Rock music icon Slash has joined others in his profession by wholeheartedly backing Ukraine in its wartime effort against Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
A video posted to Twitter late Wednesday night shows Slash standing in front of a Ukrainian flag. It has been viewed over 167,000 times.
"I stand for Ukraine and I stand for freedom," said the famed guitarist who blew onto the music scene in Guns 'N Roses. "I feel that the other governments of the world should do whatever they can to support Ukraine and give them whatever they need to be able to beat Putin back."
The video was posted by @Ukraine accompanied with the text: "Thank you @Slash for helping us get the guns. So that we can also have the roses to celebrate our victory later. #ArmUkraineNow."
On Thursday morning, President Joe Biden held a press conference providing updates on the United States' involvement in the ongoing conflict, saying the U.S. would send an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, as well as establish a new program to streamline Ukrainians seeking to enter the U.S.
Slash has become the latest musician to publicly malign Putin and Russia's offenses in Ukraine, joining Ukrainian progressive rock band Jinjer, Russian feminist punk rockers Pussy Riot, and lead guitarist Noodles of The Offspring, according to Loud Wire.
David Gilmour and Nick Mason, remaining members of the legendary band Pink Floyd, joined with Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the band BoomBox, according to Guitar World, to record a new song titled Hey Hey Rise Up.
Gilmour, one of the world's renowned guitarists, played a show in 2015 at Koko in London in support of the Belarus Free Theatre, whose members had been imprisoned, Guitar World reported, but due to visa issues, Khlyvnyuk couldn't play, so Gilmour ended up playing with Pussy Riot and even devoted a version of Wish You Were Here for the Ukrainian.
Fast forward many years, Gilmour said he saw an Instagram post of Khlyvnyuk fighting on the behalf of his native land, even singing in the streets. Gilmour, who reportedly has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren, called it "a powerful moment" that made him want to record a new track for Ukraine.
"We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers," Gilmour said in a statement.
Original Pink Floyd member and founder Roger Waters had nothing to do with the new track, which recently topped the singles downloads chart in the United Kingdom. It also debuted at No. 5 on the UK Billboards Top 10.
At the beginning of the onslaught, Ukrainian artists stayed steadfast and used their musical skills to send a message to Russia and the world, Global News reported.
Vera Lytovchenko, a violinist with the Kharkiv City Opera Orchestra and a music teacher, lived in the basement of her apartment building to avoid bombings aboveground and played music that was uploaded on YouTube. She was later joined by violinists worldwide.
Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, frontman for arguably Ukraine's biggest rock band Okean Elzy, continued traveling around the country to perform songs about love and war–even playing for wounded individuals and medical staff in Kharkiv during one stop.
Newsweek reached out to Slash and the Security Service of Ukraine for comment.
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "'I Stand For Freedom': Rock Icon Slash Supports Ukraine Over Putin in Video - Newsweek"
Post a Comment