Heath and Slash jam together in LA

Heath had a dream of his come true on June 4, 2008. Heath got to jam with Slash from Velvet Revolver. Slash is his favorite musician and now a friend.

Seven of us traveled to LA for this special moment: his mom Karis, his dad Gary, his friend Tommy Busch, his brother Colt, his step mom Peggy and me. We all had a great time the entire trip. Of course the highlight was meeting at Slash's old house in the basement referred to as “The Cave” where he built a recording studio. He sold the house to Billy Bob Thornton who by the way just released a CD called "The Boxmasters". Billy Bob gave Slash permission for us all to use the studio and we would very much like to thank him and his family for that. We didn’t get a chance to meet him but we did meet J.D. who plays electric and acoustic guitar and bass and sings background vocals for The Boxmasters. He recorded the entire jam session and sent us copies of it all. Tom Mayhue, Production Manager for Guns N' Roses was there also and he helped get everything setup and made us feel very confortable. Myriam Santos who is a very talented photographer was there as well. She was taking pictures of the entire session and will be sending them to us. We also met Billy Bob's son Will who hung out with us in the control room and he was very pleasant and fun to talk with.

Heath and Slash played two songs that Heath has composed. Slash liked them both but especially liked the second song. The look in Heath’s eyes when Slash played the first riff that Heath showed him was priceless. It was amazing watching Heath and Slash play together. Between all of us, we had two video cameras and four digital cameras. We started off in studio taking pictures/video and then moved to the control room where J.D. was recording once they started really jamming. We had a great time watching them play while we talked with Tom, Myriam and J.D.

After they played both of Heath’s songs they took a short break and came into the control room where we continued to talk, take pictures & video and just have a great time. Heath and Slash seemed to click as if they were used to working together. After a short break Tommy got his guitar out and the three of them went back into the studio and played three more songs. After that session they came back into the control room where Slash signed a bunch of different things that we brought just for that purpose. He also gave Heath a book that I believe hasn’t been released yet that shows a pictorial history of Guns N’ Roses. Slash told us that it has been 3 years since he just jammed like that and it was very obvious to us all that he thoroughly enjoyed himself as well.

I met to ask Slash on video how he felt about meeting and jamming with Heath but I forgot to do that. So I asked him to put his thoughts into words and this is what he wrote:
"Heath is someone the likes of which you rarely meet. He is genuinely sincere & good natured, doesn't have a trace of attitude & always has a spirited, up tempo demeanor whenever I speak with him. He's got a fantastic sense of dry humor, regardless of if he's feeling well or not; it’s kind of remarkable! Having spent a few hours jamming with him & his friend Tommy, I got to know Heath a little better. Not only is he an awesome kid, he's a good songwriter as well! I definitely think he has a talent for composing music & although I haven't really read his lyrics, I've heard they're really good too. He definitely can play the guitar, that much I have witnessed, & pretty damn well too! Having Heath & his family out in LA was a gas. It was great meeting everybody & hanging out & laughing & playing music. I hope he gets better & beats this cancer; the world will be that much less of a place with out him. Heath is a special person I'm glad I got to meet, even if under such harsh circumstances."

Slash and Heath have talked on the phone several times. Slash has called Heath at times when he was really down and helped give him a boast when he really needed it. Slash sent Heath backstage passes in October of 2006 when Velvet Revolver came to Tampa. They got several pictures together and Heath got to see them play up close. That was the second time Heath had seen them play in Tampa. I’ve been telling Heath that he is a future rock star for awhile now and I think that Slash would now agree with me.

Slash is a very nice and genuine person. We had a wonderful time in LA and want to thank everyone that helped make it happen for Heath. We have a large extended family of which we now consider Slash a part of. He has reached out to Heath in a time that not only met a lot to Heath but met a lot to all of us that love Heath and for that Slash will always have a special place in our hearts.