When you've reached the pinnacle of rock 'n' roll stardom and remain one of the world's most iconic and recognizable guitarists for over 35 years, what do you do for a fun break? For Slash (born Saul Hudson), the answer is: spend a few weeks putting together an album of blues covers with some old friends, then recruit some of the music world's most important vocalists of the past 60 years to sing on it.
That’s how “Orgy of the Damned” came about when he had some time between tours last year. Featuring 11 covers of classic blues (each featuring a different vocalist) and an original instrumental finale, it probably rivals his self-titled solo debut as the most star-studded album Slash has ever crafted. Featuring everyone from veteran rock legends like Billy Gibbons, Iggy Pop, Brian Johnson and Steven Tyler to current musical superstars like Gary Clark Jr. and Chris Stapleton performing songs written by the likes of T-Bone Walker, Stevie Wonder and Howlin’ Wolf, “Orgy of the Damned” has more name recognition than most major albums with years of planning around them — even if it was mostly a jam session.
“The idea of making this record had been floating around in my head for years, and I suddenly felt the urge to do it right then and there,” Slash recalls, as he fiddled with a Les Paul in the chair of his private studio in Encino. “We rented a little rehearsal room in North Hollywood for two weeks and then we had a week to record before I had to leave again. We picked all the different songs I had selected for this record and started jamming. It was really cathartic for me to play some straight blues stuff. I didn’t have to think about it too much. It was really just for fun.”
Slash previously fronted a “drunken cover band” in the late '90s called Slash's Blues Ball.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Though Slash is best known as a rocker thanks to his decades of work with bands like Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and the Conspirators, “Orgy of the Damned” is far from his first foray into the blues. In addition to his late-’90s “drunken covers band” called Slash’s Blues Ball (whose bassist and keyboardist play on the new album), the legendary top-hatted guitarist cites the genre as one of his earliest inspirations and also what still excites him today. In fact, it’s today’s blues renaissance, led by some of Slash’s newest collaborators and tourmates like Gary Clark Jr. and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, where he finds some of his favorite modern guitarists (both to listen to and to play) more often than the rock world itself.
“There are some amazing guitar techs out there, but it reminds me of the way skateboarding has evolved,” Slash says, glancing off to the side behind his trademark aviator glasses and top hat. “Everyone is so technical now, and there’s some really interesting and impressive stuff that’s come out of that, but there are only a few guitar players that I really like these days. There’s a guy named Chris Buck, who’s a great blues guitarist. I helped him get a visa to come here, and then I called Troubadour to get him a gig. You see all these young blues artists really pushing themselves and getting really good. That’s a genre that’s really thriving and alive and fresh right now, whereas it’s kind of few and far between for me to find interesting things to hear in rock. I think what really excites me is when the guitar is in context as a melodic part of a song. That’s what’s always excited me, and there’s such a lack of that right now.” [in rock music]There are a lot of guitarists out there who sound amazing on their own, but that doesn’t fit into the makeup of an exciting band.”
To celebrate both the blues resurgence and his new album, Slash has organized the SERPENT Festival, a traveling blues festival that brings together some of the genre’s best artists for a good cause. Rather than just doing a normal tour in support of “Orgy of the Damned,” SERPENT (Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance) is partnering with organizations like the Equal Justice Initiative, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, the Greenlining Institute, War Child, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness to raise money and awareness for a variety of causes the guitarist believes are important.
“I’m not what you would call a huge political or social advocate, but I feel like in this really crazy time that we’re living in, where there’s so much division and so much negativity hanging over what’s about to happen, I’d like to do something that had a positive message,” Slash says.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
But beyond the charity aspect of the festival (which will make its Los Angeles stop on July 13 at the Greek Theatre), Slash hopes SERPENT can bring together a diverse audience to celebrate the music everyone enjoys. After all, the guitar hero will be bringing plenty of his own fans, but the all-star blues lineup that includes names like Kingfish, Samantha Fish, Keb Mo and Warren Haynes should also draw an audience that couldn't care less about his hard rock past.
“I’m not what you would call a huge political or social advocate, but I feel like in this really crazy time that we’re living in, where there’s so much division and so much negativity hanging over what’s about to happen, I’d like to do something that had a positive message,” Slash says. “That’s what blues music is all about anyway. I wanted this festival to be inclusive of all people and not promote any kind of one-dimensional influence, but I also wanted to support people who have been on the sidelines for the last 10 years. There’s been a lot of racial issues, a lot of poverty, a lot of homelessness and mental issues going on and it’s all very present right now. So I wanted to address that and find some charities to give back a little bit to.”
“When I was putting the projects together, I wanted to have guys I’d known in the last five to ten years and guys I’d known for a long time to have a cool mix of really vibrant blues artists,” Slash continues. “I don’t even really know [what the audience will be like]”I think we will. It will be a mix of different things and it will be a broad-based blues show. There's the stuff that we do, which is very blues-driven, but there's also rock 'n' roll, and it's all presented with a certain energy, but it's not all Marshall music. I think it will draw a lot of people just to see what's going on, because it will be so fun and entertaining and cool for people. I don't think anyone knows exactly what's going to happen.”
As for the never-ending argument over whether there's still a place for the true “lead guitarist” in modern rock music, Slash doesn't seem particularly concerned. For one thing, he'll tell you that the Los Angeles music scene hasn't been the same since Guns N' Roses returned from touring to promote “Appetite for Destruction” in the late 1980s and that the music industry as a whole has been destroying talented artists in favor of radio-friendly Top 40 hits for decades. But at the same time, he's already seeing the next generation of artists beginning to understand the imperfect beauty and humanity found in the guitar-based music of yesteryear.
“There’s a lot of music that’s historic and means a lot to people, and that’s why there are so many great historic bands,” Slash says.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
“Until something really moves you, you lose interest in it until you get to the point where you forget why it ever mattered,” Slash says of lead guitar parts. “There’s a lot of music that’s historic and means a lot to people, and that’s why there are so many great historic bands.”
But for the new things that come along, the music industry has become so corporate that there's no risk-taking or development, Slash says. Nothing like what used to happen, where you'd find a really talented artist, bring them in, introduce them to the world and develop them, happens. “Now you need to make a Top 40 hit or they don't have time for you, and that's the record business,” he continues.
The legendary guitarist is convinced that young music fans and musicians are no longer interested in the corporate world. “They’re finding out that we’ve been through a really bad digital era where people didn’t care about sound quality, but there’s old stuff that sounds really good and they’re just creating something on their own,” he said. “I think something will come out of that, get everyone’s attention and start a wave of things that aren’t really industry-driven. And, eventually, the industry will realize that, too.”
