REVIEW: Slash's Snakepit, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (Geffen)

- Linda Scott

The cover says "Slash's Snakepit". Finally! A new Guns N'Roses release?! No, not quite. It's Five O'Clock Somewhere is a hard rock/ blues release from Snakepit, a new band put together by Slash, lead guitarist for Guns N'Roses. Guns is well represented on what Slash likes to call a personal release or a side project rather than a full-fledged solo outing. The band, consisting of Matt Sorum on drums; Gilby Clarke on rhythm guitar; Dizzy Reed on keyboards, Teddy Andreadis on harmonica and Slash on guitar (lead and rhythm) all have Guns N'Roses backgrounds. What keeps this release from being pure Guns is the musical style and the flavor added by Mike Inez, the bassist for Alice in Chains and Eric Dover, lead vocalist for Jellyfish.

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere originated at the end of the long GN'R Use Your Illusion tour. Matt Sorum and Slash started getting together at Slash's studio to write and record some songs. Gradually, Gilby Clarke and Mike Inez got involved. Without the pressure of producing for Guns N'Roses, the band could write and jam for fun, and before they knew it, they had a record. At this point the music was done, but there were no lyrics. Slash's search for a vocalist resulted in auditioning some forty singers, but he couldn't seem to find the right one for Snakepit. Years before, Slash had the same problem with his Road Crew band, and that long search turned up W. Axl Rose. This time, Slash found Eric Dover, Jellyfish guitarist and backup vocalist. Dover and Slash worked so well together that lyrics and melodies for thirteen songs were completed in one day. Finding album cover assistance was easy with Slash's brother taking over the drawings and his father (respected album designer Tony Hudson) doing the overall supervision. The album title, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, came from an experience Slash had at an airport bar. He wanted a drink but didn't think he'd get served since it was just 10 A.M. The bartender told him, "It's five o'clock somewhere". This has become not just a drinking phrase to him but also a way of looking at life. No matter what life is like where you are - boring, depressing, aggravating - it's five o'clock somewhere, and at that place, things are different. You just have to get there.

Do you like hard rock-blues guitar music? Then your Five O'Clock Somewhere could be here. All tracks show the blues influence, but some are pure blues. These really showcase Slash's roots as a blues guitarist which aren't seen as clearly in Guns N'Roses. In fact, in one of the early iterations of Guns, Slash wasn't hired because he was "too bluesy". This outing gives him a chance to show you his true roots. There are more tracks that are traditionally hard rock and rock, and all these are delicious to those hungering for a taste of Guns N'Roses. Listen past the vocals to hear some familiar phrasing every now and then. Even the totally unfamiliar arrangements rock hard enough to be reminders of Guns but are different enough to be interesting on their own. The music and the arrangements are extremely well constructed. Slash's Snakepit's only weakness, if it has one, is the vocals. When Slash heard Dover sing with so much force, he said it made his own throat hurt. The vocalist sings with a great deal of force on every track, so every track has this same gravelly, pushed to its limits vocals. Still, the band as a whole is well worth listening to. Certainly, Guns N'Roses fans will want It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, but anyone who likes hard rock, from Skid Row to Aerosmith, should give it a try.

Snakepit's future is a little hard to predict. The band will tour starting this spring and going through next summer in support of the album. Commitments to home bands take precedence, and Slash is determined to only tour with the original band members. Venues will be 1,000 to 1,500 seat clubs starting in the eastern States moving west. The tour most likely will go overseas, and Slash definitely wants to go to Japan. If the album and tour are successful, Snakepit may do it again. Slash still puts Guns N'Roses first with Snakepit a side project. Long term development of Snakepit may be slower or this could be its first and last outing. Hopefully Slash will find time for both Guns and his Snakepit, because It's Five O'Clock Somewhere gets you rocking and screaming for more.