“He was my favorite guitarist I played with, besides Slash, and was the one I felt most unified with”: Richard Fortus on how he’s held down the Guns N’ Roses gig – and his other favorite GNR guitarist

Richard Fortus was part of Guns N’ Roses’ post-Slash era that saw the likes of Buckethead, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, and DJ Ashba all come and go. But when the top-hatted maverick returned to the fold in 2016, Fortus remained part of the picture, and that’s seen his role in the band change over time.

“It’s been a pretty massive change,” Fortus tells Guitar World, reflecting on how different things are now compared to when he joined. Back in 2002, the band was at a crossroads, with Axl Rose and company labouring over Chinese Democracy between relentless touring.

“Robin Finck was my favorite guitarist I played with, besides Slash, and was the one I felt most unified with,” he continues, revealing his second favorite GNR player. “With Slash, it's a whole different level. I've never played with another guitar player I feel so in-sync with.”

Fortus has been responsible for covering the parts once played by Izzy Stradlin and Gilby Clarke – the latter of whom temporarily joined Alice Cooper’s band earlier this year after Orianthi withdrew due to injury. So, does he play their parts note-for-note?

“I can't really speak to the Gilby thing as much, but with Izzy, there are certain things I view as integral,” Fortus underlines. “There's never been a time when Slash has said to me, ‘I think you should copy what Izzy did here.’

“He's very much in the moment. He's come back to me and said, ‘I listened to this live recording we did, and I didn't realize you were doing that. That's really cool.’ But he's never said, ‘I think you should do this…’

“He is very trusting of how I approach things,” he continues. “But there are things that – out of respect to the genius of Izzy and what makes this band legendary – I play what I think is integral to the song.

“There are moments with a lot of the stuff that I interpret in my own way, but I feel very akin to Izzy's approach and where he was coming from with the songs. I think about that spirit when I approach a song.”

Fortus played a role in Chinese Democracy – when it was finally released into the world in 2008 – and is set to feature on its successor. Speaking in the same issue of GW, Slash has seemingly confirmed their plans to write his first album with the band in decades. But they’re also in no rush to finish it.

Slash has also discussed how he wasn’t convinced about Sweet Child O’ Mine’s potential at first. Fortus, meanwhile, experienced a first during a recent show in Saudi Arabia, when the gig was so hot that it melted his pickups.

Guns N’ Roses’ full cover story can be read in the new issue of Guitar World. Head to Magazines Direct to grab a copy.