MY DAY WITH SLASH I’m Antonello from Italy and I’m one of the 3 Winners of the Slash’s Hard! Contest. Well, what can I say? From the moment I known I won this contest all seemed to me just like a dream and I think only now I’m waking! Yeah, a dream, but… a dream come true! It was all so strange but, let’s start from the beginning! The meeting was at 14:00 p.m. at "Hotel Principe di Savoia" in Milan (a very, very expensive one) and, after 6 hours of travelling by train and a few Jack Daniel’s with some friends, I was there, where I found Lisa and Vittorio (the other 2 winners). Lisa said to me that she spoken with Keri and Johnny that were going for a walk When the time was come (and you can imagine how I felt!), a Hard!’s journalist said to us that there was a problem (fuck!) so all was delayed to 16:30 p.m. at Alkatraz (the place where they played the show). Well, at 16:00 p.m. we were in front of the Alkatraz but for more than an hour no one seemed to care about us, so we started to think that all was a dirty fuckin’ joke! ‘til someone... When we came into the Alkatraz, Matt was already on stage checkin’ his drum sound, Keri was filmin’ around with his camera and all around there were few technicians (the band road crew seemed very narrow) . I started to take shots everywhere and in a special way to Slash’s guitars. So Johnny come on stage and, in a few minutes, Keri was also there. When Rod (a fuckin’ animal with a killin’ sight and a great voice) arrived the gang started to jam around some Zeppelin songs (Yeah, they are my all time favourite band! - Obviously, I’m not considering Slash and his bands!) and when he was gone a black dressed man come on stage with a Gibson Les Paul Standard and started to play it in a very, very loud way... that fuckin’ way! I couldn’t believe in my eyes! He was Slash! In front of me! The man because I started to play guitar! The man who changed my life! How long have I been dreaming for this moment? Well, I finally realized what was happening and my mind was totally clouded! But there are some things I remember... When he saw us he smiled and seemed a little embarrassed so he started to play some harmonics, bending the strings behind the capo (like Page’s "Heartbreaker" solo) and, when the guitar sound was good, he started to play with the rest of the band (except for Rod, that wasn’t there) "Just Like Anything" (slower and heavier than the album version), "LSD", "Mean Bone" and "Serial Killer". The band was great but the Alkatraz acoustic was shitty! And when the soundcheck was over and I saw him go down the stage ("Animal" is ever behind him!) and coming to us I was fuckin’ paralyzed ! But before he had a drink! When I met him he held my hand with both his (big) hands and very tightly! The only thing I was able to say was: "Hi, Mr. Slash, nice to meet you! I started to play guitar because of you and I just want to thank you ‘cause now it’s all my life I spent a lot of time looking at your fingers and playing your licks." Do you want to know what he answered to me? He said (without look in my face): "Well, I started in same way with Joe Perry ehm Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck". Well, I saw clearly that his first spontaneous answer was Joe Perry! A very bad thing happened when we gave him our Christmas present (he said they were his first Christmas present! Ever?) . Lisa gave him a lot of things I don’t remember very well, except for a clock (at 5 o’clock) with the shape of a dinosaur; Vittorio gave him bottle of wine and his band's selfproduced CD (I hope for SLASH he never listen to it) that our man was very happy to get! My present was really obvious: a bottle of Jack Daniel’s! You know, for our man simplicity is beautiful! But it was a very old (and expensive, but for me it was due and a real pleasure) one! He not masked he appreciated it a lot (more than the other presents) and when Vittorio realized this, seeing me totally stunned, said that it was from both of us (Beggars and Hangers on)! Fuck you, man! This is not a Rn’R thing! He won’t pay the guy with the better gift! And I wasn’t able to reply! (Hey Linda, if you speak to him, please say him this thing! And, naturally, ask him if he liked it!) (Will do! Get in the ring, Vittorio) Vittorio continued to invade our space (I didn’t want to break Mr. Slash balls), trying to take our man all for him and asking to him a lot of stupid things, often without let him answer! The only good thing he have done was to ask SLASH for a pick and he gave 3 picks to each one (they are Dunlop Tortex 1.14 mm. personalized with Snakepit and "Slash Skull" logos). When the time for autographs was come Vittorio put out a million of things (2 guitar straps, 3 scores, some CDs, ) that wanted all signed, without take care of those that were hurrying up our man; Lisa got signed her "Appetite" vinyl and her boyfriend’s Les Paul (I’d like to do the same thing with my Les Paul Standard but I wouldn't ever play it and I’m not rich enough to get another one so I left it at home). I got signed my "Slashyclopedya" (Some articles about Slash taken from world magazines I put together in the last 12 years ), where he written "To ANTONELLO D.T.V.D.! Slash 2000/2001", and my "Ain’t Life Grand" CD. Does anyone know what "D.T.V.D.!" mean? Please, Help me! While he was writing, seeing his picture with his Les Paul with "zebra" Duncan Pick-ups on April 1995 cover of "Guitar f.t.p.m", he said: "I’ve got this one with me here and I’ll play it tonight.". Do you know what I’ve answered? Nothing. I would kill myself! Vittorio was crazy enough to ask him: "Can I touch one of your guitars?" and he said: "Oh, no, no! All but not my guitars!". At last we done some photos for Hard! and he held me tightly then he’s gone! Farewell, Mr. Slash! I hope we’ll meet again but this time on stage! (Dream on!) Well, without thinking to bad things happened, all I can say about Mr. Slash is that he’s a real good person and he seemed to me really shy (Is this the reason of the black glasses and hairs ever on his face?); he really cared of us and of the bullshits we said! And It’s not real that is fat and old! I can say this ‘cause he showed us his last Snakepit tatoo! But there’s a thing I’ve got to say: when you’ve got him in front of you is evident that he is not a "normal" man. He’s got somethin’ that goes over guitar playing…and, I think, this is the reason because he is, with Hendrix,the most known guitar player of all times! Ehi, I was forgetting the show! Well, the tracklist was the same of the Whiskey set in L.A. and the band, in despite of Alkatraz acoustic, really rocked the show and enjoyed themselves! Johnny reminded me of Gene Simmons, Rod seemed a Steven Tyler with some dynamite in the ass, Matt was like a train, Keri was cool (girl’s gone crazy for him) but I couldn’t listen to it very well, and Mr. Slash well, you know! People gone wild for all the show (I’m lucky to be still alive), expecially when they played "It’s so Easy" (much better than the last Gn’R) and "Mr. Brownstone". Personally, I’ve liked more the Snakepit songs and I was really surprised when Johnny sung the first verse of "Beggars an Hangers on" (great voice!). During the show Mr. Slash gave thanks to "the guys I met after the soundcheck, for their Christmas presents". After "Speed Parade" I was exhausted, but now I can die happy! ****************************************************************************** Thanks again, Antonello!