VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Slash recently published his autobiography and now has a solo album in his sights. Although he doesn't have a timetable for the project, Slash told The Pulse of Radio he already has a lot of ideas for what direction he wants it to take. "I really want to do a solo record and play with a lot of different people that I've worked with before, maybe some people I haven't worked with, and just do something really, really sort of interesting," he said. "'Cause I've played on so many other people's records, you know, and I want to write material for, like, different individuals to sing on and whatnot. So that's sort of like the main sort of backburner kind of thing going on at the moment."

Meanwhile, VELVET REVOLVER was forced to cancel a four-city Japanese tour after the band members were denied visas. A spokesperson for concert promoter Creativeman Productions noted in a statement that the group had previously toured Japan in 2005, but now explained, "The increasingly tough Japanese immigration officials are taking exception with the backgrounds of various band members, which have included arrests." VELVET REVOLVER is appealing the decision, but the process could take months to resolve. "We want to apologize to our fans in Japan that we won't be able to perform our scheduled concerts," the band said in a statement. "We don't understand why the authorities won't give us visas when they granted them for us in 2005 for what was a successful tour and a great experience. We love Japan and look forward to our return there."

VELVET REVOLVER is still scheduled to tour Australia in early December.

The group wrapped up a North American tour with ALICE IN CHAINS last month as it continues promoting its second album, "Libertad". The record has sold 250,000 copies in the United Staes since its release last July, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Slash will appear as a presenter at the 35th annual American Music Awards, which will broadcast live on ABC this Sunday (November 18) from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.