The Slash autobiography thread

[Eclipsed107]

http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1139&Itemid=1

Wow thanks for that link, those interviews were an interesting read.  Steven really seems like he's way out there.  I mean he always has been, but wow, the guy is just the poster boy of why people shouldn't do drugs.

I love this quote (he was asked to rate drummers on a scale of 1-10)

"Matt Sorum" = "Can kiss my ass. Sorum, I?ll give him a five. Cause he don?t do nothing special. And I have nothing against him because he took my, you know, he was hired to do my job. But, it wasn?t his fault; you know it?s just a gig to him. But he ruined all those songs that I wrote, cause Use Your Illusion, me and Slash and Duff wrote all that fucking shit."

 

[Eclipsed107]

I just picked up the book a couple of days ago, I'm about a 1/4 of the way into it.  My first critique is the price - $30 - which I wouldn't have minded so much if he didn't start the book talking about how much of an adolescent thief he was. 
   

That's what an autobiography is, the story of one's life.

I really enjoyed about how the first 3-4 chapters were about his childhood.  Most of it was information that I never knew.  I knew a lot more about the Gn'R years and the VR years than what happened before Gn'R.  Also the time period between Gn'R and VR was very intersting to me.

This isn't a book about Gn'R, it's a book about Slash.

Plus you could have gotten the book 20.76 after taxes and shipping from Amazon.  Not a bad deal at all.

[CaughtMeInaComa]

i'm getting through most of the book, i must say it is very honest and very insightful. I love the parts about axl, and how axl fought for complete control of everything GN'R and Then Axl does nothing with the Name or the Band since.

The parts about Paul Huge Thinking "I'm Great, Fuck You" Was The funniest thing I read So Far!

Warning to any Sensitve Axl fans, This book is not for the faint of heart if you think Axl is GOD, you might not want to read this book.

[Bridge]

i'm getting through most of the book, i must say it is very honest and very insightful. I love the parts about axl, and how axl fought for complete control of everything GN'R and Then Axl does nothing with the Name or the Band since.

Ditto.

Warning to any Sensitve Axl fans, This book is not for the faint of heart if you think Axl is GOD, you might not want to read this book.

I think that goes without saying...

[Bridge]

Yep - he was quoted in Classic Rock magazine in 2006 - I still have the mag at home,? he says....

"We'd skip school nearly every day.? Me and Slash would walk up and down Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, and each day we'd take a different type of alcohol and talk about how this was how we'd be living when we were rock stars.? It was a dream I always knew would come true.? We'd go out and meet older women who'd take us back to their Beverley Hills homes.? They'd feed us booze and coke.? All we had to do was fuck them.? Occassionally a guy would pick me up.? In return for a blow job I'd get dope and 30 bucks".

So he doesnt' specifically say Slash was hooking up with blokes - he just said he did.

Thanks for clarifying.  I knew there was an interview out there that discussed this in a little more detail.  Yeah, Steven didn't specifically say Slash hooked up with guys, but I still wouldn't doubt it.  Most drug addicts aren't going to admit to it.

[lynn1961]

Cause I?m not the only person who ever walked down the street and smoked a joint at 12, 13 years old, smoked a joint with someone and all of a sudden I?m getting a blow job from the guy.

 

cheers estrangedpaul? ?

wouldn't be funny if he was gay.. but straight men do not get blowjobs from guys.? no steven, thats not normal..?

Straight men who are desparately drug-addicted probably do. 

[Jim Bob]

Yeah.     Paul Huge blows, I'm glad Slash spoke about him.

why does he blow?

[Ali]

i'm getting through most of the book, i must say it is very honest and very insightful. I love the parts about axl, and how axl fought for complete control of everything GN'R and Then Axl does nothing with the Name or the Band since.

Ditto.

The parts about Paul Huge Thinking "I'm Great, Fuck You" Was The funniest thing I read So Far!

Yeah.? ?? Paul Huge blows, I'm glad Slash spoke about him.

Warning to any Sensitve Axl fans, This book is not for the faint of heart if you think Axl is GOD, you might not want to read this book.

I think that goes without saying...

What do you know about Paul Huge?  He played four shows with GN'R and has contributed writing to two released GN'R songs.  Yeah, that's a big body of work to judge someone from.

I think the only thing that goes without saying is that this is Slash's perspective on his life, including GN'R.  It is NOT the unbiased truth.

Ali

[elmir]

Yeah.     Paul Huge blows, I'm glad Slash spoke about him.

how's that?
how does he blow?

only gnr work of his we ever heard and know of is pretty good....good enough for the band to agree to release it on UYI....good enough for the band to release it on a soundtrack of a film....

how does he blow?

do a bit of a read up on him in the articles section here, and you may just find that when he left in 02-03, we may have lost another Izzy type of a guy.

Slash is a bitter fuck.
That much is clear.

Everyone...Axl, Huge, Wylde, Brain May....everyone....treated and saw him as this ultimate guitar god.....and the opportunity to work with him must have been unbelievable....

he just misunderstood those sentiments as forced rivalry, and started treating them like shit.....got pissy about it...and left.

if he only accepted (not embraced) the idea of perhaps playing around with the idea of working with new people....he'd still be writing songs with Axl....if he was right about these guys, he would have been able to prove it to the band, and Axl would have quickly gotten rid of them.....easy.

but no....he had to stamp his authority without even attempting to understand where it may lead to.

so he can be sour all he wants, but at the end of the day, it was his lack of patience and will to help the band out which killed gnr....axl's temperament had a lot to do with it (not denying any of that), but Slash could have saved it.....easily.

he let axl be the only remaining member of gnr....because he wouldn't save it.


bash away!

[Jim Bob]

Yeah.     Paul Huge blows, I'm glad Slash spoke about him.

how's that?
how does he blow?

only gnr work of his we ever heard and know of is pretty good....good enough for the band to agree to release it on UYI....good enough for the band to release it on a soundtrack of a film....

how does he blow?

do a bit of a read up on him in the articles section here, and you may just find that when he left in 02-03, we may have lost another Izzy type of a guy.

Slash is a bitter fuck.
That much is clear.

Everyone...Axl, Huge, Wylde, Brain May....everyone....treated and saw him as this ultimate guitar god.....and the opportunity to work with him must have been unbelievable....

he just misunderstood those sentiments as forced rivalry, and started treating them like shit.....got pissy about it...and left.

if he only accepted (not embraced) the idea of perhaps playing around with the idea of working with new people....he'd still be writing songs with Axl....if he was right about these guys, he would have been able to prove it to the band, and Axl would have quickly gotten rid of them.....easy.

but no....he had to stamp his authority without even attempting to understand where it may lead to.

so he can be sour all he wants, but at the end of the day, it was his lack of patience and will to help the band out which killed gnr....axl's temperament had a lot to do with it (not denying any of that), but Slash could have saved it.....easily.

he let axl be the only remaining member of gnr....because he wouldn't save it.


bash away!

there is a lot of truth to this post.  well said.

no doubt everyone involved played their role in the demise of the old lineup.   I think it sucks Paul gets so much shit from hardcore Slash fans when most of them probably have no clue about the guy.    Clearly the guy was insturmental in keeping GnR alive during difficult times.   Theres no reason to hate the guy and most of the hate for him is unfounded.   

I'm sure there is some truth to some of Slash's story, but the thing to remember here is this is one guy's perception of an era.   Axls, Izzy's, Duff's, etc would all be a bit different.   I already see people using shit from Slash's book to bash Axl as tho everything slash says is fact.    Hopefully someday Axl chooses to tell his side of things in a little more detail.

[elmir]

this is one guy's perception of an era.   Axls, Izzy's, Duff's, etc would all be a bit different.   

of course, it must be taken with a pinch of salt, and you should have an open mind when reading it....

my point was that GNR's break up was not the only solution on the table at the time, and it appears that slash feels that there was no other way to fix it....other than to leave.

incorrect.

fucking hell man, imagine you're this guitar god, and the whole world is at you feet, and your lead singer comes to you and says that we should fuck around a little with different sounds and ideas and see what we come up with, and he suggests some "reference" material you should check out....maybe it sparks some sort of a creative storm inside you....

you reluctantly agree, purely because you want to "keep the peace"....not because you think it would be fun to check out....and then you tell everyone that they suck and they can do it without you.

unbelievable.

[Ines_rocks!]

Lol damn... it seems like almost everyone has read the fucking book except me! I ordered it from Amazon but it will only arrive on the 27th. Oh well...

[Bill 213]

this is one guy's perception of an era.? ?Axls, Izzy's, Duff's, etc would all be a bit different.? ?

of course, it must be taken with a pinch of salt, and you should have an open mind when reading it....

my point was that GNR's break up was not the only solution on the table at the time, and it appears that slash feels that there was no other way to fix it....other than to leave.

incorrect.

fucking hell man, imagine you're this guitar god, and the whole world is at you feet, and your lead singer comes to you and says that we should fuck around a little with different sounds and ideas and see what we come up with, and he suggests some "reference" material you should check out....maybe it sparks some sort of a creative storm inside you....

you reluctantly agree, purely because you want to "keep the peace"....not because you think it would be fun to check out....and then you tell everyone that they suck and they can do it without you.

unbelievable.

While reading the book and basing my opinion off that, Slash had every reason to leave GNR.  It had become apparent that he had lost interest in the bullshit politics that played into it (which all members had played their part in, be it Axl's control issues or the rest of the band's addictions).  He just wanted to play guitar and tour.  He admits that in all the downtime that the band engaged in after the UYI tours, he became fixed into the drugs again because that was his way to cope.  So why stay someplace if you're not having fun anymore doing it?  Why stay if if this thing is causing you so much grief that you have to resort to drugs and alcohol just to cope with it.  The band at that point had gotten too big for it's own shoes and when all the egos clashed....it just imploded.  He got out and he did his own thing eventually and he now seems to be happy again.
Slash mentioned that he was willing to try the new stuff.  His only problem was with Paul Huge.  They tried to play with him and he didn't click with the band.  It just didn't work out........it happens, but since Paul was Axl's buddy...there was nothing they could do.  So now you have a band even further torn.

I stay as neutral as can be in the GNR breakup scenario........everyone played their parts, everyone made mistakes. 

[jarmo]

He just wanted to play guitar and tour.  He admits that in all the downtime that the band engaged in after the UYI tours, he became fixed into the drugs again because that was his way to cope.  So why stay someplace if you're not having fun anymore doing it?  Why stay if if this thing is causing you so much grief that you have to resort to drugs and alcohol just to cope with it. 

I have no problems with that explanation.

If you're unhappy about something, you do something about it. That's normal.


But to me the whole "I would've ended up founding heroin again" or "I would be dead if I had stayed" is a bit of an easy answer.


So the guy quit the band and everything should be great.

Five years later he almost dies while he's in Snakepit v.2.

Ten years later he's hooked on OxyContin while he's in VR.



Maybe it's just me and I'm not an expert on addictions, but I think what band he's in at the time doesn't really mean that much regards to his addictions.




/jarmo

[Ali]

I stay as neutral as can be in the GNR breakup scenario........everyone played their parts, everyone made mistakes.?

This is one of the most true things I've ever read about GN'R. ?

Everyone played their part, everyone made mistakes. ?Very few things in life are as black and white as it's all Axl's fault or all Slash's fault.

Well said.

Ali

[Bill 213]

I agree Jarmo and if you look at those bands.......Snakepit 2 was a crap outfit all together with those dudes riding on Slash's name and he couldn't handle that and resorts back to drugs.

Velvet Revolver had some issues and Slash resorts back to drugs.

It's definitely not which band he's in......it's just whenever problems arise, his way of coping is piping it in his veins or up his nose.
Hopefully now that his family is full circle, he has that to rely on and can pull support from that. 

To me Izzy coped with the drugs and stress the best way possible, he left the lifestyle.  That's the only way to do it.  Show up whenever, do your own thing and have fun at it, but don't let it destroy your life.  As much as I hated Izzy leaving back in the day and even now, which he's the only ex-member I would love to see rejoin the band full time, if he's happy, then I'm way happy for him.

[Eden]

Okay this is not really so much about Slash's book, but when I was reading the heroin diaries Nikki said when Guns was first starting out Axl called him and asked him to help Slash because he was so strung out. I thought that was nice and also before a show when Motley and Guns toured, Motley had all this blow and told the members of Guns to snort it before going out on stage since they were supposed to be as bad or worse than Motley. Axl bent down and took the smallest bump and then coughed. Slash said that Axl was never that into the drug scene and that the other guys were into heroin. Anyway obviously Slash has a problem no matter what band he's in. I think that Axl trying to get the other guys to sign contracts was a shitty thing to do, especially Izzy since he was clean and a huge part of the songwriting. But as for the other guys, Axl probably had people in his camp telling him that his band was out of control and this is what he needed to do in order to make sure he got what was coming to him and to make sure that none of Axl's money ended up in anyone else's vein. Axl probably also felt that since he was the only one that was "clean" (Izzy not included) that he should have control and get the highest percentage.

[Kaleigh]

I'm sure there is some truth to some of Slash's story, but the thing to remember here is this is one guy's perception of an era.   Axls, Izzy's, Duff's, etc would all be a bit different.   I already see people using shit from Slash's book to bash Axl as tho everything slash says is fact.    Hopefully someday Axl chooses to tell his side of things in a little more detail.

Well said, Jim Bob.  Now that my mom relented the book to me, I get to sink my teeth into it.   I do think it sucks when people mindlessly take everything for absolute fact, though... neither Axl nor Slash are 100% correct on these things.  That part of Don't Damn Me's been running through my head lately:  "We take for granted we know the whole story, we judge a book by its cover and read what we want, between selected lines."  The thing is, we'll never know the WHOLE story behind the GNR breakup.

[Darkburst]

I didn't read through all nine pages of this thread, but my feeling is that this book is about how Slash recalls the events of his life. Yes I noticed quite a few factual errors. He also says many times that the other band members probably have different perspectives and recollections of events.

[Ines_rocks!]

He just wanted to play guitar and tour.? He admits that in all the downtime that the band engaged in after the UYI tours, he became fixed into the drugs again because that was his way to cope.? So why stay someplace if you're not having fun anymore doing it?? Why stay if if this thing is causing you so much grief that you have to resort to drugs and alcohol just to cope with it.?

I have no problems with that explanation.

If you're unhappy about something, you do something about it. That's normal.


But to me the whole "I would've ended up founding heroin again" or "I would be dead if I had stayed" is a bit of an easy answer.


So the guy quit the band and everything should be great.

Five years later he almost dies while he's in Snakepit v.2.

Ten years later he's hooked on OxyContin while he's in VR.



 I think what band he's in at the time doesn't really mean that much regards to his addictions.




/jarmo

Yeah.. I agree with that. That comes with the person... nothing to do with the bands.  I guess someone who did drugs all his life won?t just get sober even if he is in a band where he feels great in.