By Ines Min
If you’re already a rock n’ roll legend, what’s the best thing one can do? For some, it’s branching out into a new musical career.
“It was very liberating to do a record on my own, and then when it came time to put together a tour I ended up putting together a great band, so I feel the best of both worlds,” Slash said in a recent interview. “It’s a really great band and I also got a chance to do more in the studio more or less driven by me.”
The 45-year-old former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist will play his first concert in Korea next month, in promotion of his debut solo album, “Slash” (2010). Ranked No. 2 in Time’s list of greatest electric guitar players of all time, Slash has only grown exponentially in terms of music industry fame since his debut in the 1980s.
Following his departure from GNR in 1996, the guitarist went on to a variety of music groups, including Velvet Revolver, a “supergroup” of musicians that included the likes of former bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, and Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots.
But outside of band fame, Slash looked for more on his own, eventually creating the eponymous album that allowed him to work with a variety of big names: from Ozzy Osbourne to Iggy Pop and Adam Levine.
“It was a really satisfying experience to work with all these different singers and songwriters,” Slash said, adding that he simply contacted the people who came to mind and let them do their own thing. “It was just very gratifying and a very inspiring process so I had a really good time.”
The range of vocalists has helped the guitarist realize his own musical diversity.
“That’s probably one of the reasons why I am doing solo stuff, because it’s not as one dimensional as playing in bands where you have to hear a certain style all the time,” Slash said. “So I can play really heavy metal stuff, I can play really soft stuff, and everything.”
He’s working on creating new material for his next solo album, though there’s no news yet on which direction he’ll take it. Though he’s seen a lot of change over the past few years (Slash celebrates two years of quitting smoking in April), the core of the musician has stayed constant.
“My biggest musical influence, in general, is rock n’ roll,” he said, citing such greats as Jimmy Hendrix, BB King and Albert King in terms of idols.
It’s easy to see where Slash will fit in with those legends, particularly as he describes the recording process for his album.
“Lemmy walks in, brings his bass and sings on something,” Slash said casually. “To me, that was the most interesting experience of the whole thing.”
For now, the artist is excited to be on tour again. Though Slash previously performed in Korea as support for a Michael Jackson concert in 1999, this will be the first time for him to take the spotlight.
“I was hoping to play in Korea on my last tour of Asia but it didn’t happen,” he said. “So I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be rock and roll. It’s going be amazing time in Seoul, Korea.”
Slash will perform at 6 p.m. March 20, at Ax-Hall in Gwangjang-dong. Tickets cost 99,000 won. For more information, call (02) 3141-3488 or visit www.ticket.interpark.com.