#gnr lore

Born Saul Hudson in Hampstead, London, England in July 1965, this rocker knows no boundaries. Moving to Los Angeles at the age of 11 with his mother while his father remained in England, Slash retained immigrant status for many years. Once the family was reunited and lived together in Los Angeles, this curly haired kid had to make the transition to the conservative Los Angeles lifestyle.

Slash lived a life that most of us can only imagine. Given his first guitar by his grandmother at the age of 15 he grew up in a Bohemian environment. He was always surrounded by some of the music industry greats, such as David Bowie, David Geffen, Iggy Pop and Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones. Slash was slowly being seasoned for a destiny that the rest of us can only dream of: "becoming a rock star”.

I arrived at his temporary home in the Hollywood Hills for my second photo shoot with this rocker. I couldn't help but notice his legendary sunburst Les Paul guitar sitting in the comer of the room. I grabbed it while he was out of the room, put my hands around the neck and tried to suck in some of the magic that has been created on that piece of wood. I then gently and strategically placed it in the frame of the photos.

While looking around the room, I tried to take in the little statues and paintings that this guitar hero had placed in his temporary home. This was considerably different from the first time I photographed him in his Beverly Hills flat. That house he recently sold to Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie. The home was complete with a prehistoric fountain and a room that is the size of a nightclub, filled with every cool Pinball machine you can think of. In the center of it all was my favorite, a sit down two player Mrs. Pac Man.

It's a cliché but everybody can remember a time and place when they sang along to a Guns n' Roses number. You know what I'm talking about? When you looked foolish playing an air guitar to "Sweet Child O' Mine" or doing the Axl swing. Well, I can remember where I was when I asked this soft-spoken axe man about his fascination with scales and tales. Meet sssSlash...

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How many reptiles do you own at this time? Do you have a count?

I just recently took an inventory... excluding the ones that I just gave away, and it is somewhere around 30.

Did you always have reptiles growing up or is this a later in life thing?

I started collecting reptiles when I started commuting from the UK to the United States. I would stay at friends' house up in northern California and I would catch snakes. I knew all about snakes from reading a lot of books on them.

Do you remember your very first snake?

My first snakes were a ribbon and [a] garden snake and their names were something stupid like Stripes .

How big is the largest snake you own now?

It's about 9 feet.

Is that the one that had the strong smell? What is that smell?

It is a defense mechanism. A lot of snakes do this when they get scared. The snake will squeeze their glands and that lets out the foul smell. They also hiss to let you know they are unhappy. I used to have spitting cobras [with a powerful venom] that will do damage if they spit in your eyes

What is your fascination with reptiles?

I don't really know. I was thinking about that last night... where it all came from. My wife is married to a little kid. I haven't grown out of anything that I was into as a child. I love dinosaurs [and] animals in general. I used to go to the zoo a lot and [spent a lot of time] watching animal programs [on TV] but snakes and reptiles were the thing I was really into.

People love to cuddle with their pets -such as dogs and cats. What kind of affection do you get from an Anaconda?

Well, I used to have a pet rat. With snakes it's more of a mutual respect: if you can get them to respond to you – not like a dog or a cat – but to where they know who you are and are calm around you. It's really not about cuddling with them. Hanging out with your snakes is something I used to do when I was younger. I would always try to win over their attention and get their affection. As I got older, I realized they would much rather be left alone. I stopped catching snakes a long time ago. Most of the snakes I have were orphaned and were not well taken care of in a pet store. I just put them in a good place and make sure they are well taken care of and just leave them alone. I don't need to bother them in order to love them.

So you recently got a dog – a Pomeranian?

Yes, we did. Foxy Brown is her name.

You also recently got married and are expecting a child?

Yes, there is a lot going on.

It's great practice because having a puppy around is like having an infant.

My last dog I got as a puppy – it was a Rotty. The problem is that he was always home alone. At the time I was on the road all the time and I was also single. So I eventually gave him a better home… to close friends that are real dog people. There is definitely a difference between myself and a real dog lover who spends a lot of time with their dog. My wife Perla and I [both] love the dog but she spends the majority of the time with Foxy Brown. I am able to do what I need to and not be neglecting the dog .

It's great that you are saying that, because people are constantly getting dogs on impulse – not realizing the commitment that comes with a puppy. I like that you are very honest about not being able to spend time with a dog. I think more people need to understand that before bringing a pet into their life.

If it wasn’t for everybody else around the house... you know, dogs are quite flexible. Dogs can hang out with anybody and have a good time. If I was to be gone for a long period of time my wife is here. The cats are a bit different – they don't require as much attention as a dog. I used to have about twenty cats – I used to take in orphans and strays . They do require a lot of attention but it is a different type of attention. We just hang out on the couch and watch television.

Did you ever write a song about an animal?

I have written songs about jungle topics but not specifically about a snake or an animal. There is a song I wrote while in Guns n' Roses called "Mr. Brown Stone". I remember having my anaconda Clyde around at the time. Clyde was my partner in crime at the time. I remember writing the lyrics with lzzy and Clyde. That's about as close to writing about an animal as I came.

One of my favorite songs that you have written – that a lot of people don't even know that you wrote and played – is "Obsession Confession" from the Curdled sound track. You are very versatile with your music. Will you be doing any other sound track work in the future?

I am reading a script for a movie right now. I don't get to do films that often unless they are particularly looking for me. Then I will write something that's influenced by the actual visual. It doesn't necessarily have to be prototypical of what everybody knows me by. This script I am reading now is sort of 50s Country and Western which is different

So what else do you have in the works now?

I'm jamming and putting another band together – not "Snake Pit." I have been getting a lot of calls for sessions and writing.

Slash, will there ever be a "Guns n' Roses" reunion?

I know a lot of people are thinking about it. The primary importance of that ever happening are between the members of the band. If it was going to, happen and things where la fall into place and defuse all the differences of opinion if we were to get together in one room and talk things out properly, I would say I would be around. There is so much water under that bridge that it could take some time

Guns is one of the greatest bands in the world. I know people are saying "Where? When?"

Yes but you have to understand when I quit, it was for a good reason the reason was definitely way deeper than what appeared on the surface. It gradually got to that point was' going the wrong way I still feel that way. I haven't looked back. I get people saying "Well why not?" It's like the same as bands that aren't around now that I loved growing up. There comes a point when either (because of the) music or just as (an) artist – the differences become so prominent that you can't continue on. So if everyone just wanted to do this really good southern rock and roll band I'd love it.

So if you have a baby boy, are you going to hand him a guitar?

I have no idea I am not even going to push that issue. I will let [it] come natural and see what happens. I will support whatever he – or she – likes I knew when I was a kid what I liked or didn't like right off the bat.

I know you have a bunch of names picked out. Let us in on them?

Yes, we have a bunch of names. If we have two dozen kids we'll be fine.

I heard one name your wife chose for a girl was Boa.

It's a good name, I think. Yeah, it's a really good name. So we'll see what happens. Whatever the kid is turned on to, that's the way that he or she will go. I'll never pressure anything – there will always be music around and artistic things so they will make their own choice.

Slash, it has really been a thrill to be able to photograph you once again. You are everyone's guitar hero – I'm sure everyone agrees. Just growing up with your music was great. Now being able to see this other side of you with your animals has been amazing.

Thank you, I appreciate it. I am going to get homes for some of the snakes soon, which is [a] drag, but for good reasons.

Will they be going to any breeding programs?

Well, anybody who likes to keep exotic snakes usually likes to breed them. That's part of the magic with keeping animals. You can have them in [an] environment where they can reproduce comfortably. Also, [a] lot of these guys are rare and it takes the pressure off the wild farm. So in essence everybody is happy. The naturalists are happy because nobody's out in the bush trying to capture everything. People are breeding [their pets] and it's very pleasing to find that your animals are comfortable. You learn [a] lot – it's all [a] great trip once you get on it. Then the animals are happy. I will always have animals around and my children wilt always have respect for the wild life, which is great..

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