{"id":5387,"date":"2012-02-08T09:05:43","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T22:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=5387"},"modified":"2012-02-08T09:07:29","modified_gmt":"2012-02-07T22:07:29","slug":"slash-to-release-second-studio-solo-album-on-may-18-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2012\/02\/slash-to-release-second-studio-solo-album-on-may-18-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Slash to release second studio solo album on May 18, 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

SLASH TO RELEASE SECOND STUDIO SOLO ALBUM ON MAY 18, 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\u00a0All photos: Travis Shinn.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>SLASH<\/span><\/strong>–the iconic, Grammy-winning<\/strong> rock guitarist and songwriter–is currently in a Los Angeles <\/strong>studio putting the finishing touches on his second solo album.<\/strong>\u00a0 The as-yet-untitled disc is due out May 18<\/strong> on SLASH\u2019s<\/strong> own label Dik Hayd International<\/strong> via Sony Music Australia and will follow his 2010<\/strong> debut album Slash<\/span><\/strong> and his November<\/strong> 2011<\/strong> first-ever live\u00a0 solo album, the two-CD\/DVD set Made In Stoke 24\/7\/11<\/span><\/strong>. The Slash<\/span> <\/strong>album debuted on the ARIA Album Charts at #3<\/strong> and with 3 in-market visits within the first 12 months of release, SLASH achieved Platinum sales<\/strong> for his debut solo album in Australia<\/strong>. Internationally the album hit the #1 position on iTunes in 13 countries and achieved Top 5 positions chart positions in over a dozen major territories including a #3 debut on the US Billboard Top 200 Chart.<\/p>\n

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\nPictured L-R: Todd Kearns, Myles Kennedy, SLASH and Brent Fitz.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For the new album, SLASH\u2014<\/strong>along with and his bandmates Myles Kennedy<\/strong> (vocals), Brent Fitz<\/strong> (drums) and Todd Kerns<\/strong> (bass)–have teamed with producer Eric Valentine<\/strong>, who also produced the Slash<\/span><\/strong> disc. All the songs were written together by SLASH<\/strong> and Kennedy<\/strong>, and cameras have been rolling throughout the entire making of the album. Check out exclusive behind-the-scenes<\/strong> footage airing weekly beginning today<\/strong>\u00a0at the bottom of this post. SLASH <\/strong>also talks about the album and forthcoming tour (dates TBA) this Q&A<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Looking at all your Twitter updates, you sound really pumped about the new disc. This time around, you and Myles wrote all the songs and he sings lead on all the tracks.\u00a0 What inspired this scenario since your debut solo album featured multiple vocalists (including Myles on two songs)?
\n<\/em><\/strong>Well having Myles sing on the first record inspired me to take him on the road, then taking him on the road inspired me to have him sing on the whole record. So yeah the tour last year definitely inspired the decision for him to sing on the new record. He has a really broad range.\u00a0 He is just very musical as far as his melodic style is concerned and he\u2019s also very lyrical and just a really powerful singer. There\u2019s a lot of positives about the way he sings.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you want to talk a bit here about your other bandmates and what they each bring to the sound?
\n<\/em><\/strong>There\u2019s Brent who is probably one of the best drummers I\u2019ve ever played with–he has a great way of playing very powerful rock n roll while still being able to keep it behind the beat and sexy. And then Todd has got to be one of the most overall talented musicians I\u2019ve worked with, just a really great bass player. Todd\u2019s very quick in the studio, a quick learner and creative as a writer; on top of that, he\u2019s also a great singer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Beyond you and Myles writing all the songs and Myles singing all the leads, in what other ways is the new album perhaps different from your debut solo album?
\n<\/em><\/strong>Myles and I basically collaborated on the new material.\u00a0 The main thing is we wrote these songs together which is a big difference from the last album where I wrote each song with all of the different collaborators. The whole creative nucleus is between Myles and me. On top of this, the whole rhythm section of Brent and Todd brings something to the table and changes the dynamic completely from the last record–it\u2019s much more cohesive.<\/p>\n

With your record company Dik Hayd Records, you remain an independent artist and work with major companies for distribution.\u00a0 Can you talk about how you as an artist benefit by this scenario in these interesting times for the music industry?
\n<\/em><\/strong>It puts me more in the driver\u2019s seat of how I want to market the record, but even more importantly than that, I\u2019m not giving half of everything that comes in on the album to the record company.<\/p>\n

Eric Valentine returns as producer for the new disc.\u00a0 What do you feel he brings as a producer to these songs and the overall approach?
\n<\/em><\/strong>The first thing we always talk about with Eric is he\u2019s an extremely gifted musician, but he is basically as talented an engineer, so it makes for a great combination as a producer. As a person he\u2019s easy to work with–he\u2019s very patient and he lives and breathes what he does.\u00a0 That\u2019s a lot like how I am, we\u2019re similar; I can call him at any moment and ask him a question or share an idea I have with him.\u00a0 He\u2019s always in his element and it\u2019s something that I can appreciate.<\/p>\n

You toured the world <\/em><\/strong>seven times with the last album.\u00a0 What are your tour plans for the new album?
\n<\/em><\/strong>Right now we\u2019re starting off with radio shows in the states and then we\u2019ll do as much of Europe as possible. We\u2019ll also tour in Asia and Australia, and try to hit South Africa this year as well as India and a couple other spots.\u00a0 Trying to just broaden our horizons a bit.<\/p>\n

About SLASH:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Slash is widely considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time. He has received countless accolades and awards including his forthcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame set for April 2012. In 2007, Slash was inducted into Hollywood\u2019s RockWalk (located in front of Guitar Center in Hollywood) alongside his idols Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. An original member of iconic rock band Guns N\u2019 Roses, the Grammy-winning Slash helped the band create signature sounds like the guitar riff of #1 hit \u201cSweet Child o\u2019 Mine\u201d and \u201cWelcome To The Jungle.\u201d \u00a0The band dominated the 1980\u2019s and 90\u2019s music scene selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and ushered in a decade of hard-charging rock music. After leaving the band, Slash went on to critical acclaim in his personal project Slash\u2019s Snakepit, and global success with the supergroup Velvet Revolver. \u00a0He has been widely sought after by the biggest musicians of all time, performing with everyone from Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Ray Charles. \u00a0Slash recently landed on the top of the charts with his first true solo album, Slash<\/span>. \u00a0In addition, Slash was honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce who named him as an official selection for 2011 to receive a star on Hollywood\u2019s iconic Walk of Fame. In February 2011, he performed at the Super Bowl XLV half time show, seen by more than 106 million people, becoming the most-watched program in U.S. television history (Nielsen Co.).<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>www.slashonline.com<\/strong><\/a> –<\/strong> https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/slash<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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