Slash Reflects On Book Signings

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER guitarist SLASH has issued the following blog detailing his recent book signings:

The whole book signing experience was pretty memorable because it was a whole different medium - I was promoting something I'm not familiar with. I'd walk into a book store and meet an audience that was somewhat similar to the live audience that I perform for, but the demographic was all over the place. It went from six and seven year olds, all the way to 60 and 70 year olds, and everyone in between. When I'm standing on a stage in front of a room full of people, I don't really notice any 70 year olds, on the average. The cool thing about the signings was being in a position to actually stand toe to toe with people who are fans - or just curious. I got to look them in the eye, shake their hands, and sometimes even get names. It was a very different experience for me. It was personable and that was really cool. I was there with this piece of material, this book we just wrote and people were really into hearing what I had to say. It's different than putting out a record, which people listen to and then you see them when they show up at your gigs. At a book signing you're much more accessible, and your fans are right there, living and breathing in person. They are in front of you as individuals, not just as crowd you see from a stage.

I knew it was going to be different at the very first signing, at Barnes and Noble in New York City. I had taped Letterman just before it and was wearing a jacket and button down shirt for the show, so at the signing I took off my jacket and was there in my shirt, starting off this whole thing. This girl came up to the table and kind of looked me over and just said, "Slash, this is way too conservative for you." It dawned on me right then what a different element I was in.

All of the signings were fun but the best for me, the one where I was the most comfortable was the one at the Whiskey a Go-Go. We had a bar, and loud music was playing; it was a club environment and there was some jamming and stuff later that night. And it was in LA. I got up and played at that one, but the one that was most like an actual show was the one at the Mall of America in Minneapolis. I was actually on a stage - they built one stage in the atrium there in the biggest mall in America - hence the name. Unlike other places where people were lined up outside the store, they were lined up in front of the stage, like a crowd at a gig, as I sat up there signing books.

I felt sort of naked out there at the table at all of the signings without the backdrop of my band and crew - my gang. I was there with a bunch of people who work in the bookstore and I was in their store, trying to get away with smoking cigarettes. And sober. It was definitely a little bit different. The pressure was really on me to hold up my end of the bargain which was to be able to accept my audience. It was cool to do it; it was almost cathartic in a way. I wasn't totally sure what to expect, just being out there, meeting fans in this way. I have to say that everybody was genuinely really nice. I wasn't expecting anything bad, but I wasn't sure what they would be like. When you're just sitting there signing books at a table, it's possible that somebody can just walk right up you and go "You're a fucking asshole!" Doing a signing is like being the host of a big dinner party with a bunch of people you've never met. You just don't know what's gonna happen. But everybody was really really nice - endearing is the best word I can think of. They were full of compliments, and I don't take compliments that well, but it was really, really nice. Young and old, everyone was very cool, and we did signings for 800-1000 people per event. A lot of people brought stuff they wanted signed, like guitars, Guitar Hero controllers, pictures, all kinds of gifts. The thing was, I'd need to get into a whirlwind pace of signing just to get through that many books in the time period available - some people bought upwards of 40 books a piece that I had to sign one after the other with no break. In that type of situation, all you can do is sign it. Then I'd look someone in the eye as they'd try to hand me something that clearly meant something to them, and ask me, "Can you please just sign this? Please?" I really couldn't, because if I did one, I'd have to do every one. So what ended up happening was that I'd tell them to wait around until the end and I'd sign it later. I'd go outside and sign all of that in the parking lot for another hour or however long it took.

Who would have thought, though? I've never released a book, I've never been to a signing and outside of the library or a book store, knew nothing about books or publishing in general. I'd read them and that's it. I never thought about what goes into writing them or editing them or producing them in general. When we wrote this I thought it was only going to go out to those Guns N' Roses fans who cared - and I knew there were those - and no one else. I had no idea that we'd get a turnout like this, from the many different types of readers to the huge number of readers. I had no idea that the book we wrote would appeal to enough people to get it on top of the New York Times Bestseller list for over a month straight. I had no idea that what we were dong was working toward something that would become this big. Who knows... maybe that's why it's cool.

Slash

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Guns N' Roses Classic Mistaken For Death Threat

The Associated Press reports that a school custodian's impromptu after-hours karaoke performance prompted a police response when a teacher thought she was being threatened over the loudspeaker.

State police say a teacher at Booth Free School in Roxbury, Connecticut barricaded herself inside a classroom Wednesday when she mistook someone singing a GUNS N' ROSES song over the public address system for a threat.

She was working after hours and thought no one else was in the building. Then she heard someone say over the loudspeaker that she was going to die.

Six troopers and three police dogs showed up and found three teenagers, one of them a custodian at the school, who had been playing with the public address system.

Police say one of them sang "Welcome to the Jungle" into the microphone. The song contains the lyrics "You're in the jungle baby; you're gonna die."

The teenagers were cuffed on the ground for about 15 minutes while police investigated. They were released after being questioned and state police Sgt. Brian Ness said they did not realize the teacher was in the school and will not face charges.

"These things happen," Van Ness said. "Luckily it was humorous. You kind of have a gut feeling. As soon as we got there, we spoke to the three kids. They understood."

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Slash Speaks On Guns 'N Roses And More

Metro.co.uk recently conducted an interview with VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metro.co.uk: What was the high point of your time in GUNS N' ROSES?

Slash: The whole thing was a high point. It was the best thing I could have got involved with. I always judged how successful we were by the response from the fans. Towards the end it was overwhelming. The biggest concerts we did were two Rock In Rio festivals, where we played to more than 190,000 people. Playing in front of that many people is a lot to take in so I hid behind the guitar, the hat, the hair, the cigarette — but you can definitely still feel them out there.

Metro.co.uk: You've worked with a variety of famous musicians. With whom did you get on best?

Slash: I really got on great with almost all of them. Michael Jackson's record was a special moment, so was working with Iggy Pop, Lenny Kravitz and Ray Charles. A not-so-great one was with Bob Dylan. That was a huge learning experience. I was recommended for a guitar solo on his track "Wiggle Wiggle" during one of his darker periods in the late 1980s. I put a solo on there that I was quite proud of and put an acoustic rhythm track underneath it. When I heard it, only the acoustic track was there. Apparently he took the solo off because it sounded too much like GUNS N' ROSES.

Metro.co.uk: That must have been disapointing.

Slash: A bit. It was one of my first sessions. If I knew then what I know now I'd have done things differently.

Playing to 190,000 people is a lot to take in so I hid behind the guitar, the hat, the hair and the cigarette

Metro.co.uk: What bands do you like at the moment?

Slash: FOO FIGHTERS, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, MEGADETH, WHITE STRIPES. Mostly bands that have been around for a while. There haven't been any new bands I've heard recently that have caught my ear.

Metro.co.uk: What was Michael Jackson like?

Slash: Very astute and professional — he knew exactly what he wanted me to do in the songs.

Metro.co.uk: What about as a person?

Slash: He was great. All that stuff about his extra-curricular sexual preferences — I hope isn't true. I never encountered anything like that. He was just a pleasure to work with.

Metro.co.uk: Will you ever work with Axl Rose again?

Slash: I always say "never say never" but it's not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

Metro.co.uk: Do you still collect pinball machines?

Slash: Yes, I just gave away a couple so now I only have 13. I want to get the new "King Kong" and the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" ones. My favourite is an old one called "Funhouse". They're programmed not to take money, or else I'd need a lot of loose change.

Metro.co.uk: What are the highs and lows of dating a porn star [Slash has gone out with at least two]?

Slash: It depends on the porn star. The sex is great and very uninhibited. The lows were getting too much of the same thing. It starts to feel like you're making a movie every time you have sex.

Read the full article at this location.

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Duff McKagen Speaks On Axl Rose

Steve Bell of Australia's Time Off magazine recently conducted an interview with VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On the fact that their collective pasts may put more pressure on them to produce the goods, and opens them to more public scrutiny than the average band:

"I don't think any of us pay any attention to that at all. I've never, ever felt pressure — I've never felt pressure to follow up one record with a better record. It's just about keeping it real, and if people dig it then that's cool, and if they don't that's cool too.

"Once you start trying to make music a product and start following a formula — and I know bands who do this, they follow the formula of their hit record instead of just following their instinct of what a good song is to them — then it's all over. You've got to write for yourself first."

On how the material from the band's second album, "Libertad", is being received:

"It's been going over good. We've done a lot of South American dates, and that was pretty unreal. It's a great place to start a tour if you're us. We didn't know how many fans we had down there, and it was fucking insane.

"Then we went to Europe — that was great. We did a couple of North American runs, which were also cool — we had ALICE IN CHAINS opening on the last one. They're fucking awesome and really good friends of ours, so it was cool. It's a fun record to play live, and it's great now that we have obviously a couple of records worth of material to play.

"We're doing a cool thing in the middle of our set where we strip everything down and do some old songs from our collective bands — some STP and GN'R songs. Songs that you might not expect us to play, and we sort of sit on stools and do them semi-acoustically. It's pretty cool. It's worked really well, I think it's powerful."

On being able to embrace their incredible pasts:

"It's better than having a past that you're fucking trying to hide from — maybe if I'd been in WINGER we wouldn't be so open to it. Nothing against WINGER, of course, but you know what I'm saying. I mean it's true — the songs we wrote in GUNS N' ROSES were fucking killer songs, and they're great to do live, so why not?"

On whether the former members of GUNS N' ROSES feel that Axl Rose is tarnishing the amazing legacy that they left behind:

"I haven't really paid attention to it — maybe part of me doesn't want to. Probably a large part of me doesn't want to. I haven't tried to analyze it too much. As far as the name being tarnished, I think that's for the fans to figure out on their own.

"I have my own feelings about it and I keep them pretty private, but I hope that one day Axl and I can at least talk and be friends. Because we did a lot together. We did some pretty amazing things, and it's kind of a shame. He's always talking trash, and it's kind of goofy at this point, I think."

On the the biggest change that McKagan has noticed in the music industry between the '80s and now:

"The biggest difference now — and this is really over the last, like, seven years — is back when Gunners was doing it a tour was still thought of as something to promote your record. That's the way it had been since the 50s, but now with record sales slumping everywhere bands are figuring out other ways to make money on the road.

"So now, really, a record is sort of like advertising for your tour. That's where bands are getting smarter about touring economically, and paying more attention to merchandise and T-shirts and all that shit. Doing 'meet-and-greet' packages — all kinds of shit. And it's now not a bad thing to have your song on a commercial, or in a movie or on a ringtone — that's just the way it is now.

"Whereas ten years ago that would have been fucking 'selling out!' It's not even considered selling out any more, it's just good business. So really the biggest change in the music industry is actually the business of music. Not much has changed as far as songwriting or the attitude towards playing music live — you keep it real and you keep it honest, and the rest will follow."

On having had some pretty incredible adventures over the last 20-plus years:

"I guess so, man. I wish I remembered more of them. There's a period from '90 to '93 that I don't remember, but for the most part it's been great. I'm alive to tell some of the stories anyhow, and I look back and know that I have had a pretty great run.

"I'm 43 now and I'm still out doing it, and still kind of looked at as a semi-viable proposition as a musician. And I think I've fucking earned that by now. Obviously the most fun thing for me is having a great family, and being a father that my girls look up to, and leading for them by example. For me that's the most important thing — this rock music is all sort of just frilly extra stuff."

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Slash To Appear On Montel Williams Show

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Slash will be a guest on tomorrow's (Thursday, November 29) episode of "The Montel Williams Show" (also known as "Montel"), a syndicated a talk show hosted by Montel Williams. Slash will share his story of battling back drug addiction to start a new successful band and become a happy family man.

Slash's co-author of his new autobiography, Anthony Bozza told BostonNow.com, "The greatest thing for me as a writer working on this book is that Slash never really gave it up in the press. He didn't talk about the stuff that went on behind the scenes with himself or with the band. To be honest, I don't think he ever really cared about that kind of stuff. But people always ask him about it and with the the 20th anniversary of 'Appetite for Destruction' this year, he just felt it was time to put all that stuff to bed and just focus on his new band, VELVET REVOLVER."

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Sebastian Bach Charts With "Angel Down"

Sebastian Bach tops next week's Billboard Heatseekers Chart with "Angel Down," his first solo album in eight years. "Angel Down" - produced by Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Judas Priest) and featuring three tracks with Guns N Roses' Axl Rose on vocals - also lands at #27 on Billboard's Hard Rock chart, and enters the Top 200 Albums chart at #190. While it will be a week or so before all international sales figures are in, "Angel Down" debuted at #50 in Japan.

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Slash Loses Suitcase At Airport

According to Metro.co.uk, former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Slash has revealed that his suitcase was misplaced when he recently jetted into the UK, reports The Independent.

"It has got loads of really expensive jewelry and all my leather trousers in," he is quoted as saying.

Slash reportedly added that it meant he had to wear the same clothes for three days.

The guitarist continued: "I saw one suitcase that looked like mine. I would have taken it but could have ended up walking around London in someone else's dress."

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Jetboy Guitarist Claims Slash Contrdicts Himself

BringBackGlam.com recently conducted an interview with JETBOY lead guitarist Billy Rowe. An excerpt from the chat follows:

BringBackGlam.com: Do you know that JETBOY is mentioned several times in the new Slash autobiography?

Billy: Yeah. That's a very interesting question. We played L.A. Friday and Las Vegas Saturday. A good friend of ours, he's 25, a huge fan of the band…he helps us out. Anyway, I stayed at his place Friday night and he was like, "I got the Slash book." I looked at it…and I just knew. I guarantee we're in that in bits, pieces and good size chunks. It's like history repeating itself all over again.

BringBackGlam.com: Well, it seems like Slash was a big fan.

Billy: Yeah. It's really interesting. Fern read the whole thing on the way to Vegas and back. It so personal because Todd (Crew, bass) died and was fired from the band due to substance abuse, mainly alcohol. We tried to get our manager and the band…we were buddies, two bands connected at the hip. Actually, Fernie and I knew Axl and Izzy before GUNS N' ROSES even formed and then once we got our bands going…well, HOLLYWOOD ROSE was hanging on by a thread. Axl was like "Dude, I got a new band, let's start doing shows together." Me and Izzy were pretty tight…it's kind of funny. We were the two that introduced Todd to GUNS N' ROSES and got that whole connection going. You know, Todd ended up just looking at different things… a lot of partying. When Todd joined JETBOY, he wasn't that much of a partier. It got to the point where we went to GUNS N' ROSES and said "Todd is going to die. He's bad off, you need to something." They were like "Todd's fine. We all party. You guys are tripping." We didn't know what to do. We were meeting with labels, our producer was making comments that he was cheating the band…we were a team. It was a hard decision — and to this day I don't know if it was the right decision — but from that day on, the two of us — JETBOY and GUNS N' ROSES — were at war. Six months later, Todd was dead. Todd's family went after Slash. They hired a private investigator and all this stuff. GUNS N' ROSES started badmouthing us all the way to the top. They became the biggest band in the world. A year later, they fired Steven Adler for the same reason. Is it the pot calling the kettle black? I say yes all the way around. It's very personal. I think they have guilt. They know we went to them. He was only 20 years old. He was doing too much and he died. It's a shame. When I read the book…there's a lot of stuff that isn't true. It bothers me. Slash wants the last laugh.

BringBackGlam.com: What is untrue?

Billy: First thing, he gives us props, but then he says "I didn't like the band very much."

BringBackGlam.com: Well, he doesn't like glam.

Billy: Well, I've got photos of that guy wearing lipstick, huge hair and fishnets up his arms. Whatever. He says stuff like "Their lead singer had a mohawk so that makes them less transparent, like POISON." Earlier in the book…he talks about auditioning for POISON while he was still in GUNS N' ROSES! He contradicts himself. He says he doesn't like glam but he auditioned for the glam band that was doing the best at the time because, obviously, he wanted success. When he says that he didn't like the band, that isn't true. We were all friends, we all supported each other. Axl used to trip on Mick. Mickey used to wear the chaps, then Axl started wearing the chaps. The whole overdose situation that Todd died in Slash's arms…and that he (Slash) swears someone else was there and gave him some bad dope. Todd wasn't very experienced. The bottom of the line is the guy OD'd and they revived him and then they put him back in bed. What kind of idiot doesn't call for paramedics right away? From what I know, the truth is, after he OD'd and they revived him, Slash panicked and left. They (GUNS N' ROSES) came back they found him dead, and that was their alibi. It makes complete more sense than him dying in Slash's arms when he's high as a kite on dope, probably facing possession, and he got not one charge, nothing. There's definitely some loopholes in the story.

BringBackGlam.com: So after Todd died, you never had anything else do with GUNS N' ROSES?

Billy: After Todd was out of the band, they were headed toward their trouble. They wanted to fire Axl — several times — before they even did a record. We all had issues with singers (laughs). I kept up with Izzy (Stradlin, original rhythm guitar for GUNS N' ROSES) he's the guy who definitely started separating himself from the band…especially when they started to get success. I remember we got thrown out of a (GUNS N' ROSES) show in the Bay Area. [JETBOY] had just moved back to San Francisco…in like 1991 and we were pretty good buddies with SKID ROW. They were touring with GUNS N' ROSES. We went to hang out at the show and we were backstage…and here comes Axl walking by. Mickey said "Hey Axl, what's going on?" We kind of did have a make-up thing. They made a public apology at the Cathouse one night (in 1988), but we didn't hang out like we used to. They were blowing up so big they were always on the road. Ten minutes later, I saw some crew guy…go up to SKID ROW's guy and whisper in his ear and I just knew. That crew guy talked to Rachel (Bolan, SKID ROW bassist) and he was like "What?!" and he came over and said "Dude, you've all got to leave. Axl said he won't go on until JETBOY is out of the venue." I was like "You've got to be fucking kidding." He really just wanted us out of backstage. The funny thing is they had given us fifth row seats, so it was almost like a slap. "Get out there and watch what you ain't got." The next day I ran into Izzy on Haight Street…me, Mick and Rachel and my sister were all there shopping around. My sister was like "Hey, there's Izzy!" I was like, "Fuck that!" and I walked out the door, but before I could get out of the door, he started yelling my name. He said "Dude, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I had nothing to do with that. You know it's not me. If you want to come tonight, you can be my personal guest it's totally good…" Once that happened, I knew it was all Axl and it was all over Todd. He was never around. He was always in his own world. It was another drama situation for him to embellish and be a part of…to use his wackiness. I never understood that.

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Rock Star Supernova Frontman Speaks Out

Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star recently conducted an interview with ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA frontman Lukas Rossi. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

On ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA coming to an end this past spring after dismal sales of its debut album and disastrous concert reviews:

"It takes a chunk out of you, man. I'm not gonna lie. I thought it was gonna go on longer. I think my ego got blown a little out of proportion after it was all said and done, and coming back down to earth is obviously where I belong. Coming off that tour, it was like: 'Where's all the glory?' But I like it where I am right now. If I have to pay my dues until I die, that's the way God wants it to be."

On weaving his way across Canada on a small-venue acoustic tour that brings him to Lee's Palace in Toronto Sunday night (November 25):

"It's not really an adjustment. I've always been a really hard worker. In my other bands, no one did shit for us. It's just as hard on my wife [former porn star Kendra Jade] as it is on me. I failed my driver's test four times so, unfortunately, she's been having to do all the driving. She basically tour-manages and handles all the crazy people and so forth that I can't. ... She's good support. We get hard on each other sometimes – it's pretty grueling, driving and playing, driving and playing, especially in the winter. I'm sick now and I have 10 shows in a row to do. But the fans are waiting, man, so it's my pleasure to do it."

On ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA's possible comeback:

"It actually felt like a real band. I thought it was gonna go on much longer. But at the end of the tour, everyone just kind of went off and started deejay-ing or whatever [apparently referring to ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA drummer Tommy Lee]. I don't know what that's about, but let 'em do what they want. I'd just started to fire. I'm ready to start rockin'. I'm just getting my feet wet and I've got no time to relax. I don't have time to make pit stops. I'm not a deejay.

"All these [solo acoustic] shows in Canada are sold out, man, and they're not there to see Tommy Lee. They're there to see me. And that's a good feeling." More...

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Axl Rose Fought To Save Home

KCAL-TV (Channel 9), an independent station in Los Angeles, California owned by CBS Corporation, is reporting that GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose has plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend, but it was a close call. The wildfire in Southern California that left six firefighters hurt and destroyed dozens burnt his roof and all around his expansive property.

Rose's assistant Beta Lebeis, who lives on the property, says the rock legend fought to save his home. "He helped a lot," she said. "He did a lot. He was with the hose everywhere. Then the firetruck came in and locked us. So then they told us, 'Just close the garage doors and just go back in. There's nothing you can do,' because it was like an inferno outside."

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Velvet Revolver Bassist Talks Guns N Roses Reunion

Australia's News.com.au reports that VELVET REVOLVER's bass guitarist Duff says he's open to hooking up with GUNS N' ROSES again and, of course, Axl Rose — as as long as it's not too chaotic.

And he intends seeing Australia on a Harley-Davidson when his band tours next month.

Speaking to News.com.au's Qconfidential from a beachside bar in Maui where he ordered a cocktail during the interview, Duff said he and Slash had discussed a possible GUNS N' ROSES show.

"It would be a lot of fun as long as it was on a fun level and say just 10 shows to huge crowds," Duff said.

"But we're not really hanging around for a call or with our breath held."

Duff's more immediate focus is VELVET REVOLVER's show on December at the Brisbane Convention Centre.

The band has visas for their visit Down Under, unlike their tour of Japan which had to be cancelled because they were denied visas.

He was last here with the band a couple of years ago and surprised a number of locals, especially a three-piece cover band, when they turned up at the Victory Hotel on a Sunday night.

"Brisbane's an awesome place and I remember that pub and the people were really friendly," Duff said.

"Anywhere where there's sunshine and palm trees people are happy."

As for his love of Harleys: "We're going to get a couple of bikes and on our days off tour around country. It's better than staying in your hotel room."

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Slash Speaks On Guns N Roses Rumours

The following story is courtesy of CityNews.ca:

He plays heavy metal notes with a passion few others can match. But it turns out those aren't the only notes veteran axeman SLASH kept all those years. He's assembled enough of his experiences as the guitar god for GUNS N' ROSES to put them into a book. And this road warrior isn't afraid to tell all.

The real Saul Hudson's tome, Slash, is filled with tales from his beginnings with G'nR to his new incarnation in Velvet Revolver. The man looks the same - the characteristic mane and the ever present cigarette, hat and sunglasses. But he admits he's changed over the years of seeing so many strange things happening in his life. And it's his only chance to set the record straight.

"There were a lot of rumours about Guns 'N Roses going around that was really getting to me, you know," he confesses. "It was like stuff that I usually, you know, sort of just dismiss and don't pay much attention to, but it got to be really saturating and I got fed up and I said, 'okay, the only way I'm going to be able to get some accurate information out there, from at least the way that I see it, is to actually do the book.'"

Read the full article at this location.

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Slash Announces Ultimate Guitar Showdown

The following press release has been issued:

Music Nation, the online home for independent artists, announces SLASH's Ultimate Guitar Showdown, an online competition in search of the ultimate guitar solo. Guitarists will be judged by one of the most recognizable figures in modern music: Slash, current VELVET REVOLVER and former GUNS N' ROSES guitar god, and now the animated star of wildly popular video game Guitar Hero III. Looking to serve any and every guitar-wielding gearhead, Slash’s Ultimate Guitar Showdown will award one competitor, courtesy of Gibson, Slash’s favorite guitar – a Gibson Les Paul Guitar – and the setup that brings it all together – a Marshall Stack.

Slash’s Ultimate Guitar Showdown will empower bedroom guitar heroes and bands with killer guitarists to go head-to-head for bragging rights. Entrants can upload their videos and/or mp3s at showdown.musicnation.com to create an artist profile now. Slash will not only be the sole judge of guitar craft, but guitarists can also browse the website for hidden interview footage of the iconic axeman himself.

Musicians can enter up to December 4th. Beginning November 27th, musicians will gain valuable feedback from the public, who can rank competition entries via head-to-head voting before the best ten are judged by Slash beginning on December 5th. The winner will be announced on the website December 10th with four honorable mentions

Read the full article at here.

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Slash Planning Solo Album

Current Velvet Revolver and ex-Guns N Roses guitarist Slash recently published his autobiography and now has a solo album in his sights. Although he doesn't have a timetable for the project, Slash told The Pulse of Radio he already has a lot of ideas for what direction he wants it to take. "I really want to do a solo record and play with a lot of different people that I've worked with before, maybe some people I haven't worked with, and just do something really, really sort of interesting," he said. "'Cause I've played on so many other people's records, you know, and I want to write material for, like, different individuals to sing on and whatnot. So that's sort of like the main sort of backburner kind of thing going on at the moment."

Meanwhile, VELVET REVOLVER was forced to cancel a four-city Japanese tour after the band members were denied visas. A spokesperson for concert promoter Creativeman Productions noted in a statement that the group had previously toured Japan in 2005, but now explained, "The increasingly tough Japanese immigration officials are taking exception with the backgrounds of various band members, which have included arrests." VELVET REVOLVER is appealing the decision, but the process could take months to resolve. "We want to apologize to our fans in Japan that we won't be able to perform our scheduled concerts," the band said in a statement. "We don't understand why the authorities won't give us visas when they granted them for us in 2005 for what was a successful tour and a great experience. We love Japan and look forward to our return there."

VELVET REVOLVER is still scheduled to tour Australia in early December.

The group wrapped up a North American tour with ALICE IN CHAINS last month as it continues promoting its second album, "Libertad". The record has sold 250,000 copies in the United Staes since its release last July, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Slash will appear as a presenter at the 35th annual American Music Awards, which will broadcast live on ABC this Sunday (November 18) from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

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Guitar Hero III Brings In $100Mil In First Week

The Pulse of Radio reports: Guitar Hero III grossed more than $100 million in its first seven days on sale in North America, according to Variety.com. Activision revealed the figures on Monday (November 5), making the music-based video game the second biggest title of the year after Halo 3, which hauled in $170 million in its first day alone. The sales of Guitar Hero could be either a positive or negative sign for the upcoming Rock Band, depending on how much money players have left to spend when the latter game arrives at the end of the month.

The third entry in the massively popular Guitar Hero series, which has been promoted by commercials featuring VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Slash, features songs from DISTURBED, SLIPKNOT, THE KILLERS, AEROSMITH, A.F.I., GUNS N' ROSES, METALLICA, MUSE, PEARL JAM, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SMASHING PUMPKINS and dozens more.

Stars such as KORN's Jonathan Davis and Trent Reznor of NINE INCH NAILS have been outspoken in their enthusiasm for the game.

As previously reported, following the October 28th release of the game many of the artists with tracks featured in the game saw impressive spikes in both album and single sales. British metallers DRAGONFORCE claimed the #1 spot for digital single sales amongst other tracks included in Guitar Hero III for "Through The Fire And Flames," a track from their Roadrunner Records debut, "Inhuman Rampage." The single saw an impressive 183% increase over the prior weeks single sales. More...

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Slash Announces Toronto Book Signing

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER guitarist SLASH will be signing copies of his self-titled memoir, Slash, in Toronto, ONT on Monday, November 19th at 7pm at Chapters Festival Hall.

Chapters Festival Hall is located at 142 John St. For further info, contact the store at 416-595-7349.

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Guitar Hero III Boosts Roadrunner Sales

Roadrunner Records has issued the following update:

"Following the October 28th release of Activision's Guitar Hero III many of the artists with tracks featured in the game saw impressive spikes in both album and single sales. British metallers DRAGONFORCE have claimed the #1 spot for digital single sales amongst other tracks included in Guitar Hero III for 'Through The Fire And Flames', a track from their Roadrunner Records debut, Inhuman Rampage. The single saw an impressive 183% increase over the prior weeks single sales, beating out THE KILLERS, THE ROLLING STONES, METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES among others. DragonForce also ranked #3 in album sales among other bands with tracks featured in the game. Labelmates KILLSWITCH ENGAGE emerged with #1 album sales when compared to artists included in the game, ranking ahead of DISTURBED and Metallica. Guitar Hero III features the track 'My Curse' from their current Roadrunner offering As Daylight Dies.

Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the third installment in the Guitar Hero gaming series and is currently available at North American retailers. Activision Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California and is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea."

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Sebastian Bach To Rock Someone's House

A private Sebastian Bach concert at the winner's home tops off the grand prize in a promotion sponsored by "The Rock of New Jersey," radio station WDHA-FM/105.5. "WDHA Rocks Your House" kicked off last month and come Saturday, December 8, some lucky Jersey-area winner will find Sebastian Bach and band setting up in his or her living room to rock the house exclusively for the winner's friends, family and neighbors. For more details, tune into WDHA weekday mornings at 7:20ET.

Sebastian Bach's first solo album in eight years, "Angel Down," will be released on November 20. Produced by Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Judas Priest). It features three tracks with Guns N Roses' Axl Rose on vocals.

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Sebastian Bach Talks New Guns N Roses Songs

Metal Edge magazine recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach. An excerpt from the chat follows:

Metal Edge: Do you ever get [Axl Rose] on the phone and say, "Will you just put your fuckin record out already?"

Bach: I said that to him once, and it was one of the only times he bristled at me. He goes, "Oh, everybody, Sebastian's got a great fucking idea. Hey! I should put out a record! Thanks, man what would I do without you dude... that's awesome." I was like, "OK, I get it. Ill never say that again." See, the thing that nobody gets, that I get, is that he has like four albums done. I've heard it. So get ready! All you people who don't think he's gonna put out a record are sadly mistaken. He just takes his time. It's his album. Axl does what he wants to do, that's the way it is. And just 'cause you havent heard it doesn't mean it's not done."

Metal Edge: Well, I've heard the six tracks that were leaked, and they're amazing.

Bach: But those aren't the final versions. He laughed about those. Those aren't the record. Those are some other version of whatever. One of my favorite songs — I asked Axl if I could mention the song titles and he said "Fine" — and one of my favorite songs is this song called "The General", which is so… it's by far the heaviest metal tune I think ive ever heard Axl do, this slow, grinding riff with these high, peircing vocals, screaming vocals. I was like, "When is this coming out?" And he said "2012" I was like, "Dude, you're killin' me!" He goes, "Well, this comes out on the third record. It relates to this song, it's a trilogy, this goes with this lyrically." He's got it all figured out, he's just different than other people. He does things on his own time, in his own way, but you know...the world's not prepared for what I've heard from this guy. It's got the grandness and the epic-ness of "November Rain" but with the snarl, the attitude of "Appetite". Because the album that I've heard, a lot of the drumming is by Brain, who plays so heavy and mean. It's a really...grand is the word for it, but its still got that attitude. There's some great music comin' your way.

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Ex-Guns N Roses Guitarist To Release Acoustic CD

Ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist IZZY STRADLIN is planning on releasing a new acoustic album later this month via the iTunes Music Store. The album is called Fire, The Acoustic Album and it was recorded in California during the summer. The album features all acoustic, two guitars with one playing slide. Rick Richards and Taz Bentley play on some of the album along with JT (bass and percussion). He also mixed it in Dallas at Nomad Studios. Two of the songs, called 'Box' and 'Seems To Me', were co-written by Timo Kaltia (who also co-wrote GN'R's 'Right Next Door To Hell').

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