MusicRadar

Slash is all smiles at the Rock im Park festival in Germany earlier this year. © DANIEL KARMANN/epa/Corbis

It's holiday time in the Slash household. But while the top-hatted guitar icon admits that he's very much into the spirit of the season, he's content with leaving the mistletoing and other such festive plans to his better half. "Holiday-wise, I didn't really do much this year," he says, chuckling. "I just wanted to relax because I've been on the road so much. But my wife decked the house out to the nines, and she did an amazing job. We're probably just going to have a quiet time around here with the kids. Dinner, hanging out - a real 'at home' kind of thing."

Slash's laid-back attitude also extends to another holiday tradition, that of making New Year's resolutions. According to the guitarist, he doesn't believe in them. "I've found that they can put way too much pressure on things," he says. "Put it this way: I have certain goals and things that I'd like to achieve next year, but I'm also prepared for shifts and unexpected things to happen, as is always the case. So what I try to do is stay focused on the right direction and hope that things go according to plan."

And make no mistake, Slash has big plans for 2011. First up is a US arena tour with his good friend Ozzy Osbourne, a 21-date trek that will see Slash and his band (which includes Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy on vocals) opening shows for the metal legend. After the Ozzy run, Slash and Kennedy will continue playing dates, on and off, throughout much of the year. At the same time, guitarist and singer will begin work on Slash's next solo album, which may or may not be a true solo record in the absolute sense.

And if that weren't enough, things are finally percolating once again in the land of Velvet Revolver. After years of dormancy and an extended search for a singer to replace Scott Weiland, it looks as though the band could be back on track.

MusicRadar spoke with Slash yesterday. It was 9am in Los Angeles - not exactly rock 'n' roll hours by any stretch - but the guitarist was brimming with energy and happy to hold forth on a variety of topics, including the current state and future of Velvet Revolver, the Ozzy tour and what he sees as a continuing musical partnership with Kennedy.

Matt Sorum was recently quoted as saying that Velvet Revolver had finally found a singer that you all "really like a lot." He described the vocalist as a "known guy, younger and stronger," but stressed that things were in the "dating" stage. Is this indeed the case?

"Never believe what you read. [laughs] Here's what's happening: things have been moving in a very positive direction, and we'll know exactly what we're doing next month."

OK. But do you think you might have found the right person?

"I haven't said anything. I said we'll figure out Velvet Revolver next month." [laughs]

What with you touring behind your solo album this past year, along with Duff McKagan's brief stint in Jane's Addiction, is there still a strong band vibe in Velvet Revolver? Do you guys have material?

"Yes! Yeah, there is. We've kept in touch and wrote a lot of great material and did a lot of stuff that's been pretty much under the radar. We also tried out a lot of singers. It's all good. We rehearsed a bunch this past month, during the last few weeks of December. The band vibe is great."

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