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Slash (musician)

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Slash
Image:SaulHudson.jpg
Born July 23, 1965
in Hampstead, England
Alias(es) Saul Hudson
Genre(s) Hard Rock
Affiliation(s) Guns N' Roses
Slash's Snakepit
Slash's Blues Ball
Velvet Revolver
Label(s) UZI Suicide (1986)
Geffen Records (1987-1996)
Koch Records (1994-2001)
RCA Records (2002-present)
Notable guitars Gibson Les Paul
Gibson EDS-1275
B.C. Rich Mockingbird
Guild Acoustic
Years active 1985 to Present

Slash (born Saul Hudson on July 23, 1965 in England) is a guitarist for the hard rock band Velvet Revolver, and former lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses. He is known for his long curly black hair, his signature oversized top hat, his love for Jack Daniel's, and, usually, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Slash was born in Hampstead, London, England to a Jewish English father (Anthony) and a black American mother [1][2] of Nigerian descent (Ola) [citation needed], both of whom were involved with show business (his mother designed David Bowie's costumes from The Man Who Fell To Earth, and his father was an artist who did album covers for various artists).[citation needed]

He was raised in Stoke-on-Trent until the age of 11, when he and his mother moved to Los Angeles, California in the United States. His father remained in England. In the US, Slash attended Fairfax High School. In the mid-1970s, his parents split and he moved in with his grandmother.

At about age 15, Slash was given a one-string acoustic guitar by his grandmother, with which he was able to learn to play. Slash's early influences include Rory Gallagher, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, Van Halen, Queen, Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Jeff Beck. The first song he learned to play was "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. He went to lessons but he wanted to learn things himself. Slash began to devote up to 12 hours a day to playing guitar, which appeared to negatively affect his school work. Eventually, Slash gave up on school, dropping out in the 11th grade. While a part of the Los Angeles band scene he auditioned for the glam metal band Poison, and was a finalist until ultimately losing out to the unique looks of C.C. DeVille. He then met drummer Steven Adler, and the two formed the "band" Road Crew (which generally had trouble retaining any members besides themselves). This band's name came from a song by the popular British speed-metal act, Motörhead. Eventually, Slash ended up in a band called Black Sheep, which had the same agent as another band called Hollywood Rose.

[edit] Guns N' Roses

Black Sheep and Hollywood Rose opened for Stryper in late 1984, where Slash and Axl Rose were originally introduced by their mutual agent, Vicky Hamilton. Several months later, Slash auditioned to play in a band with Axl and Izzy Stradlin', but other guitarists were chosen, most notably Tracii Guns. After Tracii was unable to make a concert in Seattle, Slash and Duff McKagan joined Axl, Izzy and Steven Adler to form Guns N' Roses.

The nascent band toured bars and opened for others throughout 1985 and 1986. They wrote some early songs like "Reckless Life," "Move to the City," and "Anything Goes," but were unable to do any major recording until 1987, when the band released its debut album, Appetite for Destruction. The album was not initially well-known, but included songs such as "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," and "Paradise City", which became the band's most famous songs. By 1988, one of GN'R songs had hit # 1 on the Billboard Top 100, and fans were clamoring for a new release.

In 1988, the band released G N' R Lies, which included the controversial song "One in a Million" (containing lyrics including the word "niggers" as well as homophobic sentiments).

After Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion Tour, Slash became an American citizen. Slash is notorious for his alcohol-induced acceptance speech at the 1990 American Music Awards. Upon receipt of GNR's second award at the 1990 American Music Awards, he and Duff McKagan stumbled to the stage appearing very drunk, holding drinks, and smoking cigarettes. Within a span of 20 seconds, Slash managed to curse twice in his slurred speech before being interrupted by a music overdub and positioning of a camera on a curtain with the AMA logo. After the first f-word, an audible gasp was heard from the crowd, prompting Slash to cover his mouth, cigarette and drink in hand, and laughingly utter "oops."[3]

In 1990 a heavy metal video called "HARD N HEAVY" containing music, concert footage and interviews was released. The video included Slash and Duff from GNR appearing with the band Great White at a "Children Of the Night" Benefit concert in LA for abused homeless children, the performance helped raise money for housing[4][5].

In 1991, Guns N' Roses embarked on the 28-month long Use Your Illusion Tour, coinciding with the release of their new albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. The albums indicated a change in musical direction for Guns N' Roses, including more artistic and dramatic songs like "November Rain" and "Estranged". Songs in this vein, along with ballads like "Don't Cry", contributed to tensions that tore the band apart just a few years later, because of Axl's desire to pursue more progressive types of rock, as opposed to the rest of the band's desire to continue playing 80's style rock n' roll. Slash would later cite this issue as a key component to his inability to work with Axl Rose. Although "November Rain", "Estranged", "Don't Cry" and others were out when The Use Your Illusions came out, the songs were actually written before Appetite for Destruction was out in 1987, among those songs there also was Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".

He is also known to be a fan of the Godfather films, and played the Godfather theme as part of his extended guitar solo during every live show.

After the release of "The Spaghetti Incident?", an album for which he had strongly petitioned, Slash began to drift in and out of the band. However, he picked out three songs to be on the record. He formed Slash's Snakepit with fellow Gunners Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke. The band released It's Five O'Clock Somewhere in 1995.

[edit] After Guns N' Roses

Slash officially quit GNR in 1996 after declaring that he could not work with Rose. Allegedly, he and Axl had several disagreements regarding the band's musical direction, and Slash was infuriated when Axl replaced Gilby Clarke's guitar track with Paul Tobias's on the song "Sympathy for the Devil". He was replaced by guitarist Robin Finck. Slash then focused on Slash's Snakepit, playing a few tour dates before disbanding the group later that year. He re-formed Snakepit in 1998, only to disband it again in July 2001 after releasing a second album, Ain't Life Grand, the year before.

In 1996, Slash collaborated with the Spanish singer Marta Sanchez to record Obsession-Confession for the soundtrack of Curdled. The track was received well by the Smooth Jazz radio stations. That summer he also played live with Alice Cooper at Sammy Hagar's club "Cabo Wabo" in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The show was recorded and released the following year as A Fistful of Alice, with Slash appearing on several tracks.

In 1997, Slash (alongside the late Ol' Dirty Bastard and hit Alternative Rock band Fishbone) appeared on BLACKstreet's Rock remix version of their hit single "Fix".

Image:Sherinian-Idol-Slash-Promo1.jpg

In 2003, he participated in the Yardbirds' comeback record "Birdland," (which consisted mostly of re-recordings of some of their greatest hits, with guest appearances by former member Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Brian May, Steve Lukather, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Johnny Rzeznik, Martin Ditchum, and Simon McCarty), released on the Favored Nations label. He played lead guitar in the track "Over, Under, Sideways, Down."

In 2006, Slash guested on keyboardist Derek Sherinian's solo album "Blood of the Snake" covering the 1970 Mungo Jerry hit single "In The Summertime", also featuring Billy Idol on vocals. A video [6] was also made featuring Slash, Billy, and Derek for this song.

Beginning in the mid-1990's, Slash played with many different bands as a guest on numerous albums and tours. In 2002, he reunited with Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum for a benefit/tribute concert for Randy Castillo which starred Gunn Atkinson aside him. Realizing they still had a lot of chemistry, they decided to form a new band together. The band that featured Slash, McKagan, and Sorum also featured former Buckcherry members Josh Todd and Keith Nelson, leading many people in attendance to call the band "Buck N' Roses" or "Cherry Roses," depending on which fans you asked.

[edit] Velvet Revolver and beyond

Velvet Revolver began as "The Project", a venture by Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum to find a new lead singer. To play rhythm guitar, they initially sought out Izzy Stradlin, but it did not work out for either partly due to his aversion to touring and working with a lead singer. They eventually settled on Dave Kushner, from a band Duff McKagan had been in before reuniting with Slash. For many months, the four of them listened to demo tapes of potential lead singers, a monotonous process documented by VH1. After many months, Slash and the others were almost ready to give up. However, Stone Temple Pilots had recently imploded and lead singer Scott Weiland was encouraged to try out for "The Project". Scott had tried to join before but Duff was reluctant to allow him to split Stone Temple Pilots. The natural demise of that band afforded him the opportunity to join with Slash, Duff, and Matt, which worked well with him immediately, and so Velvet Revolver was formed.

The band played several concerts in the summer of 2003 and released their first single, "Set Me Free" as part of the soundtrack for The Hulk. In June 2004, they released their first studio album, Contraband. A 19-month long tour ensued, as the album went platinum and re-established Slash among the masses who had forgotten him over the years. The tour finally ended in January 2006, and Slash and his bandmates took a well-deserved break before beginning work on their second album. The band recorded a new song for Steven Spielberg's latest film Monster House in May 2006.

On May 31, 2006, Slash was joined by Rob Zombie on vocals, another former GNR axeman Gilby Clarke on rhythm guitar, Scott Ian of Anthrax on bass, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee on drums, and surprise guest Ace Frehley of KISS for a rendition of God of Thunder. The occasion was a one-time supergroup tribute to KISS for the VH1 Rock Honors Award Show. In 2006, Slash made an appearance on the first album of American Idol send-off Chris Daughtry, playing lead guitar in the song "What I Want".

[edit] Controversy

In March 2006 Axl Rose's lawyer released the following statement: "In October of 2005 Slash made an unannounced 5:30 AM visit to Axl Rose's house. Not appearing to be under the influence, Slash came to inform Axl that: 'Duff was spineless,' 'Scott Weiland was a fraud,' that he 'hates Matt Sorum' and that in this ongoing war, contest or whatever anyone wants to call it that Slash has waged against Axl for the better part of 20 years, that Axl has proven himself 'the stronger.' Based on his conduct in showing up at Rose's home, Axl was hopeful that Slash would live up to his pronouncements that he wanted to end the war and move on with life. Unfortunately that did not prove to be the case."

Slash didn't comment on Axl's press release, but a Velvet Revolver spokeswoman did promise we would hear from Slash "within days." Slash's press release never came. However, Scott Weiland (of Velvet Revolver) posted this on their website:

Go to the gym motherfucker, or if you prefer, get a new wig motherfucker. I think I’ll resist the urge to “stoop” to your level. Oh shoot, here it comes, you fat, botox faced, wig wearin’ Freak! O.K. I feel better now. Don’t think for a second we don’t know where those words came from. Your unoriginal, uncreative little mind, the same mind that had to rely on its bandmates to write melodies and lyrics. Who’s the fraud now boy? Darn, I couldn’t imagine people writing for me. How many albums have you put out man and how long did it take the current configuration of this so-called “band” to make this album? How long? And without the only guys that validated the name. How dare you! Shame on you! How dare you call our bass player “spineless.” We toured our album over a year and a half. How many shows have you played over the last ten years? Oh, that’s right - you bailed out on your long awaited comeback tour, leaving your remaining fans feeling shall we say a trifle miffed?! I won’t even list what I’ve accomplished because I don’t need to. What we’re talking about here is a frightened little man who once thought he was king, but unfortunately this king without his court is nothing but a memory of the asshole he once was.

It was removed two days later.

On April 25, 2006, Duff McKagan appeared on Opie & Anthony on XM radio. He shot down all rumors of Slash leaving Velvet Revolver saying that they were just "Bullshit". Two days later, Slash and his wife Perla were rumoured to have filed for divorce in Los Angeles but this was later disproved by Slash himself. It was believed that Perla, who was also rumored to be the manager of Velvet Revolver, may have been the source of the false rumors regarding Velvet Revolver's supposed breakup as well as those regarding Slash rejoining Axl Rose. This however was false (both the divorce allegation and the accusations against Perla, Slash said this on Camp Freddy on May 13 2006 and said that he was still in Velvet Revolver and hadn't spoken to Axl since 1996.)

On May 13, 2006, Slash appeared on the Camp Freddy Show on Indie 1031 FM and denied having visited Axl's house or saying anything that Axl claimed. Slash said:

I'm not gonna go into the whole long thing. It was just something that he [Axl] decided he was going to… It was a lot of this stuff was built to promote the next Guns record and the tour and all that kind of stuff, 'cause there was this blatantly fabricated thing in there that I'd gone to his house and that he and I had a conversation in which I said all this stuff about my bandmates. And it's just blatantly untrue. For one, I have not talked to the guy in any way, shape or form since 1996, so it's going on 11 years. [Laughs] So that's basically it. There's just no truth to it. And all things considered, it put lot of whatever in people's minds that I was that kind of a guy, so it's… there you have it. So it's not true.


[edit] Guitar equipment

[edit] Guitars

Slash owns over 100 guitars. Among them are the following:

[edit] Amplifiers

Slash is the first musician to own a signature amplifier created by Marshall for him.

  • Marshall
    • 2555SL Signature Head
    • JCM-800 Head
    • JCM 900 Head
    • JCM Silver Jubilee (original 2555 JS, white/silver Marshall head)
    • 1960BV 4x12 Cabinet
      • 70 Watt Celestion "Vintage 30" Speakers

For the recording of Velvet Revolver's debut, he told Guitar Player magazine that he used a Vox AC30 and small Fender tube amps (for "oddball" sounds). Live, he only uses Marshalls.

[edit] Effects

Slash recently collaborated with Dunlop on his first signature pedal: The Slash Wah. It's a hybrid wah/distortion, it's a Crybaby and it has a red shell.

  • Dunlop DCR-1SR Cry Baby Rackmount Wah Wah
  • Rocktron Hush II CX
  • DBX 166 Compressor
  • Yamaha SPX 900 Multieffect
  • Boss DD-3 Delay
  • MXR 10-band graphic EQ
  • Heil Talkbox

[edit] Other

  • Strings
    • Ernie Ball Slinky R.P.S gauge 0.11, 0.14, 0.18, 0.28, 0.38, 0.48
  • Pickups
  • Picks
    • Dunlop Purple Tortex (1.14 mm)
  • Miscellaneous
    • Shure Wireless Guitar Kit
    • CAE custom switcher/router
    • Peterson Strobe tuner (used by Adam Day)
    • Nady 950-gt Wireless Guitar System (used in Guns N' Roses)
    • Monster cables

[edit] Trivia

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
 Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.
  • Two leather-clad thugs, one named Axl and the other Slash, appear in Final Fight.
  • KnuckleBonz made a Slash action figure. In the figurine, Slash has on his tophat, is shirtless, has a cigarette in his mouth, and his head is facing up, but he has his eyes closed.
  • The villain Death in the film Six String Samurai bears more than a passing resemblance to Slash, including the signature top hat, electric guitar and the mane of curly hair which shrouds his face.
  • On the popular Homestar Runner Flash series, the character Homsar dresses up as Slash in a Halloween special.
  • In the 1991 Alice Cooper home video documentary "Prime Cuts", Slash states that Cooper's Welcome To My Nightmare is "one of my all-time favorite motherfucking albums". Slash's playing style is indicative of guitarist Dick Wagner's style featured on that album.
  • In 1992 Slash was signed as official promoter of Black Death Vodka. The bottles came in a black coffin-shaped box, featuring graphics including a skeleton wearing a top hat.
  • In the 100th episode of South Park, I'm a Little Bit Country the pro-war and anti-war activists were both holding concert protests. The anti-war played rock n' roll while the pro-war played country. Playing for the anti-war people in the background is a man that resembles Slash with a top hat and bushy black hair.
  • He voices himself in the cartoon Kid Notorious, featuring Robert Evans (The Godfather) as the main character.
  • He can be seen very briefly at the very beginning of Howard Stern's Private Parts as Howard passes by groups of people and celebrities.
  • Reports indicate that there will be a new guitarist character in the upcoming video game Guitar Hero II who resembles Slash (Wearing a brightly colored top hat). The game will also feature the song "Sweet Child O' Mine," made famous by Slash's guitar work.(Later updates would show that the "new" guitarist is simply one of the original characters from the first game wearing a new outfit.[7]
  • Slash has said in interviews that when he came up with the signiture riff to "Sweet Child O' Mine,", he was only joking. Axl liked it and would not back down, so they recorded the song despite his dislike of that riff.
  • It is widely thought that Slash is the influence of The Simpsons Character Otto. There are also numerous references in the show of Otto and him liking snakes. Slash in real life is an avid snake collector.
  • In one of the early episodes of Shortland Street, the character Nick (played by Karl Barnett) began acting like a punk and wore leather clothing. He rechristened himself as "Slash" in which was an obvious reference to the famous former Guns N Roses guitar player. His attire was almost as identical to Slash's also, sans his hairstyle.
  • In an interview for NME, Slash states that he would like to meet Robbie Williams, a fellow Stoke-on-Trent native. "He's a pop guy, so I'm not real familiar with him, but I guess we're both from Stoke. It would be interesting to meet him sometime to see if we can compare Stoke-On-Trent stories or some shit." [8]
  • Slash is playing guitar in Michael Jackson's song "Give in to Me" and on the first minute of the song "Black or White".
  • Slash's top hat was given to him by Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by:
Tracii Guns 		Guns N' Roses Lead Guitarist
1985-1996 		Succeeded by:
Robin Finck & Buckethead
Guns N' Roses
Axl Rose | Dizzy Reed | Robin Finck | Tommy Stinson | Chris Pitman | Bryan Mantia | Richard Fortus | Ron Thal | Frank Ferrer
Former Members: Ole Beich | Rob Gardner | Tracii Guns | Steven Adler | Izzy Stradlin | Gilby Clarke | Slash | Matt Sorum | Duff McKagan | Josh Freese | Paul Tobias | Buckethead
Discography
Albums: Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide | Appetite for Destruction | G N' R Lies | Use Your Illusion I | Use Your Illusion II | The Spaghetti Incident? | Use Your Illusion | Live Era: '87-'93 | Greatest Hits | Chinese Democracy
Related articles
Use Your Illusion Tour | Adler's Appetite | Neurotic Outsiders | Slash's Snakepit | Velvet Revolver

fr:Modèle:Guns N' Roses

Velvet Revolver
Scott Weiland | Slash | Duff McKagan | Matt Sorum | Dave Kushner
Discography
Contraband | Libertad
Related articles
The Cult | Guns N' Roses | Johnny Crash | Neurotic Outsiders | Stone Temple Pilots | Slash's Snakepit
bg:Слаш

cs:Slash da:Slash (musiker) de:Slash (Musiker) dv:ސްލޭޝް (ގިޓާ ކުޅުން ތެރިޔާ) es:Slash (guitarrista) fr:Slash (guitariste) hr:Slash it:Slash he:סלאש lb:Saul Hudson lt:Saul Hudson hu:Slash (zenész) nl:Slash (artiest) ja:スラッシュ (ミュージシャン) no:Slash pl:Slash pt:Slash sk:Slash sl:Slash (glasbenik) fi:Slash (kitaristi) sv:Slash tr:Saul Hudson

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