SLASH To Play 'Numerous Songs' From GUNS N' ROSES On Upcoming Tour

Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER). A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On performing signature GUNS N' ROSES song "Sweet Child O' Mine" with Fergie and THE BLACK EYED PEAS when the pop band opened for U2 at the Rose Bowl in late 2009:

"That was a first for me, to go out and pull out 'Sweet Child O' Mine' in front of however many thousands of people at the Rose Bowl with a different group. I had never really played that song with anyone besides GUNS N' ROSES. Fergie asked me if I would do it with her, and she's honestly one of the only singers I would trust that song to."

On his upcoming solo album, on which he is paired with a lineup of multi-genre artists, including Ozzy Osbourne, Kid Rock and MAROOON 5's Adam Levine:

"I wasn't trying to consciously bridge any generation gaps or to try to be eclectic. I wrote the music first, and I took the different styles of music that I was writing and farmed it out to singers who I thought might like it or be appropriate for. So for instance, I'd say, 'Adam Levine would sound amazing on this.' So while that may be way off the beaten Slash path, I knew that's what I would sound great."

"As a solo artist, I could get away with a lot of things that aren't confined by the parameters of being in a band. This was a musical statement for me. I provided music for the singers, and it was an open canvas for them to do what they wanted. Some people we collaborated on the music, and did whatever was necessary for that singer to have as much input, and some instances the arrangement I set the demo is the way it came out on the record. They had free rein on the lyrics and the vocal melodies."

On how he wanted his new solo album to be as independent as possible, from both the creative and business ends:

"Given my experiences over the last 20 years, this gave me a whole new lease on life. There was no drama. There was no complicated or complex situations having to deal with writing and recording. This was so painless. It changed my whole perspective on how complicated working with anybody should ever be."

On his plan to perform numerous songs from the GUNS N' ROSES days on his upcoming solo tour with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy on vocals:

"More than anything, it's because Myles is such a capable singer. He knows those songs, and he sings them great. A lot of those songs are in a register that most people can't sing, and Myles can, and he can do it from the heart. That's the real reason for unwrapping certain material that I haven't played with anybody else."

Read the entire interview from the Los Angeles Times.