According to Bret Michaels, back in the 1980s Slash auditioned for Poison and was rejected. This may be old news, but recently Michaels provided more details (see below). Yes, I used the word Crazy in the title of this post because we all know how great and legendary Slash is as a guitarist. It's like when Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Regardless, I believe that Slash took a much better career path with Guns 'N Roses than he would have with Poison. Slash is No. 65 in Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Please read previous posts about Poison and Guns "n Roses on this blog. Check out the video below of Slash's live guitar solo from the 1980s below. - Kenny Leibow
Poison singer Bret Michaels has revealed more details about why they rejected Slash in the 1980s when he auditioned to join their band. "Slash is one of my all-time favorite guitar players and I believe he would have steered our sound a little more in the Aerosmith direction," he toldAustin 360. "He was basically the same guy he is today. What you see is what you get. It never really had a chance to work out or not. The band decided C.C. (DeVille) was the best choice for us." Slash revealed in 2010 that before joiningGuns N' Roses that Poison guitarist Matt Smith was the one who told him to try out for the band, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. Although he wasn't a fan of their music, he was yet to make his name as a legendary guitarist and had to consider every gig that crossed his path. He made it through the auditions and was down to the final two, but realised he would never suit their glam makeup style. "As I was walking out of the audition, C.C. DeVille was walking in," said Slash of the auditions. "He had on pancake makeup and a ton of hairspray. I actually remember thinking right then, ‘That should be the guy.’" Can you imagine a world where Slash didn't join Gn'R? Would Poison have been better with his influence?
The Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by Guns N' Roses which ran from May 24, 1991 to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 192 shows in 27 countries.
I have written posts on this blog regarding Gun N' Roses. When I was researching the longest tours in rock history "Use Your Illusion" always showed up at the top of the list. There are many twists and turns on the tour from Izzy Stradlin leaving the band - to the crowd riot in St. Louis. You can read all the details below. The DVD of the tour is available and you can download all the music from the album(s). I have included a couple of videos of "Sweet Child o Mine" live and "Welcome to the Jungle" live from the Use Your Illusion Tour. My Favorite the Theme from the Godfather! Guns 'N Roses experienced the highest popularity and level of greatness, which made them legends starting in 1987-1993 of which not many bands have ever achieved. During that time Guns N' Roses had the longest running tour in Rock history '91-'93. - Kenny Leibow
Use Your Illusion I is the third studio album by the American rock band Guns N’ Roses. It was the first of two albums released in conjunction with the “Use Your Illusion Tour” the other being “Use Your Illusion II”. The two are thus sometimes considered a double album. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts, selling 685,000 copies in its first week, behind Use Your Illusion II's first week sales of 770,000. Use Your Illusion I has sold 5,502,000 units in the U.S. as of 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Each of the Use Your Illusion albums have been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1992.
The album has recently received critical acclaim again in 2011, being featured on Triple M Radio's Life-Changing Album series in Australia, with the station playing numerous tracks with commentary.
Sweet Child o Mine Live
Theme from the Godfather
Welcome to the Jungle Live
Guns N' Roses has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, including shipments of 45 million in the United States. The band's 1987 major label debut album, Appetite for Destruction, has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and is also the highest selling debut album of all time in the US. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Sweet Child o' Mine" which reached No. 1. Appetite was followed by the eight-song album G N' R Lies in 1988. The 1991 albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted on the two highest spots on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 14 million copies in the United States
Use Your Illusion Tour
The Use Your Illusion World Tour program included a guitar solo from Slash based on The Godfather theme, a piano-driven cover of "It's Alright" by Black Sabbath and an extended jam on the classic rock-inspired "Move to the City" where they showcased the ensemble of musicians assembled for the tour.[38]
Many of the successful performances during the tour were equally matched, and often overshadowed, in the press by riots, late starts and outspoken rants by Rose. While the band's previous drug and alcohol issues were seemingly under control, Axl was often agitated by lax security, sound problems and unwanted filming or recording of the performances. He also used the time in-between songs to fire off political statements or retorts against music critics or celebrity rivals.
On July 2, 1991, at the Riverport Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis, during a performance of "Rocket Queen", Rose noticed that a fan was filming the show with a camera. He asked the venue's security to take away the camera, and after a few seconds decided to take it himself, jumping into the audience and tackling the fan. He had a heated confrontation with the fan before physically assaulting him. After being pulled out of the audience by members of the crew, Rose said, "Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home!", threw his microphone to the ground and stormed off stage. The angry crowd began to riot and dozens of people were injured. Footage was captured byRobert John, who was documenting the entire tour. Rose was wanted by the police for inciting the riot, but police were unable to arrest him until almost a year later, as the band went overseas to continue the tour. Charges were filed against Rose, but a judge ruled that he did not directly incite the riot. In his defense, Rose stated that the Guns N' Roses security team had made four separate requests to the venue's security staff to remove the camera, all of which were ignored, and that other members of the band had reported being hit by bottles launched from the audience, while the security staff was refusing to enforce a drinking limit.[39] Consequently, Use Your Illusion's artwork featured a hidden message amidst the Thank You section of the liner notes: "Fuck You, St. Louis!"
Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin abruptly quit the band on November 7, 1991, after a repeat of the St. Louis incident nearly unfolded during a concert in Germany.[40] Stradlin cited a combination of Rose's personal behavior (Rose frequently delayed the start of shows by hours at a time) and his mismanagement of the band[40] and difficulties being around Slash, Sorum, and McKagan, due to his new-found sobriety and their continuing alcohol and substance addictions.[41] Axl Rose originally wanted Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro to replace Stradlin, but Stradlin was eventually replaced by Los Angeles-based guitarist Gilby Clarke, whom Slash credited for saving the band. During many shows throughout the tour, Rose introduced Clarke to the audience, and Slash and Clarke would then play "Wild Horses", a Rolling Stones cover. In late 1991, Rose added a touring ensemble to the band which included a horns section and several background vocalists despite the rest of the band's refusal. Izzy Stradlin has since produced eleven solo albums,[42] more work than any other single member of Guns N' Roses had produced.
In 1992, the band appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performing a three-song set. Slash later performed "Tie Your Mother Down" with the remaining members of Queenand Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott, while Axl Rose performed "We Will Rock You" and sang a duet with Elton John on "Bohemian Rhapsody". Their personal set included "Paradise City" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". When they returned to the US for the second leg of the Use Your Illusion Tour, Queen guitarist Brian May opened the shows with a band that included Cozy Powell on drums. Axl had originally wanted the grunge band (and labelmates) Nirvana to open their Use Your Illusion Tour, but frontman Kurt Cobain refused. Cobain also made some negative comments[citation needed] about Guns N' Roses, which infuriated Rose, and started off one of his biggest feuds, other than the ones with his band-mates.
Later in the year, they went on the Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour, with American Metal band Metallica. During a show in August 1992 at Montreal'sOlympic Stadium, Metallica frontman James Hetfield suffered severe burns after stepping too close to a pyrotechnics blast. Metallica was forced to cancel the second hour of the show, but promised to return to the city for another performance. After a long delay, during which the audience became increasingly restless, Guns N' Roses took the stage. However, the shortened time between sets did not allow for adequate tuning of stage monitors, resulting in members of G N' R not being able to hear themselves. In addition, Rose claimed that his throat hurt,[43]causing the band to leave the stage early. The cancellation led to another riot by audience members, reminiscent of the St. Louis riot, that had occurred one year earlier. Rioters overturned cars, smashed windows, looted local stores and set fires. Local authorities were barely able to bring the mob under control. This can be seen on video in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica. On MTV'srockumentary about Metallica, the band spoke about this tour and how they learned from Guns N' Roses what not to do.
The historic tour ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 1993. The tour set attendance records and lasted for 28 months, in which 194 shows were played. The show in Buenos Aires marked the last time that Slash, as well as newcomers Sorum and Clarke, would play a live show with Rose. At the tour's conclusion, Rose would fire Clarke without consulting anyone, claiming he was only a "hired hand"
Sources: Phmeier Trade Lists info: http://phmeiertradeinfo.blogspot.com/ Answer Party: http://answerparty.com/ Widipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/ Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame: http://rockhall.com/
Heavy Metal has been dealt a bad wrap as only known for Drugs, Sex and Devil Worshipping. LOL Some of the greatest musicians, song writers and most beautiful songs have been created by all the big named Heavy Metal bands of which many are mentioned in this blog. *AND* When the Christian rock band Stryper first emerged in 1983, many people thought they were both a marketing ploy and tasteless joke. After 1986's To Hell With the Devil sold over two million copies, so-called Christian bands started popping up everywhere. Some assemblance of Stryper has been going strong on and off for 30 years.
Michael Sweet of Stryper: "We Have Always Thrown Bibles And We Always Will."
Below is the complete biography of Stryper. I have also included 4 great Stryper videos. Two videos showing Stryper performing their MTV famous hits "Calling on you" and "Honesty". Two official music videos of "Always There For You" and "In God We Trust". Whatever Heavy Metal message you prefer to follow; Stryper and their inspiring music is more than just a footnote in Heavy Metal history. - Kenny Leibow
Heavy metal has been associated with ol' Beelzebub ever since its inception, but a few acts took the opposite route and put their Christian beliefs in hard rocking songs, such as Stryper. Formed in Orange County, California, in 1983, the group was originally known as Roxx Regime, and consisted of singer/guitarist/main songwriter Michael Sweet, drummer Robert Sweet, lead guitarist Oz Fox, and bassist Timothy Gaines. It wasn't until the group changed its name to Stryper (which stood for "Salvation Through Redemption Yielding Peace, Encouragement, and Righteousness") that things really began taking off for the quartet. Specializing in the melodic Van Halen/Def Leppard style (with heart-wrenching power ballads tossed in), dressed in all black-and-yellow outfits, and spreading their religious message even further by tossing bibles out into the crowd at their shows, Stryper were signed by the Enigma label in 1984. The same year, the group's debut recording, a six-track mini-album titled The Yellow & Black Attack, was issued.
The album created a buzz for the group among metalheads, which was only heightened with the release of the band's first full-length album, 1985's Soldiers Under Command. The first Stryper release to crack the Billboard charts, its success led to the re-release of The Yellow & Black Attack (which included an extra two tracks and new artwork) in 1986. Later the same year, Stryper issued their sophomore full-length, To Hell with the Devil, which many consider to be the group's finest hour. Turning out to be the highest-charting album of their career (barely missing the Top 30), the platinum-certified album benefited by MTV's repeated airings of the videos for "Calling on You" and the syrupy ballad "Honestly" (the latter of which peaked at number 23 on the U.S. singles charts). Despite possessing a different message than their peers, by this point Stryper fit in perfectly with the other popular pop/hair metal bands of the day (Bon Jovi, White Lion, Dokken, etc.).
Yet just as it appeared that Stryper could possibly break through on a massive scale, such new metal styles as thrash (Metallica) and more stripped-down rock (Guns N' Roses) began to usurp Stryper's pop-metal audience. As a result, Stryper's next release, 1988's In God We Trust, failed to expand their following, nor did it live up to promise of its predecessor (although it did manage to earn gold certification). Sensing this, the group adopted a harder-edged sound and look for 1990's Against the Law, and even covered the Earth, Wind & Fire funk classic "Shining Star." Neither managed to cross over to the top of the charts. A greatest-hits set, Can't Stop the Rock, followed in 1991, but with Nirvana just about to ring the death knell for pop-metal bands, Michael Sweet decided to leave the group for a solo career. Surprisingly, the remaining members of Stryper opted to carry on as a three-piece (with Fox handling lead vocal duties), and continued to tour for a spell. The Michael Sweet-less version didn't last long however, as Stryper officially called it quits in 1992.
In the wake of the band's split, its members remained busy. Michael Sweet's solo career never scaled the same heights as Stryper's, although solo releases appeared on a somewhat regular basis, with 1994's Michael Sweet, 1995's Real, and 2001's Truth. Robert Sweet issued a solo recording, Love Trash, in addition to studio work, while Fox and Gaines formed a new group, Sin Dizzy, who issued a rock opera (concerning the crucifixion of Jesus Christ) titled He's Not Dead.
During the intervening years, a large core of devoted fans remained intact, resulting in all of Stryper's albums being reissued by Hollywood Records. In 1999 Sin Dizzy played a show with Michael Sweet, which ended in an off-the-cuff jam session of old Stryper tunes -- resulting in reunion rumors. And with a heightened nostalgic interest regarding '80s-era metal bands during the early 21st century, Stryper agreed to sporadically reunite for a "Stryper Expo," which has since turned into an annual event. Stryper's second greatest-hits collection, 7: The Best of Stryper, was issued in 2003, and included a pair of new tunes recorded especially for the collection, "Something" and "For You." Fueled by a renewed interest in the Christian rock scene, the band returned to the studio for 2005's Reborn and again in 2009 for Murder by Pride, the latter released in celebration of the band's 25th anniversary. In 2011 Stryper released The Covering, featuring covers of songs by bands that inspired them, including a take on Black Sabbath's 1980 hit "Heaven and Hell." Greg Prato, Rovi
You have to go back at least 25 years to start finding all the great drummers. After listing Neil Peart, John Bonham, Keith Moon and Carl Palmer, does it really matter how you list the rest of the great drummers? My opinion is that Neil Peart and Carl Palmer are the most skilled drummers I have ever witnessed both in concert and in video. I saw Carl Palmer past his ELP days when he was with ASIA. He had a rotating stage and two big gongs behind him. Even during ballads, he was drumming with speed, precision and incredible timing. Neil Peart's "Working Man" is the greatest drumming solo of all time. I would round out the top 5 with the original innovator on drums, Ringo Starr of The Beatles.
There are good drummers today like Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon and others, but not many. It's going to be very hard today to achieve legendary status like John Bonham and Keith Moon because of today's music, technology and less focus on the drummer compared to years past. This is why I posted 99 and not 100 Greatest Drummers, as a symbol that great drummers today are rare. You want to see and hear greatness, then just check out the video of Carl Palmer's solo in 1970 below and listen below of Neil Peart's "Working Man" solo from Rush's live concert "All The World's A Stage" - "Ladies and gentlemen the professor on the drum kit".
Final Note: In the 1980s, I have to give Tommy Aldridge of Ozzy Osbourne the title of best drummer of his time. One last opinion; Alex Van Halen, drummer of Van Halen, is underrated and overshadowed by his genius brother Eddie on guitar. - Kenny Leibow
The 99 Greatest Drummer list below came from digitaldreamdoor.com where I have reposted lists before. You may not agree with the order of the list or believe that there is someone missing out of the top 99, however I have found that the drummers listed below are consistently showing up on most greatest drummer lists. Please post your favorite rock drummer stories.
1. Neil Peart (Rush) 2. John Bonham* (Led Zeppelin) 3. Keith Moon* (The Who) 4. Carl Palmer (ELP) 5. Ginger Baker (Cream) 6. Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa) 7. Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) 8. Hal Blaine (Session man) 9. Ian Paice (Deep Purple) 10. Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) 11. Dave Lombardo (Slayer) 12. Danny Carey (Tool) 13. Ringo Starr (The Beatles) 14. Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge) 15. Earl Palmer (Session man) 16. Benny Benjamin* (Funk Brothers) 17. Jeff Porcaro* (Toto) 18. Stewart Copeland (The Police) 19. Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne) 20. Bernard Purdie (Session) 21. Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) 22. Steve Smith (Journey) 23. Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix) 24. David Garabaldi (Tower Of Power) 25. Mike Shrieve (Santana) 26. Ainsley Dunbar (Jeff Beck) 27. Cozy Powell* (Rainbow) 28. Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) 29. Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews) 30. Tim Alexander (Primus) 31. Roger Taylor (Queen) 32. Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam) 33. Zigaboo Modeliste (The Meters) 34. Phil Collins (Genesis) 35. Al Jackson* (The MGs) 36. Vinnie Paul (Pantera) 37. Topper Headon (The Clash) 38. Lars Ulrich (Metallica) 39. Jimmy Chamberlain (Smashing Pumpkins) 40. Bobby Jarzombeck (Rob Halford, Iced Earth) 41. Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs, Winger) 42. Gene Holgan (Death, Strapping Young Lad) 43. Martin Lopez (Opeth) 44. Simon Phillips (Toto) 45. Mike Giles (King Crimson, Giles, Giles & Fripp ) 46. Max Weinberg (Springsteen) 47. Alex Van Halen (Van Halen) 48. Jon Theodore (Mars Volta, One Day As A Lion) 49. Brian Downey (Thin Lizzy) 50. Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, session man) 51. Alan White (Yes) 52. Nick Menza (Megadeth) 53. Phil Ehart (Kansas) 54. Mark Zonder (Fate's Warning) 55. Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) 56. Jaki Liebezeit (CAN) 57. Scott Travis (Judas Priest) 58. Virgil Donati (Planet X) 59. Jim Gordon (Derek And The Dominoes) 60. Ron Bushy (Iron Butterfly) 61. Richard Allen (Funk Brothers) 62. BJ Wilson* Procul Harum) 63. Chad Wackerman (Zappa) 64. Ralph Humphrey (Mothers Of Invention) 65. Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Desert Sessions) 66. Jojo Mayer (Nerve, session man) 67. Brann Dailor (Mastodon) 68. Clive Burr (Iron Maiden) 69. Christian Vander (Magma) 70. Dennis Thompson (MC5) 71. John French (Captain Beefheart) 72. John Weathers (Gentle Giant) 73. Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) 74. Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson) 75. Greg Bissonette (David Lee Roth, session man) 76. Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac) 77. Mike Mangini (Extreme) 78. Larry Mullen Jr. (U2) 79. Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull) 80. Tomas Haake (Meshuggah) 81. Jabo Starks (James Brown, session man) 82. Brian Mantia (Primus) 83. Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche)
84. Phil Taylor (Motörhead) 85. Vinnie Appice (Dio, session man) 86. Fred Coury (Cinderella) 87. Travis Barker (Blink 182) 88. Phil Selway (Radiohead) 89. Randy Castillo (Ozzy Osbourne) 90. Zak Starkey (The Who, Oasis) 91. Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones) 92. Dave Grohl (Nirvana) 93. Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) 94. Jose Pasillas (Incubus) 95. Ron Wilson* (Surfaris) 96. John Densmore (The Doors) 97. Chester Thompson (Santana) 98. Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley) 99. Van Romaine (Steve Morse)
According to Bret Michaels, back in the 1980s Slash auditioned for Poison and was rejected. This may be old news, but recently Michaels provided more details (see below). Yes, I used the word Crazy in the title of this post because we all know how great and legendary Slash is as a guitarist. It's like when Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Regardless, I believe that Slash took a much better career path with Guns 'N Roses than he would have with Poison. Slash is No. 65 in Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Please read previous posts about Poison and Guns "n Roses on this blog. Check out the video below of Slash's live guitar solo from the 1980s below. - Kenny Leibow
