Unleashing the Blues: Slash Interview

The blues rock world was pleasantly surprised when Slash announced he’d be releasing his first ever blues album, Orgy of the Damned, in 2024. The album is a collection of blues covers featuring some of music’s biggest names including Chris Stapleton, Brian Johnson, Billy Gibbons, and Demi Lovato, along with some of the top stars in modern day blues rock like Gary Clark Jr. and Beth Hart. Orgy of the Damned was released on May 17th and quickly made its way to #1 on the Billboard Blues chart.

Blues Rock Review Editor-in-Chief Pete Francis spoke with Slash to discuss why now was the time to release a blues album, Slash’s upcoming “S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival” blues tour, modern blues rock acts, Slash’s thoughts on the current scene, learning pedal steel, what Slash would do if he had to start his career over from the beginning, what makes a great guitar player, and more.

Why did Slash Make a Blues Album?

“I had a blues band (Slash’s Blues Ball) that this was inspired by way back in 1998,” says Slash. “I wanted to make a record then but at the time there was just too much going on for me to be able to prioritize making a record at that point.” Slash adds, “I finally found a moment where I decided, OK, I’m going to make this record and finally had a chance to do it.”

“I had no expectations when I was making the record. I just did it for the fun of it but having done the record and being able to put together a 6 week long tour to go out with all these great bands is something I’ve not done before in this genre anyway and so I really don’t know what I’m doing (laughs) but it’s gonna be fun.”

When Did Slash Start Listening to Blues?

A blues album has been a long time in the making for Slash. His grandmother turned him onto the blues at a young age.

“One thing I do remember was the B.B. King record, Live at the Regal and I just remember that because it was such a foreign thing, like, Live at the Regal, what does that mean,” said Slash when asked about the first blues album that caught his attention. He also cited Albert King’s Born Under a Bad Sign album. Slash covered the title track on Orgy of the Damned with Paul Rodgers.

“When I started playing guitar I got into a whole plethora of different blues records when I was like 15 years old, 16 years old.”

The Modern Day Blues Scene

When asked about the modern day blues scene, Slash told Blues Rock Review, “It’s pretty exciting to me. It just seems like there’s a lot of vibrant enthusiasm going on in the blues, seeing a lot of activity happening. And it actually feels pretty fresh. There’s so many artists out there doing it right now. So that to me, it just seems really healthy, a lot of great players.”

Slash’s “S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival” Blues Tour

In addition to releasing Orgy of the Damed, Slash has launched a blues tour called the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival featuring some of the genre’s top modern day acts including Warren Haynes, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales, Larkin Poe, Keb’ Mo’, ZZ Ward, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Robert Randolph, and Jackie Venson. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity. The festival will also provide a platform for the genre to get exposure to a wider audience than is typical at blues concerts.

“I didn’t see it as that type of a format, I was just picking bands, artists that I thought were really cool that were sort of newish that I’ve been turned onto in recent years.”

S.E.R.P.E.N.T. stands for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality, N’, Tolerance.

As for what fans can expect, Slash says, “Everybody’s got their own set and we’ve got our own set and we have a lot of songs so we’re trying to figure out how we’re supposed to do it all in a certain amount of time. It’s gonna be a fun set for us and then I figure we’ll figure out some sort of jam for after the show for anybody who wants to do it that’s going to hang that late.”

Don’t be surprised if other musicians who are not on the lineup also make appearances.

“I plan on bringing guests in from the area, people who aren’t familiar with it, happen to be in a particular city that we’re playing in, so we’ll see how that all comes together as well.”

How did Slash Discover “Kingfish”?

One act who is on the lineup is 25-year-old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Slash discovered “Kingfish” through social media.

“I think I was first turned onto him through Instagram if I remember correctly. I just happened to see a video of him and I was, like, who’s this guy? And that was how it started.” Slash adds, “He’s just a real great, flavorful feel blues guitar player. He’s just got a great sort of personal vocabulary that really is more about really expressing himself in the moment whatever those notes may be.”

How did Slash Discover Samantha Fish?

Another artist who recently caught Slash’s attention and will be joining him on tour is Samantha Fish.

“I think someone turned me onto her and said, have you ever heard of Samantha Fish and played me something of her and I thought it was great.” Slash adds, “In the last couple of years she’s sort of popped up all over the place, but she’s great because she’s got a great spirit and she’s got a great voice and a great attitude and she’s no bullshit. In some ways, she doesn’t sound like Bonnie Raitt but in some ways, she reminds me of Bonnie Raitt from a long time ago. She’s just got a great guitar feel and her whole presentation is really cool and unique.”

When Slash First Heard Eric Gales

Many fans are also eagerly anticipating Slash potentially jamming with Eric Gales.

“He’s amazing,” says Slash. “I saw him play a long time ago. I was doing this Jimi Hendrix festival in Los Angeles and I was playing with Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell and Eric Gales Band played earlier that evening and I’d never heard of him before and I was like, wow, this guy is fucking on fire and I’ve been sort of aware of him ever since then.”

Slash adds, “He’s got an amazing technical prowess but he doesn’t make it sound like he’s trying to sound (like that). A lot of these guys that are real technical in their sort of ability sound like that and it doesn’t really do anything for me, but Eric manages to mix it into his natural fucking amazing feel for the guitar and it’s sort of unique in blues, you know, that kind of approach.”

Turning a Younger Audience onto the Blues

While the blues audience has traditionally been an older demographic, Slash sees a youth movement happening in the genre.

“I actually think there’s a pretty healthy young audience tuned in right now at least it seems so to me. I think that has a lot to do with social media and some of the other streaming platforms that are available to people. Kids are starting to get more exposed to it than ever before because it used to be you had to know somebody that would actually turn you onto it or it had to be a guitar player that you’re into that turned you onto it. Word of mouth was basically it, so it’s always been a little bit of a small cult and there’s not a lot of newcomers coming in like you do in pop music per say, and there’s not tons of it on the radio.

Slash says, “But it seems now there’s a broader accessibility to blues and I think there’s a lot more younger people being turned onto it at the moment.”

“I think blues is one of the greatest genres of music because it’s so honest and it’s so much about the human experience and it’s just got so many great elements to it that make it really attractive. I think people should be exposed to it because chances are they’ll really like it, but it’s each to their own.”

How Slash Started Playing Pedal Steel

“I’ve just always loved the sound of pedal steel,” says Slash. “I’m not a huge country guy but I’m a big fan of the ’60s and early ’70s sort of outlaw country guys and pedal steel was such a paramount part of that sound, so I always liked it but I didn’t know much about it. And Jeff Baxter came over to my studio at one point. I think it was like in 2008 and he brought a pedal steel over and he played it for me and I saw how it worked and he goes, “Yeah, so I’ll leave it with you over night and you can fiddle around with it. I’ve gotta pick it up tomorrow.”

Fast forward to 2022, Slash was at the old RCA Studio B in Nashville. “We were recording a record over there and the whole place exuded this really great legacy of artists and the vibe that was there was really inspiring. Anyway, so, while I was there in between takes or whatever I found this book that I started reading which was about all the different Nashville artists and one of them was Lloyd Green who for some reason just really got me excited reading about this particular guy.”

Slash bought a used pedal steel when we returned to Los Angeles.

“I ended up buying a used pedal steel and sort of locked myself up, woodshedding it in my own room by myself to sort of figure out how to get the basics and I got all the books, you know, old books from the ’50s and ’60s really and just started to learn how to play it. I’ve been at it ever since. I’m completely obsessed with it.”

Slash is planning a song for the S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival in his set. Robert Randolph, who’s also playing at the festival turned Slash onto Jackson Pedal Steel, which is the brand Slash is using now.

“I appreciate him turning me onto it,” Slash said of Randolph.

Will Slash Make the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival an Annual Event?

“It’s such a great outlet for me. I’m really excited to finally be able to have a platform where I can just play this all night because I do a lot of sitting in with bar bands and whatnot. In Guns N’ Roses and the Conspirators or Velvet Revolver or whatever it’s not really a great vehicle for sort of stripped down sort of blues. It’s obviously really blues based but this is more the sort of raw, straightforward, sort of old school blues thing which I really enjoy doing.”

This year’s tour is just in the United States, but Slash would like to expand on that in the future.

“We’ll see how this tour goes and I would like to take it to Europe, just take it internationally. I think it would be really well received in different countries because they don’t have, like, a touring blues festival like this anywhere else, and then, yeah, I’d love to be able to do it every year, sort of like what Clapton was doing with Crossroads where it was sort of an annual thing. I would love to do that.”

What Makes a Great Guitar Player According to Slash?

The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival is filled with incredible guitar players, so what makes a great guitar player?

“I think I finally came to the realization that what really makes a great guitar player is a guitar player who expresses their true personality in their music. So, what you’re hearing is one individual you know what I mean? All people are different and all players are different and the people that I really enjoy the most it’s not a skillset or a focused skill thing about how fast or how schooled or how insanely gifted anybody necessarily is. It’s all about how much of that unique person comes out of their instrument and it makes them stand apart so you actually really appreciate the way they sound. You know what I mean? I think that to me is what makes a great guitar player. All the guitar players that I’ve loved for as long as I can remember they’re all very unique players to themselves and there’s all different levels of sort of skill and tone and whatever is involved, and it’s just really about that individual’s personality on the instrument and that’s what turns me on.”

S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival Tour Dates

Fri Jul 5
Bonner, Montana
KettleHouse Amphitheater*

Sat Jul 6
Airway Heights, Washington
Northern Quest Amphitheater*

Mon Jul 8
Redmond, Washington
Marymoor Park*

Wed Jul 10
Bend, Oregon
Hayden Homes Amphitheater*

Fri Jul 12
Lincoln, California
Thunder Valley Casino*

Sat July 13
Los Angeles, California
Greek Theatre*

Sun Jul 14
Tucson, Arizona
Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre*

Tue Jul 16
Salt Lake City, UT
Red Butte Garden **

Wed Jul 17
Denver, Colorado
The Mission Ballroom**

Fri Jul 19
La Vista, Nebraska
The Astro Amphitheater #

Sun Jul 21
Terre Haute, Indiana
The Mill #

Mon Jul 22
Cincinnati, Ohio
PNC Pavilion at Riverbend #

Wed Jul 24
Interlochen, Michigan
Interlochen Center for the Arts #

Thu Jul 25
Huber Heights, Ohio
Rose Music Center $

Sat Jul 27
Windsor, Ontario
The Colosseum at Caesars $

Sun Jul 28
Toronto, Ontario
Budweiser Stage $

Tue Jul 30
Lewiston, New York
Artpark Outdoor Amphitheater $

Thu Aug 1
Boston, Massachusetts
Leader Bank Pavilion $

Fri Aug 2
Mashantucket, CT
Foxwoods Premier Theater ^

Sun Aug 4
New York, New York
Pier 17 $

Mon Aug 5
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Musikfest ^

Wed Aug 7
Cary, North Carolina
Koka Booth Amphitheatre +

Thu Aug 8
Atlanta, Georgia
Cadence Bank Amphitheatre-Chastain Park +

Sat Aug 10
Clearwater, Florida
The Baycare Sound +

Sun Aug 11
Saint Augustine, Florida
Saint Augustine Amphitheatre +

Tue Aug 13
Huntsville, Alabama
The Orion Amphitheater +

Wed Aug 14
Franklin, TN
FirstBank Amphitheatre +

Fri Aug 16
Bentonville, Arkansas
The Momentary ^^

Sat Aug 17
Grand Prairie, Texas
Texas Trust CU Theatre ^^

* Warren Haynes Band, Samantha Fish, and Eric Gales
** Keb’ ‘Mo, Samantha Fish, and Jackie Venson
# Keb’ ‘Mo, ZZ Ward ,and Jackie Venson
$ Keb’ ‘Mo, ZZ Ward, and Robert Randolph
+ Larkin Poe, ZZ Ward, and Robert Randolph
^ ZZ Ward and Robert Randolph
^^Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, ZZ Ward, and Robert Randolph