WELCOME TO THE KRIS DERRIG FAN WEBSITE
THE LA GHOSTBUILDER - PART 1
THE GHOSTBUILDER CHRONICLES
A History of Slash's Guitars Pre-AFD to Present
Slash's 1st Appearence
with the Hunter Burst Guitar
The 8th Annual
LA STREET SCENE 9/28/1985
A Rare 1982 Shot
Photo - courtesy of Marc Canter
Slash playing his junior year at Fairfax High School in 1982 with a BC Rich Mocking Bird
Note: The Black Les Copy in the background - MARC CANTER'S GUITAR
THE 1ST LES PAUL REPLICA
THE HUNTERBURST
"SLASH'S 1st Derrig "
9/28/85 - 7/13/86
Slash with Pamela Manning - 4/5/1986 - @ The Whiskey
(Thanks to Marc Canter's book "Reckless Road " we now have a detailed photo journal of exactly what guitars Slash had used in 1984 -1986 up until the time of the AFD recordings.)
The HunterBurst 59 LP was never used on any official AFD tracks or any of the other notable major releases,
except for the demos that were produced at Sound City Studios by Manny Charlton that were dated June 4,1986 - shown below
The original Manny Charlton produced Demo Tracks - Unreleased/ privately owned
The Hunter Burst made history again by being discovered on March 5, 2009
by Scott Sheldon & Roman Rist during the 2009 documentary of "Who Made the Hunter Burst"
(8271 days or 22 years, 7 months, 20 days missing since discovered )
WHO MADE THE HUNTERBURST?
KRIS DERRIG
MARC CANTER PHOTO - THE TROUBADOUR
October 10H 1986 - SLASH WITH “THE HUNTER BURST LES PAUL”
Buy
Marc Canter's Book
"Reckless Road"
at
www.recklessroad.com
The author of this article, Scott Sheldon and Roman Rist are officially credited with locating the HunterBurst guitar on March 5, 2009. The original guitar is now on display at the Rock and Roll Hall o Fame in Cleveland Ohio. The guitar remains virtually in the same condition that it was in during Slash's 10 month stint from Sept 28, 1985 - July 13, 1986 - The guitar was said to have had nickel PAF Pickups when it was in Steve Hunter's brief 4 month possession before it was stripped of all the vintage parts and outfitted with Seymour Duncan JB Pickups and reissue hardware as stated by Roman Rist who did some work on the guitar working with Hubberman in 1985 at GuitarRus. Today the guitar's current owner has retrofitted some new replacment parts on the guitar such as a new creme pickguard, a new ABR1 bridge, new truss rod cover, reissue orange switch tip and a new bridge position Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickup, as some of the orignal parts were either missing after Slash's possession or replaced due to age"
The HunterBurst as first shown in 2009
Another MCi Media 1st to Report!
Photo Courtesy of Mark Olson - curent owner of the HunterBurst
Photo 3/5/2009
( Roman Rist -Image Guitars, Hollywood )
Max Baranet who has admitted that he did not build this guitar has gone on official record to state that he does not remember or recognize this guitar at all. Also Max's younger apprentice, Roman was working there at the same shop from 1982 - 1985 and never saw the guitar in Image guitars until Steve Hunter brought it in the shop and then he was only asked by Howie to install Seymour Duncan JB Pickups into the guitar before it went to Slash on July 28th 1985. Roman has gone on record stating the following:
"Steve Hunter was a regular in all our shops. I would do work for him, Max would do work for him also and Howie would sell him gear. Steve had been getting more into Strats and one day he came into the store with this burst. It was by far, the prettiest burst I had ever seen at the time. Most of the 1950s Les Pauls I had seen at the time, were plainer figure-tops. This thing was just stunning! Many hours were spent drooling over this burst and not just by myself either. At night after Howie left, I’d pulled it down and play it and what a beauty it was!"
SLASH'S 2nd Les Paul Replica
"1959 Derrig Les Paul Replica"
12/22/86 - Present
THIS IS THE AFD GUITAR
SLASH RECORDED THE ENTIRE LEAD TRACKS WITH THIS GUITAR
AND NOTHING ELSE
NEIL ZLOZOWER PHOTO
THE AFD RECORDING LES PAUL WAS BUILT BY KRIS DERRIG
THE ORIGINAL DERRIG 9 0607
THE SLASH AFD RECORDING GUITAR
Despite the photo title (1959 Les Paul Replica) Slash's "main" guitar (serial number 9 0607) used on all of the Guns and Roses AFD recordings is actually a Kris Derrig Les Paul replica with a "1958 Les Paul Profile" 1959 Replica with a Flamed Maple Chevron pin-striped top and honduran mahogany body and neck, built completely by Kris Derrig around May-June 1986.
Slash - early photo of the Derrig LP Replica in 1986
SLASH NEWS FLASH 8/27/09
The original saynow.com Broadcast from Slash on 08/27/09 10:20 AM, 00:44
Here’s what Slash twittered about the new Slash Appetite Gibson Les Paul Model 8/2009:
“The new Les Paul is going to be tight, the best Slash model yet, without a doubt. We’re going to call the new Les Paul ‘Slash 1959 Model’ the ‘Appetite’ guitar. It is modeled after the guitar I recorded that album with.” But then he wrote: “We’re not calling it the ‘Appetite Les Paul’ literally. That's just the working title. It will be a Slash ‘59 reissue when it comes out. “It will be my tribute to Les Paul, the man and mentor. “It will have special features not found on normal reissues, exactly like the ‘86 handmade LP I’ve been recording with since ‘87.”
SLASH AT GIBSON BOOTH DURING THE NAMM SHOW 2010
JANUARY 2010 REVEALING THE NEW GIBSON SLASH 1959 "APPETITE" LES PAUL GUITAR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCYxomwqgmI
Slash speaks about the new Gibson Appetite Guitar
with the new Seymour Duncan Alnico II pickups on Youtube.com
Slash's 1st appearence with the new Appetite LP Model
This guitar is currently being reissued by Gibson
as the "Slash Appetite 1959 Reissue Guitar"
The original Derrig LP Replica guitar that Slash owns has a rather fat 1958 D profile neck as does it's predecessor, the Derrig 9 0606 on page 1, Kris was particularly fond of making large neck LPs to add to the overall tone of the instrument and maybe why this specific instrument possesses some majical tonality that other guitars fail to deliver. According to many people who have played or at least stummed the Slash Derrig that the guitar has a fat neck and hand-made feel to the instrument. 
SLASH WITH HIS DERRIG LES PAUL 9 0607
Kris met Jim Foote as a result of a Les Paul Gold Top that he had refinished that a buddie that was trying to sell to Jim one day. Jim had whispered to Kris "is this your work?" and a job offer ensued shortly after. Jim hired Kris originally to do finish work in the Redondo shop. The shop had 3 buildings and Kris lived in a camper adjoined to the 3rd building in back of MusicWorks. It was a cool place to be, Jim had a building setup for band rehearsals in 1 building and then a store front and his workshop all at MusicWorks - Redondo Beach, Ca in the 1980s.
Kris and Jim Foote got their wood to build the Slash guitar and quite a few others at Dale's Hardwoods Warehouse on El Monte in South Los Angeles sometime around early 1986. The Slash owned Derrig guitar was finished sometime in mid 1986 entirely by Kris Derrig working for Jim Foote of MusicWorks - Redondo Beach, Ca. and was the shop guitar for practically 6+ months before it ended up in Slash's hands on Monday December 22,1986
Kris with the help of his friend Ed and Jim Foote started to create the famous brand of Derrig Guitars due to local demand for a better product than what was being offered at the time by major guitar companies in the 1980's. Kris built guitars at the LA MusicWorks store from 1984 until his untimely death in mid May 1987.
SLASH WITH HIS "1959" DERRIG LES PAUL REPLICA
This Slash "1959" Derrig guitar was one of the few guitars Kris made that was not a customer ordered guitar at the time, the guitar remains almost stock today except for a few pairs of creme rings Slash has demolished on the guitar over the past 2 decades. Here is a fairly famous photo of Slash's 3 replica Les Pauls from Left to right Slash's #4 1959 Derrig Replica purchased from Jim Foote in 1996 (renecked) / 9 0607 Derrig The AFD Recording Replica LP Guitar / Max 1960 LP Replica 0 -94XX
Slash's 2 Kris Derrig 59 Les Paul Replicas & A Max 1960 Burst 0 94XX - Right
The 2nd Replica 9 0607 and the 4th Replica (non original - new serial #) (Renecked in 1996 by Jim Foote )
Kris was finishing up the guitar to fund more car parts restoration cash for his 1967 GTO Tempest Conversion project that he painted Nassau Blue prior to his death in 1987
This what the car looked like prior to his death - below
NASSAU BLUE 1967 TEMPEST / GTO CONVERSION
According to the closest sources to Kris, he made approximately 12 LP style guitars in Atlanta including the Hunterburst and another 12 LP style guitars during his tenure with Jim Foote prior to his death in May 1987. Also noted that Kris built some unusual prototype guitars that most of the public have not seen or heard about to this day.
Even today there are still quite a few guitars that Kris built that have yet to surface to make a public appearance in the modern age of the internet and most likely will remain hiding in collections until they are verified and re-sold
THE LANDMARK DATE
MONDAY DECEMBER 22, 1986
A VERY RARE SHOTTHE FIRST PHOTO OF SLASH WITH HIS NEW DERRIG LP REPLICA ON 12/23/1986
SLASH PLAYING THE DERRIG REPLICA LP
DECEMBER 23, 1986 - EP RELEASE PARTY
"Reckless Road" - Carrie Small Laskavy - photo
(Ref. - Marc Canter's "Reckless Road")
(Carrie Small Laskavy - photo of Slash Dec 23, 1986 - above)
( Note the previous show on Dec 21, 1986 as shown in RECKLESS ROAD)
According to Slash (in several interviews now) Guns and Roses were in Rumbo Studios during the final day of ( December 22, 1986 ) recording the Appetite for Destruction album when Slash received the Derrig Guitar from Alan Niven. According to Slash, on many accounts now, he still did not have a guitar that was getting the tone he desired and was frantic about getting another guitar that would best represent his previous live tone he achieved with the Hunter Burst Les Paul so he sent Alan looking for another Les Paul in early December 1986.
Note: Slash was photographed by Marc Canter using a Red BC Rich live and in the studio and notably the Black Jackson Super Strat live rght up through Dec 21, 1986 as shown in the Reckless Road book
Alan Niven (the band’s manager) went in search of another Les Paul, and went to see Jim Foote at LA MusicWorks about getting Slash a Les Paul guitar for the AFD recording sessions, Jim stated that he only had one Les Paul, which was the shop guitar that Kris Derrig made that was lying around for almost six months that year and agreed to let Alan take the guitar to let Slash to try it out, 1 day later on 12/23/86 it's photographed being played live by Slash at the Cat House for the Live Like a Suicide EP release party as shown below
According to Slash, The "1959 Replica" Derrig guitar was used to record all of his final lead tracks along with the legendary SIR Rental #36 Marshall 100 Watt Amp at Take 1 Studios Burbank, Ca. Recording of the final tracks of the AFD album which happend from December 24, 1986 - January 4th 1987.
The album was mastered in NYC around early spring of 1987. The Marshall Amp was mistakenly returned by Slash's roadie as a result of a miscommuncation to Slash's dismay. For the record, Alan eventually ended up purchasing the Derrig guitar for Slash and it quickly became his main recording guitar that he used to record all of his tracks for the Appetite for Destruction album and every single record since then.
Note: There were several other guitars used at Rumbo Studios, but the Derrig is one that Slash referred to as his favorite recording guitar, the handmade Les Paul from the guy in Redondo Beach, Ca made by KRIS DERRIG - LA MUSICWORKS 1986Slash is still playing the Black Jackson Super Strat for the Cheap Trick show at the Fender Ballroom, as the Derrig guitar showed up a day later on 12/22/86, placing the Derrig conclusively in the timeframe of the final Rumbo Studio / Track 1 Studio dates with photographic proof, if Slash had another LP during this time, he would have used it on the show dates as he promptly did on the 23rd of December 1986
Kris used whatever parts were available to him at the time (customers through Jim Foote usually supplied parts for Kris) so he went to Jim to ask what kind of pickups were to be used in the guitar that would later be the famous Slash guitar, Jim gave him a pair of Seymour Alnico II Zebras and so the legend began
Jim Foote has also noted on several occasions that he used Seymour Duncan (Alnico IIs) pickups as his preference in the early days and should not only be credited for the Alnico II pickups in Slash’s guitars, but many other guitars of celebrities and musicians alikeThere are pictures of the Slash - Derrig "1959 AFD" guitar somewhere framed in the shop today along with Kris's old photo album of various guitars Kris made and loved, more to come on that story later!
Gold & Platinum AFD records presented to Music Works
There are also many gold/platinum records on the wall presented to Jim Foote/MusicWorks from Guns and Roses and many others for his assistance with various artists such as Great White, RATT, GNR and countless others!
KRIS DERRIG'S LP BURST TEMPLATE AT MUSICWORKS - REDONDO, BEACH CA
"There is also a shrine to Kris Derrig in the Music Works tool room too including Kris's tools and templates which are still very much intact today"
Truth and Fiction
Slash: Derrig vs Max - The AFD Period
Based on public information and facts collected from books and first hand accounts
APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
TIMELINE
BAND SIGNED TO GEFFEN – MARCH 26, 1986
“The Hunter Burst” was used live until 7/13/86 and was used only on the pre-production Sound City demo tracks which were later abandoned and never used officially for any release, THIS WAS NOT A MAX MADE GUITAR
PRE-PRODUCTION SOUND CITY STUDIOS
TRACK COMPLETION
JUNE 4, 1986
ORIGINAL PHOTO OF SOUND CITY GNR TRACKS
A dark day - Saturday July 12, 1986 Slash’s sells the Hunter Burst Les Paul back to Howie Hubberman for quick cash to feed his drug habit
July 21st – September 12th 1986 – 6 Live shows – All with the Red BC Rich Warlock - The Hunter Burst is gone
August - Sept 1986
LIVE LIKE A SUICIDE EP RECORDING
A NOTE FROM MARC CANTER
The Sound City demos are not what is on the
Live Like a Suicide EP
The EP was recorded entirely at Pasha Studios as Spencer Proffer as the Engineer / Producer in late August 1986. The live crowd was a track mixed in from a Quiet Riot show. Slash used the BC Rich Warlock (with a whammy bar) entirely on that Live Like A Suicide EP
(Marc Canter watched GnR record most of Live Like a Suicide EP)
Spencer Proffer was paid $15,000 for a 2 song demo to see if the band wanted to use him for the record and in the deal they got to record the songs for the Live Like a Suicide EP, Spencer recorded Sweet Child and Nightrain and they ended up recording 9 tracks total from late Aug to the end of September 1986 for the Ep. The only song that made it out after the other 4 songs were released was "Shadow of your Love" that eventually made it onto a Japan EP single B side in 1988
September 20 1986 – December 21, 1986 – The Black Jackson Super Strat enters the picture
RUMBO RECORDERS
STUDIO DATES
(Booked August 1st but delayed until Monday December 1, 1986 to get the right engineer & producer in place)
Pickups which had been a well known pickup back in the mid 1980s to most rock pros. So hence the Seymour Duncans are in the Max 1960 Replica too.
Monday December 1, 1986 – GNR enters Rumbo Studios to commence recording the initial scratch tracks for AFD – Ref. Studio booking dates
Alan Niven during this time is hunting around for a Les Paul at Slash’s request to find another Les Paul to use on the lead tracks for AFD. Alan stops by to see Jim Foote at MusicWorks to get a guitar and Jim replies “ the only one he’s got is the one is the shop guitar that Kris made and Alan asked to show it to Slash and it never comes back
Saturday December 20, 1986 - The Basic tracks are completed in just 3 weeks, the band starts to wrap the Rumbo Recording sessions. According to Slash at this time he still only had the Red BC Rich Warlock / Black Jackson Super Strat and the the loaned Gibson 1961 SG from Howie Huberman (The SG was used on “My Michelle” and later he faked smashing the SG guitar shoving it through a van windshield for the Robert John photoshoot)
Monday December 22, 1986 - Alan Niven brings the Derrig LP on the last day of the Rumbo Studios recording date as told by Slash in his bio. Mike Clink and Slash take the Derrig and the rented the #34 SIR Marshall 100 Watt Marshall Moded SLP Amp to Take 1 to finish up the lead Tracks for AFD
Sunday December 21, 1986 - Take 1 Studios – booked by Alan after getting the Derrig to Slash in time to finish off his tracks. He and Mike Clink go back to quickly complete the final lead guitar tracks with the Derrig before the Christmas break
Tuesday night - December 23, 1986 – Slash is photographed playing the Derrig at the Cat House – EP Live like a Suicide EP release party
Wednesday December 24, 1986 - Sunday Jan 4th, 1987 - Take 1 Studios – Key studio dates for Slash and Mike Clink who completed Slash's guitar tracks - 1 song per day for approximately 12 days
More facts….
The 1960 Max Les Paul Slash aquired - he got in June 1987
Fact - Slash and the band would always be hanging out and partying behind Max Guitars, Hollywood at the infamous lockout
Rumor - Slash knew Kris personally - False! - Slash never met the Kris! Only Alan Niven knew Kris and his work through Jim Foote, Jim was the key to Alan getting the Derrig
Fact - Slash never met Kris, and did not even know his name until recent history
Fact - 6/1987 - Slash is photographed playing the Max Replica 1960 LP at the Marquee London - this is the first known photograph of the Max in Slash'spossession
Recent Comments from Slash on the 2 replica guitars
these are text messages directly from Slash to Marc Canter
Marc - Question - When did you get the Max guitar?
Slash replied "I got the Max replica not too long after I got the Chris Derrig replica"
Sent via Satan
Marc - Question - and when was that?
Slash Replied - "I got the Max replica from Guitars R Us (Howie Huberman & Albert Molinaro) as a 2nd guitar prior to GnR's 1st shows at the Marquee in London after the release of "Appetite."
Sent via Satan
PAGE 319
MARC CANTER'S BOOK
RECKLESS ROAD
PROVIDES US THE FIRST DOCUMENTED PHOTO OF THE DERRIG LP GUITAR BEING USED FOR THE FIRST TIME LIVE IN 1986
A Photo Fact - On December 23, 1986 Slash played another "Les Paul" as shown below in the photo taken below at "Live like a Suicide" EP Release Party at the Cat House - LA
This is not the "Hunter Burst" he sold that one much earlier that summer in Mid July - 1986
Dec, 21 1986 - he plays the Jackson Super Strat, so it assumed that he did not have any les pauls. Had he apparently only had this one, had he had another he would of used it during this period?
So therefore, it seems had at least had the Derrig as early as 12/23/86 as shown in Marc Canter's book "Reckless Road" shown with the same multi-buckle guitar strap he had used on the Dec 21, 1986 gig, these photographs puts the Derrig LP ahead of the Max LP at least by 7 months according to the photos we have today
THE DERRIG RELICA LES PAUL
DECEMBER 23, 1986 - LIVE LIKE A SUICIDE EP RELEASE PARTY
"Reckless Road" - Carrie Small Laskavy - photo
Buy Marc Canter's
"Reckless Road"
at
www.recklessroad.com
HOWIE HUBBERMAN
Howie was Slash's go to guy for guitars he got him the Hunter Burst, he threw everything he had into bands - almost to a fault ( he was close all these guys Poison/ RATT / GNR) meaning he was always getting stuff cheap or next to nothing to guys he thought would make it for a piece of the action.
Howie got Slash the Hunter Burst for next to nothing and Slash returned to Howie after he sold the Hunter Burst back to him to get another Les Paul for the recording, he also stated back in the 1990's
NOTE: Howie Huberman should be credited greatly for having a good ear for bands that where going to make it back in those days. Howie was Slash's go to guy for gear through the 1980's.
Slash used several guitars in the process to record AFD in early December 1986, the scratch tracks and final rhythm tracks were all done with guitars other than the Derrig, according to slash's book they were done recording the last day when Alan finally brought the Derrig in, Slash even states this in his book, he was still frantic about getting the lead tone nailed, he also describes Howies loaner guitar the 1961 SG he used on "My Michelle" as having a fat heavy tone he liked but real dirty, he was not getting the lead tone from any of the guitars he had up until 12/20/86.
According to Slash the Rumbo Studio tracks were done with the SG, BC RICH and Black Jackson Super Strat, until he got the Derrig. Slash has stated in his book that he got the Derrig the last day of the Rumbo Studios Session - December 20,1986 and then he went to Take 1 Studios in Burbank, Ca with Mike Clink after the Rumbo dates on Dec 24th with the famed SIR rented Marshall 100 Watt amp and the Derrig and recorded all his guitar tracks with his new Derrig Replica Les Paul. According to Slash, the experience at Take 1 was majical but very short - it was a mere 12 days of recording his parts (1 song per day on average) and then it was done, AFD went into engineering in the spring 1987 and was completely mastered by the time GNR went to London to appear at the Marquee Shows in June 1987. The Album was released July 21, 1987
THE FIRST PHOTO OF SLASH WITH THE MAX 1960 LP BURST
"THE SKULL AND CROSSBONES GUITAR"
AT THE LONDON MARQUEE CLUB JUNE 28, 1987
Here is a rare and very cool shot of Slash in the early days of NR in England pre-AFD release.
Here we see Slash using the Max 1960 LP for the first time live during the infamous June 28, 1987 Marquee club show dates
This is the only shot known in existence of the GNR London Marquee shows
CLOSE UP OF THE 1960 MAX REPLICA - 8/1/1987 - NEIL ZLOZOWER PHOTO
NEIL ZLOZOWER PHOTO
SLASH ON AUGUST 1, 1987 WITH THE MAX 1960 BURST
OUTSIDE A BACK ALLEY ON SUNSET BLVD
THE SLASH REPLICA COLLECTION
SLASH REPLICAS
LEFT TO RIGHT IN ORDER OF WHEN HE RECEIVED THEM
4th Replica . 1959 DERRIG
(Re-necked / no script logo - Sold to Slash IN 1996 by Jim Foote )
2nd Replica . DERRIG 9 0607 (Sold by J. Foote / Alan Niven 12/1986 )
3rd Replica . 1960 MAX 0 94XX - 1987
(Sold by Max 6/1987 )
GNR VIDEOS
GUITARS SLASH USED
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE - IS THE MAX GUITAR - (2 DOUBLE BLACK ALNICO II PICKUPS) THE CURLY FADED FLAMETOP - 1960 PROFILE GOLD TOP HAT KNOBS
Shoot Date - August 1, 2, 1987
Location - Park Plaza & 450 S. La Brea, Hollywood, CA, USA
Hollywood, CA, The Whisky [concert footage]
Director - Nigel Dick
Producer - Lisa Hollingshead
Propaganda Films
1987
SWEET CHILD OF MINE - IS THE 1987 (Serial #81757532) PLAIN TOP GIBSON LES PAUL - DOUBLE BLACK ALNICO II - 3 PIECE PLAIN FADED TOP
Shoot Date - April 11, 1988
Location - Ballroom, Huntington Park, CA, USA
Director - Nigel Dick
Producer - Lisa Hollingshead
Propaganda Films
1988
PARADISE CITY - 87 GIBSON LES PAUL PLAIN TOP - DOUBLE BLACK ALNICO II PICKUPS - 59 KNOBS
Shoot Date - August 16, 20, 1988
Location - East Rutherford, NJ, USA, Giants Stadium & Donnington, England, Castle Donnington
Director - Nigel Dick
Producer - Lisa Hollingshead
Propaganda Films
1988
DONT CRY - 1987 GIBSON LES PAUL PLAIN TOP - 1 ZEBRA PICKUP - 1 DOUBLE BLACK - 59 GOLD TOP HATS - THE ONE HE THREW OFF THE CLIFF IS SAID TO STILL BE AROUND SOMEWHERE...
Director - Andy Morahan
Shoot Date - 1991
LIVE AND LET LIVE - 1987 GIBSON LES PAUL GOLD TOP - ALNICO II DOUBLE BLACKS - 80'S SPEC NECK PROFILE
Director - Josh Richman
Producer - Josh Richman
Paul Becher Video Services
1991
NOVEMBER RAIN - JOE PERRY'S 1959 TOBACCO SUNBURST 1959 LES PAUL - HE LATER GAVE BACK TO JOE FOR HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY
Location - New Mexico [Slash solo outside church]
Director - Andy Morahan
Producer - Warren Hewlett
Black Dog Films
1992
YESTERDAYS - IS THE MAX 1960 GUITAR - (2 DOUBLE BLACK ALNICO II - HIGHLY FLAMED CURLY TOP ) - 1959 KNOBS
Director - Andy Morahan
Producer - Warren Hewlett
Black Dog Films
1992
DEAD HORSE - A VARIETY OF DOUBLE NECKS /BLACK ES- 1275 THE 87 PLAIN TOP / 87 GOLD TOP / BC RICH MOCKINGBIRD
Director - Guns N' Roses & Louis Marciano
Producer - Doug Goldstein
Big FD UZI Suicide Productions
1993
GARDEN OF EDEN - 87 GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM -SLASH SPEC CUSTOM - COMPLETE WITH GRAFFITI !
Director - Andy Morahan
Producer - Warren Hewlett
Black Dog Films
1992
ESTRANGED - THE RED 87 GUILD DOUBLENECK ACOUSTIC 12/ ELECTRIC 6 -CUSTOM MADE FO SLASH
Shoot Date - June 26, 1993 ~ August 19, 1993
Location - Munich, Germany, Olympic Stadium [concert]
Malibu, CA [Axl's house]
Long Beach, CA, Long Beach Arena [concert close-ups]
Los Angeles, CA, Sunset Strip [Slash playing]
Treasure Island, Bahamas [Axl swimming with dolphins]
Corpus Cristi, Texas [Supertanker]
San Diego, CA
Universal City, CA
Hollywood, CA
Director - Andy Morahan
Producer - Warren Hewlett
Black Dog Films
1993
SINCE I DONT HAVE YOU - 1993 GIBSON R9 FLAMETOP - REGULAR ZEBRAS ALNICO II SD PICKUPS / 59 RI TOPHATS
Director - Sante D'Orazio
FM Rocks
1994
LIVE AT THE RITZ 88 CONCERT (USES BOTH REPLICAS) - THE 1985 DERRIG - FOR THE 1st FOUR SONGS - CHANGES TO THE MAX DURING MY MICHELLE - CHANGES BACK TO THE DERRIG - WTTJ - BACK TO THE MAX - NIGHT TRAIN / PARADISE CITY -BACK TO THE DERRIG - KNOCKING HEAVENS DOOR
THE LENNY KRAVITZ
DERRIG LP GUITAR
LENNY KRAVITZ - COVER OF GUITAR MAGAZINE FEB 2001
There may have been other "retro" rock acts before him, but Lenny Kravitz was one of the first to not be pigeonholed to a single style as he's touched upon such genres as soul, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk, and ballads over the years. Born in New York on May 26, 1964 (his mother was actress Roxie Roker, best-known for her role as Helen Willis on the popular TV series The Jeffersons, and his father was a TV producer), Kravitz was raised in Los Angeles, where he found himself around countless musical giants as a youngster due to his parents friendships with the likes of Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Short, and Miles Davis, among others. Kravitz was a member of the California Boys Choir until his teenage years, when he decided to pursue rock & roll while in high school and under the heavily influence of funk rocker Prince. Kravitz's admiration of the Purple One was so great that he at first patterned his style and approach directly after Prince and became known as "Romeo Blue" (complete with blue contact lenses), but failed to land a recording contract.What should have been a time of happiness for Kravitz quickly turned sour as he and Bonet divorced by the early '90s. Kravitz's heartbreak was very evident in his sophomore effort, Mama Said, which was even stronger than its predecessor, highlighted by the Led Zep-like funk rocker "Always on the Run" (a collaboration with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash), as well as the mega hit with the Curtis Mayfield-esque soul ballad "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over," which confirmed that Kravitz's success was no fluke. But the best was yet to come for Kravitz. His third release overall, 1993's Are You Gonna Go My Way, is often considered to be the finest album front to back of his entire career, and with good reason: Every single song was a winner, including the up-tempo anthemic title track, which turned out to be one of MTV's most played videos for that year. The album was a massive hit and Kravitz became an arena headliner stateside, as well as being featured on countless magazine covers.
In the late '80s, Kravitz relocated back to New York City, where one of his roommates turned out to be actress Lisa Bonet (who played the part of Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show); they eventually got married. During this time, Kravitz wisely discarded his Prince-like approach and looked back to such '60s/'70s classic rockers as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley, and the Beatles for inspiration. Kravitz found a kindred spirit in engineer Henry Hirsch (who would stick by Kravitz throughout his career). With a back-to-basics approach, his style was quite refreshing in the humorously gaudy late '80s. He inked a recording contract with Virgin Records and issued his debut release, Let Love Rule, in 1989. Kravitz's debut proved to be a surprise hit due to the success of the title track, which became a hit single and oft-aired video. A few critics were quick to assume that Kravitz's retro look and sound were simply a shtick to get the public's attention, but come the '90s, it had become integrated into the mainstream (both musically and fashion-wise), proving that Kravitz was a bit of a trendsetter. It was around this time that Kravitz penned a major hit single, not for himself but for Madonna, who went to number one with the sultry track "Justify My Love
Despite an almost two-year gap between albums, Kravitz's fourth release, Circus, came off sounding unfocused and was a major letdown compared to his stellar previous few releases. Perhaps sensing that he needed to stir things up musically, Kravitz dabbled with electronics and trip-hop loops for his next album, 1998's 5. Although not a huge hit right off the bat, the album proved to have an incredibly long chart life, spawning the biggest hit of Kravitz's career, "Fly Away," almost a year after its original release. With the single's success, Virgin decided to cash in on the album's sudden rebirth by reissuing it around the same time with a pair of extra added bonus tracks, one of which became another sizeable hit single, a remake of the Guess Who's "American Woman" (which was used in the hit 1999 comedy movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me). Kravitz's first best-of set, the 15-track Greatest Hits, was issued as a stopgap release in 2000, while his sixh studio release overall, Lenny, was issued a
year later. Baptism followed in 2004. In addition to his own albums, Kravitz continues to pen songs for other artists and his compositions have appeared on albums by such rock heavyweights as Aerosmith and Mick Jagger, while he produced and wrote the majority of Vanessa Paradis' obscure self-titled 1992 release.
LENNY KRAVITZ LIVE WITH HIS DERRIG LP
CHARLIE DANIELS
KRIS DERRIG LES PAUL
Kris Derrig made this Sunburst LP Replica
at Atlanta Guitar Works
"Kris had built this fantastic Les Paul replica at Atlanta Guitar Works that Charlie Daniels bought from him in the early days of his career in Atlanta. It was fairly well known in the guitar community back then that the sunburst Les Paul Charlie had was made by Kris. Apparently Kris had been very hush-hush about the whole deal at the time because of the nature of what he did, but Charlie was fully aware that it was a replica and liked it so much that he played it out everywhere until the time it was stolen from the back of his VW Beetle"
THE KRIS DERRIG LP CIRCA EARLY 1980s
CHARLIE'S KRIS DERRIG GUITAR
STOLEN 30 YEARS AGO IS RECOVERED IN 2007(CHARLIE ALSO OWNS A 12 STRING MAPLE CUSTOM KRIS DERRIG GUITAR)
CHARLIE DANIELS 1982 CHARLIE JAMMING IN GERMANY
Copyright 2008, MCi Music Co
© kris derrig & krisderrig.com
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Kris Derrig
