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A heartfelt response from guitarist Buckethead surfaced on Facebook after Slash reposted a video of him playing with Les Claypool on Wednesday, October 1. The gesture, while seemingly simple, resonated deeply with Buckethead, who previously served as lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses during the early 2000s.
The video, originally shared by the Instagram account @bucketheadexperience, was lauded as “some of the FUNKIEST music you’ll ever here,” with praise directed towards both the intricate bass lines and Buckethead’s exceptional guitar work. it’s worth noting that Slash often shares content from other accounts without adding his own commentary, simply reposting the original caption. Despite this, Buckethead viewed the share as a significant acknowledgment.
Buckethead’s Facebook post expressed his gratitude, acknowledging the collaborative spirit of the musicians involved. “I was really touched to see this was on Slash’s page,” he wrote. “Obviously Bernie [Worrell] Les and Brain [Bryan Mantia] are involved and I’m just a small fragment in this. those are some of the funniest people ever.” He then turned his attention to Slash himself, offering high praise for the iconic guitarist.
“Just wanted to say that Slash is one of the greats of all time, as everyone knows,” Buckethead continued. “He was involved in writing music and his guitar playing transcends decades and to reach such a wide amount of people playing really incredible guitar is such a rare thing. In the time I was involved in attempting to play his parts never really could I have captured the essence of him. So much of who he is comes through his playing. I’ll always be in awe of how great he is.”
Buckethead’s Time with Guns N’ Roses
Buckethead joined Axl Rose’s lineup during the tumultuous period surrounding the creation of chinese Democracy. he was a member of the band from 2000 to 2004, contributing to all but two tracks on the album, which was ultimately released in 2008.
His unique, experimental guitar style brought a distinct flavor to Chinese Democracy, injecting elements of industrial and electronic music into the band’s sound. This contrasted sharply with slash’s more traditional rock approach, yet contributed to the album’s sonic diversity.
Slash on Playing Buckethead’s Parts
Upon the return of Slash and Duff McKagan to Guns N’ Roses in 2016, the band began incorporating Chinese Democracy tracks into their live performances.Two years into the reunion tour, Slash spoke to Guitar World about the experience of learning and adapting Buckethead’s guitar parts.
“It’s very different… it’s really cool stuff, but it was played by guitar players that are very different from me style-wise,” Slash explained. “I’ve sort of adapted my own way of playing those songs to where I feel comfortable with them,but without losing the integrity of how the guitar parts go.” He went on to offer a resounding endorsement of Buckethead and the other guitarists who contributed to Chinese Democracy.
“I also want to give credit where credit’s due – the guitar players that played on Chinese Democracy, Buckethead being one of the main ones – are fucking amazing guitar players,” Slash stated. “I have to give those guys a shout-out because that stuff was cool. Very different from what I normally do. So it’s been engaging learning some of the stuff that was on that record. I definitely had to figure out ways to adapt to it.”
The exchange highlights a mutual respect between two guitarists with vastly different styles,and underscores the lasting impact of Buckethead’s contributions to the Guns N’ Roses legacy.
