If you did get tickets to the shows and have no one to go with, we
remind you of our list of fan addresses on
this site. The list is in order by country, and you might hook up
with someone if you send out some emails. All these people are real
SLASH fans and welcome contact from other fans. If you want us to try
to hook you up, send us a note and we'll put it in our ad section.
If there is someone out there who knows how to download "Slither" in
one of the 99 cent sites using Windows 98, some fans and ourselves
would be grateful for the information. Send any help to webmaster@snakepit.org.
Miscellaneous Bits:
If the band comes to your town and you see fliers or ads or do get a
ticket, we'd certainly like to have a copy. You can send us a scan
or you can trust us to scan your original and return it. If you have
anything you could share, please write to webmaster@snakepit.org.
Thanks!
Jonah is one of the lucky ones to get a ticket to the Boston show after
missing out on the Toronto show. Toronto sold out in just over a minute,
so Jonah was quick the second time. At work he heard on radio 103.1 FM
a Velvet Revoler hour. The announcer played a lot of GNR and STP songs
and talked about the tour. At the end, they played "Slither" and Jonah
says it is really awesome with a heavy raw sound, not overproduced. Thanks
Jonah and enjoy the Boston show! We can't stress enough that if you want
to go, you are really going to have to be quick!
Right Now Velvet Revolver and SLASH have a lot going on. The calendar of events begins with
April 2004. Near the top is a list of months you can click on to see future
shows and events. You can see the month at a glance and then click on specific days to find out
more about what's happening with SLASH.Check this schedule often for
events in your area with SLASH and Velvet Revolver. Click the tour truck below to check
the schedule.
Marco sent this one in. There's a magazine called Men's Health,
and in the May 2004 issue, there's a section on gadgets. Check out the
new Gibson Digital Les Paul which Marco scanned in, but what's really
cool is the caption! Wonder if SLASH would be interested in using one
of these? Nah! Click here to see this techie guitar.
It seems like everyone who can get to the shows is making plans. If the
show is listed, the ticket sale date may not have begun as yet. We have no official word
on when ticket sales begin. We suggest checking ticketmaster.com. If the
tickets are not on sale, then call the box office directly. They should
be able to answer all questions about sales. You may be able to buy yours
over the phone and have them held for you at the box office or they
might mail them for a surcharge. All the venues range from 1500 to 3000
so we think that everyone will get in. You should ask them about age if
that is critical for your getting in. Most places let you in with an
adult, but if you don't have an adult with you, you may have to show
ID for over 18 or over 21 shows and not get in if you don't have ID.
So be sure to ask about age limitations if that is important to you.
We have no information on meet and greets after the show. We certainly
hope that SLASH at least will do this. Please don't ask us for backstage
passes because the band and management takes care of these. They usually
go to friends and families and media. SLASH likes to see fans after he
has relaxed awhile in the backstage area, but then he comes out and
stays a really long time. At least that was what he did with Snakepit.
We'll have to see how that works with this new band.
Speaking of the old GNR, we mentioned last time that Izzy was going to
be playing in a revival of The New York Dolls taking the deceased Johnny
Thunders place. Former Dolls singer David Johansen said that Izzy
broke his teeth on Dolls' tunes and should really do a good job. He said
there would not be marathon rehearsals...he hoped everyone would just
do their homework, get together and throw it on stage. Johansen also
said that anything is possible when asked if the band might stay together.
Right now they are just confirmed for the London Meltdown Festival in
June.
Thursdays are not a usual day for us to come to you, but we wanted to bring you the news
of Velvet Revolver's touring schedule. At first glance, a ton of people are going to be
disappointed. But they are hitting some good spots, and they plan to announce more as
time passes. This list is published on the
Ray tells us that Musicmatch is an alternative to MS Media player. He
says he's always liked it better than media player, and they have a music
download service competing with Apple I-Tunes where he's bought a few
tunes. Last week
they announced the availability of Guns N'Roses Greatest Hits.
Allen says the album is the #6 downloaded album at Itunes.
Now, here's a rumor for the future. Sam says he's heard that there
will be a "Guns N'Roses Behind the Music" made. We've always heard
that the band was opposed to this, but it would be a good promotional
tool.
VH-1 reports that after this week, moving into next week,
Guns N'Roses Greatest Hits slid down in the U.S. charts from
#3 to #9 with sales of 96,000. Simrin said he checked the album chart
in the UK and last week the album dropped to #3, but it rebounded
to #2. The charts editor for Billboard speculated that the
joining of Axl, SLASH and Duff to stop the album's release may have
drawn more attention to it and may have helped market it. When asked
of prospects for a comeback, the editor said there were some, the
Axl faithful, that would buy a new album on faith, but it's been a
long time. Older fans may have moved on to something else.
For one reason or the other, the MTV2 scheduled showing of the program
about the making of "Slither" followed by the full "Slither" video was
cancelled. No reason was given. The good news is that it was quickly
rescheduled and will be on Saturday, May 1 at midnight following
"Headbangers Ball". This is according to the official VR site, so
get the video tapes ready to roll!
MTV2 is already showing the video in its entirety, and some fans have
been lucky enough to catch it. Fuse will begin running it this weekend.
Nero wrote in that he only caught the
end of it...he said it reminded him of "Garden of Eden". Also, SLASH
looked forever young, really cool. Nero said he also saw a commercial
for Contraband with shots included from the "Slither" video.
Nero says he got tickets for Roseland which is way cool since he only
came to the U.S. a year ago and never saw any of SLASH's previous bands
or GNR! He's promised to send a scan of his ticket. It would be great
to have one of each of these shows. Josh saw the video around 2am and
is in the video! Look for him wearing a black dress shirt with sleeves
rolled up. He's on for about 2 seconds next to SLASH during the second
chorus. He said it seemed like a low production video costwise but the
song was really good. Thanks, Josh! Allen spotted it on MTV2 at 8pm
and says it was great. Everyone is waiting for that special on the
making of the video. Thanks, guys! See here our first ticket scan
that we got from Adina and Amber, best buddies off to the DC show
and hoping to get some closeups of SLASH after the show. You know
we'd like to make a super photobook!
Some fans wrote in that they are making long road trips to see the
band. They've been requesting information on hotels and places to
eat and directions. We don't have that kind of information here and
if Yahoo's maps and other resources aren't enough, we have something
better...our SLASH fans. Go to Fan Address section
and look for someone who lives in that city and state. These fans should
be able to tell you where there is a decent hotel and meals, where to park,
etc. We want all of you to get to the show on time. Don't forget that if
they are holding your tickets at Will Call, get there early to line up for
that! And we've been told that there will be some kind of Meet and Greet
with the fans...possibly with tickets, but it is up in the air right now.
More details as we get them. Be sure you are signed up for the Velvet
Revolver newsletter. It seems they use this list a lot.
We hope we are not too late to tell you about this auction. It's on
ebay Germany, and Gerrit sent it to us.It's a guitar that once belonged
to SLASH. It is used but in good condition, serial #1, 1960 reissue custom
shop built in 1990 but post dated 1989 includes the original Gibson
case and the original Hollywood invoice. So many people write and want
a guitar that SLASH owned, so here's a chance. You can thank Gerrit if
it works out.
Click to read and bid.
Just when the excitement of Guns N'Roses Greatest Hits seemed
to be fading a little, the vaults have opened and more is coming out
June 1. The Roots of Guns N'Roses is coming out June 1 and is
a collection of the first demos by Axl and Izzy before there was a
GNR as we know it. Drummer was Johnny Kreis, guitarists were Tracii
Guns and Chris Weber. The demos were recorded under the name Hollywood
Rose. Gilby Clarke took these raw recordings to his studio and polished
them up. Fred Coury also did some remixing. There are 15 tracks on the
CD. SLASH does not appear on this, but we thought you diehard GNR
historians might like to get in on this.
The band did a promo show on KROQ today and did an interview. They
played acoustic versions of "Slither", "Interstate Love Song" and
"I Used to Love Her". Mattias sent us a note that there was a
small SLASH interview in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. They
talked about the album coming out and the drug problems in the
past for some/all members. SLASH says they can handle drug problems,
and he just loves to be on stage and is looking forward to the tour.
He says no money in the world would make a GNR reunion possible for
him and will not sit around waiting for Axl to come to his senses.
Thanks, Mattias, who also reported that "Slither" started playing there
about two weeks ago.
Maxim magazine's May issue has some unfriendly words for Scott. They
said basically that Scott has too much baggage and is unstable. He
said the album sounds like Appetite.... The tone was nasty at
times, but in the end, we weren't sure if he liked it a little or a lot.
Scott immediately reacted to this with a blast from the VR site.
He says the reviewer knows nothing about VR's music and has his legal
status reported incorrectly. In particular Scott denied that this was
an Appetite... remake. He pointed out that the guy had named
this "Album of the Month" but said he should stop making the
"punk-ass backhanded comments!" Get in the ring!
We had a good conversation with SLASH last night. We relayed how proud
all his fans are of him and Velvet Revolver, and how terrific it is to
be part of this debut explosion. He said he was the same person as
always, and he did sound the same. We asked what was a typical day like
in his life now, and he said he goes to the gym to work out, goes to
rehearsal, then home to put London to bed and relaxes. Big rock star
life! So, he's still working very hard. Asked about the promotions and
interviews, he said that that would be increasing even more, so we'll
be seeing and hearing more interviews from the band. Slash said the
tour looks like a year and a half with this U.S. leg being a promotional
tour since the album is not yet out. He said if you can get to a show,
these shows are really going to be something and are really special.
Next will come Europe and Japan then back to the U.S. That's the
current plan anyway. He reminded me to tell everyone to watch the
"Slither" video on MTV2 as he thinks it's just awesome. He also
mentioned the "Making Of..." show, but that was not aired for some
reason. It was great to hear from him, and we imagine a lot more of
you will be talking with him after the shows. We'd like to hear from
you!
Last time we reported that there would be a limited edition of Contraband
which would have a DVD included with the CD. The DVD would have some
special videos like the "Slither" video. We are reading now that this
limited edition has been cancelled with no reason given. The web site
HMV Japan was selling it, and MusicTap.net said the special edition is
cancelled. We'll try to get more information on this. Happily, the bonus
track "Bodies" (an STP cover) will be on the European and the Japanese
releases. Japan lists its Contraband release as June 2 and
the European/Australian is due out June 7.
There are still the 5 shows with ticket sales pending. We're hearing
from more fans that they did get tickets. Those of you who missed out
or paid the scalper rates can take some comfort that those whose
tickets were on sale later knew to start very early to get on and
get going. You have to be very persistent, very prepared and have
a clear idea of what you are ready to spend. If you really want tickets,
the place to go seems to be ebay where tickets are going for about
$100 a pair. Don't miss out!
We're going to lighten up here with something Stefan sent in that is
a hoot. SLASH has a mention in this funny cartoon video about the
Olsen twins. Check it out at Olsen Twins Video.
Thanks, Stefan!
Guns N'Roses Greatest Hits is still # 1 in Ireland according
to Pauric, and we have word from India that it is at the #3 spot in India
where it has climbed after entering the chart at #9.
Rod from New Jersey reports that he was watching the Jimmy Kimmel show
and when they went to commercial, they played "Set Me Free" and sounded
great! Another small bit of news is that Scott's hearing on his DUI
charge that was to be Friday has been postponed till May 11, just two
days before the St. Louis show. And SLASH and Perla attended the L.A.
premier of the musical comedy "Tease" at the Century Club Theater on
April 22 in Century City, CA. And here's a picture of SLASH and Perla
who is carrying the couple's second son due near the end of June.
When Velvet Revolver did their El Rey show, they promised to release a
live DVD of the show to hold fans till the album was out. Then, they
decided just to put all their energies into getting the album out. As
you know, you can pre-order Contraband now for its release on
June 8. All of a sudden, the best of both worlds has come out...a
limited edition of Contraband with a DVD in a special and limited
release in a digipack. Its release date is also June 8, and the country
releasing it is the U.S. although it doesn't seem to be available
anywhere for pre-order other than Japan's HMV site! It will probably
pop up later on the U.S. sites, but if you want to be sure to get a copy,
go over to the HMV Japan site. Be prepared to spend a very stiff delivery
fee. Brian tells us that HMV says the DVD will have on it:
1. Set Me Free (live video from El Rey show)
2. Slither Video
3. Making of Slither Video
4. Six Online Teasers
Thanks, Brian, for that information.
Ticket sales are still driving fans crazy. There are still 5 shows that
have ticket sales coming up (L.A.'s onsale dates are not listed as yet).
From the comments we have seen, you had really better hustle if you want
to get any seat at all. Most venues are sold out and sold out fast. Philly
goes on sale 4/30 along with Portland. Seattle's date is 5/1. It's
amazing that tickets sold out so quickly and moved onto ebay so fast.
Something is wrong with the process when ebay sellers say they can get
you as many as you want with a price maybe 10 times the listed price.
There doesn't seem to be much the band is going to do although most
bands do some kind of password so that fans can at least get a couple
of tickets. It's a shame that the people who've supported SLASH and
the others over the years won't be in the audience.
If you can't see Our Man in person, Vicki has found a good magazine
with some great pics. It's the June 2004 issue of Guitar Player
with SLASH on the cover and the title "SLASH-Gunning for Glory with
Velvet Revolver". The article has a full page color pic of SLASH
playing article with a full page pic of Dave opposite. There's another
half-page color pic later in the article with his guitar collection,
another one a page later playing his Guild, and one more. It's a
10 page cover article! There's also a cool black and white of SLASH
in an ad for Celestion speakers captioned "SLASH says, 'I've been using
Celestion Vintage 30 speakers my whole career and can't imagine using
anything else". Thanks, Vicki!
Lisa says Italy has finally had a mention (2 page article) of Velvet
Revolver in their music magazine Flash. There are some small
pictures and a SLASH interview. SLASH says he worked a lot on making
the album use new things. SLASH was asked why they chose Scott after
having so much trouble with Axl, and Scott seems to be questionable also.
SLASH said Scott works hard, and they've all had drug problems, and they trust
Scott to get out of it soon. The article title is "Born To Be Wild" and
is a little old since SLASH had no idea when a tour could begin. Thanks,
Lisa!
Ticket Sales: tickets are on sale for all but 5 venues in this first
U.S. leg of the tour. No more shows have been announced at this time, but
there's always hope! Some shows have sold out. Your best source of information
on which shows are still available is to go to
VR Official Site and click on
Appearances. You'll see a list of shows and if you scroll to the right,
and click BUY, you are linked to that show's information on Ticketmaster.
It may say no tickets are on sale which probably means sold out. If you
get a form back, you can
fill in the form and send it off asking for best available and you'll
either get back the form for buying tickets or a message saying no tickets
are on sale. Not tickets means (at this time) sold out. They say to check
back because more tickets may be released. That's unlikely but it does
happen. If you can't stand to miss the show in your area, you'll have
to try ebay or one of the commercial ticket sellers of which there are
many on the net, but be prepared to spend well above the original price.
So, the main thing is to get going and get your tickets now if you can.
Good luck! Larry tells us that he's a huge SLASH tape and has gone to every
Snakepit and Blues Ball show that came to the Boston area. He tells us that
the Avalon concert in Boston sold out before he could even get online to
purchase tickets. He says the prices on ebay are probably 3 times the price
of the Ticketmaster tickets which are gone. Sorry to hear that Larry, and
we hope it's not just scalpers with tons of tickets to sell.
Have you been checking the VR Official Site for video clips? Andrew is
from Australia, and he's been checking it. He told us that the third
clip is up now. Clips 1 and 2 are still there. He gave us some specific
directions in case you need help which we did. First, go to this link:
VR Video
Page. From there, click "Click Here to Enter the Velvet Revolver".
Now you'll be able to see these videos that are about 40 seconds each.
Click High Medium or Low for video speed. Click the bullet near the bottom
to select the video. The band is not in any of the three clips, but more
are coming soon it says. Thanks, Andrew, for those helpful tips. Andrew
says the clips show a woman in a black polyester bikini and a man in
a balaclava. Looks like they are underground and there's a single light
swinging from the ceiling. The guy has bundles of something (contraband?)
in front of him and the woman has a gun that comes out of a red velvet
box. In some shots, a gun target spins that goes from the silhouette
target to pictures of the man. It looks like she is trying to shoot the
man. Andrew says it's very odd! We thought so, too, but maybe when we
see the whole thing it will be clear.
We had asked Elin who lives in Norway to let us know about the
Lydverket show that SLASH and Duff appeared on. She said it was great to
see them and they looked cool. The host started off by complaining
about Axl's tearing GNR apart. He talked about Velvet Revolver and
mentioned the June 8 release date for Contraband. SLASH and
Duff talked about how Axl had broken up GNR, and all the cancelled
shows, particularly the one in Oslo, Norway where Axl was in Paris
(rumor had it that he was communing with the spirit of Jim Morrison).
SLASH then talked about how VR got together. Duff said they have
all grown up since GNR but still have the "f*ck you rock n' roll".
The host said Scott Weiland is the only rebel in the band but is
trying to clean up. They showed a clip of the "Slither" video,
and Elin thought it was great! Thanks, Elin! Good report...
And if you'd like to see the show, Elin says it's on a Norwegian
web site. You Norwegian fans are probably signed up for this site.
It requires a userid and password, so you'll be able to read the
instructions to get on. The url is www.nrk.no/programmer/tv/lydverket/.
The show you want is Lydverket 21.04.04. You'll need to enter your
own userid and password to see the show. Elin was good enough to loan
us hers, and it's well worth seeing if you can read the site enough
to get on.
Another Scandinavian fan checked in with some information - this
is Sebastian from Sweden. He wanted to let us know that Appetite
for Destruction is # 8 on the rock charts in Sweden. He also wanted to
know who gets the profits from GNR albums sold now. You'll be glad
to hear that the band still gets their portion as no new contracts
were ever negotiated, and the guys are smart enough to hang onto
their rights.
This is an interesting tour schedule from Brian. This is Adler's
Appetite's European schedule for June and July. SLASH has said that
VR should be in Europe in late summer, so maybe there might be some
overlap? It would be very cool to have Adler's Appetite opening for
VR! Just some speculation and probably wrong since July is really
midsummer. While European fans wait for VR, how about checking out
Steven and his band...we've only heard good things about them, how
much they enjoy what they are doing and the access fans have to
Steven and the band. And don't forget Keri Kelli, ex-SLASH's Snakepit
will also be there with Steven Adler. Two really nice guys with SLASH
connections. Here's the schedule for June and July:
Jun. 25 - Duisburg, GER @ Pulp
Jun. 26 - Paris, FRA @ La Locomotive
Jun. 28 - Belgrade, SER @ SKC
Jun. 29 - Zagreb, CRO @ Aquarius Club
Jun. 30 - Ljubliana, SLO @ TBA
Jul. 01 - Worgl, AUT @ Komma
Jul. 03 - Düsseldorf, GER @ Polo Bikerfest
Jul. 09 - Weert, NETH @ Bospop Festival
Jul. 10 - Zoetermeer, NETH @ De Boerderij
We'll lead off today's news with a cryptic post from Scott Weiland on
the official Velvet Revolver site, cryptic in that Scott doesn't share
what brought this on with some examples. Anyway, here is what Scott wrote
for today:
"I'm disgusted with the music industry. Since making my last record two years ago, I've encountered
more censorship in the past three months than in ten active years with S.T.P. Let's hear it
for the lambs! Censorship Is Naziism"
What's been happening these past three months from the music industry? Have some VR lyrics been
censored? If so, this is the first we have heard of it. We'd like to hear more on this. On the
whole, we prefer SLASH's T-shirt that just says F*ck Censorship! A typical SLASH remark.
No mention of lambs either.
Despite whatever is bothering Scott, he must be cheered by the welcome
Velvet Revolver is getting. We've heard from all over that radio stations
are really plugging the single "Sliver", the first track of Velvet
Revolver's forthcoming Contraband. Adam sent word that he's hearing
"Slither" all over the radio in Toronto, especially 102.1 The Edge. They
are even starting to run contests for tickets to Kool Haus on May 21.
Adam says that Toronto loves SLASH and Velvet Revolver!
Tickets for some shows are on sale now. We want to make you aware that
one show that originally said "Kansas City, MO" is now listed as Kansas
City, Kansas. If you're from Kansas, you'll want to see that show on
May 14 in Memorial Hall. Tickets are available nationally for most shows
through Ticketmaster. That means that if you live in New York and want
to go to the Kansas show, you can order them through Ticketmaster and
they will handle the order for you. Be advised that if you ask for tickets
to be held at the box office for pickup before the show, you should arrive
early or you could be standing outside waiting while the show begins. Also,
tickets are already being offered through ebay. It is not necessary to buy
through ebay when tickets are sold nationally. With fraud running rampant
on those auctions, be careful who you buy tickets from. Ticketmaster may
be expensive, but at least you will be dealing with a corporation and get
into the show. Right now, tickets available nationally are: St. Louis,
Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, New York City,
and (internationally) Toronto.
Guns N'Roses Greatest Hits is still going strong around the globe.
Nina says that GNR are still big in Slovenia and Central Europe. The
album made it to #1 in album sales there, too! They are hoping for a
Velvet Revolver visit during the European leg so they can hear some of
those tunes live! ...Greatest Hits is also #1 in the UK, where
the only previous UK best-seller was Use Your Illusion II which
spent just one week at the top in September 1991. Hopping on the bandwagon
is a 14 track tribute compilation called Bring You To Your Knees: A
Tribute to Guns N'Roses, a 14 track album that we have no reviews on
at this time.
In response to this question...will there be a DVD of the El Rey show
included with Contraband, the answer is no. There had been a plan
to release a DVD, but the band decided to forge ahead and get the album
out and not worry about editing a video. However, Doug Grean's site says
that Velvet Revolver's tour will be recorded for future live CD releases.
And who knows? A DVD could come out as well. Doug is working in the studio
again but that is not with Velvet Revolver. He and Scott are working on a
solo thing for a movie soundtrack, another Pink Floyd cover. Scott did a
fantastic vocal part on the VR recording of Pink Floyd's "Money" on
The Italian Job soundtrack. Stick with a winner!
Today we got email from HMV Japan confirming that Velvet Revolvers' single
"Slither" will be released there on May 25. So it looks like the releases
will be done all within the month of May as the U.S. date is May 3.
Velvet Revolver has released their artwork for Contraband. There
are 3 albums all equal but one's cover is black, one is red and the third
is white. Here they are! Anyone buying all three other than the webmaster?
Elin from Norway says that on the Svisj Show (Norwegian music show) this
week, they dedicated the entire show to Guns N'Roses. They played many
of the old songs. The host said there would be a clip of Velvet Revolver
on Lydverket (another music program) this Wednesday. Erin is going to
check that out and let us know. Thanks, Erin.
Both Dane and Sim in the UK report that FINALLY Guns N'Roses Greatest
Hits has made it to #1 on the UK album chart!!
Velvet Revolver's Official Site announces that on April 20, you'll be
able to go to your favorite download site and download the "Slither"
single for 99 cents! That's next Tuesday! Try iTunes, Napster, Real,
Walmart.com...any and you'll be able to finally have your own copy.
Don't pay those high ebay prices - get a copy for under a dollar.
A recent press release says "Slither" blows up radio as the #1 most
added track for its release week. YES!
Did you see the SLASH quotation that Rolling Stone ran on their
site? He said, "The group has only one show under its belt, last year in L.A. That
was the first time I'd ever seen SCOTT WEILAND perform," guitarist
Slash told Rolling Stone. "I knew I liked his voice, but when we
got on stage together that spontaneous chemistry sealed the deal on
this collaboration." Ray said that when he met SLASH after the El Rey
show, SLASH told him the same thing almost word for word. We had often
thought of these words that liveDaily called SLASH, Matt and Duff. They
referred to them as "Guns N'Roses survivors". Thanks, Dave and Ray.
There are more cool SLASH interviews with SLASH. This one was sent in
by Jarod, a cool SLASH fan. It's with liveDaily News, and you'll like
this one. Click here
to read this one. And Michel reports that there's a Swiss magazine
Rockstar where SLASH and the others have been interviewed
when they were in Paris.
Some news on Izzy Stradlin has come in. Allen let us know that thanks
to the persuasuive power of UK musician Morrissey, the New York Dolls
are reuniting for London's Meltdown festival for which the ex-Smiths
frontman serves as artistic director. Izzy will fill the slot left
vacant by Johnny Thunders who died of a drug overdose in 1991.
The next few days are a breather while Velvet Revolver prepares to announce
the tour schedule. Let's catch up on some other news that's been pushed
aside. Vicki got her June 2004 copy of Guitar World, and it says
on the cover that inside SLASH will answer some questions. On the contents
page is a large black and white pic of SLASH. The article is one page
with a small color pic of SLASH. Here's where the
Q and A's are for SLASH. Thanks to Vicki and, of course, GW.
If you've been searching for a SLASH signature guitar, Nero found one
for you. It's at 
Michael found a cool SLASH and Duff video interview on the Kerrang! site. Check
this out and see SLASH again. Kerrang! Interview.
Thanks, Michael! This is a good one. And speaking of Duff, Vicki says that
Guitar World's Bass Guitar, the June/July issue, has Duff on the
cover. The title says "...Duff McKagan is Still Packin' Heat". There are
cool pics of Duff throughout the mag with a two-page color one of Duff
at a VR show with a five page article! You bassists and Duff fans should
be looking for this one. Thanks, Vicki.
Moving on to "Slither" which right now just seems to (legally) be on
the Velvet Revolver official site, VR Site,
it's also popping up on radio stations all over. We've heard from fans
all over the northeast especially. Jimmy sent in a sighting from his
local station on the start of the tour and "Slither", and they played
"Slither" there on April 11. He says that he guesses SLASH still remembers
St.Louis. 1057 The Point
will take you there. Since "Slither" has been released now, call the stations
and request it!
Things are really hot in the world of Velvet Revolver With Scott being
given the green light for the tour which now is set to begin May 13
in St. Louis, Missouri. Dates and venues for the tour will be released
momentarily as all details are finalized. But the opening show is
May 13! So, if you live in or near St. Louis, get ready. The plan is
for the band to play medium-sized venues on their own instead of
opening for larger bands. They want to be seen as a band to themselves,
not the arm of another band. SLASH did say that they might go on to play
some festivals, but as always, he likes the personal touch of clubs.
If it works out they open for some cool bands or festivals, then that's
fine, but the idea for now is to head out solo. The tour should lead
up to the big release date of Contraband's release on June 8,
sail past that and go to July 22 in the U.S. The next leg will be
announced soon. Thanks to
SLASH and Brian who let us know.
Now the main thrust of the promotion is getting that "Slither" video
out. The single itself has already been heard by fans in the UK
and Cinncinnati. So it must be on between those two. The promo singles
are for sale on ebay. The video for "Slither" is scheduled to appear
on MTV2 April 27 at 9 pm. It won't just be a playing of the video but part
of the premier of the show "Velvet Revolver Makes A Video". Get those
vcr's ready as many of us don't have MTV2. SLASH says the video follows
club kids chasing through underground tunnels in search of Velvet
Revolver! The kids do text messaging to find the band...unique! The
tunnel scenes were from the Czech Republic with the band scenes filmed
recently in L.A. with fans.
The official Velvet Revolver site, www.velvetrevolver.com
is also promoting the "Slither" single. You can go there and hear the
entire single and look at a clip of the "Single" video. The video clips
will be changed frequently. Thanks, Andy! So it's a tremendously exciting
time, and we hope that when the tour schedule is out that you'll be
getting a visit or that a road trip isn't too far away. The "Slither" single
is being mailed out to radio stations today, but many already have it.
In the midst of all this excitement, we've missed some smaller items.
We wanted to say Happy Birthday to Mr. Izzy Stradlin who was born
April 8, 1962. 42 years old! Also, there's a review of Guns N'Rose's Greatest Hits
in the Boston Phoenix. It's at
Boston Phoenix Review.
Thanks to Sammy for sending that in to us. And LuAnn found some information
featuring Scott Weiland among others on Starz Behind Barz playing cards.
The cards feature mug shots of Hollywood felons. They've been advertised
on many of the late night and entertainment shows. If you'd like to
check them out go to Starz Behind Barz.
Thanks, LuAnn!!
There are a couple of cool photos and drawings we received. The one to
the left is from Kimberli and is a small photo of SLASH heading into his
hotel in London on the promo tour. The hotel is the London Metropolitan
Hotel for those in the UK keeping track. Helen found a great drawing of
SLASH by artist Tim Wertz. If you want to have a look and
see some of his other artist drawings, his site is
here. Scroll
down and the SLASH drawing is on the far right. Thanks,
ladies!
Gibson puts out a newsletter called "The Gibson Player X-Press". To kick
off the X-Press, Gibson is giving away a Pioneer Cutaway solidbody
acoustic model. Check out the
contest info
at their site. Also, they reported that the Gibson/Baldwin Entertainment
Relations offices are the hot spots for the stars, with SLASH in their
London office, talking about Velvet Revolver, the Contraband
album and his new Gibson SLASH signature Les Paul.
SLASH revealed to the media that his hospitilization in 2000 which
derailed the Snakepit tour for a time was not just flu leading to
pneumonia. He said that heart problems called by his prodigious
alcohol intake led to the hospitilization. SLASH said he has curtailed
his excessive intake and has developed a more cautious attitude to hitting
the booze. Although he is not dry, he has a more moderate approach to
drinking. SLASH said, "I have toned it down a little. It's one thing to
do it casually. It's another thing to f*cking live on it, like water and
air. Drinks put me in the hospital in 2000. It was my heart so I'm very conscious
of it now. I watch myself now." Let's hope so!
A reporter from The Village Voice was happy to have our guy
wander into her moonlighting DJ gig at the Soho Grand. SLASH came
in wearing his black leather pants, a jacket with Velvet Revolver's
logo and his hair pulled back. This was during the mixing of
Contraband. SLASH soon took over the music selection with
requests for AC/DC, Led Zep, Beyonce, Missy and Hole. He gave a lesson
on how to "Walk Like an Egyptian" to a lady at the bar, and nearly
got into a fight because a drunk didn't believe he was really SLASH.
Thanks to Brian and LuAnn for sending that story in.
If you liked Camp Freddy, and who didn't?, there is an official t-shirt
available now sold online from their site. It's black with an original
handdrawn tattoo design recreated with quality and detail exclusively
for Camp Freddy. The price is in the $20 range for U.S. customers and
$10 more for international customers. SLASH and Duff have played with
Camp Freddy several times and Matt Sorum is a band member. Check out
Camp Freddy t-shirt here.
Thanks to LuAnn and Brian for that one.
Before we get into the SLASH news, our friend Gail Worley who writes
about the rock world needs some help with a piece she is writing.
She'd like to know if anyone had personal or professional dealings with
the recently departed guitarist/singer Rust Epique. She'd love to have
any quotes or memories of him from his friends and fans to include in
the piece. If you do, send them to Gail. Thanks!
The big news from this weekend is the band filmed the "Slither" video!
About 200 fans came down to a basement/warehouse type place to do the
filming. Two fans that wrote in to us, Clement and Zeeshan, said it was
too amazing. They both got to meet the band members as there was a lot
of downtime while shots were set up to be done and re-done. Duff seemed
to be the one in the best mood and easiest to meet. Matt liked chatting
up the women. SLASH and Dave were more reserved and professional. Still
everyone was great to the fans and thanked them many times for coming
out for no pay! We want you to read their entire reports - they are so
interesting and have so many details. We are totally green with envy and
know you will be too, but it's great they shared their experience with us.
Thanks, you two! This first one is from Clement.
This next one is from Zeeshan. What a weekend!
Kye saw SLASH and Duff on MTV UK's "Gonzo" program. Gonzo asked the boys
what their favorite cheese was! Duff said he doesn't eat cheese. SLASH
said his was chowder. SLASH finished
the interview by saying, "Gonzo, you f*ckin' rock". And although Italy
didn't get a visit from SLASH and Duff, they still supported the
Greatest Hits album. Lisa reports that the album entered at #8
in the sales charts in Italy. Thanks, Lisa and Kye!
Ray sent this in for guitarists on the East Coast. Towson University is
hosting the First World Guitar Congress on June 2-9 in Baltimore, MD.
Les Paul is the Honorary Chairman. Many guitar styles will be featured
including classical, country, rock, blues, fusion, etc. There will be
concerts, classes, symposiums, exhibits and receptions. SLASH is not
listed as one of those attending. If you'd like more information on
this, go to First World
Guitar Congress. Thanks, Ray!
Alex sent us some great news from Paris. He went to see Pink there
on March 17. The show, he says, was very rock and roll. After the
show, the audience clapped and cheered so she'd come out for an
encore. After a few minutes, the guitarist started to play "Welcome to
the Jungle". The lights came on and Pink was in the pit shaking hands.
Then she went back on stage and launched the song! Alex says it was
the best cover of the song he'd ever heard. Alex also reported on
that French interview where there was no press attache and the interviewer
could ask whatever he wanted. Some new things to us was that SLASH
explained that BMG has made weird choices for VR and that the promo is
too huge and too early. He had a very aggressive and honest opinion on
Axl (I don't give a f*ck about GNR! Axl is crazy!) Thanks, Alex, for
all that information. Alex has written a book and has information on
some of his current projects in order to become a screenwriter/director.
If you'd like to check out his site, especially his book, go to
Alex's site.
Last time we told you there were two ways to get in the forthcoming
"Slither" video...be a stripper with a "hot body" or be in the band.
That was the casting call we directed you to below. But Clement tells
us there's another way...and it's for the fans! Male and female...
and regular bodies allowed! Clement lives in L.A. and got an email
from Velvet Revolver and Immortal Entertainment (band management)
inviting a select few fans to be in the video. The invitation came
in the form of an email, and there were a few conditions: be at
least 18 with a valid ID, have your own transportation, available
April 4 from noon till 10pm. With your invitation and assuming you
met the conditions, you were to call in with your personal information.
The fan group selected was a "small group of fans in the L.A. area
who call our hotline at 310.733.xxxx". No cameras or recording devices
permitted. So, although, we are sad to be part of the majority that
didn't even get an invite, we're thrilled for Clement and hope he
gets in. Full report, Clement!
Nils sent in an interesting report on a SLASH/Duff report on German
MTV. This was on Select MTV, and it was awesome with even the host
being really excited. Both of them were smoking and talked about how
they got back together. They both said how proud they were to have
been part of GNR, one of the greatest bands ever. (Amen!) Some fans called
in with questions, and a fan asked if there was anybody they wanted to
beat up. Duff answered that if somebody f*cked with his family (Nils
said he really said that), he would kill them and wouldn't mind going
to jail for that either. He also talked about his kickboxing. Another
guy asked if they were in contact with Axl which they are not because
they are still pissed off about the whole GNR thing. They said VR will
tour in Germany soon (festivals and clubs). Thanks, Nils!
More sales information...Stuart says that Amazon in the UK has
Contraband for pre-order at 10.45 with deliver date of June 9.
It's still not listed on Amazon US, but CD Universe has both the
album and the single listed for pre-order. Both are imports and
pricey there. Kim found it for pre-order at 8.99 in the UK at
www.play.com. Our advice is to take some time to do your pre-ordering.
It's almost certain to be released everywhere so don't blow a lot
of money on getting an import (unless you are a completist which we
have to say that we are).
There's a cool SLASH mention on the launch.com site which Jason sent
in. It's from an interview with The Darkness. In the intro, they said
The Darkness sounds of a bygone era where David Lee Roth still has
long hair and SLASH 'n' Axl are still making beautiful music together
in some groupie infested opium den overlooking the Sunset Strip. Very
cool word picture...thanks, Jason!
Brian found some information on Camp Freddy. You recall Camp Freddy
is that pickup jam band where Matt Sorum, VR drummer, sits in. Other
members are Dave Navarro, Billy Morrison and Donovan Leitch with
many other special guests (including SLASH on many occasions) joining in their shows. If you're in the
L.A. area on Tuesday, April 13, you can go to a free show! The show
will be at the Avalon Theatre and is a celebration of the 103 days
of the new radio station Indie 103.1 FM being on air. For more
information, see 103.1's web site. Speaking of Camp Freddy, work
continues in the studio on the album they began work on in January.
It's to be an all star covers album for Sanctuary Records. Tracking
has begun but the track names and guest appearances are being
kept quiet for now. The album is said to be in the Camp Freddy spirit
of lots of covers and lots of guest appearances. We're hoping SLASH
will put in a guest appearance. Either way, a keeper!
