L.A. GUNS Parts Ways With Guitarist MICHAEL GRANT
Guitarist Michael Grant has left L.A. GUNS "to pursue other interests including his solo project, MICHAEL GRANT & THE ASSASSINS," according to a statement from L.A. GUNS. The band adds: "L.A. GUNS thanks Michael for his contributions, and we wish him all the best with his future endeavors."Last October, L.A. GUNS singer Phil Lewis told Love Is Pop that the "chemistry" between Grant and L.A. GUNS' other guitarist, Tracii Guns, was "fantastic." He added: "Michael has so much respect for Tracii's playing. You could just see it when they play together. And Tracii is one of these guys; he's not like a Rick Derringer, who refuses to let anybody else solo. He lets Michael. He lets Michael fly. There's a few times in the set and Tracii just steps back and he goes, 'Go.' And he's smiling from ear to ear. And it's just amazing. These impromptu jams the two of them strike up in the middle of a song. It's fun for me and it's fun for them. And, actually, believe it or not, fun for the crowd. There are no self-indulgent solos. It's [not] just a guitar player going widdly, widdly, widdly. It's not. Everything we do showcases the virtuoso abilities of those guys in the jam context. So, it's cool. It's never boring. It's got a groove to it. Who knows how long they can go on for? Sometimes a couple of minutes. Sometimes it can go on for ten. But it's never dull."In an interview with Guitar World earlier this year, Guns called Grant "an amazing spirit."Tracii and Lewis reunited in 2016 under the L.A. GUNS banner and released arguably the most critically praised album of their catalog, "The Missing Peace".The band's most recent lineup was completed by Shane Fitzgibbon on drums and Johnny Martin on bass.L.A. GUNS will release a new CD, DVD and Blu-ray, "Made In Milan", on March 23 via Frontiers Music Srl.
