Claim: L.A. Guns brought on a replacement guitarist.

L.A. Guns are an American hard rock band from Los Angeles , California , formed in 1983 . As of 2014 , the lineup consists of Phil Lewis -LRB- lead vocals , rhythm guitar -RRB- , Steve Riley -LRB- drums , percussion , backing vocals -RRB- , Kenny Kweens -LRB- bass guitar , backing vocals -RRB- , and Michael Grant -LRB- lead guitar , backing vocals -RRB- . The first incarnation of the group was formed by Tracii Guns in 1983 and merged with fellow Los Angeles group Hollywood Rose to form Guns N ' Roses in 1984 . In 1985 , the group was reformed by Guns and singer Paul Black adding Mick Cripps and Nickey Alexander . Black would soon be replaced by former Girl singer Phil Lewis while former Faster Pussycat bassist Kelly Nickels was added to the group . Later , Alexander would be replaced by former W.A.S.P. drummer Steve Riley with this being known as the `` classic lineup '' of L.A. Guns . They achieved moderate chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s . However , the group went through numerous lineup changes -LRB- with Riley being the most consistent member -RRB- and failed to regain mainstream attention .   The `` classic lineup '' of the group would reunite in 1999 and began recording new material . However , the group continued to change lineups and Guns eventually left to form the hard rock supergroup Brides of Destruction with Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe in 2002 . L.A. Guns continued without Guns , bringing in guitarist Stacey Blades , however , following his decision to put Brides of Destruction on hiatus in 2006 , Guns formed The Tracii Guns Band . The group 's lineup consisted of former L.A. Guns members Black , Alexander as well as Jeremy Guns -LRB- though the lineup would eventually change -RRB- , with the group eventually changing their name to L.A. Guns . Both groups continued to record and tour under the L.A. Guns moniker until 2012 , when the Tracii Guns led version of the group disbanded .   To date , L.A. Guns has released ten studio albums -- L.A. Guns -LRB- 1988 -RRB- ; Cocked & Loaded -LRB- 1989 -RRB- ; Hollywood Vampires -LRB- 1991 -RRB- ; Vicious Circle -LRB- 1995 -RRB- ; American Hardcore -LRB- 1996 -RRB- ; Shrinking Violet -LRB- 1999 -RRB- ; Man in the Moon -LRB- 2001 -RRB- ; Waking the Dead -LRB- 2002 -RRB- ; Tales from the Strip -LRB- 2005 -RRB- ; and Hollywood Forever -LRB- 2012 -RRB- , two extended plays -- Cuts -LRB- 1992 -RRB- ; Wasted -LRB- 1998 -RRB- as well as a number of live and compilation albums .