Steve Riley (born January 22, 1956) is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

drummer, best known for his work with

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, W.A.S.P., and

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vo ...

Career

After graduating high school in the 70s, Riley moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. In 1979, he joined a revival of Steppenwolf, but the lineup broke up later that year. Riley joined up-and-coming L.A. band

and recorded their breakthrough album ''

The Right to Rock ''The Right to Rock'' is the second studio album by American glam metal band Keel (band), Keel. It was the first to be produced by Kiss (band), Kiss's Gene Simmons under their new label Gold Mountain Records (which was distributed by A&M Records ...

'' with them in 1984. Later that year, Riley departed Keel to replace founding member Tony Richards in W.A.S.P., another L.A. band whose debut album had recently achieved gold status in sales. As a member of W.A.S.P., Riley performed on the albums '' The Last Command'', ''

Inside the Electric Circus ''Inside the Electric Circus'' is the third studio album by heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released in October 1986 through Capitol Records; a remastered edition featuring two bonus tracks was reissued in 1997 through Snapper Music.

'', and '' Live...In the Raw''. Vocalist

Ron Keel Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

has described Riley as "driven to succeed and to play". Keel applauded Riley's decision to leave his band for the opportunity with W.A.S.P., saying "I mean, you've got to be ready for those opportunities when they knock". Keel and Riley remain friends. Riley left W.A.S.P. and immediately joined rising Sunset Strip band

in 1987, becoming part of the band's "classic" lineup alongside guitarists

Tracii Guns Tracy Richard Irving Ulrich (born January 20, 1966), known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the supergroups named Brides of Destruction and Contraba ...

and

Mick Cripps Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...

, vocalist Phil Lewis and bassist

Kelly Nickels Kelly Nickels (born January 5, 1962) is a bassist who has played in various bands including Sweet Pain, Faster Pussycat, and L.A. Guns. Career Faster Pussycat Nickels started as a roadie and light man for the band Hotshot, which was an early i ...

. He appeared on the albums '' Cocked & Loaded'', and '' Hollywood Vampires''. Riley was fired from the band in 1992 but returned in 1995. In 2006, there were two L.A. Guns lineups, Phil Lewis's and Tracii Guns's. Riley was a member of Lewis's lineup until it folded in 2016 when merging with Guns's version. Subsequently, Riley created his own version of L.A. Guns in 2019. This version released an album, Renegades, through Golden Robot records. Following lawsuits over the band name, a settlement was reach in April 2021, allowing this band to continue as Riley's L.A. Guns.

Discography

With Roadmaster

* ''Roadmaster'' (1976)

With The Lawyers

* ''The Lawyers'' (1981)

With The B'zz

* ''Get Up'' (1982)

With Keel

* ''

'' (1985)

With W.A.S.P.

* '' The Last Command'' (1985) * ''

'' (1986) * '' Live...In the Raw'' (1987)

With L.A. Guns

*''

'' (1988) (Track 12) * '' Cocked & Loaded'' (1989) * '' Hollywood Vampires'' (1991) *'' Cuts'' (1992) (Tracks 5-7) * '' American Hardcore'' (1996) * ''

Wasted Wasted may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature *'' Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk'', a 1997 memoir by Mark Judge *'' Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia'', a 1998 autobiography by Marya Hornbacher *'' Wasted: A Childhood Sto ...

'' (1998) * '' Shrinking Violet'' (1999) * '' Greatest Hits and Black Beauties (1999) * ''

Man in the Moon In many cultures, several pareidolic images of a human face, head or body are recognized in the disc of the full moon; they are generally known as the Man in the Moon. The images are based on the appearance of the dark areas (known as lunar ma ...

'' (2001) * '' Waking the Dead'' (2002) * ''

Rips the Covers Off ''Rips the Covers Off'', some copies of which are titled ''Rips Off the Covers'', is an album by Phil Lewis's version of L.A. Guns, their first with guitarist Stacey Blades. The studio portion of the album (songs 1-11) consists of cover son ...

'' (2004) * '' Tales from the Strip'' (2005) * '' Covered in Guns'' (2010) * '' Hollywood Forever (2012) *'' Renegades'' (2020)

References

External links

L.A. Guns official website
Living people People from Revere, Massachusetts American rock drummers Glam metal musicians L.A. Guns members W.A.S.P. members Musicians from Massachusetts Steppenwolf (band) members 1956 births 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Keel (band) members {{US-rock-drummer-stub