Slash needs no introduction as even the most unmusical people know his name as the guitarist for one of the largest bands in the world, Guns N Roses. In fact, when I was living in Hollywood in the early 90’s I used to run into Slash quite a bit on the Sunset strip. We even jammed together on stage at a little-known place in the San Fernando Valley called Bourbon Square in Van Nuys. After Guns N Roses, Slash formed the band Snakepit with different incarnations. The first with singer Eric Dover on the album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. The second with singer Rod Jackson, who delivered a great performance on the release Ain’t Life Grand, produced by the famed Aerosmith producer Jack Douglass.
Then, in 2002, he was part of the supergroup Velvet Revolver with members Scott Weiland, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, and Dave Kushner. He also toured and recorded with Myles Kennedy from Altered Bridge and released the album Made In Stoke. Slash’s new endeavor is entitled Orgy of the Damned, a Blues tribute album featuring a host of guests as Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Iggy Pop, Paul Rogers (Bad Company), Brian Johnson (AC/DC), Gary Clark, Jr., and even Demi Lovato. One of my favorite tracks is the final song called “Metal Chestnut.” Though there are wonderful performances on such blues classics as “Key To The Highway” with Dorothy, “Stormy Monday” with Beth Hart and “Oh Well” featuring Chris Stapleton. The album was released by Gibson Guitars, which surprised me because I wasn’t aware of their involvement in the record industry.
The tour is called the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, which stands for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance to bring fans together to celebrate the spirit of the Blues. Also, to perform with other Blues artists Slash admires who share his love of the genre. The festival included Larkin Poe, ZZ Ward, and Robert Randolph. Slash was the last act with his band, comprising bassist Johnny Griparic, keyboardist Teddy ‘ZigZag’ Andreadis, drummer Michael Jerome, and singer/guitarist Tash Neal. A portion of the proceeds from each VIP package and S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival ticket sold will directly benefit the charities SLASH has selected: The Equal Justice Initiative, Know Your Rights Camp, The Greenlining Institute, and War Child. S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival has partnered with PLUS1.ORG to support these charitable endeavors. He’s a man after my heart because I have produced many charity albums for various causes, especially for our veterans.
Slash opened up playing his Gibson ES-335, which sounded great through a sea of Magnatone M-80-amp combos. He also switched axes through his set using a Gibson Custom Shop Master Artisan Collection Leo Scala Explorer, a Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird, and a 1986 Gibson Les Paul Standard. It was a deep and fun journey of such Blues classics as “Crossroads”, “Oh Well”, “Born Under a Bad Sign”, “Killing Floor”, “Stormy Monday” and even the Motown classic “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” by The Temptations, which was very well done. During his set, Slash even dug deep down and pulled some Jimmy Page licks from the Led Zeppelin classic “Heartbreaker.”
A terrific show to celebrate our great tradition of the blues and even the British Blues from bands like Cream and the Jeff Beck Group.
