In a brand new interview with John J. Moser of The Morning Call, legendary guitarist Slash (GUNS N’ ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) spoke about the current lineup of his solo band, dubbed SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS, which features Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass) and Frank Sidoris (guitar).
Slash: “I only called [Myles to sing on my self-titled 2010 solo debut album] because I’d heard a lot about him… I was really curious to see what he sang like. And since I was doing this record with all these different singers, I asked him to come in. And he was just phenomenal, and … I really liked him as a person. You know, his whole personality and his attitude and everything really jelled with mine.
“The longer we knew each other, the more I really just liked working with him. I thought we had a really great chemistry and we started writing on the road.”
“I put together what I thought was, you know, a quick pickup band [to tour in support of the first record]. But it turned out to be, like, the perfect bunch of guys. And I just thought that, after we’d been on the road for awhile, we should just go in the studio and make a record with these guys.”
On why he built MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS around him instead of just billing himself as a solo artist:
Slash: “I’ve always put bands together; I’m either in one or putting one together. … In working with these guys, I’m really a band guy. So the only difference about me being in a band and what I’m doing now is that I actually lead this band. It’s a sort of conscious knowledge between everybody. But I still treat it as a group. It’s just more directed by me than a lot of the bands that I’ve been in before, where it was more of a joint effort. But this bunch of guys is very happy just to have me sort of steer the ship, and they just kind of go along with it because we all want to sort of do the same thing, you know?”
On whether he would ever consider working again with a reunited classic lineup of GUNS N’ ROSES:
Slash: “I hate answering that question. I think they probably told you I don’t want to answer that question. The GUNS thing is obvious, so I don’t know what you want me to say.”