Last night I made the slog out to my local House of Blues to see Slash and the Conspirators perform live. Many consider Slash’s Les Paul the voice of a generation. After all, he was once a member of one of the most popular bands on the planet. Unfortunately, egos, drugs, money and probably women tore apart that band, like many iconic bands which have met their demise before it was time. However, this generation does not let go of its rock icons so easily. With the advent of Youtube, once great bands can easily be seen in their prime, tearing it up like it’s 1987 (in this case). It’s as if these people, times and places are preserved, suspended in amber. It’s kinda eerie, but I’m on board if it keeps Justin Beiber from becoming the only musical entertainment choice we have.
This preservation of yesteryear has led to many bands and musicians being able to stay at the party a lot longer than even they, themselves might have thought possibl… enter Slash. Out of the ashes of Guns N’ Roses, he has somehow been able to survive the creative bankruptcy of the grunge era and reinvent himself for a new generation, without actually having to reinvent himself at all. The guy still walks around in smelly leathers, a CBGB’s t-shirt and a freakin’ top hat, for crying out loud! He plays the same guitars, has the same haircut and wears the same sunglasses he always has and yet he continues to be lauded as fashionable. It defies explanation and yet it is so. I suppose that’s the beauty of it. People know what they’re gonna get from this guy and he delivers.
One of the wisest things Slash has done over the last few years has been to align himself with one Myles Kennedy. Kennedy came from a jazz background and languished in relative obscurity for far too long before getting his break as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Alter Bridge. Mr. Kennedy’s vocal skills and songwriting have served to set Slash and the Conspirators, apart from the also-rans.