Summer Splash : Four Tour Guides Show You the Way : SLASH : A Pinball-Playing Couch Potato

Some might think that a world-class rock ‘n’ roller like guitarist Slash of Guns N’ Roses would spend the summer in sunny, nonstop debauchery. But the 28-year-old rocker says that these days, maintaining a busy work schedule is more satisfying than pursuing summer pleasures.

“If I’m not working hard, I tend to get depressed,” he says. “I like to work at a fast pace, and I try to avoid too much free time. I was supposed to take a break so my wife and I could take a trip for our first-year anniversary, and that was nine months ago. We’re still in the planning stages.”

Slash has plenty of work lined up for himself this summer. He’s got a solo project ready to go into pre-production, and by August will be working with Guns N’ Roses on the band’s next album. There are some musical events coming to Los Angeles that may tempt him out of the studio, but GNR fans might be surprised by Slash’s concert choices.

“Maybe it sounds odd coming from me, but I think Harry Connick Jr.’s great. I’d love to see him play. I’m a big Joe Walsh fan, so I’d love to see the Eagles. I think the Isley Brothers show would be very cool. And the Gipsy Kings are amazing. Leon Redbone’s coming to town--now there would a great show to get some guys together, leave the wives at home, order up some big steaks and listen to the man play.”

It might also be hard to imagine Slash humming along to “Funny Girl,” but the guitarist numbers himself among Barbra Streisand’s admirers. He may not make her Anaheim Pond shows, though. “I’m a big fan of her work, and I’d love to see her perform, but her tickets are too expensive.”

Slash says he would like to see Metallica and Alice in Chains at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion and may get out to catch James Brown’s Greek Theatre show. “That’s a show to see. You haven’t really been belittled until you’ve been belittled by James Brown. I met him once and he sort of growled at me.”

But he definitely won’t be at summer shows by Phil Collins, Counting Crows, Foreigner, or, predictably, the Oak Ridge Boys. He gives Meat Loaf credit for being “the comeback story of the decade,” but don’t look for him at the big guy’s Irvine Meadows concert.

Slash is a dedicated fan of movie monsters, so he says he may make it to Fangoria magazine’s Weekend of Horrors next month at the L.A. Airport Hilton. “That’s something I have to go to. I’ve been collecting ‘Fango’ since I was 14. I’ve got a huge stack of them in the garage.” He takes his monsters seriously: He asked Stan Winston’s shop (the group behind “Jurassic Park”) to build him a dinosaur for his foyer, and he has a T. rex in his bathroom.

But the mega-hype surrounding this summer’s movie releases hasn’t gotten Slash any more excited about getting out to the multiplex. “There are some movies I love, but I hate going to the theaters. I usually just fall asleep. I know John Goodman put his heart and soul into ‘The Flintstones,’ but I’ll wait for the video.”

What Slash is really looking for this summer is a pinball exposition. He’s an avid collector of pinball machines, and recently helped to design a special Guns N’ Roses machine on which the player can activate the music of the band. “It’s the loudest machine ever built,” he claims proudly.

Slash concedes that there’s plenty going on around town this summer, but says that if he’s not toiling in the studio, he’ll probably just be relaxing at home. “I don’t go on picnics. I don’t go out for a day at the beach. If anything, I might go to a local bar and talk to the bartender for a while. Mostly though, I’ll be at home with my wife, probably watching TV. I’ve regressed to the point where cartoons, Comedy Central and cooking shows can keep me very happy.”*