Slash was a BMXer

Saul Hudson was born in July, 1965.  He's a year older than myself, or Dennis McCoy, to put him in a BMX perspective.  But he's known to all of us as Slash the legendary guitar player.  About 4:00 minutes into this 131 minute documentary he talks about his time as a BMXer.

Yes, he was a BMXer, and he could JUMP.  He got seriously into it around ages 12-13, while living in the Laurel Canyon area of L.A., between Hollywood and The Valley.  Both of his parents were involved in the music industry, so he grew up around known musicians and industry people.  There's one photo of Slash jumping in the documentary above that I've never seen before.  You'll have to watch it to see it. 

In the documentary above, he gets into his BMX riding about 4:00 minutes in, right after a bit by Alice Cooper.  It's a short bit, but he talks about how BMX was his thing until he got into guitars.  There was an old BMX industry urban legend in the late 1980's that Slash and Duff (or someone) met while riding BMX bikes at a bank.  It turns out that, Like many legends, there's some truth to that.  

Slash was a BMXer, and Steven Adler was a skater at his junior high.  Later in this doc they talk about Steven eating shit on his skateboard, and everyone ignoring him.  Slash thought he might actually have been hurt, and walked over and said something like, "Dude, you OK?"  That struck up a friendship, and they started hanging out.  It was Steven who later showed him a guitar, which changed the direction of Slash's young life around age 14-15.  Nearly a decade after meeting on bike and board, Slash was the lead guitarist, and Steven was the original drummer for Guns n' Roses.  This doc also explains where the nickname Slash came from.  Welcome to the jungle...

I watched this documentary last night, and while there's very little actual playing in it, it's really interesting if you're into Guns N' Roses, Slash's later bands, or music and guitars.  Check it out if those things are up your alley.  

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Julia Cameron- author of The Artist's Way- Speaking on Creativity and Spirituality

More than 25 years ago, working artist, writer, and playwright, Julia Cameron, put what she knew about sparking your creative process into a workshop, and then a book, called The Artist's Way.  I am one of the multitude who has made tremendous progress in my own creative work with the help of that book.  No one I've come across has the in depth understanding of the creative process, how it works, how to spark and jump start it, and how to live in this world as a functional, working, artist, like Julia Cameron.  I cannot recommend The Artist's Way enough.  But for now, watch or listen to this speech, if it sounds even remotely interesting to you.  You can pick up The Artist's Way, and check out Julia's other books, here. (not a paid link)