Young Slash Wouldn’t Have Believed Guns N’ Roses’ Pandemic Tour
Slash enthused about the positive experience of Guns N’ Roses' recent tour, saying that life on the road amid pandemic restrictions had been “super positive.” But he admitted that the younger version of himself would never have believed it was possible to have so much fun without any form of partying.
The group faced extremely tight exposure controls that included no guests backstage, no social events and moving between hotels and venues with no detours.
“Onstage it was incredible – the audience had this crazy energy,” Slash told the Daily Star in a recent interview. “The effect on the group as a whole was super positive. … No after-parties, no record execs, no celebrations – and frankly it showed onstage. The crisis restored our communal passion for music. We've never enjoyed playing music so much.”
He added that "all of our entourage wore masks; there was never any contact with the outside world. No one was invited to the concerts; there were no after-parties. We would go straight from the hotel to the venue and back to the hotel until it was time to travel to the next town. If you told me that in the '80s, I wouldn't have believed you.” Noting that his upcoming solo tour would include similar restrictions, Slash said, “I think it was a little glimpse of what’s to come. I think we are going to have to live with the virus and adapt to it.”
In a separate interview, the guitarist admitted he had some reservations when Axl Rose fronted AC/DC to help complete the band's world tour after Brian Johnson encountered health issues in 2016. “In the moment, when it first came up, it was a little jarring, I have to say,” Slash told Classic Rock. “I was super-proud that he was doing it, but how that was gonna happen and go right into the Guns thing, I really didn’t know. But anyway, it worked out. So it wasn’t like a big deal. ... In all these years that we’ve been apart, he’s become super-fucking professional. … There has been a sort of synergy that’s been happening this last six years that we never had in our first incarnation.”