Road Crew (band)
| Company type | Garage band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles , United States |
| Products | Music (unreleased recordings) |
Road Crew was a garage band originating from Los Angeles, established toward the end of 1983. The group featured future Guns N' Roses members Slash, Steven Adler, and Duff McKagan. While they experimented with various vocalists during their songwriting phase, the band dissolved within the same year without issuing any recordings.
Following his dismissal from Guns N' Roses in 1990, Adler joined the band Vain in 1991, which subsequently adopted the name Road Crew. This iteration included former members of the California glam rock ensemble Vain: Davy Vain, Ashley Mitchell, Jamie Scott, and Shawn Rorie. Although they completed an album and garnered interest from record labels, Adler's struggles with substance abuse led to another split before the album could be released.
Formation and early dissolution (1984)
After the breakup of his earlier band Tidus Sloan, Slash found himself without a musical project. His longtime friend Steven Adler, a drummer, proposed forming a new band together. After auditioning for London without success, they placed an advertisement in The Recycler seeking a bassist and held auditions for singers. Duff McKagan, who had recently relocated from Seattle to Los Angeles and previously played in groups such as The Fartz, responded to their ad.
McKagan first met Slash and Adler at Canter’s Deli. According to Slash, McKagan was a tall, slender individual with a punk aesthetic. The trio then formed Road Crew, taking their name from Motörhead’s track "(We Are) The Road Crew." They began searching for a vocalist.
During this period, they auditioned several singers including Ron Reyes, formerly of Black Flag, while working on material that contained the primary riff later featured in "Rocket Queen." However, Adler later clarified that none of Road Crew's compositions were utilized until the Use Your Illusion II album. Despite having strong chemistry as a unit, Slash decided to disband Road Crew due to challenges in securing a suitable singer and concerns over Adler’s partying lifestyle and inconsistent dedication compared to himself and McKagan.
Afterwards, Slash briefly played with Black Sheep and tried out for Poison. Both Slash and Adler became members of Hollywood Rose for a time. Hollywood Rose eventually dissolved and reformed without them under the name Guns N’ Roses. Slash, McKagan, and Adler replaced original members Tracii Guns, Ole Beich, and Rob Gardner respectively, joining forces with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin to create what became known as the classic Guns N’ Roses lineup.
Second formation (1991)
Following his exit from Guns N' Roses in 1990, Adler became a member of the heavy metal outfit Vain, which featured vocalist Davy Vain, guitarists Jamie Scott and Shawn Rorie, and bassist Ashley Mitchell. The band eventually rebranded as Road Crew and produced an album. Although they garnered interest from record labels, the project was ultimately abandoned due to Adler's struggles with substance abuse. Six tracks from this era were subsequently included on Vain's releases "Move On It," "Fade," and "Enough Rope," with Adler receiving credits on "Cindy" and "Worship You" from the 2011 album "Enough Rope."
After Road Crew dissolved, Adler had a brief stint with BulletBoys before forming Suki Jones, which later transitioned into Adler's Appetite, a group that performed sporadically starting in 2003. When Adler's Appetite disbanded, he launched a new band under his own name, Adler, in 2011. On April 14, 2012, Slash, McKagan, and Adler were honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Guns N' Roses' classic lineup, sharing top billing at the event alongside Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, and Myles Kennedy.
Members
- Initial lineup
- Steven Adler – drums (1984)
- Slash – guitar (1984)
- Duff McKagan – bass (1984)
- Second lineup
- Steven Adler – drums (1991)
- Davy Vain – lead vocals (1991)
- Ashley Mitchell – bass (1991)
- Jamie Scott – guitar (1991)
- Shawn Rorie – guitar (1991)