Rock legend Slash gears up for Oz
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Visiting Oz … former Guns N’Roses guitarist Slash is expected to perform at the NRL Grand Final. Photo: Dan Himbrechts.
Source: News Corp Australia
SLASH is heading back to Australia to launch his new record World On Fire.
The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist, whose solo career has exploded in recent years, said “it’s going to be awesome” to return to Australia where he has always been wildly popular.
He has booked a show in Melbourne at the Rolling Stone Lodge and then travels to Sydney where he is believed to be recreating his performance on the Nine finals promo at the NRL grand final.
Slash and his band, fronted by Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy, were also one of the first acts to be announced for next year’s Soundwave Festival which also features Faith No More and Slipknot.
The genial guitarist released his third solo record World On Fire on Friday and it quickly raced up the iTunes charts, holding court at No. 3 behind new albums by Megan Washington and the Madden Brothers.
Life after Guns … what started as a solo project for Slash is now a fully fledged band effort.
Source: Supplied
“This started out as a solo thing and then I started to realise there was a like-mindedness between us so it has evolved into a group effort,” Slash said ahead of his Australian visit.
“I am not really a boss. I just point and shot. And organise everything.”
Organising anything except for his next drink is a miracle in itself considering Slash was almost given a death sentence by doctors when he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2001 after years of alcohol abuse.
He credits his wife Perla — and an implanted defibrillator — for helping maintain his good health for the past decade.
Partnership … former wildman Slash says he owes his sobriety and good health to wife Perla. Picture: Getty
Source: News Limited
“I am pretty thankful for the last eight years that I have been able to do this without the trappings of having to maintain all my habits,” he said.
“The difference in touring now than back then is I don’t drink in the downtime because after years and years and years of doing that, it finally became a drag.
“The actual gigging feels the same but there’s a bit more clarity involved and I spend the downtime working.”
The greatest … Slash is one of the most revered axemen in the world. Picture: AFP
Source: AFP
While Slash agrees “rock music is in the worst place it has ever been in terms of its commercial appeal”, he said the demand for loud guitar-driven music in the live arena remains buoyant.
“Fans love rock music for the same reason they have always loved it and that is why bands and players who have been around for a while can still draw an audience,” he said.
“It’s harder to get a record deal but as long as you can go out there and impress an audience, people will respond to that.
“That has always separated the men from the boys.”
