1991.07.DD - ROCKbeat Magazine - Guns N' Roses: The Grand Illusion (Slash)

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GUNS N’ ROSES:
THE GRAND ILLUSION
 
By Lonn Friend
 
The story of how Guns N’ Roses became a household name has already been well documented. Lively, colorful anecdotes about their temporary housing in a drug-infested neighborhood and getting tossed out of Sunset Strip clubs are near legendary in Hollywood. Lead guitarist Slash feels his personal lifestyle has been terribly distorted in the press. “People get the picture that the media portrays, and that’s the only image we have,” he complains. He refers to all the tabloid stories and heavy metal gossip rags as just a load of “brouhaha.”
 
Besides kicking dope and straightening out his head, Slash has gone through plenty of other changes recently. For starters, he made friends with David Bowie, who used to date his mom years ago. “Late last year, Bowie and I got together and went to dinner,” he says. “We had a great time, and we’ve been hanging ever since. He’s a sweet guy. It’s been really cool, going from being a kid and growing up with musicians and then meeting these people you haven’t seen in a long time who actually have respect for you.
 
Besides Bowie, Slash has also forged friendships with many other guitarists and musicians including Lenny Kravitz and Iggy Pop. Although he’s asked to play guitar on dozens of other performer’s records, he has only worked with Pop, Bob Dylan and Kravitz recently, because he’s been so busy finishing the Guns N’ Roses album, Use Your Illusion. The group’s third album is, without question, a project of giant scope and vision. It’s packed solid with acoustic rockers, heavy grunge stuff and more than a few surprises. The lengthy track mix includes a batch of epic rock anthems like “Coma,” “Breakdown,” “The Garden” (on which Axl shares vocals with Alice Cooper), “Estranged” and the grandiose “November Rain.” There’s also a slew of bluesy rock, numbers like “Dust and Bones,” “Pretty Tied Up” (featuring rare vocal work from Izzy Stradlin), “Yesterdaze,” “Bad Apples” and “So Fine.” By the way, Duff McKagan sings lead vocals for the first time ever on this one. The slamming bashers include “Loco-motive,” “Ain’t Goin’ Down,” “Right Next Door to Hell,” “Back Off Bitch” and “Shotgun Blues.”
 
The new album has something else radically different about it – the loss of blond-haired drummer Steven Adler, who had to be replaced before recording even started. As Slash explains in the following interview, an on-going substance abuse problem left the band no other alternative but to dismiss Steven from the band. The new drummer for Guns is no stranger to hard rock fans – it’s Matt Sorum, the basher extraordinaire who was the driving rhythmic force behind the Cult.
 
Slash took a moment out from the final mixing on Use Your Illusion to chat about GN’R’s torrid past, busy present and, no doubt, history-making future.
 
First off, let’s talk about Steven Adler. His departure from the band must have been a traumatic experience for everyone concerned. What happened?
 
No one wanted to go into the studio and see Steven. Me and Duff wouldn’t show up for hours. We’d just sit in the recording studio lounge, and it was getting ridiculous. Steven was telling us that we just sat around and got drunk all the time, and he made all these excuses to go on doing what he was doing. It was a denial thing.
 
You know, as long as I’ve known Steven and have been as close a friend as I’ve been with him, he’s always been the guy that you would tell what to do and he’d do it. In other words, he had all these people that were a little more worldly about what was going on. He always had that family and foundation to go with, right? So when it got to a point where he was so lost, nobody tried as hard as we did to bring him back. I spent time with him in the hospital, and so did the other guys in the band. We went to his house. Really, we did everything we could to get him going again. Steven had no control whatsoever.
 
Are there any radical musical departures on the new album?
 
There’s lots of new stuff. There’s a lot of ballads as well as a lot of heavy, heavy stuff. There’ll be some of Izzy’s songs, which are more Stonesy. And there’ll be a lot of different instruments on this record. I’ve got guitars doing all different sounds and things. We might use some synthesizer too, but not the kind that sounds hollow. There’ll also be a lot of piano. [Much of it played by the new, sixth Gunner, Dizzy Reed.]
 
Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?
 
I write bass licks a lot, sometimes I play 6-string bass at the studio, but I’m pretty much limited to guitars. I’d like to learn how to play the sax. It’s a great instrument. I doubt I’ll ever sit down and actually take it up, but you never know.
 
How about singing?
 
I try not to. I never sing background vocals. There’s a song on the new record called “Dust and Bones” where I have an actual acappella part, believe it or not. But I don’t think I could ever be a singer, because I can’t be glued to a microphone. You have to stand in one spot or you have to run across the stage to get to it in time, and when you do you’re so out of breath you can’t sing.
 
Let’s change the subject. What qualities in women appeal to you most?
 
I’ve only had five real girlfriends in my whole 25 years, but there have been a lot of in-between things. I’ve gone through so much shit with girlfriends, but just like anything else you do on a regular basis, you start to learn from your mistakes. I like a girl that can basically hang out, who you can talk with, where it’s almost like you’re partners in crime. A sensitive, intelligent girl who holds herself well, is very intuitive, and knows how to handle her sexuality so it works – basically a good friend you can have sex with. Someone you can talk your problems out with and has the patience to go through shit with you, and you’d do it for them.
 
You’ve been going out with the same girl for more than a year. What’s she like, and what’s the secret of your relationship?
 
Well, it’s like, besides the guys in the band, she’s one of my best friends. We get along and she takes care of herself so I don’t have to worry about that as much, you know? We just hang out. We go to the Rainbow [a Los Angeles rock hotspot] and stuff. I hate to sound like one of those guys who’ve wimped out and doesn’t want to be around in public anymore. If you’re not touring, I’d just rather be working. And if I’m not working, I don’t want that shit, the hassles of going out in public. Like, the Rainbow is the worst place to go if you want to get away from things. Yet at the same time, there’s a certain vibe happening there, so we’ll go over there. Like, giving autographs to nice people, that’s wonderful and I don’t mind at all, but there are some creeps out there who treat you like some sort of fantasy figure. It’s weird, man. I’m as down to earth as I can be.