Legendary rock guitarist Slash performed in Mumbai recently, he not only took a dig into the non-Westernized Indian food and soaked in visiting temples of Mumbai, he also checked out what his fans were looking for.

Almost twenty years after he came to India for a concert in Bangalore, ex guitarist of rock band Guns N' Roses, Slash was in India as part of MTV Indies Xtreme, on a two city tour and performed in Mumbai to a packed house with his new band Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. The band also comprises vocalist Myles Kennedy bassist Todd Kerns, drummer Brent Fitz and guitarist Frank Sidoris,

Three bands opened for Slash, Gingerfeet (Kolkata) from the North East, Them Clones (New Delhi) from Delhi and Thermal and a Quarter (Bangalore). While Gingerfeet got a good response, Them Clones was pretty neat with a tight pitch, while Thermal and a Quarter did a brilliant set and got the crowd going.

The playlist was dominated by songs from Slash’s solo album, and albums like ‘’Apocalyptic Love’ and ‘World on Fire’ with Myles Kennedy. Some songs they did were Back from Cali, You Could Be Mine, Starlight and World on Fire.

Bassist Todd Kerns took vocals on the G N’ R blaster Welcome to the Jungle and Dr Alibi, was very impressive on Anastasia and Rocket Queen being the ones with great Slash solos. But everyone was looking for a slice of G N’ R catalogue stuff and this finally came in Sweet Child O’ Mine and the final song Paradise City which had the crowd jumping like crazy. Drummer Brent Fritz did a great job

Slash was visibly overjoyed by the crowd’s response and said he was extremely happy to finally perform in India, and showed eagerness to be back again next year.

The guitarist-songwriter turned 50 this July. After his split with G N’ R in 1996, he has been on a solo ride, done a couple of projects- forming bands Velvet Revolver and Slash Snakepit and now Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.

In its heydays, Guns N' Roses was the biggest, baddest and most 'dangerous' rock 'n' roll band the world had seen. Today, its former lead guitarist, Slash aka Saul Hudson is a one-man show and proving he can make it on his own.

At a hurriedly held press conference at Taj Lands end, Mumbai a day prior to his concert, Saul Hudson better known as Slash, recalled his famous stint with Indus Creed during the MTV India launch in 1996, his journey without G N’ R and why he give his bands peculiar names.

Excerpts from the press conference:

You were here in 1996, how was your experience then?

I had a great time with the band. I really had a great time and they treated me really really well. It was a great experience I was always excited to come here because as a growing up kid I always had read some great stories about India, I had been into culture and wild life and all those different stuff.

Is there a certain kind of playlist you follow each time you play?

Not really, but yes we do play a lot of Guns N’ Roses stuff, my own solo albums and the album I am doing with the band.

You were influenced by Ravi Shankar to some extent or so we heard. Comment.

You know there was this real Indian influence around the 60s that happened so it’s not that I am only influenced by Ravi Shankar. There were the Beatles, but yes there have been so many Indian musicians, the names of whom I really cannot say, but there have been music artists who have influenced me. The last time I was here I was given this really beautiful sitar which I started practicing I have a certain kind of infinity for that kind of sound. Like I said I do not have any specific musicians, who can take by name,

How did you meet up with Myles Kennedy?

Well actually I had never really heard of him before and so we decided to call this guy and so I called Myles on the phone and he told me to send him the music and nothing really came out of it and he tells me now that he got cold feet.

Which has been your most memorable live event and which bands have you loved the most and probably attended most of their shows?

Well there have been so many and it’s really difficult to say what I would like to without hurting someone, so I have been to Aerosmith shows, definitely ACDC and John Waters, Rage Against the Machine,, Slayer, well actually there so many.

Years ago you had toured with Aerosmith. Comment.

Yeah that was years ago and we toured with them many times and since then I have become very good friends with them and Guns N’ Roses were becoming really big too. It was interesting to see them and play with them and seeing them now and seeing what a great rock and roll band they are in a desert where there is not much of rock and roll. Steven is the biggest rock guy ever but seeing them on stage is amazing.

Do you still have the pythons at home?

No no. I did have them for sometime but when my son was born and I had these massive snakes everywhere, I had to do something and get all of them out of the house; I thought I think it’s not a good idea to keep them.

If there is a movie made on you, what role would you like to play and who would be the director?

People ask that all the time. I really don’t have any idea and nothing in my mind at least.

Why do you always wear your sunglasses all the time?

It’s because I am always in and out of sunlight or cameras all the time, so I like wearing them.

You love Indian food, have you tried anything specific this time?

I am a big fan of Indian food, so yeah we don’t have very big plans. If my memory serves me, the Indian food in India is extremely different than the westernized version in the US, so I’m interested to experience what traditional Indian food is like.

You have one week after the Mumbai show and then head to Bangalore. What do you plan to do the whole week?

I’m really excited to be coming back to India! Fortunately, we’re going to be in two different locations, both of which are well known to me. There are so many things that I’d want to do, so it’s really a matter of seeing how much we can do in the short time we have allotted. I have really not made any definite list on what I want to do and what I don’t, we’ll just see how we snake along and see all the different places like local temples one at a time, just improvise.

You have always wanted to come to India. What took you so long?

I’ve always been excited to come here. As a little kid, I’ve heard great stories and there was a lot of great literature about India. I’ve been trying to get here for a while now, but it’s just been logistically difficult. It’s taken some time, but we’re finally here.

You have influenced many a musician. Comment.

I am not conscious of any of that, you know. I have a hard time believing I inspired people through my work. I have a hard time accepting the fact that I influence anybody else. So it’s always very surreal for me to accept that somebody is sitting around and trying to learn my guitar parts.

What is your definition of success?

My definition of success is when we play a concert and people turn up.

What do you think of the current rock scene?

I think it is a good time to come out and say something about politics, things that are happening in the world that nobody is interested in. It only a period right now from the time when I came out and the time that is happening now.

Text and Photos by Verus Ferreira