L.A. Guns frontman Phil Lewis recently guested on The Chuck Shute Podcast for an in-depth interview about the band's new abum, his relationship witgh guitarist Tracii Guns, working at Fox Sports, tour plans and more. Check it out below.

On his relationshiop with Tracii Guns

Lewis: "When I first joined the band, him and I we were just best friends. He was just so sweet and it really did change my life getting me over and given me the gig. But, like most things that there's a honeymoon period and that didn't last very long at all and that's okay. We were on the same page with as far as the band was concerned - just the way we were going about it - but he wanted to be Slayer or Motörhead, and I was like 'No, that's not right for us.' Our opinions did vary and for the most part, we stayed friends, but in the big days, in the Cocked & Loaded multi-platinum phase, there was a lot of outside pressure from management, publicists, and even accountants. We became not so much a band they were looking for a hit machine. There was Poison, there was Cinderella, and they wanted us to to follow in the footsteps and get to that Bon Jovi level.

Bon Jovi's label, Polygram, signed us because they liked our edge, they liked the rawness of it. And then it didn't take too long before they wanted to smooth it out and tried to say 'Write us a power ballad' because that was all the thing at the time. And that drove a big wedge between Tracii and I's friendship, no doubt about it. For a while that because of that, we we actually hated each other. After Hollywood Vampires - like Vicious Circle and all of that stuff - we were in the same studio but strictly on separate times so that we wouldn't have to encounter each other. It got that bad. When we did get back together, the first reunion and we put Waking The Dead together, which I felt was fucking great, I was so happy that we you know, we found ourselves."

L.A. Guns will release their new album, Checkered Past, on November 12. Pre-order / save your copy on CD / Color Vinyl / Digital here, and watch a video for the song, "Get Along", below:

Written and recorded during late 2020 and early 2021, Checkered Past sees Tracii Guns, Phil Lewis, and company continuing with the darker lyrical tone of the preceding studio albums, The Devil You Know and The Missing Peace, while incorporating their classic rock influences into the mix. Heavier songs are mixed with bluesier, boogie inducing tracks and dark, introspective ballads, often harkening back to the first three albums the band made, but also pushing the band forward. When fans absorb the album as a whole, they'll see that the tracklisting is divided up into 'sets' or 'suites', where a sonic style is explored across multiple songs before moving on to the next, making for a remarkable listening experience.

Feeling inspired and excited like they did when they first started out, but with many years of wisdom and experience under their belts, and most importantly, a renewed and stronger creative and personal relationship, Guns and Lewis are maintaining a creative peak that started with The Missing Peace. Checkered Past shows a band invigorated and ready to bash you over the head, as well as “wow” you with some epic, slower songs, and even make you dance a bit to some rock 'n roll.

Since their self-titled debut in 1988 to the widely praised comeback albums The Missing Peace and The Devil You Know, L.A. Guns, led by Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis, have always delivered solid rock ‘n roll to their fans. This current incarnation of the band has been touring non-stop, with a notable break coinciding with all other touring bands, and the cohesiveness of the unit, not to mention Phil’s stunning and unique vocals and Guns’ mind-bending guitar playing, are on full display here. A must hear and listen for all fans of the band, both new and old.

L.A. Guns never looked like the pretty poster boys that so many of their peers did, but more the band that you would be terrified to bump into in an alley as they would likely be carrying switchblades and ready for a fight. But despite having many songs to back up that image, the band could also write powerful ballads (see the smash hit, “The Ballad Of Jayne” for Exhibit A of this argument) that showed there were some serious songwriting chops in the band. Those chops are on full display on the band's two most recent studio albums and the upcoming new album, Checkered Past, arguably one of the most vital and exciting releases in the band’s catalog.

Tracklisting:

"Cannonball"
"Bad Luck Charm"
"Living Right Now"
"Get Along"
"If It's Over Now"
"Better Than You"
"Knock Me Down"
"Dog"
"Let You Down"
"That Ain’t Why"
"Physical Itch"

"Cannonball" video:

"Knock Me Down":

Tour dates:

November
12 - Indio, CA - Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
26 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - Coach House
27 - Long Beach, CA - Gaslamp

December
3 - Las Vegas, NV - Count's Vamp'd
4 - Las Vegas, NV - Count's Vamp'd
31 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go

February
9-14 - Port of Miami, FL - Monsters of Rock Cruise 2022

Lineup:

Phil Lewis - vocals
Tracii Guns - guitar
Ace Von Johnson - guitar
Johnny Martin - bass
Scot Coogan - drums