Duff McKagan And Slash Release New Gibson Charity Single I Can Breathe
Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Gibson Records
Duff McKagan and Slash have collaborated with Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian for a new charity single.
Titled I Can Breathe, the fiery rock track features the Guns N' Roses bandmates on lead vocals and bluesy lead guitar, respectively, with Gueikian contributing charging rhythm guitar and piano. McKagan also wrote the song.
"It was such a pleasure to work with Cesar and his whole crew on this tune. The musical slant and progressive rock-ness of this huge epic pushed me in a whole new direction. I love a challenge and Cesar killed it! Most importantly, to be of service for mental health issues and awareness is super important to me at this time. Let’s rock!"
Slash commented: "Cesar and Duff came to me with a really cool piece of music. I loved the riff idea, and Duff's vocal, so I felt right at home on the track."
Gueikian added: "Guns N' Roses had a profound influence on me and my guitar playing, so having the opportunity to write and record this song with Slash and Duff is a dream come true, and it’s an honor to call them friends and partners.
"I Can Breathe started as an instrumental track I recorded at La Roca Power Studio in Buenos Aires. Upon listening to the mix that Greg Gordon put together, Jenny Marsh (Global Director of Cultural Influence at Gibson) suggested Duff as lyricist and vocalist. Guns N’ Roses had just come off touring when I shared the song with Duff, he loved it and quickly wrote the lyrics and cut the vocals at the Sound Factory in Los Angeles. Having Duff on vocals made the next step obvious, which was asking Slash if he would collaborate with lead guitars and solos. Both Duff and Slash transformed the track from a collection of riffs to a great song! While Greg Gordon’s mixing and creativity tied it all together. I am grateful for the collaboration from Slash, Duff and Greg, and from my friend Serj Tankian’s participation with cover artwork. I’m thrilled we are donating all proceeds from the song to a great and relevant cause."
In 2023, Gueikian enlisted System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi for Deconstruction, the first Gibson Band charity single.
The cover art for I Can Breathe is based on an original painting by Tankian titled They're Coming. The original will be auctioned off alongside a unique Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar featuring hand-painted artwork as part of Julien’s Auctions global auction, here.
At the start of 2024, Guns N' Roses released the single The General, which was written during the sessions for the band's 2008 'Chinese Democracy' LP. The track was originally released in December 2023 as a b-side to their single, Perhaps.
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