Some musicians aren’t born and bred to be in the industry. That is, even if they loved music in their early life, their childhood was fairly “normal” and non-musical. Nothing wrong with that, of course. These musicians simply had to go against the grain to become professional players in adulthood.
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Slash, on the other hand, was born into the business to be in the business. Born in London, England, Slash was raised by a mother who was a costume designer for many figures, including David Bowie, and a father who was a commercial artist. Needless to say, he grew up in a highly creative and bohemian environment. It was also a somewhat tumultuous and unstable environment, as Slash reportedly bounced back and forth between his parents’ home.
As you might expect, a coping skill and hobby that Slash developed seemingly due to this instability was the guitar. As you might also expect, he got really good really quickly. His talents even landed him an unofficial audition with KISS at the ripe age of 16 years old.
If It Wasn’t For His Age, Slash Might Have Been in KISS
In 1982, KISS was at a crossroads. They’d just lost their founding member and lead guitarist, Ace Frehley. However, the show goes on, and KISS was in need of a guitarist who could carry the hefty weight Frehley once did. Paul Stanley started making calls, and one of the calls he made was to Slash.
Recalling his first interaction with the 16-year-old Slash, Stanley wrote in Face the Music: A Life Exposed, “Another person I spoke to was a really sweet young kid named Saul Hudson. He told me his mom had been a seamstress for David Bowie and that his friends called him ‘Slash.’”
“He was very well-spoken and engaging, but he seemed really young. Finally, I asked him how old he was. ‘I’ll be 17 next month,’ he said,” added Stanley. At the time, KISS was roughly 10 years into their career. They weren’t old men, but they also weren’t rambunctious 20-year-olds. As a result, Stanley and the group took Slash out of consideration.
Concerning that decision, Stanley wrote, “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.” Probably a fair point on Stanley’s part, and also, as we all well know, this didn’t hold Slash back one bit.
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