The classic rock band that turned down Slash
For the past 40 years, Slash has been the living embodiment of everything that is rock and roll. Since bursting onto the scene with Guns N’ Roses, the top-hat-clad guitarist has been known to make the most of his solos, crafting musical passages that are easy to sing along to when they hit one’s eardrums. Although Slash found his calling working alongside Axl Rose, there was a moment when he had the opportunity to join one of the most popular bands in the world.
Before he ascended to the top of the Sunset Strip, though, Slash grew up around various parts of the music industry. With his father designing various album covers and his mother designing clothes, the young guitarist would end up rubbing elbows with various rockstars of the early 1970s, including Joni Mitchell and James Taylor.
By the time Slash had grown up, he had the idea that he wanted to play something heavier. Quickly latching onto acts like Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, Slash started to master the guitar and play at various parties around the Los Angeles area. Although he may have been doing it initially for amusement, he got the chance of a lifetime when he saw an audition for a band called Kiss.
Having been known as one of the premiere hard rock acts throughout the decade, the shock rockers had recently parted ways with Ace Frehley after the album Music From the Elder. Looking to get back in touch with their hard rock sound, vocalist Paul Stanley remembered them going through a range of different musicians before stumbling upon Slash.
While Slash may have passed the audition with flying colours, Stanley thought his age was a significant point against him. As opposed to the rest of the band having some rockstar experience, Slash still being in his teens made them lenient to give him the full makeup treatment, let alone take him out on the road.
As he detailed in his biography, Stanley recalled, “I had turned 30 earlier that year, and Gene was twice this kid’s age. ‘You know,’ I said, ‘you sound like a great guy, but I think you’re too young for this.’ I wished him well and always remembered him because he was so nice and unaffected”.
By the time Guns N’ Roses had started writing original material like ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, though, they would end up turning Stanley down. After hearing them play in a dive bar, Stanley initially wanted to produce the band, only to be shot down when he suggested making different song arrangements.
While Kiss would carry on with various guitar players following the album Creatures of the Night, what Slash created behind the fretboard was unparalleled. Throughout songs like ‘Paradise City’, Slash was looking to put a healthy dose of blues back into rock and roll, often letting his music talk whenever he went onstage. Kiss may have been about flashiness half the time, but Slash probably saved himself from a lifetime of makeup by not getting the gig.