You are not logged in. Please register or login.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
Slash won’t give Myles a break
Guitarist tells Rock Radio his singer will work all year round in 2011 as he discusses his lost decade, not listening to his solo album and not caring about Axl’s GnR
http://www.rockaaa.com/news/slash-won’t … -break-967
Singer Myles Kennedy won’t get a break until the end of 2011, says ex-Guns n’Roses guitarist Slash in an exclusive interview with RockAAA’s partner in noise, Rock Radio.
The frontman will split the year between working with Alter Bridge, and recording then touring the guitar icon’s second solo album.
Slash tells Rock DJ Tom Russell: “We toured for eight months and now Alter Bridge are out. They’ll stop in January then we’ll go from January until April. Then Alter Bridge go from April to July, then we’ll go through August to September or October.
“The only one who doesn’t get a break is Myles – but he seems to be fine with it. And Alter Bridge is a different style from what I do; it’s more laid-back and my stuff is more aggressive. So he seems comfortable doing both.”
Slash pays tribute to Kennedy, who was originally called in to guest on a couple of tracks on the guitarist’s solo album, but stayed on to front the touring band – and will now perform all vocals on next year’s release.
“I never plan ahead; I do everything in the moment,” the guitarist says. “Myles came along at the tail-end of the record. I’d heard his name around, looked him up on YouTube and recognised he had an amazing voice. I gave him one of the pieces of music and he wrote this amazing song, Starlight.
“Around the time we were recording Back from Cali I asked him if he wanted to do a tour. When you do a throw-together band like that, you never know what you’re going to get. But I put together the right guys and I’ve been having a blast.”
Slash admits he’s only listened to half of his well-received album: “As soon as something’s finished and I put it out there, I never listen to it again. But at Halloween I was in the car with a bunch of people and they insisted on listening to it. I heard about half of it – it’s pretty good…”
Despite having to deal with questions he knows will never stop being asked, Slash goes into detail about how little he’s bothered by the antics of Axl Rose’s current version of Guns n’Roses.
He explains: “It doesn’t have too negative an effect on the original Guns, so it doesn’t bother me. If everybody was looking at the old Guns and lumping the two together and the history got blurred, then I might have a different opinion.
“In the 90s when Axl presented the band with his desire to have the name, we let it happen in order to keep going. It was an ultimatum – give me the name or we’re not going to finish the tour. So I accepted back then he was going to have the name. It’s no skin off my back.”
In the full interview he discusses Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, his lost decade, conceiving his son in Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood’s house, Santana, Nazareth and being nominated for two awards at this year’s Classic Rock Roll of Honour event.
An Hour with Slash is broadcast on Rock Radio on Friday, 26 November at 2300GMT and repeated on Sunday, 28 November at 1700GMT. You can listen on FM and DAB in the UK, online at RockRadio.co.uk and via the free Rock Radio smartphone app.
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
Slash pays tribute to Kennedy, who was originally called in to guest on a couple of tracks on the guitarist’s solo album, but stayed on to front the touring band – and will now perform all vocals on next year’s release
Next years release?
- mickronson
- Rep: 118
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
Hehe, well looks like Slash didn't take Pro Tools lessons from Axl then. Thats still very quick for a release, I wonder how true that is.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
It does seem quick, but he did say he had 5 demos done the other day I think or something similar. Never know how many monster riffs slash had had around waiting for a few years too.
Slash actually was having protools lessons the other day, according to his facebook, but he said it was just for demos and that he's going to record on 2" tape.
I hope he doesn't rush the process too much, as eager as I am for a slash/myles record...i want it to be as killer as some of his other recent stuff has been. There's some really good tracks on the current solo record IMO.
I also worry about myles trashing his voice. I mean he's already been on the road for a year, now the whole of 2011. Crazy.
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
Myles has said in the past that he wouldn't have it any other way, by constantly touring and keeping his voice strong, but sheesh, this is crazy.
As much as I can't wait for this new Slash/Myles album I hope this doesn't delay Myles own debut studio album which is already recorded and was pushed back to 2011. I love Myle's writing and bluesy style, and think he shines more in an acoustic, soulful, Jeff Buckley influenced environment which is apparently what his album will consist of. 
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
He explains: “It doesn’t have too negative an effect on the original Guns, so it doesn’t bother me. If everybody was looking at the old Guns and lumping the two together and the history got blurred, then I might have a different opinion.
^ Axl thinks that people see Slash (in a video game) and lump old Guns and New Guns together. 
“In the 90s when Axl presented the band with his desire to have the name, we let it happen in order to keep going. It was an ultimatum – give me the name or we’re not going to finish the tour. So I accepted back then he was going to have the name. It’s no skin off my back.”
^ Is this the first time Slash has actually articulated what Axl alledgedly said regarding the name ultimatum "give me the name or we're not going to finish the tour"?
I know for years there was the myth about not going on stage one night unless the name was signed over. I never was able to find the quotes of where that was first started. It also means that Axl was telling the truth in his forum chats when he said
the whole Axl wouldn’t go on stage yada yada… is complete and utter crap.
Never happened, all made up, fallacy and fantasy. Not one single solitary thread of truth to it.
Although if did say what Slash claims above about not touring, then whilst Axl was telling the truth in the forum chats he didn't quite disclose all the facts, it comes down to semantics.
I have suspected for a long time that Axl actually threatened not to do the UYI tour and this got bastardised into "Axl wouldn't go on stage one night unless the name was sigend over". Slash's statement above seems to support that.
Not that it matters, it's been and gone years ago but I have always found the circumstances around it interesting.
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
Mikkamakka wrote:He explains: “It doesn’t have too negative an effect on the original Guns, so it doesn’t bother me. If everybody was looking at the old Guns and lumping the two together and the history got blurred, then I might have a different opinion.
^ Axl thinks that people see Slash (in a video game) and lump old Guns and New Guns together.
Well played sir.
From what I recall, Slash wrote in his book that Axl gave them the ultimatum backstage, refusing to go on until they signed the naming rights over. It's been a few years since I read the book, but that's how I remember it. So now Slash seems to be changing his story a bit. Still doesn't seem to match Axl's though. No big surprise there.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
I sort of agree with Aussie...I doubt it was one specific incident but more a general situation that had developed, that's been kind of shorthanded to the stage story.
And that's how we get to a place where both Axl and Slash may be telling the truth.
Axl tells true that he never directly pulled out a contract and said "do this or I'm not going on stage".
However, at the same time, the band was famous for riots, axl storming out of shows, there had been massive issues with recording UYI. If the band saw that Axl was keen as hell to sort out the name issue, they probably assumed or had some reason to believe that a stale mate on that would significantly derail the tour and cause an even bigger rift in the band.
So on one hand Axl never really blackmailed them directly like has been alleged, on the other hand, knowing Axl's general history and temprement of the time, you can see why the band may have considered that there wasn't a lot of choice if they wanted to remain functional.
I've always thought that neither of them is really lying, it all comes down to their own perception and point of view of the events.
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
“The only one who doesn’t get a break is Myles – but he seems to be fine with it. And Alter Bridge is a different style from what I do; it’s more laid-back and my stuff is more aggressive. So he seems comfortable doing both.”
I'd say Alter Bridge was heavier and more agressive than Slash solo.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Slash won’t give Myles a break
^ Not vocally though is it? Like guitar wise it might be a little more shreddy in places and stuff....but compared to the vocal work out songs like Starlight and By the Sword and stuff would give you.
