| Road Crew | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, US |
| Years active | 1984, 1991 |
| Associated acts | Guns N' Roses, Hollywood Rose, Vain |
| Past members | |
| Slash Steven Adler Duff McKagan Davy Vain Shawn Rorie Jamie Scott Ashley Mitchell |
|
Road Crew were an American garage band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1984. The band was composed of future Guns N' Roses members Slash, Steven Adler and Duff McKagan. They auditioned a number of singers while writing material. However they disbanded the same year with no releases.
Following his firing from Guns N' Roses in 1990, Adler reformed Road Crew in 1991 with a new lineup composed of Davy Vain, Jamie Scott, Ashley Mitchell (all formerly of Vain), and Shawn Rorie. They recorded an album and gained some label attention. However, due to Adler's drug abuse, Road Crew disbanded once more without releasing the album.[1]
Contents |
Following the breakup of his previous group Tidus Sloan, Slash found himself without a band.[2] His childhood friend Steven Adler, who had learned to play drums,[2] suggested that they form a band together.[2] Slash eventually agreed to check out Adler while he practiced at a public park.[2] Slash stated that he "wasn't convinced of his abilities, but [he] was satisfied" and decided to work with Adler.[3] After trying out for London they decided to form their own band, taking out an ad in The Recycler for a bass player before audtioning for singers.[4] Though they received a few calls, only Duff McKagan wanted to meet with them.[4]
McKagan had moved from Seattle to Los Angeles at this point[5][6] having already been a member of the bands The Fartz,[5] Fastbacks[5] and 10 Minute Warning[5] while he also played one show drumming for Johnny Thunders.[7] Shortly after his move, he answered the ad and met with Slash and Adler[5][6] at Canter's Deli.[4] Describing McKagan's appearance upon meeting him at Canter's, Slash said that he was "this bone-skinny six-foot-plus guy, with short spiked blonde hair [who] rolled in wearing a Sid Vicious-style chain and padlock around his neck, combat boots, and a red-and-black leather trench coat in spite of the seventy-five-degree weather. No one had predicted that."[8] Soon after meeting, the trio formed a group together, named Road Crew[5][9][10] (after the Motörhead song "(We Are) The Road Crew"[10]) and began auditioning singers.[11]
They auditioned a number of singers, including Ron Reyes who was briefly the singer for Black Flag, while working on material which included the main riff to what would become "Rocket Queen"[11] (though Adler stated in a later interview stated that no Road Crew material was used until the recording of the Use Your Illusion albums[12]). Despite there being a good chemistry between the trio,[11] Slash disbanded the group citing not being able to find a singer[11] as well as Adler's constant partying and lack of work ethic compared to himself and McKagan.[11]
Slash would go on to play with Black Sheep[13] and audition for Poison,[13] while both Slash and Adler became members of Hollywood Rose.[14] Hollywood Rose would break-up[14] and reform (without Slash and Adler) eventually becoming Guns N' Roses. Slash, McKagan and Adler would replace Guns N' Roses members Tracii Guns,[15] Ole Beich[5][16] and Rob Gardner[17] respectively. Along with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin, the lineup would be known as the "classic lineup" of Guns N' Roses.[18][19]
After being fired from Guns N' Roses in 1990,[10][18] Adler reformed Road Crew with a new lineup[10] consisting of singer Davy Vain[1][12], guitarist Jamie Scott[12], bassist Ashley Mitchell[12] (all formerly of Vain), and guitarist Shawn Rorie[12] They recorded an album[1] and gained attention from a label.[1] However, due to Adler's drug problems at the time,[1][12] the group was short-lived and disbanded shortly after.
Adler would go on to join BulletBoys[10][20] before forming the group Suki Jones[1][21] which eventually became Adler's Appetite.[1][22]