Mick Cripps

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Mick Cripps
Mick Cripps.png
Background information
Born (1962-09-28) September 28, 1962 (age 62)
Adelaide, Australia
Genres rock & roll, hard rock
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s) Bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
Years active1985-present

Michael Thomas Cripps (born September 28, 1962) 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.

Contents

Career

L.A. Guns (1985–1995, 1999–2001)

Paul Black and Cripps formed Faster Pussycat (named after the movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and later the name of a separate band), in 1985. [1] The group's lineup included Tracii Guns and Nickey Alexander. Shortly afterwards, the band (now with Rob Stoddard in the band too) reformed L.A. Guns. [2] [3]

With L.A. Guns, he was a part of the band's "classic" lineup (Phil Lewis, Guns, Kelly Nickels, Cripps and Steve Riley) and played guitar and keyboards, as well as songwriting duties. [4] He performed and wrote on the albums L.A. Guns , Cocked & Loaded , Hollywood Vampires , Vicious Circle , and Man in the Moon . Cripps left the group in 1995, rejoining in 1999 for a reunion of the "classic" lineup, although his time in the band was shortlived, leaving by 2001. [5]

He was invited to participate in the recording of the band's 2012 album Hollywood Forever , but declined to participate. [6]

Burning Retna (1993–1996)

Burning Retna was an experimental band created by Cripps in 1993. The original lineup included Cripps, vocalist Chris Bradshaw, and drummer Nickey Alexander. Other members of the bands throughout the project included drummer Charlie Clouser, bassist Sean Beavan, and Kelly Nickels. The band did not release any material during its tenure, but a compilation album, "The Frozen Lies", was released in 2006.

The Brutalists (2017-present)

Cripps formed The Brutalists in 2017 alongside vocalist Nigel Mogg (formerly of The Quireboys), guitarist/vocalist Kent Holmes, bassist Robert Cripps and drummer Charlie Nice. They signed to Cleopatra Records in early 2018 and are working on their debut album. [7] On May 11, 2018, the band announced their debut album will be released in August. [8] It was released on August 31

Personal life

When he was a young musician, he worked at Let It Rock, a boutique in LA. [9] Cripps's son Ian works for Warner Music Group and was close friends with Anton Yelchin. [10]

Cripps splits his time between London, England, San Francisco, California, and Los Angeles.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faster Pussycat</span> American hard rock band

Faster Pussycat is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985 by vocalist Taime Downe, guitarists Greg Steele and Brent Muscat and bassist Kelly Nickels. The group has since gone through numerous lineup changes leaving Downe as the only constant member. They broke up in 1993, but reformed in 2001. Faster Pussycat has released four studio albums to date: Faster Pussycat (1987), Wake Me When It's Over (1989), Whipped! (1992) and The Power and the Glory Hole (2006). They were a successful and influential hard rock band during the late 1980s and early 1990s, having sold over two million records worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L.A. Guns</span> American rock band

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracii Guns</span> American guitarist

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<i>L.A. Guns</i> (album) 1988 studio album by L.A. Guns

L.A. Guns is the debut studio album by American glam metal band L.A. Guns. Recorded at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, it was produced by Jim Faraci and released on January 4, 1988, by Vertigo Records. The album is the only L.A. Guns release to feature drummer Nickey "Beat" Alexander, who was replaced by Steve Riley before it was released. "One More Reason", "Sex Action" and "Electric Gypsy" were released as the three singles from the album.

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<i>Vicious Circle</i> (album) 1994 studio album by L.A. Guns

Vicious Circle is the fourth album by the American hard rock band L.A. Guns. The first single was "Long Time Dead". The band supported the album with a North American tour.

<i>Live! Vampires</i> 1992 live album by L.A. Guns

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">L.A. Guns discography</span> Discography of American band

The discography of L.A. Guns, an American hard rock band, consists of 17 studio releases, 9 live albums, 13 compilation albums, 4 extended plays, 27 singles, 6 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.

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References

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  2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine; Andrew Leahey. "L.A. Guns Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  3. Rao, Debby (December 4, 2006). "20 Years Later: Original LA Guns Singer Paul Black Set's the Record Straight". KNAC .
  4. "L.A. GUNS' PHIL LEWIS On Future Work With STEVE RILEY: 'I Doubt It'". 19 February 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  5. Schmitt, Greg. "Interview with Steve Riley". Rock Eyez. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  6. "Legendary Rock Interview with Phil Lewis of L.A. GUNS - Legendary Rock Interviews". 7 June 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  7. "Cleopatra Records is proud to announce a new signing of Trans-Atlantic Bashers The Brutalists!" . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  8. "The Brutalists featuring ex-L.A. Guns guitarist Mick Cripps to release debut album in August 2018". Sleazeroxx. May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  9. "Junkyard Announces Tour As The 1980s East Hollywood Rock Scene Returns". Billboard . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  10. Yamato, Jen (20 June 2016). "The Tragic Death of Anton Yelchin: A Bright Young Star Who Shined in Damn Near Everything" . Retrieved 30 April 2018 via www.thedailybeast.com.