Slash's Snakepit formed as a direct result of
Slash's continuing disagreements with former partner
Axl Rose over the musical direction of
Guns N' Roses. While working on a follow-up to the hugely successful
Use Your Illusion I and
Use Your Illusion II records,
Slash's affinity for more traditional
Aerosmith meets
Led Zeppelin-type rock & roll was continually at odds with
Rose's growing interest in industrial music. As a result of their inability to find common ground,
Slash went to work on material at his home studio with a group of musicians who included former
Guns N' Roses guitarist
Gilby Clarke,
Guns N' Roses drummer
Matt Sorum,
Alice in Chains bassist
Mike Inez, and former
Jellyfish vocalist
Eric Dover.
Slash and
Dover wrote 12 songs in less than two weeks.
When
Rose heard the songs that
Slash was working on, he wanted the songs for the next
GNR album, but
Rose had already rejected the songs when
Slash presented them earlier in demo form, so
Slash decided to keep the songs for himself. As the turmoil increased,
Sorum decided to abandon the side project and returned to
Guns N' Roses. After numerous delays, the band, officially called
Slash's Snakepit, released its debut album,
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, in April of 1995 on
GNR's label, Geffen.
Slash was still a member of
Guns N' Roses at the time, but after the tumultuous pressure-filled period he had spent in the biggest and often most controversial band in the world, he found he was enjoying the freedom
the Snakepit was affording him. After the monstrous two-year marathon world tour of stadiums in support of the
Use Your Illusion records,
Slash was also enjoying the opportunity to play rock & roll in smaller venues. In 1997,
Slash finally parted ways with
Guns N' Roses officially, but claimed he would return if
Rose decided to return to rock & roll and abandon industrial music.
After a brief blues cover band project called
Slash's Blues Ball,
Slash brought
the Snakepit back in 1999 with a whole new lineup that included vocalist Rod Jackson, former
Warrant and
Ratt guitarist Kerri Kelli, bassist Johnny Blackout, drummer
Matt Laug, and former
Guns N' Roses road alumni Teddy "ZigZag" Andreadis on keyboards. In November of 2000, this revamped
Snakepit lineup released
Ain't Life Grand, a collection of straightforward hard rock songs on the small Koch record label. This album showed
Slash still continuing to play his type of blues-influenced rock & roll. Later in 2000, they went on to tour arenas in support of hard rock legends
AC/DC. ~ Paul Tinelli