Todd Kerns - bassist for SLASH, vocalist/guitarist for SIN CITY SINNERS - has issued the following update:

"I had always intended to finish my blog for the 2010 European Slash tour. Unfortunately fate had other plans. I managed to do everything short of two days of the tour. Not bad for a one eyed pirate.

In reading my last blog, July 7th, my confidence was high. ‘The hemorrhage would clear my retina would not detach’. That did not end up to be the case.

So here I am more than 40 days later recollecting as best I can the last week or so of the tour. Then I will bring everyone up to date on the events upon my arrival back in America. Eventually.

Soooo… After some restful days off in Copenhagen, which is amongst the most beautiful cities but also one of the most expensive cities I’ve visited we were off to the Norway Rocks festival in Kivensdal. It was actually cool there. Both in temperature and Fonzie speak.

We were there too late to really enjoy any of the bands of the day. Footage of this show exists on YouTube though most of the shows from the tour have appeared in one form or another there.

I remember after our set going with Myles to an after party tent to watch the last 2 songs of the Backstreet Girls, an amazing punk band from over there. It was amongst my favorite performances on the tour and I had seen a lot of bands.

Our schedule was relaxed in this last week which I thought would be a good thing for those of us suffering through eye injuries. Our next stop was a day off in Gavle Sweden. A day off after two days off and one day on? Tough life.

I remember wandering and sitting on patios in a city of tall, beautiful, happy people. Every stop of the tour I would say to anyone listening, 'I’m thinking of getting a place here.' I kinda meant it too.

We played the Getaway Rock festival the next day with EUROPE. Not the continent the band. You know ‘It’s The Final Countdown’ which will always be the theme song to Job’s magic performance on Arrested Development for me. They probably made a bundle off that. They were really nice guys. Joey Tempest and John Norum came back to say hi to Slash.

The next day, at the Ruisrock Festival in Turku Finland, was something I’d been looking forward to for the whole tour. Being able to do something I’ve wanted to all my life. Play with Michael Monroe from the legendary HANOI ROCKS. I have been a Hanoi Rocks fan since I was a kid. I came in a little late, around Back To Mystery City but I lived in Smallville, Canada. Our musical pipeline was always slow. Especially music coming from as far away as Finland. By the time Two Steps From The Move came out we knew Hanoi was going to be the biggest band in the world but our hero Razzle was struck down before the record had any chance to breathe and the band never recovered from it.

To me, and anyone else with decent taste in music, their early departure raised them to mythical levels in an underground urban way. Like a secret only you and your cool friends knew and when you ran into someone else who knew the secret you knew they were special too.

They reformed with Michael and Andy and Connie Bloom for the great Electric Boys and put out some amazing stuff including one of my fave Hanoi Songs, 'Obscured'. They eventually called it a night last year.

I have had the good fortune to get to know Sami Yaffa from Hanoi during his time in America with THE NEW YORK DOLLS (Dolls? Come on! That’s a whole other blog. Dolls rule) and I am happy to call him my friend. Sami has since gone on to join Michael’s solo band with Steve Conte from the Dolls and Ginger from THE WILDHEARTS (Wildhearts? Come on! That’s a whole other blog. Wildhearts rule!). I saw them play in Vegas and it was one of the best rock shows I’ve ever witnessed and I’ve seen a loooooot of rock shows. Seriously, Michael is one of the greatest rock front men of all time. Iggy Pop meets Mick Jagger with skills to play Sax and harmonica like a champ.

We have had the pleasure to have some amazing guests on stage-Alice Cooper (thrill of a lifetime), Lemmy (a God, a legend) twice and now Michael.

Earlier that day Myles and I were hypnotized by the band The Ark at the festival. Crazy, over the top, campy, theatrical rock. I fucking loved it. Very 70s glitter rock with all the right elements. No one can do that like the Europeans. They just seem to get it. I thought they were fantastic. I stood sidestage for their entire set which include 3 costume changes.

That night Michael got up and sang a song from Slash’s album called 'We’re All Gonna Die' which features Iggy. It was so cool that Michael took the time to learn this song for us. That is a class act. We did Hanoi’s version of 'Up Around The Bend' and it was amazing. If you see the footage you see a big smile on my face as Michael tears up that stage, climbing the truss, running through the audience. Now that is how it’s done!

Afterwards we all hung out back at the hotel. Sami was going out to celebrate Spain winning the World Cup but the rest of us were too beat up. We hung back with Michael and Slash and chilled. Michael brought Slash and I copies of the Hanoi book released over there. It’s in Finnish but will be released soon in english. Very thoughtful of him.

I have since kept in contact with Michael via email. He wished me well during my retinal ordeal and I wished him well after he broke 2 ribs playing with Slash in Japan on the tour I couldn’t be a part of. That’s how hard Michael rocks. 2 broken ribs from rocking out and he’s still touring. Wow. He sent me a t shirt and I will be wearing it with pride. The new Michael Monroe album is going to be amazing judging by the new songs I heard played live. I will be first in line when it comes out.

After a day off in Helsinki it was time to head to a place I never thought I’d ever go-Russia. I suppose in many ways fate agreed. It let me be there but not for very long.

Our first day in Moscow was a travel day which means no show just travel, so we flew in and cleared the dreaded Russian customs which was not unlike any other customs situation anywhere else along the trip.

Along the way it was interesting to take in how westernized even Moscow had become. The McDonalds had the familiar logo and font written in Russian which may as well be Klingon, really. I love seeing new countries. I love seeing unfamiliar surroundings. It’s always a tad off putting to see 7-11s and McDonalds in foreign lands. Planet Starbucks reigns supreme.

That night the promoter took us to dinner which was great then we were off to Red Square. I cannot say how overwhelming it is to be a kid from Saskatchewan, Canada standing in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. With Slash, no less. You just have to say to yourself, 'life is truly a mystery.' Fascinating. To think it wasn’t that long ago that a bunch of Americans (and Canadians!) would not be allowed to be stand in Red Square let alone welcome in the country.

That night back at the hotel everything went pear shaped as the English say. I had been warned that when your retina detaches you will see dark shadows in your peripheral that will eventually take over the entire eye. Scary indeed. I had not witnessed anything like that. If anything the hemorrhage seemed to be clearing. The last stop in Copenhagen the doctor said it hadn’t detached and looked as though it was clearing. This seemed good news. I’ll be in Vegas in a week or so having the tear in my retinal wall lasered and I’ll be right as rain.

Nope.

There it was in the bottom right corner of my right eye. I immediately knew this was not good. You know how you just know? People will say, 'maybe it’s this or maybe it’s that' but you just know this is not good.

The next morning, the day of the first show of two in Russia, the promoter set up an appointment with an eye specialist in Moscow. A hospital in Moscow? Are you fucking kidding me? Well, let me tell you it was as advanced and modern as any I’d visited along the way, The Doctor there spoke little english but I could tell by her demeanor and the way she was speaking to the promoter/translator that it was not good. After a quick pow wow with tour manager Pete it was decided then and there that I was going home. Ugh. Poor Pete. He accompanied me every step of the way to doctors in Bristol, Dublin, Copenhagen and now Moscow. I don’t know what I would have done without him.

Within hours I was on the scenic trip from Moscow to Los Angeles.I had some quick goodbyes with whoever was around the hotel in the time it took for me to collect my luggage-Brent, Myles, Chet (Slash’s guitar tech), Drew our lighting guy, Kelly the merch girl and I was gone.

The only thing more unsettling than doing the Moscow airport/customs thing with the band is doing it alone. One of the promoters helped to get me sorted and I was gone. I was told I would have an exit row. I’m a tall cat. Nope. Knees to your chin for 14 hours. That was a tough flight. Especially knowing that there wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow but surgery and a long, long recovery.

I have to admit being at LAX was a super comforting feeling. The 40 minute flight to Vegas was like reentering the womb. Be it ever so humble there’s no place like home.

It’s a melancholy feeling to be in the comfort of your nest after such a long time knowing that you are about to undergo a real drag but it felt good to be home. It still feels good to be home.

The next day was my first visit to the Imaginarium of Dr Parker and he would set things right but that story is for another time.

Big love

Your loyal and humbler servant, Todd Dammit"