Will Kelly Nickels Continue Riley’s LA Guns?

With the passing of legendary rock drummer Steve Riley many fans are increasingly curious over the fate of the former WASP/LAG drummer’s band. A few years prior to his passing, Steve formed a rival version of LA Guns when his former bandmates refused to play at M3, a popular rock festival that showcases 80’s and early 90’s rock talent. Riley was always known as a workhorse and kept the band touring even when other members pursued other projects. In the ’90’s the group more or less disbanded after their 1994 release Vicious Circle. Tracii Guns and Steve Riley resurrected the band and became co-owners of the band name and rights in 1995/96. This is why Riley believed he had every right to bring the band back on his own. Ultimately, he settled on Riley’s LA Guns and recruited fellow LA Guns classic era bandmate Kelly Nickels. Nickels, along with former rhythm guitarist Mick Cripps, wrote a lion’s share of the band’s classic hits. Adding Nickels to the lineup made Riley’s LA Guns a major draw. Almost immediately, they were under attack, but took the moral highroad.

Once Riley’s LA Guns formed they landed a deal with Golden Robot Records and cut several killer tracks – all of which I’ve listened to dozens of times on Spotify. They were able to catch that debut LA Guns 1988 rawness. They sounded edgy, unpredictable, and every bit the dirty L.A. rock band their roots go back to. The other LA Guns sounds way cleaner. It doesn’t make your speakers bleed and it lacks that NY Dolls slop that’s so punk rock, with that no-f*cks-given attitude, and some metal theatrics thrown in for good measure. The namesakes sound good, but are also boring; they’re safe – they don’t take any risks.

Phil Lewis is a terrific singer who’s kept his pipes firing on all cylinders. His range is quite frankly noteworthy. And Tracii is a phenomenal guitarist that can pull from a wide range of influences and has some insanely classic and innovative riffs. That said when you compare LA Guns to Riley’s LA Guns, it’s Riley’s LA Guns all day and night for me. Sorry but not sorry.

From a legal standpoint, however, I don’t know where Steve’s passing leaves his band. Are they able to carry on with Golden Robot Records? Will the label honor the deal without Steve? Nickels is a phenomenal player and writer. And while no one can ever replace Steve, I’m sure they can find a good drummer to move forward with. I know in my heart that Steve would want his band to continue. Plus I’m sure these guys probably have plenty of unreleased music including Riley which could easily make for at least 1-2 records. It would be pretty cool to release a couple of albums worth of new music and unreleased tracks as a package. Who knows if they have any video content, perhaps from the studio or from the road. While VHS and DVD’s are dead formats, the label could release video through digital downloads, and may even press some DVD’s for the most hardcore of the hardcore on pre-order. Vinyl is also making a huge comeback and fans will pay any price to get their hands on records they can play and/or get autographed at concerts.

On another legal note, I don’t the specifics of why Tracii Guns and Steve Riley were able to acquire the rights to the band name in the mid 90’s. Did they buy everyone else out like in the Dokken scenario? Did they pay back taxes? Did they assume the rights from the major label the band was once signed to? Or did they sort of just take it? We saw what happened to the WEB deal with RATT, where ultimately just Warren and Bobby owned the name. That got set aside in court and suddenly guys like Stephen and Juan now had equal ownership stakes in the band. Not to mention a ton of back royalties and moneys owed them. I wonder who inherits Riley’s 50%? Could Kelly get it? Will Steve’s family have a claim to it? Does Tracii absorb it?

And what if Phil Lewis, Kelly Nickels, and Mick Cripps challenge the status quo and seek their 20% shares in the LA Guns band name today? I mean Kelly and Mick wrote a lion’s share of the songs and Phil is the voice of the band. It may not be a truckload of money, but Cocked And Loaded has been certified RIAA platinum. I’m pretty sure the debut record has been certified gold by now, as well as Hollywood Vampires. Vicious Circle probably broke the 100,000 units mark. Plus you have countless independent releases using the LAG name, merch, downloads. It just seems a little crazy that Phil’s up there singing his heart out every night and is essentially an employee of his guitar player’s. I don’t know? To each their own I guess. I mean what do I know? I’m just a lawyer out of Louisville.

All legalities aside, I’d love to see Golden Robot Records continue to support Riley’s LA Guns. Or maybe call it Kelly’s LA Guns, Nickels LA Guns, or just Hollywood Vampires. Whatever you call it, keep that band going, honor the deal, sign new deals and keep the music coming. Dedicate stuff to Steve and keep his legacy alive!

The last thing I want is for Kelly to go back into the cave. Keep killin it, brother!!