Guns N Roses

Slash is heading up a project of his own these days, a quintet he calls Slash's Blues Ball. And unlike his old group Guns N' Roses, this, he says, "is really just a good-time band." "It's mostly all covers--and not necessarily a lot of blues," the 31-year-old guitarist says. "There's a lot of old-style rock in there as well." The set list does include "Hoochie Coochie Man," "Crossroads" and "Key to the Highway," but "this isn't like the traditional blues cover band you see in clubs these days.

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash earns his childhood nickname by how he cuts a swath through any conversation. The guy never stops talking. In a recent phone interview, the amiable and forthright musician--who anchors Slash's Blues Ball on Friday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana--came off like an enthusiastic whirlwind. Despite the attention his current road project is attracting, "this is really just a good-time band," he said. "I guess it's a just a little more high-profile."

Guns N' Roses is history. At least, that was the conventional wisdom a year ago. The L.A. hard-rock band seemed on the verge of splintering, and music-industry pundits wondered whether there was even a place for its metal-rooted music among newer alterna-rockers like Alice in Chains and Nine Inch Nails. But as the saying goes, history repeats itself.

Darren (Dizzy) Reed did not show up Thursday to hear a Ventura County Municipal Court jury decide he was guilty of drunk driving. His lawyer said the Thousand Oaks resident was too busy rehearsing with his band, Guns N' Roses, to attend the court proceedings. California law allows attorneys to stand in for their clients during misdemeanor verdict readings.

Michael Jackson's "HIStory Past, Present and Future, Book 1" album may not have set sales history, but the two-disc package appears to have done robust business during its first week in the stores. Estimates from various retailers Monday suggest the album sold at least 375,000 copies and possibly as many as 470,000. Exact figures won't be known until released Wednesday by SoundScan, which monitors U.S. record sales.

The former drummer of the rock bank Guns N' Roses was charged Wednesday with heroin possession--a felony--following an overdose last week inside his Ford Bronco in Sherman Oaks. Steven Adler, 30, was arrested about 11 a.m. at his home in Calabasas, said Lt. Bernie Larralde of the Los Angeles Police Department's narcotics unit. He was charged with the felony as well as two misdemeanors: being under the influence of heroin and possessing a syringe.

Los Angeles police said Friday that they plan to take action against the former drummer of the rock band Guns N' Roses who allegedly overdosed on drugs this week inside a parked Ford Bronco, but would not say what kind.

As rhythm guitarist with fabled bad boys Guns N' Roses, Gilby Clarke has little to do on stage but stand around strumming inconspicuously, as the more notorious, higher-profiled Axl Rose and Slash soak up the fan and media attention. But that's OK with him.

The First Amendment guarantees Guns N' Roses the right to include Charles Manson's song on its new album (editorial, Dec. 2). Those offended by that don't have to buy the album or listen to the song. That's how our democracy is supposed to work. I'll be damned if I'll have the government, much less The Times, telling me what I can or cannot listen to. Our constitutional liberties are being eroded enough as it is. P.S.--I find it ironic that in the same issue as your editorial, you carry a huge story on how wonderfully the new album by rapper and accused murderer Snoop Doggy Dogg is selling.

Despite widespread criticism, Guns N' Roses has decided not to delete its version of a Charles Manson song on the rock band's new album after learning that the mass murder ringleader will not receive any royalties. "When we heard Manson might get the money, we were ready to pull the song off the record," Slash, the band's lead guitarist, said Tuesday. "But then we found out that all the money would go to this guy in Poland who lost his dad (in the murders)."