Slash, the legendary guitarist and songwriter who is best known as the former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses, is finally here to woo his Indian fans. Rock fans in Bengaluru and Mumbai have been waiting for years for Saul Hudson aka Slash to take over the stage, especially after one of his tours was cancelled by the promoters in 2013. But now, Live Viacom 18 has brought down Slash ft Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators for their debut India tour as they promote their first album, "World on Fire".
In an exclusive interview with IBTimes India, Slash -- who is on a two-city tour along with his backing band The Conspirators and vocalist Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge) to headline the second season of MTV Indies Xtreme, a rock music and adventure sports festival -- opened up about finally performing in India, creating this new band, their album "World on Fire" and the band's future plans.
Here are excerpts from the interview â€"
1) Your visit to India is long overdue. How does it feel to be finally performing for your Indian fans?
It's been 15 years and it is really nice to finally get here. I have a few days off to be able to go around and see things, so I'm really happy.
The first time I came to India it was only Bangalore â€" it was great, they treated me wonderfully well and it was memorable, and everyone was wonderful. But I was only here for three days. I played with local musicians and it was really cool. I have always been a big fan of Indian food. I didn't make a list of specific things to do but just want to get out there and improvise. India has great literature and I have always been interested in its culture.
2) What are your expectations from the crowd in India and what does Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators have in store for the fans?
It's a long two-hour show, pretty high in energy; hope Bangalore likes it.
3) Can you tell us more about coming together with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators? How and when did you decide to create this new band?
I met Myles when I was making my first solo record, and it was the first time I had ever heard him sing. He was just amazing, so I started to work with him from that point forward.
4) On this tour, you will be promoting your already successful album "World of Fire". We would like to know, what went into composing it -- how did it all start, how did the idea come about?
There is no one process â€" there are all different directions that songs or ideas come from. It's really just about finding an idea and expanding on it.
5) Can you describe the music on "World on Fire"?
I think that a lot of the stuff that we're talking about in our music is very universal. I think you could be from anywhere and appreciate where we're coming from. Whether some of the issues that we talk about are as important as other issues that we might not have mentioned that are endemic to one particular country is hard to say. But I think in general, anybody living on this planet more or less can relate to some of the subjects that we have on our record.
6) What does future hold for Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators?
I'm very excited to go out on this next leg, which is the last leg of the "World On Fire" tour with MTV Indies Xtreme, and then going back into the studio and doing the next album and hitting the road after that.â€'
Slash ft Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators will headline MTV Indies Xtreme at:
Bengaluru (14 November): Supernova Arena & Convention Centre
CLICK HERE to book your tickets via MeraEvents or visit www.mtvixtreme.com
