'And then we were dominoes': Slash opens up about his new tour, Axl Rose and getting COVID
Between Axl Rose and Myles Kennedy, Slash knows he’s fortunate to share stages with two brawny rock yowlers.
But the ace guitarist with the identifiable ebony top hat is more than a bit responsible for the massive and sustained success of Guns N’ Roses as well as the smaller, albeit equally musically stinging crunch-rock of Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.
Slash, Kennedy and the rest of band – drummer Brent Fitz, bassist Todd Kerns and rhythm guitarist Frank Sidoris – kick off a 28-city tour on Tuesday as a primer for the release Friday of their aptly named fourth album, “4.”
The record – the first release on the new Gibson Records label in affiliation with the guitar brand – arrives in grand form, including deluxe vinyl and CD box sets and, in a nod to a certain demographic, a cassette tape.
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Many of the songs, such as “The Path Less Followed,” were written before the pandemic and draw influence from life experiences. Slash wrote the riff for the cinematic “Fall Back to Earth” while on safari in South Africa (“Musically, for me, the environment does have an influence” he said), and the beautifully melodic “Fill My World” reflects Kennedy’s sadness after seeing his Shih Tzu Mozart panicking during a storm via his home video system.
Calling from band rehearsal in Los Angeles, Slash, 56, talked with USA TODAY about the Conspirators’ collective bout with COVID-19, working with renowned producer Dave Cobb on “4” and the young artists who will carry the rock 'n’ roll torch.
Q: The band’s The River is Rising tour kicks off Tuesday. How worried are you about getting through it with everyone staying healthy?
Slash: Fingers crossed. We just did the Guns N’ Roses tour and there were a lot of precautions. We have so many safety measures (prepared) for this tour, so we just go for it. It’s a conscientious group of people, but you can’t control everything, and it’s hard to contain this thing.
Q: How did almost everyone in the band getting COVID-19 affect this new record?
Slash: We were 100% confident we were all secure. We rented a tour bus from Las Vegas to Nashville, where we were recording. Everyone got tested at a Vegas clinic; everyone was negative. We had a great drive across the country to Nashville and we had this great experience recording live in-studio. We did it relatively fast, and as soon as we were done, I got the call from Myles that he tested positive. And then we were dominoes. I got vaccinated and got it two days later. Fortunately the record was done. We only had some overdubs so it slowed that down, but we were lucky.
Q: You’ve had the privilege of working with two of rock’s most robust vocalists. From a musical standpoint, what’s it like creating with Myles versus Axl?
Slash: It’s an entirely different band. With Myles and the other guys, it’s its own thing, and Axl and (GNR bassist) Duff (McKagan) and that environment, it’s its own thing. With The Conspirators, it’s not a huge band like Guns N’ Roses, so we don’t have any major expectations and do it for the fun of it and go out and play. Guns N’ Roses has become a thing, and it’s impossible to get away from the fact that it’s as big as it is and there’s that pressure. I’m really fortunate to be in two really great bands.
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Q: You recorded with Dave Cobb in Nashville, who produces a lot of country and rootsy artists (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile). What made him the right choice?
Slash: No offense to Dave, but I didn’t know who he was at the time. I talked to people about who are the good rock producers out there right now, and I was given a short list of four. The interesting thing about Dave was that while he was primarily country, they were the coolest, most down-to-earth, raw and human records, so I dug that. On top of that, he had recorded Rival Sons, and they stuck out as this great-sounding rock band on the radio. I called Dave and we had in common wanting to record a rock record live. I record live all the time and want to capture that energy of everyone in the same room. It’s not tangible to the average listener. If you’re listening to The Faces, you don’t know how the energy is the way it is. It’s this invisible thing that really has an important facet of what the record sounds like.
Q: You guys have been together for a decade. Were you ever planning this project to last this long?
Slash: Fortunately for me, I never think too far into the future. When we first started doing this in 2010, I never would have been able to imagine this 10 years down the road. But it was so much fun and one of those kinds of things that there was instantaneous chemistry with the four of us. We had this thing locked and loaded, and Frank (Sidoris) came in, and it’s all been an organic fit.
Q: When you see young rockers like Wolfgang Van Halen and Marc LaBelle from Dirty Honey, how does it make you feel about the future of rock?
Slash: Wolfgang comes from a legacy and is an island unto himself. But with Marc, we had his band on our Living the Dream tour, and they were great because you don’t hear too many rock bands like them. There’s a real groundswell of kids playing rock 'n’ roll stripped down and not affected by the trappings of this industry, and Dirty Honey is one of those bands. It’s not mainstream, so the average person isn’t really aware of it, but the kids are aware of it. I love seeing it.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Slash talks Axl Rose, Guns N' Roses, getting COVID with Myles Kennedy
