Slash ruminates on living the dream
No, another Guns N’ Roses album is not on the way — at least not yet.
“It’s something that we would love to do,” said lead guitarist Slash, who after two decades of strife with frontman Axl Rose, reunited with the group in 2016 for an ongoing reunion tour. “We just need to come together and start working that out, so it could definitely happen.”
In the meantime, the 53-yearold rocker, whose real name is Saul Hudson, is gearing up for the release of Living the Dream, out Friday, his third album with singer-songwriter Myles Kennedy and band The Conspirators. Largely written in 2014 and 2015 prior to the GNR reunion, and recorded this past spring, the album is “leaner” and “more uptempo,” he said, than his previous studio effort, World on Fire.
Slash sat down for a wide-ranging chat about the new music, the current state of mainstream rock, and the phone call that ended his feud with Rose.
Q: What’s the significance of the title, Living the Dream?
Slash: It was just a tongue-incheek remark about domestic and global politics, but people have been looking into it as being something about what it is that I do. Which it applies, but that’s not where it came from.
Q: Was any of the new music inspired by what’s going on in the news?
Slash: This one is actually less political than the last one. It’s more about personal experiences for Myles and a couple shared experiences, but not so much politics. But I did have to say something, so I titled the record the way I did.
Q: Civil War is arguably GNR’s most political song. What do you remember about writing and recording that with Axl?
Slash: That was something I just came up with on acoustic and an idea that Axl had, and the two just came together. It’ll be interesting to see what’s on the next Guns N’ Roses record if we get around to doing that. I’m not wanting to be a political advocate myself, but it’d be interesting to see what Axl comes up with. He definitely is more outspoken in that area.
Q: For the first time this past year, R&B/hip-hop overtook rock as the most popular genre in terms of total consumption. How do you feel about the state of the genre?
Slash: Rock isn’t mainstream anymore, and in some ways, I like that. It harks back to when rock ’n’ roll was more of an underground concept, when people were speaking about things that they weren’t necessarily comfortable saying in the mainstream arena. As far as hip-hop is concerned, it’s become so generic at this point. It’s definitely taken on a very top-40 thing.
Q: Who are some of your favourite rock acts right now?
Slash: I love Foo Fighters. My favourite band consistently has been Queens of the Stone Age because they always put out cool, interesting records. But I still listen to a lot of old stuff because the rock ’n’ roll that turned me on as a kid, not too much of it exists.
Q: I understand that it was Axl who reached out to you a few years ago, after a couple of decades of not speaking. Was that cathartic?
Slash: It was nice that it happened. I don’t know if I would have had the wherewithal to call him, just because I’m introverted. I make it a point of not having any regrets.