Considering how long he has been around and the sort of people he has hung out with and places he has been, you would think there wouldn't be a whole lot that would throw off Slash.

But when it came time to plan a tour in support of his recently released self-titled solo album, he was a little perplexed. After all, he couldn't recruit all of the top-shelf talent who provided vocals on Slash (including Kid Rock, Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie, Chris Cornell, Adam Levine and Dave Grohl).

Luckily, he took a chance that paid off. "I auditioned a lot of singers for Velvet Revolver and a lot for this new tour," Slash told MTV News of the jaunt, which kicks off Friday night (May 21) in Walker, Minnesota. "I had one song left on the album and didn't have a singer for it, so I called Myles Kennedy out of the blue. He sent back this amazing vocal for a song called 'Starlight.' "

Kennedy, who was previously the singer for the Creed fallout band Alter Bridge, immediately clicked with the veteran guitarist. Naturally, that led to the birth of their touring together. "I don't know if I coerced him into doing the tour or if he really wanted to do it, but he was onboard," Slash joked. "I'm really excited, because we've got a great backing band and a great frontman."

Though he stuck mostly to a bellowing baritone with Alter Bridge, Kennedy's singing with Slash is "much bluesier," according to the guitarist. That's good, because he'll have to tackle a wide variety of styles. "It's a pretty killer set list," said Slash, who has done time in a number of different bands, all of which will be represented on the tour. "We do five to six songs off the new record. And we do a handful of Guns N' Roses songs, a lot of which I haven't played since '93. And we do a few Velvet Revolver songs and a couple of Snakepit songs. It's a really energetic and vibrant set."

Will you check out Slash's new tour? Let us know in the comments!