SLASH CURRENT EVENTS
April 2001



(Updated April 29, 2001)


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"!

WXRK/New York 1-888-993-K-ROCK
K Rock Online

WWDC/Washington, DC 1-800-33-DC101
WWDC Washington DC

WZTA/Miami, FL 1-866-949-ROCK
WZTA Miami

KIOZ/San Diego 858-570-1053
KIOZ San Diego

KZON/Phoenix 602-260-1015
KZON Phoenix

KUFO/Portland 503-228-4101
KUFO Portland

WPLY/Philadelphia 1-800-232-1003
WPLY Philly

WRUF/Gainesville, FL 323-392-ROCK
WRUF Gainesville FL



Here's the guitar history question we promised last time. This comes from Nick in Buffalo, NY - direct to SLASH:

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?

SLASH replies, "The '59 Tobacco Sunburst Les Paul was brought to my attention in '88 or '89. Apparently it had been stolen from Joe Perry and sold a few times before someone called me and asked if I was interested in buying it. Once I found out it was the real thing, I bought it. Anyway, I kept it for a long time; but I knew that Joe really loved that guitar probably as much as I did. So I gave it to him for his birthday earlier this year.

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! Read About Him/Vote For Him!


News Reported: 4/29/01


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?

SLASH replies, "Playing with Rod, Axl, Iggy Pop or Lenny Kravitz to Lemmy, etc. changes my approach to my playing so that my style of playing just compliments the musical goal we are trying to achieve.

Thanks, SLASH and Empact29. Empact 29, if you would send in your mailing address to webmaster@snakepit.org, we have a gift from SLASH and Koch Records for you! Next time: SLASH traces the history of one of his Les Pauls.

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:
SLASH vs. Perry


Speaking of updates, several people wrote to tell us that the white "wifebeater" SLASH was wearing during an interview is a white tank top type TShirt!

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!
News Reported: 4/27/01


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.
5 Questions With Slash


Now, some fan questions for SLASH! This next question comes from a frustrated fan, J. Levi, in Spain.

Why is there no publicity of Snakepit? Is that a personal thing? I know that publicity depends on management and the record company, but here in Europe....it they'd had more publicity, they would have sold more records. There's lots of people without a clue about SLASH's Snakepit here. I've talked to some friends about it, and they all have bought the album. They think Rod is fantastic, and they are waiting to see the band rockin'. Thankx ---J. Levi, Spain

SLASH replies, "If there is a lack of publicity, it is the record company's fault. But I will remind them for sure."

Thanks, SLASH and J. Levi! We have heard similar complaints from other countries. Come on, Koch Records! J. Levi, if you would send your mailing address to webmaster@snakepit.org, we have a gift for you from SLASH and Koch. Next time, a fan asks about playing for singers with different styles.

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!
A View From the Snakepit


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!

News Reported: 4/25/01


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!

Clint asks, "I have always wondered out of all the songs you have written, past and present, which one (or ones) are you most proud of?

SLASH replies, "I'm really proud of almost everything that I have recorded, in some way, shape or form - whether I wrote or made a guest appearance - if it is cool enough to immortalize the song, you have to be proud of it.

Thanks SLASH and Clint! Next time: a question from a frustrated fan.

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!

Human Review


Now "Human" is very good, but if you can, get the single with "Peach" on it. SLASH is sensational!

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!)
Let GNR RIP...or Not?


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:

Slash easily defeated the out of shape Axl. Axl tried a bonzai splash on Slash, but Slash ducked out of the way and pinned fatboy. The winner...
SLASH!

The next match for SLASH is against Jason Newsted. They pit an ex-GNR member against an ex-Metallica member. SLASH is ahead, but we need to get over there and help stop Jason! When you get there, be sure to check Round 1 for the funny writeups on SLASH and Axl. Then go back to vote for SLASH! Go, SLASH! And thanks, Mykaela!
Vote For SLASH!


News Reported: 4/23/01


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:

Would you ever do a straight up blues album? (Rob's aside, which SLASH saw was - if you can, let SLASH know how much we appreciate his blues playing, and how it has influenced a lot of us to pursue "Blues in the Key of SLASH")

SLASH replied, "One of these days I will do a blues record of some kind but it will happen when I least expect it. You know right at the right kind of time."

Thanks to SLASH and Rob! Rob, SLASH and Koch Records have a gift for you for sending in that good question. Please get in touch with webmaster@snakepit.org with your address.

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.

News Reported: 4/21/01


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:

SLASH, what is the best advice you can give to beginning guitarists? Do you recommend playing by ear or trying to learn all the scales and other beginner's techniques? How do you learn to improvise? What advice would you give to young aspiring musicians with regard to the business side of the music industry?

SLASH replies: The only real advice I can give to a beginning guitarist is pick up on everything: reading, writing, learning from records. Watching other guitarists play live is also a good way to learn. Whatever catches your ear and everything in between... Establish an idea of what you would like to hear yourself playing, and follow that concept. Try to learn bits and pieces of music you like amidst compositions that you don't necessarily like in their whole form. In short, be yourself. Do everything you can to establish that while digesting everything else around you.

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!

Thanks to SLASH for taking time to reply. And thanks for the three beginners above who sent in their questions. These three will receive a gift from SLASH and Koch! There's a small Japanese tour flyer, a snake sticker, a flyer from the Roxy show on Halloween and a Snakepit postcard! If you are one of the three, please send your mail address to:
webmaster@snakepit.org.
More questions next time. Don't forget to send in more questions or resubmit the ones you sent yesterday and the day before. Thanks!

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.

News Reported: 4/19/01


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).
"He sleeps with angels tonight...too soon...tonight"
- Neil Young, "Sleeps With Angels"


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!:
SLASH Interview With Guitarist
News Reported: 4/18/01


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.

The survey is over as you know. We've been in touch with the winners. We thought you might like to know the results! There were 98 responses for which SLASH's people thank you. If you would like to see how the answers came in, click here:
Survey:Records, Tours, Videos


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:
Tour Photos


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!
A Rose By Any Other Name...


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:

"I've never been one of those guys who wants to solo for longer than he should. My solos complement the song, which is the most important part." -Slash
And for the article itself, just click here:
SLASH, Guitar Legend


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:
Rock n World: Best of 2000
News Reported: 4/16/01


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:
webmaster@snakepit.org


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:
The Heartlands Tour Photos


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:
Axl vs. SLASH
Right now SLASH is ahead with 76% of the vote! Go get him, SLASH! Thanks to Rat who sent that in.

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:
News Reported: 4/11/01


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!
Ain't Life Grand Review

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.

Survey


News Reported: 4/09/01


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:
Perris Records Autographed Guitar


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:

"I have no idea. They pop up from time to time. We have like forty, fifty, it changes all the time because they have babies and everything".

From the Rolling Stone online site. Thanks, Justin!

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:
Tour Photos


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:
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.
Survey


News Reported: 4/07/01


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:
Lifestyle


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.

If you've been wanting to send mail to SLASH asking for an autograph or a guitar pick, please read the instructions in the Write To SLASH section. Always check the address there. It will be the correct one. It's very important to send an envelope the size of the item you expect to get back. Sending a business size envelope does not work if you are getting a picture signed. You should ask for an autograph instead of an autographed picture as sometimes they run out and there may be a long delay till more come in. SLASH will sign his name on something nice and send it along to you.
News Reported: 4/05/01


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:
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.
Survey


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!
News Reported: 4/03/01


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?
Best Cover
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!


BRIGHTEST HOPE FOR 2001: (Drum Roll) SLASH'S SNAKEPIT !!!

Biggest Dude: Lemmy followed closely by SLASH (YEA, SLASH!)

Biggest Bore of 2001: (we are not making this up) Axl Rose
Thanks to Groyou and the perceptive readers of Classic Rock

PLEASE NOTE: The March 2001 Current Events moved to the archives. Check below to find them. Keeping just one month here keeps your download time faster. The old information is all here, too. Nothing is discarded!

News Reported: 4/01/01