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Slash (USA)
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November 24, 21:00
As the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses, Slash established himself as one of hard rock's finest and most soulful soloists during the late 1980s, technically adept yet always firmly grounded in the gritty Aerosmith and Stones licks he loved. Slash was born Saul Hudson on July 23, 1965, in Stoke-on-Trent, England, to artistic parents both involved in the entertainment industry; his mother was a clothing designer who worked on David Bowie's film "The Man Who Fell to Earth", and his father designed album art for such artists as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. The family eventually moved to Hollywood, where Hudson attended junior high, received his first guitar, and met future GNR drummer Steven Adler. With Hudson adopting the nickname Slash, given to him by a family friend, the two formed a band called Road Crew; although it proved unsuccessful, it was the vehicle through which they met and eventually joined up with the other members of Guns N' Roses. The Gunners debuted in June 1985, and even before "Appetite for Destruction" was released in 1987, the band acquired a reputation as notorious alcohol and drug abusers. As their popularity soared, the reserved Slash established himself as an important part of the band's visual image, with a top hat and a mound of shaggy black hair covering his face as he typically staggered around the stage with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Hedonistic excess consumed most of the band, with such incidents as Slash and Duff McKagan's drunken, profane acceptance of the band's American Music Award on live television. In 1990, opening for the Rolling Stones, Axl Rose's infamous on-stage pronouncement that he would leave the band if certain members did not stop "dancing with Mr. Brownstone" (using heroin) was primarily directed at Slash and Adler; Slash kicked his habit within a year, but Adler did not and was fired.
Meanwhile, in spite of controversy and personnel turnovers, Guns N' Roses had actually continued to record music. After the "Use Your Illusion" sets of 1991 and the 1993 punk covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?", the band went on hiatus. Slash formed a side project called Slash's Snakepit, which consisted of fellow Gunners Matt Sorum (drums) and Gilby Clarke (guitar), plus bassist Mike Inez and vocalist Eric Dover.
The group released an album in 1995 titled "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere"; Slash hit the road with a slightly different touring lineup, with Brian Tichy and James LoMenzo signing on as the rhythm section. In 1996, Slash put together a different band to play at a blues festival in Budapest, an endeavour that evolved into Slash's Blues Ball. Featuring vocalist/harmonica player Teddy Andreadis, rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, saxophonist Dave McClarem, bassist Johnny Griparic, and drummer Alvino Bennet, Slash's Blues Ball devoted themselves primarily to a repertoire of classic blues covers, plus occasional GNR and Snakepit material.
Rumours about the status of Guns N' Roses had been swirling for some time, and in October 1996 it was confirmed that, owing to his unwillingness to follow Axl Rose's interest in industrial and electronic music, Slash was no longer a member of the band (although he left the door open for a reunion if Rose decided to return to guitar-based rock'n'roll). He gigged off and on with the Blues Ball into 1998, although a rumoured live album never materialized. Instead, Slash decided to re-form the Snakepit in 1999 with an entirely different lineup (the original members were by this time involved in other projects, and the Blues Ball was more suited to touring than developing original material).
Raspy-voiced singer Rod Jackson and ex-Venice drummer Matt Laug came on board, along with Blues Ball bassist Griparic (now Johnny Blackout) and Teddy Andreadis, who contributed keyboard and harmonica work. After trying out ex-Alice Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie, Slash settled on rhythm guitarist Kerry Kelly, who had previously worked with Warrant and Ratt.
The new Snakepit played some gigs together and in the spring of 2000 completed a new album, which was originally slated to be released on Interscope/Geffen. However, feeling that a more traditional guitar rock album would get lost in the promotional shuffle, Slash moved over to Koch, which finally released "Ain't Life Grand" in October 2000. A few years later, Slash teamed up again with McKagan and other notable rockers to form the supergroup Velvet Revolver, who released their first album in 2004.
His solo album "Slash" was released in the UK on 10 May 2010 through Roadrunner Records. The album features an all-star roster of guest musicians including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Duff McKagan, M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother.
"The idea was really simple in the beginning," said Slash. "These are all artists I wanted to work with - that I thought it would be amazing to do something creative and collaborative. And I was so impressed with what everyone brought to the table. They were all so committed to doing a good job. And we had a lot of fun making these songs."
Much to the delight of old and new fans, the lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses' resume builds along with his worldwide fan base. Since making history and amassing global sales in excess of 100 million units with Guns N'Roses, returned with Slash's Snakepit in 1994, followed by Velvet Revolver's two hit LPs, 2005's Contraband (for which the single, "Slither" won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock performance) and 2007's Libertad. Finally, Slash reemerged with his groundbreaking, guest-star studded 2010 solo debut. In 2011, Slash was honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce who named him as an official selection to receive a star in 2012 on Hollywood's iconic Walk of Fame. After making numerous session appearances and lending his laid-back, six-string genius to an eclectic mix of artists which include Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Darren Aronovsky; not to mention Guitar Hero III: The Legend of Rock and co-authoring a bestselling memoir - the question begs: What's next for the London-born, L.A. schooled kid who discovered his musical soul when his father played him the Beatles, Stones and Yardbirds? "Touring Apocalyptic Love and having a great time," Slash says humbly. "As long as I can plug my Les Paul into a Marshall amp, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing."
In 2011 Slash aws on tour with his album Apocalyptic Love produced by Eric Valentine, who also did the same honors for his first solo disc Slash. All the songs on Apocalyptic Love were written together by Slash and Myles Kennedy. Slash and his bandmates Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators - Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass) and Frank Sidoris (guitar) - were riding a wave of critical acclaim with a four-star review in Revolver magazine noting: "Apocalyptic Love is at heart a collection of lean, high-octane rock-and-roll tunes built to be blasted out of open-top sports cars or, more suitably, open-air stadiums" (July 2012). Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Times said: "Fans of his work in GNR and Velvet Revolver will find much to embrace in the album's 13 tracks, ranging from the sneering rock hooks of "You're a Lie" and the heavy metal grind of "Halo" to the extended instrumental passages on "Anastasia" (May 24, 2012).
Two years later, Slash released World on Fire, his second album with Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators; it debuted at number ten on the U.S. charts upon its September 2014 release.
World on Fire stretches on and on, weighing in at 17 tracks, which is just one song longer than Use Your Illusion I, but where that record gained momentum (not to mention identity) through its mess, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators gives the impression that they continue recording because they simply don't know when they're done. Perhaps a good edit or two would've turned the record into something leaner, but there's no evident place to cut. Everything hovers around the "pretty good" mark: Slash, naturally, stands out and his solos are nearly as pleasurable as his riffs, the Conspirators hit their marks with aplomb, as does Myles Kennedy, who never gets in the way of songs, not even ones he's written. As this train barrels on, there's the sense that the record never really started and will never really end, but such full-throttle indulgence may indeed be what some fans want, for there is a whole lot of bang for this buck.
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