Guitarist Stacey Blades has announced his departure from L.A. GUNS. His official statement reads as follows:
“This isn’t an easy announcement, but as of this month, I will no longer be playing guitar for L.A. GUNS. I dearly wish Phil [Lewis, vocals], Scotty [Griffin, bass] and Steve [Riley, drums] much continued success.
“It’s been a crazy ten-year ride filled with some amazing tours, albums and memories to last a lifetime!
“Due to extenuating circumstances and musical differences, I have decided not to continue with the band.
“L.A. GUNS was a dream come true, but life is full of new beginnings and journeys.
“I will be taking some time off and have some different things lined up that I will share with you in the near future.
“I would like to first and foremost thank the fans for allowing me into your hearts! You guys rule!! Hope to see you all soon!”
Blades played on four L.A. GUNS albums: “Rips The Covers Off” (2004), “Tales Trom The Strip” (2005), “Loud And Dangerous: Live From Hollywood” (2006) and “Hollywood Forever” (2012). He also authored a book, “Confessions Of A Replacement Rockstar”, which was published in 2009.
In an April 2012 interview with Geeks Of Doom, L.A. GUNS frontman Phil Lewis stated about Blades, “He’s brilliant; he really is. He’s just [an] amazing guitarist. I’ve seen him develop; first thing he did when he came in was work on a cover record that we did and he was good then but he’s just knocked it out the park as far as I’m concerned. He’s just such a brilliant guitar player, in fact if anything he needs to pull back because he’s starting to touch on the [Joe] Satriani kind of style! He’s really motivated, he knows that he’s going to be compared to a very iconic guitarist and a lot of people love the old guy, so Stacey knows he’s got his work cut out replacing a bit of an icon and he’s rose to the challenge. He sounds great, he’s playing great. Brought in some good songs. He’s got the title track of the [the latest L.A. GUNS album, “Hollywood Forever”] so that’s pretty good for someone that hasn’t had a great deal of recording experience. Certainly not as much as me and Steve, so he aced that. He aced the opening title track so good for him.”
Source: www.blabbermouth.net