3. Guns N'Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine"
4. Eminem "8 Mile"
5. U2 "One"
6. Run-D.M.C. (with Joe Perry/Steven Tyler) "Walk This Way"
7. Prince "When Doves Cry"
8. Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You"
9. The Police "Every Breath You Take"
10.Madonna "Like A Virgin"
When you get there, there will be a full screen Hulk picture. At the bottom
are three choices for the software you want to use for viewing. We had the
best luck with Real Media which our system substituted for Quicktime, the
second choice.
The official band name has yet to be chosen and announced. But it is
Scott for sure as the singer! After hearing the vocals on "Money" and
"Set Me Free", it's a great choice.
As reported, Duff and Matt were interviewed Friday by Riki Rachtman
(of Headbanger's Ball fame) on a California radio station. The guys
made the announcement that the band plans to release an EP and a DVD
from the El Rey show. So don't buy any hokey bootlegs which we have
on good authority are low quality. The EP and video will be sold
retail, but the method of sale has yet to be determined. This decision
should be made soon. The band has all kinds of labels trailing them, but
they have not made up their minds whether to throw in with one of these
companies or go it alone but use one of these companies for distribution
only. No word as to whether this will be a single package or separate
CD from DVD...most likely a package deal. Matt and Duff quoted a release
date of October 7. They also reiterated SLASH's statement that there will
be some one-offs late this summer, and they added these would be in the
LA area. Whether this is because they like to stick close to their big
LA fan base or in anticipation of Scott Weiland's rehab sentence was not
asked or answered. LA fans, wake up! Time to die! About the t-shirts from the
El Rey which remain a rare item, there will be more merchandise on the way,
of course. The El Rey t's seem to be a one shot deal. Look for them on
ebay! Thanks, Brian and Sam for sending in good summaries.
The SLASH camp is still very interested in which radio stations are
playing "Set Me Free". If you're in Detroit, MI, Tom says that he
hears it on 101.1 WRIF. Hector hears it on Power 97 in Winnipeg,
Canada. He requested it when it first came out, and they said they
would get it and they did! Now Hector says you can hear it about 3
times in an 8 hour block so that's good news for the Winnipeg fans.
Thanks, Hector...you made it happen! Jimmy reported that he was listening
to the "5 Songs That Definitely Do Not Suck" list on rock station
105.7 St. Louis KPNT The Point. He said he was thrilled to hear that
"Set Me Free" was #4! The DJ called Velvet Revolver the new supergroup
made up of GNR and STP. He wondered what ever happened to Axl. Right
now Axl seems to be declaring his album will be out this fall or
Christmas or sometime while the band members are off doing three week
tours in other groups. Sounds familiar. Finally, Sam gave us an overall
report..."Set Me Free" is moving up the radio charts. Checking the
current Radio & Records report, Sam found "Set Me Free" making its
debut on the Top 50 chart coming in at #32. 12 radio stations added
the song while the number of plays went up by 224 to a total of 318.
Keep those requests coming, and let us know when you hear it and the
station. Last time someone said they heard it on satellite and
digital cable. Rob, if you are out there, what channels were these on?
Thanks.
Clement was a disappointed fan at the House of Blues Yardbirds show.
Yardbirds management said SLASH was definitely going to be there, but
he wasn't. "Musicians lead complicated lives. Therefore, it is always
advisable to call ahead." (The New Yorker). Clement said there were
a lot of special guests there like Steve Vai, Steve Lukather and Jeff
"Skunk" Baxter so the music was great. Clement and friend stood in the
VIP area about 5 feet from Paul Stanley. Doc McGhee (signed Bon Jovi,
Motley Crue, etc.) was also spotted along with the infamous Ron Jeremy.
We're counting on Clement to hit those Velvet Revolver shows.
Vicki recommends you pick up the August 2003 issue of Spin. She
says the article is about Jane's Addiction, past and present. There are
lots of stories and pictures. There are some funny SLASH comments on
the past relations between Jane's Addiction and Guns. We'll let Vicki
tell you herself (and thanks, Vicki!):
Jamie's in the UK, and he gets Guitarist magazine. This month's
issue (Metallica on the cover) has a Top 10 Guitarist Solo Album. SLASH
came in at Number 9 for Ain't Life Grand!! Jamie says there is
some Velvet Revolver there, too. They have a big picture of Scott Weiland,
and the caption is: "SLASH HAS FOUND A NEW SINGER!" The article has nothing
new about the band, but it says that an album will probably be released
this winter. Thanks, Jamie! And congratulations to SLASH!
Mykaela and Tom sent us the information from Kerrang!...the one
with Korn on the cover. Seems it has some nice pics, but mostly is an
enticement to buy the NEXT issue where they promise more information
on "VELVET REVOLVER - Inside Scott Weiland's Personal Hell". Myk
feels it would be nice if they realized there is more to VR than Scott.
Scott probably feels it would be nice if anyone realized there was
more to him than his drug problem. We suppose this is where someone
says there is no such thing as bad publicity, but it would be nice to
see SLASH's name somewhere (however, not with the drug problem!).
Myk made a great scan of the single page, so we'll let you have a look
at it. You will most likely have to do some scrolling.
CineMedia Promotions is the company promoting The Hulk. They've
promised us 5 Hulk soundtrack CDs for a contest!
There won't be any tough Hulk questions to answer - just a
drawing. The contest begins today, Monday, June 16 and will end in three
weeks on July 5, midnight your time. Winners will be contacted by email
for their mailing address (not published here). CineMedia will pay for the
shipping and handling.
Take a chance! Send
an email message with your email address and name in the body of the
the message and the subject HULK CONTEST to:
Previously we told you about the rumor that Velvet Revolver would do
an interview with Riki Rachtman on 97.1 KLSX FM in Los Angeles. The show
starts at 8pm, Friday, June 27. SLASH's management and Riki now say that SLASH will
not be there. Duff will be the one interviewed, and it's possible that
Matt will be there as well.
You never know when SLASH will pop up on your radio station...especially
if you are in California. SLASH's management as well as Brian let us
know that SLASH called in to radio station KSJO in San Diego yesterday.
These call-ins are easy for SLASH to do since he doesn't need to leave
the studio or home. Once he said he likes to call from the bathroom. No
word on his location for this interview. The interview covered the topics
of how Velvet Revolver came together as a band, the search for a vocalist
which resulted in the choice of Scott Weiland, a little about GNR and how
this legendary band name was lost. As he's said before, Velvet Revolver
will be looking to do some one-off live shows this summer and go into the
studio in the fall. SLASH said he'd like to get an album out this winter
although in the past he's said after the first of the year. The band
doesn't seem to feel any extraordinary pressure to grind out an album that
is less than sensational. Of course, after the album comes out, the band
will tour in support of it. SLASH also called Rock 105.3 with basically
the same information. We hope some of you heard these call-ins. SLASH
is always interesting, optimistic and truthful.
Sammy's in the UK and was looking at the Kerrang! site to see what
was coming next issue. He tells us there is a short fragment that says
"SLASH and Scott unveil a new supergroup". Sammy is off to Paris; so if
any other UK fans find this (Korn on cover), let us know what they have
to say!
If you like your reading literate and comprehensive, be advised that there
is a 10 page article in The New Yorker (magazine) about Ang Lee
and the making of The Hulk. This is the June 30 issue, and there's
just a Hulk drawing plus the usual hilarious cartoons. Yes, SLASH is
mentioned...last page of the article. The article is titled "Becoming The
Hulk" and is one of their Profiles articles. To summarize a little about
the SLASH parts, Lee said that he agreed to have "Set Me Free" to appeal
to the teen market. It says the song was performed by several former Guns
N'Roses members with Suicidal Tendencies Dave Kushner and STP's Scott
Weiland. At the end of a long day, he went to the studio to make a
courtesy call while the band performed the song. Lee confessed this was
his first visit to a rock session.
"Eventually, a collection of thin,
tatooed, long-haired men of a certain middle age swaggered in. 'So
how's it going?' a frizzy-haired rocker with leather pants, sneakers,
and what looked like a key chain attached to his nose asked Lee. 'I
hope you're gonna get the song out there', he added. 'Gonna sit in with
us? Maybe play some cowbells?' Lee smiled and said to me, 'That's Splash',
he said. 'SLASH', his assistant said." The band did the song 4 times,
and it was noted that Scott tried to be as close to the camera as
possible. Lee seemed unfazed. The next day he worked with Elfman on
the quiet score. Lee started jumping around, waving his arms and said
to Elfman, "You're boring!" That's a small piece of the article, but you
get the idea the band made a convert! Way to go, Splash!
"Set Me Free" is gaining strength on radio stations. Keep calling! Rob
S. says that another place the song is played is on the music choice
channels on digital cable and satellite. Rob's heard it twice a day on
the rock channel. Shane reports that Orlando, FL's 101.1 WJRR "is now playing
the latest and greatest from our favorite guitarist. Great work again,
SLASH!" Damian is in Columbia, and the radio stations there are playing
"Set Me Free" and the theaters are showing The Hulk. It looks like the
band is getting some international notoriety. Mercedes is in Argentina, and
she saw Velvet Revolver on the E! News (live from E! Entertainment). And
there were SLASH and Duff talking about the band and the El Rey show and
"Set Me Free". It repeats again there tonight at midnight! Thanks,
Mercedes!
SLASH still exists as himself, too! Jessica's in France, and she saw
Robbie Williams this evening being interviewed and wearing a SLASH
t-shirt under his jacket! You'll recall that Robbie did a Camp Freddy
show where SLASH did a guest appearance. Robbie did an interview
last year where he stated that Slash and the guys came back to his LA home. Says
Jessica,
"Robbie admires Slash an awful lot I think." We think so, too.
If you'd like to vote on a poll, there's one on MTV. Question: should
Axl drop the Guns N'Roses name? This seems like an old issue now; but if
you're still grumpy about it, here's where to vote:GNR Name Poll.
The results at present are 46% voting Yes, drop the name and 54% voting No,
keep the name. The results will be announced on this week's episode of
"The Wrap" on Sunday at 7pm on MTV and 9:30pm on MTV2. If this is one of your issues,
it's time to vote!
CineMedia Promotions is the company promoting The Hulk. They've
promised us 5 Hulk soundtrack CDs for a contest!
There won't be any tough Hulk questions to answer. We'll just have a
drawing. The contest begins today, Monday, June 16 and will end in three
weeks on July 5, midnight your time. Winners will be contacted by email
for their mailing address (not published here). CineMedia will pay for the
shipping and handling.
Take a chance! Send
an email message with your email address and name in the body of the
the message and the subject HULK CONTEST to:
The music world is buzzing over the new supergroup, Velvet Revolver, and
the new hit "Set Me Free". If you saw them at the El Rey, last week, you
saw a band that knows how to rock. In fact we asked SLASH if they could
play "Money", and he said it didn't rock hard enough for what they had
in mind that night. Maybe it will be a B-side someday. One thing you
can do to help out is make those calls to your local rock station and
ask for "Set Me Free". If a station says they don't have it to play,
see if you can get a name and address a copy can be sent to..a specific
DJ if you have one that seems pretty with it. Sam let us know we are
doing a good job as "Set Me Free" is the Number 1 New & Active Song on
the Radio & Records reporting system for the top 200 stations in the
country.
You might mention that if the DJ is blank about the song! For
the week ending June 13, it was added to 20 new radio stations. We expect
to see it in the Top 50 for all songs this week! On iTunes, the MAC
song download site, "Set Me Free" is Number 2. A lot of people are
excited about the band! Aren't you glad you hung in there with SLASH!
Joe sent word from Boise, Idaho that the radio station there has been
playing "Set Me Free" for 2-3 weeks...mostly by request. Add to the list
105.7 WXCL Peoria, IL. SLASH has a list, and we send off a note everytime
you let us know a station is playing it. He thanks all of you for your
help.
As you know from Monday's news, we were able to come to the show as a
guest of SLASH. The whole show was so overwhelming, we didn't know what
to look at! Steve was also there, and he said the band was amazing.
He caught Scott's water bottle, and his buddy caught Scott's Gatorade
bottle. After the show, they caught up with Adam Day, SLASH's guitar
tech, and told Adam how much they loved the show. Unfortunately, Steve
did not get a Velvet Revolver t-shirt that were given out free. Maybe
next time. We got one which we managed to leave at SLASH's house. They
promise to send it along. Really, if you were in SLASH's house, would
you be focused on a t-shirt? Not when that little charmer, London is
there. We call them chick magnet and baby chick magnet which got a big
smile from SLASH.
About that new black flying bich guitar SLASH was using, Joan read that
and decided to do some digging at the BC Rich site. After looking in the
custom guitar section, she found out the Bich design SLASH has is a copy
of a Joe Perry guitar from the mid-seventies. There is not much to read,
but you can see some cool pictures at Flying Bich.
Thanks, Joan! Just remember SLASH's is black! His red BC Rich is in storage.
If you really want to get excited about the band and "Set Me Free", you have
to read some articles. It's so great to be part of the SLASH in crowd, isn't
it? Axl is slowly fading from memory...he needs to get going with his
album. If you'd like to vote on a poll, there's one on MTV. Question: should
Axl drop the Guns N'Roses name? This seems like an old issue now; but if
you're still grumpy about it, here's where to vote:GNR Name Poll.
Speaking of MTV, they have a great article covering the show at the El Rey.
This is a good one to read if you didn't get to the show. They cover all
the songs, the moves, the clothes, etc. MTV Reviews VR Show.
We know what it feels like to miss a lot of shows, so we have a clip from
the evening. It was put together by UK's MTV. There's some footage of the
show and some of the press conference. Enjoy!
In case you haven't read enough, here's a couple more articles! Kimberli
sent this one in from Yahoo News: Weiland Interview.
And here's one from Sammy that appears on Billboard.
That sharp-eyed Kimberli found another on Blistering.com.
We don't usually print rumors, but since it is Wednesday, and the event
is Friday; we thought maybe we ought to let you know. Keep in mind this
is an unconfirmed rumor. The talk is going around that Velvet Revolver
will be interviewed by Riki Rachtman on 97.1 KLSX FM in Los Angeles
on Friday, the 27th at 8pm. We were unable to confirm with Riki, the
radio station, SLASH's management or SLASH. We expect to hear tomorrow
and will put a notice at the top of the news if this is off or on.
CineMedia Promotions is the company promoting The Hulk. They've
promised us 5 Hulk soundtrack CDs for a contest!
There won't be any tough Hulk questions to answer. We'll just have a
drawing. The contest begins today, Monday, June 16 and will end in three
weeks on July 5, midnight your time. Winners will be contacted by email
for their mailing address (not published here). CineMedia will pay for the
shipping and handling.
Take a chance! Send
an email message with your email address and name in the body of the
the message and the subject HULK CONTEST to:
SLASH and Perla invited us out to LA last week to see the first Velvet Revolver
live show at the El Rey. Some of you must have been among the hundreds
there. SLASH got us in for soundcheck and the press conference. SLASH had
more amps than we could count, but he didn't arrive right away. Traffic
was just terrible. SLASH saw that we got to meet Duff, and we've wanted
to meet him for years. Duff is so nice and so handsome! We also met Dave
Kurshner who seemed very relaxed. This was also the first time meeting
Scott Weiland who seemed tense and serious. But no matter how they were
before the show, they put on a dymnamite program. Scott even did some
stage diving! SLASH played a blistering guitar...his usual Les Paul and
a brand new black BC Rich. He said the red one was in storage. Adam told
us that this black one was a custom made guitar for SLASH. It looks like
the flying V, but is a flying bich , 10 string.
Slash plays it as a 6 string.
Very snazzy, SLASH! Velvet Revolver
did a great press conference with no questions you haven't heard already.
Everyone in the band answered questions giving SLASH a well-deserved
rest from that. We ran into Keri Kelli who showed us how to stand on the
chairs to see the show!
When Velvet Revolver took the stage, they ripped
into the Sex Pistol's "Bodies", then took off into "Set Me Free" which
had the audience dancing and screaming. Surprisingly, they touched the
Stone Temple Pilots' catalog for "Sex Type Thing"! SLASH made this song
his own. Finally, a GNR number, "It's So Easy"; and all us old GNR fans
sang along with Scott. We've been hearing that VR had a new track ready,
and they brought out the chilling "Slither" as the final song. Demands
for an encore brought them out shirtless to play Nirvana's "Negative
Creep" which sounded more heavy metal than alternative.
In the audience
were Dave Grohl, Vincent Gallo, Shane West, David Spade, Tony Kanal
and Ang Lee. We hope they enjoyed this set as much as we did. The band
looks young and fit with muscular arms and chests. Fitness is the key
word for the band. Everyone is clean right now according to SLASH, and
no one even has a celebratory drink after the show. SLASH says the band
has a tight bond, and each member is there for every other one. They are
in touch all the time, and are each other's best friends. SLASH also
said they still have to go through the 50 written songs (with 10 by
Izzy), and they are selecting the ones for the album. Weiland has about 4 sets of
lyrics ready, and they rehearse and work on the songs daily. SLASH
told us it has been just an exhausting year, but it has all come together
and is well worth it. Pictures coming soon.
Aside from the usual tourist places like the Rainbow (which SLASH told
us only to visit in the daytime), we did have a chance to visit his home.
It's beautiful, but the surprise to us was that it was a real home...not
something out of House Beautiful. It is beautiful, but there are baby
toys everywhere. London is the sweetest little guy! Both he and his mom
were not feeling well, but they were kind enough to have us over anyway.
SLASH was dressed in sweat pants and a white top and looked extremely
thin. They were all tired from being up with the baby...like all young
families. London is a real sweetheart. Perla is a very protective and
loving mom. SLASH is just like all dads...keeping an eye on his son and
playing with him. He even had diaper duty! Thanks to the entire Hudson
family for being so kind. And guess who dropped in? Duff! He told me
his daughters are 2 and 6, and he often has tea parties with them. Many
hugs and kisses to everyone!
Have you seen the July 10 issue of Rolling Stone? Lots of mentions
there. There's a nice sized picture of Duff and Scott leaving Scott's
drug arraignment. It says that despite Scott's drug woes, SLASH is
confident that Velvet Revolver will be able to record their debut album.
"Best In Show" is a list of the 20 greatest live acts in the world. GNR
comes in at #10 with the best tour listed as 1989 including the 2 nights
opening for the Rolling Stones. They rocked! Also, there is a review
of the movie The Hulk which got 3 stars (good). The Hulk
was the big money maker this past weekend, so it should be around long
enought for you to have a look.
Remember Elan and her debut album Street Child? She had a great
clip on her website of SLASH playing on the title track. Originally, the
site said the album was due out in May. We haven't forgotten this SLASH
guest appearance. SLASH's publicist was able to find out for us that
Elan's first single, "Midnight", just came out about a week ago. "Street
Child", the song SLASH played on is not released yet and no date has been
set. Elan says she is releasing her songs on MTV Latino as this is where
her roots are. We hope to have good news on the album soon. Those of
you in Mexico and South America, keep an eye out for this one!
Wednesday, June 25, the Yardbirds will do a show at the House of
Blues on Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, CA. The show starts at 9pm and
features "The Yardbirds with Special Guests and The Action Cats". SLASH's
management says SLASH will be a special guest! The
Yardbirds management tells us that the performing Yardbirds band will
be the one that recorded Birdland. SLASH did "Over, Under
Sideways, Down" on the album, Birdland. He'll be playing that one
that night and maybe more than one.
Tickets are standing only and $20 each. So get down
there and see SLASH!!
If you're a long time follower of SLASH in his many bands, there are
two past bandmates that we have never been able to find...Rod Jackson,
singer for Snakepit, and James LoMenzo, bassist for touring Snakepit 95.
Keri Kelli tells us that Rod is in California, but he doesn't know what
Rod is doing now. Tommy found James! James did an online interview so
we were able to find out what he's doing. James started with the guitar
first, played some keyboard, French horn and drums. He plays Warwick
basses and is currently using a Gibson Les Paul bass. Before playing with
David Lee Roth, James was with Zakk Wylde's Pride and Glory, Ozzy and White
Lion. Of course, his last band before DDLR was SLASH's Snakepit. James
says it is always great to be appreciated, and he thinks fans are
wonderful. Now, if we can just track down Rod...
Izzy's new album Like A Dog is to be released later this year. This
is not the album with Duff and SLASH. Izzy may not be the promotional
type of artist, but he has released 5 albums in 5 years. This time he
promises a tour in support of the album. He's also been busy writing
10 songs for the Velvet Revolver group. No one seems to know if Izzy
will tour with Velvet Revolver or even just come in for a song or two.
Clips from two tracks of Like A Dog are on www.izzy-stradlin.com.
The two are "Hammerhead" and "Bomb".
Vicki sent us this short writeup from Us magazine, the one with
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher on the cover. This is not a nice article
at all. Vicki says SLASH and Perla face the "fashion police firing squad".
They use a picture from The Italian Job premiere with both smiling
and wearing sunglasses and looking happy. Here's what these jerks have to
say about our friends:
1. Proud owners of the most clogged drain in Hollywood.
2. I thought only dog owners and their pooches grew to look alike!
3. Why do I think they arrived at this event in a van?
4. Waiting in line at the Kiss auditions.
5. Howard Stern and Kirstie Alley make such a nice couple.
CineMedia Promotions is the company promoting The Hulk. They've
promised us 5 Hulk soundtrack CDs for a contest!
There won't be any tough Hulk questions to answer. We'll just have a
drawing. The contest begins today, Monday, June 16 and will end in three
weeks on July 5, midnight your time. Winners will be contacted by email
for their mailing address (not published here). CineMedia will pay for the
shipping and handling.
Take a chance! Send
an email message with your email address and name in the body of the
the message and the subject HULK CONTEST to:
One of our Mac fans, Jarrod, uses the new Apple iTunes all the time to
preview and download music. Jarrod wrote and said that the Velvet
Revolver video and "Set Me Free" from The Hulk soundtrack
can be watched and downloaded now at the Apple iTunes Music Store.
You must have a Mac to do this. Jarrod says the video at iTunes is
very high quality. Tils wrote in and let us know that today "Set Me Free"
is #9 in download requests and The Hulk soundtrack is #8!
That's fantastic! Eric also downloaded it and says it is the best 99 cents
he ever spent. SLASH is fantastic! He hopes SLASH will use some of his
take to buy Baby London something nice. Absolutely! Thanks, Eric and Tils!If you have the
right hardware, go to www.apple.com/music
to preview, purchase and get your downloaded copies. Thanks, Jarrod!
We've been in touch with the promoters of The Hulk. The first thing
they sent us to share with you is a picture of the soundtrack album
cover. Pretty cool! They are interested in having a contest for all of
you where you could win a soundtrack CD! We're just working out the
details now, and we'll let you know asap where and how to enter the
contest. So, get ready for that.
Immortal Entertainment, the management company for SLASH and the band,
bought the velvetrevolver.org and velvetrevolver.net web sites, so one
of these should be the official Velvet Revolver site. Nothing is there
at present. One SLASH fan bought velvet-revolver.tk and has a really
good looking site for the band. We'd like to do links to sites like
this, so if you have one and would like to exchange links, please let
us know. We never do this without permission from you! We also got
information of interest to some international fans. Rui has started
a Velvet Revolver forum in Portugese. It's for those fans who
understand Portugese, and it has all the news and exclusive downloads.
This should be a great place to discuss things in your native language
and also to meet other fans! www.gnr.web.pt is the place to go to chat
with Rui and other Portugese-speaking fans!
In other news, you can check out the June 26, 2003 issue of Rolling Stone
(Justin and Christina on cover). The article is "Use Your Delusion" and
shows up as "The GNR Curse" in the index. The curse seems to be that the
people in Guns have a tough time...Weiland gets arrested for drugs, Axl
still has produced not album. They ask who will be the first to release
an album since Use Your Illusions 11 years ago. (We guess the two
Snakepits must not count or would not fit the "curse" thread). They say
the "Gunners seem unable to shake their past and equally unable to create
any sort of future". We can only think that the author must have written
this well before the two new songs come out. Clearly they think that
Weiland is such a handicap that no VR album will appear. We think SLASH
will dump Weiland before he lets that happen. Anyway, it's a negative
article...dragging in how poorly Steven is doing and all that. Some nice
pictures; some slanted text. Thanks to Vicki and Allen.
Happily, VH-1 has a program that lets you cheer the original band. This is
the 100 Greatest Songs in the Last 25 Years. Guns comes in at #3 with
"Sweet Child O' Mine"! #1 is Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and
#2 is "Billie Jean" by MJ. VH-1 says they will tell the story behind
each song with interviews of artists. The show is broken into 5 parts
beginning with 100-80. This first episode is aired June 16 through 22,
so they don't have the date up yet for the Guns segment. Here's the
rest of the top 10:
Yesterday, this press release was received:
After much speculation, Immortal Entertainment Management along with
SLASH, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Dave Kushner and Scott Weiland have
confirmed their decision to name the band "Velvet Revolver".
Another milestone passed! There's a lot of attention focused on the
band now, and you can get in on it. In today's mail is a message from
MTV. It says that airtimes for the SLASH/Project/Velvet Revolver story
featuring their new song, "Set Me Free", are Monday, June 9 at 9:30pm
and 11:30pm ET and Tuesday, June 10 at 5:30am, 9:30am, 3:30pm and
6:30pm. Please note that the story is on MTV2 (not MTV). We don't have
this station on our cable, so let us know if you see it and tell us what
it was
all about. No word on the VH1 documentary yet.
There's a good video on slashonline that we know you'll want to see.
It's clippings from a video made when The Hulk director, Ang Lee
(Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), came to see the band record "Set Me Free".
SLASH talks as does Scott Weiland, but mostly we see parts of the movie
and the band really into their latest new song. Don't forget that The Hulk
will be released June 20! Better rent-a-kid and be there. Here's where you
can see this cool clip:
If you were thinking you'd buy up the domain name velvet-revolver, too
late - it's already gone. We visited the unofficial site today and
learned that it will be more of a Stone Temple Pilots extension, following
the career of Scott Weiland than following the whole band. No comment.
However, what Ramon sent us there to see was a truly great and very
recent audio interview with SLASH on a Boston radio station. It's over
11 minutes long, and SLASH does a good job explaining how he got the
band going and what they are doing right now. He also has a few words
about Axl and GNR. None of this is really new if you've been following
along, but SLASH puts it all together. It's now on this site, and it is
an mp3 file. Worth a listen! Thanks, Ramon and Brian!
Going back to an item from last week, the one about SLASH and Perla
asking for your support for Blackfan Diamond Syndrome...there's more
information. Rare diseases have a difficult time getting
research funding because so few are its victims. SLASH and Perla have
a little friend, Sarah Canout, who has BDS. June 14 is a special day
for these kids who run or walk or wheel in the Champions Run for Life
Torch Run. About 2000 people are expected at Rainbow Harbor Esplanade
in Long Beach, CA to watch about 200 runners carry the torch for 1/8
of a mile beside their celebrities. The new information is that SLASH
will be participating in the run! If you're in the area, you're welcome
to walk over and cheer SLASH on. See if he can make it with all those
cigarettes he's smoked! SLASH and Perla say it would be just great if
SLASH's fans sent in donations. Any amount is welcome, but please send
a check if possible.
Donations are needed to find a cure
for Blackfan Diamond Syndrome. Your tax deductible charitible contribution
can be sent to:
CMHA/Children's Committee
2801 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90806
and please mark your check with the memo: FRIENDS OF SARAH CANOUT. Thanks
from SLASH and Perla.
We always feel a little doubtful about these tribute albums, and there is
another coming out for GNR. New Jersey's God Forbid just recorded GNR's
"Out Ta Get Me" with producer Chris Pearce. The track will be on the
GNR tribute album through Law of Inertia Records featuring these metal/hardcore
acts: Dillinger Escape Plan, Unearth, Everytime I Die, Haste, Nora among
others. An early fall release is planned. No album title has yet been
announced.
SLASH always said that when they announced the singer, they would
announce the band name. Last night's announcement: Scott Weiland is
the official vocalist for the band. What band? Velvet Revolver? That's
what Rolling Stone says on their site. In checking with SLASH's management,
they have not officially announced it, and it could change. They think it
will be announced Monday. Till then, The Project.
What do you think about Velvet Revolver? Revolver is
certainly a tip of the (top) hat to Guns. Guns N'Roses was a masculine
name (Guns) and feminine (Roses). Here's Velvet (feminine) and Revolver
(masculine). Men who like women! Maybe we're analyzing this too deeply.
Knowing SLASH, this name has a
meaning to it. Perhaps he will explain this one or some brand new one on
Monday. The part about the band intending
to be in the studio in September 2003 with the new album
due out early 2004 sounds right. They plan to tour this summer, but where and when
are not yet decided.
A new singer, a new name, a new album...it has to be faced. GNR as we
knew it is dead. At least for this year! The albums and videos are still
around, though. A few weeks back, there was a terrific Canadian TV show called
PowerHour where Duff and SLASH appeared. The two did separate interviews
and interspersed were some great GNR videos like "Welcome to the Jungle",
"Don't Cry", "Lost in the Garden of Eden". If you missed it, it's now
available on the web. Geoff was good enough to let us all know where we
can see it. Thanks, Geoff! It's the full one hour show minus the commercials.
This is highly recommended...great quality for picture and sound. It's
at:
Another url for you is the one for the "Money" clip. The previously
posted one no longer works. "Money" is gone from that site. There was
a red mini zooming away in the distance. Here is the new one if you
haven't gotten it yourself as yet, and many thanks to Brian who found
it and sent it in:
Perla and SLASH are asking your help in supporting the Blackfan Diamond
Syndrome (BDS) Foundation. BDS is an extremely rare bone marrow disease
that prevents production of red blood cells. There are just 317 known
cases worldwide. Children with BDS must have frequent transfusions to
stay alive and must use a filter pump to rid the body of excess iron
from the transfused blood. Rare disease have a difficult time getting
research funding because so few are its victims. SLASH and Perla have
a little friend, Sarah Canout, who has BDS. June 14 is a special day
for these kids who run or walk or wheel in the Champions Run for Life
Torch Run. About 2000 people are expected at Rainbow Harbor Esplanade
in Long Beach, CA to watch about 200 runners carry the torch for 1/8
of a mile beside their celebrities. Donations are needed to find a cure
for Blackfan Diamond Syndrome. Your tax deductible charitible contribution
can be sent to:
CMHA/Children's Committee
2801 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90806
and please mark your check with the memo: FRIENDS OF SARAH CANOUT. Thanks
from SLASH and Perla.
Brian, Juhis and Nicole found out some good news about Izzy. He's completed
his sixth solo album entitled Like A Dog. There are two 30 second
clips up at some sights, but why not start at the beginning with the
originator at izzy-stradlin.com? One clip is from "Hammerhead" and one
from the track "Bomb". The clips come in .zip format. You can get a copy
of Winzip from www.winzip.com to unzip them. Unzip them, and the clips
will play in Media Player. Here's the url:
Brian also sent in this amazing story about Steven Adler. Suki Jones is
Steven's band - made up of singer Jizzy Pearl (ex-Love/Hate, Ratt), Keri
Kelli (ex-SLASH's Snakepit) on guitar, Faster Pussycat's guitarist
Brent Muscat and Ratt's bassist Robbie Crane. Steven has now decided
to change the band name again. The new name is now Adler's Appetite.
Steven says he made the change because people at the shows told him they
had know idea this was his band. Steven adds that while they are
playing the Appetite for Destruction material, Adler's Appetite
is more appropriate. OK, Steven, but that's it! Recently Steven,
Keri and Robbie teamed up with Sebastian Bach to perform GNR's
"Welcome to the Jungle" and "Rocket Queen" in Las Vegas. This was
a charity show hosted by Meat Loaf to benefit the Lili Claire Life
Skills Center. Thanks, Brian!
We interrupt your life to bring you an official announcement from The
Project:
The Yardbirds contest is over! Thanks to all of you who took the time to
enter. The Yardbirds people are taking care of notifying the winners
and mailing the prizes. The winners have all been notified by email and
asked to send in their mailing addresses so the prizes can get on their
way. Thus far, they haven't heard from you winners, so go and check
your mail and let them know where you live! The winners are:
First Prize (Birdland CD and autographed biography: Mike Robinson
of Maryland
Second Prize Birdland CD: Marilyn Rodriguez of New York
Third Prize Birdland CD: Brian Mulholand of Colorado
If you know any of these people, tell them to check their mail!
There's a lot of excitement today over The Project's soundtrack song
for The Hulk. One of our Mac users, Eric, sent in the information that
"Set Me Free" will be available as an exclusive download at the iTunes
Music Store on the web. Currently, this is a Mac only service that has
the major labels backing as a way to download music legally. Eric says
he's used the site since startup, and it's great. He's ready to download
as soon as it's available at iTunes. The address for itunes is
www.apple.com/music/store,
and you must be a Mac user at this time to do downloads. Thanks, Eric!
Eric also sent in the address of an article in the MacObserver which
mentions The Project in a really exciting way. Thanks again, Eric! Let
us know when "Set Me Free" is available:
Most of us were surprised to hear some radio stations announce that the
next song would be "Set Me Free"! Luke lives in Boston and heard the
song on the afternoon show on 104.1 WBCN. If you pick them up, give them
a call and ask for "Set Me Free" to be played. If you've heard it on
other stations, let us know! Of course, once it was on the radio, it
was picked up by several people who have put it on sites around the
web. Since this song will be available on a soundtrack CD, we're not
able to give out these site urls. SLASH frowns on bootlegs.
Thanks
to Brian, Mark and Adam who sent us the information.
Here's something we can share. This is The Hulk soundtrack press
release. It's interesting in general and has lots to say about The
Project. SLASH and Scott Weiland have quotes, too. This is a big one!
Thanks to Anton from The Netherlands who sent this in.
This site welcomes SLASH's fans worldwide. We try to make the site
accessible to people all over the globe, so we don't have a lot of
fancy graphics dancing around, but we do have a lot of information. Not
much would happen without the help of SLASH's fans who send in photos
and articles and descriptions every day. No one is paid including the
webmaster, but we are a voice heard by SLASH and music newsmakers. Thanks
to all of you who take time to send things in. You are great! We'd like
to tell the Latin America fans that DarkSlash is opening TODAY a new
forum for discussions of The Project, Guns N'Roses and hard rock. The
forum is called Gunners En Linea (Gunners On Line, in English). The
forum will be in your native language, so anyone can drop in and talk
if you are up on the Latin American languages. Here's where to go:
Did you see The Italian Job over the weekend? It's a good summer
movie full of action with a twisting plot. And at the end, you get to
hear "Money"! SLASH and Scott Weiland get the high marks although Matt's
drums and Duff's base gave them all the baseline they needed and more.
Dave played a good second guitar, and he and SLASH are doing very well
together. This is your best chance of hearing "Money" as it was meant to
be heard. SLASH's management confirmed this weekend that "Money" will NOT
be on the soundtrack of The Italian Job. A soundtrack will be
released but will consist of just the movie score. Interestingly, at the
show we attended, only one or two people left the theater when
the credits started. Whether people were reading all those credits to
the end or were enjoying the music, we can't say. Maybe both. Some
people have decided to take a little "Money" home with them by taping
a clip and posting it on web sites. Brian found this one which he says
is a low quality mp3. (Note: the site has taken it down so the link
no longer works as far as we know.)
Over the past few months we've gotten a lot of mail from vocalists
wanting to apply for The Project's vocalist slot. Just this weekend
we asked if we should continue encouraging people to apply. SLASH's
publicist says that since no permanent singer has been signed, it's
still ok to send in demos. We would advise that you get them in very
soon. Send a demo tape/CD (3 tracks are sufficient), a short bio,
address (not just email address) and phone number. This should be
sent to:
Slash
13636 Ventura Blvd. #434
Sherman Oaks, Ca. 91423
The front runner for The Project's vocalist slot was arrested in Burbank,
CA last month following a minor traffic violation that led to the
discovery of drugs in the car. Scott Weiland, former Stone Temple Pilots
singer and the vocalist on The Project's "Money" and "Set Me Free", was
arrested on two counts of possession of heroin and cocaine. Today
Scott made his arraignment appearance at the Burbank division of the
LA Superior Court. He pleaded not guilty and volunteered to attend a
rehab program before his next court date which was set for July 11.
MTV reports that the rehab program is currently being decided including
options such as methadone treatment, 24-hour supervision and martial-arts
programs that require mental discipline. The Project members have been
trying to help Scott lessen his risk of relapse. Duff McKagan was at
court today in support of Scott Weiland. Outside the courtroom, Scott
said to reporters, "It went great today". If convicted, Scott faces up
to a year in county jail.
In other SLASH news, Ed went to a Def Leppard concert Saturday. Before
they hit the stage, they played GNR's "Coma"! Ed said they did this in
'93, too, when he was in the audience. If that didn't soothe your GNR
hunger, Joe Elliot came onstage wearing a SLASH t-shirt! Not GNR, but
SLASH! Ed said it was a very cool show. Thanks, Ed!
George sent us a SLASH sighting from The Netherlands awhile back.
SLASH was on a show called "I Love...". It was all about the year
1988 when pop music was about to be smashed to pieces by Guns N'Roses
and their rock music. A lot of famous Dutch artists called it the
wake-up call, and they rocked. SLASH gave an interview with extra
comments about that outrageous time that was all about rock and roll.
Thanks, George!
Father's Day is Sunday, June 15. This is SLASH's first Father's Day.
London was born August 28, and he's no doubt given his Mom money to
get a special gift. We're going to see if we can find a card for
a first time father on Father's Day! If you want to do the same,
send it to:
SLASH
5664 Cahuenga Blvd.
Suite 246
North Hollywood, CA 91601
