The Biggest Rock Legend: Slash

About:Saul Hudson (born July 23, 1965), more widely known as Slash, is an English-American guitarist known as the former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses and as the current lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver Biography:Early life Slash was born in Hampstead, a middle class suburb of London,[5] to a white English father and an African-American mother. Slash's mother worked as a costume designer for David Bowie, and his father was an artist who contributed live ensembles for famous musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Slash was raised in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, until the age of 11, when his parents relocated the family to Los Angeles, California in the mid-1970s; however, they separated, and afterward, he lived primarily with his mother and lived next to David Geffen. He was given the nickname "Slash" by family friend Seymour Cassel, according to whom Saul "was always in a hurry, zipping around from one thing to another."[6][7] At 16, before dropping out of Crespi Carmelite High School, Slash was given his first guitar by his grandmother. He spent hours each day practicing. Eventually, his entire focus was put on music and he made the decision to quit school. In a Rolling Stone Magazine article, he remarked: “ My big awakening happened when I was fourteen. I'd been trying to get into this older girl's pants for a while, and she finally let me come over to her house. We hung out, smoked some pot and listened to Aerosmith's Rocks. It hit me like a fucking ton of bricks. I sat there listening to it over and over, and totally blew off this girl. I remember riding my bike back to my grandma's house knowing that my life had changed. Now I identified with something. ” In addition to Aerosmith, Slash's early influences included AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Iron Maiden, Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen and Festival of Weeks. In 1983, after failing to join Poison with childhood friend Steven Adler, they together formed Road Crew. Slash placed an advertisement in a newspaper for a bassist, and received a response from Duff McKagan. When Road Crew disbanded, Slash joined a local band known as Black Sheep. Headed by Willie Bass, the band shared an agent with another new group known as Hollywood Rose. In 1984, both bands opened for Christian metal band Stryper. After the show, Slash and lead singer Axl Rose were introduced to one another by a friend. The two quickly became friends, and several months later, Slash and Steven Adler were invited to join with Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin as the band, Guns N' Roses. Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses toured bars and opened for larger acts throughout 1985 and 1986. It was during this period that they wrote most of their classic material, including "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", and "Paradise City". During this time, they were scouted by several major record labels, and signed with Geffen. From the start, they spent half of their advance on clothes, and the other half on alcohol and drugs. It was during this period that the "Most Dangerous Band In The World" tag was first attached to them. In 1988, Slash remarked: “ For some strange reason, Guns N' Roses is like the catalyst for controversy, even before we had any kind of record deal.” After the release of Appetite for Destruction in the summer of 1987, a tour with Iron Maiden was canceled when Slash was packed off to Hawaii to kick a drug habit, while Axl ended up in intensive care at an LA hospital after attacking a police officer. By 1988, Guns N' Roses scored its first #1 hit with "Sweet Child o' Mine", a song spearheaded by Slash's memorable riff and guitar solo. There are a number of lists that place him as one of the greatest guitarists alive, and many of his riffs and solos