Phil Lewis got tired of managing his hair in February and took a clipper to the lot of it. Six months on, the L.A. Guns frontman says the only thing he would change is doing it sooner.
He discussed the decision on Dean Delray‘s “Let There Be Talk” podcast.
“I came to a conclusion, since we’re talking about it, in February. It was just, like, ‘This hair, do I do it to the left? Do I do I push it forward? Do I dye it?’ And you know what? I said, ‘F**k it. Shave the f**ker off.’ I shaved it all off. I was a skinhead in February, and it’s growing, and it’s growing quite nice, actually. I really like it. And my only regret is I didn’t do it before,” Lewis said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
On the reaction: ”Well, for the most part, the comments have been favorable. There’s some tumbleweeds out there — they just have to say something — but, yeah, as your listeners or observers, your people will see, I look a little bit different from when I did 40 f**king years ago. But that’s just life.”
Lewis was blunt about the alternative, which for a lot of singers his age involves dye and hairpieces.
“I have no desire whatsoever to try and look like I did in ‘The Ballad Of Jayne‘ video. It’s just embarrassing. Some guys like to do that, and good luck to them. But the thing is I sound the same and my heart’s in exactly the same place. I don’t wanna f**k around with fake hair and dyeing it — not at this stage in my life. I just wanna show up, I wanna sing in the studio or live, and I don’t want to be tied down with all the hassle of what’s expected of me. And I find it very liberating. And for the most part, people have been very, very complimentary. The ladies have been extraordinarily complimentary. It’s just some greasy old dudes that just can’t get over it. Some people have something to say, some people just have to say something,” he said.
The online complaints from a section of the fanbase bothered him at the start: “[It] irked [me] a little bit at first, but now I just ignore it. It’s such a desperate plea for attention. I’m not going there.”
“Some guys just don’t wanna let it go,” he added. “I did, and as I said, it was incredibly liberating…. I’m at that stage in my life now where very few f**ks given… And I’m real happy with the way it turns out. And I’m very delighted that 99% of the response has been positive.”
L.A. Guns released Live From The Guild Theatre on July 3 through Cleopatra Records, available on CD, DVD, double vinyl, cassette and digitally. The vinyl is a limited gold, brown, yellow and black smoke pressing.
The 17-song set was recorded July 10, 2025 at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, California, at the launch show for Leopard Skin, which had arrived that April. “Electric Gypsy” was issued as the first track from it.
The setlist reaches back to the band’s 1988 debut and takes in a fair amount of Cocked And Loaded, along with a run of new material. “Sex Action” turns up for what is reportedly its first outing in decades.
Live From The Guild Theatre Tracklist:
- “Intro – Taste It”
- “Cannonball”
- “Electric Gypsy”
- “Sex Action”
- “Hellraisers Ball”
- “Hit And Run”
- “Like A Drug”
- “Speed”
- “One More Reason”
- “Theremin Jam”
- “Over The Edge”
- “Guitar Solo”
- “I Wanna Be Your Man”
- “Lucky Motherf**ker”
- “Never Enough”
- “The Ballad Of Jayne”
- “Rip And Tear”
The lineup on the recording is Lewis, founding guitarist Tracii Guns, bassist Johnny Martin, guitarist Ace Von Johnson and touring drummer Shawn Duncan.
Guns started the band in 1983. It has sold around six million records, and the reunited Lewis and Guns lineup has produced five studio albums since 2017, Leopard Skin being the first under a renewed Cleopatra deal, following Black Diamonds in April 2023.
