November 1st, 1998
I saw L.A. Guns open for Slaughter at the Tsunami Beach Club in Sanford,
Florida. There was a new singer I didn't recognize named Ralph Saenz who wasn't
'Phil' but was pretty kick ass none the less! He sort of looked like a mix
between Diamond Dave, the Bullet Boys singer, and Mike Tramp of White Lion
singer all rolled into one. All attitude, all energy, the way a vocalist should
be. We got to the club at 4:30 even though doors didn't open 'til 8 just so we
could be front and center. Tracii was unreal on the guitar and was fuckin' with
me when he could. One time while I was looking over at Johnny Crypt he came up
in front of me, and pushed my face so that I'd be watching him jam out instead.
Then later he did this jump kick sort of thing and missed my head by two inches.
I looked up and he's laughing at me like, "GOTCHA!"
I was pissed the
next time L.A. Guns came through central Florida. They were part of the Rock
Never Stops tour with Warrant, Quiet Riot, Firehouse, and Slaughter from mid-May
through the summer.
Half way through
that tour Ralph left the Gunners to pursue his career with his former band the
Atomic Fireballs (Van Halen Tribute band.... bad career move?) He was replaced
by Joey Leste of Bang Tango and then immediately after that by Jizzy Pearl of
Love/Hate. I'm not sure what happened to him, but finally after all these
years, Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns have put aside their differences and L.A. Guns
are recording and touring once again. So in alphabetical order now, the LA Guns
singers have been:
Paul Black
Mike Jagosz
Phil Lewis x2
Jizzy Pearl
Axl Rose
Ralph Saenz
Chri VanDahl
Looks like 7 was
their lucky number! LA Guns will always be one of my favorites and hopefully
these guys will be around forever. Phil's back and new albums came out both in
2000 (Man On The Moon) and 2002 (Waking The Dead). As different as they are,
they're both in my personal Top 10 of all time.
Other official
L.A. Guns releases include:
