2017.12.31 - Sixx Sense - Deeper With Slash and Joe Perry

Transcript:

Nikke Sixx: Nikki Sixx, Sixx Sense, I'm with Jenn, Slash is here. What's happening, buddy?

Slash: Hi.

NS: This is our very last show, you're our very last guest and I'm really happy that [?].

Slash: I mean, you know, I guess it's a bittersweet thing in general but I'm glad to be here for the last one.

NS: Well, I remember calling you up before the show ever aired, and I was like, "Hey-"

Slash: About a radio show-

NS: About a radio show, kind of was like, you don't really want to ask your musician friends too big a favors cuz, you know, we know what that's like, someone takes advantage of that, and then Slash is like, "Dude, I'll do it."

Slash: Yeah, that's the coolest thing for you to do a radio show. You'll be good at it and it comes from the right place, it's not-

NS: Yeah.

Slash: -some homogenized concept of doing a rock show with somebody who has no real grasp of what being in a rock... you know what I mean?

NS: I've sat there so many times during interviews and like the guy that's talking to me never heard my record.

Slash: Yeah.

NS: And, you know, I remember one of the records of yours I was listening to it - this is like a long time ago, like six-seven years ago - we didn't get it till the night before, so I'm listening to it in the car making notes while I'm driving.

Slash: I remember you told me that.

NS: Yes, cuz I don't want to talk to you about your record and you're like, "Hey, what about this song?" "I didn't get that far, dude."

Slash: Yeah, one of those you know conversations, it's sort of redundant, you know, "So here you are promoting your record, I haven't heard it, but," you know, "promote away."

NS: Yeah, "You do all the work." I was trying to think, like, all the way back, I can't remember when we first met. I remember you being at my house in Van Nuys all the time, always had a guitar, we were, you know, having fun back in the days.

Slash: Yeah-

NS: I don't remember the day we met, how did you end up at my house because then we became friends and you would come all the time.

Slash: Now you're asking-

Jess: I was gonna say-

Slash: If you can't remember, I can't remember.

NS: Isn't that weird? Like, I can remember when I met Robie-

Slash: Maybe at the Cathouse? You know, hanging out-

NS: It probably was there.

Slash: And then, I don't know, invited us up or something? I mean, I have a recollection of us hanging out of the Cathouse for sure, I don't know if that's where we first were introduced-

NS: Probably do, that was a fun place.

Slash: Did I ever tell you the story where - I think I have - but when you were promoting the EP back in whatever it was, 1982? Or something, and you came to Beverly Hills High with Tommy and you had - I was in continuation class, was my final year of high school, 11th grade, and I was in this continuation class with all these - continuation is where all the... your last leg of trying to make an attempt to finish your graduation, and so they have all the screw-ups in there, you know, all the different levels, all the different looks, you know, you've got your drug addicts and you've got your metalheads and you've got your, I don't know, whatever else-

NS: Whatever, they just want to get done with high school.

Slash: - there was a biker chick in there. Anyway, so there was these three very 80s hair metal type groupie types, but they're all really sweet, and they were just way into you guys and I was really, you know, I knew who you were from back in the day but I didn't know that much about Motley Crue, and so they went out and you met them on the sidewalk in front of the school and gave them all flyers. I was like, "Wow, check this out!" [?] And they promoted the shit out of you, they were so enthusiastic about it, and they were so smitten and you guys were all, you know, anyway, and I ended up going to that gig and it was you guys and Y&T at the Whisky.

NS: Wow, Y&T, what a cool band that was. Yeah, that's amazing.

Slash: Which was Yesterday and Today way before our time but we didn't know Y&T was Yesterday and Today so they they came up with a new a new version of their name so it didn't date them back to the 70s [laughs]. It's true.

NS: It's true, it's true, what a great guitar player that was. But that was a cool scene in the late 70s and early 80s in Los Angeles, lots of bands trying to find their way which I think is an exciting time as we [not transcribed]

Slash: Yeah, I mean, LA at that time there was so much stuff going on, like you were saying, that whatever you wanted to get out of whatever was happening, it was all right there. So like you get some of your punk influences from going to see the Germs at the Starwood and you had the metal bands, you know. And so there was all these different things going on and I think it was up close and personal as opposed to being in another country where you were just looking at magazines and reading the album cover, you had all these bands coming through town and so you sort of pick things that you identified with and sort of called them your own.

[not transcribed]

Slash: A lot of people moved here, I mean, a lot of people in LA were, you know, like the guys from Poison were from Pennsylvania, whatever, and Izzy was from Indiana.

NS: Sammy, me and Duff both Seattle.

[talking about New York and CBGB's]

Slash: I played it after the original club closed. We did an acoustic thing at CBGB's and that was the only time. [...] Because there were all, you know, the Dolls, the Ramones and all these New York sort-of, Blondie, even, Television, all these - excuse me, I've got a cold - all these different, really iconic bands were coming out of the scene in New York so it was really exciting to go there.

[talking about music decades]

Slash: You know what, I was having this conversation over Thanksgiving, ever since the millennium there has hasn't been any discernible decade, I mean, from the 20s on has always been identified as the fashion and the times of that decade and they change, you know, from the 20s, the 30s, whatever it is that makes it identifiable, and in the millennium it's not really... We're going into 2020 and nobody ever said anything about 2010 and like, "Oh," you know, "it's been a decade."

NS: That was the party decade and that was the get real decade, it was like I just kind of slept through it... some of it-

Slash: From 2000 to 2010?

NS: Yeah.

Slash: I lost the 90s, that was my "lost weekend".

[laughs]

NS: The 90s were your lost weekend?

Slash: "Last weekend," yeah. I think John Lennon had a lost weekend that was infamous, you know, and I had my lost decade.

[...]

Slash: There is stuff that I remember that happened during the 90s. It was a big wash, though.

[Being asked about his first guitar tech]

Slash: Yeah, the first guitar tech was a guy named Joe Souk [?], which I actually saw him recently, and he was more of a friend of the band, but he was the first guy that helped me sort of during shows to hand me my slide, I don't think he changed strings or anything but he was there. And then from him then I had another guy named Jason, I think his last name was... I want to say Sobel, I could be wrong-

NS: But he was a true tech?

Slash: He was a real tech and he got thrown up on and all kinds, he was there for the early 80s, you know, the mid 80s debauchery. And I've had a couple since that but I'm actually with the tech right now that I've been with since 1988 and I didn't have him for a while during Velvet Revolver but when Guns started up again he came back and he's the best tech I ever had. That's the infamous Adam Day, but he's not so much infamous, he's a pretty mild mannered guy.

NS: I think you'd have to be kind of mild-mannered with you. As long as I've known you, you don't like drama.

Slash: No, no. I seem to attract it which is ironic because I'm sort of laidback. But I seem to attract a lot of it. But Adam is very serious about his work and he does a really good job and he's very meticulous and all that kind of...

NS: So you're off the road, [?] can do for fun for a while?

Slash: I basically just went straight back to work. That's the only way I can survive getting off the road, is to go straight to work, cause otherwise-

NS: You always work. I mean, I clearly have that in common and I don't think it's an obsessive thing it's just it makes me feel good, to create stuff.

Slash: I think, well, like "You should take a vacation," it's like every time I've ever attempted the actual vacation thing, you know, like two days into it and you stretch your legs for a minute and then you're going nuts, like, what you have to like, "How many more days left of this? We're stuck here."

[About books]

Slash: I'm having a hard time adjusting to the whole ebook thing, I am still carrying these physical books.

[Talking about Sixx' biography]

Slash: It's a great book, though, it's one of the most honest - and I think I used this word before - but harrowing rock and roll journeys put on paper. And it's not overdone with any kind of, you know, what's the word I'm looking for, or just trying to glamorize it in a way that like, "This is so [?], so cool."

[Being asked if they got sober around the time]

Slash: No, you got sober way before I did.

NS: I got sober in '88, first time, I was sober for like six years. Then I thought I was smarter than whatever it was I was drinking, and then I was like four years or something. And a lot of this stuff went down around bad shit, which I know better, like when bad shit was happening in my life I went to that, I know so much better than to do that. Makes it worse.

Slash: It's the worst thing. I mean, I was saying [?], I couldn't imagine dealing with all the... I mean, everything that's going on for the last... I'm sober 11 going on 12 years now, and in that time so much has happened and I wouldn't have been able to keep it together or have been able to come out the other end had I been as high as, you know, as I had been up to that point in 1996. I wonder how I managed to get by that far and how I was, you know. I was a functional alcoholic.

NS: You were always chill.

Slash: I didn't get high when I was on the road, I didn't get high when we were in the studio, because I had this mental block.

NS: You always think you'd always have your guitar like that, you know, isn't gonna work. The thing you love the most muting it with drugs and a little bit alcohol, alcohol was fine.

Slash: Yeah, alcohol was... you know, it was like chewing gum. You just sort of did it.

Jenn: Did you feel like you were going from like addiction to addiction as far as guitar to... like, you could mentally block out your other addiction when you had your guitar addiction in front of you?

Slash: No, well, the thing was is it was time to go on the road and I had this thing where it was like, "I do not want to be traveling around on tour and not know where my fix is," and, "I don't want to rely on anybody to get it for me."

Jenn: Did you just turn it off?

Slash: Well, no, it was hard you had to kick in order to do it but the motivation was there to just get it together to go on the road, because that's what I wanted to be doing. I was at my weakest - since we were talking about when the tour would end - and then I just wouldn't, you know, trying to wind down from all that adrenaline and, you know, all that traveling and playing every night and this and that, there's so much going on and then you come home and just sit there and like the most exciting thing you have to really look forward to is going to the market and there's just domesticity-

NS: It's a shock to the system.

Slash: And so you wouldn't end up, you know, trying-

NS: -You'd end up coming to my house.

Slash: Yeah. And so, you know, over the years so now when I get off the road I just go straight to work to keep myself from good falling into that trap.

NS: I was talking to Slash about some ideas about building a rehearsal facility not a recording facility, just a live room, in the back of my property and then getting bids and I just kind of keep putting it off, it's not ready to do, it's like, you know, it's kind of like twice as much as I thought it would be and I'm like balancing that... so I'm not ready to make that commitment and then I started painting again, I used to paint like 20 years ago, so the garage is all paint, all the cars are in the driveway. I said, "You know, we should just build like a studio," as so she goes, "So let me get this right, you're not in a band anymore, so you want to build a rehearsal facility and a painting studio on our property?" and I go, "Yeah, I guess I don't know when to just stop." Did you finish your studio?

Slash: I finished the studio.

NS: I'd love to see it.

Slash: So it's cool, it's fairly small, it's a live room they can put the whole band in, and a control room with a... I want to say Digitech Board, I'm not sure.

NS: Yeah, just something simple.

Slash: Simple and that sounds good and I can rehearse in there and I can record demos in there and I might be able to even record an album in there, so we'll see.

NS: Great to rehearse in there. See that's what I miss being in a band is, I miss being in a band. I miss like looking over and being like that, like, swings happening and, you know, just that living, breathing animal. And I can never get that from loops and electronic music and I understand it and I actually like a lot of it but I just miss when the guitar player hits the wrong note, to be honest with you, or the bass player, you know, it's pushing-

Slash: Or that magic that happens when everything just comes together and there's this orgasmic feeling of like, just a part of a song that just... yeah.

NS: And you can feel it, the crowd can feel it. But nothing like being on in a room.

Slash: I wonder about bands, new bands, that mail it in from all over-

Jenn: And they never see each other?

Slash: Hardly, yeah.

NS: Yeah, that's true. I wanted to talk to you about, well, you know, it says, "Slash is Gibson's global brand ambassador."

Slash: That's something that they just christened me with recently.

NS: "Christened", I like it. You'll have to wear anything? Like a cape, you now what I mean? [laugh].

Slash: They gave me a t shirt.

[...]

NS: I saw the Firebird. So how what was your involvement on that?

Slash: Well, I mean, I've been doing stuff with Gibson for, I think, since about 2004-2005, started doing different Les Paul's that have my name on it and, you know, and I'd sort of, you know, there was different details about the guitar I was responsible for and so on. And so this year we decided to do a string of guitars, so there was a couple Les Pauls and I wanted to do a Firebird that I would really use, and I've been doing different Firebirds over the years and always liked the look of them but I never get the the sound that I wanted on them. So I sat down and said, "Okay, let's do a Firebird with humbuckers in it and let's do the maple cap and mahogany body and how thick the cap is going to be, you know."

NS: So [?] living in the idea of like what the Les Paul is for you and how defined it is for you and then kind of turning that into a bird?

Slash: Yeah, I mean, and it didn't, you know, I mean, all Les Pauls I have a lot of different and they have personality differences so I wanted the Firebird to have its own sound but still have a double humbucker kind of thing. So it doesn't sound like a Les Paul but it's still got the body of  a duo humbucker.

NS: I don't think I've ever seen a picture of you playing a Firebird.

Slash: You know about that one I told you that I had back in 1986, I used it at the Street Scene, when we played the Street Scene. I've see pictures of that one floating around. It's got a like my Shirley tattoo, this little cartoon character, is painted on the top of the back end of the butt of the guitar, so that's the only one I ever used live and everything else-

NS: Are you using the new one?

Slash: Yeah, yeah.

NS: I need to check it out cuz I've never seen one with a maple top.

Slash: Well, you can't tell... I mean they're translucent maple finishes, so yeah, you can tell it's a maple top but it's all one solid color.

NS: Yeah, it's kind of black?

Slash: There's a black one and an antique white.

NS: With the flame top?

Slash: Yeah. So it's cool.

[cut]

Jenn: Have you ever lost track of one of your guitars over time that meant a lot to you?

Slash: I had a bunch of guitars ripped off once. And there was one of those guitars... I managed to get them all back but I had my house.... it was an inside job, its a long story.

NS: From your home?

Slash: From my house. I had a studio at my house at the time, this is like back in '97-'98.

NS: In the gray area, the blackout area?

Jenn: Someone told you about it.

Slash: It is one of the memorable highlights I can recall. And so there was probably about 20 or some guitars in there. And so I managed to get them all back. The idiot who was doing the grunt work, lifting and taking the guitars, he wasn't the guy responsible for stealing them, in other words there was someone got him to do it. But I guess he tried selling them to the Guitar Center so it was easy to find him.

NS: Oooh, bad criminal!

Slash: Yeah, right? It's stupid, it is what it is. But anyway, so one of those guitars... I got them all back except for one and so it's out there somewhere. It's a Gold Top, 1980... '88 Gold Top.

[...]

Slash: I think if I remember correctly it was a factory second, it wasn't like a big deal, but it sounded really good. ya know

[...]

Slash: I couldn't tell you how many guitars I have.

NS: Yeah, I think [John5] kind of he thinks it's over 400.

Slash: Oh shit, he's got me beat.  [...] Well, mine mine doesn't even really count because there was a couple guitars, I only had two guitars for the longest time and then in the early 90s we were doing a record and I had some money and I bought a bunch of guitars, and there was vintage guitars and so on and so forth. I didn't really buy a lot of expensive guitars after that, so most of the guitars I've added to that collection now are all guitars that I got from Gibson, every time I do a Slash model I get 10 allotted, 10 of each. That's really over the years, that's what's accumulated. I haven't buckled down... I bought a few old, like, '78, '79 BC Rich [?] recently. [...] I had a warlock guitar, actually. That guy Jason, my guitar tech, I gave it to him at some point and so he still has it. I went and signed a letter of authenticity for him recently.

[...]

Slash: When I first started playing, the first electric guitar I had was a Gibson Memphis Les Paul copy, and the first good guitar that I had was a BC Rich Mockingbird.

NS: And I've seen a picture you somewhere... that's what I was gonna say where you're haunting me, I'll tell you in a second, with the BC Rich and I might have seen a V, but this one you're young, you're like 18-19, maybe, maybe a little bit older. But on Instagram, like, I like Instagram because I love photography so I'm kind of constantly looking at photos, but there's a little search thing, a little magnifying glass, so like it tells me stuff that I should like, so Slash will pop up and if you do you be like in South America, "Oh my god, let me see what's going on with the guys," and then something... and so I've clicked on you so many times that now it's just you. And some my wife's like, "You have a lot of Slash and not a lot of porn, what's wrong with you?" "I know." So I didn't know that it would give me all this stuff. You enjoy Instagram a little bit?

Slash: Yeah, I post crazy shit on there all the time.  [...] I mean, someone just said, "You know a lot of kids, you know, follow you on Instagram and you post these things on there," and I don't do it all the time but sometimes I find something that I think is pretty profound and I'll just put it on there, and I love sex and I love all... [laughs] So I see stuff and I put it up. So I get these complaints sometimes from people in person, like I'll meet the mom in person-

NS: That's great, they finally get the chance to meet you, "Listen, your first three records blew me away but I have to complain because my 11 year old is learning about sex from you." That's your job!

Jenn: "You're welcome."

Slash: Yeah, so I'm like, you know, I apologize but I'm not gonna censor myself for your child.

NS: It's like I'm sorry and then the next one is just something really-

Slash: -bad, yeah, yeah.

NS: Let me see, let me see, what else do we have here on my thing? Anything about GN'R you want to talk about? Like how it felt-

Slash: Well, we can talk about... I mean yeah, we can talk about... I mean, all things considered, the tour, you know, what ended up being Not In This Lifetime kind of thing, you know, I left in '96 and Axl and I didn't talk until 2015.

NS: [...] When Motley broke up we're not friends and it left a little hole in my heart.

Slash: Yeah, it was like there was always that thing and I won't get into all the personal stuff but, you know, over that period of time there was, you know, there was a lot of bad feelings from the the break-up up until all throughout that whole 20 years, whatever it was, but there's, you know, there's also part of you that's like in a marriage where you love somebody and, you know, so there's always that feeling but then there's all this negative stuff.

NS: Sure, and by the way, comes from a lot of other people.

Slash: Well, there was so much stuff perpetuated in the media and it was just blown out of proportion. So when he and I talked for the first time it was really, really cool.

Jenn: Was it in person?

Slash: Yeah, it was, well no, first time we spoke it was on the phone and then we got together when I got back into town because I was on the road, I was in Peru, I remember that specifically. But it was very cathartic to physically talk. Because, I mean, there's a bond that you have that's never, you know... And then it makes the break-up... I mean, what happens is the bond makes the negative side of it that much worse because you're forced out of it, you know. Anyway so when we got together and played it was Coachella, it was just fucking awesome. And we played the Troubadour, was the first one that we did. And it just snowballed from there. 18 months and it's been... I mean, I would never, you know, if you had talked to me 20 months ago I would have said, "No fucking way, it's not ever gonna happen," but it did and it was fucking awesome.

NS: And it happened at the right time [?], people were ready, it's obviously you're seeing in ticket sales, enthusiasm from fans, and the different generations. The cool thing about being gone as long as the band was gone, the original band, is that people discover you but never ever, ever could ever see, so there's like, "This is our chance," and  that's fantastic and I'm sure it just made everything feel that much better. Must have been like kind of weird like look over and there's, like, Duff and Axl and you're like, "I didn't think this sort of-"

Slash: Yeah, very surreal. These moments on stage where you sort of take stock of where you are at the moment ans go, "Wow, this is [?]"

NS: Yeah, "Look at this" [?]

Slash: And the funny thing about it...But we... there was something about this particular tour, it didn't take me back to the, you know, the last tour in the 90s where it was like, reminiscent of that, it was completely uniquely its own new thing. The same guys, same songs, but a whole different experience.

NS: I was talking to this guy today in the UK it was a sobriety thing and we were talking about growing up. And you know I realized in my case there was a lot of immaturity even as an adult because of drug use and this other thing that happens to when you become a rock star, everything's done for you and, you know, after a while it becomes such a part of your life you become, I don't know if narcissistic is the word, but just you turn self-centered because that's your role, your role. Like, "What, do you need water?"

Slash: It's a sense of entitlement.

[...]

NS: Do you think you ever went through any time when you're like kind of lost the plot a little bit?

Slash: Well, I mean, back to what you were saying a second ago, it all really comes down to drugs and alcohol because, as you know, as a person you are who you are and then you start, you know, doing really excess amounts of chemicals and all that kind of stuff and you become, you know, a chemist-

NS: -Not a good one!

Slash: - trying to balance, your personality changes, you know, there's things about your personality that come out of that that would-

NS: They don't like!

Slash: [?] be a real asshole when you're, I mean, you know and I was thinking when you said that, like, name any band from, you know, the 70s and 80s that had turmoil and not too far you'll find cocaine and, you know, because it always it exaggerated whatever your... blows your filter out so you don't know how not to say the wrong thing.

[talking about Motley's white drum riser and then Sixx' role as spokesperson in Motley]

Slash: What happens is you have that role and so you get put in that position and you almost start acting, you almost start like doing whatever it is just to get-

NS: -The character up.

Slash: Yeah, you don't really even put that much thought into it, it becomes mechanical after a while so you show up and you, you know, act out this sort of interview thing and say all the stuff and then it's done and you just have that job to do. I know that feeling. But I'm just thinking back on on how, you know, we all used to get inebriated and do these interviews and talk a lot of shit and if you read any of them back you're just like, "Oh god, it's embarrassing." But could you imagine if Twitter had been around?

Jenn: Oh my god.

NS: Just on the tour we did together, if we had Twitter... Instagram would have been fun.

Slash: Yeah, Instagram would have been-

NS: That would have been wild. There would have been some people complaining [laughs].

Jenn: The ability we have now to go live at any moment too has got to be like terrifying at some point. To think back and go, "Oh my god, if there was somebody there that could film that and put that out to the universe like in a split second," you guys would never have been the same.

Slash: Well, it definitely would have added a whole another colorful level to the debauchery that we were doing behind closed doors. I mean, I think it probably would have been beneficial in a way but then there also would have been stuff that would have been a real nuisance for us personally.

Jenn: Yeah, I wonder if the bands would have gotten discovered quicker, I mean, you do have that angle where you-

NS: We had MTV which was great for the mainstream but like this would be almost the equivalent of getting like the inside dirty secret on your bands which could have blown the mystique.

Slash: MTV would have been like musical CNN at that point.

NS: CNN feels like that to me now anyway, it's a musical.

Jenn: How do you feel, especially being in stadiums this past 18 months?

Slash: Well, we actually we did a stadium run for a big portion of it and then we went and did arenas for the last six weeks or so.

Jenn: What do you feel about the whole phone thing, do you care at all?

Slash: I've gotten past the point of caring.

NS: That's what happened to me, too.

Slash: People just do what they do and the fact that, you know, they can't concentrate on the music, you know, because they have to memorialize this on their... after a while you just sort of... you don't want to make make a huge effort to try and fight it because it's just going against what is the trend at this point.

NS: There's no way to fight it and not hurt your fans feelings. That's what I found early on, I realized if I was a fan, if I was going to see Aerosmith and like, you know, Joe Perry was, like, tweeted out, "I hate all you people with cellphones," I'd be like, "Man, I, like, worked for three months to afford a ticket and only buy a t-shirt, I never got to meet my hero and now he's putting me down."

Slash: Yeah.

NS: "But I got this video of him." I'd be really happy to have that video.

Slash: [?] Yeah, you know, there's some people who, rightfully so, get bent out of shape because, you know, as a musician your putting across this and you want people to actually hear it, it's not just about the experience of being at the event, you know, it's about all the songs and what goes on during your performance and whatnot, and they get really bent out of shape about it. But I just think it's sort of redundant because it is a sign of the times and it's something that people are doing, they have the equipment to do it, they're gonna do it, and if you lose sleep over it you're only, you know, cutting your nose to spite your face.

NS: You know, I find a lot of stuff on bands that I'd love or guys that were in bands that I love, are out doing their own thing, because fans are memorializing it and I'm like, "Wow!" I mean it doesn't sound great but I'm like, "Wow," like, "I never would have seen that."

Slash: No, no, definitely. I mean, yeah remember when, you know, like in the late 70s and...all the bootlegs that you used to try and-

NS: We loved those bootlegs. Yeah, there was a place in Seattle called Cellophane Records and we had to take like two buses to get there from where we lived. We lived kind of like in these, like, the super poor area and we get into the city and we'd go there and we'd stay there for hours. And I remember finding this one it was just white and it just said David Bowie, I think it was "Young Americans in London," and, I mean, we were like... First of all, London, England - we're never gonna see London, England, in my life, alright? And then to be in that personal private moment that happened in a place like that, it inspired us you know so much. So hopefully young people are getting inspired by getting to see a band like Guns N' Roses that has been around so long. You guys are cut from the cloth of being musicians and, yeah, you put on big shows and you have all those songs but for some kid somewhere in the world you're never gonna, [?].

Slash: Yeah, exactly. You know, it's like footage from any number of countries.

NS: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Dude, thank you so much.

Slash: Oh man, it's fucking great to be here, it really is, it's cool. Last show and it's just good to see you. It's been a couple of years now.

NS: Yes, a couple years. You've been busy, I've been busy, we'll try to-

Slash: You've been way busy.

NS: I kind of called it retired but my wife said to me the other day, "You know, you're like five times busier than when you were in Motley." [...]

Slash: But you have to do a photo book. Release a photo book.

NS: Thank you!

Slash: Your pictures are amazing.

NS: Thank you.

Slash: You gotta do that.

NS: Thank you, yeah, we're talking about that and some new projects cuz, you know, once you've done one gallery showing it's kind of like doing your first record. Like, you don't really know how to do it, you have an idea and then some people help you, producers and engineers, and then when people are like, "Wow" [...]

[talking about Sixx's photographies]

Transcript of the part about the GN'R reunion:
---------------------------------------------------------

Nikki: Anything about GN'R that you want to talk about, like how it felt being on the road...

Slash: Well, we can talk about it. I mean yeah, we can talk about... I mean, all things considered, the tour, what ended up being the "Not In This Lifetime" kind of thing - you know, I left in ’96 and Ax and I didn’t talk until 2015.

Nikki: So, I kinda wondered a little bit if there are kind of like some similarities. Because, like, when Motley broke up we were not friends, and it left a little hole in my heart. It was like, "wow".

Slash: Yeah. Well, there was always that. There was always that thing. And I won’t get into all the personal stuff.

Nikki: Yeah, we don’t want to get into that anyway.

Slash: But, you know, over that period of time there was a lot of bad feelings, from the breakup up until - all throughout this, that whole 20 years, whatever it was.  

Nikki: That’s crazy, 20 years.

Slash: But you know, there is also a part of you that’s like in a marriage, where you love somebody, and so there is always that feeling, but then there is all this negative stuff, and-

Nikki: Sure. Which by the way comes from a lot of other people. 

Slash: Well, there was so much stuff perpetuated in the media and it was just blown out of proportion. So when he and I talked for the first time, it was really, really cool.

Female: Was it in person?

Slash: Yeah, that was... Well no, first time we spoke was on the phone, and then we got together when I got back into town, because I was on the road. I was in Peru, I remember it specifically (laughs). But it was very cathartic-

Nikki: I can see that.

Slash: ...to physically talk. Because, I mean, there’s a bond you have that's never, you know...

Nikki: For sure.

Slash: And then it makes the breakup -  I mean, what happens is that the bond makes the negative side of it that much worse, because you’re forced out of it, you know? Anyway, so when we got together and played it was Coachella. It was just fuckin’ awesome. And we played the Troubadour, it was the first gig that we did. And so it just snowballed from there. So it's 18 months now and it's been... I mean, I would never - you know, if you talked to me 20 months ago, I would have said, "No fucking way. It’s not ever gonna happen." But it did, and it was fuckin’ awesome.  

Nikki: And it happened at the right time. It’s a time there are people ready... Obviously you see it in the ticket sales and the enthusiasm from fans, and the different generations...

Slash: Yeah.

Nikki: The cool thing about being gone as long as the band was gone, the original band, is that people would discover you, but never-ever could ever see you.

Slash: There was a lot of it, yeah.

Nikki: So it’s like, "This is our chance," and that’s fantastic. And I’m sure it made everything feel that much better. It must have been kind of weird to, like, look over and there’s Duff and Axl, and you're like, "I didn’t think this would ever happen"...

Slash: Yeah, many times. It was very surreal. You know, these moments on stage, where you sort of take stock of where you are at the moment and you go, "Wow, this isn’t true" (laughs).

Nikki: Yeah, "Look at this. It's a sold out stadium and there's my guys that we were kids."

Slash: And the funny thing about it... It was something about this particular tour that it didn’t make me - it didn’t take me back to, you know, the last tour in the 90s where it's, like, reminiscent of that. It was completely uniquely its own new thing. Same guys, same songs, but a whole different experience.

The show with Y&T and Motley Crue at the Whisky that Slash talks about must have been in 1981 or 1982, because those were the last years Motley played at this venue. I tried finding the exact date by looking at Y&T shows around this period, but couldn't find a date both band splayed at The Whisky. Slash might be wrong on the venue or possibly the setlists aren't complete.

Finally finished this. It's taken terribly long due to being a bit burnt out and having tons to do at work.