L.A. Guns

L.A. Guns are an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983. The band currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson on (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Scot Coogan (drums). The first incarnation of the group was formed by Tracii Guns and Rob Gardner in 1983 and merged with fellow Los Angeles group the defunct Hollywood Rose to form Guns N' Roses in March 1985. Later that year, the group was reformed by Guns and singer Paul Black, who added new members 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 (with Riley being the most consistent member) and failed to regain mainstream attention. The "classic lineup" of the group would reunite in 1999 and began recording new material. However, the group continued to change lineups and Guns eventually left to form the hard rock supergroup Brides of Destruction with Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe in 2002. L.A. Guns continued without Guns, bringing in guitarist Stacey Blades, however, following his decision to put Brides of Destruction on hiatus in 2006, Guns formed The Tracii Guns Band. The group's lineup consisted of former L.A. Guns members Black, Alexander as well as Jeremy Guns (though the lineup would eventually change), with the group eventually changing their name to L.A. Guns. Both groups continued to record and tour under the L.A. Guns moniker until 2012, when the Tracii Guns-led version of the group disbanded. To date, L.A. Guns have released twelve studio albums – L.A. Guns (1988); Cocked & Loaded (1989); Hollywood Vampires (1991); Vicious Circle (1994); American Hardcore (1996); Shrinking Violet (1999); Man in the Moon (2001); Waking the Dead (2002); Tales from the Strip (2005); Hollywood Forever (2012); The Missing Peace (2017); and The Devil You Know (2019); two extended plays – Cuts (1992); Wasted (1998) as well as a number of live and compilation albums.