December: Days of the New vocalist Travis Meeks auditions for the singer spot. Lesser-known singers Beth Hart, Todd Kearns and Shawn Albro also take cuts.

October: Former Neurotica singer Kelly Shaefer auditions on new songs "Tomorrow and Today," "Eye for an Eye," "Room 169" and "End of the Line." The singer leaves with the Slash's assurance that he's "the best guy they'd heard." Shaefer hasn't heard from him since. (thanks to Rolling Stone)

October 30: Slash sits in at the L.A. club Ivar with Camp Freddy, an all-star band featuring Sorum and Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. Singer Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) joins for the Rocky Horror Picture Show classic "Time Warp" as well as a version of Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City," featuring the Rolling Stones' Ron Wood. "The place went nuts," says Bach. Later, Slash gives Bach a tape of five instrumentals and asks him to "do his thing" over them. (thanks to Rolling Stone)

September: The Project place ads looking for a singer in various magazines and papers: "Unnamed artist looking for singer-songwriter somewhere in the realm of early Alice Cooper/Steve Tyler, the harder-edged side of McCartney and Lennon."

Slash also announces that the new band will release an album in 2003. "We got the baddest fucking be-all, end-all rock & roll band," he tells Rolling Stone. But he is already frustrated by the lack of singing prospects. "There are no rock & roll singers out there right now . . . except Billy Idol." (thanks to Rolling Stone)

The band members got in touch with Scott Weiland - who they thought would be the perfect guy, to ask him if he was interested in jamming with the band, and after he got a tape, he thought the music was really cool. The night Slash gave him a tape with the songs, Scott played a show with STP and so Slash never pursued it after that, thinking Scott would be too busy with his band. At that point, there was no talking of 'joining' the band.

July: Duff announces that Josh Todd is out of the band, because the singer does not fit the band's style.

April: Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum played on the 29th at a tribute for Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo with former Buckcherry singer Josh Todd. They were billed as Buck n' Roses and later changed the name to Cherry Roses. It was originally set up as a one-off gig, but everything went great and the guys decided to keep jamming together.