Slash was asked about playing with Richard Fortus in Guns N’ Roses in a new Music Radar interview.
“Sit me down with a guitar by myself and I might not know what I’m doing or find things that will impress people. It tends to be within the context of the music I play over that allows me to go places. Richard is a really cool player in that he has this technical ability that means he can sit there with a guitar and play a lot of amazing stuff that’s still very emotive.
“It’s one of the reasons why when Guns N’ Roses started back up, I really leaned towards playing with him. Because there were a couple of other guys who used to be in the band too that were being considered, but I jammed with Richard because he was the first guy there and I knew he was fuckin’ great. He helps me out because we do a lot of soloing off each other.
“When he’s doing his own cool stuff, it pushes me into doing something different that’s the exact opposite. And vice versa, sometimes I’ll go for something really fast and he’ll do something bluesy to counteract that. It’s a good natural relationship. We never sat down to work things out; that’s generally how I like to work with other guitarists… it’s all I’ve ever done. It’s nice that we can pick off each other’s feel.”
In a 2016 Eddie Trunk interview, DJ Ashba claimed he turned down being part of the ‘Not In This Lifetime’ lineup.
“Axl called me and he really wanted me a part of the reunion, and I turned it down,” Ashba said. “I felt if Slash is coming back, that’s great — that’s what the fans want, and I can go off and do what I really wanna do now… And we left [off on good terms]; everything is good. And I couldn’t be happier for the fans out there. I’m a fan. Half of the band reunited, which excites me, but at the same time, it’s the best of both worlds — I get to do what I really love to do, and that’s play in Sixx:A.M.”
Izzy Stradlin said he didn’t participate because his former bandmates refused to ‘split the loot’ equally with him.
