“Blues is really thriving and alive and fresh at the moment, whereas it’s few and far between for me to find interesting things to listen to in rock”: Slash was so impressed by this UK blues guitarist that he personally paid to bring him to the US

Slash’s latest album, Orgy of the Damned, is a bonafide blues cover album that continues to cement the legacy of the Guns N’ Roses guitarist. In homage to the genre and its future, Slash recently gave a shoutout to the young blues guitarists helping the genre thrive.

“There are some amazing guitar technicians out there, but it reminds me of the way that skateboarding has evolved,” says Slash in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, “Everyone’s so technical now – and there’s some really interesting and impressive stuff that’s come out of it – but there’s only a few guitar players who I really like these days.”

Slash/Chris Buck Blues Jam (Birmingham NIA 9.10.12) – YouTube

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He went on to name Chris Buck, the Welsh blues guitarist and member of Cardinal Black, as one of the torchbearers. “I helped him to get a visa to come here, and then I called the Troubadour to get him a gig. You see all these young blues artists really going for it and getting really fucking good.

“That’s a genre that’s really thriving and alive and fresh at the moment, whereas it’s a little bit few and far between for me to find interesting things to listen to in rock. I think what’s really exciting for me is when the guitar is in context as a melodic part of a song.

“That’s what’s always turned me on, and there’s such a lack of that going on [in rock music]. There’s all these guitar players that sound amazing by themselves, but it doesn’t really fit inside of a composition of an exciting band.”

Samantha Fish @ S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival – YouTube

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Slash is currently on tour with his blues fest S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, featuring Warren Haynes, Grace Bowers, Keb’ Mo’, Larkin Poe, Christone ‘Kingish’ Ingram, Samantha Fish, ZZ Ward, Robert Randolph, Eric Gales, and Jackie Venson.

In a recent interview with Total Guitar, Samantha Fish talked about Slash’s storytelling ability when playing blues: “When you figure out how to do that on a guitar, that’s when you start using it most effectively. It’s all about the dynamics, and Slash has always done that really well. I’ve been a fan for a long time so I’m excited to get this opportunity, which connects me back to when I was first getting into music.”