In a new interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, Myles Kennedy confirmed that SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS has completed work on a new album. The effort will be the follow-up to “Living The Dream”, which came out in September 2018 via Slash‘s own label Snakepit Records, in partnership with Roadrunner Records. The disc was Slash‘s fourth solo album, and third with Slash and his CONSPIRATORS bandmates Kennedy, Todd Kerns (bass, vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Frank Sidoris (guitar and vocals).
Myles said: “We made a record earlier this year, and it’s in the can. And I think the goal is just to — when the time’s appropriate, we’re gonna put it out. Hopefully next year — hopefully early next year. And it’s number — I’m trying to remember which number record it is. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for… Gosh, I think the first songs I recorded with Slash were in 2009, which is crazy. So, yeah, [it’s] definitely a long run there.
Asked about the sound and style of the new SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS LP, Myles said: “The thing about the record is that it’s got a live vibe to it. It was a record that was recorded in kind of an old-school way. So, with that said, without giving too much away, it definitely has a bit of that energy and that vibe that a lot of us listened to growing up. So, it was fun. It was a fun record to make.”
SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS‘ new album will be released via Gibson Records, the recently launched label from Gibson, the iconic American instrument brand, alongside a strategic partnership with BMG.
When the Gibson deal was first announced in July, Slash said in a statement: “It’s an honor to be the first release on the new Gibson Records. It’s a zenith in our partnership for sure and having worked so closely with Gibson for so long, I know they will be a label that genuinely supports their artists creatively. Not just me, but all the artists they choose to work with. It’s perfect.”
Last December, Slash told Cleveland.com that SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS had written 20 songs during “a week of initial pre-production” for the band’s next LP.
In November 2019, Slash told “The Marshall Podcast” that the road was “the only place” he and THE CONSPIRATORS “really do get a chance to work” on new music. “If we’re doing theaters and arenas and all that kind of stuff, we have our soundchecks, so I work on that stuff during that time,” he said. “Because that’s when I do all the writing — during the road trip. So when the tour is over, at some point, we all get together and we revisit all that material that we worked on while we were on the road. Which is actually what all the records we’ve done so far are a culmination of.”
Complicating the creative process is the fact that Myles Kennedy and THE CONSPIRATORS don’t live in the same town as Slash. “Myles is in Washington state, and I’m in L.A. and the rest of the guys are in [Las] Vegas,” Slash explained. “So I fly everybody to L.A. and we’ll stay there and we’ll do pre-production and go in and do a record. But now that GUNS N’ ROSES has become a thing, I have to do that. But I will have accumulated enough material out [out on the road] that when the time comes to work on CONSPIRATORS stuff, I already have the material.”
Speaking in more detail about how songs come together with THE CONSPIRATORS, Slash said: “We write the whole time. I write the music ideas, and then I’ll bring it into a soundcheck situation. For me, the most important thing is the drums. So I’ll start working on an idea with Brent, as well as Todd, and even Frank — we’ll all stand there together and do it. And then just see if it catches, if it’s a cool idea with all the other instruments involved. That’s the thing about guitar players — you write bitchin’ guitar stuff all day long, but is it a song? So we start working it up. And then Myles will be there and he’ll catch it and maybe start recording something into his phone. And we’ll just sort of get the nucleus of an idea, and in some cases work on it for a few days until we have an arrangement. And then there’s some stuff that we didn’t ever get to play in soundcheck that I recorded on my phone in my room and I’ll bring that up later.”
In September 2019, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS released “Living The Dream Tour” on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2 CD, 3LP black vinyl, limited-edition 3LP red vinyl, digital video and digital audio via Eagle Vision. The set was shot on location on February 20, 2019 at London, England’s Eventim Apollo.
