While Slash might have had his own struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he says he's tried to make the best of the situation, creatively.

The Guns N' Roses guitarist tells Sweetwater that he's been "really busy" writing new music in isolation and making time for occasional jam sessions with his Conspirators sideman bassist/vocalist Todd Kerns.

"If anything, this whole episode has afforded me a lot of time to be creative," he said. "So it's been good."

Slash was due some downtime anyhow, having spent the better part of the last four years on tour, either on GNR's exhaustive, record-breaking 'Not in This Lifetime' trek or with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.

While the guitar icon has expressed optimism about new GNR music arriving sometime this year, he suggested that his focus is on new material for Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, where he has control over when new music gets released.

"I do a lot of stuff on my own, and then Todd will drive in from [Las] Vegas and put bass on everything. And then I'll send that out to everybody," Slash said. "On occasion, we'll all get together and jam. We've done that a couple of times over this period."

Having a whole year at home has taken some of the pressure off of his band, Slash says, where they can focus on producing new material without the pressure of a new tour around the corner or a hard-and-fast deadline bearing down.

A new album by Slash, Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators would be the band's first since 2018's Living the Dream.

Watch the full Sweetwater interview with Slash via the video player above!

Photo: Getty Images

FCC Applications