Slash Says He's Written 'Some Great Stuff While High'

As a major player in two of rock's greatest drug-fuelled bands, former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash has both been a part of and played front-row passenger to some of the genre's greatest abusers and their voracious appetites for destruction.

What's more, as chronicled in both his eponymous autobiography and in narcotic-baiting songs such as 'Mr. Brownstone,' the guitar legend pulls no punches in describing the agony and the ecstasy of drug use.

Having sobered up nearly four years ago with the help of his second wife, Perla, the former addict tells Spinner, "I don't condemn drugs, per se. I had a great time with them and I also had enough bad times that I burnt out on them."

"I've written some great stuff while I was high," he continues. "but I didn't need to get high in order to be able to play. Getting high was really more of an activity. It was more of an entertainment, for want of a better word."

To illustrate his point, Slash notes the creative output of his good friends Aerosmith, whose show he was going to see, high on OxyContin, when Perla told him she was pregnant, leading to his eventual sobriety.

"Aerosmith made a marked change from the druggy days to the sober days," he points outs. "They made a couple really great drugged-out party records which I love and still believe in whole-heartedly and then they made a couple really sh--ty records high and you could really see the demise.

"When they got sober, they turned around and made a really great, different sounding record -- but still an inspired record. So I think it worked out well for them."

While he may be done with drugs and booze, Slash continues to work on the other aspects of the classic rock star adage. Currently getting ready to embark on a tour for his first solo album, the 44-year-old still hasn't lost his appetite for scratches on the ol' bedpost.

"I haven't had my share of sex yet," he laughs. "I'm still working on that."