EXCLUSIVE
THE NEW LA GUNS RELIVES THE CLASSIC ROCK AND ROLL TALE , PLAY A SHOW , GET SIGNED , CREATE AN AMAZING ROCK RECORD !
Sure it helps that the reformed rhythm section of the classic 80 ’ s LA GUNS lineup gets back together , but this is a tale of a purely organic occurrence . Rock vets Steven Riley and Kelly Nichols reconnect to form a new version of LA GUNS , still full of that classic , straight-ahead , ballsy street rock from the LA strip . 40 years of living and thriving on the west coast , the accent-ladened New Englander talks about the events that lead up to him reconnecting with his old band mate , his days in WASP and the importance of equal partnerships in a band .
Pictured above : DJ Pearlman
You have been a road warrior for over 40 years . What is it like not being able to tour after an album ?
STEVEN : This is the first year I haven ’ t played one show . I ’ m talking not one show in decades , it ’ s just unbelievable . I know we are all in the same boat , but wow it has been unbelievable . This year , not one show and I know all my friends or any of the bands out here in LA haven ’ t either . We are just in a different world right now . We were so lucky to get this album done at the end of 2019 or else we would have been really screwed .
Would it have been difficult if you guys hadn ’ t finished the record yet ?
STEVEN : Yea , especially for us , because not everyone lives out in LA . We don ’ t all live close , like we did before . We ’ re all spread out all over the country , so to get it done by the end of last year we were really lucky . The travel and to get everybody together would have been really hard .
Whenever you hear of a band breaking into two versions you dont think either will keep the original sound , but you guys did on “ Renegades ”.
STEVEN : I gotta tell ya , me and Kelly Nichols made a real conscientious effort to do that . We are a classic rock band . We know we have fans that know our sound and like our song writing style , so we made an effort because we don ’ t want to drift to far from that sound or do anything out of left field . We really wanted to stay true to our sound . LA Guns have always had eclectic records where one song was moving on from another song . We never really wrote 14 hard rock songs for an album . We kinda moved around with different styles within our albums and maintained our sound , and we hope we have done that on this album . I think we did and the fans are streaming it , it shows us that people are really digging it , which is making us feel really good .