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?
Skid Row was formed in Toms River, New Jersey not far from where I grew up. Below is a full biography of Skid Row. I bought their first album "Skid Row" in 1989, which went Multi-Platinum. Below is a list of the tracks from Skid Row's first album. Please watch the two music videos, "18 and Life (Live)" and "I Remember You (1989)". I always thought that "18 and Life" had powerful lyrics. - Kenny Leibow
Biography Skid Row were one of the very last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s. While the band's self-titled debut employed standard pop-metal riffs and generic lyrics (albeit to great commercial success), 1991's Slave to the Grind and 1995's Subhuman Race broke away from the pop-metal mold with uncharacteristically hard, thrashy guitars and unique songwriting techniques. Though personal differences and changing trends would eventually tear the core lineup apart by 1996, Skid Row showed tremendous promise during their short time in the spotlight.
Based in New Jersey, Skid Row were formed in 1986 by bassist Rachel Bolan and former Bon Jovi guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo. The pair added guitarist Scott Hill, drummer Rob Affuso, and a larger than life vocalist named Sebastian Bach to the lineup by early 1987, and the band spent the next year and a half playing a series of local clubs in the eastern U.S. Having remained in contact with Jon Bon Jovi, Sabo convinced the established rock star to land Skid Row a record deal with Mercury Records. In 1989, the band released its first album, Skid Row, which went multi-platinum on the strength of the Top 40 singles "18 and Life" and "I Remember You." Success came with a backlash, however -- the bandmembers had naïvely signed away much of their royalties, and Sebastian Bach's wild, often childlike behavior landed the group in additional trouble. During the subsequent tour, Bach garnered harsh criticism for a T-shirt he publicly sported displaying the message "AIDS KILLS FAGS DEAD." Suits were also filed against Bach after a concert during the supporting tour, where the singer allegedly threw a glass bottle into the crowd and injured a young female fan.
Nonetheless, Skid Row's muscular songcraft retained a devoted audience. Released in 1991, Slave to the Grind debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, an unprecedented accomplishment for a metal band. While the album did not chart any real radio hits, Grind received stronger critical praise and eventually reached platinum status. However, like so many of their peers, Skid Row lost much of their fan base during the grunge invasion of the '90s. As Nirvana stormed the scene in 1992, Skid Row took a hiatus, waiting out the grunge period and pondering breakups (ironically, Nirvana had once gone under the name Skid Row in the '80s). Skid Row returned in 1995 with Subhuman Race, which surprisingly charted in the Top 40 but otherwise did not attract any real attention.
During the supporting tour, tensions between the group members ran high and Skid Row disbanded shortly afterward. Bach went on to form the Last Hard Men with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, but the group broke up after recording a cover of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" for the Scream soundtrack in 1996. Plans to record new songs for the Skid Row greatest-hits album, 1998's Forty Seasons, fell through, and Bach went on to form a solo project and portray the title role in the Broadway musical +Jeckyll and Hyde. In mid-2000, Skid Row re-formed with new singer Johnny Solinger and toured as the opening band for Kiss' farewell tour. They released Thickskin with Solinger in 2003, followed by Revolutions Per Minute in 2006. Meanwhile, Sebastian Bach enjoyed a surge in popularity when he appeared in a VH1 reality show opposite Ted Nugent and Scott Ian. Barry Weber, All Music Guide
Tracks 1. Big Guns 2. Sweet Little Sister 3. Can't Stand The Heartache 4. Pieces Of Me 5. 18 And Life 6. Rattlesnake Shake 7. Youth Gone Wild 8. Here I Am 9. Makin' A Mess 10. I Remember You 11. Midnight / Tornado
Skid Row – 18 and Life (Live) Warning: Some Strong Language
Ratt is an American glam metal band that enjoyed significant commercial success during the 1980s. The band is most notable for their 1984 smash hit single, "Round and Round". They have developed a sizable cult following in recent years and have acquired respect from within the music industry as trailblazers for the 1980s Los Angeles music scene. The band has sold an estimated 10 million records in the U.S. while worldwide album sales are approximated at over 18 million. VH1 slotted the band at #79 on its "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."
Artist: Ratt Album: Out of the Cellar Year: 1984
Tracks 1. Wanted Man 2. You're in Trouble 3. Round and Round 4. In Your Direction 5. She Wants Money 6. Lack of Communication 7. Back for More 8. The Morning After 9. I'm Insane 10. Scene of the Crime
Trivia:The legendary comedian Milton Berle appeared in drag in the video for "Round and Round" by the 1980s metal band Ratt (his nephew Marshall Berle was then their manager). See the original music video below of Ratt's hit "Round and Round".
RATT Round and Round (Music Video)
Ratt performed at the 1988 New Years concert in Japan at the Tokyo Dome. You can see the music video below of Ratt performing with Bon Jovi the song "It's All Over Now".
Bon Jovi, Ratt & friends – It’s All Over Now (live Tokyo 1989)
Ratt Biography Ratt's brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-'80s. The group had its origins in the '70s group Mickey Ratt, which had evolved into Ratt by 1983; at that time the band featured vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Robbin Crosby, guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier, and drummer Bobby Blotzer. The band released their self-titled first album independently in 1983, which led to a major label contract with Atlantic Records. Their first album under this deal, 1984's Out of the Cellar, was a major success, reaching the American Top Ten and selling over three million copies. "Round and Round," the first single drawn from the album, hit number 12, proving the band had pop crossover potential. While their second album, 1985's Invasion of Your Privacy, didn't match the multi-platinum figures of Out of the Cellar, it also reached the Top Ten and sold over a million copies. By that time, the band could sell-out concerts across the country and were a staple on MTV and AOR radio. Both Dancin' Undercover (1986) and Reach for the Sky (1988) continued the band's platinum streak and their audience, had only slipped slightly by the time of their final album, 1990's Detonator. – source: www.artistdirect.com
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
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