While we're looking ahead
to the release of the third single, "Shine" and its video, we still need
to give "Mean Bone" more support. This is one catchy song that can play
in your head all day. "I've got one mean bone in my body and one I want
to pick with you..". Great lyrics! Here's a list for the fans in the
States, and if you would give these stations a call or send an email,
we can give "Mean Bone" a big push. And save the list for "Shine"!
Nick asks, "I'm a Gibson Les Paul fanatic, and one of my favorite guitars
in your collection is the tobacco 'burst Les Paul you used in the "November
Rain" video. I was wondering if you could give me a brief history on this
guitar. I've heard from one source that it's a '59, and from another that
it's a '60. I've heard that it used to belong to Duane Allman and Joe
Perry. I've also heard that you plan on giving this guitar back to Joe
Perry. Are any of these rumors true?
Thanks, SLASH and Nick! Sounds like SLASH is not the only one to have
guitars stolen. Let's hope SLASH's are returned some day...maybe by
someone on this list! Nick, if you would send your mailing address
to webmaster@snakepit.org,
we have a gift from SLASH and Koch records for you: a small Snakepit
poster from Japan, a Snakepit sticker and postcard and a flyer from
the Roxy show on Halloween. Send questions to the webmaster address with
subject "Question for Slash". Thanks. Next time...SLASH comments on his
practice schedule.
Luke saw an Alice Cooper gig last week and had the surprise of seeing
two ex-Snakepit members onstage! Ryan Roxie and Eric Dover were rocking
out in Sydney with Alice. Ryan was in the current Snakepit but left to
continue working with Alice while Eric was the lead vocalist in
Snakepit 95. Luke said Ryan was great on his lead guitar work; Eric
played well also and did some great backing vocals. Luke would like to
see more Snakepit members in Australia - 5 of them together, one with
a tophat! We'll see what we can do. Thanks, Luke!
Remember the UK publication, Total Guitar that forgot to put
SLASH in their list of the Top 300 Guitar Players? There was even an
apology printed - and rightly so! Well, let's give these guys one last
chance. Head over to their site using this link, and on the left column
you can vote in a poll as to which guitarist should not have been
forgotten. SLASH is leading with 53% of the vote, but we can do much
better. If you're indignant, show it! As a small olive branch, Total
Guitar has a nice interview with SLASH. Not much new, but it starts
at the very beginning of his guitar playing days and moves right along.
Thanks very much to Sim from the UK who let us know. No need to go to
the mattresses...they've surrendered.
SLASH called in today to
tell us all that he is super busy now that he is back to work. Last night
he did some jamming with Matt Sorum! He's getting the band organized and
ready for rehearsals. Still no news on the next leg of the tour. SLASH
has been getting some regular checkups with his doctor, and everything
looks good. He will start interviewing and publicity again next week. And
he has a second batch of questions from us that he promises to answer over
the weekend. We'll be hearing from him in the magazines, and Snakepit will
be onstage somewhere in the world very soon.
Empact29 sent in a question to SLASH on playing for different performers.
The question is, "What is it like to work with Rod and his singing style
as opposed to Axl or Lenny Kravitz or Michael Jackson? Does it make a
difference in your guitar playing when you work with a different singer,
or do you just come up with the riffs and have him sing over them without
your altering them?
If you haven't met Keri Kelli yet, he's a really down to earth, nice
guy. He always has some news to tell us. Keri is going to do an online
chat hopefully next week in the Keri Kelli Online chatroom. Is
like the chat will be Thursday at 4pm PT. This seems to be a time that
most people can get there. The chat room is at:
www.kerikellionline.com
Mike Inez was the bassist of the Snakepit 95 recording band.
As almost everyone knows, Mike came to Snakepit during a hiatus for Alice
In Chains where he also plays bass. Although Alice In Chains has not
officially broken up, most of the members are doing solo projects. Mike
checks in with SLASH quite often. He's been working on a solo project, too.
We think we have this right...the band name is Seattle Jams and the new
album, due out in May, will be called Spies For Darwin.
Mykaela updated us on the Metal-Sludge fight. In round 1, SLASH defeated
Axl, and in round 2 SLASH wiped out Jason Newsted. Now he's up against
Perry Richardson (ex-Firehouse bassist), and SLASH leads now with 89% of
the vote. Should you want to help him out:
Ambra from Milan tells us that the Italian magazine TUTTO is worth
a look! In the "Rock Files" section, there's an article about GNR with
some fan questions such as which are the best books about them, what are
their new bands, etc. There is an old photo of SLASH and Izzy. In the
"News" section, there's a small but cool SLASH photo. They say that Snakepit
will open for AC/DC in the summer in the US (don't think AC/DC will be here
then). And they talk about SLASH on the Rod Stewart album, Human.
Thanks, Ambra!
Keri Kelli checked in to let us know what he's been doing lately. Keri
says they are in the midst of planning the next tour. It should be this
summer and maybe in the States! Things can change, so don't count on that
till SLASH gives the final word. Keri said this is the current discussion,
but it is by no means 100% yet. The big excitement is that the third
single off Ain't Life Grand should be coming out soon. This is
"Shine", and Koch Records is going to give it support! The video will
be ready for the band to see it in a week or so. Johnny G's friend did
it for them while Snakepit was in Europe. The band thinks it will be
killer as Johnny's friend, Anders, does movies! Keri says he is working
on some instrumental music for a computer game or a Nintendo-type game.
The game will be out at the end of the year, but Keri doesn't know the
name yet. He'll let us know when he does. Thanks, Keri!
SLASH's publicist let us know
that there is a new, but old, story out on SLASH. AP's story is finally
hitting the wire. The interview was done at the House of Blues in
Anaheim last February. This will be going to weekend editors across
the nation. You may have seen this one before, but we thought we'd
give it another chance here. SLASH's confusion at arriving in
Disneyland is funny. 
Now, some fan questions for SLASH! This next question comes from
a frustrated fan, J. Levi, in Spain.
LuAnn found us yet another interesting article. This one is from the L.A.
Times last September. There were some things in this article that we had
not heard before, and what is that song the interviewer is referring to?
Which piece of clothing is called a wifebeater? These must be LA things...
Thanks, LuAnn!
Do you have any albums you hide in the closet when your cool rocker friends
come over? Vanilla Ice? Air Supply? The Bee Gees? Zubi loved the Backstreet
Boys before she got into Snakepit and other rock bands. She still likes them,
but keeps them under wraps. While listening to their album Millenium,
she looked at the album credits. In AJ Mclean's thank you section, he
starts off by saying, "Eric Clapton, B.B. King and SLASH are some of the
greatest...". Definitely some class influences there! Thanks, Zubi!
Here's another question in
our "Ask SLASH" series. The questions will be moved into the SLASH Answers
Your Questions section off the Main Menu. We'll move them when we finish
this first set of five. This question comes from Clint Roberts. Clint,
if you're out there, please send your mailing address to
webmaster@snakepit.org so that
we can send you a gift from SLASH and Koch Records. It's not too late to
send questions in!
SLASH talks about being proud of his guest appearances and rightly so.
The most recent was on Rod Stewart's Human where SLASH did two
songs. One song appears on the album, "Human". LuAnn once again proved
to be a great web searcher and found this link for all of us. It's a
review of Human on the audiovisual.com web site. They review
AV hardware as well as music. In this review, SLASH comes in for some
good remarks!
Speaking of singles, a lot of people write looking for the "Obsession"
single that SLASH wrote and performed on Spanish guitar. This track
from the movie Curdled can be difficult to find although it still
gets airplay on AOR and jazz stations. Ymbrea wants to remind everyone
that "Obsession" is on the flamenco collection Gypsy Soul - New
Flamenco. Details on catalog number, label can be found in SLASH's
discography under Compilations. Check the major music sites to order a
copy. Thanks, Ymbrea!
If the use of the Guns N'Roses name bothers you or even if it doesn't,
you might want to go over to rocknrollstation.com and cast your vote
for or against. This controversy is the site's weekly survey. When you
get there scroll down and over to the right to find the place to cast
your vote. SLASH cares! (Thanks to Lisa for this one!)
Here's an hilarious thing to vote on. Mykaela brought this one to our
attention, and it's at the Metal Sludge site. They have taken feuding
rockers, written some funny prematch commentary, and they let the fans
decide through voting which one wins. Of course, they had to do the
Axl/SLASH feud! SLASH won that round with 77% of the votes. Here's how
they summarized the match:
We've seen a number of
questions around the net concerning SLASH's health. SLASH had the
flu on tour which went into pneumonia (a fairly complication). All
Snakepit shows were cancelled. Now, SLASH is back on his feet, and
ready to roll out Snakepit again. He's been doing fan mail, answering
your questions, meeting with the band and some new business people in
his organization. He's also planning the next leg of the tour! He
wouldn't even give us a hint as to where Snakepit will go next! But
they will be rehearsing soon while venues are booked and arrangements
get made. He says as soon as he has confirmations, he'll let us know.
SLASH's back!
Speaking of questions, SLASH answered a question from Rob in NYC:
While SLASH has been answering our mail, Keri Kelli has also been busy.
Keri reports that he has been just hanging and writing songs in his
studio, but he had a surprise trip to Japan! A friend's band asked Keri
to substitute for his pal who couldn't make the trip, so Keri had 5
great days in Japan performing and eating sushi, one of the staples of
his diet. Remember when SLASH did the MasterCard commercial (which we
have yet to see), well, Matt Laug, Johnny Blackout and Keri did one
for American Express. Keri says, "The 'pit does American Express funny,
but it's full blown rock!" Keri said he didn't know when it would air, so
we have two to watch for now.
Brian thinks he's spotted another SLASH fan! He was watching the Tonight
Show and Uncle Kracker from Kid Rock was the musical guest. Uncle
Kracker sported a black TShirt with the cover of Appetite for
Destruction on it. Brian says the shirt looked brand new and very
cool. Uncle Kracker was playing a red Les Paul. Great! SLASH met up with
Kid Rock when he was in NYC mixing Ain't Life Grand. They invited
SLASH to the show they were doing that night. SLASH says that although
the music isn't his style, they were very good; and you had to love
their attitude.
Some SLASH recordings and videos have just come out. Remco has gotten
them, and they are for sale at net stores, too. First is a single from
Rod Stewart called I Can't Deny It. Awhile back SLASH guested on
Rod Stewart's latest album, Human. SLASH said he played two songs
but only "Human" was on the album. This single has the second which is
a cover of Prince's "Peach". "Peach" is just terrific, and SLASH does
multiple solos as well as accompanying Rod through the whole song. This
is super SLASH music! What a rocker!
Remco also found the video (also available in DVD) Carole
King - In Concert with Slash doing "Hold Out For Love" and "Locomotion".
A new video (also DVD) out is the movie Rated X. SLASH worked on
the soundtrack for this movie that started Martin and Charlie Sheen. The
movie was previously shown only on Showtime which fronted the money for
making the movie. Now you can see it on DVD or VHS...and hear SLASH in
the background. There appear to be two versions out - one is unrated and
one is rated R. Thanks, Remco.
A note came from Groyou about a magazine article he had seen last month.
We didn't bother to share it with you as it had a list of the 300
greatest guitarists, and SLASH wasn't on the list! Throw that away!
Groyou says the magazine received lots of mail about this horrifying
omission. The magazine then wrote, "And then there was SLASH. When the
Top 10 for heavy rock and metal arrived (from the author), we were
surprised to see no mention of SLASH. Knowing the writer who chose them
is an expert on rock and metal guitarists, we respected his decision.
When letters and mail rolled in, we gave him (the author) a call and
asked if he'd explain SLASH's absence to you. There was a moment's
silence on the telephone. 'Oh bugger," he said. Yep, he'd forgotten
all about him. So to the Big Man with the Top Hat and those worried
we've lost the plot, we'd like to say 'Sorry'. Shit happens". A nice
apology, and we'd like to thank all those who wrote in demanding to
know what happened to SLASH. Being forgotten isn't great either, but
at least the author knew he had made a mistake. Thanks, Groyou!
Magazine time! Vicki has been checking out the current publications
and has a couple good ones for us. SLASH is in the June 2001 issue
of Guitar One. There's a SLASH picture on page 29..an old
but nice one. The article is "Riff Box" - Guns N'Roses - 10
Rockin' Riffs from (long list of GNR albums). Vicki says the quotations
from SLASH were printed elsewhere before.
There's a new teen magazine
out called 'Cosmo Girl, and SLASH can be found in the article
"The 50 Most Shocking Moments in Music". Vicki says there is a wonderful
picture of SLASH on p.129. SLASH's moment is #1 through 50. NO! That's
not right...it's #45. And it was the CD:UK incident when SLASH talked
about blowjobs and said f*ck. The caption on SLASH's sweet picture is,
"Want some candy, little girl?" Vicki's answer is YES! So there you have
it! Some new magazines to search for.
We'll be away from the
SLASH page tomorrow, so here's a little something to tide you over for
a couple of days. Originally, SLASH agreed to answer 5 fan questions,
and as you know, we selected five and sent them off with 5 alternates
in case he wanted to pass on any of the originals. Now he says he is
willing to do some more next week. Unfortunately, the questions from
the 17th and 18th are lost. If you sent yours in then, please resubmit
it to webmaster@snakepit.org.
If you've thought of more, then use the same address. Please make the
subject be QUESTION FOR SLASH or something similar. Thanks!
The first question is made up of 3 questions that had to do with
beginning guitarists. The questions came from Jim Woods, CTIS Student
and Laura in Memphis. Here it is:
Seems that SLASH wants beginners to immerse themselves in music in
every shape and form. His suggestions imply a devotion to music and
guitar playing. If you do all this and have some talent, we should
be hearing from you!
One other small item. Today in the Children's Department of our Public
Library, we saw a book called Heavy Metal by Bob Brunning.
We were surprised to see this in the stacks, so we had a look, and there
was a big picture of SLASH! There was another of Axl and SLASH together
as the chapter was on GNR. This is really an attractive book with big
pictures and language suitable for the kids. However, there were a lot
of errors in the GNR chapter - for example, SLASH adopted his stage
name after GNR was performing, Steven was fired for alcohol problems,
etc. They said the band did a lot of swearing and other offensive
behavior.... SLASH got a lot of good mentions and takes the lion's
share of the information. The author says that SLASH gained respect
by performing with other major artists and is now recognized as a
highly skilled guitarist. There is a sidebar on customizing guitars
and some time is spent explaining how SLASH customizes his Les Pauls.
Suitable for the kids, but not for anyone looking for 100% factual
information; bright and attractive with great pictures. Recommended.
Sad news for the music
community: The King of Punk Rock, Joey Ramone, passed away on Sunday at age 49. Joey has been
battling cancer for 7 years. He was in a New York hospital at the time
of his death. Bono was the last one to speak to Joey before he died, and
a U2 track was playing in the room as he died. Our sympathies to Joey's
family and the great Ramones band. SLASH and Joey worked together on a
Drew Carey TV episode. In this show, Carey is looking for a guitar player
for his band, and he auditions Joey Ramone and SLASH among others. Neither
made the cut! Neither Joey nor SLASH claim to be actors, but they were
both funny playing themselves. (Video of SLASH's audition is on the
SLASH Videos! Section).
Shari of Black Velvet Magazine sent us a note about our guy,
Keri Kelli. Ratt, featuring Stephen Pearcy, will be on tour soon.
Stephen has a solo album coming out in July, and three of the tracks
were written by Keri! These are: "In The Corner", "Five Fingers" and
"Freak". Shari also sent some information on Gilby Clarke's most recent, as yet
untitled, solo effort. Brian Tichy, the drummer for Snakepit 95's tour,
played on a couple of tracks. Thanks, Shari!
Speaking of Brian Tichy, keep in mind that Brian has his own band called
Ball now. They do gigs primarily out in the L.A. area. Brian is a really
nice guy, and we hope you'll be able to make one of his shows this
month. There's one tonight! It's at the Key Club at 9:45, so hurry on
down there. The next one is on Friday, April 20 at The Cat Club at
11 pm. In his newsletter, Brian says these are the last two Ball shows
for at least 2 months!
MTV Europe aired a shortened version of the "SLASH Chooses" program
that was seen on MTV2 in the UK, and Lewis sent a report on it. He
says the show was about 30 minutes. They replaced the "SCOM"
video with the "Mean Bone" video. Lewis says that's the first time
he's seen the video on UK TV and he thought the animated snake at the
beginning and ending was awesome. We want the snake! Lewis also gave
us some news from an Izzy Stradlin fan site that Duff McKagan will
play bass on Izzy's forthcoming album River. The site also
said that Izzy would do some European promotional appearances on TV and
radio as well as magazine interviews. Let's hope they don't ask GNR questions
as that's what caused Izzy to leave in the middle of his Rolling
Stone interview! And by the way, a belated happy birthday to
Izzy (April 8). Thanks, Lewis!
A couple of days ago we gave what little information we had on buying
a SLASH guitar, signature or a regular Les Paul. Justin suggested
www.gbase.com where he has seen all the guitars for sale. He listed
the signature Gibson and Epiphone Les Pauls, the BC Rich Mockingbird,
Guild Crosswords doubleneck (aka Godzilla) and tons of vintage Les
Pauls as well as new ones. This is the Guitar Base web site. We have
no personal knowledge of this one; but if you've been searching, here's
another place to look!
LuAnn was out surfing again, and she found a good SLASH interview on
the Guitarist web site. Guitarist is a big UK guitar
publication. The interview is a long one, and it has some interesting
facts that we weren't aware of. SLASH talks about how one connection
leads to another. His work with Nile Rodgers (Chic) was really cool; and
through Nile, he met Marta Sanchaz with whom he did the popular "Obsession".
He talked about his injury when the neck of his Les Paul broke. We hadn't
read such a vivid description before. The idea of SLASH with a hole in his
face...and saying he continues to bend the necks of his guitar, well that
was all fairly gruesome as well as interesting!:
With regard to the questions
for SLASH, we've chosen 5 to send to him along with 3 or 4 alternates just
in case one or more of the 5 don't appeal to him. The questions were
faxed off this evening, and we hope to have the answers soon. Those
chosen were ones that would be of interest to a large group of readers
and wouldn't drive SLASH up a wall answering them! They were all great
questions, and we wish he had time for all of them. When they come back,
we will most likely do one a day.
Over the Easter break, we were able to get some things updated. The
drawings section has four new drawings (actually two drawings, two
tattoos), a couple of new links, and another set of tour photos. The
Tour Photos are mostly from the show in Pittsburgh where we went to
soundcheck, but the show was cancelled due to SLASH's illness. There
are about 4 other pictures from other shows. Still lots of tabs and
fan music items to put up. If you want to see the Tour Photos, they
are at www.snakepit.org, scroll down to Main Menu, click Tour Photos.
Or this link takes you there right now:
LuAnn keeps finding SLASH interviews and articles on the net. This
particular one is an older one from Launch, and the time here
is the day after the release party in L.A. If you've missed out on
reading why SLASH likes to do guest slots with other artists or
why he got into Blues Ball and Snakepit or his feelings on the new
GNR, take a minute and read this interview. Thanks, LuAnn!
Michael says he's one of the greatest SLASH fans ever! He bought that
magazine, Guitar Legends which we were talking about here a
couple of days ago. Michael managed to type in the article for us.
SLASH's article is
right by his hero, Jeff Beck! Here's the quotation they used for SLASH:
If you watch VH-1 in the UK, check the TV listings for "Behind The
Music: Alice Cooper". This is an excellent bio of Alice. Daniel, who
saw the show at 3am Saturday morning, says the hour documentary has
a small snippet taken from a recent SLASH interview. SLASH says there
is an Alice influence on practically every album he ever recorded.
Nothing mentioned about Alice's recording of GNR's "The Garden" as
the show primarily dealt with Alice's life and his success in overall
terms. Thanks, Daniel!
Surfing some old favorite music sites, we looked up Rock n World. They
gave SLASH and Ain't Life Grand a good review sometime back. In
checking their list of the best in 2000, there was SLASH's Snakepit's
Ain't Life Grand listed as the Best Hard Rock Album on an
indie label for the year 2000! They were in good company as AC/DC won
the Best Hard Rock Album of 2000 from a major label with their Stiff
Upper Lip. Who'd have guessed the two touring companions would come
out on top together! Well, we did! Congratulations to Snakepit and
to AC/DC! If you'd like to review their other winners:
Today we spoke with SLASH to
find out how his recovery is going. Good news! SLASH says he feels fine!
And Snakepit will have a band meeting this weekend to discuss the next
leg of the world tour! With all the downtime, SLASH said they will need
a rehearsal period, but he is already working on where and when the
tour will resume. It's hard to book a tour that starts immediately because
venues are booked in advance. They want to rehearse and regroup anyway.
This is great news, though. SLASH's BACK!
SLASH also agreed to answer 5 questions, and we'd like the questions to
be yours. These have to be really good ones, so think about it. We'll
go through them and select the 5 best. Please confine questions to
professional issues such as the bands SLASH has been in, anything about
guest appearances, his guitar playing, etc. Personal questions will not
be selected. We'll choose 5 and fax them to SLASH. You can submit any
reasonable number of questions separately or as a group. The authors of
the 5 selected questions will win a small prize from Koch. Start sending
these in now. When we have 5 that we like, we'll let you know. SLASH
wants to do this as soon as possible, so send them in right now! Questions
should be sent with the subject SLASH Q and sent to:
The third contest, the survey and drawing, is over. The 5 winners are:
FabAxl, David Elliott, DavidsonL, Machina06 and Thomas Marshall. All are
being contacted by email. Please contact webmaster@snakepit.org if you
are one of these and have not received a notification. Congratulations
and thanks to all who did the survey. We'll be faxing that out to SLASH.
More to come...
The Tour Photo pictures from The Heartland in Indiana gig are up on the
Tour Photos section. The final set will be photos from the soundcheck
in Pittsburgh. This is the gig where SLASH was taken ill, and the show
was cancelled. The Heartland pictures are the last ones listed right now.
You can find Tour Photos by going to www.snakepit.org, scrolling down to
Main Menu and clicking Tour Photos. Here's a direct route if you are
ready to go now:
Although we don't sell guitars ourselves, we get a lot of questions as
to where a fan can buy a SLASH signature guitar or a Gibson Les Paul
like SLASH plays. Mostly these guitars are sold out and not made
anymore by Epiphone or Gibson. However, it is possible to get one
used or new. Check the online auctions such as ebay.com. There is one
selling today in mint condition. Check guitar shops on the web. Some
will have something in stock or can provide help in locating what you want. A good
one to try is Musiciansfriend.com. If you're on a budget, right now
they are carrying a blemish Epiphone of a '57 Gibson, much like SLASH's.
This one's $528 and originally sold for over $1000. Hopefully these
pointers can help you locate the guitar you have been searching for.
Finding a SLASH-owned guitar is difficult. SLASH gives away guitars
to charity so that they can auction them off. He does not engage in
sales with fans.
Metal-sludge.com is having a Celebrity Sludgematch. They put together
15 sludgematches between feuding celebrities. There are some prefight
comments to read, and then you vote for the one you want to win. This
has to be Axl vs. SLASH! And it is. If you want to go over, throw a
punch and write a comment, here's where to go:
Due to the Easter holiday period, the SLASH page will take a short break
and resume after Easter. We'll try to catch up on some items you've sent
in such as tabs, drawings, fan music sites and links. Remember to let
us know if you have anything that would fit with those sections as well
as any corrections/additions. If you celebrate Easter, have a wonderful
holiday. Everyone else, enjoy the less crowded internet! See you soon.
We'd like to wish SLASH and his lovely lady:
LuAnn sent in the url
for another Ain't Life Grand review. It's on the NY Rock site, and
it's a really positive review praising SLASH and the boys for putting
out a good rock and roll album. The reviewer, Jean Hsu, says you can't
go wrong with this album, and she bets the live show is good as well. Oh,
Jean, we hope you've seen them by now!
Bet you thought that SLASH was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Recently
we had a communique from a very close relative who was there at the time!
To be totally accurate, SLASH was born in Hampstead (London), England and
was raised in Stoke-on-Trent. We've even updated our SLASH bio, and we
wanted those experts in SLASH trivia to have the news, too. Unfortunately,
we have no pictures of the blessed event, but in our imagination, a very
sweet little boy was born July 23, 1965 with long, black curly hair.
We happened upon a 1999 release from Sony called Pop Music: The Modern
Era 1976-1999. This 2 cd set is a compilation that comes with a thick
booklet containing comments on each track. The author is Dave DiMartino,
former West Coast Chief of Billboard and Executive Editor of
CD-ROM magazine Launch. SLASH gets a mention on Michael Jackson's
"Black or White". DiMartino calls "Black Or White"
"a near perfect pop confection". He says it owes its appeal to three
seemingly disparate elements: the producer Bill Bottrell, "the
switchblade jangling of SLASH's guitar" and Jackson himself. SLASH's
playing on "Black or White"
has never been described better!
Stoke-on-Trent and SLASH had a mention in the current Q magazine.
A Stoke resident wrote in after an interview in a previous issue called
it a "ghastly hole full of trolls". The Stoke defender writes that such
diverse artists as Lemmy, SLASH, Jackie Trent and Robbie Williams call
Stoke their hometown. Included was a small picture of Stoke which we
include here.
Markus, Lewis and Sim sent in more information on Izzy Stradlin's
forthcoming album, River. Izzy's new label is Sanctuary
Records Group which is a large British indie label. Markus says he
thinks this was founded by Rob Smallwood, manager of Iron Maiden.
Sanctuary distributes Iron Maiden and Megadeth albums. River
is listed for release on May 7 according to amazon.co.uk. No word yet
on a US release at this time. It should be relatively easy to get a
copy in Europe. Thanks!
Q magazine recommends the 1993 video (also on DVD) Carole
King In Concert. If you know your SLASH guest appearances, you
know SLASH appeared on two of Carole King's albums, and this was one of
them. We verified that SLASH does appear on the video and DVD playing
"Locomotion". The editorial review at amazon.com says that Carole is
"frisky as a pony"...
"even bringing out
unlikely guest-star guitarist Slash to provide chunky,
chugging guitar on
"Locomotion". If you know your SLASH history, it's
not unlikely at all. Carole King knew SLASH's parents from way back when
SLASH was little, and she saw SLASH grow up. She knows a talented
musician when she hears one, so she got SLASH to play on her album. The
two joined up on David Letterman's show to do "Locomotion" in 1995. Carole
also came to a Blues Ball gig in NYC where she and Les Paul joined the
band onstage for "Knockin' On Heaven's Door".
Don't forget the drawing for 5 SLASH's Snakepit posters and stickers!
The contest ends tomorrow, Tuesday, April 10, at midnight your time.
There's a survey that would be helpful
to the Slash organization, so if you fill one out and mail it to the
webmaster@snakepit.org, you are entered. You don't need to write out
all the questions. Just put, for example:
1. yes
2. no
and so on. Please answer all the questions..there are just 10, and it should
be fast to complete. It's attached below to make it easy for you to print
out should you need to. Please put SURVEY in the Subject. Send anytime up
till Tuesday, April 10 at midnight. Thanks very much for your help.
Perris Records is giving
away an autographed Fender Squire Strat guitar on their website. The
guitar is autographed by all kinds of music people: SLASH!, Keri Kelli!,
Jimmy Crespo, Carmine Appice and others. Enter once during the next
two months to win! Thanks, Olivia, for letting us know about this one.
Here's where you can see a large picture and enter
the contest:
Brian says he just saw a magazine called Guitar Legends. The
magazine is a special issue and has Jimi Hendrix on the cover. They
list 100 of the best guitarists (no order). SLASH is on the list! Brian
says SLASH has a short bio about his style and career and is quoted as
saying, "I've never been one of those guys that solos longer than he
should. My solos compliment the song, which is the most important part".
A 1988 photo accompanies the story - SLASH in his tophat. Thank you, Brian.
Here's a bit more information on Izzy Stradlin's forthcoming album,
River. The article we have does not say in which countries the
album will be released. River can be preordered right now at
Amazon in the UK. So far, it is not listed on the big US online stores.
The catalog number is SANCD076 which might be helpful if you want to
get your local store to order it. We aren't sure if this is an indie
label or Izzy's own label.
SLASH on the snake population at his house:
Vicki got the May 2001 issue of Hit Parader and found an article
called "Gearing Up" about SLASH. In the previous issue, they asked who
was the original GNR lead guitarist. Tough one! This article was the
answer. There are three nice sized photos of SLASH (all vintage GNR
photos). The "Gearing Up" article was an interview, but Vicki says it's
an old one, pre-Ain't Life Grand. Thanks, Vicki.
Vicki also found some SLASH mentions in the May/June issue of
Revolver. The article was about the Robert Williams rape
artwork on the cover of Appetite for Destruction. SLASH
says that no one in the band thought the cover was offensive. SLASH also
stated that living in Hollywood, this was one of the least shocking
things they would see. The artwork was moved to the inside of the
album, and SLASH said GNR fought against that just for the sake of
fighting. The band finally gave up when the fight became senseless
even to them. SLASH said they sold a million more copies because the
original became a collector's item. The article says that Robert
Williams says he received nothing beyond a small licensing fee. SLASH
says Williams got a ton of publicity from the whole controversy.
Although he's left GNR, SLASH says he still has good memories from the
band's early days and keeps a blown up copy of the Williams cover.
Another mention in Revolver is a comment on rock-themed pinball
games. SLASH is listed as co-designer of the GNR pinball game, and this
game was the last gasp of rock and roll pinball. Today, the industry
is all but dead. Thanks, Vicki!
There's a new set of tour photos up on the Tour Photo section! These
are miscellaneous pictures, and there are even some from the final
headlining tour where SLASH got sick. Another set of headliners is
coming up. Go to www.snakepit.org, scroll down to Main Menu, click
Tour Photos...or take this shortcut, and the new set is listed last:
Don't forget the drawing for 5 SLASH's Snakepit posters and stickers!
The contest ends this Tuesday, April 10 at midnight your time.
There's a survey that would be helpful
to the Slash organization, so if you fill one out and mail it to the
webmaster@snakepit.org, you are entered. You don't need to write out
all the questions. Just put, for example:
The Modern Drummer
article on Matt Laug is really interesting, and you don't have to be
a drummer to understand it. The interview with Matt is about 4 pages
with a color, two page photo starting it off. There are some good
smaller photos here of Matt, too. Matt's one we don't often see good photos
of when he is onstage working. With four other band members prowling the
stage, the man with the sticks is
sometimes not camera visible. We've had the chance to talk to Matt
at a couple of the shows, and he's so nice and friendly! The interview
responses echo that. Matt talks basically about the two kinds of work
he does right now: session work and Snakepit. Matt's answers on session
work remind us of SLASH and his guest appearances - both guys are hard
workers and want to play! If there is spare time, why not fill it up
with something you love to do? Matt has worked with Alanis Morissette
on "Jagged Little Pill", with Christine Aguilera, Alice Cooper, The
Corrs, Meredith Brooks and The New Radicals. Matt tells an interesting
story of his early drummer days. His teacher was Mark Herndon who
eventually became part of the superstar group Alabama. Matt says that
Mark is one of his main sources of inspiration, and they still stay in
touch. Impressive! About Snakepit, Matt worked with SLASH's Blues Ball
for awhile and eased right into Snakepit. An extremely informative
article about Matt with so much we didn't touch on here. This May 2001
issue is on the newsstands right now.
Matt responded to our question on Lifehouse. Someone discovered that
Matt was listed on the credits for their new album. Matt says the
band are friends of his, and they asked him to play on their album.
Matt says they are really cool people. He played on their current
single, "Hanging By A Moment" and really likes the album. Lifehouse
rehearses where Snakepit does, so they run into each other and hang
out once in awhile. Here's more information on the band:
Here's some big news on an old bandmate and friend of SLASH's!
Izzy Stradlin has a new album coming out on May 21. The album title
is River. Izzy was rhythm guitarist to SLASH's lead in Guns
N'Roses. In 1991 Izzy left GNR and formed Izzy Stradlin & The Ju Ju
Hounds. He's been releasing albums regularly, although not surprisingly,
Izzy has declined to tour or even do interviews in support of them.
Izzy has said that it is not that he dislikes interviews, but all he
is asked is about GNR which to him is quite a long way in the past.
River has ten original songs featuring guest musicians Ian
McLagan and his longterm collaborator, Rick Richards of the Georgia
Satellites. Izzy recorded the album during the past year in studios
all over the US. No doubt, you are looking forward to this one! Here's
the tracklist:
1. Jump In Now
2. Head On Out
3. River
4. Far Below Me Now
5. What I Told You
6. Get Away
7. Underground
8. Shall Walk
9. Run-In
10. Feelin'Alright
We had a chance to ask Rod Jackson some questions, and in the news two
days ago, Rod told us what he is doing right now. We were interested
in that Rod Jackson distinctive voice and how he cares for it. Rod
says he doesn't do anything special if Snakepit is not touring or
in the studio. If they are on tour, Rod says he tries not to talk
so much, and he drinks a lot of water and Throat Coat tea. He also
tries to get a lot of sleep and to work out in a hotel gym whenever
he can. Rod also prescribes a shot of Jack Daniels now and then!
Asked about voice training, Rod said he has never taken any formal
lessons. He first performed around age thirteen - in his bedroom with
a broomstick for a mic stand! He sang the entire album The Song
Remains The Same till he knew it note for note. Rod says he still
thinks he knows it! SLASH says he feels shy onstage, but Rod says
being onstage seems very natural to him. He's a Leo after all! We
asked Rod if he ever goes to clubs and joins in a jam session - just
getting up to sing. He replied that he is not one to go to clubs and
jam...he's more likely to go and drink! That's our Rod! Thank you, Rod;
it's great getting to know you better.
There are 5 more winners
of the SLASH's Snakepit poster and sticker. Nearly everyone solved the
crossword puzzle correctly. Email went off to these 5 to notify them.
If you are one of the following, please get in touch: R. Franzen,
Jose Martinez, Orosz Kata, Jizz da Pit, Vicki L. Damron.
The third and final poster contest (although we have some other items
from Koch) will be a drawing. There's a survey that would be helpful
to the Slash organization, so if you fill one out and mail it to the
webmaster@snakepit.org, you are entered. You don't need to write out
all the questions. Just put, for example:
SLASH is using some of his downtime to work on the fan mail at home. Due to
record label and publicist changes, some of SLASH's fan mail was
unfortunately misplaced. He sends his apologies for the delay. SLASH wants
to inform fans that the fan mail is being taken care of and he's working
to get replies out as soon as possible.
Tonight SLASH said he was
going to finish the backlog, and then he will start in on the mail that went
to the new mail box. If you have been waiting and waiting, hang on because
your reply may be coming soon. SLASH says just reading all this mail gives
him a real lift. He said you all are so into his music and the band that
he can't wait to get back out and give you some more! The sheer volume
of the Get Well cards has really touched him, and he wants to let you
all know that he thanks you very much. They mean a lot! So, many, many
thanks to everyone from SLASH.
Garybbad sent an interesting report on Matt Laug. He says his friend
bought a new cd by a new alternative band called Lifehouse. Garybbad
thought some tracks were pretty good, but for the most part it seemed
like all alternative rock seems to him, dull and uninspired. Matt is
listed as an additional musician on drums! Thanks! Maybe Matt can shed
some light on this.
Rod responded to some questions on what he is doing during the SLASH
Get Well period. He says he is working with Dick Simms who used to
play with Eric Clapton in the seventies. Dick is doing a solo album,
and Rod says we should watch for that one. He says it's very old-school,
bluesy rock; and if you like old Clapton, you'll dig it. Another thing
Rod has been up to is getting together with Johnny and Matt and doing
some songwriting. He says that everyone's in for a big surprise on the
next album; it should have something for everyone! More from Rod in the
next Current Events! Thanks so much, Rod, for filling us in!
Wrapping up this topic of the VH-1 list of Top 40 hair bands, Mindy and
Zubi watched the whole show only to see GNR not make the list. Keri will
be pleased to know that his old band, Warrant, came in at #4! Bon Jovi
was #3 with Poison being #1. Thanks, Zubi! Mindy said the show
was pretty entertaining if you grew up with the hair bands and miss
those metal ballads. Thanks, Mindy!
Also wrapping up the Top 10 Guitar Players, J.L.Salter complains that
if the list was dependent on album sales, GNR certainly sold a ton
of them. We've read that Appetite continues to sell about
1000 per week. Salter tells us that his top 10 are: SLASH, Jimmy
Page, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Perry, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen,
Kurt Cobain, Dean DeLeo(STP), and Mike McCready(Pearl Jam). Yes, we like
that list better! Thanks!
Lisa-Marie has an alert for French fans. Guitar Part has a few
extracts from Ain't Life Grand. She says these are not the complete
tabs, just a few interesting passages (riffs mostly). Thanks, Lisa-Marie!
In checking the VH-1
schedule, we were wondering if anyone is following "The Top 40
Hair Bands" show. Hour 3 is on tonight at 1am Monday morning. We
thought maybe with the hair the original GNR band sported, they might
be on the list. Justin pointed out that on the Rock Show page,
there is a place to vote for best band cover. Remember our GNR guys
doing "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"? A great cover, and it has only
2% of the votes. Amazing the two that are far ahead. How about going
over and giving SLASH, Duff, Matt...etc. a vote?
Hector wrote from Winnipeg to say their AC/DC show is also sold out on
the date the tickets came out. We feel Snakepit contributed to this!
Hector did say that AC/DC always sells out there, but there are a lot
of SLASH fans there who really wanted to see the band. Hector also
said, and this is very interesting, that a friend of his from Mexico
says there was a video for "Obsession", one of two SLASH tracks from the
soundtrack of the movie Curdled. His friend said
he saw a report on it a few years back, and that SLASH shot the video
in Spain with Marta Sanchez. Personally, we would love to see that
video. Anyone have it? If we could get a copy, we would definitely
put it up on this site. So if you captured it on tape, please contact
webmaster@snakepit.org. Thanks, Hector!
We had a note from our favorite drummer, Matt Laug. He wanted to let
everyone know that the May issue of Modern Drummer is on the
stands right now. This issue contains the interview with Matt! We're
out to find one tomorrow ourselves. In case we don't find it, if
you see it and can give us a summary, that would be great. Matt says
to look on the cover for the REM drummer with a smaller picture of
Sheila E. Matt wanted to clarify what was written about the new album.
The first priority of Snakepit right now is to get behind ALG.
They hope to release 2 more singles. But now they have time off with
SLASH recuperating from pneumonia, so the band members are using some
of the time to work up new material. Creative musicians are always
noodling around with new music, and they are doing some work on new
songs now. Don't plan on a new album in the near future! We want those
2 singles and for ALG to get a chance to "SHINE". (Guess the next
single!). We know people who have just gotten the album or just seen the
first video. Let's just get out and do some shows! Play ANYTHING but
COME BACK!
About fan mail, we've been told that a little treasure trove of fan
mail was discovered at the old mail address. About 100 letters are
there. So if you have given up on seeing your CD booklet or ever
getting a picture of SLASH, hang on! Extra help has come in to
get the mailings out. Probably the only bright spot in SLASH's
being home resting is that his big hand can still sign stuff. Hopefully,
YOUR request is in this box. Patience!
Groyou sent us some good news from the English press, and we want to
thank him for that and for the many guitar tabs he has contributed.
In the Classic Rock magazine, there was a readers poll in
2000. The results are in!