Izzy Stradlin

Izzy Stradlin

Izzy Stradlin (b. April 8 1962, Lafayette, Indiana) is an American musician, best known as the lead songwriter and rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses from 1985 to 1991. Since leaving the band in 1991, Stradlin has released eight solo albums, including two iTunes-only releases in 2007.

Biography

Early life

Izzy Stradlin was born as Jeffrey Dean Isbell of English, French and Scottish descent.

Of Lafayette, Stradlin said, "It was cool growing up there. There's a courthouse (Tippecanoe County Courthouse) and a college (Purdue University), a river (the Wabash) and railroad tracks. It's a small town, so there wasn't much to do. We rode bikes, smoked pot, got into trouble - it was pretty Beavis and Butthead actually."

Stradlin's first musical favorites included Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones, but the biggest influence was his grandmother, who had a band together with her friends. Stradlin talked his parents into buying him a drum kit. He would stay with the drums until 1983, when he chose to switch to guitar, since it was easier to write songs on, and songwriters had a better chance of making money. In high school Stradlin started playing in a band with some friends. One of them was William Bailey, better known as Axl Rose. "We were long-haired guys in high school. You were either a jock or a stoner. We weren't jocks, so we ended up hanging out together. We'd play covers in the garage. There were no clubs to play at, so we never made it out of the garage. Axl was really shy about singing back then. But I always knew he was a singer."

Guns N' Roses

After his graduation Stradlin decided that Indiana wasn't enough if he wanted to pursue a musical career. He packed his drum kit into his car and headed for Los Angeles. He tried his luck as drummer with a couple of bands, then switched to bass for a short while. After a few years in Los Angeles, Stradlin was joined by Axl, and they ended up playing together in a band they called Rose (later called Hollywood Rose), which was the first band Stradlin played guitar in. In 1984, he briefly left to join Sunset Strip staple, London (whose revolving membership included Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe as well as Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. amongst its ranks). However, he returned to playing with Rose in time for the band to finish the year by playing a show at the 'Dancing Waters' club in Los Angeles.

Rose became Hollywood Rose, and then broke up before re-uniting and morphing into Guns N' Roses. The early history of the band is confusing, but in June of 1985 the classic lineup of Guns N' Roses embarked on their first tour, the infamous "Hell Tour" that took them up along the U.S. west coast to Seattle, hometown of bass guitar player Duff McKagan. Around that time, Stradlin adopted his gypsy look and started playing classic looking guitars (hollowbody and semi-hollowbody, as well as telecasters), both as tributes to his idol, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.

When the "Appetite for Destruction" tour ended, Stradlin, along with bandmates Slash, Duff and Steven, ratcheted up the heavy drinking and drug use that had become a trademark of the band. Unlike the others, Stradlin finally managed to overcome the temptation of continuous intoxication and cleaned up. He has said that touring with Aerosmith in 1988 was a big source of inspiration: "It was like, thank God we got to meet some people that weren't fucked up! I'd go out to watch and they'd sound fucking amazing! I thought, we're gonna have to really pull this shit together to keep up, 'cause they were right, you know? And with us, even then, it was like the music was already taking a back seat to all the other shit..." What finally made him take the decision to give up drugs was an infamous incident on board an airplane in which he was arrested for urinating in the galley of the plane. After that incident, Stradlin was subjected to random urine tests for drugs.

Stradlin was often seen as the silent one in the "most dangerous band in the world," and this became a lot more noticeable during the 1991 "Use Your Illusion" tour. Stradlin didn't travel with the band anymore. He, his Swedish girlfriend Annica Kreuter (who he later married in 2000), and his dog had a private bus that took them from show to show. He commented further that this had to do with his efforts in remaining sober while being around people still drinking and using drugs. Stradlin has also mentioned that after Adler's firing, he felt that Matt Sorum's sound "didn't work" for the band, and that Adler was essential to the band's sound. Also, it's been noted by Axl and Slash that Izzy was simply not having fun with the band anymore, and no longer enjoyed it.

Stradlin finally decided to leave the band after a show in Mannheim, Germany, on August 26, 1991. Fairly early on in the set (which started rather late to begin with), Rose walked off the stage for no apparent reason. The band tried to convince him to return onstage (including a heated encounter between Sorum and Rose), but he refused. Fearing another incident like the riot at St. Louis, the management locked the gates around the venue so that Rose could not leave. Once Rose realized he wasn't going anywhere, he returned onstage and finished the set. The next day, Stradlin informed the band through their manager Alan that he was quitting. He finally left the band on November 7 1991, at the end of the European leg of the band's tour. His last show as an official member was at Wembley Stadium, London, in front of a crowd of 72,000 people.

After Guns N' Roses and beyond

After Guns N' Roses he went back to Indiana and started recording the songs that ended up on his first solo album with his band the Ju Ju Hounds, Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds, released in 1992. The music was more laid back and simpler than Use Your Illusion I and II They received fair reviews and went out on a world tour.

In 1993 Stradlin's replacement in GN'R, Gilby Clarke, hurt his wrist in a motorcycle accident and the band's upcoming European tour was in jeopardy. A quick solution was needed, and Stradlin was able to fill the gap. However, after his tour obligations were met, he promptly returned to Indiana to take time away from the music industry. Stradlin was promised to receive royalties he felt he was owed by the band in return for this.

During the years off, Stradlin travelled a lot and dedicated much time to two strong interests: motors and racing. He even built a track close to his house. In 1998 Stradlin returned to the music scene with his second solo album, 117°. As before, he had little interest in promoting the album — he agreed only to do a few interviews — and played few live performances. It turned out that it would be Stradlin's last release on the Geffen label. In the big merge of the label into Dreamworks, Stradlin and many others were dropped (along with Duff McKagan).

In 1999 his third solo album Ride On, a Japan-only album, was released on the Universal Victor label. This time Stradlin actually did a small tour in Japan as promotion. A fourth album called River came out in 2001 released by Sanctuary then re-released in the United States by Canoga Park California-based indie label Bilawn Records, followed by On Down The Road in 2002.

Several of his former bandmates asked him to join Velvet Revolver when it was in its formative stage, but he declined due to his unwillingness to work with a lead singer and his aversion to the life on the road, although he offered to split vocal duties with Duff.

In 2003 Stradlin recorded his sixth album, Like A Dog. Several promo copies were made, but it was not released. Two years later, a petition was formed by Stradlin fan Will Villiers to have the promo copies sold to Stradlin's fans. The petition was very successful, with over 1,000 signatures. The maker of the petition, who also hosts a large Izzy Stradlin fansite, was contacted by Stradlin. He'd decided to release Like A Dog, selling them for $20 to his fans.

In 2004, Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan, his former Guns N' Roses bandmate, appeared on the Mark Lanegan album, Bubblegum. Stradlin announced in early 2006 that he was considering releasing some tracks excluded from his albums among other things hidden away in his basement.

As with fellow former member of Guns N' Roses, Matt Sorum, it appears that Stradlin and Axl Rose have repaired their fractured friendship, as it was reported that Rose attended a birthday party held for Stradlin in New York.

Back on the road with Guns N' Roses

On May 17 2006, Stradlin appeared on stage with Guns N' Roses to perform the songs Nightrain, Think About You and Patience. Stradlin also performed six songs with Guns N' Roses at the UK's Download Festival on June 11 2006, in Prague on June 13 2006 and in Nijmegen, The Netherlands on July 2 2006. The songs were "Patience", "Nightrain", "Used to Love Her", "Think About You", "Paradise City" and "You Could Be Mine". He also appeared on stage in Oslo Spektrum, Norway during the concert on July 8 2006 and on Legia Stadium in Poland on June 15.

Stradlin also has made an appearance with Guns N' Roses during numerous UK performances. He appeared at Sheffield's Hallam FM hall, Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena on July 19 2006, Glasgow's SECC on July 22 2006, Manchester's Manchester Evening News Arena on July 23 2006, in Birmingham at the National Exhibition Centre on July 25 2006, at Nottingham Arena on the July 27 2006. Also on July 29 at Wembley Arena, London and July 30 at the same venue.

Izzy Stradlin made his first appearance with GN'R on their 2006 North American tour at the first show of three at Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California (December 17 2006). He guested on Think About You, Used to Love Her, Patience, Nightrain and Paradise City. He also appeared on December 19/December 20 at the Gibson Amphitheater to play the same songs.

Recently, Stradlin has been in contact with the four other original Gunners, and was approached by Steven Adler about a possible reunion tour, which Adler said would be "the biggest reunion in history." Stradlin is supposedly in favor of the idea.

iTunes (2007)

On May 3 2007, Izzy announced on www.Chopaway.com that a new album would be released on iTunes sometime in May-June 2007, and on May 30, the record was released. The album is an exclusive 'iTunes only' release, available in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe simultaneously. No physical CD release has been planned. The album features 11 tracks recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, including "Buildings In The Sky," "Let Go," "TJ" and "FSO Ragga." The new album is described by guitarist Rick Richards as being "a bit of a departure from "Like A Dog" but still quite a rocker."

On July 24 2007, Stradlin announced that "Miami" had been remixed and re-released on iTunes. All tracks were remixed except "FSO Ragga". The original mix of "Miami" is no longer available on iTunes.

Izzy's Statement: "JT Longoria and I have just remixed 10 tracks of the "Miami" recordings and its much louder and more powerful sounding now. It was done in Dallas at Nomad Studios. Gary long did the mastering. Big thanks to those guys. It has just gone live on I-Tunes today. You will hear the difference...... Cheers! Izzy."

Stradlin released another iTunes-only album in November, 2007, entitled "Fire", the Acoustic Album.

Discography

Main article: Izzy Stradlin discography

Title	Release Date	Label
Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds	1992	Geffen
117°	1998	Geffen
Ride On	1999	Geffen
River	2001	Sanctuary
On Down the Road	2002	JVC – Victor
Like a Dog	2003	Internet release
Miami	2007	Internet release
Fire, the acoustic album	2007	Internet release

Live Albums

Title	Release Date	Label
Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds Live	1993	Geffen

With Guns N' Roses

Title	Release Date	Label
Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide	1986	UZI Suicide
Appetite for Destruction	1987	Geffen
EP (Live from the Jungle)	1987	Geffen
G N' R Lies	1988	Geffen
Use Your Illusion I	1991	Geffen
Use Your Illusion II	1991	Geffen
Live Era: '87-'93	1999	Geffen

External links

• Chopaway.com :The Official Izzy Stradlin Website
• Izzy Stradlin Message Board
• Izzy Stradlin On Tour 1992-2007
• VH1 Bio