Slash is a British musician best known for being the lead guitarist of the rock band, Guns N’ Roses. Nicknamed “Slash” by a family friend due to his habit of “always being in motion” as a kid, he first learnt how to play the guitar when he was fourteen years old; enthralled with the idea of playing music, it wasn’t uncommon for him to spend up to twelve hours a days practicing the stringed instrument. In his early adulthood, Slash joined a band called Tidus Sloan however the stint did not last long; from there, he eventually joined a series of other bands over the next few years, one of which was Hollywood Roseーit was when he was part of that group that he met Stradlin and Rose. The two later went on to invite the guitarist into their new rock band, Guns N’ Roses. Quickly becoming close friends, they began to write several songs and soon landed a recording deal with Geffen Records in the mid 80’s.
A year after their conception, the Los Angeles based rock band released their studio album entitled Appetite for Destruction in July 1987. A best-seller, the album was monumental in the band’s almost immediate rise in popularity. Since then, Guns N’ Roses has released five more full-length albums, eighteen singles and over twenty music videos. One of the best-selling rock bands in the world, the group has won numerous awards and titles throughout their time together including four American Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, two World Music Awards. A three time Grammy Award nominee, Guns N’ Roses has sold over 45,000,000 records in the United States alone. A critically acclaimed guitarist, Slash himself has also received much recognition for his work in music; not only has he been presented with a star on the prestigious Rock Walk of Fame, but he has also been given the title of being one of “The 100 Greatest Guitarist of All Time” by Rolling Stone.
While most people know him as the prodigy guitarist, Slash has also worked briefly on-and-off as an actor. The rock musician made his first appearance on television in the 1994 television series, Tales form the Crypt at the age of twenty nine. Some of his other projects in front of the camera include The Drew Carey Show (1998), Velvet Revolver’s Rock & Roll Revolution (2006), Osbournes Reloaded (2009), Metalocalypse (2009) and Anger Management (2013), to name a few. In 2009, he even starred as a guest mentor on the Fox singing competition series, American Idol.
So what has the famed guitarist been up to since then? What kind of projects have he been working on as of late? What happened to Slash? Where is he now in 2018?
Slash’s Childhood and Early Life
His musical interests didn’t begin to surface until his early teens. When he was fourteen, he came up with the idea of forming a band with a friend; although the actual band never materialized, it prompted him to take up the guitar. Using a one-string guitar given to him by his grandparents, he soon enrolled in music classes at the Fairfax Music School with instructor, Robert Wolin. Devoting himself entirely to the instrument, Slash practiced tirelessly every day, sometimes for a period of up to twelve hours. After performing with a string of different bands throughout the early 80’s, he joined the rock band Guns N’ Roses after being invited by Izzy Stradlin and Axl Roseーtwo former bandmates. Writing their own tracks, they performed at a number of local nightclubs including The Roxy, The Troubadour and Whisky a Go Go. Eventually being scouted, they landed a recording deal with Geffen Records in the spring of 1986.
Slash’s Musical Career with Guns N’ Roses
Riding on their newly found success, they released their second album, G N’ R Lies in November 1988. Featuring a cover that’s a parody of tabloid newspaper, the albums stood out from the brand’s previous effort as it was officially an extended play (although it was treated as a full-length album during its release); its short track list consisted of four hard rock songs, three of which were cover songs of those by Hollywood Rose, Rose Tattoo and Aerosmith. Its acoustic-based tracks a strong follow up to their debut work, G N’ R Lies peaked nicely at number two on the Billboard 200 Chart shortly after its release. Similar to Appetite for Destruction, it also charted in a handful of other countries. A Platinum certified album as of February 1995, it has since sold more than 15 million units in the world.
The band put out their third and fourth studio albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II in September 1991. Both released at the same time for the Guns N Roses Use Your Illusion tour, they debuted at number two and number one respectively on the Billboard 200, selling 1.4 million copies altogether within the first week. In contrast to their previous hard-rock oriented sounds, the Use Your Illusion series incorporated a blend of heavy metal, classical music, rock and roll and blues and was also much more political in terms of style, than their earlier efforts. Although the two albums fared similarly in the charts, Use Your Illusion II was slightly more popular, having charted at number one on five different charts worldwide. Each certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA, close to 40 million units have been sold combined to date.
Guns N’ Roses released their fifth album entitled, “The Spaghetti Incident?” in November 1993. The band’s only album not to be accompanied with a tour, it also marked Slash’s last collaboration work with the group. Featuring guitarist Gilby Clarke instead of the original Izzy Stradlin, the album mostly consisted of old punk rock covers and hard rock tracks. Positively reviewed, “The Spaghetti Incident?” debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number four and soon sold approximately 190,000 copies during the first week of releaseーa significant drop compared to their earlier albums. As of January 1994, it has been certified Platinum for achieving over one million sales.
Slash’s Solo Music Career in the 2010’s
Over the next four years, the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist released two more albumsーApocalyptic Love in 2012 and World on Fire in September 2014. Both released under the Dik Hayd label, the former peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 while the latter made its way to number ten on the Billboard 200 Chart. Combined, they have sold over 140,000 copies.
What’s Slash Doing Now in 2018- Recent Updates
Back to music, Slash recently reunited with his long-time friends in Guns N’ Roses this April for a 2016 tourーit is also the first time that he performed together with original line-up members Duff McKagan and Axl Rose since the 1993 Use Your Illusion tour. Consisting of three legs, the concerts kicked off at The Troubadour in West Hollywood and has been ongoing, bringing the band across different continents in the world. Spanning fifty nine shows in total, Guns N’ Roses will not only performing in their native North America, but also South America, Central America, Oceania and Asia. According to their schedule, the tour will continue until its last show in Bangkok, Thailand in late February 2017.
If you’d like to stay connected with the rock guitarist of Guns N’ Roses fame, you can follow his online presence on social mediaーyou can find Slash on Instagram (@slash) as well as on Twitter (@slash). Don’t forget to also drop by his official Facebook page and website as well for some of the latest news available!