Why Did Slash Give Me a Nasty T-Shirt?!
by on October 11, 2012 in Blog

Back in the day, I used to occasionally show up to a fantastic blues jam at a Hollywood club called the Baked Potato.  It was hosted by incredible musicians — including Teddy Andreadis on keys & Alan Mirkitani AKA “B.B. Chung King” on guitar — and attracted a lot of high-profile guest players. Even though I was pretty intimidated about jamming with these guys, once I got onstage, they made me feel right at home and I had a blast every time we played.

One evening, to my surprise, Slash (post-Guns N’ Roses era) was in the club and got onstage to jam.  He played several songs, and after he was done, I ran into him at the back of the club and complimented his playing (I’ve been a huge Slash fan ever since G N’ R’s first album).

Inexplicably, out of the blue, this legendary guitar hero asked me if he could trade t-shirts with me — on the spot — and, believe it or not, it didn’t *at all* come across as a come-on!  I was perplexed, but excited to potentially leave the club wearing Slash’s t-shirt, so I said “yes, but I’ll need your shirt first so I can go into the bathroom and change into it when I take mine off.”  He was fine with that, and proceeded to peel the shirt right off his back, handing it to me.

The first thing I noticed when I put on his shirt was that it was SOAKED with sweat (he had, after all, just come offstage).  I also noticed that it was HUGE on me, but I really didn’t care.  After all, I was wearing my hero’s t-shirt!  I came out of the bathroom, handed him my shirt, and he put it on (fortunately, it wasn’t one of those super-tight girlie tees!).

Now, whenever I tell this story, people ask me “What did your t-shirt say to make him want it so much?”  I wish I could remember.  I know it wasn’t my Co-Ed Prison Sluts shirt, ‘cuz I still have that one.  What I do remember is talking to my friend Johnny Griparic about the incident and learning something fascinating.  Johnny — Slash’s bass player at the time — revealed to me that everywhere they went, Slash asked people to trade t-shirts with him.  Apparently, Slash had a CLOSET full of other people’s t-shirts at home!  (I guess that’s ONE way to avoid shopping…)  For a minute, I felt a little less special (okay, a LOT less special!) than I had right after pulling Slash’s sticky sweaty shirt over my head and onto my bare skin (eww!).  However, I soon got over my disappointment and got excited all over again that I now owned a shirt previously sweat-upon by Slash.  Too bad I’m totally uncomfortable wearing it in public!!! (see why below)

Comments

  1. Chef Paul says:

    I still do not understand whey you can’t wear it in public…You are a sexy girl. Sexy, funky, guitar girl in fact.

  2. Jay Silverberg says:

    Ali,
    Are you aware of how beautiful you are? A gorgeous girl wearing a shirt that says SEX is almost more than I could take. I can’t help it, I’m a guy. In a way I would be even more enamoured if it said “SUCK”.
    Please don’t be angry. I only speak the truth.
    Tons of Love,
    Jay

  3. Brian says:

    Ali,

    What a great story! I’m sure the memory is more than indelible in your collection of mind-tapes. Do you remember what you played that night?

  4. William Flower says:

    Oh come on.. just a plain white tee with the most beautiful word in the world on it? What a tease you are.. but you still totally ROCK a plain white tee. 🙂
    Did you snap a pic of Slash wearing YOUR shirt?

  5. Paul says:

    Do you know if he’s a soccer fan? It’s tradition that after each game you exchange jerseys with your opponent, as a souvenir. {Not that I ever kept any I got. . .}

  6. Ronnie says:

    It just says sex on it. That ain’t so nasty. I got a call from my son’s principal couple years ago about him wearing an “inappropriate” t-shirt to school(and in danger of flunking Algebra II). I was away from home working. Called my wife. Had some gal in her underwear blowing smoke and said “Music Gets You High”, you had to see it. Much nastier. My wife texted me a picture. “Inappropriate” said the principal. Outta right a song.

  7. Kat Parsons says:

    Awesome story Ali!

  8. admin says:

    I sense a theme here. The male commenters don’t seem to understand why I won’t wear a t-shirt that says “Sex” (or “Co-Ed Prison Sluts” for that matter) on it. I’m guessing that this is because they haven’t ever experienced the various forms of unwanted “attention” that women receive when wearing t-shirts with suggestive slogans. Trust me, there’s good reason for not wearing it in public!

@copy 2020 Ali Handal