Slash - The Autobiography

[Hardrock69]

I am halfway through this book right now.

The only reason I am going to finish it is that I paid out 5 bucks for it at a used bookstore, and I figure I have gotten up to about 1992 or so. Might as well finish the read.

Though it is a good chronicle of his life, I realized something while reading it.

I am not fucking interested in reading the fucking life story of a fucking junkie.

Fuck that stupid motherfucker. He was a fucking junkie by the time he was 19. Several other idiots in GNR were smackers also. Stupid fucks.

I don't give a goddamn if he can play guitar or not. He is a fucking loser, junkie motherfucker.

When I finish reading this, I am going to sell it back to the used bookstore. At least I can get some of my money back.

Good thing I did not buy it new. I would not be interested in contributing to his fucking junkie habit.

Oh and it confirms the obvious.....Axle Grease is a fucking loser asshole cocksucker. Fuck that worthless piece of shit. He is a pathetic excuse for a human being. Fucking idiot.

Ethel Merman should have murdered her red-headed bastard step-child test-tube baby while she had the chance.

[DLR Bridge]

Is he a junkie? He always struck me as the stoner/drinker type. I remember him saying he used to sell weed outside of the VH club gigs.

What's the absolute worst thing he's said about Axl so far? I'm curious as to whether he sugar coated his story or not, in order to leave the proverbial reunion door open the way Duff apparently did.

[binnie]

It's certainly a warts and all read. I remember being somewhat dissappointed - when GNR were at the heights of their fame touring the world, Slash spent most of his time trying to score heroin. So many of his memories seem to be about that. 'Landed in city, tried to find dope.......'.

He also comes across very badly in places. He gets into a relationship with some girl, who subsequently nurses him off dope only for him to realise that he doesn't like her very much and he kicks her to the curb. Classy - the way he puts it is brutal. I suspect that if you actually had to be around them, most rock stars would be assholes.

But it's certainly worth a read - the stuff about Axl clearly still touches his nerves 20 years later.

[DLR Bridge]

I suspect that if you actually had to be around them, most rock stars would be assholes.

Ain't that a bitch?

Kinda makes being stuck with an underpaying 9 to 5 job burn a little bit more.

[jhale667]

. I suspect that if you actually had to be around them, most rock stars would be assholes.

IME I wouldn't say "most" - in fact most of the ones I've met and hung out with over the years are cool as shit for the most part. The ones that ARE assholes tend to take it to the Nth degree though...

[sadaist]

I suspect that if you actually had to be around them, most rock stars would be assholes.
.

Ain't that a bitch?

Kinda makes being stuck with an underpaying 9 to 5 job burn a little bit more.

Most people in the American workforce are assholes too. I'd venture to guess that dealing with assholes is a lot easier when you can just look at your bank statement and realize you can tell anyone at any time to fuck off and simply walk away.

[DLR Bridge]

Most people in the American workforce are assholes too. I'd venture to guess that dealing with assholes is a lot easier when you can just look at your bank statement and realize you can tell anyone at any time to fuck off and simply walk away.

That's not a move that I'd reccomend a guy with a family and a mortgage make.


(so don't tempt me! )

[DLR Bridge]

IME I wouldn't say "most" - in fact most of the ones I've met and hung out with over the years are cool as shit for the most part. The ones that ARE assholes tend to take it to the Nth degree though...

True. I've hung out with Scotti Hill and Dave Sabo a few times. Still can't believe how friggin' nice they were.

[jhale667]

That's not a move that I'd reccomend a guy with a family and a mortgage make.


(so don't tempt me! )

I don't have either of those, but these days even I'd think twice before telling an employer to fuck off .... it's tough out there!

But I've been in situations where I've seen a few rock stars tell people to fuck off, and it's usually hilarious...!

[vandeleur]

Most of the people I've met in the music industry have been very cool and groovy . But am guessing there is some clever equation the says the bigger the arshole you are the less likely you want to meet the peasants so chances are most people don't meet the true douche bags.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Slash has acquired this status of some kind of "legendary" guitarist, and I just don't see it.

Don't get me wrong, he's no slouch for sure, but he seems to be the go-to-guitarist for every special occasion nowadays....

[FORD]

I think Slash is actually more famous for his look/image than he is for his actual playing. Not that the GnR records weren't huge or anything, but the odd combination of the Abe Lincoln top hat and the massive amount of hair covering his face.... for better or worse, it's an iconic look. Most people would probably recognize him more with their eyes than their ears (aside from the GnR records that everybody knows)

[DLR Bridge]

And is it me, or does every solo he's done since Appetite sound exactly the same? I've been hearing his new song, Anastasia, on the radio. The riff is eh, and the singer grates on me, but the solo? Same damn thing he's always done. Same thin sound, too. He plays a Les Paul FFS! Where's the beef?

[vandeleur]

Thought some of the early velvet revolver stuff was a bit different , thought the slither riff was pretty cool . But he isn't breaking ground with anything new but then again he doesn't have to do many night shifts

[Hardrock69]

I am only at the point where they kicked Steve Adler out of the band. Slash admits it was hypocritical and harsh, kicking him out for being a junkie, but the fact was his playing was affected enough that they needed a real drummer, not a fucking junkie phoning it in. And Slash had just cleaned his act up, though I can only assume he began junkerizing again soon afterwards. I will find out as I read further.

So as for the breakdown in the relationship between Axl Grease and Slash, I am not there yet. But there were several incidents mentioned in the early part of the book where Axle was just a plain fucking dick. Slash tries to explain it away by saying "He was so sensitive..."

Bullshit.

The last thing I read just a moment ago.....they had forced Adler to sign a contract stating he would not perform or rehearse while on smack. It was a three strikes, he's out contract. Of course he signed it, and ignored it.

Then once the fired him, Adler sued them over a technicality in the contract, and they were forced to pay him 2 million fucking dollars.

Paying a junkie off because he is a fucking junkie? 2 million fucking dollars? What a load of fucking shit.


Look...truth be told, I am sure Slash is not a complete dick....but yeah, I just read the part where he kicked the chick out who was just trying to help him and have a relationship with him. No "thank you", no "I love you but it is not working"....she was not causing him any problems at all.....he just fucking told her to get the fuck out one day, and he says he never saw her again. What a load of crap.

99% of all "rock stars" I met were nice, cool, no attitudes, etc. And even when I met someone who was less than friendly, it was never anything extreme. I said hello to Blackie Lawless at FM Station one night and he acted as if I was some kind of leper. I met Buck Dharma in the mid-90s, and he acted as though I raped his mother and killed his dog.

Sure, for all I know they coulda been having a bad day. Whatever the fuck. It doesn't bother me (and did not...even in the few seconds afterwards).

The real purpose of my original post is that I am sick and tired of reading about fucking junkies. It bugged the shit out of me to read about the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin having problems with it. Too many great jazz musicians got fucked up in their lives due to H. Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison fucking died from the shit.

The only reason a publisher even considered putting out an autobiography of Slash is because he was in GNR. If they had known beforehand it was going to be a non-stop litany of "I needed to score....I nodded out....I spent all my royalty money on junk, etc.", they might have declined to release the book.

Fortunately most of the bios I have read have been of musicians who never got hooked on smack.

I have no respect for junkies.

In this day and age, the entire history of musicians and heroin is common knowledge.

The fact it can make you die, has heavy legal penalties for being busted with it, can ruin your life and anyone else's you hang with does not seem to register with these stupid motherfuckers.

If they are so stupid they wanna be a fucking loser junkie even knowing what can happen, then I say fuck the worthless cocksuckers in the ass with a chainsaw.

They deserve every bit of death, destruction, doom, misery, prison time, etc. that they get.

Stupid motherfuckers.

[Hardrock69]

Oh, and I have a bootleg DVD from only about 2 years ago when Slash opened for AC/DC in Paris. I will throw the Slash disc away one of these days when I find it in all my boots. His solo material bores me to death.
Sure....he is a good guitarist, but the world is full of great guitarists who could not write a great song to save their lives. Like Yngwie Malmsteen.

[Zing!]

Junkies. What makes Keef's "Life" a must-read and Slash's a pile of shit? Is it just the music in the end? Cause Richards was 10X the junkie of anybody in GnR, but his book seems to be a classic, while Slash is bargain bin.

[WACF]

Oh, and I have a bootleg DVD from only about 2 years ago when Slash opened for AC/DC in Paris. I will throw the Slash disc away one of these days when I find it in all my boots. His solo material bores me to death.
Sure....he is a good guitarist, but the world is full of great guitarists who could not write a great song to save their lives. Like Yngwie Malmsteen.

He should really tap into Todd Kearns....very talented guy...the only reason I went to see Slash live a year ago.

Check out Age Of Electric or Static In Stereo...decent bands he fronted years ago.

[Hardrock69]

Will do.

[vandeleur]

Keith Richards life is a fucking great read in the exact same way that the Anthony Kiedis book isn't

[Igosplut]

Will do.

I do a ton of reading. One of the best Rock-related books I've ever read was John Densmore's book Riders on the storm. You wouldn't think so, as John was so dry (and I should say while I like the Doors, I'm far from being a big fan) But it was a great read the way it was written.

Keefs book was good also. Much more to him than you would think. And well written.

[Kristy]

Slash Autobiogrpahy summary:

"I was a slacker, always a slacker. Had no job, no fucking ambition, no fucking hope. I was an asshole. One day when my mother was cleaning out the shit stains from my underwear she told me she wold buy me a guitar if I took a bath and quite blowing the local pedophile for dope money. Well, to this day I never took a bath but I quit hanging around pedos and met Mel Bay. Mel taught me a few chords. First tune I ever learned was 'Bye Bye Love' by the Everly Brothers and some Donny & Marie shit. I made up my solos by playing gibberish. I still do.

Anyhoo, one day I met a Nazi psychopath while bumming around the local 7-11. He real name was Malen but he called himself Axl because he never made it out of the third grade. Geesh, this dude was so fucking retarded. I swear he dad beat the fucking shit out of him to where it caused serious and irreversible brain damage. At 16 he knocked up some girl and that girl's father cut his balls off. Malen told me that having his balls cut off could make him sing. He screamed like a rape victim from the HBO series Oz. We thought while thoroughly stoned we should form a band so we could date rape underage girls in our scummy L.A. apartment. Neither one of us could write a song so we hired that guy from The Simpsons who called himself "Duff" you may know him as "The Duff Man."

Soon we were up to our eyeballs in free beer and herpes pussy that even the CDC could not quite identify. Malen was gay I knew it when he confessed to me he liked to watch a lot of Tarzan movies. He used to secretly jerkoff in the bathroom after seeing another man in a loincloth. We wrote a song about it...Jungle something-a-rather. The rest is history.

[Kristy]

I have no respect for junkies.

Hey Kirsten, Rebecca Gayheart was a junkie and I'd still get as freaky as fuck with her.

[Hardrock69]

blah blah blah....

[Zing!]

I do a ton of reading. One of the best Rock-related books I've ever read was John Densmore's book. You wouldn't think so, as John was so dry (and I should say while I like the Doors, I'm far from being a big fan) But it was a great read the way it was written..

YES! I will agree with this! The best Doors book out there; much more interesting (and factual) than No One Here Gets Out Alive.

[Terry]

I think a lot of the comments in this thread about Slash are spot-on, at least in the sense that I totally agree with them. When Guns and Roses broke big years ago with Appetite, I never looked at Slash as being to Guns like I viewed, say, George Lynch with Dokken - where Lynch was really the one standout player in the group. All of Guns were firing on all points, and Slash was never some amazing lead guitarist to my ears. He had a great look, or at least a unique one at the time, although that look seems a bit silly these days.
I suppose it's that Slash has made himself available for whatever comes his way over the years (Guitar Hero video games, etc.) that his image has endured and is still profitable. Much more so than any of the music he's actually participated in post-1991.
Don't know the guy, but he comes off as a stoner (plants, powders, pills or Pabst - whatever) who was in the right band at the right time. None of the interviews I've ever read or seen were of much interest in terms of what he had to say or how he said it, so I would doubt that a book of his life would be very interesting. Even the old story of him and Axl Rose not getting along is of little interest now to me, in that Guns never quite had the great body of work behind them before they broke up: they had one stellar album, one so-so holding pattern album, a double album that was in equal parts bloated and half-realized as it was solid and thrilling...then The Spaghetti Incident...then fizzled out.
Some rock stars just don't make for good reading - not that this is a problem, because they are primarily musicians, after all - and I suspect Slash is one of those.

[Terry]

Densmore's book WAS a pretty good book. He's always been pretty straightforward about what a pain in the ass Morrison was when he drank and how Morrison spiralling down into the bottle wasn't some noble tribute to the life of excess but more a sad, pathetic waste of talent and life than anything else.

[Hardrock69]

So I finished it today. He says he has been clean since 2006. He got married...twice...and with is second wife he now has two sons.....the book was published in 2007. Being clean for a year is nothing. It is a start...but junkies seem to never be able to control the urge to shoot up.

So who knows....the book was published 6 years ago.

I will say this: I used to not think he was some great guitarist, but I saw him jam with a band at FM Station on Lankersheim in The Valley in 1991, and it changed my mind 180 degrees. One of those guitar performances that was absolutely terrifyingly good.

He IS a VERY good guitarist. Despite his drug and alcohol problems, overall he seems to be just your average guy dealing with incredibly extraordinary circumstances.

And, since I do not know him, and only have said "Hey what's up?" to him on an occasion he will never remember, I can always say he could be a really cool person.

So.....in general I feel like "More power to him". He HAS continued to be a success in the music business...he does have his image that is unique......and I really do hope that his family life is great and that his sons are being raised right.

That said, I still do not ever want to read anything written by junkie motherfuckers ever again. I do not have any addictions (I am fortunate in that aspect), I never have, and even though I realize not everyone is as strong as I am when it comes to avoiding them, I just think people who fall prey to shooting smack are somehow weak, deficient, or otherwise incapable of controlling themselves. Perhaps I am being overly critical of people who fall victim to heroin, but fuck it. It REALLY bothers me when a musician with talent decides to fuck off his life in favor of getting obliterated every day. ESPECIALLY when said musician is in a situation or band most of us would kill to be involved in. Or when they say shit like "I blew $8,000 on drugs in 3 days".

FUCK! I am not rich...that is a lot of fucking money to me!

Sorta like I fail to understand motherfuckers that are so ignorant about controlling their finances that they make tens or hundreds of millions of dollars and wind up with nothing. Like MC Hammer running through 30 million dollars.

THAT is fucking stupidity.

[Hardrock69]

And I say again: FUCK AXLE GREASE! HE IS A FUCKING ASSHOLE COCKSUCKER BITCH FUCKHEAD FUCK MOTHERFUCKER!

[fraroc]

And I say again: FUCK AXLE GREASE! HE IS A FUCKING ASSHOLE COCKSUCKER BITCH FUCKHEAD FUCK MOTHERFUCKER!

Well said. Axhole Rosebud really lives up to his name.

[FORD]

While the drug problems were certainly a factor, it was AxHole's enormous ego that destroyed Guns N Roses, more than anything else.

[binnie]

I think that people are being a bit harsh on Slash as a guitar player here. Partly that's because of over-exposure - both he, and the 'Appetite' songs, are so ubiquitous that's it's got to the point where familiarity breeds contempt. But I think that there are two principle things that make him worthy of respect:

1) in the '80s he stood apart from all of the Eddie/Lynch clones by being defined by the bluesier approach to playing.

2) when you hear one bar of his playing you know it's him - distinctive style and tone, whether you like 'em or not.

I'd also say that there are a lot of killer riffs he's written that people forget about. Check out the second - and criminally under-appreciated - Slash's Snakepit record 'Ain't Life Grand' for plenty. As far as GNR goes, 'Coma' would be a good example - that riff is HUGE.

[binnie]

While the drug problems were certainly a factor, it was AxHole's enormous ego that destroyed Guns N Roses, more than anything else.

I just don't think that they were a band capable of holding it together under that level of fame. Few bands can, but one where at least 3 of the members are fucked up beyond recognition and a fourth is Axl Rose really doesn't stand a chance......