as [they are].

"I'm not a technique guitarist. I admire technique guitar players because they know a lot of stuff that I don't. But the thing that affects me most, that I strive for is emotional content and melodic content. I feel it when I'm playing, and you feel it as a listener. That's what I strive for."

On the more current crop of guitar players:

Slash: "There are not a lot of guitar players that I listen to right now. But you know, the generation after mine, you got people like Jerry Cantrell, Tom Morello, Kim Thayil and more. Those guys are great guitar players. Now guitarists are kinda hazy. There are a lot of shredders in a lot of different bands, but I can't really tell them apart. In this new technological age that we're in, on one hand it's amazing how convenient everything is, and how fast you can do it. So many different things you can do with a touch of a button. But I have to say that from an audio point of view, the sounds start to suffer as a result."

Read the entire interview from Bangkok Post