Slash's Solo Album: March 24 in Japan

via Blabbermouth
Slash's debut solo album, Slash, will be released in Japan on March 24 via Universal Music.

A special edition of the CD will include a bonus DVD featuring making-of-the-album footage and a free poster in the first pressing.

Slash is scheduled for release in the US on April 6. The CD will be made available in Europe via Roadrunner Records.

Slash will see Roadrunner Records enter into a unique and innovative association with a UK media partner — the special-interest media group Future. In a brand new concept in record distribution, the standard album release will be preceded by a "Fan Pack," in which the Roadrunner Records album will be bundled together with a highly collectable, 132-page special issue of Future Publishing's Classic Rock magazine dedicated to Slash's career. This will be the first format of the album available anywhere in the world.

The partnership is a first for music and media industries, marking the first-time a major new album has been released this way. The partnership ensures that Slash's new album is available through over 4,000 UK retailers that stock Classic Rock — sidestepping the issue of dwindling high street music outlets and top 20 only stocking in supermarkets. Classic Rock is one of the UK's biggest rock music magazines and this year recorded its eighth consecutive circulation increase, the only paid-for music magazine to grow.

The Slash "Fan Pack" featuring his debut solo album from Roadrunner Records, along with a 132-page "Classic Rock Presents: Slash" special will have a cover price of £14.99.

Among the guests appearing on the album are Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie's (aka Stacy Ann Ferguson), Dave Grohl, Flea, Chris Cornell, Duff McKagan, Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Nicole Scherzinger, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Ozzy Osbourne, who contributes vocals to the first single.

Slash Album News (Updated in real-time)
Slash and Friends Setlists

Live Review: SLASH & Friends (LAYN Rocks)

ARTIST DIRECT
The power of the riff compelled Slash and pretty much everyone else at LAYN Rocks last night.

The legendary Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist certainly knows how to give a crowd a good time and, alongside some friends, that's exactly what he did for almost two hours.

Those "friends" happened to be some of the most legendary men to ever pick up a microphone or a guitar. Sunday's AMA lineup far paled in comparison to LAYN Rocks—and the event was for a very good cause, helping homeless kids across Los Angeles.

Host George Lopez put it best, " With all due respect to the AMAs, this is the fuckin' place to be on Sunday night!"



Slash brought together the best and brightest rock n' roll stars of the past four decades for the most riff-tastic benefit show ever. There's nothing quite like watching him and Dave Navarro rip through Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," volleying the classic riff back and forth with a new vibrancy.

Slash infused the solo with gritty gutter blues, and the entire crowd was mesmerized by the six-string God. During Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak," Tom Morello tore through a scratchy lead that gave the song a hip hop fire and a spacey tone. Morello, Navarro and Slash complimented each other perfectly with each and every solo and riff brandishing its player's own signature.

Wolfmother's "Mother" had a deadly Black Sabbath-style stomp. Vocalist Andrew Stockdale gave a fiery performance worthy of the legends he shared the stage with, and Slash laid down a furious lead mid-song. During Zeppelin's "Tangerine," Slash donned a double neck and instantly transported the crowd back to the '70s.

However, the standout with Stockdale was he and Slash's original cut, "By the Sword," from Slash's forthcoming solo album. Smoky, ominous and psychedelic, the opening riff proved to be one of Slash's best. It's melancholy yet strangely energetic, and Stockdale's howl felt divinely otherworldly — a new classic.

Linkin Park and Dead By Sunrise mainman Chester Bennington gave "Good Times, Bad Times" a serious gusto that even Robert Plant couldn't conjure. Chester's got a classic old school rock n' roll edge and a modern sensitivity that makes him a true star. He's got one foot planted in tradition, but he's also the most forward thinking singer on the scene. He proved that during "Slither" and a raucous "Paradise City" complete with Stephen Adler behind the kit and Duff McKagan on bass. Chester definitely stood proudly even alongside Perry Farrell who did phenomenal renditions of "Mountain Song," "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Jane Says."

It all came back to the riff when Ozzy Osbourne hit the stage though. "I Don't Know," "Iron Man," "Crazy Train" and "Paranoid" exploded with Slash and Navarro lighting their fret boards up to finish the evening.

As Ozzy requested, the crowd went "fucking crazy," but it was all for a good cause—and the riffs are still resounding ... [ARTIST DIRECT]

—Rick Florino
11.23.09

(Check out Rick Florino's new novel Dolor available now for FREE here ...)

Slash Teams with Ozzy, Billy Idol, Tom Morello & Chester Bennington

NME
Slash teamed up with Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello and Linkin Park's Chester Bennington for a special benefit concert in Los Angeles last night (November 22).



The ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist joined forces with a host of guest stars at the LAYN charity show at the Avalon to help raise funds for the homeless.

He was joined by his former bandmates Duff McKagan and Steve Adler, who also played with him in Velvet Revolver, plus Bennington, who fronted their rendition of "Paradise City.".

Slash was also joined by Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale, Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and Blink-182's Travis Barker for the show.



The guitarist is currently working on his solo album Slash And Friends which includes many of the guests who joined him onstage last night.

Big Show Tonight

Immigrant Song (Franky Perez, Slash, Dave Navarro, Chris Chaney, Travis Barker)
Jailbreak (Perez, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker, Tom Morello)
Whole Lotta Love (Perez, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker, Morello)
Out Ta Get Me (Billy Idol, Slash, Navarro, Duff McKagan, Barker)
Rebel Yell (Idol, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Down On the Street (Idol, Slash, Navarro, Barker, Duff)
Woman (Andrew Stockdale, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Tangerine (Stockdale, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
By The Sword (Stockdale, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Good Times, Bad Times (Chester Bennington, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Slither (Bennington, Slash, Navarro, Duff, Barker)
Paradise City (Bennington, Steven Adler, Slash, Duff, Navarro)
Mountain Song (Perry Farrell, Slash, Navarro, Morello, Chaney, Barker)
Sympathy For The Devil (Farrell, Slash, Navarro, Morello, Chaney, Barker)
Jane Says (Farrell, Slash, Navarro, Morello, Chaney, Barker)
I Don't Know (Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Iron Man (Ozzy, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Crazy Train (Ozzy, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Paranoid (Ozzy, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)

Source: LESTAT at the Linkin Park Forum







Above photo: @eddog43



@RAFACORE: Shootin Slash, Dave navarro, Travis barker, Tom morello soundchrck! All star line up!!


Steven Adler, Slash and Duff McKagan (formerly of Guns N' Roses)

I'll be adding pics, a setlist and video as they become available.

"Sound Check was Awesome! Tonight, DUFF, SLASH AND I DOING PARADISE CITY at the benefit!

Dave Navarro on guitar (AMAZING PLAYER) and Chester from Linkin Park Singing!

Lots of others involved.

Billy Idol, George Lopez, Perry Ferrel, Tom Morello, Ozzy, Travis Barker!

LAYN ROCKS!"
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=169850044&blogID=519549524

Slash:

"Gearing up for the LAYN fundraiser on the 22 at the Avalon.

With this line-up its a pretty historic event.

Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Perry Farrell, Chester Bennington, Andrew Stockdale, Tom Morello, Dave Navarro, Travis Barker, Franky Perez, Chris Chaney, myself & George Lopez hosting.

Be there & support Los Angeles Youth Network for the 1st LA "Slash & Friends" event!

Going to perform a new song off my record with Andrew Stockdale on Nov 22nd at the LAYN event."

Tickets
LAYN Rocks on Facebook

Dahmer Vs Gacy

The AFM Trailer for Dahmer Vs Gacy

Obviously playing for laughs, the showdown you probably never expected to see has arrived. Below you'll find the AFM trailer for Ford Austin's Dahmer Vs Gacy, in which 30 of the world's most notorious serial killers are cloned by the government.



Director Austin plays Dahmer, while Gacy is played by Randal Malone. The indie flick also features appearances by genre alumni Irwin Keyes, Felissa Rose, Brooke Lewis Alana Curry, Lee Perkins, as well as... former Guns N Roses drummer Steven Adler?

Is it in bad taste? You decide.

shocktillyoudrop

Steven Adler Invades the Sluggo Radio Show

Steve Adler will be live on the Sluggo Radio Show this Thursday, October 29, 2009 from 9 to 11 PM.

He will be accompanied by Automatic Youth, the band founded by the School Of Rock.

You will have the opportunity to call in (712-432-3100 x548034) and speak to Steven and Automatic Youth live on air. Don't miss your chance to be part of the madness.

http://www.sluggoradionetwork.com

Adler's Appetite at Universal City Walk

This high quality footage was recorded last Friday night, August 28. That's Melrose Larry Green (of the Howard Stern show) pictured Steven Adler (above).



The next night, Steven and his buddy Slash jammed with Aces & Eights at the Viper Room.

Thanks to Blabbermouth.

Slash and Steven Adler at the Viper Room

Slash and Steven Adler joined Aces & Eights on stage!

Slash: "Going to the Viper Room is like going back in time a couple decades everytime I go there, like a time warp. Cool, but disorienting."


"It's So Easy"

Richard Fortus: "Playing the last show at the Viper Room tonight with Dizzy at midnight"

Dizzy Reed: "Viper Room tonight. Playing some new original songs with Richard Fortus and other surprise Guest Stars. You don't wanna miss this! Come and rock!"


Photos via twitter by T.J.Roe. http://twitter.com/@intr0vert

GN'R Stalker Goes Postal

The woman who's allegedly stalking Slash and Steven Adler found a clever way of recycling her restraining order - cops say she wrote a bunch of crazy stuff on the back of the documents and mailed them to Adler's lawyer!

Lisa Jill-Martin Cahn was arrested on Monday by Oregon police for violating the order, after she allegedly scribbled a bunch of disturbing stuff of seven pages of the documents and mailed them off as separate letters to Attorney Eric Greenspan - hoping they would land in Adler's lap.

In one of the letters, Cahn says she believes the restraining order is the musicians' way of communicating with her. In another, she refers to herself as Adler's "runaway kitty kat."

The letters can easily be translated as a call for help, because she asks Adler's private investigator - David Mancini - to "come and get me ... I'm scared and sick ... I can't do this on my own and I'm really, really, really, really, really, really scared!"

Cahn is currently behind bars at the Washington County jail and could face up to eight charges.

You can read the letters here.

TMZ

Andrew Stockdale Songwriting on Slash's Solo Album

Slash is getting ever so close to the completion of his highly anticipated solo album, which will feature a wide range of guest musicians like Ozzy Osbourne, Avenged Sevenfold's M.Shadows, Blink 182's Travis Barker, Black Eyed Peas vocalist Fergie, former Guns N' Roses bandmate Izzy Stradlin, Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones.

Slash's album is also being produced by Eric Valentine (Good Charlotte, Queens Of The Stone Age) and features prominent contributions from former Jane's Addiction bassist Chris Chaney and former Nine Inch Nails and Guns N' Roses drummer extraordinaire Josh Freese.

It was also recently revealed that Slash did some songwriting with guitarist Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother for a song that was recorded after a recent Wolfmother recording session in Los Angeles.

"Well he just reached out. His manager sent an email through and asked if I'd be interested and I was honored. Honored to play with Slash. So when we got to LA to make the Wolfmother record, after the session of doing Wolfmother songs Slash dropped in one night and we just sat there with an acoustic and went through the song."

Andrew also talked about Slash keeping him on his toes with his creative process and what an incredible experience it was for him.

"It was really, really like an incredible experience to write with Slash. He's a cool guy. He moves really fast too. His creative process had me on my toes. He's very alert with what he's looking for and how a song needs to move."

Ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri has also recorded a guest appearance for the LP.

At the end of July, Slash announced on his twitter page that he is "winding down" and has 2 more songs to complete for the album that he hopes to release by the end of 2009. As of press time Slash hasn't confirmed if he will be touring in support of his solo album as his band Velvet Revolver continue their search for a lead vocalist.

ultimate-Guitar.com

Charges Dropped Against Steven Adler

Steven Adler had a felony drug case against him dismissed on Monday after successfully completing a court-order drug program. The former Guns N' Roses drummer was in a Los Angeles Superior Court to hear the good news from Commissioner Donald Kennedy.

Adler, a graduate of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, had pled no contest to a felony drug possession charge in 2008. The dismissal was "about the best you can get," his attorney Barry Gerald Sands said.

Radar Online

Koo Koo For Cocoa Puffs

TMZ
Slash and Steven Adler now have at least three things in common - Guns N' Roses, rehab, and they were both granted a restraining order yesterday against the same woman.

Adler alleges a woman in Oregon named Lisa Jill Martin-Cahn hired at least three private investigators since '08 to hunt him down ... "under the ruse" they were long lost lovers who met in rehab back in the early 90's.

Adler's docs, filed in LA County, say cops who visited Cahn at her Oregon home last month found "unopened boxes of house ware items which Cahn stated [were] wedding presents for [her and Adler's] upcoming marriage."

Now here's where Slash fits into this: He claims Cahn has contacted him and his family members - including his mother-in-law - by phone and letter in desperate attempts to get in touch with Adler.

Both restraining orders were granted yesterday - Cahn has to stay at least 500 yards away from both guys, their families, work ... and on and on.

Fizzles and Bringdowns 2009

January 17
VH1's Sober House Premieres. Steven Adler shows up wasted, with syringes in his pants pockets, and a tin foil package full of heroin down his pants. Chaos ensues and he gets taken to the home of a staff member to spend the first night, both to protect himself and the other participants.

January 26
Steven Adler is arrested again.

January 27
A mere 8 weeks after it's release, Chinese Democracy plummets to number 57 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

January 29
Former Guns N' Roses manager Alan Niven tells Classic Rock magazine that Axl fired him "to wrestle control of GN’R!" Of the new GN’R, Niven comments: “Y’know, everyone has the right to make the music they want to with whomever they wish. But just be up ’n’ up about it. All this ‘last man’ standing stuff from Axl is horseshit. He wore us all out. Drove us all off. And for a personality like Axl, solo work only makes sense. If he wants to be Elton Rose then more power to him. Go for it. Pull it off. He has the talent to do that. But don’t pretend that one person alone represents the idea of Guns N’ Roses."

February 6
Axl Rose breaks his silence and gives his first public interview in 9 years with Billboard magazine. He addresses rumors of an upcoming tour, "no plans, but there's talk. Management and our promoters are really excited with the offers coming in both here and worldwide." Axl mentions that they're "finalizing a video for 'Better' and writing a couple others now." On the subject of Slash, Axl had this to say "one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man. Anyone putting his own personal entertainment above everything else is sickening."

February 9
Matt Sorum reveals that Velvet Revolver hopes to announce their new vocalist in April.

February 9
Steven Adler heads back to rehab (again).

Febraury 9
The third single from Chinese Democracy, "Street of Dreams," appears on eBay and YouTube. It is never played on the radio, seen in stores, acknowledged by the band or heard from again. Copies of the promo disc are fetching over $150 a piece on eBay.

February 13
Regarding Velvet Revolver's new singer, Duff McKagan tells Opie and Anthony that "I think we have the guy ... yeah. You'll be blown away by the quality. I think we have the right guy. We all know he's killer."

February 14
Nick Sterling auditions for Guns N' Roses.

February 18
Jimmy Fallon says that he wants Axl Rose to appear on his new late-night show. Jimmy calls Chinese Democracy "awesome."

February 23
Rumors of a European festival tour begin to trickle in. Organizers of Spain's Kobetasonik festival list Guns N' Roses as a headliner on the festival's web page. Other rumored dates include June 26 in Norway, August 1 at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, England and June 12-14 at the Download Festival also in England. There are also reports of dates in Italy for the month of June.

February 27
Axl is interviewed by his longtime friend Del James. In the interview Axl says the he considers Slash "a cancer and better removed, avoided -- and the less anyone heard of him or his supporters, the better." In regard to a release date for the sequel to Chinese Democracy Axl says he has no idea and that he doesn't care.

March 4
Rolling Stone reports that Axl Rose intends to follow last November’s release of Chinese Democracy with a worldwide Guns N’ Roses stadium tour this summer. Guns’ manager, Irving Azoff, tells Rolling Stone that the band has big plans for this year. "We have some exciting things in the works this year for GN’R, I’m looking forward to it." Hits Daily Double reports that a co-headlining tour with Van Halen is in the works. Rumors suggest that Guns' set will feature a full orchestra and lavish stage show.

March 5
Canadian Sports Station, TSN, announces a contest to win a trip to see Guns N' Roses perform live "somewhere in the world."

March 9
Velvet Revolver demos with Gord Prior leak.

March 18
Bass Player magazine publishes an interview with Tommy Stinson where he mentions tour dates beginning in April. "I have a feeling it's going to happen, but I'm not holding my breath. It seems that every time that ball starts rolling, it rolls a bit Like a square wheel at first."

March 20
An update on Nomad Recording Studio's MySpace page reads "JT Longoria is the process of mixing new tracks for Izzy Stradlin" As of today (July 24), there is still no release date for this record.

March 21
Guns N’ Roses add guitarist DJ Ashba for “upcoming tour.” The phrase "upcoming tour" is later redacted from the band's website.

March 26
Duff McKagan's Loaded announce Spring tour dates.

April 14
Chinese Democracy comes to the Rock Band 2 videogame.

April 17
Sick, the new album from Duff McKagan's Loaded, sells 1,400 copies in the United States its first week of release.

April 22
Guns N' Roses front-of-house engineer, Ken "Pooch" van Druten appears in a pair of videos discussing the band's Waves audio set-up for their upcoming tour. Pooch talks about the challenges of live mixing a 9-piece band. You can hear the musicians rehearsing "Sweet Child O' Mine" in the background. The videos are removed from YouTube in a matter of hours and the tour is called off several days later.

April 28
Richard Fortus tells KDHX 88.1 FM that Guns "hopefully, will be announcing dates soon, I hope."

April 30
Matt Sorum tells Joe Bosso at MusicRadar that Velvet Revolver needs "a singer soon. We need the right guy in six months. We can't wait another year. Otherwise, it might not matter."

May 7
Slash appears as a mentor on American Idol's rock week.

May 19
Bumblefoot jams with Duff McKagan's Loaded at the Gramercy theater in New York City.

June 1
Slash announces that Izzy Stradlin will play with him on his upcoming solo album.

June 7
The NY Daily News reports that Axl Rose has fired and rehired his manager, Irving Azoff, at least three times in the last five weeks.

June 15
Amazon announces a June 30 release date for the Chinese Democracy guitar tablature book. As of today (July 24) it has not been released.

June 16
New, alternate artwork for the Chinese Democracy booklet appears online. An indie record store in Hollywood is selling copies of the promotional disc for $100. A rep at Universal told me that there are no plans to re-release the album.

June 30
Slash and Friends play the Quart festival in Kristiansand, Norway. The 90 minute set featured appearances from Ron Wood, Ozzy Osbourne and Fergie. The band, which featured Franky Perez on lead vocals, covered songs by Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Velvet Revolver, The Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses, Black Sabbath and more.

July 7
Mister Saint Laurent resurfaces in an attempt to obtain and release a collection of hoarded, unheard songs from the Chinese Democracy sessions. He is, unfortunately, unsuccessful.

July 14
Blogger Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill is sentenced to 1 year probation for leaking 9 songs from the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy. "No fines, no restitution, no jail."

July 15
A live chat with new Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba fails to deliver any information on the group.

July 17
Slash tells Classic Rock magazine that Velvet Revolver is "at a standstill."

July 23
Kevin Cogill tells the GN'R Syndicate that Beta Lebeis' son Fernando lied to the FBI and was responsible for past leaks of GN'R material. "He may have been trying to play hero to redeem himself, or he may have mistakenly thought he was somehow responsible. I don’t know."

Slash Turns 44

Slash was born Saul Hudson on this date in 1965, in Berkshire, England.

Slash is a living legend, and the most distinctive guitar player of his generation.

His guitar playing on Appetite for Destruction is the ultimate fusion of Sleazy Blues and Punk Rock, and has never been replicated since, even by Slash himself.

Currently, Slash is working on his first-ever "solo" album with fellow GN'R alums Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler as well as rock legends Ozzy Osbourne, Ron Wood and Lemmy Kilmister.

It's been a strange year for Slash.

Besides working on his solo album, Slash rocked Norway's Quart Fest with an all-star group of musicians and vocalists.

On June 5, Slash's mother Ola Hudson passed away. She was only 62. Her death was sudden and unexpected.

In May Slash was a mentor on American Idol's Rock Week. He played with Tommy Clufetos (drums), Chris Chaney (bass) and Kerri Kelli (guitar).

Slash's solo disc is expected out in early 2010. His band, Velvet Revolver is currently on hiatus.

Happy Birthday Slashman!

In the Studio with Slash, Flea and Steven

"Flea & Steven did a fabulous job on the new track. Steven is doing really well, I'm proud of him"
-Slash

Slash's Weekly Update (July 15)

Hey all, what's happening? Everything's good on this end. It has been a pretty productive summer so far. My record should be done next month & the recording has gone smoothly & sounds fucking great.

Steven Adler played on the 1st of the last 3 tracks yesterday, along with Flea on bass. The song kicks ass & the drums & bass sound so recognizable & sound so fucking good. Steven is staying clean, which is great, flea is just amazing, period. Steven, Flea & I all lived & met in the same neighborhood in West Hollywood back in the day. Yesterday, we had a great time reminiscing about when we all 1st started playing Rock & Roll & how school didn't fit into the plan, we were like 15. Flea was the 1st one to join an "established" band called "Anthem," I remember being envious. I had a band called "Tidus Sloan" but we didn't have a singer. Sound familiar? Steven & I didn't really have a band together until a few years later when we joined Nikki Sixx's old band "London" after Izzy left. Which, incidentally, was very short lived.

Izzy came down & played on a track a couple weeks ago, that sounds great too. It was good to see him, it's been awhile. Our guitars together really do have a sound all their own.

Besides having some friends of Eric Valentine's come down from Northern California & play cello & violin on a track, I haven't had any other guest musicians so far. Having Flea, Steven & Izzy play has been a real gas. There might be a couple more surprise musicians on this record I think.

The movie I scored while I was writing songs for my record last summer, "This is not a movie," is in it's final production stage & being shopped for distribution. I went to a closed screening of it at Warner Bros a couple weeks ago, its a really dark but funny movie, very indie & very raw. It really surprised me to hear/see it all put together. The score is awesome & almost entirely comprised of electric guitar. It gives the picture a distinct musical personality, which has many moods. Edward Furlong & Peter Coyote star in it, by the way & are phenomenal. Its funny, Edward Furlong was teenage delinquent "John Conner" being chased by the Terminator in "Terminator 2." His key scene was when he was escaping on his motorcycle to the tune of GnR's "You could be mine." Now he is staring in a movie that I did all the music for 18 years later.

The Norway gig happened & was a fucking blast. The band (Jason Bonham, John 5, Ted Andreadis & Franky Perez) was amazing & Ozzy, Fergie & Ronnie Wood were stellar to say the least. But, what really made the gig great was the crowd, they were pretty fucking fantastic. There is some talk of doing some more shows like that in the not too distant future, its too good of a time.

There's a lot of stuff coming up actually, all good. As it happens I will keep you up to date in as timely a fashion as I am capable.

Slash

Alex Grossi Interview

In a brand-new interview with Icon vs. Icon, South Windsor, Connecticut-born rock-guitarist Alex Grossi talks about his stint with Adler's Appetite and his work on Dizzy Reed's solo album with producer Del James.

Interview by Jason Price.


For those how might not know, how did you get involved with Steven Adler and Adler’s Appetite?

I have been working with Steven on and off for about five years now. I initially got contacted by Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot, to do some solo show before Quiet Riot reformed in 2004, that turned into the Bad Boys of Metal tour. It was a summer package that featured Joe Lesté of Bang Tango, Jani Lane of Warrant, Steven Adler of Guns N’ Roses and Kevin DuBrow, with me playing guitar for all four bands. I was literally on stage for four hours a night. During that time, Steven and I became really good friends and after the tour we kept in touch. I did some solo shows with him and after his stint on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, he decided to reform the band and called me. The rest is history!

Adler’s Appetite parted ways with one singer and now you have brought Rick Stitch in to handle the vocals. What does Rick bring to the table?

It is really, really difficult when you are trying to emulate something that people are so familiar with. Appetite for Destruction sold well over 30 million copies worldwide and people know every note from that album. We just played over in Argentina. They don’t speak English but they can even sing the guitar solos! So, we needed someone who can be true to the music but we also don’t want to be a tribute band. The drummer in this band, Steven, wrote a fifth of the music playing on that album. When we made the singer change, a lot of people would contact me or Steven through Myspace. They were wearing the bandanna and one even went so far as to have the fake Axl Rose tattoos put on. That wasn’t what we wanted. We wanted a guy who can hit the notes and do the stuff but at the same time is not a clone. We’re not Steel Dragon, ya know! [laughs] Rick has been great. It is nice to have a guy who is on the same page off stage as he is on stage. What people don’t realize about a touring band that works as hard as we do is that you have to live with these people twenty four hours a day. You may have two straight days off in the middle of God knows where or Iowa and you have to be friends. Certain people get along, certain people don’t but that is the nature of the beast. Instead of being married to one person, try being married to five or six! That’s basically what it is like.

You mentioned recording guitars for Dizzy Reed’s solo debut and I know Del James is serving as producer on that release. What can you tell us about this project and any idea on when it may hit stores?

I have no idea about it’s release date. I know that they are mixing it right now. Once Chinese Democracy came out, I am sure it took a little bit of a back burner. Working with Del was great. For a guy who doesn’t really play an instrument he has a really great ear. He will walk into the room and say “No, no! Do it more like…” and then throw out some crazy analogy that ends up making perfect sense at the end of the day! It was really great working with those guys. As a Guns N’ Roses fan, and I am sure not too many people will be a fan of me saying this, but it is cool to work on every end of the spectrum. By that I mean, I am working with a guy who was there at the very beginning, Steven Adler, all the way up to the guys who are in the band now. Whether that ties the two things together, I can tell you 100% that it does not, but it is really cool to hear the stories and the history of the band. If you think about it, as far as I am concerned, they are the band of my generation. You had The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles for previous generations. As far as rock bands and anyone that is in their early thirties to forties, our band is Guns N’ Roses or Nirvana but definitely one of the two.

Have you had a Spinal Tap Moment on stage?

[laughs] This entire tour has been a Spinal Tap Moment! [laughs] The most recent one was about a week and a half ago. We played a show called Cornstock. It was held in a huge corn field. Big, big show! Tons of people, great show! However, when we got there the promoter came onto the bus and said “Fellas we have a little bit of a problem here. See that there inflatable beer can?” because it was sponsored by Budweiser and they had one of those giant fifty foot beer cans. They had to tear down the entire stage and move it around this beer can. All I could think about was Stonehenge! It was what Stonehenge should have been if it were a can of beer! We had to wait four hours in the sun due to a giant inflatable beer can, so that was very Spinal Tap. Whoever wrote that movie must have been in a band or followed a band around because they were dead on. They actually predicted the future in a lot of ways. They always say watch Spinal Tap and then go on tour for ten years and then watch it again, you will be laughing so hard your ribs hurt! [laughs]

What should we be on the lookout for from you in the coming months?

Definitely the new Adler’s Appetite record! Right now, I have a song out in the new Sandra Bullock movie The Proposal, so if you feel like hearing a song by Beautiful Creatures in a Walt Disney picture, a family movie, that was written by a very un-family band, check that out! [laughs] It is pretty cool! Also look out for possibly some more Paul Reed Smith Road Show dates and a ton more of Adler’s Appetite dates, that’s for sure!

There's much more to this interview, and you can read the entire thing here.

Adler's Appetite on Eddie Trunk June 29

The band will appear on Eddie Trunk's popular syndicated radio program on 6/29 at 6PM.

Check out Eddie's site for more info.
www.eddietrunk.com

Here's Eddie interviewing Steven at last year's Rocklahoma Fest.



Is it just me, or does Eddie Trunk remind you of Seth Rogen too?

Last month, Steven told Beat Magazine that his autobiography will be out in late-January 2010.

Adler's Appetite Upcoming Tour Dates:

June
27 - Monroe City, MO - The Dam Rally
28 - St Louis, MO - The Library
30 - New Bedford, MA - New Wave Cafe

July
01 - Rumford, ME - The Shak
02 - Farmingdale, NY - Crazy Donkey
03 - Cinncinati, OH - Riverstar Entertainment Complex
04 - Bridgeville, IL - Toyota Park Festival
05 - St Paul, MN - Taste Of Minnesota (Harriet Island)

August
15 - Lake Elsinore, CA - Storm Stadium Rock Fest
28 - Universal City, CA - City Walk

GN'R Road Trip Parts I-III

A Lena Boone 'toon.

Alumni News

Via his Twitter account, Slash posted a recent picture of himself and his mother Ola Hudson. Great shirt Slash, and thanks for being so open with your fans during such a difficult time.

Slash is scheduled to play Norway's Quart Fest on June 30.


Canadian guitarist and vocalist Rob Lamothe just the posted MP3s of his Velvet Revolver audition on his official site.

I think he has a pretty cool voice.

"Heartbreak"

"Hollywood"

(right-click, save as)

Meanwhile, former Velvet Revolver vocalist Scott Weiland recently told ARTISTdirect that Stone Temple Pilots has "18 songs written, and vocals are written on about 10 of them."

Former Velvet Revolver bass player Duff McKagan was interviewed on June 10 at the Caribana festival in Switzerland. The interview focused mainly on Duff's new disc with his band Loaded. According to Duff, "it's a straight-up Rock 'n' Roll record."

Next week I'll be publishing my belated review of the album - Sick.



An extended video of Adler's Appetite playing this past Monday night at the SoDo nightclub in Colorado Springs, is embedded below.

Their set: Nightrain, My Michelle, Civil War, Mr. Brownstone, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Rocket Queen, Mama Kin, Sweet Child O' Mine, Paradise City, Welcome To The Jungle.



Finally, thanks to the kind folks at ChopAway.com, I was able to put together this video slideshow of Izzy Stradlin performing "Battleship Chains" live. I'm guessing that the recording is from his 2000 European tour. Thanks for the audio guys. Enjoy.