SLASH Always Wanted To Be Part Of A Band: 'I Didn't Wanna Be A Solo Guitar Player'

Guitar legend Slash has told Vancouver's CFOX radio station that he prefers playing in a band to being a "guitar hero" type that is surrounded by hired musicians.

"I love playing guitar, but in this business, what really got me going was being in a band — working within the confines of a rock and roll band," he explained (hear audio below). "I didn't wanna be a solo guitar player. I didn't wanna write complex instrumentals or anything like that and spend my life in the studio — I wanted to go write some songs and perform them live. And I think that was the key thing that's always motivated me and that's what keeps me around — getting out in front of those people and playing. That's why, as long as I've doing this, I still love it so much, 'cause that is exciting for me. So anytime I'm creating new material or working in the studio, it's all a means to an end, which is to go out and play and be part of an ensemble — not just a solo thing where I hire some guys to play everything I tell them to play. It's gotta have that give-and-take dynamic that working with other guys creates — a certain kind of energy."

According to Slash, one of his favorite things in the world is playing live shows. "The passion for playing guitar and going out and playing in front of people — those two hours, or, in GUNS N' ROSES' case, three hours — where you just go out and play all fucking night, that's where I really enjoy playing the guitar the most, because it's totally freeform," he said. "Even if you're playing the same song you've played a million times, you can always find little things that you entertain yourself through that people wouldn't even recognize, that you twist things around — you try this and you try that. There's a lot of room to just improvise. I could practice all day for months and never get as much out of it as I do playing for however many people and just doing however many guitar solos throughout the night where you're just flying by the seat of your pants. It's way more fun and exciting and beneficial to me, as a musician, to do that than it is to sit around and just play my guitar. For me personally — it might not work that way for other people, but that's how it works for me."

As previously reported, the February 20 show by SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS at Eventim Apollo in London, England was professionally filmed for future release.

Slash's latest album, "Living The Dream", was released in September via his own label Snakepit Records, in partnership with Roadrunner Records.

"Living The Dream" is Slash's fourth solo album, and third with Slash and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals),Brent Fitz (drums),Todd Kerns (bass and vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar and vocals). The artwork was created by renowned visual artist Ron English.