Slash appeared on Nikki Sixx’s radio show on Thursday Night and he discussed the GNR reunion. Below is a transcript of what he said. It’s interesting to note that the first time Slash and Axl spoke after 1996 was in March of 2015 when Slash was on tour in Peru with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.

“Nikki: Anything about GnR that you want to talk about, like how it felt…

Slash: We can talk about it, I mean yeah, we can talk about… I mean, all things considered, the tour, you know, what ended up being NITL, that kind of thing, you know… I left in ’96 and Axl and I didn’t talk in… so 2015…

Nikki: So, I kinda wondered a little bit about the similarities, because like when Motley broke up we’re not friends, and… It left a little hole in my heart.

Slash: Well, there was always that thing. I won’t get into to all the personal stuff…

Nikki: Yeah, we don’t want to get into that anyway.

Slash: But, you know, over all that period of time, there was, you know, a lot of bad feelings, from the break up up into… all throughout, that whole 20 years, whatever it was.

Nikki: That’s crazy, 20 years…

Slash: But you know, there is also a part of you, that’s like in a marriage, where you love somebody, you know, so there is always that feeling, but then there is all this negative stuff, and…

Nikki: Sure.

Slash: Any…

Nikki: …which by the way comes from a lot of people.

Slash: Well, there was so much stuff perpetuated in the media and just blown up out of proportion. So when he and I talked for the first time, it was really, really cool.

-Was it in person?

Slash: Yeah, that was… No, first time we spoke was on the phone, and then we got together when I got back into town, because I was on the road. I was in Peru, I remember it specifically. But it was very cathartic to…

Nikki: I can see that.

Slash: …to physically talk, ‘cause I mean there’s a bond you have that it’s never… you know…

Nikki: For sure.

Slash: And then it makes the break up… I mean what happened… it’s just… the bond makes the negative side that much worse, because you’re forced out of it. Anyway, so… When we got together and played, it was Coachella. It was just ’ awesome. And we played the Troubadour, it was the first gig that we did. And so… and it just snowballed from there. 18 months… It’s been… I mean I would never, you know… If you talked to me 20 months ago, I would have said ‘No way. It’s not ever gonna happen.’ But it did, and it was awesome.

Nikki: And it happened at the right time. It’s a time there are people ready… Obviously you see it in the ticket sales and the enthusiasm from fans, and the different generations… The cool thing about being gone as long as the band was gone, the original band, is that people discover you, but never ever could ever see you.

Slash: There was a lot of that…

Nikki: So it’s like ‘this is our chance’ and that’s fantastic. And I’m sure it made everything much, much better. It must have been kind of weird to look over and there’s Duff and Axl… I didn’t think this would ever happen.

Slash: Yes, it’s very surreal. You know, these moments on stage, where you short of take stock of where you are at the moment and you go ‘oh wow, this isn’t true’.

Nikki: Yeah, look at this. It’s sort of like seeing the guys from when you were kids.

Slash: And the funny thing… There’s something about this particular tour, that it didn’t make me… it didn’t take me back to, you know, the last tour in the 90s, where… It wasn’t reminiscent of that, it was completely uniquely its own new thing. Same guys, same songs, but a whole different experience.”

Check out the full interview below with Nikki Sixx