Brief New Slash Interview

[Booker Floyd]

Courtesy of Velvet-Revolver.org and Rayno...

Well, thanks to Arlett Vereecke, on Friday 23rd I was allowed to make a phone interview with Slash for one of the Czech music magazines. Here are transcripts of some interesting parts, I will add some more later (and I hope I?ll be able to post mp3 on our yahoogroup). Slash was talkative and very friendly although he wasn?t that excited as I was.
Enjoy!!


Slash on three versions of Contraband cover:

Well, that?s coz I like the black one the best, somebody else likes the white one the best, somebody else likes the red one the best, so we said: ?Fuck it, let?s just make all three (laughs).

Slash on us, online killer fans:

Well, you know, it?s really cool, but it?s hard for me to get a perspective on exactly how many people out there really, you know, are into it. It?s hard to tell. We spend most of our time sort of workin?, you know, I?m not a big internet guy so I don?t really spend a lot of time checkin? shit out. So people tell me what?s goin? on but until we?re in front of the audience it?s really hard for me to tell exactly what?s happening. Ya know, I get phone calls from the management office goin?, you know, the are all sold out in five minutes, these first two gigs that we booked. And I?m like: ?Really? That?s cool?. And the single?s doin? such a radio and I?m like ?Oh, great, that?s awesome?? But I don?t really know, so people tell me like on the internet everybody?s creating this site and creating this site and? But it doesn?t necessarily ( ? I didn?t catch this part, maybe ?compute? is the word) my mind until you go out and in front of the audience and then it?s like ?Wow!?, you know? (laughs).

Slash on Izzy?s idea of makin? a little tour with him and Duff as singers:

No? We joked about it. I mean that?s what Izzy? There was a point when Izzy was hangin? out with us, we already had Dave Kushner, but Izzy called up one day and he goes: ?I?ve been writin? some songs ? what are you guys doin??? And we said: ?We?re just lookin? for singers and jammin? down at the rehearsal studio. So he came down and we hang out for couple weeks and we wrote probably (pause) about ten songs that I think would probably make? It?s sort of fantasy for some people but probably the best Guns N? Roses record (notice: by the way ? this sentence broke my heart). All the music was very sort of? Because me and Izzy and Duff playin? together obviously it?s gonna sound like that. But it was cool, we had a good time, it was very nostalgic and all that kinda stuff and I remember at one point Izzy was goin?: ?Let?s just roll all the shit and I will sing and Duff will sing, we?ll go out?. And it sounds cute and everything but my aspirations were a way higher. So when Izzy took off we just continued on doin? what we were doin??

Slash on songs co-written with Izzy and if the songs are gonna be on the album:

No? They all sounded a way too Guns N? Roses. But they might ( ? didn?t catch this part) or might appear on Izzy?s next solo record.

Slash on El Rey DVD and if it will be released:

I don?t know? It will come out at some point and there?s a whole bunch of stuff that?s gonna come out. All that stuff that we shot for VH1 and then there?s that gig at El Rey, all kinda shit? We just have to figure out how and when we?re gonna do it.

Slash on Contraband bonus tracks:

Yeah? There?ll be one. No, it?s not Money, we?re not releasing that? Umm? But? You?ll see when it comes.

 

The interview has been made by "Rayno" and it has been published on Beenafix.com Forum here .

[jarmo]

Slash on three versions of Contraband cover:

Well, that?s coz I like the black one the best, somebody else likes the white one the best, somebody else likes the red one the best, so we said: ?Fuck it, let?s just make all three (laughs).

That's one way to see it.....  

You could also put all three in one and just turn around the cover.  


/jarmo

[Doc Emmett Brown]

hey... wasn't Arlett Vereecke the one who was fired a while back??    It was many months ago so I could be confusing things...

Slash on songs co-written with Izzy and if the songs are gonna be on the album:

No? They all sounded a way too Guns N? Roses. But they might ( ? didn?t catch this part) or might appear on Izzy?s next solo record.

And how do I get my hands on this tantalizing album?  Sounding "way too Guns N' Roses" is a good thing in my book  

I wonder how things would have turned out if Slash & Duff had agreed to go on that tour with Izzy... would there still have been a Velvet Revolver afterwards?  

[jarmo]

hey... wasn't Arlett Vereecke the one who was fired a while back??    It was many months ago so I could be confusing things...

There was that thing between her and Scott....

September 6th, 2003:

VELVET REVOLVER spokesperson Arlett Vereecke has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the group's one-song collaboration with producer Josh Abraham (STAIND, ORGY, POWERMAN 5000) is going by the title "Loving The Aliens (Sometimes)". The group had previously recorded the tracks "Slither" and "Set Me Free" with producers Bob Ezrin (KISS, JANE'S ADDICTION, PINK FLOYD) and Nick Raskulinecsz, respectively. All three cuts are expected to surface on VELVET REVOLVER's forthcoming debut album, tentatively due in February 2004 through RCA Records.


September 11th, 2003:

Hello Velvet Revolver fans. I hate for my first message on the site to be of the negative variety but I feel that it is my responsibility to uphold the honor and integrity of my friend and producer/partner, and to let the truth be known. First off, Velvet Revolver spokesperson Arlett Vereecke is not a spokesperson. We speak on our own behalf. Secondly, she was fired two weeks ago for situations not unlike this. Last but not least, Josh Abraham is a genius producer and friend who produced an amazing rock track last week. This track was not titled "Loving the Alien (sometimes)". "Loving the Alien (sometimes)" is an art-rock ballad that was produced by Douglas Grean; an amazingly talented producer and friend who is so humble that he didn't even want me to write this response. But I'm sorry Doug, when it comes to the music that I write with my partners in V.R., the truth needs to be known. It's my responsibility to the producers, to the music, and to the fans.

Shame on you Arlett Vereecke.

Sincerely,
Scott Weiland


September 12th, 2003:

In responce to Scott Weiland's letter that implicates me of wrong doing as a PR for Velvet Revolver, I firmly believed he acted on bad advice, that was not only detrimental to him but to Velver Revolver.

Nobody, except Scott Weiland and his representatives, was aware of his letter writing, hence the rest of the band especially Slash and Duff whom I've worked with for 17 years, and hold very dear, knew anything about it.

Scott Weiland did call me tonight to apologise for being misinformed and we will talk things out this weekend one-on-one.

The truth is, I'm not fired. The band ran out of money and until the record is finished VR will be laying low and therefore not in need of a full time publicist. I still do all the work that comes in, I'm just not paid for it... and you can quote me on that.

Sorry this is a public battle, but it was not my idea, and I do not hold a grudge towards Scott Weiland and accepted his apology.

Best regards,

ARLETT VEREECKE

And how do I get my hands on this tantalizing album?  Sounding "way too Guns N' Roses" is a good thing in my book  

Yeah, I'm not an STP fan so this might not be that bad.

We'll see exactly how big the STP influences are on "Contraband".

On the other hand, they couldn't have done AFD part 2 either....



/jarmo

[Mikkamakka]

I want those songs that sound like Guns N' Roses. Please, release it!

[jarmo]

Out of the ten tracks on the demo cd that Scott received from the band, he said four interested him. The rest were too classic rock orientated for his taste, too much GN'R according to him.



/jarmo

[Booker Floyd]

Out of the ten tracks on the demo cd that Scott received from the band, he said four interested him. The rest were too classic rock orientated for his taste, too much GN'R according to him.

"The first CD that Slash gave me had a lot of music that Izzy had written with them, and it was a lot more classic-based," Weiland remembers. "I wasn't as excited about that stuff, you know? But when I got the next batch of songs, it was like, `Okay, there's a handful of songs in here that I definitely feel I can wrap my head around." - Scott Weiland

He never said "too much GNR," only that it was more classic-based, unless youre referring to some other quote...

[jarmo]

He never said "too much GNR," only that it was more classic-based, unless youre referring to some other quote...

Yeah, Close-Up Magazine.

Even thought it's in Swedish, I think it would be "You know, a little too much Guns N' Roses" if it was translated.



/jarmo

[Booker Floyd]

Yeah, Close-Up Magazine.

Even thought it's in Swedish, I think it would be "You know, a little too much Guns N' Roses" if it was translated.

Ah...thanks for the correction.

I heard the Close-Up article is really good?  Is there anyway you can scan/transcribe it, Jarmo?