Izzy Stradlin Biography

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 US 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 Steven's firing, he felt that Matt Sorum's sound "didn't work" for the band. He felt that Steven was essential to the band's sound. Also, it has been noted by Axl and Slash that he was simply not having fun with the band anymore, and no longer enjoyed it.

Stradlin finally left the band on November 7th, 1991, in the midst of their world tour.