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Featured Band archive L
L.A. Guns
December 1-7, 2008
The "Spotlight Band of the Week" for these dates was LA Guns. This is one band that, from the beginning, epitomized what sleazy rock 'n' roll is all about. Right now there are two bands named LA Guns, but we are focusing on the one with Phil Lewis at the helm as frontman, and one of the best rock vocalists around.
Also, don't miss our interviews with Stacey Blades and Scotty Griffin!
The L.A. Guns saga began when they hit the scene on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip back in 1983. Tracii Guns formed the band, which at the time included Ole Beich on bass, Rob Gardner on drums, and Mike Jagozs as lead vocalist. They released an independent EP, which is now a CD entitled "Hollywood Raw".
In 1984 Axl Rose, who had been with the band Hollywood Rose, became the new lead vocalist for LA Guns when Jagozs went to prison. However, a few months later Hollywood Rose was re-formed, including Tracii, and LA Guns was disbanded. Then, in 1985 Hollywood Rose became Guns N' Roses, although Tracii had left before recording any music with them.
After leaving G N' R, Tracii re-formed LA Guns. Besides Tracii, the new lineup included bassist Mick Cripps, drummer Nickey Alexander, and Paul Black on vocals. This lineup is usually considered to be the original lineup of the band. However, in 1986 Tracii abruptly left the band just before a record label showcase to be played at the Troubadour in Hollywood. Ironically, Guns N' Roses was called in to fill the slot where they played to a sold out crowd there to see LA Guns, and were soon after signed to Geffen Records. Tracii was replaced by Robert Stoddard on guitar. When Tracii returned, they went on as a five piece band. During this time, LAG recorded a number of demos (some of which have now been released on a CD entitled "LA Guns - Black List"). LA Guns was gaining a lot of notoriety and a large following on Sunset Strip, and soon caught the interest of Polygram Records.
Tracii Guns (1988) Photo by: Tawny Khat
LA Guns was signed with Polygram in 1987. However, before recording their first record they experienced more lineup changes. Robert Stoddard and Paul Black both left the band; Black being unhappy about pressures from Polygram, and said to have had drug problems. Black was replaced by Phil Lewis, formerly of Girl. And, Mick Cripps, who was a guitarist before playing bass for the Guns, switched back to guitar to replace Stoddard. Kelly Nickels, formerly of Faster Pussycat and Sweet Pain, joined the lineup as the band's new bass player.
LAG recorded their first, self-titled, album in the summer of 1987, which contained the hit songs, "Electric Gypsy", "Sex Action", and "One More Reason", among others. It was released in January of 1988 and went on to sell 750,000 copies, earning LA Guns their first Gold Album. Drummer Nickey Alexander was then replaced by Steve Riley, former drummer of W.A.S.P., and the Guns embarked on their first world tour.
LA Guns released their second album, "Cocked and Loaded", in August 1989. The hit song from this album, also a video, "The Ballad of Jayne", helped propel the band into the mainstream, and pushed record sales to over 1,000,000 units sold. This earned the band their first Platinum Album. The album also contained other huge hits like, "Never Enough", "Rip and Tear", and "I Wanna Be Your Man". Another world tour followed this release.
The Guns also released two videos around this time. The first was, "One More Reason", released in 1989. And the second, "Love, Peace, and Geese" was released in 1990. Kelly Nickels (1988)
Photo by: Tawny Khat
The band released their third album, "Hollywood Vampires", in June of 1991. With such hits as "Kiss My Love Goodbye" and "It's Over Now", this album went on to sell 700,000 copies, earning LA Guns their third Gold Album.
More changes took place at this time. In 1992, drummer Michael Gershima took the place of Steve Riley, after Riley was fired by Phil Lewis. Later that year, LAG released an EP entitled, "Cuts", and another entitled, "Live Vampires in Japan", which included material recorded during the "Hollywood Vampires" tour.
The band took a break after the tour supporting "Hollywood Vampires" was over. Phil Lewis formed the band, Filthy Lucre, and Tracii Guns formed the band, Killing Machine. In 1992, Tracii officially departed from LA Guns. Phil also left the band over disagreements about the next album's direction.
In 1994 both Phil and Tracii rejoined LA Guns and started work on a new album. The album, "Vicious Circle", was released in 1995, and the band embarked on another successful tour, with Steve Riley once again on drums. Unfortunately, Polygram Records did not consider this album a commercial success and dropped LA Guns from the label.
Phil Lewis (1988) Photo by: Tawny Khat
Phil Lewis and Mick Cripps left the band in the summer of 1995, and were replaced by singer Chris Van Dahl ("Roxy") and drummer Johnny Crypt, both former members of Boneyard.
Phil then got involved in the release of "Hollywood-A-Go-Go", which was an LA Guns greatest hits album released only in Japan. And, in 1996 he, along with Mick and Kelly, recorded and released an LA Guns cover album in Japan entitled "Hollywood Rehearsals". Also, in 1996, his band Filthy Lucre released an album.
Meanwhile, The new LA Guns lineup went on tour in 1996. However, when Kelly Nickels left the band six months into new recording sessions, Crypt switched to bass to replace him so the band would not have to find a new member. This version of LA Guns then went into the studio and recorded the band's fifth album, "American Hardcore". They continued to tour on through the summer of 1997.
Then, in the hopes of getting Phil to rejoin the band, Tracii fired singer Chris Van Dahl, but Phil declined the invitation to return to LA Guns. Instead, Phil recorded a solo album later released as "More Purple Than Black". So, Tracii hired Ralph Saenz, who had been lead singer of The Atomic Punks, a Van Halen tribute band. With the position of lead vocalist filled, the band continued touring into 1998. They also recorded an EP entitled "Wasted", but then Saenz left the band in the summer of 1998.
Joe Leste of Bang Tango filled in for a few days, but singer Jizzy Pearl, formerly of Love/Hate, became the next "permanent" vocalist for LA Guns during the summer of 1998. He did a club tour with the band for the remainder of that year.
Phil and his band, The Liberators, toured America and Japan from 1998 to 1999. The Liberators also included members Brent Muscat on guitar and Eric Stacy on bass, both former members of Faster Pussycat.
Early in 1999 Johnny Crypt left LA Guns after the recording of their next album, "Shrinking Violet" (produced by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke), which was released in June of that year. On the same day "Shrinking Violet" was released, another album, "Greatest Hits & Black Beauties", was released. It was a greatest hits album, along with five new songs, recorded by Tracii and Steve with ex-band members Mick, Kelly, and Phil.
During the tour to support "Shrinking Violet", Stefan Adika filled the bass position for about a month, followed by Chuck Garric from Dio, who then toured with the band through the summer of 1999.
In the meantime, Phil and his band, The Liberators, recorded an album in 1999 which was later released under Phil's name and was entitled, "Access Denied".
Then, Jizzy and Chuck were replaced by ex-members Kelly Nickels, Mick Cripps, and Phil Lewis for an LA Guns reunion tour in September of 1999. During this tour, the Guns recorded a live album at the Key Club in their old stomping grounds of Hollywood. The album, "Live: A Night on the Strip", was released in February 2000.
The band then re-recorded "Cocked and Loaded" which was released as "Cocked and Re-Loaded" in August of 2000. However, just prior to its release Kelly and Mick left during the summer 2000 tour, and were replaced by Mark Dutton on bass and Brent Muscat on guitar.
Brent later left the band, and Mick Cripps stepped in to record "Man in the Moon" with the rest of LAG, which was released in April 2001. Mark Dutton then left the band late in 2001. He recommended Adam Hamilton as his replacement on bass, and Adam toured with the band through early 2002. LA Guns was later joined on tour by guitarist Keff Ratcliffe, who was a former member of Pretty Boy Floyd.
In early 2002, LA Guns started work on their next album, "Waking the Dead", which was produced by the legendary Andy Johns. The album was released in August 2002 to much critical acclaim. However, after their 2002 tour ended Tracii decided to leave the band in order to pursue other avenues. A number of guitarists then filled in for various shows from 2002 to 2004.
Finally, Stacey Blades, former Roxx Gang member, became the new guitarist for LAG in early 2004. The band then recorded "LA Guns Rips the Covers Off", an album featuring covers of some of the band members' favorite songs, which was released in April 2004. They then toured throughout the rest of 2004.
August 2005 saw the release of a new album, "Tales from the Strip". Somewhat of a concept album about their life experiences in Hollywood, this new album was praised by reviewers and fans alike as one of the best LAG albums ever. Then, in 2006 the Guns recorded a live album, once again at the Key Club in Hollywood, entitled "Live & Dangerous".
Bass player Adam Hamilton left LAG in March of 2007 to become a full-time music producer and was replaced by Scotty Griffin of Hookers & Blow. The band, Phil Lewis, Stacey Blades, Steve Riley, and Scotty Griffin, continues to tour and is currently writing new music. After the success of "Tales from the Strip", fans are eagerly awaiting new songs from this iconic band of Hollywood sleaze rock 'n' roll. And, if the most recent album is any indicator, we're in for some more great music from LA Guns!
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December 1-7, 2008
The "Spotlight Band of the Week" for these dates was LA Guns. This is one band that, from the beginning, epitomized what sleazy rock 'n' roll is all about. Right now there are two bands named LA Guns, but we are focusing on the one with Phil Lewis at the helm as frontman, and one of the best rock vocalists around.
Also, don't miss our interviews with Stacey Blades and Scotty Griffin!
The L.A. Guns saga began when they hit the scene on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip back in 1983. Tracii Guns formed the band, which at the time included Ole Beich on bass, Rob Gardner on drums, and Mike Jagozs as lead vocalist. They released an independent EP, which is now a CD entitled "Hollywood Raw".
In 1984 Axl Rose, who had been with the band Hollywood Rose, became the new lead vocalist for LA Guns when Jagozs went to prison. However, a few months later Hollywood Rose was re-formed, including Tracii, and LA Guns was disbanded. Then, in 1985 Hollywood Rose became Guns N' Roses, although Tracii had left before recording any music with them.
After leaving G N' R, Tracii re-formed LA Guns. Besides Tracii, the new lineup included bassist Mick Cripps, drummer Nickey Alexander, and Paul Black on vocals. This lineup is usually considered to be the original lineup of the band. However, in 1986 Tracii abruptly left the band just before a record label showcase to be played at the Troubadour in Hollywood. Ironically, Guns N' Roses was called in to fill the slot where they played to a sold out crowd there to see LA Guns, and were soon after signed to Geffen Records. Tracii was replaced by Robert Stoddard on guitar. When Tracii returned, they went on as a five piece band. During this time, LAG recorded a number of demos (some of which have now been released on a CD entitled "LA Guns - Black List"). LA Guns was gaining a lot of notoriety and a large following on Sunset Strip, and soon caught the interest of Polygram Records.
Tracii Guns (1988) Photo by: Tawny Khat
LA Guns was signed with Polygram in 1987. However, before recording their first record they experienced more lineup changes. Robert Stoddard and Paul Black both left the band; Black being unhappy about pressures from Polygram, and said to have had drug problems. Black was replaced by Phil Lewis, formerly of Girl. And, Mick Cripps, who was a guitarist before playing bass for the Guns, switched back to guitar to replace Stoddard. Kelly Nickels, formerly of Faster Pussycat and Sweet Pain, joined the lineup as the band's new bass player.LAG recorded their first, self-titled, album in the summer of 1987, which contained the hit songs, "Electric Gypsy", "Sex Action", and "One More Reason", among others. It was released in January of 1988 and went on to sell 750,000 copies, earning LA Guns their first Gold Album. Drummer Nickey Alexander was then replaced by Steve Riley, former drummer of W.A.S.P., and the Guns embarked on their first world tour.
LA Guns released their second album, "Cocked and Loaded", in August 1989. The hit song from this album, also a video, "The Ballad of Jayne", helped propel the band into the mainstream, and pushed record sales to over 1,000,000 units sold. This earned the band their first Platinum Album. The album also contained other huge hits like, "Never Enough", "Rip and Tear", and "I Wanna Be Your Man". Another world tour followed this release.
The Guns also released two videos around this time. The first was, "One More Reason", released in 1989. And the second, "Love, Peace, and Geese" was released in 1990. Kelly Nickels (1988)
Photo by: Tawny Khat
The band released their third album, "Hollywood Vampires", in June of 1991. With such hits as "Kiss My Love Goodbye" and "It's Over Now", this album went on to sell 700,000 copies, earning LA Guns their third Gold Album.
More changes took place at this time. In 1992, drummer Michael Gershima took the place of Steve Riley, after Riley was fired by Phil Lewis. Later that year, LAG released an EP entitled, "Cuts", and another entitled, "Live Vampires in Japan", which included material recorded during the "Hollywood Vampires" tour.
The band took a break after the tour supporting "Hollywood Vampires" was over. Phil Lewis formed the band, Filthy Lucre, and Tracii Guns formed the band, Killing Machine. In 1992, Tracii officially departed from LA Guns. Phil also left the band over disagreements about the next album's direction.
In 1994 both Phil and Tracii rejoined LA Guns and started work on a new album. The album, "Vicious Circle", was released in 1995, and the band embarked on another successful tour, with Steve Riley once again on drums. Unfortunately, Polygram Records did not consider this album a commercial success and dropped LA Guns from the label.
Phil Lewis (1988) Photo by: Tawny Khat
Phil Lewis and Mick Cripps left the band in the summer of 1995, and were replaced by singer Chris Van Dahl ("Roxy") and drummer Johnny Crypt, both former members of Boneyard. Phil then got involved in the release of "Hollywood-A-Go-Go", which was an LA Guns greatest hits album released only in Japan. And, in 1996 he, along with Mick and Kelly, recorded and released an LA Guns cover album in Japan entitled "Hollywood Rehearsals". Also, in 1996, his band Filthy Lucre released an album.
Meanwhile, The new LA Guns lineup went on tour in 1996. However, when Kelly Nickels left the band six months into new recording sessions, Crypt switched to bass to replace him so the band would not have to find a new member. This version of LA Guns then went into the studio and recorded the band's fifth album, "American Hardcore". They continued to tour on through the summer of 1997.
Then, in the hopes of getting Phil to rejoin the band, Tracii fired singer Chris Van Dahl, but Phil declined the invitation to return to LA Guns. Instead, Phil recorded a solo album later released as "More Purple Than Black". So, Tracii hired Ralph Saenz, who had been lead singer of The Atomic Punks, a Van Halen tribute band. With the position of lead vocalist filled, the band continued touring into 1998. They also recorded an EP entitled "Wasted", but then Saenz left the band in the summer of 1998.
Joe Leste of Bang Tango filled in for a few days, but singer Jizzy Pearl, formerly of Love/Hate, became the next "permanent" vocalist for LA Guns during the summer of 1998. He did a club tour with the band for the remainder of that year.
Phil and his band, The Liberators, toured America and Japan from 1998 to 1999. The Liberators also included members Brent Muscat on guitar and Eric Stacy on bass, both former members of Faster Pussycat.
Early in 1999 Johnny Crypt left LA Guns after the recording of their next album, "Shrinking Violet" (produced by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke), which was released in June of that year. On the same day "Shrinking Violet" was released, another album, "Greatest Hits & Black Beauties", was released. It was a greatest hits album, along with five new songs, recorded by Tracii and Steve with ex-band members Mick, Kelly, and Phil.
During the tour to support "Shrinking Violet", Stefan Adika filled the bass position for about a month, followed by Chuck Garric from Dio, who then toured with the band through the summer of 1999.
In the meantime, Phil and his band, The Liberators, recorded an album in 1999 which was later released under Phil's name and was entitled, "Access Denied".
Then, Jizzy and Chuck were replaced by ex-members Kelly Nickels, Mick Cripps, and Phil Lewis for an LA Guns reunion tour in September of 1999. During this tour, the Guns recorded a live album at the Key Club in their old stomping grounds of Hollywood. The album, "Live: A Night on the Strip", was released in February 2000.
The band then re-recorded "Cocked and Loaded" which was released as "Cocked and Re-Loaded" in August of 2000. However, just prior to its release Kelly and Mick left during the summer 2000 tour, and were replaced by Mark Dutton on bass and Brent Muscat on guitar.
Brent later left the band, and Mick Cripps stepped in to record "Man in the Moon" with the rest of LAG, which was released in April 2001. Mark Dutton then left the band late in 2001. He recommended Adam Hamilton as his replacement on bass, and Adam toured with the band through early 2002. LA Guns was later joined on tour by guitarist Keff Ratcliffe, who was a former member of Pretty Boy Floyd.
In early 2002, LA Guns started work on their next album, "Waking the Dead", which was produced by the legendary Andy Johns. The album was released in August 2002 to much critical acclaim. However, after their 2002 tour ended Tracii decided to leave the band in order to pursue other avenues. A number of guitarists then filled in for various shows from 2002 to 2004.
Finally, Stacey Blades, former Roxx Gang member, became the new guitarist for LAG in early 2004. The band then recorded "LA Guns Rips the Covers Off", an album featuring covers of some of the band members' favorite songs, which was released in April 2004. They then toured throughout the rest of 2004.
August 2005 saw the release of a new album, "Tales from the Strip". Somewhat of a concept album about their life experiences in Hollywood, this new album was praised by reviewers and fans alike as one of the best LAG albums ever. Then, in 2006 the Guns recorded a live album, once again at the Key Club in Hollywood, entitled "Live & Dangerous".
Bass player Adam Hamilton left LAG in March of 2007 to become a full-time music producer and was replaced by Scotty Griffin of Hookers & Blow. The band, Phil Lewis, Stacey Blades, Steve Riley, and Scotty Griffin, continues to tour and is currently writing new music. After the success of "Tales from the Strip", fans are eagerly awaiting new songs from this iconic band of Hollywood sleaze rock 'n' roll. And, if the most recent album is any indicator, we're in for some more great music from LA Guns!
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Lipstick - An 80s Hair Metal Tribute
June 11-17, 2009
Photos used with permission. Courtesy of Lipstick.
Lipstick has us breaking all our rules, but that's okay! Rock 'n roll is all about breaking rules, right? You see, we don't normally feature cover bands, but hey, who are we to argue with the will 
of the people. Lipstick won our "Favorite New Band" contest for the month of April by an overwhelming margin! Obviously, they have a tremendous fan base and that's awesome. Now, don't get me wrong, we have nothing against cover bands (I've got a lot of friends in some great local cover bands!), it's just that our primary focus here at Electric Pussycat is to bring you all the best original bands out there. That said, this week we get to bring you one of the best 80s tribute bands out there!
Lipstick is a group of four guys whose goal is to give you the best show taking you back to the Sunset Strip of the 80s, when the scent of Aqua Net wafted through the air at the Whiskey A Go-Go. It was a time when the sidewalks along Sunset Blvd. were crammed with big haired rockers, hot guys in leather pants, and gorgeous chicks in short skirts and high heels, along with bands passing out flyers for their next gig. You could walk into the Rainbow on any given night and usually run into some of the coolest rock stars of the day, like Axl Rose or Bret Michaels. I know, because I was there a number of times back then. Ah, those were the days!
Lipstick's members are Dioz Lohman (bass/vocals), Bruce Layne (rhythm guitar/vocals), Rybones (lead guitar/vocals), and Shannon Scott (drums). When you attend a Lipstick show you don't just get the killer music that made that era great, you get an entire package, because these guys come to you in character portraying 80s rockers. Not only that, but they get the crowd involved. You are encouraged to attend their shows dressed to the nines in your best 80s ensemble, sometimes with prizes for the best dressed! Sounds like a lot of fun to me.
Lipstick stays very busy performing shows in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. They've got a big following, receiving great reviews wherever they perform. Most recently they also won radio station G101.3's Battle of the Cover Bands. Pretty impressive. So, if you find yourself travelling through their neck of the woods, get yourself out to one of their shows.
In the meantime, to find out more about Lipstick please go to their MySpace page, and don't forget to read my interview with the band members! Remember to put it on thick and let it smear!!
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