Tracii Guns Ditches The L.A Guns Name In Favor Of The "League Of Gentleman"

Tracii Guns has retired his version of L.A. Guns in favor of his new band, League of Gentleman, so he can keep making music with a clear conscience.

Two lineups had been using the same name on the touring circuit, but after deciding it was bad for fans, Guns says he’s moved on.

He tells The Musician’s Voice, “Being in L.A. Guns is just not worth the trouble, with two different versions running around.

Neither band does the other band any good, and I think it’s disappointing for the fans ultimately. You’re dealing with people who have supported you and your music for over 20 years.

I would like to be able to go into each gig with a clear conscience, put out records with a clear conscience and know that I’m doing my best, and I’m no trying to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes."

Additionally, Guns would like to keep developing as a musician, which he feels would be more difficult using the old name.

“I think I’ve kind of done it to death,” he says, adding there’s not enough room to “grow, to move, and to exceed the fan base’s expectations.

They really loved their old L.A. Guns and I get it it – but I’m older, and I continued to study music and recording and a lot of different things. We play a lot of L.A. Guns in our live set. People expect to hear those from me.”

But he might go back one day: “If there was ever an opportunity to do L.A. Guns for a higher reason, for a bigger reason, I would certainly do it,” he says. “But I’m kind of over it.”

Tracii Guns’ League of Gentlemen includes singer Scott Foster Harris, drummer Doni Gray and bassist Craig McCloskey. Phil Lewis’ version of L.A. Guns released an album,Hollywood Forever, earlier this year.

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additional source: classicrockmagazine.com

Lita Ford Admits That She Suffered "Mental, Physical And Sexual Abusue" In Her Last Marriage

Lita Ford says she took a 45 minute opportunity to escape her “mentally, physically, sexually abusive” marriage – and feared her relationship with ex-husband Jim Gillette would be “the end” of her.


She says her recent divorce from Gillette, that has left her unable to see her two sons, was the “darkest, most horrible” time of her life and she suspects former manager Sharon Osbourne believes she slept with Ozzy – even though she insists she didn’t.


Ford is currently touring with Def Leppard and Poison in support of her new albumLiving Like A Runaway, in which she explores the story of surviving her marriage to Gillette, in the hope that her children will one day be allowed to hear it.


She tells CleveScene.com, “I had 45 minutes to get out of the house. I grabbed my keys one day, got my guitars and put them in a neighbor’s house. I had prepared to leave. This guy is just a freak. He was abusive – mentally, physically, sexually. He’s horrible.”


In a separate interview Ford tells Classic Rock Revisited “I was afraid for years to leave. I got to the point where I knew it was time to make a break for it. I thought I wasn’t going to live very long. I really thought it was going to be the end of me – I had to leave.


If a woman feels she is being controlled and verbally, physically or emotionally abused, she has got to find a way to get out of there. Just say, ‘Honey, I’m going to get a bottle of milk at the store,’ leave and don’t come back. You may have to do it one step at a time and get things ready. You may have to set up a place where you can go when you’re ready to leave. It takes a lot of balls, it really does. Think of a way to get out.”


Meanwhile, the former Runaways guitarist says she’s hurt that her relationship with the Osbournes broke down.


“I saw Sharon recently in LA and she didn’t want to talk to me – it hurt my feelings because I love her,” Ford explains.


“I severed our ties because Sharon was in really deep ice with Ozzy. It was affecting my career. He had choked her and she had pressed charges. During that whole time I was like, ‘I have a gig tonight – do you think you could answer my phone call?’


It wasn’t anything against Sharon. I love her. When I look back on those days I wonder if she thought I was having sex with Ozzy. He was screwing everything that moved – but I would never do that to her, nor did I want to. I don’t know if she knows I didn’t. Ozzy probably doesn’t remember if he did or didn’t.”

additional source: classicrockmagazine.com

Lynch Mob To Release "Sound Mountain Sessions" EP Next Month

Rat Pak Records will release the new Lynch Mob CD Sound Mountain Sessions on August 7th.

Sound Mountain Sessions is a straight forward, gritty, well-polished American hard rock offering from legendary Lynch Mob, that truly captures the magic of their genre. It's got bite, it's got soul, and lyrically, vocalist Oni Logan holds nothing back on this one.Sound Mountain Sessions, is a four song EP that rivals their previous work from the early years.

Another fantastic element about these new songs is the addition of bassist Robbie Crane, who brings solid grooves and melodic backing vocals to each track (a little known fact: Robbie was actually the very first bass player of Lynch Mob). George Lynch does what George Lynch has always done best in this amazing release -- he plugs in his guitar and then taps into the universal energy that only the elite guitar gods have access to... and delivers the goods.

This is the EP that introduces you to the next and best chapter of these legendary rockers. Featured tracks include: Slow Drag, World of Chance, City of Freedom, and Sucka.

For an audio commercial and exclusive pre-order bundles visitwww.ratpakrecordsamerica.com/lynchmob.

Original Post:Eddie Trunk

More Allegations Of Geoff Tate's Abuse Surface As More Details From The Band's Countersuit Leaks

As previously reported, Queensryche members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield have filed a counter suit against their former singer Geoff Tate.

Transcripts from that suit were obtained exclusively by Blabbermouth.net, and today the website has disclosed further claims from said lawsuit as reported:

In a sworn declaration from Parker Lundgren — who has been touring with Queensryche since 2009 and who was briefly married to Geoff Tate's stepdaughter Miranda (they have since divorced) — states, "On April 14, 2012, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at approximately 11:00 p.m., I was chatting with Scott Rockenfield while awaiting for our show to start. Geoff Tate came up to Scott Rockenfield from the other side of the drum riser and shoved Scott Rockenfield's drumset over in Scott Rockenfield's direction. Geoff Tate then said, 'You f**king pussy' and spat at him. Our techs immediately ran to the drum raiser to fix the drums, drum mice and laptop that had been knocked over. Meanwhile, Geoff Tate walked over to Michael Wilton and hit him open-handed in the face, spit on him and said more obscenities. Michael Wilton tried to walk away as Geoff Tate followed him and continued to spit on him and call him names. Scott Rockenfield ran over to break them up when Geoff Tate then hit Scott Rockenfield twice in the head. Security ran in to separate Geoff Tate from the rest of the band. Geoff Tate walked by Eddie Jackson and said to him, 'You're next.' Orlando Scott 'Fozzy' O'Hare, our tour manager, was able to calm Geoff Tate down enough for us to play the show. We were advised to stay in one place during the show and to avoid going near Geoff Tate. We were also advised to not go near the edge of the stage for fear that Geoff Tate would push someone off stage. During the rest of the show, Geoff Tate repeatedly spit on Michael Wilton, Scott Rockenfield, and Eddie Jackson and continued to call them names. After the show, we were told to head straight to the hotel.

After we got to the hotel, our tech, Anthony Bender, and I headed out to a bar for drinks, and we were later accompanied by Geoff Tate and Kelly Gray. During a conversation between Geoff Tate and I at the bar, Geoff Tate said, 'I wish that I would have hit Michael harder,' and 'I wish I could get my hands on Scott because I would kill him.'

It is very apparent that Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson's musical direction in Queensryche has stayed true throughout their 31 years of being a band. Their musical contributions, both in writing and playing live, best resembles the music that they have come to be known for. They listen to what their fans want and continue to be the driving force behind the band.

While Geoff Tate is the primary lyricist in the band, he has never written the music for a song in Queensryche. All of the music has been written by Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Chris DeGarmo, and recently some outside writers that Geoff Tate worked with.

It is evident that Geoff Tate's musical tastes have changed over the years which is understandable. He has even stated in recent interviews that he doesn't like metal.

Queensryche is a brand and fans expect the brand Queensryche, which is a metal band, to maintain their sound, style, and trademark characteristics. Much of the music that Geoff Tate chose to write lyrics to on Dedicated To Chaos sounds like music from his solo project album. There is nothing wrong with the musical direction that Geoff Tate has shifted towards except that it does not fit with Queensryche. It belongs in a different project such as the Geoff Tate solo project.

Aside from Geoff Tate's recent assault in Brazil, he has also made threats to the band at the M3 and Rocklahoma festivals that if anyone in the band comes near him, he is going to hit them. He has also tarnished the band's name by telling the audience that they sucked during the Rocklahoma festival which was streamed live on television.

When Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and I performed Queensryche material with Todd La Torre, it was the most positive and enthusiastic response that I have seen in my entire run with the band, both from the crowd and amidst the band. We played the older, heavier material that the fans always ask for and that we are never able to play. The shows sold out both nights and the merchandise sold out immediately. We had nothing but positive reviews and the fans loved it. We had fans fly to Seattle for the shows from all around the world, some even as far as Japan. What was even more uplifting than the crowd's reaction was the band's reaction. I have never seen bigger smiles on the guys' faces while we played the shows. The positivity continued long after the shows as we started hanging out, going to dinners, going to shows, and most importantly writing music together as a band, which I never experienced while Geoff Tate was in the band. Everyone, including the new singer Todd La Torre, is on the same page. We want to play the same kind of music, and stay true to the Queensryche legacy."

Originally Posted on Blabbermouth

Bang Tango Documentary Tentatively Scheduled For A Late 2012 Release

Veteran hard rockers and nationally touring act, Bang Tango, along with videographer Drew Fortier, are working on a documentary of the band for release later this year.

The documentary will contain interviews with current and original Bang Tango members as well as most of the in betweeners who have performed with the band over the years. The film will explore the history of the band and what the original members are up to now, but for the most part it will give insight into the recording of the group's latest release, 2011's Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt.

"The Bang Tango Documentary will be a great insight on where the band has come from and where the band is now," Fortier said, "and also bridge the gap for the fans of the original line-up to allow them to know what the original guys are up to now. Also there will be interviews with original members, current members, and a few previous members such as Alex Grossi and Mark Tremalgia etc. It will give people a reason, fan or not, to care about Bang Tango, and the current line-up in general -- how hard these guys actually work when they're on the road, in the studio, etc."

"Another reason, of course, is the comedy," Fortier continues. "I have over 100 hours of footage, and most of it is like Animal House in a recording studio. A lot of it will also concentrate on the recording sessions for their latest release Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt. Another thing I wanted to touch on was what happened with the long lost album Love After Death, which is a hidden treasure in the world of rock and never got released in the U.S., only in Europe in 1994."

"They actually brought the idea up to me, for the most part, to do a short studio documentary while they were recording here in Chicago," stated Fortier when asked what the members of Bang Tango thought of a documentary. "But the more footage I got, the more we knew we had something special here. And when I dug deeper into the actual story of Bang Tango, and everything that went along with that, I knew that this could easily be a great movie. So then I started contacting people, and traveling for interviews. Overall its going to be something special -- a little bit different, off the cuff, insightful and funny as hell!"

While an official release date for the currently untitled project is unconfirmed, Fortier is hoping to unveil it later this year.


In the meantime three trailers for the film have been posted, viewable below.

Original Post: http://www.eddietrunk.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/436713/pid/400512

P.S. I am so glad that Bang Tango are back!



Zakk Wylde and Wife Welcome New Son Sabbath Page

Congratulations to Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde and his wife, Barbaranne, who welcomed their fourth child, a baby boy named Sabbath Page Wielandt Wylde, named after Black Sabbath, Wylde's spokesperson has confirmed to Rolling Stone. The tribute isn't just that of a fan, Wylde was Ozzy Osbourne's longtime guitarist and the Black Sabbath frontman is the godfather to Zakk's child, Jesse. This isn't the first time the Wyldes have paid tribute to a rock hero with the names of their offspring – just ask their son Hendrix. Sabbath, whose middle name Page may or may not be an homage to Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, was born a healthy 8 lbs., 1 oz. Barbaranne Tweeted,"Little man Sabbath. Night everyone xoxo," with a picture of the newborn.