L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1983 entitled Pyrrhus, the group originally included guitarist Tracii Guns, lead vocalist Mike Jagosz, bassist Dani Tull and drummer Rob Gardner. The group was soon renamed L.A. Guns after Tull was replaced by Ole Beich.
The band has been through numerous lineup changes since its inception, and currently has two versions. Guns' version includes Tracii Guns, lead vocalist and former rhythm guitarist Phil Lewis (from 1987 to 1995, and since 1999), bassist Johnny Martin (since 2016), rhythm guitarist Ace Von Johnson (since 2018), Studio drummer Adam Hamilton (since 2020, formerly bassist from 2001 to 2007 and rhythm guitarist in 2018) and live drummer Shane Fitzgibbon (from 2016 to 2019, and since 2021). Riley's version includes drummer Steve Riley, bassist Kelly Nickels, lead guitarist Scotty Griffin and singer/rhythm guitarist Kurt Frohlich.
Pyrrhus was formed in 1983 by guitarist Tracii Guns (real name Tracy Ulrich) with lead vocalist Michael Jagosz, bassist Dani Tull and drummer Rob Gardner. The group was soon renamed L.A. Guns after Tull was replaced by Ole Beich.
Jagosz was briefly replaced by Axl Rose (then using his real name William Bailey) who had previously fronted Rapidfire and Hollywood Rose. [1] After a short stay in jail, Jagosz returned to the band as they released their first EP Collector's Edition No. 1 in 1985. [2]
In December 31, 1984, Tracii has disbanded the group to join Hollywood Rose. When Hollywood Rose disbanded, Guns and Rose merged their groups to form the first incarnation of Guns N' Roses in March 1985. [3]
New L.A. Guns lead vocalist Paul Black subsequently took over leadership of the band, adding guitarist Robert Stoddard, bassist Mick Cripps and drummer Nickey "Beat" Alexander as its new members. [2] By May, Guns had been replaced in Guns N' Roses by Slash, at which point he returned to L.A. Guns. [4]
In 1987, L.A. Guns signed a record deal with PolyGram and introduced new members in lead vocalist Phil Lewis (formerly of Girl and Tormé) and bassist Kelly Nickels (formerly of Faster Pussycat), with Cripps moving over to guitar. [5]
The band recorded their self-titled debut album later in the year, replacing Alexander with Steve Riley before its release. [6] The formation of Lewis, Guns, Cripps, Nickels and Riley is considered the "classic lineup" of L.A. Guns. [2] This lineup remained stable until January 1992, when Riley was fired and replaced by Michael "Bones" Gersema. [2] The new drummer performed on 1994's Vicious Circle , but had been replaced by the returning Riley by the time the album's promotional tour started. [7] L.A. Guns was subsequently dropped by PolyGram, and Lewis and Cripps left the band. [2]
In July 1995, Lewis and Cripps were replaced by Chris Van Dahl and Johnny Crypt, respectively. [2] Nickels left later in the year, with Crypt taking over on bass. [2] The four-piece band released American Hardcore in 1996. [5] The following year, Ralph Saenz replaced Van Dahl and performed on the EP Wasted , released in 1998. [8] Saenz was briefly replaced by Joe Lesté, and later Jizzy Pearl. [9] Crypt left in early 1999, after recording his parts for Shrinking Violet . [2] He was briefly replaced by Stefan Adika, [10] and later by Chuck Garric. [11] Lewis, Cripps and Nickels returned for a reunion of the "classic lineup" in September 1999, releasing a live album and two albums of re-recorded material. [2] Cripps and Nickels were replaced by Brent Muscat and Mark "Muddy Stardust" Dutton, respectively, for a summer 2000 tour, before Cripps returned again. [2] He left again after the release of Man in the Moon . [12] Adam Hamilton replaced Stardust in late 2001, [13] and Keff Ratcliffe joined in June 2002. [14]
L.A. Guns cancelled their support slot on Alice Cooper's upcoming tour in October 2002, with Lewis accusing Guns of prioritising his new group Brides of Destruction, and the guitarist blaming the band's management and miscommunications for the situation. [15] The band quickly returned to performing live, with former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes taking Guns' place. [16] By the following month, both Holmes and Ratcliffe had left the band, to be replaced by Keri Kelli and the returning Muscat, respectively. [17] Muscat left in mid-2003, but returned when Kelli left the band in December. [18] However, he also left the band shortly thereafter. [19] In January 2004, former Roxx Gang member Stacey Blades (real name Bryan MaClachlan) was announced as the sole guitarist in L.A. Guns. [20]
In March 2006, Tracii Guns announced that he would be touring with former L.A. Guns members Paul Black and Nickey Alexander, plus bassist Jeremy Guns, to perform hits from the various groups with which he had been involved during his career. [21] The group was initially dubbed the Tracii Guns Band, [22] but was later rebranded as L.A. Guns by the eponymous guitarist. [23] Both versions of the band continued touring and recording new music concurrently. [24] Guns' version of the band went through multiple lineup changes of its own, before the guitarist renamed the group Tracii Guns' League of Gentlemen and distanced it from the original project. [25] The League of Gentlemen remained active, releasing The First Record in 2013 followed by The Second Record in 2014. [26]
The original L.A. Guns remained stable with a lineup of Lewis, Blades, Hamilton and Riley until March 2007, when Hamilton left the band to focus on his work as a record producer. [27] Scotty Griffin was announced as his replacement a few days later. [28] Griffin remained until July 2009, when he left to focus on The King Mixers; he was replaced by Kenny Kweens, who had recently left Beautiful Creatures. [29] Griffin returned in January 2011, after Kweens decided to leave. [30] This lineup released Hollywood Forever – its first studio album in seven years – in June 2012. [31] After six months touring for the album, Blades announced his departure from L.A. Guns in December 2012 due to "extenuating circumstances and musical differences". [32] Frank Wilsey was announced as the guitarist's replacement a week later, [33] however a month later he was replaced by former Endeverafter frontman Michael Grant. [34] In September 2014, Kweens replaced Griffin for a second time as the band's bassist. [35]
In September 2016, it was announced that Tracii Guns would be rejoining L.A. Guns for the first time since leaving in 2002, after the guitarist had reunited with vocalist Phil Lewis at several shows the previous year billed as "L.A. Guns' Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns". [36] On December 1, Lewis announced that he would no longer be a member of the band as of January 1, 2017; [37] however, it was quickly added by the group's new label Frontiers Records that the vocalist was referring to the version of the band featuring bassist Kenny Kweens and drummer Steve Riley, who would be replaced with Johnny Martin and Shane Fitzgibbon, respectively. [38] The band released The Missing Peace in 2017, which was the first studio album by Lewis and Guns together in 15 years. [39] After touring in promotion of the release, Michael Grant left L.A. Guns in March 2018. [40] Although his departure was initially announced to be his choice, Grant later claimed that he was fired for "absolutely no reason". [41]
Grant was initially replaced by Johnny Monaco, who had recently left Enuff Z'Nuff. [42] However, by June he had left the band and been replaced by former bassist Adam Hamilton, with Lewis claiming that Monaco "hated the travel and just wanted to focus on his own stuff". [43] Hamilton had left again by early 2019, with Ace Von Johnson taking his place. [44] In March 2019, Fitzgibbon also left and was replaced by Scot Coogan. [45] Riley launched his own version of L.A. Guns in December 2018, enlisting Jacob Bunton on vocals and guitar, Scotty Griffin on guitar and Kelly Nickels on bass. [46] In April 2019, Kurt Frohlich replaced Bunton as the group's frontman. [47]
Riley died on October 24, 2023, at age 67. [48] His version of the band have since announced that they will continue. [49]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tracii Guns (Tracy Ulrich) |
|
|
| |
Phil Lewis |
|
|
| |
Adam Hamilton |
|
|
| |
Johnny Martin | 2016–present |
|
| |
Ace Von Johnson | 2018–present |
|
| |
Shawn Duncan | 2022–present (touring only) | drums | none to date |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rob Gardner | 1983–1984 |
| Collector's Edition No. 1 (1985) | |
Mike Jagosz |
| lead vocals | ||
Dani Tull | 1983 | bass | none | |
Ole Beich | 1983–1984 (died 1991) |
| Collector's Edition No. 1 (1985) | |
Axl Rose | 1984 | lead vocals | none | |
Mick Cripps |
|
|
| |
Nickey "Beat" Alexander | 1985–1987 | drums |
| |
Paul Black | lead vocals |
| ||
Robert Stoddard |
| |||
Mattie B | 1987 | bass | none | |
Kelly Nickels (Henri Perret) |
|
|
| |
Steve Riley |
|
|
| |
Mike "Bones" Gersema | 1992–1994 (died 2021) | drums |
| |
Johnny Crypt | 1995–1999 |
|
| |
Chris Van Dahl | 1995–1997 | lead vocals | American Hardcore (1996) | |
Ralph Saenz | 1997–1998 | Wasted (1998) | ||
Joe Lesté | 1998 | none | ||
Jizzy Pearl (James Wilkinson) | 1998–1999 | Shrinking Violet (1999) | ||
Stefan Adika | 1999 | bass | none | |
Chuck Garric | ||||
Muddy Stardust (Mark Dutton) | 2000–2001 | Man in the Moon (2001) | ||
Brent Muscat |
| rhythm guitar |
| |
Keff Ratcliffe | 2002 | none | ||
Chris Holmes | lead guitar | |||
Keri Kelli (Kenneth Fear Jr.) | 2002–2003 |
| ||
Chris Paulson | 2003–2004 | none | ||
Stacey Blades (Bryan MaClachlan) | 2004–2012 |
|
| |
Scotty Griffin |
|
|
| |
Kenny Kweens |
| none | ||
Frank Wilsey | 2012–2013 | lead guitar | ||
Michael Grant | 2013–2018 |
|
| |
Shane Fitzgibbon |
| drums |
| |
Johnny Monaco | 2018 |
| none | |
Scot Coogan | 2019–2021 (touring only) |
|
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tracii Guns (Tracy Ulrich) | 2006–2012 |
| Guns unveiled the Tracii Guns Band in March 2006, [21] which was later renamed L.A. Guns. [23] | |
Jeremy Guns (Jeremy Carson) | 2006–2010 | bass | Carson was an original member of Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns. [23] By late 2010, he had been replaced. [50] | |
Paul Black | 2006–2008 | lead vocals | Black was an original member of Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns. [23] He left the band in May 2008. [51] | |
Nickey "Beat" Alexander | 2006–2007 | drums | Alexander was an original member of Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns. [23] He was replaced in early 2007. [52] | |
Chad Stewart | 2007–2011 |
| Stewart replaced Alexander in early 2007, in time for the recording of the single "I Do". [52] | |
Alec "Big Al" Bauer | 2007–2009 | rhythm guitar | Bauer joined as the band's second guitarist in May 2008, after touring with them since 2007. [51] [53] | |
Marty Casey | 2008–2009 | lead vocals | Casey was officially announced as Black's replacement in Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns in June 2008. [53] | |
Jizzy Pearl (James Wilkinson) | 2009–2011 | In June 2009, it was announced that Casey had been replaced by former L.A. Guns frontman Pearl. [54] | ||
Danny Nordahl | 2010–2012 | bass | Nordahl replaced Jeremy Guns in late 2010, [50] but by early 2012 had been replaced. [55] | |
Doni Gray | 2011–2012 |
| Gray joined Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns in 2011, and remained the band's drummer until its disbandment. [25] | |
Dilana | 2011 | lead vocals | Dilana joined in place of the departed Pearl in September 2011, [56] but had been fired by December. [57] | |
Tony West | 2011–2012 | West replaced Dilana in December 2011, [57] before he was replaced in early 2012. [55] | ||
Scott Foster Harris | 2012 | Harris was the last vocalist in Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns before the moniker was dropped in mid-2012. [25] | ||
Eric Grossman | bass | Grossman was the last bassist in Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns before the moniker was dropped in mid-2012. [25] |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Steve Riley | 2018–2023 (until his death) |
| Riley announced in December 2018 that he had launched his own version of L.A. Guns to perform in 2019. [46] | |
Scotty Griffin | 2018–present |
| ||
Kelly Nickels (Henri Perret) |
| |||
Jacob Bunton | 2018–2019 |
| ||
Kurt Frohlich | 2019–present | On April 13, 2019, it was announced that Frohlich would replace Bunton as the frontman of Riley's L.A. Guns. [47] |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
1981–1983 Pyrrhus |
| none |
1983 – September 1984 L.A. Guns |
| |
October 1984 |
| |
October–December 1984 |
|
|
Band inactive December 1984 – March 1985 | ||
March–May 1985 |
| none |
May 1985 – March 1987 |
|
|
April – July 1987 |
| none |
July – October 1987 |
|
|
October 1987 – January 1992 |
|
|
January 1992 – late 1994 |
|
|
Late 1994 – June 1995 |
| none |
July – late 1995 |
| |
Late 1995 – 1997 |
|
|
1997–1998 |
|
|
1998 |
| none |
1998 – early 1999 |
|
|
Early 1999 |
| none |
1999 |
| |
September 1999 – summer 2000 |
|
|
Summer 2000 |
| none |
Late 2000 – May 2001 |
|
|
May – December 2001 |
| none |
December 2001 – June 2002 |
|
|
June – October 2002 |
| none |
October – November 2002 |
| |
November 2002 – late 2003 |
|
|
Late 2003 |
|
|
January 2004 – March 2007 |
|
|
April 2007 – July 2009 |
| none |
July 2009 – January 2011 |
| |
January 2011 – December 2012 |
|
|
December 2012 – January 2013 |
| none |
January 2013 – September 2014 |
| |
September 2014 – December 2016 |
| |
December 2016 – March 2018 |
|
|
March – June 2018 |
| none |
June – September 2018 |
| |
September 2018 – March 2019 |
|
|
March 2019 – March 2020 |
| none |
April 2020 – October 2021 |
|
|
October 2021 – May 2022 |
|
|
June 2022 – present |
| Black Diamonds (2023) |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
March 2006 – February 2007 |
| none |
February 2007 – May 2008 |
| |
June 2008 – June 2009 |
| |
June 2009 – late 2010 |
| |
Late 2010 – early 2011 |
| |
Early – September 2011 |
| |
September – December 2011 |
| |
December 2011 – early 2012 |
| |
2012 |
|
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
December 2018 – April 2019 |
| none |
April 2019 – October 2023 (billed as "Riley's L.A. Guns" since April 2021) |
| Renegades (2020) The Dark Horse (2023) |
October 2023 – present |
| none |
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.
BulletBoys is an American hard rock/glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1987. The group's original lineup was composed of singer Marq Torien, guitarist Mick Sweda, bassist Lonnie Vencent, and drummer Jimmy D'Anda. The group released two successful albums and had a number of singles featured on MTV between 1988 and 1991. From the 1990s onward, the group went through numerous lineup changes, with Torien as the only consistent member. Their most recent album From Out of the Skies was released in 2018. The original lineup reunited for one-off shows in 2011 and 2019.
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.
Philip Francis Lewis is an English singer and musician, best known as the vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist for the American glam metal band L.A. Guns. Born in London, Lewis has lived and worked in the U.S. since the 1980s but was privately educated at Royal Russell School in Surrey.
Steve Riley was an American rock drummer, best known for his work with Keel, W.A.S.P., and L.A. Guns.
Paul Mars Black is an American singer and drummer. He is most notable for his time as lead vocalist in L.A. Guns, with whom he wrote most of their self-titled debut album.
Michael Thomas Cripps is an Australian musician. His current musical project is The Long Shadows, previous bands include L.A. Guns, Burning Retna, Choir Boys, Mindphazer, The Brutalists, and several other groups.
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.
American Hardcore is the fifth album by the American rock band L.A. Guns. It is their only album to feature singer Chris Van Dahl and the first to feature bass guitarist Johnny Crypt. This album continues the increase in heaviness by the band started on their previous album Vicious Circle. The band was very influenced by Pantera during this time.
Cuts is an extended play (EP) by American hard rock band L.A. Guns. Recorded at Red Zone Studios in Burbank, California, it was self-produced by the band and released on December 2, 1992, by Polydor Records. The standard edition of the EP features five tracks, including three cover versions, one re-recording and one new song. The Japanese edition includes two additional cover versions. Cuts is the first L.A. Guns release to feature drummer Michael "Bones" Gershima.
Scott Griffin is an American musician who is best known as a former bassist for L.A. Guns and Ratt. In 2007, Griffin was announced as the bassist for L.A. Guns, having previously played in Dizzy Reed's cover band Hookers N' Blow, replacing Adam Hamilton. From 2015 until April 1, 2016, Griffin was the bassist of a revamped version of Ratt, led by drummer Bobby Blotzer.
Kenny Kweens is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist in the hard rock band Beautiful Creatures. In 2009, Kweens also joined L.A. Guns, replacing previous bassist Scott Griffin. However, in 2011, Kweens departed, replaced by Griffin. On September 22, 2014, it was announced that Griffin had once again departed the band, and Kweens rejoined the band.
The discography of L.A. Guns, an American hard rock band, consists of seventeen studio releases, nine live albums, 13 compilation albums, four extended plays, 27 singles, six video albums and 25 music videos. After some early lineup changes, the group – consisting of vocalist Phil Lewis, lead guitarist Tracii Guns, rhythm guitarist Mick Cripps, bassist Kelly Nickels and drummer Nickey Alexander – signed with PolyGram and released its self-titled debut album in 1988. It reached number 50 on the US Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Alexander was replaced by Steve Riley, and the 1989 follow-up Cocked & Loaded reached number 38 on the Billboard 200. The single "The Ballad of Jayne" gave L.A. Guns its debut on the Hot 100, reaching number 33.
Devil City Angels is an American rock supergroup formed by guitarist Tracii Guns, drummer Rikki Rockett (Poison), bassist Eric Brittingham (Cinderella), and vocalist and rhythm guitarist Brandon Gibbs.
The Missing Peace is the eleventh studio album by American hard rock band L.A. Guns.
Loud & Dangerous: Live from Hollywood is the third live album by American hard rock band L.A. Guns. Recorded on June 28, 2005, at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California, it was self-produced by the band and released on September 12, 2006, by Shrapnel Records. The album features the Tales from the Strip era lineup of the group, which included lead vocalist Phil Lewis, guitarist Stacey Blades, bassist Adam Hamilton and drummer Steve Riley.