Tag: Tracii Guns
1 That Metal Show Featuring Tracii Guns & Michael Monroe Now Online!
That Metal Show guest-shredder alum Tracii Guns returns to set, this time to take a seat and tell the origin story of G N’ R and speak candidly about the current lineups of L.A. Guns. Then Michael Monroe discusses his latest solo album. Check it out here!
0 FAVORED NATIONS ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE ACOUSTIC GYPSY LIVE ON CD BY L.A. GUNS
Favored Nations Entertainment is proud to announce the September 27th CD release of Acoustic Gypsy Live by L.A. Guns (Tracii Guns, guitar; Danny Nordahl, bass; Chad Steward, drums; Jizzy Pearl, vocals, Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis, keyboards, Muddy Stardust; guitar and back-up vocals; Doni Gray, percussion). Produced, mixed and mastered by Grammy winner Neil Citron, this is the first acoustic album by the acclaimed Los Angeles band in their 29-year history, recorded at The Hotel Café in Hollywood. L.A. Guns will embark on a national tour in September to support the CD.
What makes Acoustic Gypsy Live so startling is its nuanced attention-to-detail – a musical awareness that L.A. Guns, who never diluted the manic hysteria of their songs one iota in their previous records, relishes in on Acoustic Gypsy Live. With a gorgeous lead guitar solo by Tracii, the CD’s opener, “Crystal Eyes,” hits a bulls-eye with its beauty and clarity-of-vision. Stark, dramatic, simplistically pristine, the inherent harmonic structure of the song itself reaches that part of the soul where honesty is a given, not a constructed artifice. The song cruises to completion to set the scene for the kind of album that no one—including the band itself—even knew was in them. VocalistJizzy still works up the growl, as evidenced on “One Way Ticket.”
Tracii started L.A. Guns while still in high school in 1982. The original singer, Michael Jagosz, was replaced by Axl Rose. Signed to PolyGram in ’87, their self-titled debut, with Phil Lewis replacing Rose, sold over a million copies, as did Cocked and Loaded (1989) andHollywood Vampires (1991).
0 L.A. Guns at Rhino’s in Cincinnati, Ohio
September was a pretty grueling month at my day job, so I was quite happy to have a rock show to unwind on Friday Night. Tracii Guns brought his version of L.A. Guns to Rhino’s in Cincinnati last Friday. If you haven’t heard, Tracii has reunited with his Shrinking Violet L.A. Guns band mate Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate, RATT).
I have to admit that I didn’t know what to expect with Jizzy Pearl singing those classic L.A. Guns tunes. I have a copy of Shrinking Violet, and I thought the CD was good, but nothing earth shattering. Tracii Guns always kicks every time I see him live, but Jizzy Pearl singing with him was still new to me in a live setting.
Much to my surprise and liking, this version of L.A. Guns kicks ass! I thought Jizzy Pearl sounded great singing these songs. The band performed most of the L.A. Guns classics including in no special order: “Electric Gypsy”, “Bitch is Back”, “Never Enough” “Over the Edge”, “Sex Action”, “The Ballad of Jayne”, “One More Reason”, “No Mercy”, “Rip and Tear”plus two tracks off of Shrinking Violet including “Dreamtime” and “Decide”. I also got a charge out of them doing Love/Hate’s “Black Out in The Red Room”. I never got to see Love/Hate perform it live, so I loved hearing Jizzy & Company do this song. It was also the first time I have seen “Dreamtime” and “Decide” performed live. Both songs were very cool to see performed in a live setting.
The bottom line: Tracii Guns rocked, Jizzy Pearl sang great, Chad Stewart was kicking ass on the drums, and Danny Nordahl was getting it done on the bass.
I am sure the debate will continue on as far as which version of L.A. Guns is the Real or Best L.A. Guns. Both variations of the band rock in my opinion. L.A. Guns with Tracii Guns’ L.A. Guns never sounded better than they do right now!
The band will be on tour throughout the United States until the end of October. Don’t miss them if they hit your town. The remaining dates are listed below.
October 6, 2010 Columbus, Ohio Slapsy Maxie’s
October 7, 2010 Westland, Michigan The Token Lounge
October 8, 2010 Baltimore, Maryland Bourbon Street
October 9, 2010 New York, New York The Studio at Brewster Hall
October 10, 2010 Albany, New York Bogie’s
October 11, 2010 Winston-Salem, North Carolina Platinum Nightlife
October 13, 2010 Pensacola, Florida Vinyl Music Hall
October 14, 2010 Jacksonville, Florida Brewster’s Pit
October 15, 2010 Sarasota, Florida Pastimes Pub
October 16, 2010 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Culture Room
October 20, 2010 Dardanelle, Arkansas Front Street Grill
October 21, 2010 Owensboro, Kentuky Frankie’s Sports Bar & Games
October 22, 2010 Lee’s Summit, Missouri Jerry’s Bait Shop
October 23, 2010 Wichita, Kansas Oz Cafe Concert Venue
October 27, 2010 Orangevale, California The Broadwalk
October 28, 2010 Santa Clara, California The Avalon
0 L.A Guns – Wasted (1998)
During the late 90’s, the L.A. Guns were in a constant state of change. When Phil Lewis refused to reunite with L.A. Guns, the band employed the help of current Steel Panther front man Ralph Saenz (aka Michael Starr). This little known EP features four new songs, a redo of the L.A. Guns hit, “Ballad of Jayne”, and a cover of the KISS classic, “Cold Gin”.
I have mixed feelings about this EP. For me, Phil Lewis is THE VOICE of L.A. Guns. End of story. In the years when Phil wasn’t singing in the band, L.A. Guns tried several singers, but none ever really lived up to Phil Lewis. With that being said, Ralph Saenz sounds pretty good on this EP. None of the songs on this CD are earth shattering, but it is still interesting to hear Tracii Guns play with Saenz on vocals. Tracii’s guitar work is great as always. He especially shines on the song, “Forgiving Eyes”.
The band’s redone version of “Ballad of Jayne” is a lot better than I expected it to be. It sounds like Tracii tuned his guitar down a little for this version of song. This version is slightly different, but cool nonetheless. Saenz does a pretty good job on the vocals on this L.A. Guns classic.
The cover of the Kiss song “Cold Gin” is better than I expected it to be. Saenz cuts loose with some 80’s hard rock screams on this song. Instead of trying to do a Gene Simmons impersonation, he adds his own flair to this cover.
This CD is out of print and very hard to find. I wouldn’t consider Wasted essential, but it is an in interesting glimpse into the history of L.A. Guns. This CD is probably for Die hard L.A. Guns fans only!
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Wasted
2. Well Spent
3. Heavy Head
4. Forgiving Eyes
5. Jayne 98
6. Cold Gin
L.A. Guns is:
Ralph Saenz – vocals
Tracii Guns – guitars and vocals
Johnny Crypt – bass and vocals
Steve Riley – drums
0 An Update From Phil Lewis
L.A. Guns Front man Phil Lewis posted the following update on the L.A. Guns blog:
0 Ask Tracii Guns & Jizzy Pearl
Favored Nations wants to give you, the true music fans an opportunity to ask Tracii Guns and Jizzy Pearl a question about their albums, gigs, gear or anything that is on your mind! Join the FN page in the link below, write that question down and Traciiand Jizzy will personally answer it. Ask as many different questions as you want to!!
1 L.A. Guns – Cocked & Loaded (Release Year – 1989)
Today (August 4th, 2009) marks the 20th anniversary of the release of L.A. Guns superb sophomore effort, Cocked & Loaded. To this listener Cocked & Loaded is easily the best release of L.A. Guns storied but troubled career.
I have listened to this CD countless times over the years, and it remains my defacto favorite from the L.A. Guns camp. Quite a bit of L.A. Guns live set comes from this disc including: “Rip & Tear”, “Sleazy Come Easy Go”, “Never Enough”, “Malaria”, and “The Ballad of Jayne”.
The great songs don’t end there. Cocked & Loaded dishes up a bunch of cool rockers including the kick ass opener, “Letting Go”, “17 Crash”,”Wheels of Fire” and “I Wanna Be Your Man”.
Phil Lewis has never sounded better than he did on Cocked & Loaded (although he still sings these song remarkably well today). Tracii Guns guitar work on this disc is just stupid good.
It is crazy to see what this band could do in their peak lineup. I doubt we will ever see the classic lineup of the band back together ever again. They are too busy squabbling over the L.A. Guns name instead of trying to show folks why they were one of the best bands on Sunset Strip, when they all played together.
At least we have Cocked & Loaded to keep the memories alive. This is as close to perfection as 80’s sleaze metal ever got to. A worth pick up for any hard rock fan! Highly Recommended!
You can grab dirt cheap copies of this CD at this link. It is worth every penny!
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Letting Go
2. Slap In The Face
3. Rip And Tear
4. Sleazy Come Easy Go
5. Never Enough
6. Malaria
7. The Ballad Of Jayne
8. Magdalaine
9. Give A Little
10. I’m Addicted
11. 17 Crash
12. Showdown (Riot On Sunset)
13. Wheels Of Fire
14. I Wanna Be Your Man
L.A. Guns are:
Phil Lewis – lead vocals
Tracii Guns – lead guitar
Mick Cripps – rhythm guitar
Kelly Nickels – bass
Steve Riley – drums
0 The End of the L.A. Guns War?
Blabbermouth.net is reporting the following:
A television show based on the Tracii Guns-led version of L.A. GUNS is currently being shopped to different networks. The guitarist stated in an online posting, “Our label paid to have the show made. I saw the first six episodes… fucking hilarious! Once the show is sold, then we find out the air dates, then we start marketing dollars for the release of the [group’s new studio] record, so as of now it’s a waiting game.” He added, “The name of the band will not be L.A. GUNS for this TV show and album, but we will do some nostalgia shows and festivals as L.A. GUNS… basically just having fun and playing tunes.”
Tracii Guns’ L.A. GUNS is not to be confused with the Phil Lewis-fronted group, which is also continuing to record and perform under the L.A. GUNS moniker.
The band’s new album featuring new singer Marty Casey will be released next year via Alexus Records.
Marty Casey is the former contestant on the hit CBS-TV “reality” show “Rock Star: INXS”.
1 We Wish You A Metal Xmas…And A Headbanging New Year (Release Year – 2008)
Twisted Sister seemingly opened the floodgates for a new batch of hard rockin’ Christmas tunes when they released their album, “Twisted Christmas” in 2006. “We Wish You A Metal Xmas, and a HeadBanging New Year” has more hard rock and metal stars than any other Christmas compilation in history (Yes, even more than Monster Ballads Christmas from 2007). With that being said, it has to be awesome right?!
For the most part it is, and I would go so far as saying they have one upped, “Twisted Christmas” with this compilation.
First and foremost, I am a Jeff Scott Soto fan and he can do little wrong in my eyes. He helps rock out this rocking version of “We Wish You A Merry (Metal) Xmas”. My step daughter likes this one too. I caught her singing “We Wish You A Metal Christmas”. 🙂
You either have to love or hate Lemmy Kilmister. His rendition of “Run Rudolph Run” is pretty fun for the most part, but you know what to expect from his vocals. I have officially started a new holiday tradition by singing “Run Rudolph Run” in my best Lemmy Kilmister voice. What a great way to annoy the spouse and siblings.! 🙂
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is a creepy and cool rendition of this tune. Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi make this sound like a lost Black Sabbath cut.
“Silver Bells” is one of the weaker moments on this disc. Geoff Tate’s lack of vocal fortitude really shows up badly on this song. He can’t hit the notes that this song requires, and that is a shame. He used to have an awesome voice, but it is severely lacking here.
Dug Pinnick from King’s X turns in a semi soulful version of the Little Drummer Boy. George Lynch adds some pretty tasty guitar licks to this version.
You have to love Ripper Owens. He may not be the best singer in the world, but he can really metalize Christmas songs like no one else. Steve Morse provides the tasty guitar licks on “Santa Claus is Back In Town”, and Ripper drives it home with his metal screams. I love it!
Chuck Billy destroys “Silent Night” with his death metal growl, but I think this is more tongue in cheek, than anything else. I can’t say I ever expected to hear a death/thrash metal version of “Silent Night”, but the unit of Scott Ian, Jon Donais, Chris Wyse and John Tempesta somehow manage to pull this off. The shredding on this tune is pretty awesome.
Every time I hear “Deck the Halls” I think it is Geoff Tate back for another dose. It is actually Lynch Mob’s Oni Logan. I don’t know if is just me, but his voice also sounds worse for wear here. I don’t remember him sounding anything like this in the 90’s.
RATT’s Stephen Pearcy pulls off a pretty good version of “Grandman Got Ran Over By A Reindeer”. As it turns out, Pearcy has a pretty good voice for this tune. Who would have thought that?
As a whole, I have enjoyed this CD, and have replayed this quite a bit . This is easily the best hard rock Christmas CD released in 2008. Buy it!!
Track Listing:
- We Wish You A Merry Xmas – (Jeff Scott Soto, Bruce Kulick, Bob Kulick, Chris Wyse, Ray Luzier)
- Run Rudolph Run – (Lemmy Kilmister, Billy F. Gibbons, Dave Grohl)
- Santa Claws Is Coming To Town – (Alice Cooper, John 5, Billy Sheehan, Vinny Appice)
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – (Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright)
- Silver Bells (Geoff Tate, Carlos Cavazo, James Lomenzo, Ray Luzier)
- Little Drummer Boy – (Dug Pinnick, George Lynch, Billy Sheehan, Simon Phillips)
- Santa Claus Is Back In Town – (Tim Owens, Steve Morse, Juan Garcia, Marco Mendoza, Vinny Appice)
- Silent Night – (Chuck Billy, Scott Ian, Jon Donais, Chris Wyse, John Tempesta)
- Deck The Halls – (Oni Logan, Craig Goldy, Tony Franklin, John Tempesta)
- Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer – (Stephen Pearcy, Tracii Guns, Bob Kulick, Billy Sheehan, Greg Bissonette)
- Rockin’ Around The Xmas Tree – (Joe Lynn Turner, Bruce Kulick, Bob Kulick, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright)
- Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – (Tommy Shaw, Steve Lukather, Marco Mendoza, Kenny Aronoff)
Produced by: Bob Kulick and Brett Chassen
0 The Classic Metal Show Interviews Tracii Guns & Faster Pussycat
The Classic Metal Show Interviewed L.A. Guns guitarist, Tracii Guns & Faster Pussycat in the same interview.
Tracii Guns offers his view on the “other” L.A. Guns, the demise of Paul Black, and what the future holds for L.A. Guns.
Check it out in the youtube clip below.
4 Bang Tango, L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat Concert Review, Part 2
Bang Tango, L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat came to Louisville’s Expo Five Sunday Night (7/20/08). To read about Bang Tango’s opening set, click here.
L.A. Guns featuring Tracii Guns and new singer, Marty Casey took the stage, along with new rhythm guitarist, Alec Bauer, bassist Jeremy Guns and drummer Chad Stewart. I must admit that I had low expectations for this version of L.A. Guns. I am a fan of Phil Lewis, and his band with the same name, and quite honestly, I didn’t think Tracii’s group would live up to the name. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The band opened up with the tune, Over the Edge, and played a mix set of L.A. Guns tunes, and a few cover songs. The set list in no particular order was:
Over the Edge, Rip and Tear, No Mercy, One More Reason, I Don’t Care (Brides of Destruction), Shut the Fuck Up (Brides of Destruction), The Ballad of Jayne, Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) and You Can’t Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones).
With Marty Casey as the new singer of L.A. Guns, Tracii Guns has secured a very good front man for his band. Marty Casey put on a very energetic show, and did an admirable job on the L.A. Guns classic tunes. There was a song or two where the rest of the band provided a great deal of vocals, but for the most part, Casey handled the tunes with ease, and sounded pretty good. Casey joined L.A. Guns back in June, and he already seems at home with the band.
It has been a long time since I have seen Tracii Guns play live, and I believe that I have under estimated the amazing talent that he is. His guitar playing was way over the top Sunday night. Check out the solos in the eight minute Rip and Tear video, and you will see what I mean. Total awesome playing! I was very impressed with his guitar work all night.
Jeremy Guns, the bass player for L.A. Guns, took over the vocals for the Brides of Destruction tune, Shut the Fuck Up. He did a pretty good job. I was glad to hear some Brides tunes.
As a whole, Tracii’s L.A. Guns were better than ever. They put on a better show than the Phil Lewis led L.A. Guns did, the last couple of times that I saw them.
I still prefer Phil’s vocals to Marty’s, but I believe Tracii’s L.A. Guns band is a the better of the two now. This show made me a fan of The Tracii Guns faction, and I will certainly give them the support they deserve. I am now looking forward to their new album that is due later this year. I highly recommend checking them out if they come to your town.
Stop back tomorrow, for our part 3 of our review on Faster Pussycat. Until then, I hope you enjoy the videos below.
1 Bang Tango, L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat Tour Dates!
Bang Tango, L.A. Guns (with Tracii Guns and Marty Casey) and Faster Pussycat are currently on the road on their Summer Blackout tour.
Hard Rock Hideout caught the Louisville, KY stop on the tour last night. A full review is on the way soon. Be sure to catch this show at one of the remaining tour dates this summer!
Tue 07/22/08 Fort Wayne, IN Piere’s Entertainment Center
Wed 07/23/08 Schaumburg, IL Chicago City Limits
Thu 07/24/08 Green Bay, WI Doubles
Fri 07/25/08 Saint Paul, MN Station 4
Sat 07/26/08 Sioux Falls, SD Festival Grounds
Sun 07/27/08 Dubuque, IA Farley City Park
Mon 07/28/08 Warren, MI The Ritz
Tue 07/29/08 Camp Hill, PA TBA
Wed 07/30/08 Southbridge, MA Artist Development Complex
Thu 07/31/08 Farmingdale, NY The Crazy Donkey
Fri 08/01/08 Yonkers, NY The Haunt
Sat 08/02/08 Factoryville, PA Trailside Inn
Sun 08/03/08 Bridgeville, PA RPM’s
Wed 08/06/08 Clifton, NJ Dingbatz
Fri 08/08/08 Toronto, ON Reverb
Sat 08/09/08 Pottsville, PA Goodfella’s
Mon 08/11/08 Chillicothe, OH Cardo’s
Fri 08/15/08 Aurora, CO Illiff Park Saloon
Sat 08/16/08 Pueblo Of Acoma, NM Sky City Casino
Sun 08/17/08 Salt Lake City, UT Bar Deluxe
Mon 08/18/08 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
Tue 08/19/08 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Wed 08/20/08 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
Thu 08/21/08 Redding, CA Redding Convention Center
Fri 08/22/08 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke
Sat 08/23/08 Henderson, NV Sunset Station Hotel & Casino
Sun 08/24/08 West Hollywood, CA Key Club
7 L.A. Guns vs. L.A. Guns
Sooner or later, it will be time for one of the two L.A. Guns bands to take a stand, and fight for their name.
As you may or may not know, there are two L.A. Guns. One with Phil Lewis and drummer Steve Riley.
The second is with guitarist Tracii Guns, and singer Marty Casey (from the CBS show, Rockstar).
Recent footage turned up online with Marty Casey singing the L.A. Guns hit, The Ballad of Jayne.
This version is with Phil Lewis singing from a show I attended in the summer of 2007.
Steve Riley and Tracii Guns have a 50% ownership in the name, but in my opinion, only one band sounds 100% like L.A. Guns.
Which band deserves the name? You decide!
Tell us what you think!
6 The New Voice of L.A. Guns?
Blabbermouth is reporting that the Tracii Guns version of L.A. Guns has a new singer……
The rock ‘n’ roll band L.A. GUNS, featuring guitarist Tracii Guns, has some big news heading into its Summer Blackout Tour 2008.
The band will be hitting the road this month with a couple of new members on board. In addition to Tracii Guns on lead guitar, Jeremy Guns will be on bass along with Chad Stewart on drums, and the group has enlisted new rhythm guitar player Alec “Big Al” Bauer, who has been touring with L.A. GUNS since 2007.
Marty Casey, the “new blonde guy,” as the band has affectionately referred to him on its web site, is the new voice of L.A. GUNS. Casey gained recognition as a vocalist along with millions of fans during his run on the hit CBS show “Rock Star: INXS”. He was also instrumental in writing and creating new material on the upcoming L.A. GUNS album.
The boys of L.A. GUNS have another “big gun” in their pocket. The band is currently in Canada recording its new album with multi-Grammy-Award-winning producer Steve Thompson. Tracii describes the CD by saying, “This definitely will not be your father’s L.A. GUNS.” He adds that and the music is “slightly more advanced” and the lyrics are “more introspective without losing the fun nature of our rock ‘n’ roll.”
L.A. GUNS is currently signed to Alexus Records. Look for these guys on tour this summer with FASTER PUSSYCAT and BANG TANGO as they blaze a trail through a city near you.
Upcoming L.A. GUNS shows:
Jun. 27 – Green Bay, WI @ Club Toxic
Jun. 28 – Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada @ Runway Park
Jul. 03 – San Juan, Puerto Rico @ Hard Rock Live
Jul. 05 – Sarasota, FL @ Muscle Fairgrounds
Jul. 10 – Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma
Jul. 11 – Dallas, TX @ Firewater Outdoors
Jul. 12 – Boerne, TX @ South Texas Rock Fest.
Jul. 13 – Houston, TX @ Meridian
Jul. 14 – Texarkana, AR @ Shooters Sports Bar
Jul. 17 – Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
Jul. 18 – Johnson City, TN @ Nashville Station
Jul. 19 – Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Jul. 23 – Schaumburg, IL @ Chicago City Limits
Jul. 24 – Green Bay, WI @ Club Toxic
Jul. 25 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4