Casper of Silver Tiger Media recently conducted an interview with former GUNS N' ROSES and current SIXX: A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Speaking about he approaches soloing, Ashba said: "I've always looked at guitar playing as an extension of the story telling. Basically, it's where the vocalist hands you the song, and it's your job, your duty, to write the perfect solo for that song. I've never looked at guitar solos as, 'Okay, it's my turn to show off.' That's the worst mistake I think guitar players make. I take the song from the singer and I try to take the audience on a journey and bring them right back and hand it back off to the singer. And that's how I look at it when I write solos: I try to write the perfect solo for that song."

He continued: "I'm from the mindstate where I'm all about melody — I want people to walk away singing the solos. And that would mean more to me than, 'Wow, he's really fast on guitar.' That doesn't mean anything to me. You can play a million miles an hour and it's gonna go over everybody's head in the audience. But you hit one note with everything in your heart, and you're gonna turn every head in the room, and I've always believed that."

Ashba also talked about the differences between playing material that he had a hand in writing and performing songs that were composed by someone else. He said: "I'm not a schooled player. In fact, I played in GUNS N' ROSES for seven years, [and it was a challenge playing other] people's songs. I do my best, but I have such a distinct style, and it's hard for me to actually play other people's songs; I actually have to work at it, whereas SIXX: A.M. is my style. It's what [come out of me naturally]; I don't even have to think about what I'm playing, it's just… I feel it. And I can't explain it. Along the way, many people have wanted me to teach 'em how to play guitar, and I can't teach you, because I'm not a teacher."

Ashba, who joined GUNS N' ROSES in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck, issued a statement in July 2015 saying that he was leaving the band. His statement read in part: "It is with a very heavy heart and yet great pride that I announce that I've decided to close this chapter of my life and encapsulate the wonderful times that I've shared with GUNS N' ROSES into fond memories. I have reached a point in my life where I feel its time to dedicate myself to my band SIXX: A.M., my adoring wife and family, and to the many new adventures that the future holds for me."

Ashba said earlier in his statement that working with GUNS N' ROSES was "the most incredible journey I could have possibly imagined."

The first volume of SIXX: A.M.'s upcoming double album, "Prayers For The Damned", will drop April 29 via Eleven Seven Music.

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Todd Kerns, the bassist for Slash's backing band, MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS, was interviewed for a recent edition of "Eddie Trunk Podcast". You can now listen to the chat at PodcastOne.com. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

On how he was first told that Slash was reuniting with GUNS N' ROSES:

"One thing I'll say for Slash is he's never been really kind of… I don't think he's really keen on the whole, 'Let's sit down and have a meeting,' that kind of very formal kind of thing. It's more like a… I always use the term 'bros,' and it tend to sound a little douchey, but I mean it like as in like we're friends. Friends as much as friends can be in this crazy, wacky business. But I think that Slash… he had to tell us what was going on. And I can't say how much I appreciate the idea that he actually sort of said, 'Look, this is what's going on, and I just want you guys to know.'"

On whether it was a surprise to find out about the GUNS N' ROSES reunion:

"This was obviously a thing that… It's been an elephant in the room for… I don't know… since '94 [laughs]… whenever Slash left the band. His whole life he's had to answer the question, 'So when is this gonna happen?' And I just think that a number of things kind of led to this, and it's kind of like, 'Fuck it! I'm gonna do this.' You know what I mean?"

On how the GUNS N' ROSES reunion will affect SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS' plans to record a new studio album:

"We already knew we were kind of off for 2016, other than kind of maybe chipping away at… you know, bass and drums here. Even the way we had done 'World On Fire' was very piecemeal. We had done bass and drums and then Slash went off to do guitars on his own. This time, if everything goes according to plan, we will do exactly the same thing; it'll just probably be a little bit more broken up by Slash's schedule, essentially. You know, like anything else, I'm always aware that anything can change, anything can happen.

"We've always had a springtime plan to get into bass and drums recording. And we've already got an album-plus worth of music together.

"I think he's gonna go off and have this great experience and then we're gonna make this record. There's no reason to not make it or whatever other than scheduling getting really crazy, which, let's be honest, could happen, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I'm perfectly okay with just sort of playing it out and see what happens."

On how he personally feels about Slash going back to GUNS N' ROSES:

"I think that this thing, as I had mentioned before, is bigger than all of us. This whole thing is history of rock occurring right under our noses, which is interesting for a guy from my perspective.

"This is something that is important for him to do. GUNS N' ROSES, obviously, it's important for multiple reasons. I think it's an important part of his life that he has to kind of embrace a little bit. I think it's a really great thing for the entire planet, but for the individuals involved, guys like Duff [McKagan, GUNS N' ROSES bassist], who I know and love to death too, I think this is an important part of a return for them."

On the mystery and cloud of uncertainty that is constantly hanging over GUNS N' ROSES:

"Isn't that part of the awesomeness of this situation — the kind of, like, 'Who knows?' The GUNS N' ROSES thing is… When we talk about it, there's, like, five bands in the history of rock that have that kind of a reputation of just completely, who knows what could happen? And I think that that's the beauty of this."

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Ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal says that he had "a lot of fun" playing in the Axl Rose-fronted group and wishes his former bandmates "well."

Just days after guitarist DJ Ashba quit GUNS N' ROSES last July, a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff that Thal was also no longer a member of the group — and had been out since the end of GN'R's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

During an interview conducted on last month's Axes & Anchors cruise, Thal briefly commented on his time with GUNS N' ROSES, saying (see video below): "It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of everything, but that's life. It's supposed to be. You know, if you're having a lot of everything, then you're really living it, and that's what it's about. It's all good. I wish them well. I wish 'em all well. I do."

Thal joined GUNS N' ROSES in early 2006 as the replacement for Buckethead.

Thal expressed frustration in 2013 with the lack of new music from GUNS, saying, "If something came out at this point, it would be very old material that is just being released now… We need to make an album of this band right now." The last new GUNS N' ROSES album, "Chinese Democracy", came out in 2008.

The reunited GUNS N' ROSES — featuring Axl Rose alongside guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan — has six shows scheduled so far, all in April: two at the Coachella Music And Arts Festival, two in Las Vegas and two in Mexico City.

The rest of the band's lineup for the shows — and a potential tour later in the year — remains unclear, although keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboard player Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer are all believed to be involved.

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A new Twitter account purportedly belonging to former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Izzy Stradlin has appeared on the social media site, according to The Pulse Of Radio. Two sources have apparently confirmed to The Wall Street Journal reporter Neil Shah that the account is real, with Stradlin himself — or the person behind the account claiming to be Stradlin — tweeting a video of himself playing guitar.

But more importantly, the first tweet from the @IzzyStradlin999 account on February 22nd read, "At this point in time, I've no involvement in the upcoming April 2016 GNR shows."

It's been speculated that Stradlin would have some limited involvement — such as a guest appearance — at some of the upcoming GUNS N' ROSES reunion shows, which currently feature original members Slash, Axl Rose and Duff McKagan.

Fans online have offered "proof" both for and against the account actually belonging to Stradlin.

Evidence of the former includes a never-before-seen selfie of the guitarist, the aforementioned video, reported private correspondence between Stradlin and several friends and a few others on Twitter claiming it's definitely him.

Alleged evidence that the Stradlin account is not real includes some strange and now-deleted tweets, music sites not running his GUNS N' ROSES news despite being tweeted at directly by the owner of the account, and the fact that no one from GUNS N' ROSES has started following him or vice versa.

GUNS N' ROSES has six shows scheduled so far, all in April: two at the Coachella Music And Arts Festival, two in Las Vegas and two in Mexico City. The exact band lineup has yet to be confirmed.

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