Slash Gets Hooked on Social Networking

Everyone knows the music industry has changed, including the ways artists connect with fans. And when it came time for Slash to promote his self-titled debut solo album, he found he needed to try new things. "Doing this record, I did an independent distribution deal, I started using social networking, I put myself out there in places. I don't even know whether it's good or bad," Slash tells Spinner. "It's flying by the seat of your pants and seeing what sticks. There's a lot of s--- that I'm doing now that in my sort of cool Guns N' Roses days I wouldn't have done."

With all these changes, Slash admits the way Guns did things bands couldn't get away with today. "There was a certain kind of arrogance and natural mystique to the rock 'n' roll thing. We did everything the way that we were influenced coming up, what we thought was cool," he says. "Like being quiet and just being sort of too cool for school and hanging in the shadows and hoping the music gets discovered -- you never have to say a word. You'd be hard pressed to be able to pull it off these days."

One of the biggest changes is Twitter, which he's become a big fan of after some initial reluctance. "I'm a f---ing Twitter junkie now. I'm not one of those people, even in the days when it was just the phone, I've never been one to call, 'Hey, dude, what's happening?'" he says. "Twitter's one of those things where you can reach out to as many fans as you can get a hold of and it's a sort of lifeline to your audience that's in real time and as close to in-person as you're gonna get."

Interestingly, while a devotee himself of both Twitter and Facebook, among others, the iconic guitarist believes social networking could've been even bigger in the '80s. "I think if Twitter and Facebook and My Space and stuff had existed back then it would have been huge. It would have been bigger in the '80s than it is now," he says. "That whole sort of '80s scene that was going on would've gone crazy for the whole social networking thing."

But really, isn't it hard to imagine it being bigger than it is now? "Well, everybody uses it, but it would've been a craze," he says. "For '80s rock bands like Poison, it would've been off the charts."

So, what would've happened if the cool mystique of Guns N' Roses had met social networking? "We had that sort of tunnel vision that only did things the way that we saw to do it and everybody had to go by that standard. I don't think we would have gone for the whole social networking thing," he says. "I wouldn't have used it."

All in all, it's a sign that Slash has grown up. "It takes a lot of effort to be cool," he adds, laughing. "There's a point where you're just like 'I don't give a s---.'"