Celebrity Byte

Slash at a Velvet Revolver after party at Jet Nightclub.

What got you interested in Guitar Hero?

I'm not a huge gaming guy. I'm a huge animation fan and I love where technology is going with videogames. I've never had the time to sit and hang out playing shoot em' up games. I was a huge Defender, Galaxian and Space Invaders fan back in the day. When I first saw the Guitar Hero game, it's an area where obviously I'm a huge fan. They have an amazing play list. The music they select is great. And then you have a guitar and you're playing along--it's right up my alley. The first time I played it I was hooked from that moment on, probably like everybody else. And it's a very challenging game and it's a subject matter that I can relate to. I'm not the type of person who finds shooting at people entertaining. But doing something that's music-related is entertaining.

You mentioned some great classic arcade games. What was it that you liked about playing Defender, Galaxian and Space Invaders?

I think in the beginning it was something to do other than school. The arcade closest to school was where everyone ditched and hung out. Asteroids, Defender and Galaxian were my games at the time. I never got into Donkey Kong or Millipede or Missile Command. There's something about the hands-on direction shifting that you had with Defender and Asteroids that was cool. And Galaxian was just a game that I was really good at.

I'm not the type of person who finds shooting at people entertaining. But doing something that's music-related is entertaining.

How did you get involved with Guitar Hero III?

I got a phone call from my people asking if I'd be interested in being involved in the new game. At that time, I had just finished Guitar Hero II. I was an avid fan and over-the-top about it. I went to meet with Activision's people. At the same time, Activision was having some thoughts about having a rock star in the new game. Somehow, they came up with me and thought maybe I'd be a good idea. Everybody was having the same idea at the same time. They were really apprehensive and didn't know what to expect. They thought I was maybe a prima donna/rock star/pop star/diva/guitar player or something. They weren't keen on working with that kind of personality. I gave them some of my ideas and they gave me their ideas and we were on the same page.

Velvet Revolver surprise concert at the Whisky A Go Go.

What were some of the ideas you brought to the new game?

One of the ideas that I had, which they already had covered, was to use original masters instead of re-recording the songs. It's something they already wanted to do but licensing had been a challenge. The other idea that I was adamant about was having the guitar controller be a Les Paul. And that happened. Basically, everything I had thought of they had thought of already. We were on the same wavelength. I had a lot of ideas of how I'd be portrayed in the game. When it came to the artwork they sent me samples. They had the idea of the boss battle of me playing against the player. That was cool. It was a good marriage.

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