Steve Riley never considered calling his current version of L.A. Guns by another band name
Steve Riley never considered calling his current version of L.A. Guns by another band name
L.A. Guns drummer Steve Riley answered some fan questions via Facebook tonight (on April 17, 2020) in advance of the release of his band’s new single “Crawl” which will be available in three days. Riley‘s version of L.A. Guns currently also features Kelly Nickels on bass, Scott Griffin on lead guitar and Kurt Frohlich on lead vocals and rhythm guitar.
It’s no secret that there are two versions of L.A. Guns with the other one being spearheaded by guitarist Tracii Guns who lured singer Phil Lewis from Riley‘s version back in December 2016 and also currently features guitarist Ace Von Johnson, bassist Johnny Martin and drummer Scot Coogan. When Lewis (and guitarist Michael Grant at the time) ended up joining Guns in the latter’s version of L.A. Guns, Riley took a bit of time off to regroup before resurfacing last year with his new L.A. Guns line-up at the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland, USA in early May 2019.
One of the fan questions for Riley was whether he considered calling his current version of L.A. Guns by another band name to which he replied (as transcribed by Sleaze Roxx):
“No! I never thought about changing the name. This is L.A. Guns. I’ve been in L.A. Guns from the very beginning. I’m the only one who has never quit. Everybody else has left the band at one point or another. I never did leave. So now we have Kelly Nickels, Scott Griffin and Kurt Frohlich in the band and we’re L.A. Guns baby! I never thought about changing the name. I never even considered it.”
In a rather odd twist of fate, Guns‘ version of L.A. Guns has recently brought a lawsuit for trademark infringement against Riley‘s version of the band. Guns is the one who allowed the L.A. Guns band name to be trademarked on a 50-50 basis with Riley back in or about 1996.
Wikipedia indicates that in October 2002, Guns reportedly quit L.A. Guns to concentrate on his new project Brides of Destruction, which also featured Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. Brides of Destruction turned out to be a short-lived project and in the summer of 2006, Guns decided to change his group name The Tracii Guns Band to L.A. Guns. From 2006 to 2012, Guns continued with own version of L.A. Guns and a slew of different lead vocalists consisting of Paul Black (2006-2008), Marty Casey (2008-2009), Jizzy Pearl (2009-2011), Dilana (2011), Tony West (2011-2012) and Scott Foster Harris (2012). In May 2016, Guns began performing as L.A. Guns again with Lewis handling lead vocals but also while the latter continued to play in Riley‘s version of the band, which he had been doing for the last 17 years. In December 2016, Lewis decided to quit Riley‘s version of L.A. Guns to join forces with Guns.
Steve Riley answering fan questions live via Facebook on April 17, 2020:
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