Slash Returns to America

After months of playing nightly sold out gigs all over Asia and Australia, on a cool night in late-August 2010, Slash & Company brought their hard hitting guitar show back to American terra firma and the historic Warfield Theater. Evan Skopp, our Head of Artist Relations, was backstage with Slash and the band before the show. He was also part of the packed San Francisco audience that heard the band blaze through a powerful set that included familiar Guns ‘n Roses and Velvet Revolver tunes; a couple of covers, including Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown” and the “Theme to the Godfather”; along with tracks off the recently released and self-titled solo album. Slash features a variety of singers, including Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, Fergie, and Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge. The Warfield show showcased Myles and his amazing voice up front and center; but make no mistake, this is Slash’s band and he’s the one folks came to see.

Over the course of the night, Slash played on a bevy of rightous Les Paul® guitars, including his new Appetite signature model. Each of the instruments was armed with the new Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Slash pickups. These pickups allow the dozens of Slash’s live guitars to sound just like the infamous instrument that he purchased in 1986 to record Appetitie for Destruction and just about everything since. Slash’s playing was muscular and controlled and the 45 year-old showed no signs of slowing down during the two-hour set as he pranced and spun and bounced across the stage.
Slash wasn’t alone in the guitar department. Like in GNR and Velvet Revolver, Slash had a rock solid rhythm guitarist to his right, keeping everything in the pocket and working a subtle interplay between the two guitars. That guitarist was Bobby Schneck, formerly of Slash’s Snakepit. Bobby’s axe arsenal is fully-Seymourized. He plays Tele® guitars that use a Little ’59 in the bridge position. And his B.C. Rich® Mockingbirds have a Duncan Distortion in the bridge and a Jazz Model in the neck. According to Bobby, “Seymour Duncan has always been my first choice for pickups. All of my Mockingbirds and Teles on the Slash Tour are fully-loaded with Seymours. Killer tone every show.”
What’s next for Team Slash? They’ll be touring solidly throughout the USA over the next month and then they’ll take a little time off. But you can expect more shows in the Fall. Check here for the latest tour dates.