Sunday
Oct022011
Dilana Joins LA Guns
Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 12:01AM Remember when I recently posted that Jizzy Pearl was out of (Tracii's) LA Guns? Well, now the band has a new singer... and it is Dilana Robichaux. In case you don't know, Dilana was the runner-up on the reality show Rock Star: Supernova.
I think this might be a ballsy move on Tracii's part because having a female singer will seriously set the band apart from the other touring version. Will the songs sound the same? No, of course not. But I wish the band luck. I guess my only question is this: why not just create a new band name, write some new songs and do LA Guns stuff live, too? Discuss.
Here's Dilana and Tracii performing together:
Reader Comments (21)
p.s. It may very well be that Guns doesn't want to give up the name because he feels like it's more rightfully his, since it's kinda like his name on the door. However, he's got talent to burn and should not concern himself with the other L.A. Guns using his name. Tracii -- just let it go and set out to do something new as Al and Christian have said here.
Meanwhile, as much as I want to like this chick, her voice is pretty generic and a little to nasally at times. It's a mistake to go with her simply because, no matter how much "ballsier" her voice may be compared to Phil's, it still isn't up to the job.
But I don't give this more than a year at most. On a side note, is it just me or is Dilana starting to sport a "Vince Neil belly"....LOL
Dude, I saw L.A. Guns even before they had a deal when they were playin' The Country Club out in L.A. I had no idea who they were and was out there on business and lookin' for something to do and saw a listing for their gig in L.A. Rocker weekly so I decided to check 'em out.
This is before one record came out. Here was the impression I was left with -- Stunning lead guitarist and weak, mediocre singer.
Since that time I saw the original line-up 5 times and once with Blades.
So, like I said before, neither is real deal anymore. I kinda liked Phil's version when I saw 'em cuz of Kenny Kweens on bass. What a showman.
Given the choice, however, if both versions were playin' right down the street from each other where I live, I would still drive the extra mile to see Tracii's version rather than Phil's simply because Tracii is more interesting to watch AND listen to than anyone in Lewis' outfit...
...Even if that means I have to ignore the new singer while I'm right up front, point blank on Tracii's side where I've always been everytime I seen 'em!
p.s. Hey, are you going to Saxon in Baltimore next Saturday? I really wanna get up there for that since ya gotta wonder if those boyz will ever make it back over here. Stryper and Schenker are headed to Charm City, too! Damn sometimes I wish I still lived there!
Sidenote - Just this past Summer the Phil Lewis version of LA Guns came to Lapeer Michigan to play a show and I was very excited because I hadn;t seen Phil since the split. They were terrible, aweful, horrible, I cannot come up with enough bad things to say. Each individual of the band was a mess and Phil told a racist joke on stage. I was CRUSHED! I have seen Tracii's version of LA Guns several times with two or three differant singers and while they were not perfect, they were good and entertaining. Tracii is a great guitarist. Just my two cents.
Back on subject I hope this new thing with Dilana goes real well!
To me, it's just as important, if not, more so, to hear his virtuoso guitar playing in an L.A. Guns experience than it is to hear Lewis' voice and a by-the-numbers hired gun (no pun intended) guitar player.
In the end, as I said earlier, without these guys playin' together in one L.A. Guns means they are both playin' on the "B-Teams".
p.s. Now if I could just get you to comment on Al's latest post about the fantastic band, FLAME, like everyone keeps doing here about GUNS.
Case in point, I give you your very own recommendation to me a couple of years ago that I am still just head over heels for -- Yep, you guessed it -- Danger Danger, "Cockroach". I LOVE both versions of the album -- Both the Ted Foley version and the Paul Laine version.
I still, to this day, cannot decide which one I like better. True, Poley is Danger Danger, but the version with Paul Laine was just slightly b*llsier sounding which served some of the material better than Poley.
Then we have Van Halen and Van Hagar, but your theory bears out here, even though they still sustained commercial success, Van Hagar just wasn't as Rock and Roll as it was with Roth's Hair Metal Progenitor Incarnation and instead, it all became more of an AOR Melodic Rock kind of an affair.
Then there's AC/DC. How do you choose which version is better? The Bon Scott original version, which I like a little better than the more straight ahead Brian Johnson version. Still, gems like the song "Ballbreaker", one of my faves with Brian Johnson are hard to imagine with anyone else singing it and unfortunately, is a comparison we'll never be able to truly make, for obvious reasons.
However, we do agree on one thing... I don't like this new singer. But his guitar work still dazzles. I just go to watch him run circles around so many out there including Blades, sorry.
Really wish these guys could get back together. Is it really gonna hit their wallets that hard? They actually might wind up makin' more cuz they can probably charge more as I believe they would be more in demand because of (a) the resurgence of Glam Metal and (b) the splash of them playing together again.
One interesting thing may be an unintended result of having two versions out there at once. They get twice the PR. Gotta wonder if that helps sales of the back catalogue on iTunes or some kind of bump somewhere (no, I didn't mean those kinds, though it more than likely helps those, too, hahaha!!!).
p.s. Kenny O! Ever heard Flame? Check 'em out on Al's latest post. I'm tellin' ya, their first album, "Blaze", is right up your alley!
BTW I like Ted Poley as a friend and the lead singer of Danger Danger. I love Cockroach and I like Paul Laine's version but every other cd that Paul was on sucked. Dawn, For The Hard Way and The Great Gildersleeves all were sub par songs in comparison to anything else Danger Danger had done with Ted. Hey once again these are my opinions and I bought the cd's so the joke was on me.
AND Tracii seems like a tortured soul with too much talent and not much in the common sense department. I'm with ya on him joining G'n'R but I guess those were cards Axl and Traccii aren't playing. I wonder if it ever even occurs to those two to get back together.
Here's a solution for a band who's members don't get along and have two versions out on the road. Just set up on opposite sides of the stage and perform simultaneously. In the case of L.A. Guns, Tracii and Phil would take the lead guitar and lead vocal position, respectively.
In all seriousness, I do hope G'n'R re-unite on stage at R'RHOF. Here's hop in'.
p.s. Long Haired Rocker. I more than appreciate your candor and insight, as well as respect your desire for anonymity. Would you, however, consider revealing the name of your band? I saw the original line-up of L.A. Guns 5 times back in the day and just wonderin' if I saw yer band on the same bill. This is much about wanting to trigger my memory banks as much as it is wonderin' if I own any of your music. Please consider this. It's an honor to have your presence among us and I mean that with utmost sincerity. I'm sure all of the BBGer's appreciate your comments and back stage perspective and might be curious to know more about your band as part of our cause to shed more and more light on great Glam Metal of the day! Thanks!