Slash received another prize to put on his mantlepiece last week, and a special one at that: he was honoured with the Les Paul Spirit Award at a ceremony in Hollywood.
The award is given annually by the Les Paul Foundation. But it’s not just dished out to any old guitar hero. Recipients have to exemplify “the spirit of the late Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and music”. Previous winners have included Bob Weir, The Edge, Steve Miller, Nile Rodgers and Peter Frampton.
In a statement, Michael Braunstein, the Executive Director of the Foundation said: “We are honoured to present the Les Paul Spirit Award to Slash this year. He and Les shared a special friendship and often jammed together when they could.”
“Not only does Slash exemplify the creativity and curiosity Les had during his life, but he is also an extraordinary talent and a wonderful supporter of the Les Paul Foundation. If Les were still alive today, Slash and he would be jamming onstage together somewhere regularly.”
Interestingly, the actual physical award is slightly different every year. It’s fashioned from hand-carved acoustic boards that Les Paul himself built and used in his home studio, so no two awards are exactly alike. Presumably, at some point they’ll run out and have to use some other material...
Anyway, Slash himself was understandably pleased about the accolade. “Les was so much more than a great guitarist and innovator,” he said of receiving the award. “He was an actual inventor who changed the instrument itself, built groundbreaking recording equipment and completely reimagined how artists could record music. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to know him, hang out with him and play music with him. I cherish the relationship we had, and receiving an award that carries his name and spirit is a tremendous honour.”
Prior to the ceremony, selected members of the media were treated to a sneak preview of new material by the Guns N’ Roses man. He’s got a new album early next year under the name Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators and those guests heard four new tracks – Good Time Girl, One Of Your Kind, Flying Blind and Looking For A Miracle. All four are set to appear on the album, also titled Flying Blind, which is out in February.
