Tonight the Grammy Awards
are on TV! We don't know if SLASH is attending, but he usually passes
on these shows. Someday it would be really great to see him onstage
accepting an award! In the meantime, we studied the rock awards to see
who SLASH might be rooting for. How about his buddy Lenny Kravitz for
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance?
And Aerosmith for Best Rock Performance
by a Duo or Group With Vocal, and Black Sabbath for Best Metal Performance?
Steve Vai or Joe Satriani for Best Rock Instrumental Performance? Which
would SLASH choose here? "Jaded" as Best Rock Song with Steven Tyler
as co-songwriter, and Aerosmith for Best Rock Album? These are all artists
that SLASH likes. It would be interesting to see his picks for tonight!
On 2/23 VH-1 aired a program called "Behind the Music: Metallica", and GNR
was listed as being on the show. We managed to miss it, but Andy saw it on
German TV. He says the Guns part was the band at the GNR/Metallica show in Montreal.
James Hetfield burned his arm on the pyrotechnics and went to the hospital.
Although others tried to persuade GNR to go on earlier than scheduled,
Axl Rose refused. When Guns finally started their show, they played two
songs before Axl stormed off the stage complaining about the PA. Angry
fans trashed the equipment and rioted. VH-1 comments that with Axl's
disappearance, Metallica remains as the last real rock band. Thanks, Andy!
Jamie sent a note from Australia where he had been reading the Australian
Rolling Stone. There was a list of the Top 100 Pop Songs. Jamie
said the list sucked as almost none were pop songs. Even Guns N'Roses
appeared on the list, but only once. They picked up the #20 slot for
"Sweet Child O' Mine". SLASH is quoted, "It was literally me f*cking
around with the intro riff, making a joke out of it." At the time the
band was in that LA house without electricity, sitting around the fireplace
late one night when SLASH began noodling on his guitar. Izzy soon chimed
in, and Axl got into it with a song he'd been working on. SLASH says, "I
was the last person in that band to come up with a ballad. It was definitely
a departure for the group as a whole. A week later we got into the
rehearsal studio, and that song was still on the minds of everyone else in
the band, and I'm saying, 'Come on, I was only f*cking kidding.'" The
article says the power ballad complete with SLASH's solos hit number 1
in the summer of '88 and helped turn Appetite... into a hard rock
landmark. SLASH still seems to have second thoughts about the song when
he says, "People's moms started buying the record. It was the only
disappointment of Guns' crossover breakthrough. We became mainstream, even
though we never saw ourselves as a mainstream band." Thanks, Jamie, for
that piece of GNR history!
Here's a SLASH note from Josh in Canada. He was watching "Rock N Roll
Jeopardy", and they had this question, "This hat is worn by which famous
guitar player". They showed SLASH's top hat, and the contestant hesitated
a little but got it right. Let's hope so! Sometimes people refer to SLASH
as The Hat! Thanks, Josh!
Vicki from West Virginia was watching VH-1's "TV Moments - Reunions" last
night, and there was a short comment by SLASH on the Kiss Reunion. Vicki
thought that was strange since SLASH is not a fan of the Kiss music. SLASH
has been around the music scene so long that he can comment on almost any
band. Thanks, Vicki!
As you probably know by now, SLASH does not have an email address and
doesn't use a PC for communication. For one thing, SLASH doesn't type
and for another, he just doesn't like using them! So if you write to
the webmaster, it comes to us, not SLASH, and we pass along printed
versions for musical and performance questions. On the other hand, Duff
is really into the PC world. He's getting a business degree in Seattle,
and college students are rarely without their laptops. If you have a
burning question for Duff, you can email him directly and get a response
from Duff himself. Lori, Duff's webmaster for his Loaded band, told us
that you can come to the site and get the information there. You can also
write to any of the other Loaded band members. Everyone has his own email
address. Lori says her site is down due to exceeding its bandwidth
quota, but it will be back up again March 2 or 3.
If you need that Loaded URL again, it's:
SLASH says that he is still finishing up Izzy's album that
both he and Duff play on. He said he was working on it Friday and will
continue till its complete and ready to go. So far, the expectation is
that the album will still just be sold on the web and that they will not
tour. Izzy is not one to go out on long tours, but maybe they can get
him to do a show or two. That's our hope, not something from SLASH.
SLASH says he is also busily working on his own album. This is the
SLASH album featuring music from different genres with guest appearances
and a new band. SLASH does want to tour on this one, and he is looking
for a record label and manager.
We told SLASH that some of the fan mail asks if he is just the same as
always now that his life style is changing. Will SLASH still be the
cool rocker with a wife, new baby and new home outside Los Angeles?
Surprisingly, instead of just saying "yes", he took the time to think
it through and say that he expects to be just the same. He said that
if you look around, you can see many examples of rockers who have
wives and kids and homes in the suburbs. Offstage they might have to
think about a teething baby or helping the wife choose new drapes or
checking on the crabgrass, but onstage that all goes away and is lost
in the music. SLASH says he is not domesticated. He never planned to
have or not have kids, but it happened and he's looking forward to it.
We asked if he was hoping for a boy or girl, but SLASH says it doesn't
matter. He says friends tell him it will be a boy. Since the father
determines the baby's sex, and his mom had two boys; the odds seem to be
that another sweet SLASH will make an appearance. Girl or boy, we hope
to see a picture of Daddy and baby in the early fall.
When SLASH was giving examples of rockers with families, he happened to
mention that Snakepit's own Keri Kelli was married recently! We hadn't
known that. Best wishes to Keri and his new bride who even now is probably
learning the fine art of preparing sushi, Keri's favorite food in the
whole world.
Guitar One's April issue has a small SLASH mention in its
"Opening Axe" column. They review the compilation, This Is Seymour
Duncan: United by Tone, Volume One, and their reaction is positive.
SLASH donated "Life's Sweet Drug" from Ain't Life Grand. All
18 tracks are previously released and are donated by guitarists who
endorse Seymour Duncan pickups. The tones cover a wide range from
distortion (SLASH's Snakepit and others) to clean jazz to fusion.
The album is priced under $4 and can be purchased at the Seymour
Duncan site or at boosweet.com. We asked SLASH how "Life's Sweet Drug"
was selected; and he said the Seymour Duncan people asked him, and that's
the one he gave them. Handpicked by SLASH!
These are the latest GNR appearances on TV as reported by
Rock On TV: on MTV 2/27 at 10am ET, "MTV Uncensored" - a peek into
MTV's archives/ on Court TV 3/2 at 5:30am ET, "Hollywood & Crime"/ on
VH-1 3/4 at 1pm ET, "100 Most Shocking Moments in Rock and Roll".
Dave sent us a note about an upcoming TV program on Sky TV, a British
satellite company. SLASH will appear on "Pop Stars Behaving Badly" on
the Sky One channel at 9pm UK time on Sunday, March 3. Dave saw the
ad for the show, and it features Tommy Lee, Pam Anderson, Noel Gallagher,
and others. The clip of SLASH in the ad was SLASH walking past a camera.
So check this out and let us know what poor behavior the top hatted one
was guilty of! Thanks, Dave!
LuAnn spotted an update on the SuperGroup report that appeared on Sammy
Hagar's web site. You'll remember that it was reported there that SLASH
recorded 2 songs with the band. Then, SLASH denied he was there or had
even heard the music. Yahoo News reports that while Sammy, bassist
Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Neal Schone (Journey) and drummer Deen
Castronovo did record two songs for possible use on the soundtrack of
"Spider Man", SLASH was not there. The report says that SLASH was unable
to join them...(SLASH says he has not yet decided to join them). It further
says that demos will be given to SLASH's manager today (SLASH has no manager
at this time), and if inspired, he will join the "old-timers" in recording
a guitar part and possibly working on additional songs. As you know, SLASH
said he may be too busy with his own projects to work with the group, but
we certainly would welcome any new music he would favor with his Les Paul.
Thanks, LuAnn!
Ravi let us know that Marc Ford has a new rock and roll album out, It's
About Time. Marc was with Burning Tree and Black Crowes. For this album,
he worked with members of the JuJu Hounds and Snakepit's drummer, Matt
Laug. Ravi reports that the liner notes report that much of the album
was recorded at Snakepit Studios! Thanks, Ravi! To check out more about Marc Ford and
his album:
Last night we got word of an
important news item that appeared on Sammy Hagar's official web site. Thanks
to everyone who saw it there or on other sites or the radio and sent it in.
So many of you! And here is what it says:
Sammy, Michael Anthony, Neal Schon, Dean Castronovo and Slash are in the studio
recording a few tunes! They've finished two great songs, "Vertigo" and "Peeping
Through A Hole" and are hoping to have them in a movie soundtrack. The music sounds
like a combination of Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and Tool. This is a great and fun side
project for all involved.
It does sound interesting, so we rang up SLASH to see if he could give us
his take on the new band and those new songs. Surprisingly, SLASH knew
nothing about it. He did not play on these or any other songs with the
so-called supergroup. He hasn't heard the songs either. Frankly, we were
very surprised since it is on Sammy's site. SLASH said this is either a
mistake by the person who wrote the news there, or Sammy's team is trying for more
publicity or squeezing him to decide. SLASH doesn't sound
like he will be doing this project. He talked of all the things he has
going and wants to do and can't see an easy way to shoehorn one more in.
So, he said to tell all of you that he did not play on the songs and has
not decided whether to join up or not. And he reminded us not to believe
everything good or bad that you read or hear about him.
For Japanese fans expecting a SLASH/Ron Wood visit this month, SLASH said
the tour schedule is Ron's to set up. SLASH says he doesn't think Ron
will go to Japan which means he will not either. Things could change, but
March is not now as final as it was. The main reason here is that Ron
is starting to get busy with his main band, the Rolling Stones. It would
be beyond great to see those guys again! SLASH has known Ronnie since he
was a young boy, and we asked if he knew the others well. He said he has
hung out with Mick and Keith, but he does not know them well like he does
Ronnie. The one he knows least is Charlie Watts. Charlie is a quiet kind
of guy; and SLASH is too, so they haven't become really well acquainted.
A third item we discussed was the fan club/mail situation. We explained
that a number of people sent membership fees in for the fan club quite
awhile ago and have yet to receive anything. We suggested that if the
packets are not quite ready, it might be a nice gesture to send out a
letter. SLASH says he just signed a whole stack of mail, so some is
getting through. We explained that we are concerned about individual
problems where someone sends an item to be signed and doesn't get it
back. We asked for better communication with the company doing the mail,
and he said he'll speak to them on what can be done. Hopefully, he will
have a report on that soon.
SLASH took all the questions and comments in good spirits. He sounded
relaxed and in a good mood. He's been busy finding a new home for his
growing family, and he's got one all set - no longer in Los Angeles but
not too far away. We never thought SLASH would leave his Hollywood area
territory! Got to keep that new son or daughter out of Daddy's old
hangouts! Best wishes and much happiness in your new home, SLASH!
Unfortunately, the set of fan questions we sent to SLASH seem to be
lost in the mail! Not to worry as we have a backup copy which is on
its way. And we have a few left. Let's look at one of these. This is
from Mark in Massachusetts who asks, "I was wondering if your top hat
is the same one you have had throughout the GNR days. Do you still have
the same hat? That is the best hat in the world! And SLASH, you are god
to me! Thanks."
SLASH replies, "Mark, I have had 3 good top hats; one of which I've
had ever since I can remember. I bought (stole it) from "Retail Slut"
in Hollywood, CA. Thanks for the compliment."
Thanks, SLASH and Mark. Retail Slut is on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, CA. They also have an online site at www.retailslut.com with a top hat for sale but not one like SLASH's. Still, you can add this to your SLASH tour of Hollywood!
Vicki is an enthusiastic
contributor to this site. We thank her and thank you. We are always
in need of contributions...if you see SLASH, read about him or see him
on TV. Information from all countries is very welcome. Vicki got her copy
of the April 2002 issue of Guitar World. In the "60 Minutes"
section, Zakk Wylde lists his faves, and one of them is "You're Crazy"
from GN'R Lies. Here's what Zakk had to say:
"That's from their acoustic album, but I think Slash is playing a Les
Paul clean on the solo. I'm a big fan of Slash's tasty playing, and the
solo he plays on that thing is slammin'. If Jimmy Page and Keith Richards
went into a laboratory and fused together, they'd sound like Slash. And
when you put Axl's out-of-control voice on top of everything, it makes
them one of the greatest rock/metal bands that ever existed. The bottom
line is I'm friends with those guys, so whatever they do I hope it pans
out for them."
High praise from another super rock guitarist! We were glad to see there
are no more hard feelings over Zakk's near-insertion into GNR by Axl. Thanks,
Vicki!
Another note from Vicki...SLASH appeared on the VH-1 show "TV Moments -
Rock Debuts" recently. That show will certainly be rerun, so watch for it.
There are a couple of TV appearances upcoming in the near future. On 2/23
VH-1 repeats "Behind the Music: Metallica". This is said to include GNR
but doesn't elaborate on their appearance. Perhaps scenes from the
Metallica/GNR tour? The episode is on at 1am ET. Another appearance is
"Hollywood & Crime" which will be rerun on Court TV on 3/2 at 5:30am ET.
Izzy, Steven and Axl's brushes with the law are covered.
Adam was watching the TV show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?", and a
question was, "Which hard rock band had a singer named Axl and guitarist
called SLASH?"! How loud can you scream Guns N'Roses! No word whether
the contestant got it right. For us, this is the same as...who is buried
in Grant's tomb?
Gilby Clarke did a chat on AOL recently, and SlashAdmirer is a subscriber
and got to attend. There were some questions to Gilby about SLASH. Gilby
was asked about the project with Izzy, SLASH and Duff, and he said he thought
it was a great idea for them to work together because they all still have
some great music in them. When asked how it was to work with SLASH, Gilby
replied that when they are playing guitar, it's great because he respects
SLASH's guitar playing a lot. Gilby's favorite song to play when he was in
Guns was "Welcome to the Jungle" mainly because the crowd's reaction was
the best on that one. And he says there is no tension between himself and
Izzy over Gilby's replacing him in Guns. Gilby says that Izzy was happy
that Gilby took over, and Gilby says he was certainly happy to take Izzy's
slot in the band. He also said that Axl should not be using the name
Guns N'Roses for his solo project because although Axl was a big part of
GNR, he is not the only part. Amen, Gilby! Thanks!
If anyone has received their fan club packet or when you do, would you
let us know at webmaster@snakepit.org?
We still have no word from the company running the club; but if you let
us know, it could help reassure people who are waiting patiently. Also,
how is the fan mail doing? Are you getting your requests returned? Thanks.
The Seymour Duncan CDs should be arriving any time now if you ordered
one right away. Seymour Duncan makes the pickups SLASH uses and endorses.
They put together a compilation CD called "United In Tone" to benefit the
September 11 Fund. Although we were pleased to get one, we were
disappointed to see that there was no original work on the album. SLASH's
contribution is "Life's Sweet Drug", the album version. If it isn't
quite as exciting as a SLASH jam would have been, it's a worthy cause.
See Seymour Duncan website for more details.
Vicki picked up the April issue of Guitar Player. SLASH's old Seymour
Duncan full page ad is in there. Vicki says she hasn't seen him in an ad
for a long time. There's also a small article on Gilby Clarke, and Gilby
mentions SLASH. They talk about how Gilby has remained true to his roots,
the raw, classic-rock vibe that thrust GNR into the spotlight. Gilby's
new album Swag is on the Spitfire label, and the songs showcase his
songwriting and vocal skills. Gilby says that it's been nine years since
he left GNR, but he still values what he learned there. He says that their
solo sections are always a new part of the song. "Too many people get
locked into soloing over a verse or chorus, but SLASH never does--and I
love that." Gilby says that ever since he has tried to make solos in his
songs really stand out. Thanks, Vicki!
Gilby is on tour beginning tonight athe Viper Room, Hollywood, CA and
continuing till April 19 where the final show is in Elkin, IL. Check out
Gilby's site for more information. Every Tuesday night, Gilby plays at
The Baked Potato in North Hollywood with Teddy ZigZag and Johnny G.
SLASH used to be a regular at the Tuesday night shows, but he hasn't been
seen there in some time. Painting the baby's room?
There's to be another chat with one of our favorite Snakepit guys, Keri
Kelli. It will be held on thepitonline.org, an Italian site, but the
chat will be in English. It's scheduled for early March, and we'll let
you know when that is finalized.
Rumour control: There was a rumour going around that SLASH would hook
up with Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit. Fred says this is completely not
true. And you never thought it was, did you?
Here's a cool SLASH mention from Sammy Hagar. This is an old one from
1997 when Sammy released Marching To Mars. Slash played on what
was to become a strong single from that album, "Little White Lies". This
is what Sammy had to say about SLASH in his interview with Jam:
Here's another in the continuing series of fan questions to SLASH. Simone
in Italy asks, "You know that there are a lot of live recordings of Guns
N'Roses, Snakepit and Blues Ball. Do you own any bootlegs?
SLASH replies, "Not really. Maybe a few, but none are any of the bands
I've been in."
Thanks, SLASH and Simone! Let's do another one. Mykaela asks, "How can you
play the guitar while jumping off stage and never make a mistake?"
SLASH give a one word reply to Mykaela, "Timing!!"
Thanks, SLASH and Mykaela! That's something we've wondered about, too!
We're doing some redecorating on the site, and we hope you like it. We try to bear in mind that this site has worldwide visitors, sometimes with very slow modems. We try to make it as accessible as possible. The background was taken from a set of rock backgrounds, and we thought it appropriate as SLASH Rocks! The police line divider should be familiar to anyone who has seen SLASH live. The chain is a link between SLASH and his fans. The whole site will be converted to this new format except the guitar tabs - we need black lettering for ease of printing. Enjoy our new, darker look.
Who's this good
looking guy? It's Rick Dufay, a
big buddy of SLASH's. Rick took over for Brad Whitford when Aerosmith
split up and remains a professional musician. Rick just turned 50, and
his webmaster Terry sent a note asking if Rick fans would like to
wish him a Happy Birthday. She's set up a place where you can do this,
but you have to hurry as she's taking the birthday wishes to him
tomorrow. You don't have to register or have a password, just go over
and post a message. First Steven, now Rick. We'll have to do this with
SLASH come July 23 when our guy becomes...can it be true?...37!
Vicki was watching a rerun of "ER" about Dr.Susan's sister (drinker/drugs/promiscuous sex)
Chloe telling the good doctor she is pregnant by her no-good boyfriend. As
Chloe is telling this, she pulls on Susan's bathrobe over her tshirt. And
guess which band that bad girl was flaunting? Why, Guns N'Roses! This was
the one with the skull members on the cross. Thanks, Vicki!
On January 30, Bad Company played The Grove Theatre in Anaheim, CA. Paul
Rodgers was fronting the band. Dave was in the audience, and what a thrill
to see SLASH come out for two songs! Dave took quite a few pictures, and
we've put 18 together and made a nice photo album with thumbnails and
larger pictures. Thank you, Dave, for sending all these in!
This is the final installment on the article from Tattoo magazine.
If you need to catch up, the other parts are below in Monday and Wednesday's
news. In these last two sections, SLASH talks about Snakepit and GNR. He
says what it's like to play in different sized venues and to be interviewed
by all kinds of people. Even this site comes in for a brief reference!
Thanks, Victor!
Sebastian Bach continues with his new TV show, "Forever Wild", on VH-1.
His current guest is Ted Nugent...now that's a wild guy! VH-1 has come
up with a trivia test so you can see if you are a metal expert or not.
While we didn't do too well on this, we got the GNR question right! If
you'd like to check your metal knowledge, take the test!
The average couple tells family and friends when a baby is expected. You
don't read it in the papers! The lives of the rich and famous are different,
and there was some publicity on the forthcoming Hudson arrival in the
New York Daily News! And here's what they had to say:
Former Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash
and his wife of four months, Perla
Ferrar, are expecting their first child.
The 36-year-old rocker tells us, "The
baby was conceived at Ronnie
Wood's house in London" in December
after a generous intake of Guinness
stout. "We're thinking about maybe
giving the kid the middle name Woody."
Slash, who was born Saul Hudson, is
awed by the prospect of parenthood: "I
can't believe we are going to be somebody's
parents" …
A picture caption said, "Guitarist SLASHand wife Perla Ferrar are getting ready to welcome their first sweet
child to the jungle!"
SLASH called in to say that he is ready to start working on the new batch of questions. We asked what
he was up to, and he would only say, "one or two things". We asked why he couldn't say, and he said
he doesn't like to talk about things till they are done!
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! We're not sure if all countries celebrate
this holiday, but we need more celebrations of love! To all of you, have
a great day. SLASH, Happy Valentine's Day from all of us to you.
Jim sent in this picture of the 18" drumhead that SLASH and Les Paul signed
for him at the Iridium in New York City. This was Les Paul's 50th
Anniversary, and SLASH was there to jam with Les Paul. Jim was there to
see them both! Thanks, Jim!
There's a show on VH-1 called "All Access-Indecent Exposure". Vicki saw
this one, and she says SLASH is in it. SLASH must be fulltime with VH-1!
The voice-over talked about Wendy O. Williams whom they called the queen
of onstage excess. She was a confrontational rocker tearing into the rules
of society. Then SLASH comments, "She was a nut. She was really
straightforward into what she was doing...sawing cars in half...naked."
(How does SLASH meet these people?) SLASH is shown laughing, wearing
round shades, top hat and a black tshirt with a red circle. Vicki
says this is a familiar outfit for SLASH on VH-1, so maybe he does a day
full of comments and goes home. We've got your number, SLASH! Thanks, Vicki!
Duff is just back from Japan where Loaded did three shows. Shelden sent
a setlist for the Osaka show and pointed out that seeing Loaded is a
good place to hear some of the old GNR songs. In Osaka, they did
"Dust N'Bones", "So Fine", "Attitude", "New Rose",
"Raw Power" and "It's So Easy". It's a great place to hear punk rock,
and the set list has many of those. Duff was always into punk rock, and
SLASH said that's who he learned about punk from...Duffy! Thanks, Shelden.
Here's the third part of the SLASH article from Tattoo
magazine. (Parts 1 and 2 are in Monday's news below.) Victor sent this in, and now SLASH gets into more of
his philosophy on his music career and a little more about his
tattoos. When we talked to SLASH, we had to have a good look at
those arm tats. We had always wondered about the one with the
woman and the whip on his right bicep. Our conclusion was that this
was SLASH's drawing of himself as a woman. Boy, were we wrong! And
he seemed really taken aback at this. Maybe that's why he wanted to
get the right story out. Well, what did you think it was? Thanks,
Victor for sending this. We have more to go!
SLASH's guitar tech is Adam Day. Adam is like a legend to most SLASH
followers. If you meet him at a show, you are going to meet one of the
nicest men in the music business. He always has time to stop a minute
and hold up guitars for pictures or to answer some questions. SLASH
relies on him without question to get him the best sounds from his
equipment. Nick dropped us a line to tell us that there
is just a super article about Adam on the Monster Cable website. First
it has a paragraph about SLASH, some great SLASH quotations, three
color pictures...then the interview with Adam. Guitar players wanting
to know more about how SLASH's equipment is rigged and his guitars need
to read this article and print it out for future reference! Thank you,
Nick, for telling us about it:
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, SLASH!
About a week ago, Victor let us know that there was an article in Tattoo
magazine about SLASH. Since many of us couldn't find that one, Victor
scanned the article for us, and it's great. It's an interview from the
time of Snakepit, but there's some good information. SLASH talks about
his past, his music, Snakepit, and his tats! There are some good pictures
that go along with the article, and the one shown here at left is from the
first page. Since the article is very long, we'll break it up over this
week. For tonight, there are two sections to read. Thanks, Victor!
Attila says he is a fan of SLASH, Guns N'Roses and Snakepit. He found
a Hungarian site on the net that you might like. It has 14 GNR videos.
Now, we have had some trouble downloading as it takes awhile, but the
closer you are to Hungary, the less trouble you will have. Thanks, Attila!
Check the site's videos at:
Here's some news on Keri Kelli! Keri is going to play in Jizzy
Pearl's band, Love/Hate, for their forthcoming UK tour. Gilby Clarke is
touring in support of his new album Swag, and Love/Hate opens for
Gilby's band. Johnny G. plays on several tracks of Swag, so you
know that bassline will be rock solid. Other unconfirmed band members along
with Gilby are Brian Tichy, Tracii Guns and Johnny G. There are two warm
up dates in the US: Pinkee's in Las Vegas on March 23 and Paladino's in
L.A. on March 29. There are 5 announced dates for the UK, and all are
between April 2 and 6. To get the cities, venues, dates, go to Keri Kelli's
website and click on Tour. Seeing Keri, Brian, Gilby, Tracii and Johnny G.
is like old homeweek for Guns and Snakepit! UK is a big winner for this tour.
Vicki saw SLASH on VH-1's show Saturday, "TV Moments - Rock Styles".
When they got to Alice Cooper, there was SLASH for a split second wearing
his shades, baseball cap, sleveless red and white plaid vest. SLASH said
he had been a fan of Alice's since he was 10 and that Alice was one of the
main influences on most bands SLASH had been in. Then, they showed a pic
of SLASH with his top hat and smiling. Next, they showed Alice wearing his
own top hat. Thanks, Vicki!
And now another Q&A with SLASH! Elliott asks, "I was wondering if
Frank Zappa had any influence on you or any classical influence on you.
You talk about Led Zeppelin being a big influence, and a lot of English
rock has a quite clear classical influence. Also, has jazz had any influence
on you?
SLASH replies, "I like Frank Zappa a lot, but I can't say that he was
much of an influence on my guitar playing. But as an orchestrator,
lyricist and overall personality, he had a huge overall influence. Also,
I love classical music. It has left a major mark on my playing."
Thanks, SLASH and Elliott! What a great question. We learned a little
more about influences on SLASH and about his love of classical music.
Seymour Duncan, who makes the
pickups that SLASH uses and endorses, has used their loyal artist base to
put together a compilation CD. CD sales benefit The September 11 Fund. And
SLASH is on the compilation! The CD is called United By Tone, Vol.1 and is
offered through their web site in limited quantity, shipping to US
addresses and payable in US funds only. This is to be the first in a series
of compilation CDs from Seymour Duncan. Other artists include Papa Roach,
Verve Pipe, Rollins Band, Fish and more. The rock acts are supplemented with
jazz and acoustic artists. On the final track is a blues solo by Seymour
Duncan himself. Liner notes carry information on the artists' pickups and
other gear used to enhance the artists' tones. The CD goes for an amazing
$3.50 and is mail order only. So right now we'll send you over to the Seymour
Duncan site to get the address and more information. We expect this will be
an instant collector's item so order soon. International fans might want to
try making arrangements through US fans to get a copy. You might check the
list of US fan addresses in the Fan Address section (see Main Menu). We are
grateful to Londrino of Brazil for spotting this so quickly! Thank you!
Londrino also tells us that the Brazilian Guitar Player site
has a small mention in its headlines of the demise of Snakepit. He's
not sure if this will be in the magazine, but the story is on their
web site. Thanks!
Bad Company, led by Paul Rodgers, played Anaheim CA on January 30. SLASH
showed up and joined in two songs with the band, "Wishing Well" and
"Crossroads". Paul Rodgers is a particular favorite of SLASH's (and ours).
The Bad Company web site had this to say about the scene backstage:
"Foreigner's Mick Jones, Styx's Tommy Shaw, Glenn Hughes, Heart's Howard
Leese, Slash, Neal Schone… I was waiting for Hendrix himself to walk in!"
This Bad Company tour is the CD/DVD tour as they prepare to make a live
album and DVD. Brian has found out that SLASH will be on the album and
DVD which caught his time onstage on January 30. Look for those to be out
in May. Thanks, Brian!
SLASH picks up a couple of mentions in February's Q magazine. This
British music publication always seems to have some notes about SLASH.
The short article was on SLASH's attempt to see the new GNR in Vegas. The
report was very accurate and came with a picture of SLASH captioned,
"Gee, Axl, these days you repulse even me." Axl's manager Doug Goldstein
is quoted as saying , "Axl was really nervous about these shows. We
decided on our own not to take any risks." Another cure for this nervousness
is to do more shows. There's also a large article about the downward spiral
of actress Winona Ryder and how this is probably due to her penchant for
hanging in the rock world. As a sidebar, they list the film industry's
10 most notorious hellraisers. They then put down the actor's friends
and what happened. At #9 is Billy Bob Thornton, and his friend is listed
as SLASH (even bought his house from him). SLASH didn't even know him much
before that. What happened is aside from drinking his wife's blood, he
covered a secret room in the old SLASH mansion with velcro so he and
his wife could stick there. Seems pretty dull compared to some of the things
the GNR guys got up to!
And speaking of magazine mentions. Vicki found a mention of SLASH's
playing with Ron Wood in the "Metal Wire" section of Metal Edge.
They talked about the 4 show tour in the UK. And they mentioned that
back in November, SLASH joined Duff's Loaded band onstage at
Hollywood's House of Blues. Thanks, Vicki!
We've received several questions about both the fan club and the fan mail.
Several people have asked about the fan club and why
they have not received anything. The fan club is
waiting on some items they want to include in the membership packets. Also,
SLASH has to approve the packet and its contents and that has not taken
place as yet. The company that handles the fan club is hoping that
everything will come together soon and will mail the packets out as soon
as they can. You might want to hold onto your payment if you are a worrier;
or you can mail it in, and be patient. As for the fan mail, this same
company is handling the requests although SLASH still reads and signs
the items. These are the people to get in touch with if you send an item
or request anything and receive nothing. Write to Slash@fansource.com.
Be advised that this is NOT SLASH's address. (he has no email address).
The address says it is an inquiry from a SLASH fan so that separates it from the
other artists they do work for. Our advice is not to send anything
valuable through the mail for SLASH to sign. These items may go astray,
and neither SLASH nor FanSource is liable for them. Thanks!
Our supply of SLASH
Q&A's was getting low, so SLASH volunteered to do 25 more. Those went
off to him today. If you have a question for SLASH, you can send it in
anytime. The answer won't come soon; so if you're in a hurry, you'll
want to try other sources. The questions are printed here, not mailed
to the individual who sent them in. SLASH really enjoys these. Send
questions to webmaster@snakepit.org
with subject ASK SLASH. No personal questions, please. Questions about
his music, career, etc. are fine. If you think of it, put where you are
from...country if you are an international fan, state if you are a US
fan. SLASH likes to see where you are from. Let's do one now. This question
is from Linda in Pennsylvania: "SLASH, I bought a black and white photo of
you jamming with Ace Frehely. You can't tell from the photo where/when it
was taken. Do you have any memory of when this may have happened, why,
where?"
SLASH replies, "Nothing escapes those roving photographers, huh? That must
be SLASH's Blues Ball at the Roxy in L.A. 1998."
Thanks, SLASH! What a memory!
Luis sent some information he saw on a Brazilian site, and it's about
when SLASH played the National Anthem at the Lakers game. Someone at the
game said he was announced as "the unique SLASH", and the people in the
stands went crazy at the sight of SLASH entering the court in a top hat
in red, white and blue. SLASH played the anthem in a conventional way
with no improvisations, a rarity with him. Some people shouted, "Where
the hell is Axl?", but SLASH appeared not to hear. SLASH arrived and
left at the same time as Sebastian Bach. We think SLASH was probably
doing his filming with Magic Johnson for VH-1 that night. Thanks, Luis!
Goldmine's February 22 issue has a big interview with Cheap Trick
concerning their 25th anniversary (1999). They did a show in their hometown to
celebrate with 29 songs. A CD and recently, a DVD of the album Silver
were released of this live performance. SLASH played a song with them,
"You're All Talk"; Cheap Trick is one of his favorite bands. Bun E. Carlos,
the Cheap Trick drummer, answered questions; one of which was "How did you
hook up with SLASH?" Carlos replied that GNR opened for them in the 80s
back when they were "a bar band". Carlos laughed as he remembered that when
they all came back from Australia in 88, they went to Rick Nielsen's
(guitar) house; and he let them use the phone, and GNR got drunk, and one
of them tried to grab Rick's hat. He decked SLASH by mistake! Carlos
laughs about it some more and says it was just one of those road tales.
Cheap Trick knows SLASH from way back, and he's a good guy. SLASH volunteered
to come to the anniversary show right away. Great story! Poor SLASH!
There's lots of news about SLASH's friends. First, as you may or may not know, Axl
hit the big 40 today. eil.com is having a special birthday recognition,
and we wanted to pass it on to you. Eil.com is a pricey site that offers
rare imports. They have a long list of GNR imports for sale...everything
from 7" vinyl to CD singles and boxsets. If you've been looking for a
special GNR item to complete your collection, you might want to go over
and have a look. This is all music, no posters, tshirts, etc. No bootlegs.
They are
offering a 10% discount on any order (GNR, non-GNR) from now until
midnight GMT on 2/13. No catches, but each order you place must contain
at least one GNR item. To receive the discount, you must put
**AXL ROSE 10% BIRTHDAY DISCOUNT OFFER** on your order. We printed out
the GNR list and it was 3 printed pages long, so there might be something
there you are looking for.
Speaking of birthdays, Ellen set up a birthday card area for Steven Adler on the web.
Many of you went and wrote a note to Steven, and Ellen says she did get
the card and read everything. He was grateful and very pleased that
fans took the time to write. He said that he wants GNR to get back together
again even more than we do! Ellen says there were signatures from 18
countries, and she wants to thank everyone here who went over and signed.
She also passed on the news that Steven got married recently, and his
new bride is from Argentina. Time to settle down! Thanks, Ellen.
Nicole sent in news that appeared on the Izzy forum. SFV Records, Izzy's
label, says that Izzy will be releasing "Underground" as a radio single
in mid-February. The B-side is going to be "Far Below Me Now". These are
off the River album, not the new one with SLASH and Duff. Nicole
says they are having a contest at their fan site where 5 lucky fans can
win an autographed copy of River. The contest runs till 2/28, and
the winners will be announced on the site on March 1. Thanks, Nicole!
Here's where to
go to enter:
Lori is Duff's hardworking webmaster, and she took time to let us know
that Duff's album Loaded is officially coming out soon, and they
will be pulling down the CDs available from the web site. One from the
site costs $12, a real bargain; so if you want one, hurry over and place
your order. Only 30 CDs are left on the site. Lori says she has photos
from the Portland and Seattle shows up on the site now. On the 16th of
this month, Loaded will play Seattle. The video Seattle Head will be on
the site soon. And Duff's birthday was yesterday! Here is the address for
Duff's Loaded Official Site:
We can't let you go without another poll! Mprowler sent us a note about this
one on the MTV site. They talk about its being Axl's birthday, and they want
to know what you think Axl should do: continue the slow progress on his
album, release the album now, settle this fight with SLASH and get GNR
back together, or hang it up. At this time, settling the problems with SLASH
and getting the band together again has 57% of the vote! Thanks for this
cool poll.
SLASH called in Friday to talk about two shows he had done recently.
At both of these he played a couple of numbers with the band. The first
was the Bad Company show on January 30 in Anaheim. He said he would play
any time Paul Rodgers was fronting the band. Fans Dave and Matt lucked
out on seeing this gig because SLASH was an unannounced guest. Matt tells
us that SLASH did a dueling lead guitar piece with Neal Schon that night.
SLASH told us the second show was one he doubted we had heard about, and
he was right.
On February 1, SLASH did a special birthday show with Rick
James. Rick James is a famous funk artist who did most of his work in
the seventies and eighties. He suffered a stroke in 1998, and he's now
coming back. The big hits he did are also being given a comeback as they
are sampled by hip-hop artists. Funk is one of SLASH's original delights
and influences. SLASH got to play on the explosive hit "Super Freak" which
M.C. Hammer used in "You Can't Touch This". Rick was 48 years old that
night, and we look forward to having SLASH rockin' that wild at least that
long!
We asked SLASH about the super group article we'd read, and he was
surprised and dismayed that that news was out on that in so much detail.
He said that he has not accepted the slot in the band and as far as he
knew, no one else was definite either. We said the article seemed very
convinced that Sammy Hagar and Neal Schon were definite. SLASH said to
make it clear to the fans that he has not accepted but of course is
considering it.
Going back to the Bad Company show, Dave had a great evening there.
He talked to SLASH about what's next for him. He wouldn't talk about
the super group rumour, but he did say that he and Michael Jackson are
up to something! Dave is the one who shot the picture of SLASH for
Pollstar; and when he and SLASH meet up, they always talk about
the shot because SLASH was in one of his favorite shirts, the Spider Man
shirt! SLASH says he has only worn the shirt one time, and Dave was lucky
enough to catch a good shot. That's Dave's picture of SLASH, right here! Dave was
in the After Show private part of the club when SLASH came in about 3 hours
after the show. He came right over to Dave to say hello. Dave, we'd like
to go with you next time! Dave got another guitar pick from SLASH at the
show by putting up his traditional GUITAR PICK!!! sign. He uses a big font
so it can be easily seen from the stage. Dave put up his sign during a song,
SLASH saw it and smiled, walked over, shooed the other fans away and put
it right in Dave's hand. This is the eighth time Dave has seen SLASH which
kind of outdistances most of us (although we are there in spirit!). He makes
it sound easy! Thanks, Dave!
Did you see "Forever Wild" Friday night on VH-1? Seems everyone was really
pleased to see SLASH. There was some footage of SLASH playing the National
Anthem at the Lakers game then meeting Magic Johnson. SLASH and host
Sebastian Bach went on a limo ride to Hollywood where they made stops
at rocker landmarks and told some cool stories. At the Rainbow, they sat
at SLASH's table! They talked about the Whisky, the Hyatt Hotel and some
other spots. SLASH looked good! We've always thought of SLASH as a big
guy, but next to Sebastian Bach and Magic Johnson, he seemed very small.
Sebastian Bach even picked him up! There was a portion of the "Welcome
to the Jungle" (original) video shown, too. The problem we had with the
show was not with the SLASH portion at all, but in general the show seemed
dull and better suited to 30 rather than 60 minutes. They played videos
by new bands, and Sebastian talked and posed a lot. When SLASH's part was
over, nothing was said to tell you that had ended...like thanks and goodbye
would have been nice. Don't quit your day job, Sebastian.
Gunner says to look for the latest Tattoo magazine. It has a four
page interview and article about SLASH's Snakepit. There are cool pictures
of SLASH's tattoos. For everyone who has written to the webmaster begging
for closeup photos of SLASH's tats, this is the time to get them. Gunner
says there is a nice remark about this site - that there is more information
than SLASH's mother has about him! (Thanks to all of you). SLASH describes
his last tat (the cat on his tummy) as a f*cked up jailhouse tat. He says
his wife has the same under her hair on the back of her neck, and she
passed out having it done. You gotta be tough to run with SLASH! The good
news is Gunner promises to scan the article and send it in, but we wanted
to alert you so you might get a copy for yourselves. Thanks, Gunner!
Here's some TV news...all reruns: On VH-1 on 2/6 at 4:30pm ET is "Before
They Were Rock Stars" featuring some darling pictures of SLASH as a little
boy. Here's one of those crazy VH-1 shows, "Top 80 of the 80's" with many
bands including the original Guns N'Roses.
Here's another SLASH Q&A. This fan did not give a name, but the question to
SLASH is, "SLASH, I've always wondered what pickups and strings you use on
your doubleneck?"
SLASH replies, "Ernie Ball strings and Seymour Duncan p.u.s".
Thanks, SLASH and our anonymous fan!
Some exciting news
this evening about SLASH! A new supergroup
is being formed with a star studded lineup. Sammy Hagar (ex-Van Halen)
will front the band and do the lead vocals honors. Sammy's longtime
friend, guitarist Neal Schon (Journey), has also signed up. Drummer
Deen Castronovo (Journey) is also in the group. The unconfirmed bassist
is none other than current Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony.
Sammy and Michael have been friends since Sammy was in VH. What is
described as a "legendary rock manager" is behind the formation of the
group and is shopping an album and US tour package to the labels. The
big rumour for us is that the super group may have a second guitar
player, and sources say that is SLASH! Furthermore, rumour has it that
SLASH has accepted the offer! In checking out this rumour, SLASH has
been offered the position, but he has not yet accepted. He is still
thinking about it. As you know, SLASH played on Sammy's album,
Marching to Mars, where the track "Little White Lies" got a lot
of airplay. SLASH played with Neal Schon many times when he made guest
appearances with Paul Rodgers, notably at Woodstock. So far, the band's
name is unannounced, but everything could firm up fast. What this
means for SLASH's other projects if he signs up, we don't know. Undoubtedly,
the Izzy
album project is near completion for SLASH. The other project (SLASH solo album)
still had
a ways to go and could get shelved for the time being. SLASH, good luck
to you if this is the way you're going. There is a lot
more detail you'll want to read on this. More information should be coming
out fast, so keep your eyes open, and let us hear from you if you see
something on this breaking story. Meanwhile check out more details on
melodicrock.com:
On January 30, there was another rumour about SLASH flying around. Seems
that Duff and his band, Loaded, were playing The Dragonfly in L.A. that
night, and a lot of fans thought that SLASH and Izzy would show up. If you
went, you saw Loaded and Duff but not Our Guy or Izzy. Where's Izzy? is a
longtime GNR question! We do know where SLASH was thanks to Matt. Matt
went to see Bad Company at The Grove in Anaheim, CA; and who should appear
onstage but SLASH! Matt says Bad Company was in town filming a show for
their upcoming live CD/DVD which will be released in May. Whether SLASH
will be on this, we don't know. SLASH played two songs with the band
along with Journey guitarist Neal Schon (see above story). Matt says that
SLASH and Neal went into a dueling lead guitars section on the second
song they played together...the show rocked and SLASH was, as usual, great!
Thanks, Matt!
Here's a very recent photograph of SLASH - he was at NAMM! Here he is at
the Gibson booth holding up a cool sunburst Les Paul. Thanks, Vince, for
telling us about this photo which appears on the Gibson site.
Last time we asked about that $23 Appetite for Destruction album
that is listed (and backordered) on the CDNOW site. Ismar, Ollie, Kevin
and Jaydeisel wrote to say that this is an import album. So there is
nothing new about it in the sense that there are no new tracks. It is
a new import pressed in another country. Collectors may want if just for
completeness, but it's the same music you have now.
Damian is a Dutch fan living in Colombia, South America. He was watching
MTV Latin America last week where "Beavis and Butt-Head" were on. The
episode was "Butt-Head's Wife". Butt-Head called an agency to get a
Russian wife. When she appeared, she was wearing the same bride's dress
as was used in "November Rain". Eventually, Butt-Head was in front of the
altar and behind him was SLASH! He looked exactly as he did in the
"November Rain" video. All this was just in Butt-Head's imagination, but
Damian loved seeing SLASH! Let's watch out for this in the reruns.
If you are reading this tonight, there's not much time left to get a tape in the vcr to record SLASH on "Forever Wild" at 10pm ET on VH-1. The episode will repeat throughout the month.