Slash Recalls Struggles with Addiction and His Road to Sobriety

2019-05-03

Slash and Myles Kennedy – Story by Charles Ken, photo by Anne Erickson

Slash of Guns N’ Roses says that after getting sober, “all that energy I was putting towards self-destruction I just put towards music”

Like many rock stars, Slash went through a difficult period of addiction and substance abuse. Speaking with Belfast Live, the guitarist recalls a period in time when he was heavily drinking and struggling with what he calls a “classic rock ‘n’ roll life.”

“In the 90s when I left Guns N’ Roses I was just sort of out there,” he said in the interview. “I was drinking myself to death, I was out playing all over the place, I had no real direction I was going or any real concrete idea as to what I was going to be doing for any predetermined amount of time. It was very excessive. I’d left my band, I was getting divorced, I was going through all this shit. I had record company issues. It was really classic rock ‘n’ roll life – the bad side.”

Slash added that his fight with addition lasted “up through 2005,” which is when the guys of Velvet Revolver were getting together.

“Velvet Revolver started and just because of the nature of the band – and it’s my own fault – but within that context it was easy to do,” Slash explained. “I got completely strung out again and at that point I realized there was nothing about being strung out that reminded me of anything like when I first started doing drugs. It was pretty miserable. And then after that, with alcohol, nothing was doing it for me and I decided I had to stop.”

There is a happy ending to this story, though. Slash says of the difficult time, “I really embraced it and I came out of it really happy and all that energy I was putting towards self-destruction I just put towards music.”

He added that now, being sober and rocking with not only Guns N’ Roses but also his solo project, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, is a dream come true.

“To have the opportunity to go back with Guns and that being such an amazing experience and such a positive experience, at this point in time, right now, to be in these two bands is probably one of the best professional periods I’ve ever been in,” Slash explained. “I’m really looking forward to working on a new Guns record and all that.”

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Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.