Slash Honoured at Sunset Strip Music Festival

When the Sunset Strip Music Festival kicked off on Thursday, August 26, the first order of business was to pay homage to the 2010 SSMF honouree Slash. The event was held at the House of Blues with radio veteran Jim Ladd as host. Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister, Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx, and Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell were among the personalities who spoke at the special event.

Whilst on stage, Slash remarked:

"Picking up the guitar for the first time in West Hollywood, then learning how to play in West Hollywood, starting a band in West Hollywood, and making it in West Hollywood. Getting a record deal at Geffen on Sunset which was the same place my dad used to work at when I was a kid. So I never left here. Everything in my life that is of any importance started in West Hollywood. And the Sunset Strip is like… such a part of me. So to be honored by the Sunset Strip is just a major, major thing for me." (Read More)

John 5 to Make Guest Appearance on Nikki Sixx's Radio Show

John 5 - former Marilyn Manson/current Rob Zombie guitarist - is set to make an appearance on tonight's (June 14) broadcast of Sixx Sense, the new radio program hosted by Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx.

Listeners can tune in online via the program's official website.

John 5's new solo album, The Art of Malice, was released on May 11 sold roughly 1,200 copies in the U.S. during its first week of release. It also took No. 27 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart - a chart which lists best-selling albums by new and developing artists who have never been listed on the Top 100 of the Billboard 200.

The Art of Malice was released via 60 Cycle Hum/Rocket Science Ventures and, according to a press release, "exhibits John 5's incredible diversity as a writer and guitarist pulling from the pages of his life." John 5 himself explained, "It is a completely different vibe than my other albums," adding that "the title is derived from the saying 'kill them with kindness,' like taking a good approach to still obtain a dark result."

John 5 has a list of famous credentials, including a stint with Marilyn Manson and a current gig with Rob Zombie. In addition, his portfolio includes diverse work with names such as David Lee Roth, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lita Ford, Salt-N-Pepa, k.d. lang, and a number of others. He is a self-described "Fender fanatic" and has gone on record saying that they are "the greatest guitars ever built, by far, hands down." In 2004, Fender introduced the J5 Telecaster and J5 Special Edition acoustic, followed by the J5 Triple Tele Deluxe in 2007.