Chris Weber | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | October 16, 1966
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1983 | –present
Labels |
Christopher Garrison Weber (born October 16, 1966) is an American musician best known as the guitarist and founder of the groups U.P.O. and Hollywood Rose (which featured future Guns N' Roses members Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Steven Adler). With U.P.O., he released two albums, No Pleasantries (2000) and The Heavy (2004), while the Hollywood Rose demos, recorded in 1984, were released in 2004 titled The Roots of Guns N' Roses .
Prior to forming, Chris Weber was introduced to Lafayette native Izzy Stradlin, [1] in the parking lot of the Rainbow Bar and Grill, [1] [2] by friend Tracii Guns, [2] who was leading the first incarnation of L.A. Guns at this time, after Weber expressed an interest in forming a band. [1] Soon afterwards, Weber and Stradlin started writing material and, at the suggestion of Stradlin, recruited his childhood friend, former Rapidfire [3] and L.A. Guns [4] singer William Bailey. At the suggestion of Bailey, [2] [5] the group called themselves AXL [1] [5] [6] They played their first gig at The Orphanage in North Hollywood and played a few more shows [5] before changing their name to Rose, [1] [5] with Bailey changing his name to W. Axl Rose. [6] [7] [8] The group soon changed their name, for the final time, to Hollywood Rose [1] [2] [5] [6] [7] [9] when Weber discovered that the name Rose was already being used by a New York band. [5]
After borrowing money from Weber's father, the group recorded a five-song demo in Hollywood [1] [6] in 1984. [2] [10] After playing a number of more shows, Rose fired Weber from the band [11] with former Road Crew guitarist Slash joining the group. They would disband soon after.
The group reunited, briefly, with Rose, Stradlin, Weber and Darrow returning along while L.A. Guns drummer Rob Gardner also joined the group. Weber, who left to move to New York City, [1] [6] was soon replaced by Tracii Guns. [1] [2] [6]
Guns N' Roses credited Weber as co-writer on the song "Anything Goes" off their record-breaking debut LP Appetite for Destruction in 1987; [12] and "Reckless Life" and "Move To The City" re-released on 1988's top-5 GN'R Lies. Weber also co-wrote "Ain't Going Down" from Guns N' Roses Pinball and "New Work Tune" and "The Plague" from the Appetite for Destruction deluxe edition. Weber claimed to have co-written "Shadow of Your Love" (appears as a b-side on various releases, released as a single in 2018) and "Back Off Bitch" (from Use Your Illusion I ), suing the band over songwriting credits, although the case was settled and Weber did not receive songwriting credits. [13]
Played on British band "Stone" along with drummer Manolo Antonana. After meeting in the mid '90s, at the Reading Festival [14] in England, Weber and singer Shawn Albro began working on material that eventually gained some major label interest. [14] They recruited bassist Ben Shirley and drummer Tommy Holt, [14] forming U.P.O., and going on to sign a record deal with Epic Records. [14] They released their debut album, titled No Pleasantries , in 2000, [14] produced by Rick Parashar, [15] with the album peaking at number 19 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart [16] while the singles "Godless" and "Feel Alive" peaked at number 6 [17] and 25 [17] on the Mainstream Rock Chart respectively. "Feel Alive" appeared on the soundtrack to the film Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 [18] while the group toured with the likes of Slipknot, Slayer, Mudvayne and Sepultura as part of the Tattoo The Earth tour with the song "Dust" being included on the live album Tattoo The Earth: The First Crusade. [19] After further touring in support of the album, the group went on hiatus with Albro auditioning for "The Project" (later known as Velvet Revolver) during this time. [20]
The group returned in 2004, recording and releasing The Heavy , [14] working again with producer Rick Parashar, [21] the same year through DRT Entertainment/Nitrus Records. The group toured in support of the album, however, after an October concert later that year, however, Weber suffered a seizure before being rushed to a hospital. [22] It was soon revealed that he had a meningioma brain tumor [22] for which Weber underwent successful surgery on November 17, 2004. [23] The group seemed to go on hiatus soon afterwards with bassist Zoltan Bathory, [24] [25] who had replaced Ben Shirley, going on to form Five Finger Death Punch. [25]
Title | Release | Label | Band |
---|---|---|---|
No Pleasantries | 2000 | Epic | U.P.O. |
The Heavy | 2004 | DRT Entertainment/Nitrus | |
The Roots of Guns N' Roses | Cleopatra | Hollywood Rose |
Title | Release | Label | Band | Credits |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dopesnake | 2007 | Deadline | Hollywood Roses | Guitars on "Come Down" |
Saul Hudson, known professionally as Slash, is a British-American musician who is known as the lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Slash has received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest guitarists in history.
W. Axl Rose is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in 1985. Possessing a distinctive and powerful wide-ranging voice, Rose has been named one of the greatest singers of all time by various media outlets, including Rolling Stone, NME and Billboard.
Jeffrey Dean Isbell, best known as Izzy Stradlin, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he recorded four studio albums and left at the height of their fame in 1991.
G N' R Lies is the second studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released by Geffen Records on November 29, 1988. It is the band's shortest studio album, running at 33 and a half minutes. The album reached number two on the US Billboard 200, and according to the RIAA, has shipped over five million copies in the United States.
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the band in 2016, following their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Steven Adler is an American musician. He was the drummer and co-songwriter of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s.
Hollywood Rose was an American glam metal group formed in June 1983. They are best known as the precursor for what would eventually become Guns N' Roses. The group was founded by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Chris Weber, while they were aided during live shows by Rick Marrs, Andre Troxx, Daniel "DJ" Nicolson, Johnny Kreis and Steve Darrow. Rose, Stradlin and Weber, along with Kreis and Nicolson, recorded a five-song demo on January 1984. However, after a number of lineup changes, which includes Weber, Kreis and Nicolson being replaced by Slash and Steven Adler as well the departure of Stradlin, the group disbanded the same year.
L.A. Guns are an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns, Phil Lewis, Ace Von Johnson, Johnny Martin, Adam Hamilton and Shawn Duncan. The first incarnation of the group was formed by Tracii Guns and Rob Gardner in 1983 and merged with fellow Los Angeles group Hollywood Rose to form Guns N' Roses in March 1985. After only a brief tenure in that band, Guns reformed L.A. Guns with a new lineup, consisting of Paul Black, Mick Cripps, Robert Stoddard, and Nickey Alexander. Black would soon be replaced by former Girl singer Phil Lewis while former Faster Pussycat bassist Kelly Nickels was added to the group. Later, Alexander would be replaced by former W.A.S.P. drummer Steve Riley with this being known as the "classic lineup" of L.A. Guns. They achieved moderate chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, the group went through numerous lineup changes and failed to regain mainstream attention.
Tracy Irving Richard Ulrich, known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the supergroups Brides of Destruction and Contraband. He was also a founding member of Guns N' Roses, but left shortly afterwards and was replaced by guitarist Slash.
"Mr. Brownstone" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction (1987). Group guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin wrote the tune while they were sitting around Stradlin's apartment complaining about their addictions to heroin, for which "Brownstone" is a slang term.
Brides of Destruction was an American hard rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band's last lineup consisted of singer London LeGrand (vocals), Tracii Guns and Scot Coogan. Previous members of the band were Nikki Sixx (bass), Kris Kohls (drums), Adam Hamilton (keyboard), John Corabi, Scott Sorry (bass) and Ginger.
Ole Beich was a Danish musician best known as the bass guitarist for the original lineups of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses.
Adler's Appetite, previously Suki Jones, is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of namesake and drummer Steven Adler, vocalist Ari Kamin, guitarists Michael Thomas and Alistair James, and bassist Todd Kerns. Along with original material, the band performs covers of Adler's former band Guns N' Roses, primarily songs from the album Appetite for Destruction.
Collector's Edition No. 1,, is the debut extended play (EP) by American hard rock band L.A. Guns. Recorded in 1984 at Westwind Studios in Thousand Oaks, California, it was produced by Chuck Rosa and released in 1985 by Raz Records. The EP is the only release by the band to feature vocalist Michael Jagosz, bassist Ole Beich and drummer Rob Gardner, all of whom left shortly after its release.
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in March 1985 when local bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns merged. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic lineup" consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.
Road Crew was an American garage band from Los Angeles, formed in late 1983. The band consisted of future Guns N' Roses members Slash, Steven Adler and Duff McKagan. They auditioned a number of singers while writing material. However they disbanded the same year with no releases.
U.P.O. was an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1997. The band's line-up originally included Shawn Albro, Chris Weber (guitar), Ben Shirley (bass) and Tommy Holt (drums). Shirley and Holt left and were replaced by Zoltan Bathory and Philippe Mathys shortly before the band's breakup in 2004.
The Roots of Guns N' Roses is a compilation album containing old songs of Hollywood Rose. It was released on June 22, 2004, by Deadline Music.
"Shadow of Your Love" is a song by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, originally released as a B-side in 1987. It was later released in an alternate take as a single in 2018, which entered at 31 on the Mainstream Rock chart in its May 12, 2018 edition, and peaked at No. 5 the week of June 23 the same year. It would later be included in the 2020 re-issue of the band's Greatest Hits album.
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