Hollywood Rose | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | AXL, Rose |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | Glam metal [1] |
Years active | 1983–1984, 1985, 1989–1990 |
Labels | Deadline (division of Cleopatra [2] ) |
Spinoffs | Guns N' Roses |
Members |
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Past members |
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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 in January 1984. However, after a number of lineup changes, which includes Weber, Kreis and Nicolson being replaced by Slash and Steven Adler (both then of Road Crew) as well the departure of Stradlin, the group disbanded the same year.
Hollywood Rose reunited for a New Year's Eve show on 1 January 1985 with Rose, Stradlin, and Darrow returning and adding former L.A. Guns drummer Rob Gardner to the group. L.A. Guns founder Tracii Guns replaced Weber for the reunion gig. In March 1985, they merged with L.A. Guns to become Guns N' Roses.
The five-song demo was released on 22 June 1984 with the title The Roots of Guns N' Roses . A number of Hollywood Rose songs were included on the Guns N' Roses albums Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide (1986), Appetite for Destruction (1987), Live from the Jungle (1987), and G N' R Lies (1988).
Prior to forming, guitarist Chris Weber was introduced to Lafayette native Izzy Stradlin in the parking lot of the Rainbow Bar and Grill, by friend Tracii Guns, who was leading the first incarnation of L.A. Guns at this time, after Weber expressed an interest in forming a band. [3] [4]
Soon afterwards, Weber and Stradlin started writing material and, at the suggestion of Stradlin, recruited his childhood friend, former Rapidfire and L.A. Guns singer Axl Rose, then known as Bill Rose. At the suggestion of Rose, the group called themselves AXL, with Rose adopting Axl as his first name. [5] They played their first gig at The Orphanage in North Hollywood and played a few more shows before changing their name to Rose. [4] The group soon changed their name, for the final time, to Hollywood Rose when Weber discovered that the name Rose was already being used by a New York band. [5]
During the group's live shows, they were aided by bassists Rick Marrs, Andre Troxx, Daniel "DJ" Nicolson and Steve Darrow, along with drummer Johnny Kreis, who remained the only consistent member of the group outside of Rose, Stradlin and Weber. [6]
After borrowing money from Weber's father, the group recorded a five-song demo in Hollywood in 1984. [7] [8]
After playing a number of shows, they appeared at the Music Machine in 1984. During the show, Weber accidentally hit Rose with the headstock of his guitar. Rose stormed off and eventually fired Weber from the band, with former Road Crew guitarist Slash joining the group. [6] Unhappy at the firing of Weber, Stradlin left the group when Slash first came to rehearse, going on to join London. [9] [10] Slash's Road Crew bandmate Steven Adler also replaced drummer Kreis during this time. [6] The group continued to play more shows before eventually disbanding, playing their final show at The Troubadour in 1984. [6] Rose went on to front L.A. Guns, while Slash auditioned for Poison at the suggestion of former guitarist Matt Smith. [11]
The group reunited for a New Years celebration show on 1 January 1985, with Rose, Stradlin and Darrow returning along while L.A. Guns drummer Rob Gardner also joined the group. Weber, who left to move to New York City, was replaced by Tracii Guns for the gig. [4] [3] [7]
Hollywood Rose then merged with L.A. Guns in March 1985, forming Guns N' Roses. The initial lineup consisted of Axl Rose, Tracii Guns, Izzy Stradlin, Ole Beich and Rob Gardner.
Beich, Guns and Gardner were all gone from the band within two months and replaced by Duff McKagan, Slash, and Steven Adler. The lineup of Rose, Stradlin, McKagan, Slash and Adler became known as the "classic lineup" of Guns N' Roses. [7]
A number of Hollywood Rose songs would be included on releases by Guns N' Roses, including "Anything Goes" (from Appetite for Destruction ), "Reckless Life" and "Move to the City" (both from Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide and G N' R Lies ) as well as "Shadow of Your Love" (from Live from the Jungle ). [12]
In 1998, former guitarist Weber sued Axl Rose, claiming that he co-wrote two songs he was not credited for, "Shadow of Your Love" and "Back Off Bitch" (from Use Your Illusion I ). [13]
In 1989, Weber re-formed Hollywood Rose with new vocalist Jimmy Swan [14] and they were signed to Summa Music Group. A full-length album was recorded, but went unreleased. One track from the album, "Sweet Little Angel", was subsequently released on the soundtrack to the 1990 film Miami Blues .
A second studio track, "Come A Little Closer", with Jimmy Swan on vocals, can be heard on the four-disc box set Rock 'n' Roll Rebels & the Sunset Strip, Vol. 1.
In 2004, Weber, who had formed U.P.O. since leaving the band, sold the five-song demo the group recorded in 1984 to Cleopatra Records. [15]
They released the album, which included, along with the original recordings, remixes by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke (which featured addition guitar overdubs by Tracii Guns) and former London and Cinderella drummer Fred Coury (who had filled in for Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler for a few shows) on June 22 with the title The Roots of Guns N' Roses . [15] The Japanese edition of the album included a DVD with footage of the group. [16]
On 21 June 2004, Axl Rose sought an injunction against the release of the album, suing Cleopatra Records for trademark infringement, violation of rights in his name and likeness, and unfair competition.
Slash and former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan were also named as plaintiffs with Rose. However, on July 6, United States district court Judge Gary A. Fees denied the motion of Rose and his Guns N' Roses partnership for a preliminary injunction against the independent record label. [15] [17]
In 2012, Cleopatra Records re-released a CD entitled Dopesnake by a similarly named Guns N' Roses tribute act named Hollywood Roses (plural), which had been originally put out in 2007 by another label. There were no songs by either Guns N' Roses or Hollywood Rose on the album, but it did feature guest performances by Phil Lewis of L.A. Guns as well as Guns N' Roses veterans Tracii Guns, Gilby Clarke, Chris Weber and Teddy Zig Zag. [18]
Saul Hudson, known professionally as Slash, is a British and American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Slash has received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest guitarists in history.
Slash's Snakepit was an American rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed by Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash in 1994. Though often described as a solo or side project, Slash stated that Snakepit was a band with equal contributions by all members. The first lineup of the band consisted of Slash, two of his Guns N' Roses bandmates—drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Gilby Clarke—as well as Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez and former Jellyfish guitarist Eric Dover on lead vocals.
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.
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.
Gilbert J. Clarke is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is known for having a three-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour, and also featured on "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993). Following this, Clarke went on to forge a solo career as well playing guitar with Slash's Snakepit, Kat Men, Heart, Nancy Sinatra, Kathy Valentine, MC5 and forming his own group Rock Star Supernova with members of Metallica and Mötley Crüe.
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.
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.
Michael Theodore Jagosz was an American singer and musician and one of the founding members of L.A. Guns.
Ole Beich was a Danish musician best known as the bass guitarist for the original lineups of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses.
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.
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.
"Nightrain" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses. The song is a tribute to an infamous brand of cheap Californian fortified wine, Night Train Express, which was extremely popular with the band during their early days because of its low price and high alcohol content. The title is spelled differently, omitting a T and removing the space, making a portmanteau of the two words.
Christopher Garrison Weber is an American musician best known as the guitarist and founder of the groups U.P.O. and Hollywood Rose. 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.
London is an American glam metal band formed in Hollywood, California in 1978. The band included several members that would go on to play in more famous bands, such as Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P. and Cinderella.
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.
Robert Gardner is an American musician best known as the drummer for the original lineups of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses, and was also the backup drummer for Hollywood Rose.
"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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