From one of the greatest rock guitarists of our era comes a
memoir that redefines sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll
He was born in England but reared in L.A., surrounded by the
leading artists of the day amidst the vibrant hotbed of music and
culture that was the early seventies. Slash spent his adolescence
on the streets of Hollywood, discovering drugs, drinking, rock
music, and girls, all while achieving notable status as a BMX
rider. But everything changed in his world the day he first held
the beat-up one-string guitar his grandmother had discarded in a
closet.
The instrument became his voice and it triggered a lifelong
passion that made everything else irrelevant. As soon as he could
string chords and a solo together, Slash wanted to be in a band and
sought out friends with similar interests. His closest friend,
Steven Adler, proved to be a conspirator for the long haul. As
hairmetal bands exploded onto the L.A. scene and topped the charts,
Slash sought his niche and a band that suited his raw and gritty
sensibility.
He found salvation in the form of four young men of equal mind:
Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler, and Duff McKagan. Together
they became Guns N' Roses, one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands
of all time. Dirty, volatile, and as authentic as the streets that
weaned them, they fought their way to the top with groundbreaking
albums such as the iconic Appetite for Destruction and
Use Your Illusion I and II.
Here, for the first time ever, Slash tells the tale that has yet
to be told from the inside: how the band came together, how they
wrote the music that defined an era, how they survived insane,
never-ending tours, how they survived themselves, and, ultimately,
how it all fell apart. This is a window onto the world of the
notoriously private guitarist and a seat on the roller-coaster ride
that was one of history's greatest rock 'n' roll machines, always
on the edge of self-destruction, even at the pinnacle of its
success. This is a candid recollection and reflection of Slash's
friendships past and present, from easygoing Izzy to ever-steady
Duff to wild-child Steven and complicated Axl.
It is also an intensely personal account of struggle and
triumph: as Guns N' Roses journeyed to the top, Slash battled his
demons, escaping the overwhelming reality with women, heroin, coke,
crack, vodka, and whatever else came along.
He survived it all: lawsuits, rehab, riots, notoriety,
debauchery, and destruction, and ultimately found his creative
evolution. From Slash's Snakepit to his current band, the massively
successful Velvet Revolver,Slash found an even keel by sticking to
his guns.
Slash is everything the man, the myth, the legend,
inspires: it's funny, honest, inspiring, jaw-dropping . . . and, in
a word, excessive.