So you want me to teach you about the

So you want me to teach you about the

OLD SCHOOL LA Guns Members?

(1983-1985)

In 1983, Tracii Guns formed LA Guns with Ole Beich and Rob Gardener. Singers Axl Rose & Mike Jagosz completed the first two incarnations of the band. Izzy Stradlin also may have been in the band for a short time. The band released an independent vinyl EP that year called “Collectors Edition No 1” on Raz Records (Raz was the name of their manager) in 1984 (which has since been re-issued on the CD Hollywood Raw). LA Guns (together with members of Hollywood Rose) would later become Guns N’ Roses. The first lineup of GNR formed in early 1985 and consisted of Tracii, Axl, Rob, Ole, & Izzy. Ole was the first to leave the band, and was replaced by Duff McKagan. Tracii & Rob soon left the band in the spring of 1985. Guns N’ Roses moved on, and Tracii re-formed LA Guns with Paul Black, Mick Cripps, & Nickey Alexander later that same year.

Click HERE for more information on Tracii Guns

Rob (Robert/Robbie) Gardner (drums)

Rob was LA Guns’ very first drummer way back in 1983. He recorded the “Collector’s Edition No.1” EP with the band (1984). He also played in Hollywood Rose with Axl (and Tracii) in late 1984 and early 1985. Rob, Tracii, & Ole were also members of the original Guns N’ Roses lineup (with Axl & Izzy) in March of 1985. Rob was replaced by Steven Adler later that fall because he and Tracii refused to join the band for a show in Seattle. After that, Rob was the drummer in a band called Jade. In 1988, Jade recorded a demo, but the band soon broke up. Since then, he has fallen off the face of the earth.

Ole Beich (bass)

Ole was born in Esbjerg, Denmark in 1955. In Denmark, he became a regular local rock & roll icon. He played guitar with several bands in Denmark before deciding to move to Los Angeles in the early 1980’s. Ole became LA Guns’ first bass player in 1983. He recorded the “Collector’s Edition No.1” EP with the band (1984). Ole, Tracii, & Rob were also members of the original Guns N’ Roses lineup in March of 1985. Ole left GNR after only approximately three weeks and five shows due to his dislike for a certain unspecified band member. He was replaced by Duff McKagan early on, before Tracii and Rob had left Guns N’ Roses. Ole had developed a bad drug addiction and moved back to Denmark. Unfortunately, Ole died in Copenhagen in 1991.

Mike (Michael) Jagosz (vocals)

Mike was one of the original singers for the LA Guns. I had always believed that he was the second singer, and that he had replaced our good friend Axl Rose in 1984. Actually, there is some discrepancy about that… recently Tracii Guns has said that Mike was the original singer and that Axl replaced him (which makes sense). He recorded LA Guns’ first demos with the Tracii, Rob and Ole, which were self-released as the “Collectors Edition No. 1” vinyl EP (this EP is dated 1984). Mike has since vanished. You may have noticed that Mike was also thanked in the liner notes of LA Guns’ debut album.

Axl Rose (vocals)

Axl Rose was born in Lafayette, Indiana in February of 1962 and moved to Los Angeles in 1982. In 1983, he joined his first LA band, Rapidfire. Rapidfire soon broke up and Axl formed the band “Rose” with Izzy, which turned into Hollywood Rose. Hollywood Rose broke up in August of 1984, which is when Axl started to sing for LA Guns for a short time. He reunited with Hollywood Rose In December of 1984. Hollywood Rose made a good name for themselves, but due to the departure of guitarist and co-founder Chris Weber in early 1985, broke up. Axl would then join some of the other original members of LA Guns to form Guns N’ Roses. GNR is believed to have played their first show in March of 1985. Axl wrote the song “my michelle” (and probably many others) with Tracii while they were in LA Guns, and Tracii also co-wrote some songs with Axl in GNR that were later used (although Tracii went uncredited). Guns N Roses was signed to Geffen Records in 1986 and put out five hugely successful albums in from 1987-1993 (“Appetite for Destruction”, “GNR Lies”, “Use Your Illusion I”, “Use Your Illusion II”, & “The Spaghetti Incident”) and toured the globe. The rest is history, what is there to say about Guns N Roses that you don’t already know? They were the next Rolling Stones, but they fizzled out in 1995, and Axl has basically been in hiding ever since. Axl remains the only “original” member of Guns N Roses and has put together new incarnations of the band since their split, but have yet to release an album. The band toured shortly in 2002 (which did very well actually, until Axl cancelled the remaining tour dates). They have planned to release a new album called “Chinese Democracy” for about the last five years. GNR has started touring again in 2006 throughout Europe. You could definitely say that Axl Rose is a fucking rock and roll legend.

Izzy Stradlin (guitars)

Izzy was born in April of 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana. He was childhood friends with Axl Rose. He moved to LA in 1980, and played various instruments in various bands until Axl Rose moved to LA in 1983 and the band “Rose” was formed by Axl & Izzy. Rose turned into Hollywood Rose, and the band broke up in August of 1984. Izzy then joined the band London and Axl went on to sing for LA Guns. Izzy reunited with Axl and Hollywood Rose in December of 1984, and in March of 1985, HR basically became Guns N’ Roses. In Danny Sugerman’s 1992 book, “Appetite for Destruction – The Days of Guns N’ Roses”, Slash states that Izzy was in LA Guns. He may have played a few shows with LA Guns, or it may just be that LA Guns and Hollywood Rose were mistaken for one another. Izzy stayed with GNR until late 1991, when he left due to Axl Rose’s controlling behavior. He then formed Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds (with future LA Guns bass player Muddy). Izzy & the Hounds released one album in 1992, and then Izzy vanished. He re-surfaced in 1998 with the release of a second album, and has released a steady flow of solo albums since then. Izzy was an original member of the band that became Velvet Revolver, although he left the band early on because he did not want to tour extensively and also did not want to (this is funny) deal with any lead singers. Izzy has since guest starred at a few Guns N’ Roses shows in 2006.

LA Guns biographical information written by Trevor Johnsen, 2001-present.

If you have any information on these band members that I have left out, or want to use any of this information for any reason, please e-mail me at motley_scrue@hotmail.com

View pictures of the old LA Guns here.

LA Guns HOME