Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash discussed using drugs during his days playing with the late Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver in a new Belfast Live interview.
Slash revealed he struggled heavily with addiction “through the early millennium, up through 2005.”
He said, “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.”
“I got completely strung out again and at that point I realised 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.”
“I had two kids and I was living in a hotel because I couldn’t be around them.
“It all sort of came to a head and I thought I needed to go to some sort of facility and just get away from everybody for a month and I’ll clean up.”
“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.”
Slash went to rehab in 2006 and cleaned up for good. Dave Kushner is the only member of Velvet Revolver who was sober during the band’s 5 years together.
