Alex Grossi (born November 22, 1976) is an American guitarist, best known as the guitarist of heavy metal band

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though th ...

and the hard rock supergroup Hookers & Blow.

Biography

Early life and career

Alexander Nicholas Grossi was born Alexander Nicholas Lesbines on November 22, 1976, and grew up in

South Windsor, Connecticut South Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 26,918 at the 2020 census. History In 1659, Thomas Burnham (1617–1688) purchased the tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and East H ...

. At age 17 he got a job teaching guitar lessons at Riccardo's Music Center in East Hartford. While living in Connecticut, he was lead guitarist for the band Wake Up Jack. Upon finishing high school, he moved to Boston where he joined up with Angry Salad. The band was soon signed to Atlantic Records and toured extensively until 2001, when the AOL/Time-Warner merger cost them their deal. The band was bought out of their second record and went their separate ways. In 2002 Grossi re-located to Los Angeles and quickly became one the hardest working guitarists in town, eventually landing him the guitar spot in

when the band re-formed in 2004. Grossi toured with

in 2005 and 2006 throughout America, Europe, South America and Asia and contributed songwriting on the songs "Free" and "Strange Daze" for the 2006 '' Rehab'' and joined in for the album's 2007 tour, which included feature slots at the 2007 Sweden Rock Festival as well as the first annual Rocklahoma Festival. Grossi remained in the band until vocalist

Kevin DuBrow Kevin Mark DuBrow (October 29, 1955 – November 19, 2007) was an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot from 1975 until 1987, and again from 1993 until his death in 2007. Early life, photography ...

's death. Quiet Riot disbanded in January 2008, but has since been revived by

Frankie Banali Frankie Banali (November 14, 1951 – August 20, 2020) was an American rock drummer, most widely known for his work with heavy metal band Quiet Riot. His signature tone and iconic drum intros first became famous on their album ''Metal Health' ...

and has been touring again since 2010. Along with

Dizzy Reed Darren Arthur Reed (born June 18, 1963), better known by his stage name Dizzy Reed, is an American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the keyboardist for the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has played, toured, and recor ...

of Guns N' Roses, Grossi formed Hookers & Blow in 2003, shortly after Grossi's move to L.A. Dizzy Reed suggested the band's name as something for people to "Pay attention to." The group does not write music, and tours for fun with different lineups of all-star musicians. Grossi has also written, toured and recorded with such artists as

Bang Tango Bang Tango is an American hard rock band. The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1988 and was signed to MCA Records the same year. History Formation (1988) Initially the band was founded by guitarist Mark Knight and bassist Kyle Kyle in 1 ...

, Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses,

Adler's Appetite Adler's Appetite, previously Suki Jones, is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of namesake and drummer Steven Adler, vocalist Ari Kamin, guitarists Michael Thomas and Alistair Ja ...

Jani Lane Jani Lane (born John Kennedy Oswald; February 1, 1964 – August 11, 2011) was an American singer and the lead vocalist, frontman, lyricist and main songwriter for the glam metal band Warrant. From Hollywood, California, the band experienced su ...

of Warrant, Beautiful Creatures, Love/Hate,

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

, Dizzy Reed of Guns N' Roses (in Hookers & Blow), Orange County hardcore band Ignite and Elektra Records singer/songwriter

Aimee Allen Aimee Allen is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. She is currently the lead vocalist for the ska-punk band the Interrupters under the moniker Aimee Interrupter. As a singer-songwriter, she has collaborated with Mark ...

. In 2009 Grossi took part in the RS ROAD SHOW put on by

Paul Reed Smith Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) is an American luthier and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars, a high-end guitar maker. Early life Smith graduated from Bowie High School in 1974. He also attended St. Mary's College of Maryland wh ...

guitars. In 2010

released "Alive", a new single. The song was released in conjunction with Adler's New York Times Bestseller tell-all biography "My Appetite for Detstruction: Sex, Drugs and Guns N' Roses" and debuted on

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

in July. The band also did a 50 city US tour in support of the release. On September 13, 2010, it was announced that

would be reforming with the line up which would include Grossi, Frankie Banali and Chuck Wright. In 2011 Grossi formed Hotel Diablo. The band entered the studio with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke producing. They released the first track "Set it Off" via iTunes and band played its first show at the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boule ...

in Hollywood on September 2, 2011. In July 2012 it was announced that Hotel Diablo had signed a worldwide deal with

Scarlet Records Scarlet Records is an Italian independent record label based in Milan. It is most notable for featuring two side projects from Soilwork front-man Björn "Speed" Strid, as well as bands like Agent Steel, Royal Hunt, Skyclad, Eldritch, Hatespher ...

and Entertainment One for the release of the band's full-length debut "The Return To Psycho, California", which was released worldwide on September 25, 2012. Grossi has had music placed in multiple T.V. shows and motion pictures including the

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

produced film ''The Smokers'', the FX hit series '' Sons of Anarchy'' as well as the Walt Disney/Touchstone picture '' The Proposal'' and the '' VH1 series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew''. He has also done several TV appearances including a 2003 documentary on the Rhode Island nightclub fire for the Lifetime network. In addition to touring with Dizzy Reed in Hookers & Blow he also appears on Dizzy Reed's debut solo album, ''Rock 'N Roll Ain't Easy'', a record that has been in the making for over ten years. Most recently, Alex has appeared on the latest release from Hip-Hop icons

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

appearing alongside George Clinton and Cypress Hill on the track "What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down"?.

Discography

Angry Salad

* '' The Guinea Pig EP'' (1995) * '' Bizarre Gardening Accident'' (1997) * '' Angry Salad'' (1999) (ATLANTIC RECORDS)

Star 64

* ''You May Be Beautiful'' (2001)

Bang Tango

* '' Ready to Go'' (2004) SHRAPNEL RECORDS * ''Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt'' (2011)

Beautiful Creatures

* '' Deuce'' (2005) (JVC RECORDS) * '' Deuce Deluxe'' (2017)

Aimee Allen

* ''Revolution" (Elektra Records)

John Corabi / Fred Coury

* '' Home Sweet Home'' - An"All Star"salute to Motley Crue (2008)

Hotel Diablo

* ''Psycho, California (ep)'' (2012) * ''The Return To Psycho, California'' (2012) (eOne Entertainment)

Ignite

* ''

Our Darkest Days ''Our Darkest Days'' is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Ignite. It was released on May 16, 2006 through Abacus Recordings. Following the release of their third studio album '' A Place Called Home'' (2000), the band left their ...

'' (2006) (CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS)

Quiet Riot

* '' Rehab'' (2006) (CHAVIS RECORDS) * '' Quiet Riot 10 '' (2014) * '' Road Rage (2017)'' (FRONTIERS RECORDS) * '' Well Now You're Here, there's No Way Back'' (DOCUMENTARY FILM) * '' One Night In Milan'' (2017) (FRONTIERS RECORDS) * '' Hollywood Cowboys'' (2019) (FRONTIERS RECORDS)

Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses

* '' Alive – Single Release w/ My Appetite for Destruction – Sex, Drugs and Guns N' Roses'' (2010) * '' Stardog – Single Release'' (2010) * '' Fading – Single Release'' (2010)

The New Strange

* ''Into The Night'' (2019) (GOLDEN ROBOT RECORDS) * ''Tomorrow Never Comes'' (2019) (GOLDEN ROBOT RECORDS)

Public Enemy

* ''What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?'' (2020) w/ GEORGE CLINTON and CYPRESS HILL (UNIVERSAL/DEF JAM)

Hookers & Blow

* ''Shakin'' (2020) Single * ''Rocks Off'' (2020) Single * ''Ziggy Stardust'' (2020) - Single * ''Trampled Underfoot'' (2020) Single

Maps To The Hollywood Scars

* "VOLUME ONE" (NEW OCEAN MEDIA)

DVD releases

*''VH1 Metal Mania Stripped on The Strip: Volume 1'' (2006) *''Getting Started with Rock Drumming featuring Steven Adler'' (2009) *'' Sons of Anarchy'' season one (2009)

Dizzy Reed of Guns N' Roses

* '' Rock And Roll Ain't Easy'' 2018 (GOLDEN ROBOT RECORDS)

References

External links

Alexgrossimusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossi, Alex Living people Quiet Riot members Beautiful Creatures (band) members Guitarists from Connecticut American heavy metal guitarists Place of birth missing (living people) People from South Windsor, Connecticut American people of Italian descent 1976 births American male guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians