How Aerosmith Became Like ‘Family’ to Guns N’ Roses

Slash has had a busy year that's set to spill over into 2027 with the Feb. 26 arrival of Flying Blind, his next album with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators and a lengthy run of concerts supporting the LP.

You can hear the title track from the upcoming record below.

But there's also still a lot of loud and electrified fun to have right now. First, the guitar legend is going to finish off 2026 with winter Guns N' Roses tour dates in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

The hard rock legends will warm up for those overseas dates by performing a couple of special sets at Aerosmith's all-star California, Dream On concerts on Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 at the Hollywood Bowl. It's a special milestone for both bands.

The History Guns N' Roses Has With Aerosmith

As the guitarist shared with UCR during a recent interview, he has fond memories that were also quite formative for him, of the touring that Guns N' Roses did with Aerosmith in 1988. For the Boston band, it was a rebirth on a couple of different levels. They'd had a massive hit with 1987's Permanent Vacation album and the singles that followed. It was also a period where the members of Aerosmith were newly sober.

Because of that, Slash is grateful that the tour pairing actually made it out onto the road. Guns N' Roses were touring in support of their major label debut album, Appetite for Destruction, and as he recalls, there were wary feelings about the idea of the two groups being on the same bill.

"You know, Aerosmith is one of my all-time favorite rock and roll bands and they had a huge influence on me," he explains. "[It] was really integral to me picking up the guitar in the first place."

Slash's Memories of Their 'Permanent Vacation' With Aerosmith

"We got the tour, which almost didn't happen because Aerosmith was freshly sober at that time," he remembers. "Their management was scared that we were going to go and muck that up. But when we got that tour, one of the things that sticks in my mind, our first show was [at Poplar Creek Music Theater on July 17, 1988]."

In those early moments, he started to learn more about his favorite band and gained some insight that a younger version of himself would have been really surprised by.

"I remember sitting out in the seats and watching those guys sound check," he says. "That in and of itself was just a learning experience. "You know, as a kid, you have this weird idea of how things work. So it was really great to sort of see these guys starting a song and trying to get into a groove and all that kind of s--t.

"[I found out] they just don't come in and like, wham bam, they're f---ing awesome," he explains. "They're just guys doing their thing. It was really an eye opening experience. I mean, they sounded great, but they were just feeling s--t out and jamming, and it was cool."

How Aerosmith Became 'Family'

According to the guitarist, "Steven [Tyler], being Steven," would be the first member to stop by, casually introducing himself to the members of GN'R in their dressing room.

" I met Joe [Perry] a little bit later -- and Brad [Whitford] was very gracious and [the same was true with] Joey [Kramer] and Tom [Hamilton]," he recalls now. " I think [the tour] really had a kind of a family thing that we developed with them. It was a really wonderful moment for us and a really good example of how the Aerosmith guys perceived us."

The Gifts They Received at the End of the Tour

By the time the two bands were wrapping up their time together, the popularity of Guns N' Roses and Appetite for Destruction, both the album and its connected singles, had exploded to the point that arguably, they could have been headlining the concerts. Still, in his telling, Slash remembers that the members of Aerosmith had become attached enough to the young openers that they weren't afraid to poke a bit of fun at their quirks.

"We were pretty scroungy, especially myself," he says. "I used to live out of a f---ing pillowcase. Basically, I'd say, for a couple of us [back then], we were real heathens. I remember at the end of the Aerosmith tour, they gave us a parting gift [of] luggage. At the time, I did not even get it."

"It wasn't until years later that I started to understand the way that they saw us, as just this vagabond band, just sort of rolling in on a rented tour bus without a pot to piss in, you know?"

"Anyway, it was a sweet thing. But I've been friends with them ever since," he adds. "I'm really looking forward to these shows. It's going to be fun to do some Aerosmith jams."

What's Next for Slash in 2027

He'll be busy touring behind Flying Blind, his fifth studio album with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, which arrives Feb. 26. They'll begin their 2027 run April 2 in Santiago, Chile and will play their first U.S. gig later that same month in Reno.

The expansive stretch of dates is presently set to keep them out on the road through July 26 where they'll wrap things up in Romania at the Rockstadt Extreme Festival.

He says that the title track for the new album, which you can hear below, emerged in a very casual fashion.

"The intro, it's a very sort of quiet finger-picking part. So I guess it does have a sense of of immediacy to it and there's not a lot of delay and other stuff," he says. "It's pretty flat, so it's like, right in your face, but the song [itself], you know, there's not really much to tell. We went into pre-production and we didn't have a lot of material already planned to go into the studio with. I made that up on the first day, just for something for us to jam on."

The way "Flying Blind" just showed up in that way, is something that he says happens a good amount, when he's working with Myles and the Conspirators.

"We'll just get into a room and then I'll just make up something right then and there and we'll just start playing it," he explains. "It's one of the great things about working with these guys; it comes together very easily. We came up with sort of an instrumental arrangement in the moment. I recorded it and sent it to Myles and he came up with the lyric. That was basically it!"

Watch Slash feat' Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators' 'Flying Blind' Video

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators 2027 Tour Dates

4/2 – Santiago, Chile @ Teatro Caupolican
4/4 – Mendoza, Argentina @ Arena Maipu
4/6 – Cordoba, Argentina @ Plaza de la Musica
4/7 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Movistar Arena
4/10 – Florianopolis, Brazil @ Arena Opus
4/11 – Curitiba, Brazil @ Live Curitiba
4/13 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil @ Fundicao Progresso
4/14 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Espaco Unimed
4/23 – Reno, Nevada @ Grand Theatre at the Grand Sierra Resort
4/24 – Rohnert Park, California @ Graton Resort and Casino
4/26-27 – Los Angeles, California @ The Wiltern
4/29 – Del Mar, California @ The Sound
5/1 – Albuquerque, New Mexico @ Route 66 Casino
5/2 – Denver, Colorado @ Fillmore Auditorium
5/4 – Kansas City, Missouri @ The Midland Theatre
5/5 – Des Moines, Iowa @ Val Air Ballroom
5/7 – Windsor, Canada @ Caesars Windsor
5/8 – Niagara Falls, Canada @ OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
5/10 – Boston, Massachusetts @ House of Blues
5/12 – New York, New York @ Beacon Theatre
5/17 – Nashville, Tennessee @ Ryman Auditorium
5/19 – St. Louis, Missouri @ The Factory
5/21 – Norman, Oklahoma @ Riverwind Casino
5/22 – Tulsa, Oklahoma @ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
6/7 – Munich, Germany @ Zenith
6/9 – Warsaw, Poland @ Letnia Scena Progresji
6/10 – Nickelsdorf, Austria @ Nova Rock Festival
6/12 – Milan, Italy @ Carroponte
6/13 – Rome, Italy @ Rock In Roma
6/17 – Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain @ Azkena Rock Festival
6/23 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Grona Lund
6/28 – Dusseldorf, Germany @ Mitsubishi Electric Halle
6/30 – Cardiff, United Kingdom @ Cardiff Castle
7/1 – Scarborough, United Kingdom @ Scarborough Open Air Theatre
7/3 – Dublin, Ireland @ Trinity College
7/4 – Belfast, United Kingdom @ Custom House Square
7/6 – Halifax, United Kingdom @ Piece Hall
7/7 – London, United Kingdom @ Eventim Apollo
7/9 – Weert, Netherlands @ Bospop
7/11 – Vizovice, Czechia @ Masters of Rock
7/12 – Zagreb, Croatia @ SRC Salata
7/14 – Budapest, Hungary @ Budapest Park
7/16 – Belgrade, Serbia @ Luka Beograd
7/18 – Athens, Greece @ Lycabettus Theatre
7/22 – İstanbul, Turkey @ Bonus Parkorman
7/25 – Plovdiv, Bulgaria @ Hills of Rock
7/26 – Ghimbav, Romania @ Rockstadt Extreme Festival