2000.08.23 - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Interview with Slash

Transcript:
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Jon Stewart: Tonight’s guest!

[Applause]

Jon Stewart: Oh, bring the joy! Tonight’s guest became quite well known for his guitar in there in Guns N’ Roses, currently returned with his latest band, Slash’s Snakepit. Their new cd, “Ain’t Life Grand?” is due in October. Folks, welcome Slash!

[Applause - Stewart and Slash hug]

Stewart: Welcome, my friend, how are you?

Slash: What’s in there?

Stewart: That’s pure ‎Stolichnaya. I’m shocked that you smoke. I always pegged you for a health nut.

(Laughter)

Slash: You think?

Stewart: Always.

Slash: Well, listen –

Stewart: I’m absolutely shocked. How are you?

Slash: I’m fine!

Stewart: I haven’t seen you in... it’s gotta be years.

Slash: The last time I saw you was at... you know (laughs).

Stewart: All right (laughs).

Slash: (inaudible)

Stewart: That was years ago. We were at a neighborhood bar where ladies are kind enough to... to dance.

Slash: Yeah, and you just – the funny thing was, after that, those couple of days we were hanging out, you disappeared (laughs).

Stewart: I did. You know what it’s called, Slash?

Slash: (?)

Stewart: It’s called cancellation. That’s the sad part. That’s why I disappeared. But you’ve been on the road, right? Where you’ve been?

Slash: Out with AC/DC.

Stewart: AC/DC? The legendary AC/DC?

Slash: Yeah.

Stewart: Oh my God.

Slash: You know? It was one of those things. We finished the record and everything was cool, and we thought, “What are we gonna do now?” you know? (laughs) So we’re gonna go on tour. And they gave us a list of all the bands that were gonna be touring around to give us options, so to speak. And, you know, A to Z on the list it was AC/DC. And it was like, “Ohh, that would be...”

Stewart: You just went with the first one, AC/DC?

Slash: Yeah, but we had to send them the cd, and Angus and Malcolm, you know, listened to it.

Stewart: You’re kidding.

Slash: We had to wait for the phone call and go, you know, whether we could do it or not.

Stewart: You’ve got to be kidding me!

Slash: And they called me and said they loved the record, “Come on out!” And I was like –

Stewart: Can I ask you a question about them?

Slash: Yeah.

Stewart: Why is he still dressed like a 12-year-old school kid?

Slash: (Laughing) Because he’s still a 12-year-old.

Stewart: (Laughing) (?)

Slash: This is what guitar players do. We’re eternal teenagers.

Stewart: That’s not true. I see you as and elder statesman of the music industry now.

Slash: (Chuckling) Right?

Stewart: The elder statesman! Are these guys, are they cool to hand out with?

Slash: They’re so good to us.

Stewart: Yeah, really?

Slash: Yeah, they’re cool to hang out with. We just... we just – you know, we do what we do. It’s like, that’s what we’re good at.

Stewart: Now, what is it backstage like? Because I always hear about, like, years ago there was a lot of excesses. But now everybody talks about, “Oh yeah, we had (?)” Do people party anymore back there, or is it like, “Oh yeah, I’ll have another one of them bottle of waters there.” Do you know what I mean?

Slash: (Laughing) What do you - well, you know, come on.

Stewart: (Laughing) You don’t even have to answer it, just act it out. I mean, that’s fine.

Slash: (Laughing) But what, you know, am I gonna say?

Stewart: Are you liking this album? Is this the stuff you always wanted to do?

Slash: You know, the whole thing has been so much fun and it’s been a lot of work, but that’s what life is all about.

Stewart: You’re still – it is?

Slash: Yeah.

Stewart: See, I thought life is about you’re going to an island and then you win a million dollars, unless they vote you out.

Slash: No. Everybody’s got a misconception - you know this to be true...

Stewart: Alright.

Slash: About how this all works. It’s like, you go out and you do what it is that you wanna do and you have fun doing it, but you have to deal with all the bullshit that goes along with it in order to do it.

Stewart: Can I tell you something, honestly? If I were high, too, right now, this would make a lot of sense.

(Laughter)

Stewart: It reminds me this exact conversation that we had the last time I saw you.

Slash: Then you should just shut me right (?)

(Laughter)

Stewart: Alright, we’ve got to go.

Slash: It’s good to be here, though. It’s good to see you again.

Stewart: You’re on tour with AC/DC. It’s good to see you again.

Slash: We’re playing here tomorrow.

Stewart: Well, then now you’re gonna have to have me in the audience.

Slash: (?)

Stewart: I’ll flush, I’ll be doing this: whoo-hoo!

Slash: You don’t have to worry about that. The whole band does it anyway.

Stewart: Oh really? Very nice. Do you guys put on a great show. I love seeing you live. It’s terrific. Slash, ladies and gentlemen.