Slash Unites Gn’R Vets
Axl Rose may have declared “Round One” at Guns n’ Roses’ recent
performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, but Slash is getting
ready for Round Two. “I’m doing a fucking record with me, [bassist]
Duff [McKagan] and [drummer] Matt Sorum,” the former Gn’R guitarist
said this past weekend at the San Diego Street Scene festival,
where he was on hand to pay tribute to Jimi Hendrix. “Dave Cushner
is playing guitar right now, and we got the baddest fucking,
be-all, end-all rock & roll band.”
The as-yet-unnamed band (“If I had a name, I’d tell you,” Slash
says) is now in the process of looking for just the right vocalist
to perfect the ensemble. “There are no rock & roll singers out
there right now, and you know it as well as I do, except for the
guys who have been around a long time,” he says. “As far as new
bands, there’s not one. If I knew one, I probably would’ve stolen
him by now.
“When Billy Idol goes ballistic, that’s the kind of singer I
want all the time,” Slash continues. “There’s nobody I’ve listened
to since before Guns came out or anytime in the Eighties who’s been
like that, except for Billy. He’s one guy who when he belts it out
would be good at it.”
As for being selective about rounding out the band with a
vocalist, Slash needs to be choosy if he hopes to achieve his lofty
ambitions. “I want to be the guy who spearheads the next rock &
roll movement; I’ve done it before, so I want to do it again.”
In the meantime, Slash and wife Perla are happy being parents.
“We just had a baby ten days ago,” he says proudly. “His name’s
London, nine pounds, four ounces. He’s only ten days old, but he’s
got a cool personality . . . This is the first time I’ve been away
from home since he was born, so I’ve called home like six times.
And as soon as the gig is done, I’m going home.”