Slash: Meeting the Rock Legend

The Winning Air Guitar Video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=415911892033&oid=114842408563631

The Lucky Dude's Photos of that Fateful Night: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=190746&id=517362033&ref=mf

RazorTV's Video Interview of the 2 Winners (1 Real Guitar, 1 Air Guitar): http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/entertainment/51594.html

So, how many lucky asses actually get to meet that much revered guitar god? Well, here is Srivatsan, a friend of mine from college, and one such lucky ass who got to meet the legendary Slash!



How did you feel when you met Slash?


Shocked! It was like a child meeting a Pokemon or Power Ranger, something they really love but never thought they will ever meet them in person. After that, I was really just very happy, I just kept staring at him while he was signing all those guitars and posters.




So did you manage to ask him what his favourite movie is?


Nope, he was already waiting at the photo-taking area when it was my turn for my photograph with him. Just a handshake, a "Hello Slash!", and a snap. After that, he called the next person to come over. During the photo shoot, I was whispering to him "You're my God man...", that is why my mouth is open in the photo.




Then what did he say? Or... did he even hear it?


Haha, I guess he didn't hear it, 'cos he didn't say anything.




How was Slash in person when you talked to him? Was he friendly, cold, or what?


Hm, there wasn't much of an interaction between him and the people, but he seems to be quite friendly. You know that guy who won the real guitar competition? He told Slash that he was the one who won it, then Slash asked if he was the one who played with the guitar on his back. That guy said "Yeah", and Slash said that was pretty cool. Yup, so I guess he is friendly. I kept quiet 'cos I didn't wanna go tell a guitar god that I got to see him by pretending to play a guitar. Lol.




Hahaha, well, at least you got to meet him.


Yup.




What thoughts were running through your mind when he was signing your guitar?


I was just looking at him autographing. To him, it was just another autograph, but it meant the world to me. After he signed it, he even wrote "2010" below the autograph. Although it was quite a small thing, I was still impressed that he even bothered to date it.




Hahaha okay, I bet 50 years from now, if you ever intend to sell that guitar, it will cost a bomb. So moving on, I know you will feel biased about this, but I will still ask it anyway. How was the Slash concert as a whole?


Hm, I will just say the order of events and then tell you how I felt.


Firstly, we were told to be there by 11:45 AM so that we can get to see Slash and the band doing their sound check at 12:15 PM. I was late, so I took a cab down, but alighted at the wrong area.
It was already around 12:10 PM by then, and I could hear the sound of drums. I thought the sound check had already begun, so I followed the sound and ended up inside the concert area. I saw the stage and all for the first time. Slash wasn't there yet, the workers there were setting up the drums, so that was where the sound came from.


I asked one of the guys where should the VIP pass holders go, and he guided me there. There, I met the LAMC people and the other VIP pass holders, and the real guitar winner as well. We were all told to wait for a while. After that, I heard the sound of a guitar, and the playing was pretty good. I was thinking "Wow, those guitar techs can play quite well", but then the LAMC gal ran back and told us that Slash had already begun his sound check.


Yup, so I went in there to see the sound check, and that was the very first time I saw Slask. Man, that feeling was fucking awesome man. We were told to keep away from the stage, like at least 10m, so we sat down on the grass patch and watched Slash and his band do their sound check. They actually performed 3 songs during the sound check, so I already had an idea of how the concert will probably sound like. The sound check ended at around 2:30 PM, and at 2:45 PM, the LAMC gal said that we were gonna meet him then.


We went to this tent at the back of the stage which had lots of guards outside, and after like 10 minutes of waiting outside, we were told to enter the tent 4 by 4. When it was my group's turn, one of the guards brought us in there. After we got into the tent, I saw Slash at the photo taking area. What happened after that, I told you already. So after getting all our stuff signed, we were given 2 posters each. Yup, that's it for the Meet-and-Greet session.


At 7 PM, the concert started. The first band was called Twenty Two Hundred, some unknown band from Australia whom Slash thought had great potential, which was why he brought them along to Singapore. They were awesome man, seriously.


After that came the main guest, Coheed & Cambria. I hated them. Their vocalist looked like an ass with all that bushy hair, and his voice was like the Dragonforce dude but more gay. Unfortunately, they played a full set that lasted 90 minutes. I was just standing there for time to pass... and oh, I have to say that I was standing in the front row, holding on to the barrier towards the right side of the stage (traditionally, where the lead guitarist always stands).
After, Coheed & Cambria finished, I was relieved and fucking excited. After setting up the stage for like 20 minutes, Slash and his band finally came out.


During the sound check and Meet-and-Greet session, he had tied his hair up and wore a cap. When the concert finally started, I was seeing him for the first time with his signature top hat and leather pants with a black hankie hanging from his back pocket. He was wearing a sleeveless tee. The first song was "Ghost" from his solo album. It was a very energetic song, the riff is pretty fast and cool-sounding. When it was time for his guitar solo, he played the famous "Godfather" theme. It was an extended solo that lasted for like 15 minutes, then right after the solo, he played "Sweet Child O' Mine" and the crowd erupted into cheers. It was the song everyone was waiting for. When the concert was coming to an end, an encore was obviously expected, and Slash and his band played "By The Sword", before ending off with the freaking great performance of "Paradise City". Yup, and the concert ended there. Throughout the concert, Myles Kennedy was speaking into the mike pretty often, something that he admitted he was not used to doing).

Sri's Slash-autographed guitar!!

Wow, that was long. Alright, last question. If Slash is coming back to Singapore next time, and there is another such competition again, will you participate once more?


Haha nope, but I will definitely go for the concert. If I am working by that time, I will pay for the VIP pass (US$500 for the 2010 Slash concert price). After hearing all those new rock bands such as MCR, A7X and Muse live, it was a really great experience to hear something classical. The sound was just totally different from the other bands I heard. It is the classical rock sound. One song I love by Guns N' Roses is "Civil War", 'cos Axl Rose's different voice ranges, combined with the meaningful lyrics and Slash's really stylish licks and riffs really just fit the song so well. When I heard that live, I started tearing. Yup, that is all I have to say about the concert. The experience as a whole was one that I will never forget.


Slash is God.




Ah yes, what exactly did you win by the way?


Haha, they gave me so many things man. The Meet-and-Greet session (S$700), guitar and hard case (S$750), MacBeth shoes (S$100) and free guitar lessons (S$200).

Close-up shot of the million-dollar autograph

So there you have it folks, don't drool over this guy's unbelievable experience now, all you guys have to do is follow in his mock-guitar-shredding awesomeness when there is another such competition available when Slash comes to perform in Singapore again next time!

Song Of The Week: Destrophy - The Way Of Your World

It's all been done before and
No one can listen to anyone's answers
They're drifting farther everyday
And they say

“We hold our hands to block the sun
We blame the light for what we’ve done
We look away so We’ll forget what We’ve become”


First take what you want
Then you throw it away
- This is the way of their world
Don't know what you've got
Until it's taken away
- This is the way of your world

When the night falls you know who you are
And you cast reflections as the mirror gathers rust
“It’s so safe and lonely with you”
Lovers ripping in two
Grind away ‘till nothing’s left
There’s nothing left inside

First take what you want
Then you throw it away
- This is the way of their world
Don't know what you've got
Until it's taken away
- This is the way of your world
Your lives will fade before their time
And you’ll never say goodbye

The end of all the things you know
And all of what you can be
It’s fading fast before you

What we want, we are.

Ah, another solid metal band to add to Victory Record's roster of diverse musicians. Formed in 2002, this Iowa "melodic metal" band is certainly radio-friendly.

As they themselves have said it during an interview in VictorV Episode 51, they are basically a band that plays heavy stuff yet throw in poppish-sounding choruses that are easy to get hooked on as well. Well, not like most metal fans would be complaining anyway (me included). If you were to ask me to choose between, say, Dead By April and them, I would definitely choose them. I mean, sure, they both have poppish-sounding choruses, but Dead By April's poppish choruses just sound a little too whiny for my own liking. Destrophy's style of poppish-sounding choruses on the other hand, are just right, and in fact, they remind me of those old metal bands whom utilize group vocals frequently throughout the entire length of their songs.

Heh, I wonder if they did it on purpose to get some airtime on radio, 'cos that was definitely a tried-and-true tactic for popular metal bands of the past.

Destrophy is certainly a blast of fresh air to any metalhead who follows Victory's metal roster, because they are probably the only damn band in there who utilizes such catchy clean vocals. I am definitely one of them, they are a good break from deathcore and melo-death bands. Did I mention that Ari, their frontman (picture on top) is also one of those rare guitarists who can actually play half-naked during live shows? Yeah, look at his buff physique (*whistle*), that is the very good reason he has that many other of his peers lack to do so during live shows :P. So not only do Destrophy have a radio-friendly sound, they certainly have eye candy in the form of a frontman with the body of a Greek hero too. Man oh man, Petri Lindroos must feel so envious! Oh yeah, I personally thinks he resembles Hugh Jackman too.

Heavy Candy: From left to right - Phil. T (Bass Guitar), Ari (Vocals/Guitar), Bruce Swink (Guitar), Joe Fox (Drums)

All in all, Destrophy would be another good band to check out for this year. I especially recommend them for fans of alternative rock, or nu-metal. Fans of Five Finger Death Punch, Linkin Park, Korn, Papa Roach and the likes should like Destrophy's music. They are currently on tour with Type O Negative and Otep, and this is not related to this week's post, but check out Destrophy's fellow label mate, Otep, too. She's hot for a goth-makeup sporting, and heavily tattooed industrial metal musician. B-D

Alright, here is the awkward and time-wasting moment at the end of each "Song Of The Week" post when I try to come up with as many words as possible just to fill up the empty spaces left before this paragraph extends below that last picture used (in this case, the one on the right of Bruce Swink). Awesome, I just went below him, time to end if off here.

Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy

Year released: 2008

Label: Geffen Records

Official Website: www.gunsnroses.com

Tracks:

1. Chinese Democracy [4:43]

2. Shackler's Revenge [3:37]

3. Better [4:59]

4. Street Of Dreams [4:47]

5. If The World [4:55]

6. There Was A Time [6:41]

7. Catcher In The Rye [5:53]

8. Scraped [3:31]

9. Riad N' The Bedouins [4:10]

10. Sorry [6:15]

11. I.R.S. [4:29]

12. Madagascar [5:38]

13. This I Love [5:34]

14. Prostitute [6:16]

__________________________________________________________________________

According to a 2005 article by The New York Times, Axl Rose (frontman of GNR) had apparently already burned through US$13 million in studios by then whilst working on Chinese Democracy. In fact, rumours had also been going around saying that this much-anticipated album had been in works since 1995-1998, meaning that the cool retro artwork you see up there belongs to probably the only album ever in rock music history to have taken a decade to make, and the only album in the history of the contemporary music era so far to have become a multi-multi-million dollar project. Expectations have been high for this release, but GNR has disappointed old fans and music reviewers alike.

I shall be honest. Being more of a metalhead who is constantly on the lookout for fresh, un-clichéd , typically aggressive yet instrumentally intricate music, you kind readers will have to take my debatable opinions here with a pinch of salt. *Grins*

Take a listen!: One of the better-sounding songs on Chinese Democracy, with style experimentation being prominently evident.

Getting down to business, I have to say, Chinese Democracy isn't really impressive afterall. Despite having so much money and time invested into its production, Guns N' Roses (or maybe only Axl Rose since he oversaw the writing of every song on it) seems to have degenerated into yet another one of those typical aging rock bands whom can hardly stop whining on virtually every new song they write (vocally speaking, not lyrically). Yes, they still have that ever scintillating brilliance of Guns N' Roses drama, as audibly exclaimed out loud by those catchy opening guitar riffs on the title track, but thanks largely on Rose's part, the original 'star' lineup(s) [Slash |Lead Guitar, '90s|, Buckethead |Lead Guitar, 2000 – 2004|, Izzy Stradlin |Rhythm Guitar|, Duff McKagan |Bass Guitar, backing vocals|, Steven Adler |Drums|] that scaled GNR up to the peak of fame in the 90's is all but gone now. Instead, the entirely new lineup (save for Rose) that dons the GNR mantle now has done a lackluster job on this album, not doing justice to all of the classics that this once critically acclaimed band had produced in the past.

While past albums such as Appetite For Destruction had true timeless classics such as “Sweet Child O' Mine” that lasted way beyond Billboard chart figures, the ephemeral singles of Chinese Democracy, “Chinese Democracy” and “Better” get increasingly boring as the number of plays go up. Atypical standard rhythms and dull melodies certainly spell disaster for the prospects of this supposed “reinvention” of GNR, as mentioned by Rose in a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine. In fact, the title track has almost a minute's worth of random dialogue in Mandarin together with some traditional Chinese instruments playing at the start, which might have supposedly be meant for an epic opening. However, what it really does is irritate the hell out of listeners who have to patiently wait for approximately 60 seconds before they actually hear the damn guitar riffs coming in.

All fired up!: From left to right in 2006 – Robin Finck (Lead Guitar), Tommy Stinson (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Axl Rose (Vocals/Piano/Keyboard/Synthesiser), Richard Fortus (Rhythm Guitar)

Instrumental-wise, this album doesn't score for musical intricacy, but for plain and down-to-earth tunes that are sure to satisfy that occasional urge for a mainstream fix. Vocals-wise, a close associate of mine commented that Rose sounds like he's constipated on a large part of the album, which is not very far from the truth actually. It is what I think contributes to the whiny tone, which is fast getting old on the music scene. If you're a diehard old school rock fan however, one who ate AC/DC and GNR zealously three times daily back in the '90s, this album is for you. Lyrical-wise, this album's theme definitely has its hand dabbled in politics, as blatantly obvious from the album name and title track. Interestingly enough, Rose must have made an implicit attack of some sort on the governmental system of the PRC (People's Republic of China) in “Chinese Democracy”, because the album is banned there largely due to its lyrics.

Slash: Things might have been different if he were still in GNR

Although not wholly fantastic, Chinese Democracy has been an unfulfilled long wait that still has passable substance in it to retain some limited likability. Definitely recommended for rock fans who love to hear the reinvented selves of classic bands.

Verdict: 6.0 / 10

AC/DC: Black Ice

Year released: 2008
Label: Columbia
Official Website: www.acdc.com

Tracks:

1. Rock 'N Roll Train [4:22]

2. Skies On Fire [3:34]

3. Big Jack [3:57]

4. Anything Goes [3:22]

5. War Machine [3:10]

6. Smash 'N Grab [4:06]

7. Spoilin' For A Fight [3:17]

8. Wheels [3:29]

9. Decibel [3:34]

10. Stormy May Day [3:10]

11. She Likes Rock 'N Roll [3:53]

12. Money Made [4:16]

13. Rock 'N Roll Dream [4:41]

14. Rocking All The Way [3:23]

15. Black Ice [3:25]

_________________________________________________________________________

Everyone's favourite Aussie Hard Rock/Heavy Metal (whichever one you please, really) is back in Black Ice, and this time, they seem to be following the latest trend among bands hailing from the '70s and '80s; that of having a rather lengthy album track time. Not that anyone is complaining about that (*grins*).

First impressions: They are as classic as ever, sticking to their old style faithfully. As old fans might have already noticed by looking at the track names, they are still as obsessed as ever with rock 'n roll. Notice how many times that ubiquitous music term appeared up there in that track list? Yeah, rest assured, that is how much these guys love their style, and they ain't changing their sound just yet. This is a plus point for them actually, because the only way for most old bands to survive now is to stick to their original sound (P.S. Look at Death Magnetic). Speaking of sound, AC/DC strikes me as a hard rock variation of Rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, and pop punk band Hawthorne Heights. All three of them have something in common, and whether this is good or not, I leave it up to you. Notice how all of them have songs that sound so similar to one another, apart from a few exceptions, that you cannot tell whether the CD has gone on to the next track? Yeah, that is their kind of sound, and I mean every alphabet of it.

Whenever you hear a Red Hot Chili Peppers song, you know it is a Red Hot Chili Peppers song; you just can't seem to name it. Similarly, whenever you hear an AC/DC song, you know it is an AC/DC song, but you have trouble naming it as well. It is thanks to that trademark whiny-and-high-pitched-yet-rock-n-rollish vocals, that we have yet another decent rock 'n roll album today. Seriously speaking, if there were three words to describe this album, it would just be “rock 'n roll”. After immersing myself in Black Ice, I cannot help but resemble the band members themselves when they were naming the songs.

If there was anything good about aging, this is probably it. AC/DC shows us that having an expanding sea of white hair, flabby forearms, and an exponential jump in the number of wrinkles caressing the aged skin are no obstacles in their tenacious quest to continue reminding the world of the existence of their unique brand of hard rock. Rocked their way to dizzying heights of stardom back then, still rocking their way to even dizzier heights of stardom today. Black Ice certainly entombs the undying passion and earnestness of AC/DC's music, for it is stellar but slowly dying with the times.

Take a listen!: A potential single that isn't a single yet, and was also the theme song for the Marvel comic superhero "War Machine" from the 2010 film, "Iron Man 2".

You have probably heard that AC/DC was the epitome of “old school rock”, and with this fifteenth album of theirs, they are still “old school rock” even though we are already well into the 21st century. There are many other newer rock 'n roll bands out there today, ala the Finnish hybrid band, Lordi, and others with a unique brand of rock 'n roll themselves such as Bon Jovi. However, AC/DC will still dominate the old school rock 'n roll scene, for their music just strikes a nostalgic chord deep within those who have lived through the 1980's, and tugs at the heartstrings of new listeners with a déjà vu-like feel. Being the longest AC/DC album to date, Black Ice is definitely worth every dollar if you are a hardcore “old school rock” fan, or a rock 'n roll fan looking to turn back music time by a few decades. With lively & upbeat guitar riffs, coupled with rhythmically-simple & thudding drum beats, what is best about this album is that AC/DC does not lose their rock 'n roll energy along the way. Many a times, bands who write many songs at one go tend to lose themselves along the way, and they always end up having a lackluster closure to a potentially great album. Being a rock 'n roll band, starting and ending rock 'n roll style is perfect for any AC/DC album, as the genre is certainly only worthy of being defined by none other than itself.

Electrifying old geezers: From left to right - Brian Johnson (Vocalist), Malcolm Young (Rhythm Guitar), Cliff Williams (Bass Guitar), Angus Young (Lead Guitar), Phil Rudd (Drums)


Overall, Black Ice is a firm, down-to-earth retro album that will certainly appeal to the masses belonging to the young and middle-aged working class group. Teenage Hard Rock fans would generally like it as well, as every AC/DC album more or less oozes the band's signature style, albeit in a nuanced way as each year flies by. C'mon, even legends of rock 'n roll are not impervious to the cruel stream of time that marches ever onwards without batting an eyelid over the glorious past. It is however, amazing how older music tend to outlast their younger counterparts of the 21st century. AC/DC can certainly be a band you can trust on to fall back to should you get tired of ephemeral modern rock hits.

As their name implies, AC/DC never fails to electrify.


Above: A train's ticket that is worth dying for, and the very first single off "Black Ice".


Verdict: 8.8 / 10

Song of The Week: the GazettE - Reila

Though the GazettE has been labeled as nu metal or alternative metal occasionally, you can probably recognise straight off that its a japanese visual kei band. In any case, zetalambmary is a metal (and rock) music review blog so it works anyway.

A song from their maxi-single released in 2005, the first impression Reila gives, especially in the first 35 seconds or so before the vocalist begins to sing, is most probably derived from the simple yet beautiful piano part as well as the interesting combination of using an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar in tandem. This pretty much shows the level of musicianship this band is capable of. Aoi is my favourite member of the band (lets face it, us metalheads always eyeball the guitarists more, and this guy just sways like a grass caught in a hurricane during his guitar-playing XD) and the fact that his acoustic playing can strike up a good rhythm with Uruha throughout the song comes to me as a pleasant surprise. There's no 'boardist in the line-up, and I reckon keyboards are rarely used in the GazettE's songs, but while whoever tickled the ivories ain't no Janne Wirman, its inclusion is a really good idea and totally helps add to the atmosphere of the song.

Ruki's vocals shows little power in this song, but expresses truckloads of emotion, and there's this slight tremolo to his voice that just makes you fondly catch onto his words. Nothing else in this song, save the mournfully slow guitar solo at 3.15, can possibly express the whole feeling of melancholy and strong emotion more than his singing.

This song is amazingly clear, every individual instrument, even Reita's bass guitar, can be distinguished. In fact the weakest link seems to be Kai's drumming, which seems rather soft than most, but its not exactly a bad thing. Gawdknows a sad song like this doesn't need a million decibels worth of blast beats tearing it up.

Listen to Reila, the 7 plus minutes pretty much flies by. Get sad. Cry. Or you can just sway with Aoi. Watch the youtube vid below and you'll see what I mean =P. Its english subbed as well, in case you feel like knowing what Ruki's singing and don't happen to know a shred of japanese.

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I know this site's not meant to be personal, but this is dedicated to the one who sent me this song. Because I don't know what to leave her before my imminent departure. I don't know if she'll approve of this, there are a lot of things I don't know. But I'm leaving, and now I just wish to know that she knows I want her to live well.