SLASH

Прекрасный гитарист и просто красавец!!!

Slash (Слэш, наст. имя Сол Хадсон / Soul Hudson, род. 23 июля 1965 года) — англо-американский гитарист, играл в группах Guns N' Roses (1985-1994), Velvet Revolver(c 2002), Slash's Snakepit(1994-1996, 1998-2001), Slash's Blues Ball (1996-1998).

Биография

Сол Хадсон, более известный как Слэш, родился в 1965 году в Хэмптэде, пригороде Лондона (Англия), в семье белого англичанина, и чёрной американки, которые оба были вовлечены в шоу-бизнес. Мама была моделью на показах костюмов от Дэвида Боуи, а отец работал на таких музыкантов, как Нил Янг и Джонни Митчелл. В 11 лет переезжает с матерью в США, отец остается в Англии. В середине 1970-ых посещал «Высшую Школу Беверли Хиллз» и воспитывался бабушкой, так как родители были в разводе, а маме было далеко не до Сола. В 15 лет бабушка подарила ему первую акустическую гитару, на которой была всего одна струна. Вскоре, вместе с Даффом МакКаганом основал первую группу «The Guns» которая вскоре распалась. Потом Слэш с Даффом познакомились с Экслом Роузом и основали «Guns N'Roses» (название первых групп Слэша и Эксл Роуза). Слэш становится одним из лидеров группы. В 1987 году альбом «Appetite For Destruction» поднимается на 1-ые места во многих хит-парадах. Грандиозный успех имели и два двойных альбома 1991-го года - «Use Your Illusion» I и II. Но в 1994 у Slash и Эксла Роуза происходит финальный разрыв, он покидает «Guns N'Roses» и создает группу «Slash's Snakepit». Группа выпускает альбом «It's Five O'clock Somewhere» в 1995 году. После перерыва, во время которого Слэш основывал блюз-кавер-группу «Slash's Blues Ball» (1996-1998), в 2001-ом году «Slash's Snakepit» выпускают «Ain't Life Grand». От старого состава в «Снэйкпите» остался только Слэш.

В 2002 году Slash с двумя бывшими коллегами по «Guns N'Roses» — Даффом МакКаганом и Мэттом Сорумом основывают группу Velvet Revolver. Вокалистом стал Scott Weiland из «Stone Temple Pilots». Группа выпускает довольно успешные альбомы и проводит концертные турне.

Слэш также неоднократно выступал вместе с Элис Купером , Оззи Озборном, Майклом Джексоном. Одно время у него был следующий сценический образ: шляпа «цилиндр», длинные черные кудрявые волосы и сигарета в зубах.

Выборочная дискография

с Guns N' Roses

• Appetite For Destruction (1987)
• G´N´R Lies (1988)
• Use Your Illusion I (1991)
• Use Your Illusion II (1991)
• The Spaghetti Incident? (1993)
• Live Era ´87-´93 (1999)
• Greatest Hits (2004)

со Slash's Snakepit

• It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (1995)
• Ain't Life Grand (2000)

с Velvet Revolver

• Contraband (2004)
• Libertad (2007)

English

Saul Hudson (born July 23, 1965), more widely known as Slash, is an English-American guitarist best known as the former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses and as the current lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver. Known for wearing an accentuated top hat, he is regarded by some as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Biography

Early life

Slash was born in Hampstead, an affluent neighbourhood in London, England[1] to a white Jewish English father and a Nigerian mother, both of whom were involved with show business. Slash's mother worked as a costume designer for David Bowie, and his father was an artist who contributed live ensembles to Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Slash was raised in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, until the age of 11, when he relocated to Los Angeles, California with his parents in the mid-1970s. He was given the nickname "Slash" by family friend Seymour Cassel, according to whom Saul "was always in a hurry, zipping around from one thing to another."

At the age of 14, Slash was given his first guitar by his grandmother. Reveling in the artistry of his hard rock idols, he would spend several hours a day practicing. Eventually, his entire focus was put on music and he made the decision to quit school. In a Rolling Stone article, he remarked:

“ My big awakening happened when I was fourteen. I'd been trying to get into this older girl's pants for a while, and she finally let me come over to her house. We hung out, smoked some pot and listened to Aerosmith's Rocks. It hit me like a fucking ton of bricks. I sat there listening to it over and over, and totally blew off this girl. I remember riding my bike back to my grandma's house knowing that my life had changed. Now I identified with something.”

In addition to Aerosmith, Slash's early influences included AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Iron Maiden, Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen and Frank Zappa.

As his skills improved, Slash became enamored by the hard rock scene on the Sunset Strip. Having both failed auditions to join Poison, Slash and childhood friend, Steven Adler, formed Road Crew in 1983. The band had difficulties retaining members due to their blues-based sound that was entirely different from traditional glam metal. When Slash put out an ad in a newspaper calling for a bassist, he quickly received a response from an enthusiastic Duff McKagan.

When Road Crew called it quits, Slash joined a local band known as Black Sheep. Headed by Willie Bass, the band shared an agent with another upstart group known as Hollywood Rose. In 1984, both bands opened for Christian metal band Stryper. After the show, Slash and lead singer Axl Rose were introduced to one another by a mutual friend. The two quickly became friends, and several months later, Slash and Steven Adler were asked to join the newly revamped Guns N' Roses, with Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin.

Guns N' Roses

Gritty, young, and reckless, Guns N' Roses toured bars and opened for larger acts throughout 1985 and 1986. It was during this period that they wrote most of their classic material, including "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", and "Paradise City". As they pushed their way to the forefront of LA hard rock, the band was approached with several lucrative record contracts. Opting to sign to Geffen, they spent half of their advance on clothes, and the other half on alcohol and drugs. It was during this period that the "Most Dangerous Band In The World" tag was first attached to them. In 1988, Slash remarked:

“ For some strange reason, Guns N' Roses is like the catalyst for controversy, even before we had any kind of record deal.”

When Appetite for Destruction appeared in the summer of '87, the hype had reached staggering proportions. A tour with Iron Maiden was canceled when Slash was packed off to Hawaii to kick his drug habit, while Axl ended up in intensive care at an LA hospital after attacking a police officer. When the press saw the album cover - a controversial Robert Williams painting of a girl being raped by a robot - the hype went into overdrive. Thankfully, the music more than lived up to the band's reputation. By 1988, Guns N' Roses scored its first #1 hit with "Sweet Child o' Mine", a song spearheaded by Slash's memorable riff and legendary guitar solo. In the years following its release, critics and fans continue to hail Appetite for Destruction as a landmark album that solidified Slash's place as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. To this day, many of his riffs and solos are still featured in "best of" lists around the world. With 15 million copies sold in the United States, it is the second highest selling debut album of all time, behind Boston's debut album.

In 1988, Guns N' Roses released G N' R Lies, an EP best remembered for its featured single, the acoustic song "Patience". Though this album only had eight tracks (four of which had already been released), it was immensely successful, selling over 5 million copies. After a four year hiatus, Guns N' Roses returned with the epic Use Your Illusion discs. 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 such as "Don't Cry", contributed to mounting tensions that would ultimately tear the band apart just a few years later. As Rose expressed a desire to pursue more progressive genres, Slash and McKagan fought to maintain their traditional sound as a punk/blues-based hard rock band. Slash later cited this issue as a key component to his inability to work with Rose on any creative level.

Despite the turbulent production of the albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II are considered by many to be the band's most ambitious effort. While both discs received lukewarm reviews, critics lauded Slash's work as "sublime". His most acclaimed song is arguably 'Coma', a 10 minute heavy metal ode to his two infamous drug overdoses. In 1991, Guns N' Roses embarked on the 28-month long Use Your Illusion Tour, coinciding with the release of their new albums. Upon completion of the tour, Slash became an American citizen.

After the release of "The Spaghetti Incident?", an album for which he and Duff McKagan had strongly petitioned, Slash began to drift in and out of the band, frustrated by the lack of activity and communication between him and Rose. In the mid-90s, he wrote several songs for what would have become Guns N' Roses' follow up album to Use Your Illusion I and II. Rose rejected the material, leading Slash to form Slash's Snakepit, a side-project that saw support from Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, Dizzy Reed, Mike Inez, and Eric Dover. The band recorded Slash's material and released It's Five O'Clock Somewhere in 1995. Critically, the album was praised for ignoring the conventions of grunge and alternative music. It also fared well on the charts, eventually selling over 1.2 million copies in the United States with little promotion from Geffen.

In an attempt to salvage the wreck that Guns N' Roses was becoming, Zakk Wylde, initially of Ozzy Osbourne fame in the late eighties and early nineties, was invited to jam with the band, but both Slash and Wylde agreed that Gn'R did not have space for two of the world's pre-eminent lead guitarists, although they remain good friends to this day. Wylde went back to work with Rose in the studio in the late nineties, but was alleged to have a more efficient work-ethic than Rose, and no recordings transpired.

On October 30, 1996, it was discovered that Slash was officially no longer a part of the band, as lead singer Axl Rose sent a fax to MTV stating he and his former guitarist had experienced several disagreements regarding the band's musical direction, and ultimately parted ways.

A crucial moment leading up to Slash's decision to quit the band occurred when Rose removed a section of Slash's guitar track on a cover of "Sympathy for the Devil". Without his consent, Rose replaced Slash's guitar overdub with the work of Paul Tobias, a friend of Rose whom Slash and the rest of the band vocally disapproved of for years. Additionally, as revealed on a VH1 special, Slash stated that he never truly forgave Axl for his spiteful rant regarding some of his fellow band-mates during a 1989 concert.

After Guns N' Roses

After his departure from Guns N' Roses, Slash focused on his side-project, The Snakepit, playing a few tour dates before disbanding the group in 1998. Over the next decade, Slash would become an in-demand session guitarist, recording music with the likes of Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar, Insane Clown Posse, Ronnie Wood, Bad Company, Cheap Trick, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Rod Stewart.

In 2001, he chose to regroup Slash's Snakepit to release his second solo effort, the aptly titled Ain't Life Grand. The album managed to do well on the charts, reaching platinum status. To promote it further, Slash embarked on an extensive world tour with AC/DC in the summer of 2000.

In 1990, Slash collaborated with Michael Jackson on his comeback album, Dangerous. He performed guitar on two hit singles, "Black Or White"(song intro) and "Give In to Me". He later appeared in the "Give In To Me" video with Jackson and performed on special occasions during the massive Dangerous World Tour. In 1995, he appeared on stage with Jackson for the MTV Music Video Awards. Slash also played guitar in "D.S.", a controversial song from the 1995 HIStory album. In 2001, Slash once again collaborated with Jackson, on the Invincible track "Privacy". Also in 2001, he joined Jackson on stage at the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special performing guitar for "Black Or White" and "Beat It".

In 1995, Quentin Tarantino asked Slash to contribute music to his famed adaptation of Jackie Brown. Several Snakepit compositions can be heard throughout the film. In 1996, Slash collaborated with Marta Sanchez to record the flamenco inspired "Obsession-Confession" for the Curdled soundtrack. The song was received well by Smooth Jazz radio stations. Later that year, Slash 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.

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". In 2003, he participated in the Yardbirds' comeback record Birdland, released on the Favored Nations label. He played lead guitar in the track "Over, Under, Sideways, Down." In early 2003, Slash also made an appearance at a rally to protest the coming War in Iraq called "Peace on the Beach." Specifically, Slash performed the song "Imagine" by John Lennon. Ed Kowalczyk provided vocals during this performance.

In 2002, he reunited with Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum for a benefit/tribute concert for Randy Castillo. Realizing they still had the chemistry of their days in Guns N' Roses, they decided to form a new band together. The band that featured Slash, McKagan, and Sorum also featured former Buckcherry members Keith Nelson and Josh Todd. Later Duff put out a statement that Josh and Keith didn't quite fit with the band, and they added Dave Kushner as rhythm guitar and, after a long search, Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland. In 2006, Slash performed a guest spot 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 was also made featuring Slash, Billy, and Derek for this song.

Velvet Revolver and future endeavors

Velvet Revolver began as "The Project", a venture by Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum to find a new lead singer. On rhythm guitar, they initially worked with Izzy Stradlin, and they were offered to open for The Rolling Stones but Slash, Duff and Matt wanted to have a lead singer; after this Izzy became less involved. They would find their second guitarist in the form of Dave Kushner, who had previously played with McKagan in "Loaded" prior to this project. 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, allowing lead singer Scott Weiland to volunteer to record a song with the band. Realizing there was chemistry between each member, Weiland officially joined the band in 2003.

Velvet Revolver played several concerts in the summer of that year 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 double platinum and re-established Slash as a mainstream performer. After the tour concluded, he and his bandmates took a lengthy break before beginning work on their second album. In July 2007, Velvet Revolver released the critically acclaimed Libertad, a follow-up to their multi-platinum debut.

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 2007, Metal Injection revealed that Slash will be a playable character in the highly anticipated Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and his likeness is also found on the game cover. Slash did motion capture with RedOctane to record his movements for the game, and by beating him in a one-on-one competition (playing an original composition he recorded solely for the game), he will be unlocked as a playable character. Beating him in this challenge will result in the gamer and Slash playing the master track of "Welcome to the Jungle" as an encore song.

In 2007, Slash performed with Paulina Rubio on the hit Latin single "Nada Puede Cambiarme".

On March 12, 2007. Slash and Velvet Revolver paid tribute to Van Halen by inducting the band into the Rock N' Roll hall of fame. The band also played 2 covers.

Slash appears on the cover of Guitar World magazine for their July 2007 issue, the "20 year salute to Appetite for Destruction". The title is "The Cat In The Hat Is Back" and it pictures him holding his guitar with a snake crawling up the neck. The issue also includes a detailed interview with the artist, and what promises to be the start of a new column entitled "The Cat In The Hat".

Slash made numerous contributions to The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx, published September 18th, 2007.

An autobiography titled simply Slash was published on October 30th, 2007. It was co-written with Anthony Bozza.

Honors

Slash won the "Best Guitarist" prize in the 2005 Esky Music Awards in Esquire magazine. A write-up in the magazine announced Slash's win read as follows:

“ He's who we see ourselves as every time we strap on an air guitar. The top hat. The hair. The dangling cigarette. The near-death experiences. He'll always be Slash of Guns N' Roses to us, but we also congratulate him for beating the comeback odds with a surprisingly legitimate and vital outfit, Velvet Revolver. link”

Accepting the award, Slash has issued the following statement:

“ This is my first guitarist award ever. It's very humbling. I'd like to thank my parents, and I'd also like to thank everyone I've ever fucking worked with in the music business from the point I started at up until now — the bands I've been in, the sessions I've done, and the artists I've worked with. My wife is at least half of the reason I'm still walking. I'd also like to thank Robert Wolin; he got me to switch from bass to guitar. Thank you. link”

In January 2007, Slash was honored with a star on the Rock Walk of Fame; his name being placed side by side with friends and legends Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen. Curators for the event described Slash as the following:

“ A guitar god who is most well-known for revolutionizing the way his instrument is played, Slash is idolized for the talent many of his disciples can only dream of discovering. With the launch of the notorious Guns N' Roses also came the introduction of Slash as a musical phenomenon. While G n' R may have faded, Slash has continued to create innovative new groups with unique musical direction, while still collaborating with a variety of other brilliant artists like Michael Jackson and Eric Clapton. link”

In 2007, Slash was awarded the coveted title of "Riff Lord" during the fourth annual Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards. link

"Welcome to the Jungle" is considered to be one of the greatest hard rock hits of all time. It was ranked #2 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. In addition, "Welcome to the Jungle" ranked #467 on Rolling Stones' "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Also, it was #764 on Q Magazine's 1001 Best Songs Ever and #26 on VH1's 100 Greatest 80s Songs. Most recently, the song was named the "Greatest Song About Los Angeles" by a poll in Blender magazine.

"Sweet Child o' Mine" placed #37 on Guitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos." It also came in at number three on Blender's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born, and at number 196 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 6 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The introduction's famous E-flat based riff was also voted number-one riff of all-time by the readers of Total Guitar magazine. It was also in Rolling Stones 40 Greatest Songs that Changed the World.

"Paradise City" is ranked #21 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time, #3 in Total Guitar Magazine's list of the 100 greatest solos of all time, and has won various similar awards over the years. It ranked #453 on Rolling Stones' "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

"November Rain" holds the record for the longest guitar solo in a U.S. top 10 hit. The song is also listed at number 6 in the "The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" by Guitar World. Additionally, "November Rain" was voted #1 on the Rock 1000 in 2006, an annual countdown of the top 1000 rock songs by New Zealand radio listeners.

Persona

Slash is notorious for his intoxicated acceptance speech at the 1990 American Music Awards. Upon receipt of Guns N' Roses' second award of the evening, 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 swear word, an audible gasp was heard from the crowd, prompting Slash to cover his mouth, cigarette and drink in hand, and utter "Oops". When accepting an award the following year, via live satellite feed, a much more sober Slash made mention of the incident, promising to "keep it clean this time".

In 1990, a heavy metal video called "Hard N' Heavy" was released containing music, concert footage and interviews. The video included Slash and McKagan 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 to aid the underprivileged..

Recent 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 Rose's press release, but a Velvet Revolver spokesperson did promise that Slash would be heard from "within days". Slash's press release never came. On May 13, 2006, Slash appeared on the Camp Freddy Show on Indie 1031 FM and denied having visited Rose's house or saying anything that Rose claimed.

In 2007 Slash admitted to going to Rose's home, but qualified the rest of the story as nonsense. He said that his intentions were to settle a long-standing legal dispute and make peace with his former band mate. .

Equipment

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

Guitars

Slash owns 80-90 guitars. Among them are the following:

• Gibson

• Fender

• Ernie Ball/Musicman

• Guild

• B.C. Rich

• Martin

• Ramirez

• Travis Bean

• First Act