Legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N’ ROSES) has issued the following update:

“The [LAYN Rocks!] fundraiser at the Avalon [in Hollywood] was a complete success. The concert raised $170,000 for Los Angeles Youth Network [LAYN; a non-profit organization providing services to homeless and runaway youth] and made it possible for them to keep open their doors.

“If you were there, thank you so much for your support.

“The gig itself was awesome. All the guests that appeared brought their A game, made a tremendous effort and really made it a special event. There were some fantastic moments up there that night, for sure.

“I want to thank Ozzy, Perry Farrell, Billy Idol, Chester Bennington, Andrew Stockdale, Travis Barker, Dave Navarro, Steve Adler, Duff McKagan, Franky Perez, Chris Chaney and George Lopez for their selfless contributions. I want to thank the amazing crew who made the whole thing come off without a hitch and did it for little to nothing. And everybody who donated generously to the cause. I also want to thank KLOS, The Huffington Post, the L.A. Times, the L.A. Weekly and Fox Sports News for their time and effort in helping to advertise and help make this a sellout rock and roll show, the likes of which could never be duplicated.

“My solo record is about to go into mastering. It sounds really good already, but that’s the final step in the recording process and then it is finished.

“There is a lot of really cool plans being made for the release of this album. It’s going to be a blast.

“I have a new ‘Slash model’ Les Paul in the works. I just saw and played the first prototype; it’s killer. There is also a Marshall 100wa amp being developed that I’m helping design that shouldn’t be too far off as well.

“More news on both those items as it develops.

“I’m also playing a few songs at the KLOS Christmas party December 16th at the Nokia Theater along with Steve Lukather, Jason Bonham and a host of others which promises to be a good time, I’m sure.”

Slash performed a song called “By The Sword” off his upcoming self-titled solo album at the LAYN Rocks! benefit concert on November 22 at the Avalon in Hollywood, California.

Fan-filmed video footage of the “By The Sword” performance can be viewed here.

The musicians featured in the video are as follows:

Travis Barker (BLINK-182) – Drums
Chris Chaney (JANE’S ADDICTION) – Bass
Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N’ ROSES) – Guitar
Dave Navarro (JANE’S ADDICTION) – Guitar
Andrew Stockdale (WOLFMOTHER) – Vocals

LAYN’s mission is to help abused, neglected and homeless adolescents become self-sufficient. They do this by providing street outreach, food, emergency shelter and transitional living programs, with a professional, caring staff in a nurturing and safe environment.

“Slash” will see Roadrunner Records enter into a unique and innovative association with a U.K. media partner — the special-interest media group Future. In a brand new concept in record distribution the standard album release will be preceded by a “fan pack,” in which the Roadrunner Records album will be bundled together with a highly collectable special issue of Future Publishing’s Classic Rock magazine dedicated to Slash’s career. This will be the first format of the album available anywhere in the world.

Source: www.blabbermouth.net