O'Toole: You joined Murderdolls in July 2002. Can you tell us how the audition process worked?

Slade: Actually there wasn't an audition. I was told I was joining the band. I've known Wednesday (Murderdolls vocalist) for about six or seven years. He was in a band called Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 and I was in a band called Vampire Love Dolls and we were both on the west coast of the States. We were the only guys with eyeliner and dreadlocks at that time so it was inevitable that we would run into each other.

O'Toole: What kind of guitar do you play on stage and what kind of amp do you use?

Slade: Gibson Les Paul. I was using (Mesa) Boogies for a long time. Just by coincidence we were doing some overseas stuff with a different back line so our management suggested Hughes & Kettner and I said I'd give it a try. As soon as I plugged in, I was like, 'That's it. This is it.'

O'Toole: Do you use many effects live?

Slade: Not really. I use pedals for sound effects, but I don't have like a chorus going, or a BBE or anything like that. It's pretty much just the head, with the exception of delay. I started using Digitech pedals, they have a whole new series that are really, really cool. They have that perfect balance. You move the knob and it does just what you want. Sometimes they're too subtle; sometimes they're too dramatic. I found that with a turn of the knob you're right in the ballpark.

O'Toole: What's been the highlight for you since you joined the band?

Slade: There's so many. It goes on and on. We just got album of the year in Kerrang! which is amazing. Getting to play Japan as many times as we have has been awesome. Playing with Slayer, who are a huge influence on us. We also played with Hanoi Rocks; those are two bands I never thought I would get to play with. So that's cool, plus all the press and the places we've been able to go travelling, the cool people we've met and also just the musical satisfaction of knowing we're not a nu metal band, we're not doing the things everyone else is doing.

O'Toole: Have you done much work on writing new material with the band?

Slade: We haven't really gotten to that stage yet because the album hasn't been out too long. Hopefully that's something that we'll evolve into, you know. All the indications are that's what going to happen. I know it's going to be really difficult due to Joey's commitments with Slipknot (Joey Jordison is Slipnot’s drummer). I have Pro Tools on my G4, which is up in my room right now, and the beauty of it is that I have my G4 and a Digitech Genesis, like their version of the (Line 6) Pod, which sounds amazing. Actually they're going to have my own setting on the next one that comes out, which is pretty cool, that's a highlight right there you know!

O'Toole: So you plug straight into that and into the G4 and record straight into Pro Tools? Have you done much of that while you've been touring?

Slade: Yeah, yeah that's right. Actually I got it while we were on this last break. The amazing thing about Pro Tools is how easy it was. I'm a computer retard, and I was so intimidated, I was like 'How am I going to do this?' I plugged my guitar in and got some levels and hit record and that was it, I was like 'It can't be this easy!' Obviously editing and all that stuff is a whole different thing. But I can demo a song with my drum machine and the Genesis. I can plug my bass into the Genesis as well, so I can get a rough demo, which is how I want to do it anyway because I really enjoy working with other people. I keep things extremely simple for that reason.

O'Toole: What future plans do you have for yourself in terms of what you want to write and what you want to achieve as a musician?

Slade: I don't really know, it's kind of hard to say right now. It depends on what goes on. The Murderdolls is my full time thing. I see myself wanting to try other things but it's always going to come back to the Murderdolls. It depends what's on the Slipknot agenda. We're kind of slaves to that in a way. For the next two months I just plan on writing a lot, I might jam with some friends just to keep my chops up. Believe it or not when you're on tour your chops can go down sometimes.

O'Toole: Is that because you are playing the same thing every night?

Slade: Yeah. When I'm at home I'll practice my butt off. I'll get into a real regimen of practicing and practicing. On tour we're not a big band so I can't always have a guitar and practice amp in the dressing room. The bus will be packed because we can't afford two buses so there's not room for a guitar on the bus. You wake up and you have to really make a point of finding your guitar and then making the time to sit down and practice and then you might have press during the day. So I can go from being at home and practicing including writing and general playing for five hours a day to being on tour and just playing for that time on stage.