Slash's Snakepit

"I started hanging out with Matt and recording demos of that stuff just for fun, and Mike Inez from Alice In Chains and Gilby started to come around and play with us." (Slash)

Band members (1994-1995)

• Eric Dover: lead vocals (1994-1995)
• Slash: lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1994-1995)
• Gilby Clarke: rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1994-1995)
• Mike Inez: bass, backing vocals (1994-1995)
• Matt Sorum: drums (1994-1995)
• James Lomenzo: bass, backing vocals (1995)
• Brian Ticky: drums, backing vocals (1995)

Band members (1998-2001)

• Rod Jackson: lead vocals (1998-2001)
• Slash: lead & rhythm guitars (1998-2001)
• Ryan Roxie: rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1998-1999)
• Johnny Griparic: bass, backing vocals (1998-2001)
• Matt Laug: drums (1998-2001)
• Keri Kelli: rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2000-2001)

Discography & music

It's Five O'Clock...

Ain't Life Grand

Singles & EPs

Tours & concerts

• Ain't It Good To Be Alive Tour 1995 (85 shows in 19 countries)
• Ain't Life Grand Tour 2000-2001 (116 shows in 13 countries)
• Slash's live equipment with Slash's Snakepit

Videos

Photos

Interviews & articles

• I Was Dead For 8 Minutes (Metal Hammer magazine, February 1995)
• Coiled And Ready (Rolling Stone magazine, April 1995)
• Welcome To The Snakepit (Metal Edge magazine, April 1995)

History

At the end of the summer of 1994, while Guns N' Roses went under a long hiatus, Slash decided to use the demos rejected by Axl to release a solo album. Along with Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke and Mike Inez (bassist of Alice In Chains), the band went under the temporary name of SVO Snakepit: Slash's Very Own Snakepit. After auditioning around forty singers, a friend of Gilby recommended Eric Dover, former guitarist of Jellyfish, who got immediately hired for lead vocals.

Then, things went on pretty fast: the band wrote lyrics and recorded seventeen tracks in less than a month with Mike Clink as producer. It's Five O'Clock Somewhere was released on February 14th of 1995 and the name Slash's Snakepit definitively adopted to support fourteen tracks of heavy and pure rock. Two music videos were shot for "Beggars And Hangers-On" and "Good To Be Alive", and the album sold a million copies.

In March, Matt returned to work with Axl and Mike to record an album with Alice In Chains. James Lomenzo and Brian Ticky, two members of Zakk Wylde's Pride And Glory were then enlisted to start a Snakepit worldwide tour. The band played 85 concerts in 19 countries around the planet, with a remarkable show at the Monsters Of Rock in Donington on August 27 of 1995. The Snakepit disbanded soon after and Slash returned to Gun's N' Roses.

After the last concert of Slash's Blues Ball, Slash planned to relive the Snakepit in 1998 with a new line-up to release an album. He teamed up Johnny Griparic (Blues Ball's bassist), Ryan Roxie (an experimented guitarist introduced by Alice Cooper), and the drummer Matt Laug. After auditioning tens of singers, and a few weeks after hiring Rod Jackson for that part, the band gave its first concert in November 26th of 1998. The band played around 20 shows before getting in the studio in early 1999.

Recording sessions took place between July and December with Jack Douglas, well known for producing Aerosmith and John Lennon. Geffen announced the release of Ain't Life Grand for February 2000, but after restructuring, Geffen became Interscope and the release got delayed. This led Slash to quit Guns N' Roses's historical label to sign a deal with Koch Records. Soon after, the band also had to switch Ryan Roxie with Keri Kelli, as Ryan went back to Alice Cooper. With this formation Slash's Snakepit started a tour across the U.S.A. as opening act for AC/DC.

On October 9th of 2000, Ain't Life Grand was finally released as the band hit the road for a headlining world tour. But with a hasty organization, lots of countries were forgotten and Australia was eventually canceled at the last minute. Moreover in March 2001, Slash had to call off thirty shows in the U.S.A. to struggle with a severe case of pneumonia. He recovered slowly and the tour took an end in San Francisco on July 18th. All things considered, the band gave 116 concerts in 13 countries. Commercially speaking, the album didn't sell that well : the label pulled financial support for promotion, the tour was chaotic and at the end of the day, only 28,000 copies got sold in seven months in the U.S.A.. After a period of uncertainty, Slash disbanded the Snakepit in September 2001.