2016.09.29 - Loudwire - Myles Kennedy: When Slash Told Me About Guns N' Roses Reunion

Excerpts from Ultimate Guitar:
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Myles Kennedy talked about his initial reaction to finding out about the classic GN'R reunion, telling Loudwire:

"I [was told about it] about a year ago - Slash told me, we were touring and he brought it up.

"It's one of those things - I always thought it was inevitable, just a matter of time and the fan in me was jumping in joy.

"When he said it to me, I told him: 'You're making a lot of people happy with this decision.' [Chuckles] 'Cause we've waited 20+ years for it..."

Focusing on what it was like after the first shows started taking place, the singer added:

"The fact that Axl had hurt his foot and he went up with that chair - to me it showed that he was in it to win it. He stuck it out like a champ!"

Asked on how he managed not to tell anyone about the reunion before it was announced, Kennedy replied: "Was it hard to contain? No, not really. It was just one of those things where I... I just... yeah, I just shut the fuck up. [Laughs]"

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/myles_kennedy_how_i_reacted_to_slash_telling_me_about_gnr_reunion.html

An earlier interview with Myles talking about the GN'R reunion; Classic Rock, August 10, 2016:
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Myles Kennedy: Guns N' Roses reunion a shot in the arm for rock

By Stef Lach

Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy says the Guns N’ Roses reunion is “a well-needed shot in the arm for rock’n’roll.”

The singer also works with Slash in his band The Conspirators and says he doesn’t see that collaboration happening again any time soon as the GNR reunion is going so well.

Slash, Axl Rose and Duff McKagan confirmed their reunion earlier this year and are currently on the road on their Not In This Lifetime tour.

Kennedy says: “There was always a feeling inside that it was eventually gonna happen, it’s such an incredible band and it was inevitable. When he told me, the first thing I said was, ‘You guys are gonna make a lot of people extremely happy, myself included.’

“I had the opportunity to see the first night they did in Las Vegas. It was just so great to see those guys together on stage again. As a rock fan, it’s good for rock. It’s a well-needed shot in the arm for rock’n’roll.

“It’s going so well, so I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”

https://www.loudersound.com/news/myles-kennedy-guns-n-roses-reunion-a-shot-in-the-arm-for-rock

Another interview with Myles, talks about Slash and the Conspirators; Alternative Nation, Sept. 9, 2016:
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What is something that Slash has taught you just by being in a group with him the past few years that you know bring to Alter Bridge?

How hard he rehearses. When we’re preparing for a tour or a record he will rehearse something over and over and over again. He just burns it into his brain. I’ve seen how that can have a positive impact on a performance and how a song comes across. I definitely try to incorporate that more now. For example, this press run we are about to do, we have a few acoustic gigs. It used to be that I would just show up, grab the acoustic and play the song or short set that we had. Now, after playing with Slash, he would insist we get together and practice acoustically because it’s a different arrangement. Little things like that have tweaked my perspective. I work that much harder because of it. He’s instilled a certain work ethic for sure. He’s amazing.

https://www.alternativenation.net/interview-myles-kennedy-balancing-alter-bridge-slash/

Todd Kerns of The Conspirators also talking about Slash and his work ethic; Vegas Rocks TV/Blabbermouth, Sept. 13, 2016:
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Todd Kerns, the bassist for Slash's backing band, Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, was recently interviewed by Sally Steele of VegasRocksTV.com. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if he has gotten any "noble advice" from Slash in their years of playing together, Todd said: "He's not the kind of guy to actually verbalize anything like that, but I think just being around him and watching him… I mean, he's got a guitar in his hands all the time.

"People are always, like, 'Wow! He's better than he ever was.' And I go, 'That's by design.' He has sat down and practiced… He's not really practicing; he's playing 'cause he loves to play. It's not really about, like, 'I'm gonna try these scales.' He's just playing 'cause he loves to play, and if you just keep playing, keep playing and keep playing, you just get better and better and better, and that's just what he's done.

"I think if [I] learn[ed] anything from him, it's just that his work ethic is non-stop, and that's what I try to adhere to — make sure every day you're doing something to put into whatever it is you wanna try to achieve."

Pressed about whether there is anything that Slash has told him that was particularly memorable, Todd said: "Well, he has the craziest story — the man has [almost] died. He has all those stories of all these crazy things [that happened].

"The funny thing is I met him in 1991, and we were at the Rainbow [in West Hollywood], and he was, like, the mayor of the Rainbow; he was just kind of off in the corner. He came over and sat with me and my band at the time, and he has no recollection of this at all, 'cause he was… you know, he was partaking back then. He's a different man.

"That's another thing I learned about him too — there was that Slash, and then there's a new Slash, and the new Slash is even more focused than he was back then, because he's sober, he's really focused, he's really driven, and it's non-stop."

He continued: "I don't know that there's any one piece of advice, 'cause he's not a man of a lot of words, actually. He's a really intelligent guy."

Asked to elaborate on what he meant when he said that Slash "has died," Todd said: "He OD'ed back in the day; he's had a couple of different bad situations happen, and I think he's learned his lessons along the way that some doctor has to say to him, 'If you do this, you're going to die.' And I think he had to kind of… not do that. [Laughs] I think it made him a lot more serious. Anything like that must make you take stock of your life."

https://blabbermouth.net/news/slash-work-ethic-is-non-stop-says-conspirators-bassist-todd-kerns