GARDEN OF EDEN

The Latest NEWS &Rumours
June & July 1999

7.26.99 8:30 EST

Slash Arrested For Assault

Slash

There's more legal trouble for the alumni of Guns N' Roses. Guitarist Slash, a.k.a. Saul Hudson, was arrested at an L.A.-area recording studio on the weekend for allegedly assaulting his estranged girlfriend. The altercation was said to have taken place in a room at the Le Parc Hotel in West Hollywood on July 19, but the unnamed woman apparently didn't lodge a complaint until later in the week. Police officials appeared at the Sunset Boulevard facility Saturday evening (July 24) and transported the guitarist to a West Hollywood police station. He was booked and released on a $50,000 bond. Slash, who left Guns N' Roses in 1996, was in the middle of a recording session for his new Slash's Snakepit album with producer Jack Douglas at the time. According to a source close to Slash, the arrest was the latest in a week-long series of accusations and counter-accusations. "There was a lot of 'don't get mad, get even' going on," says the source. "There's more to this story than meets the eye, and when it all comes out, Slash will be vindicated." The source added that contrary to published reports, the couple had not been living together. Friends and fans of the laid back guitarist are finding the story hard to believe. "He never even gets mad, much less violent," says one associate. The top-hatted rocker has previously had accounting problems related to his ex-wife, Renee, but no criminal troubles. Former Guns drummer Steven Adler, however, recently served almost three months after he was convicted of assaulting two different women in unrelated incidents

7.9.99 14:00 EST

New Guns N' Roses Makes Mystery Debut; Live Album Sessions Underway

Axl Rose

Fans who are anxiously awaiting the debut of the new Guns N' Roses band may have already heard it without realizing it. Although the GN'R camp has been keeping it quiet, moviegoers who see the Adam Sandler movie "Big Daddy" can get a very brief taste of a new GN'R recording, but only if they stick around well into the closing credits. As we previously reported, Sheryl Crow's cover of the band's 1987 hit "Sweet Child O' Mine" appears on the "Big Daddy" soundtrack album . But that's not the only version of the track that can be heard in "Big Daddy." In theaters, moviegoers can hear what appears to be a live version of the song by Guns N' Roses played over the movie's end credits. (The song is not included on the soundtrack CD.) As it turns out, there's even more to it than meets the ear. A spokesperson for the film's music supervisors, Michael Dilbeck Entertainment, confirmed to MTV News that the song "morphs" into a new version recorded by the revamped GN'R. Speaking for the music supervisors, Lori Lahman says that the initial part of the song features the near-original group (Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Gilby Clarke, and Matt Sorum) recorded live at a concert in Paris. More than halfway through that rendition, the new band -- presumably Rose, guitarists Robin Finck and Paul Huge, drummer Josh Freese, bassist Tommy Stinson, and keyboardist Dizzy Reed -- kicks in with tracks of the same song recently recorded in the studio. The tune's intro also includes a voice repeating the word, "Figaro," which was a last-minute addition "for fun," courtesy of Rose, says Lahman. The sessions were produced by Sean Beavan and engineered by Critter. The band and crew is the same team currently at work recording a studio album that will appear under the Guns N' Roses moniker. Rose, the sole remaining original member, retains the rights to the band's name.   Slash Estranged guitarist Slash is telling his official fan Web site that sessions relating to Guns N' Roses' long-rumored live album will be getting underway with mixer Andy Wallace sometime in July. Wallace's management company confirms that the studio veteran is booked for the sessions from July 12 through to the 29th. The post indicates that Slash and Rose will not at any time be working together on the project; Rose will reportedly be handling the tracks pertaining to vocals with another producer. A spokesperson for Slash confirms the information, but cautions that a live CD is still not a done deal and that the sessions with Wallace are only exploratory. The live album has been anticipated as a Christmas release. However, also expected by the end of the year is the new GN'R studio album, although the latter has been "expected" annually for the past five years. Calls to the band's label, Geffen/Interscope, were not returned.

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16th OF JUNE

 SPIN RELEASES ARTICLE ABOUT AXL ROSE

click here to get to the article

June 8th 1999 -- Source -- MTV.com

Slash will be recording his next solo album with legendary producer Jack Douglas, the man responsible for such classics as Lou Reed's "Berlin," John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy," and Aerosmith's "Toys In The Attic." Douglas is also most recently responsible for the latter act's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" from the soundtrack to "Armageddon."

A spokesperson for Douglas confirms that the Slash album is currently in pre-production with recording expected to begin in earnest around the first of July.

This will be Slash's first solo effort since leaving Guns N' Roses over creative differences with singer Axl Rose late in 1996, but it's his second overall. The guitarist recorded "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" while waiting (and waiting) for Guns to regroup in 1995.

Slash is working with a new version of his old band, Snakepit, consisting of singer Rod Jackson, guitarist Ryan Roxie, bassist Johnny Griparik and drummer Matt Laug. The album will be released on the Interscope label.

Also headed back to the studio is former Guns bassist Duff McKagan, but it's less of a happy occasion. McKagan already had his second solo album, "Beautiful Disease," completed and ready to roll when he was dropped by Geffen in the wake of the label's merger with Interscope. It appears McKagan doesn't have the rights to the album, and he's telling fans he'll be recording a third CD that will likely incorporate songs from his second.

Meanwhile, fans can be somewhat pacified by a live album available on McKagan's official Web site (www.duff-mckagan.com). The record was taped at several club shows in L.A. earlier this year.

June 8th 1999 -- Source -- MTV.com

 Moby Offers Advice To Guns N' Roses

Electronica guru Moby has returned with a new album, "Play," which is drawing rave reviews for its combination of live instruments (all of which Moby plays) and the field recordings made by historian Alan Lomax.

Last week Moby took to the stage at a Virgin Records store in Manhattan to debut his new live show (see "Moby Gets 'Play'-ful At NYC Promo Show"). During the set, Moby entertained requests from the audience, and one fan called out for an old GN'R classic -- and Moby seemed more than happy to oblige.

A few weeks earlier, MTV News asked Moby, who turned down an offer to produce the next Guns N' Roses album, if he had any advice to offer Axl and company about their long-awaited new record.

"My advice to them would be to stop worrying about it and just make a record," Moby said. "Go into the studio for a month and at the end of the month, your record has to be finished. Go in and play and have fun and sing songs and don't worry about selling billions of records, just have fun and make a nice record. At this point, they've spent so many years on it, and they don't seem to be any closer to actually having a finished record."

Look for Moby to release a new single, "Bodyrock," prior to hitting the road for a U.S. tour starting in late July and continuing through August.

June 4th 1999 -- Source -- Music.com

 Sheryl Crow to release cover version of Sweet Child O' Mine

Sheryl Crow’s rendition of the Guns N’ Roses anthem "Sweet Child O’ Mine" will be the featured single from the soundtrack to the upcoming Adam Sandler film Big Daddy.

The video for "Sweet Child O’ Mine" was shot in a California junkyard with "illuminating special effects." The track, which was co-produced by Rick Rubin and Crow, will be stripped onto all future pressings of Crow’s latest album, The Globe Sessions, and will hit radio this week, with the accompanying video airing on both MTV and VH1. The film’ s soundtrack will be released on June 22.

Crow is currently touring in the U.K. with the Rolling Stones, and will return to the US at the beginning of July to co-headline this year’s Lilith Fair, which kicks off July 8 at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

June 2nd 1999

The long-awaited follow up to Guns 'N' Roses 1991 album Use Your Illusion is being tipped for release this autumn. Fans of the chart-topping rockers have been desperate to hear the new material recorded by frontman Axl Rose over the past year but had not heard so much as a peep. Sources close to the band have said that Rose is now pulling out the stops to get the CD into record stores by November.

One insider at Interscope Records said: "Axl swears he's going to deliver a record by late fall. The head guys at Interscope have heard what he's doing and everybody is pretty excited. The tracks have been recorded for a long time, but Axl's just starting to lay down the vocals."

Rose is the only original member of Guns n' Roses to appear on the disc. The line-up now features keyboardist Dizzy Reed, bassist Tommy Stinson and guitarists Robin Finck and Paul Huge.

June 1st 1999

 Slash, Scorpions, Others Scheduled For "Michael Jackson & Friends"

Slash, the Scorpions, Boys II Men, Luther Vandross, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti are among an extremely mixed bag of artists confirmed for the "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concert in Munich, Germany on June 27.

Jackson himself will be performing as well, along with other confirmed acts such as Status Quo and Zucchero.

The original plan had called for two different venues in the same city: one staging a classical concert, the other holding a rock show. But now the promoters have combined the two events into one, making for some strange stagefellows indeed.

The Munich show is one of three major charity appearances for Jackson in June. The singer is mounting a similar concert in Seoul, Korea on June 25, two days prior to the Munich show. The Seoul show will feature several of the same artists found on the Munich roster, including Slash. Jackson had attempted to stage a similar concert in Korea last October, but the event was canceled (see: "Michael Jackson To Start Global Children's Charity, Schedules Korean Benefit Concert").

The shows are tagged "Michael Jackson & Friends: The Adventure of Humanity." The proceeds benefit the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross, and UNESCO.

Other artists either previously reported or rumored to be appearing at one of the "Friends" concerts (and, in some cases, both) include Gloria Estefan, Diana Ross, Ringo Starr, and Stevie Wonder, and Elizabeth Taylor. A Rod Stewart performance is expected to be beamed in via satellite.

Jackson is also appearing at the "Pavarotti & Friends" benefit concert for Warchild on June 1 in Modena, Italy (see: "Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Others To Join Pavarotti For Benefit").

ALSO CHECK OUT OLD/NEW GN'R NEWS |1999 : earlier / 2000 : January |