Metal Sludge — Because I can’t control my big mouth, I will let it flap some more.

For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, L.A. Guns pulled a fast one on Saturday night July 23rd in Daytona Beach Florida, and the fans who attended that night’s Sonic Slam Tour stop were not very happy.

In short, L.A. Guns showed up in their big fancy tour bus and at some point that day determined they did not want to play the Ormond Beach Destination Daytona Complex Saturday night and simply bailed.

L.A. Guns are part of the Sonic Slam Tour package including headliners Tom Keifer Band and openers Faster Pussycat.

Some of you may recall that last month in Plano Texas there was an issue regarding heat, when Tracii Guns decided he did not want to play because it was too hot outside, and it affected him and what he referred to as his “panic disorder”.

But thankfully, a band member came up with the genius idea for Guns to play his guitar in the air-conditioned toilet backstage while the rest of L.A. Guns played on stage in front of the live audience.

So the road crew set up Tracii’s amp, pedal board and the related in a bathroom and Guns sat on the toilet and played lead guitar during their live show.

No, none of that is rumor or the least bit exaggerated, it’s all 100% true just as was first reported by Metal Sludge and it was confirmed by L.A. Guns and Tracii Guns himself with various social media posts that night when Guns actually went live from a toilet on his Facebook.

All good and with that… Saturday July 23rd in Florida was more heat, and more super high humidity.

But this time there was no genius idea to use the backstage bathroom with air-conditioning and no pedal board sitting next to the toilet, nope… the band just got in their tour bus and left the venue with no explanation to their fans at the event or on social media.

The other bands loaded in and set the stage for their respective set that night even though it was close to 90 degrees out with 89% humidity, but L.A. Guns opted to not play and left without addressing their abrupt departure.

Metal Sludge was first to report this as well, and Sleazeroxx has published a follow-up story that was ignited by Stevie Rachelle writing a Facebook blog regarding Tracii Guns and his claimed sensitivity to heat.

In a nutshell, the blog compared Guns with other rock stars who have faced adversity during a live show yet somehow forged forward, appeared on stage and fulfilled their contractual obligations.

The post by Rachelle openly busted Guns‘ balls for choosing to sit on a toilet backstage instead of taking the stage or canceling altogether because it was too hot.

With that… we’re giving you a new piece below which was also penned by Rachelle and with full disclosure, as most of you know he is this site’s owner and CEO since establishing Metal Sludge in 1998.

Enjoy…..

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L.A. Guns “The Missing Point“


I am not done… and yes there is more.

To any and all of you, who are defending Tracii Guns or the band L.A. Guns, let me tell you why all of your support is falling short.

You defenders of their failures are clearly Missing The Point!

This whole thing is not about Heat, or Anxiety.

Nope it’s about none of that.

The biggest failure of all is L.A. Guns and their lack of respect for the fans.

Regardless of their reason for pulling away from the venue in their tour bus last Saturday in Daytona Beach Florida, they owe the fans something.

Maybe not their show, or the full refund, but how about some common courtesy and an explanation as to what happened?

Whether this was regarding Tracii Guns‘ panic attack / anxiety issue, the sound system or other, shouldn’t the paying fans be given the simple respect of an acknowledgement?

Remember, the band posted, promoted and shared the event the same day and even shared their L.A. Guns exclusive V.I.P package links on multiple pages, which some fans have stated they bought and paid for.

The band was physically in their tour bus, with their equipment at the venue during the day but for whatever reason they chose to not stay and not play.

And I say with all respect, if there was a medical emergency, a production delay or anything else that caused them to not follow through on their agreed to and signed contract, it’s understood.

But …why no announcement?

Why no message via social media?

Why has it been 4 days, and the band has all but been radio silent, with no official statement regarding the Sonic Slam Tour Daytona Beach show?

Just to note, Motley Crue started their biggest ever tour a month ago, and on night #1 in Atlanta Georgia Tommy Lee left his drum riser after 5 songs and addressed 40,000 fans about his unfortunate accident involving injuries to his ribs.

Tommy and the band made the necessary adjustments to follow through with their show, and Lee again several nights into the tour, addressed each crowd nightly.

In addition, both Tommy Lee and the band Motley Crue, shared related social media announcements on these dates explaining their side of this to the fans.

A few weeks into that same massive Stadium Tour, Poison singer Bret Michaels fell ill, and was taken to an area hospital the night of the show.

That same night C.C. DeVille, Rikki Rockett and Bobby Dall walked out in front of a sold-out stadium of tens of thousands of people in Nashville, and addressed them directly that Poison would not be able to perform, because Bret was dealing with an emergency.

Later that night Bret Michaels’ social media platforms shared a message from Bret, to his fans explaining his absence from the show.

I could dig into the Google bar now, and pull up countless examples, of club shows in dive-bars to festival dates where bands were forced to cancel, yet some form of information was communicated to the fans, who attended said events to see those bands.

In the case of L.A. Guns, its several days later and there has been no official announcement made explaining what happened in Daytona Beach.

There are literally hundreds of questions, complaints and comments spread over social media from fans who were there, and are simply asking: “What happened?” and “Can I get my VIP money back” along with some fans showing concerns for the band’s well being.

Then there are the mixed signals… from the band and related representatives themselves.

No one wanted to or was willing to say anything on the record that was for public consumption, yet were quick to deny any and all rumor or speculation.

Word from the L.A. Guns camp on Saturday night was that “Illness” was the reason the band did not play, but at the same time, would not confirm “Heat” was a factor.

Just to make note, I have personally reached out to L.A. Guns “Management” but have yet to receive any form of reply.

If the matter is personal to the band, fair enough and understood, but shouldn’t the artist have some form of responsibility to the fans?

We’re not talking about a 1-off gig in front of 200 people in a corner bar here.

No, this tour package is one of the bigger of the 80’s era that is out this summer after a 2+ year layoff.

Fans have spent hard earned money and weighed decisions on what concerts to attend, making plans, travel, hotels, and even buying more expensive meet & greet packages for these groups, including L.A. Guns.

Going back to the Poison and Bret Michaels situation…

Clearly Bret was ill in some form or fashion and even after returning to the stage, he was still unable to make the meet & greets for Poison on the dates following the Nashville show.

But like professionals, the band and Bret shared statements informing the fans of what was going to happen, and what would not happen so there were no surprises.

It’s simple… Poison have shown the fans common courtesy and respect, as have Motley Crue with their communication regarding their issues with Tommy Lee.

This is not a let’s bash Tracii Guns or L.A. Guns campaign here, no, it’s about holding someone accountable.

If mega stars and multi-millionaires like Motley Crue and Bret Michaels can own up and answer their fans, then an in-flux bar-band like L.A. Guns can do the same!


Thanks for reading,
Stevie Rachelle

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