In a brand new interview with the “Decibel Geek” podcast, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett was asked how Slash came to audition for the guitarist slot in the band prior to joining GUNS N’ ROSES in 1985. “Slash we had known,” Rikki said…”‘Cause he was in HOLLYWOOD ROSE… So Bret [Michaels, POISON singer] and I liked him; we all liked him. And he came and worked on some songs with us, but we continued to audition people even though he was a frontrunner… We didn’t want, like, a hotshot Yngwie [Malmsteen-type] guy. We didn’t want that. We wanted a rock, East Coast guy. And then C.C. [DeVille, current POISON guitarist] auditioned, and he just made more sense than Slash did. So it was a tough decision, because we all liked Slash. Slash was really pissed off about it. He was pissed. He was, like, ‘What the fuck, you guys?’… So there was that rivalry between GUNS N’ ROSES and POISON because of that, I think, for a long time, you know? And that’s long gone. I see Slash and we’re totally cool, you know what I mean? I haven’t seen Axl [Rose, GUNS N’ ROSES singer] in fucking fifteen years, but I’ve seen the other guys, and [there’s] no problem.”
