"As far as rock n roll is concerned, it's sort of
struggling over these past ten years," the musician and songwriter, who
will be back in Singapore to stage a concert with singer Myles Kennedy and
their band The Conspirators at The Coliseum on Tuesday (Jan 8), says in an
e-mail interview.
"I think rock music has been going through a lot of
ebbs and flows. Since, say, the middle of the millennium, it's been pretty
quiet. You have a couple great artists that come out here and there, but
there's not, like, a big movement where you've got a ton of new music, all very
inspiring."
Slash performing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Nov 25, 2018.
While he feels that there is too much focus on Top 40 music
these days, the 53-year-old, whose real name is Saul Hudson, is optimistic that
the style of music that he plays will make a comeback in a big way in the near
future.
"I do definitely feel like there's a renaissance
coming, like a rock n roll revolution with all these kids that are doing it
right now. There's definitely an energy there so I'm excited to see where it's
going to be in the next few years."
And while Guns N' Roses are currently riding high on its
worldwide Not In This Lifetime tour, reported by Billboard as one of the top
five grossing tours of all time, Slash has also been busy making new music with
The Conspirators.
In September (2018), the band released their third album, Living The Dream. It topped Billboard's Hard Rock Albums charts and peaked at No. 4 in the British charts.
He is enjoying the change of pace that he gets with The
Conspirators, compared to Guns N' Roses, which he describes as a "behemoth
onslaught". He has performed in Singapore three times - with Kennedy at
Fort Canning in 2010 and the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2011, and with Guns N'
Roses at Changi Exhibition Centre in 2017.
Of The Conspirators' shows, he says: "It's more of a
stripped down, very simple rock n roll band that plays in smaller, more
intimate venues and what not. So it's really different."
The upcoming set will feature a lot of new songs from Living
The Dream, which he says was influenced by the blues and old rock n roll music
that he was listening to at home and in his car. Most of the songs comprise
guitar riffs that he recorded on his phone while in hotel rooms and dressing
rooms around the world.
He speaks highly of Kennedy, who also sings with rock band
Alter Bridge.
"He has a very natural ability. He doesn't try to be
something that he's not, which, in this day and age, is very hard to find
somebody who's not trying to sing like somebody else or trying to force a
square peg through a round hole stylistically with their capabilities."
SOURCE: The StraitTimes