Slash Puppet

1993 Recipient – Best Video – 3rd Annual LA Music Awards “When the Whip Comes Down”

SLASH PUPPET is an award winning and internationally renowned Canadian hard rock and glam heavy metal band that made some great music before the advent of the the grunge invasion.

On Thursday October 19, 1989 after many months of rehearsal and hype around Toronto, Slash Puppet debuts at the now legendary Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven in front of a reveling, capacity crowd of 900 +….the show is an enormous success and Slash Puppet is instantaneously catapulted into the media spotlight and into Toronto’s heavy metal fans’ hearts and mind….

November 25, 1990 after having performed only 15 shows, most of them sell-outs, Slash Puppet is nominated in the “Best Club Act” category at the 1990/91 Toronto Music Awards……

December 5, 1990 SP goes on to win the award for “Best Toronto Club Act” by the widest margin of votes in all of the categories at that year’s awards according to “Chart Toppers,” an achievement that could not have been accomplished without the terrific support of such dedicated fans as the rockers and metal heads in Toronto and across Canada….

December 30, 1990 SP perform in Toronto in front of over 400 screaming fans at Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven’s first ever all ages show…..on the heels of this show the Puppets catch the attention of Rush manager Ray Daniels (S.R.O. Management) and are signed to a management and production deal with Sony/Anthem Records… a Canadian media blitz begins as the boys do the Canadian media tour with interviews on Much Music, Q-107 FM, 97.7Hitz FM in Toronto and Musique Plus and CHOM FM in Quebec, just to name a few….
followed up by some extensive touring, articles and interviews both nationally and internationally, on such stalwart national and international rock and heavy metal publications as Canadian Musician Magazine (Toronto), M.E.A.T. Magazine (Toronto), Metal Edge Magazine (New York), Rock City Magazine (Los Angeles) were to follow…

May 2, 1991…..Much Music and Musique Plus debut the first Slash Puppet music video for the song “Slow Down” across Canada and into the United States….soon after the debut of the Slow Down video and with continuous airplay on television and radio stations across Canada and into the U.S., SP goes on to sell over 2,500 copies of “The Demo” (an 8 song cassette demo tape), without a formal release….The Demo goes on to chart as high as #1 on several college and demo radio charts in Canada and the United States, as well as in Australia, Cuba, Belgium, Denmark and Holland, internationally….
January 15, 1992 after months of extensive touring and writing, SP begin pre-production on their debut album with producer Anthony Vanderburgh (Warner Music Canada)…..March 28, 1992 the band begins recording at Phase One Studios in Toronto and on June 7, 1992 Slash Puppet complete a 6 song E.P……Still playing to sell-out crowds wherever they perform, and with continuous air play on both television and radio, a grass roots following in tow locally, nationally and internationally, Slash Puppet perform in front of over 1500 faithful and adoring fans on what would become the band’s single most important performance of their young careers….

On January 29, 1993 the band puts in a command performance at Toronto’s legendary Concert Hall (Masonic Temple). This show marks a second phase in Slash Puppet history as the band is released from its obligations to S.R.O. Management (Rush, Van Halen, Queensryche) and introduces new bassist Dave Carreiro replacing original bassist Pete Dove who severed ties with the band to pursue other opportunities in New York! Things were to change dramatically for the remaining members….

Winds of change prevail in this second phase of Slash Puppet history as the band with new bassist Dave Careiro in tow, the completion of a slick 6 song E.P., and free from any legal or contractual obligations to management or record labels, decides to go it alone as they begin production on their next video….

May 5, 1993 Slash Puppet and director Sheldon Wilson (Torch Television) go into production of the video for their first single “When The Whip Comes Down” to accompany the independent release of the self-titled Slash Puppet debut cd….

July 21, 1993 and upon it’s release, the SP video for “When The Whip Comes Down” debuts at #4 on Much Music’s “Power 30 Metal Show” video chart….

August 31, 1993 Slash Puppet signs a publishing deal with Canon Film for the songs “When The Whip Comes Down” and “Rippin’ On A Wishbone” featured on the soundtrack of the motion picture “Chain Of Command” (1994 international release) starring Michael Dudikov….

September 15, 1993 SP signs a distribution deal with Fringe Records and prepares to release an independent E.P. on their own “Sweet Leaf Records”…..

September 22, 1993 the SP video for “When The Whip Comes Down” while getting regular rotation on Much Music across Canada is added to the video play list of the KNAC Radio Video Hit List to rave reviews in Los Angeles and across California…..

November 20, 1993 Slash Puppet is nominated at the “Los Angeles Area Music Awards” in the categories of “Best Independent Video” and “Best Male Vocal Performance” for the song “When The Whip Comes Down”, and go on to win for Best Independent Video….

February 17, 1994 The Puppets with new guitarist Marcel Lafleur (Smashed Gladys, Succsexx) now having replaced original guitarist Lou Garscadden,