L.A. Guns

Leopard Skin

(Biography)

It was almost 40 years ago that L.A. Guns established themselves as the undisputed sleaze kings of the Sunset Strip, and, eventually, the world. At this point in time, most bands in their position would be content to lay back, rest on their rock ‘n’ roll laurels and trot out the hits on endless repeat for the fans. Instead, L.A. Guns, in true down ‘n’ dirty form, are grinding.

Exhibit A is the band’s newest album, LEOPARD SKIN, which not only comes hot on the heels of 2023’s excellent BLACK DIAMONDS, but is also their fifth studio effort in seven years, since the core team of guitarist and band founder Tracii Guns and singer Phil Lewis reunited in 2017.

What’s behind this creative burst? “I think subconsciously we’re making up for lost time, where we didn't make records together for 12 years,” Guns says. More than that, he just has music in his blood. “I wouldn’t even call it an obsession – I just need to get all the music I can out of my system,” he continues. “And I’m not set in any particular way of doing it. I’m not looking for perfection. I’m just looking for every record to be something new. You want it to have its own thing.”

LEOPARD SKIN, like the last few L.A. Guns records, reconvenes the tight-knit lineup of Guns, Lewis, bassist Johnny Martin, guitarist Ace Von Johnson and studio drummer Adam Hamilton, but beyond that it is its own unique beast. True to form, it’s a hard-and-heavy, tough-as-nails L.A. Guns set. But the music also presents the band at their funkiest, rowdiest, most classic-rock-worshipping best. And it’s clear they’re having a helluva lot of fun playing it.

Explains Tracii, “When we started doing records again in 2017, I wanted to be really aggressive. We hadn't put out anything new in a lot of years, and we needed to be focused to have an impact. This one was a different approach. Musically, it was more about James Brown and soul music, with some ’70s sensibilities – things like Joe Walsh and the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls. And the process was more organic. It was, ‘Here’s a riff, go for it. Let's see how many riffs we can build after this riff, and then going into the next riff.’”

The results speak for themselves. You want a four-on-the-floor AC/DC-style stomper? Cue up anthemic opener “Taste It.” Slippery funk-rock? Try out “Lucky Motherfucker” or “Don’t Gimme Away.” Rollicking ‘70s-style glam? Drop the needle on “If You Wanna.” Swampy, slide guitar-laced grooves? Crank up the Zep-tastic “The Grinder.” 

And that’s not all: There’s also a Blind Blake-style country blues workout (“Runaway Train”), a ridiculously over-the-top sex-and-sweets romp (“I’m Your Candy Man”) and even a shimmering ’80s goth ballad that floats on waves of reverb-drenched, vibrato-ed guitar lines before blooming into a gorgeously melodic refrain (the dark and evocative “Hit and Run”). It all adds up to a record that is pure L.A. Guns, but also like nothing you’ve ever heard before from the band.

It's a sentiment embedded right there in the album title. “There’s the saying, ‘A leopard never changes its spots,’” Guns says. “But even so, they have a million different spots. And they’re all unique.”

"It’s the same with L.A. Guns,” he continues. “We can’t shed our leopard skin, but there’s a lot of different spots in this band.”

Those spots run the gamut from early anthems like “Electric Gypsy,” “Rip and Tear” and “Over the Edge,” to indelible ballads like “It’s Over Now” and “The Ballad of Jayne,” to more recent classics like “Speed,” “Cannonball” and now, the ten tracks that comprise LEOPARD SKIN.

But across all the decades and all the music, the song, in a sense, remains the same. “The number one thing is we write for ourselves,” Guns says. “It’s like, ‘What's missing in our record collection right now? Okay, we need more of that.’ And fortunately for us, I think L.A. Guns fans have the same taste that we do. That keeps us steady, and it also allows us to be versatile. Because the death of this would be trying to focus on a singular sound in a singular formula, which works for a few other bands really well, but we could never do it.”

Where does that position L.A. Guns in 2025? Tracii returns to LEOPARD SKIN. “The song title ‘Lucky Motherfucker’ kinda says it all,” he says. “Because I don't know how many other bands that have been around almost 40 years are still out there not just touring consistently, but putting out records consistently, and the thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger from year to year.”

He continues. “So the work ethic is yielding what it’s supposed to, you know what I mean? The fans stay excited, we stay excited, and we keep making records. And as long as we have that opportunity and there’s a place for this music in the world, there’s no reason to ever stop.”

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