Slash’s Snake Pit

Biography

SLASH was born in Hampstead (London), England on July 23, 1965, and he was raised in Stoke-On-Trent,
Staffordshire, England. His given name is Saul Hudson. His mother is a Black American, and his father is a
white Englishman. Both parents are artistic and work in the entertainment field. His mother is a clothing
designer for entertainers. She designed some of David Bowie's unforgettable costumes. His father provides
art direction for record albums. Two notable clients are Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.

At age 11 SLASH moved to Los Angeles with his mother while his father remained based in England. Born
in the UK, SLASH was an immigrant in the United States and was to remain one for many years. The
family eventually lived together again in L.A. where SLASH had a rough transition to conservative
Southern California. The long hair, jeans and t-shirts that he wore even then didn't exactly fit with the other
kids. An outsider at school, he lived a bohemian life at home. Surrounded by artistic friends of his parents,
SLASH grew accustomed to the moods and eccentricities of those in the music world. Frequent visitors at
the Hudson household included Joni Mitchell, David Geffen, David Bowie, Ron Wood and Iggy Pop.
SLASH has said that these surroundings prepared him for coping with the stress of the music industry, the
conflict between artistry and business.

In the mid-1970's, his parents separated. SLASH moved in with

his beloved grandmother until he could sort out the situation at
home. About this time SLASH discovered BMX (bicycle motor-
crossing), joined up with a group of kids, and rode with a passion.
It's not surprising to hear that SLASH would ride without brakes!
SLASH eventually became a professional BMX biker winning
awards and money for his great riding.

While in junior high school (age 15), SLASH's

grandmother gave him his first guitar. Although it
had just one string, SLASH was able to learn to
play. SLASH's early musical influences were Led
Zep, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith,
Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Neil Young. He credits the
Aerosmith album ROCKS with changing his life.
Getting to play with the musical idols of his life
means a lot to him. Standing on a stage in Paris with Jeff Beck and Joe
Perry was overwhelming. SLASH also has gotten to play with
guitarist "god" Eric Clapton. He has played with many other artists
including Lenny Kravitz, Paul Rogers, Iggy Pop, Michael Jackson,
Brian May to name just a few.
 Soon the bike was put aside. SLASH devoted at least 12
hours a day to playing guitar. His schoolwork suffered
when he skipped classes and sat in the bleachers all day
playing guitar. School may have suffered, but his social
life got better! The other kids now thought SLASH was
cool, and he was no longer a social outcast. SLASH
joined band after band jamming with other young
musicians. Eventually, SLASH gave up on school and
dropped out in eleventh grade. Another education was
waiting for him in the L.A. band scene. SLASH met
Steven Adler, formed the band Road Crew, and was
looking for a good singer. Then he met Izzy Stradlin who
played him a tape of W. Axl Rose singing. SLASH went
to see Axl perform and immediately wanted to steal him
from Izzy, but the two Indiana natives were fast friends.
SLASH found his bass player in Duff McKagan when
Duff answered an ad SLASH had placed in the paper. All
the players changed combinations, but the result was
Guns N' Roses! With a lot of talent and a lot of drive, the
band became an international success story.

After the Illusions

tours, Guns N' Roses
went on a well-
deserved hiatus, and
SLASH became a U.S citizen. He decided that immigration hassles,
lost green cards, etc. were just too timeconsuming for his lifestyle. So
SLASH became a citizen of the United States. Welcome, SLASH!
About this time, SLASH became restless and decided to form a new
band as a side project to his GNR work which seemed to be taking
forever to get started. Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, Mike Inez, Eric
Dover, and SLASH formed SLASH's Snakepit and recorded the album
IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE. Never content to stay home and
smell the roses, SLASH went on the road with his touring band: Gilby
Clarke, Brian Tichy, James Lomenso, Eric Dover. Playing to small
venues, SLASH was able to get back to playing in clubs and being toe-
to-toe with the audience. IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE went
platinum worldwide, and SLASH promised that Snakepit would be
back again.
In the summer
of 1996, SLASH was invited to play at a blues
concert in Budapest, Hungary. He got together
some musicians and headed for Europe. From this
beginning came a terrific band called SLASH's
Blues Ball. And though this band never recorded
an album, it was in big demand by promoters and
fans.

While this was going on, SLASH was waiting for

Axl Rose to get Guns N' Roses together. SLASH
and Axl had talks about the musical direction of the
band. SLASH saw GNR as a rock band while Axl
Rose wanted to go in a more techno/industrial
direction with GNR. After many, many meetings
and heated discussions, SLASH resigned from GNR in October 1996 with Rose retaining the rights to the
band name. SLASH didn't sit at home with his head in his hands. He got busy with Blues Ball! Blues Ball
played blues covers, so they could start playing gigs right away. Throughout the end of 1996 till the fall of
1997, SLASH's Blues Ball played at clubs throughout California, into the southwest and the northeast.
Blues Ball has rolled away for the time being but may play some one-offs. You just never know with
SLASH!

When SLASH left Guns N'Roses, his many fans

wondered what he might be going do with all that talent
and personality. The media were wondering, too. At first,
there was speculation that the Axl - SLASH rift would be
of short duration and a reconciliation was inevitable.
SLASH had been quoted as saying that when Axl Rose
was ready to make a rock and roll album, he would be
back. As Rose filled GNR with hired guns and
unknowns, SLASH made
it clear that Snakepit will
be his permanent band.
He says he could do a one
off or a short tour with the
original band, but he
would never walk on
stage with a band
pretending to be the Guns
N' Roses band.

As promised, SLASH
brought back Snakepit!
He had 300 demo tapes
from musicians who
wanted to be in his band.
He settled on drummer
Matt Laug (formerly with Venice) and bassist Johnny Griparic (formerly
with SLASH's Blues Ball). Rhythm guitarist was at first Ryan Roxie. Ryan
was in Dad's Porno Magazine and Alice Cooper's band. Ryan did the pre-album tour and the recording, but
then decided to stick with his many other bands. SLASH was able to enlist the wonderful Keri Kelli as the
band's second guitarist. Snakepit's vocalist is a newcomer, Rod Jackson, from Virginia and the band
Ragdoll there. The new album was released October 10, 2000 in the US with the upbeat title Ain't Life
Grand. Elsewhere in this website, you will find some song clips, lyrics and reviews. SLASH's Snakepit
began their tour by opening for AC/DC on the North American leg of their tour. This gave the band huge
exposure. The band toured the Far East with great results and then did a European tour in December. In
February 2001, the 'pit launched a club show in the US. The tour did very well, but on March 11, SLASH
came down with the flu and the rest of this tour was cancelled. The band was also to open for AC/DC again
in March in the US until SLASH's flu turned into pneumonia. It's hard to imagine this dynamo stopped by
illness, and he won't be for long. May 2001 finds SLASH recuperating and planning the next leg of the
tour.

SLASH is treating this band and this album a little differently than his first Snakepit. Where the 1995
version was more of a pickup band that did an album and tour as a way to relax and fill in time, this band
and album are being planned and put together more carefully. SLASH still has that raw, hard rock sound
his fans love! Slither on out here, SLASH!

In the near future there should be another SLASH's Snakepit album. SLASH says Snakepit has already
recorded about half of this forthcoming album, so they won't be home long recording before they are back
on the road again. SLASH loves to tour, and he will always be restless to get back on the road again. This
means more visits with fans and great live music!
 SLASH's life once seemed a symbol of rock and roll decadence, but things have calmed
down with him in some ways. Once a heroin addict, SLASH has been off drugs for several
years. His astounding drinking habits are sometimes in evidence, and he still smokes his
Marlboros and Galitanos. A major change occurred when SLASH fell in love with Renee
Suran. They were married October 10, 1992 in Marina Del Ray, California. Renee stayed
out of the rock spotlight but was described as beautiful, sweet, and very much in love with
SLASH. She pursued her own career as model and actress. Renee and SLASH both
appeared in Howard Stern's movie "Private Parts". The two separated and divorced in the fall of 1997. They
remain friends. After his divorce, SLASH was in Las Vegas when he ran into a young woman he had
known for many years. Her name was Perla Ferrer, and the couple soon began dating seriously. Perla and
SLASH eventually started living together, and fans started seeing Perla on the SLASH's Snakepit tours and
his appearances in clubs or on TV. It became clear that Perla was someone very special to SLASH, and in
2000, the two became engaged to be married. Perla's beautiful, sparkling diamond ring was designed by
SLASH himself. On October 15, Saul Hudson married Perla Ferrar in Maui in a solemn religious service
there. The bride wore a strapless, pleated white wedding gown and carried a beautiful floral bouquet that
matched those in her long brown hair. SLASH wore new black leather pants, a white shirt, his faithful
black leather jacket and a floral lei matching Perla's flowers. All their fans and friends and families wish
Mr. and Mrs. Hudson a wonderful married life. The Hudsons returned to Los Angeles where they will buy
a new home. In February 2002, SLASH and Perla announced that they are expecting their first child in
September! SLASH's lifestyle has changed over the years. From being a wild rocker, SLASH has settled
into a role of husband and soon-to-be father. Some things about SLASH don't change - his love for his
music, his wife, his fans and his friends as well as the California climate and the Los Angeles setting. If you
are in the Sunset Boulevard area, you might run into SLASH hanging out with Perla and his friends or
jamming with a band on the Strip. He looks healthy and happy, but you can still see a little of that devilish
rocker in his eyes!

About his small TV and movie parts, SLASH says that he is not looking to become an actor. He loves
music and plays with a lot of artists. He seems not to have changed from the young musician who formed
band after band, always looking for another chance to play. It was a family friend who nicknamed Saul
Hudson "SLASH". He said SLASH was always in a hurry, zipping around from one thing to another. He
named SLASH well!