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Re: RIP Axl Roses Ex-Guitarist :(
Rapidfire’s Kevin Lawrence dead at 51
LOS ANGELES, California — Sad to report that Rapidfire guitarist Kevin Lawrence has died.
According to friends close to Lawrence he had recently suffered several heart attacks brought on by pneumonia and was hospitalized on life support.
Sadly Lawrence did not recover and lost his battle on January 14th 2016.
Lawrence’s band Rapidfire is most recognized for being fronted by Axl Rose in his early days upon arriving in Hollywood.
The group recorded several songs in 1983 which have been made public in recent years.
In addition to that rare E.P. of music the band performed live at popular music venues like the “Troubadour” and “Gazzarri’s” during their heyday.
Lawrence himself had talked in depth with Metal Sludge back in the fall of 2014.
The guitarist went into great detail and had some amazing memories about Rose when interviewed by a junior high classmate from years gone by. Oddly that classmate was Metal Sludge’s very own Gerry Gittelson.
In one of his interviews with Gittelson Lawrence talked candidly about running into his old bandmate in Santa Monica while shopping.
In a related erie twist, Lawrence’s long time best friend and lawyer Joshua Solomon took his own life in February 2014.
Solomon was responsible for helping Rapidfire come to life after allegedly battling with Rose’s legal teams for years trying to release the rare recordings.
Once the music actually made it onto digital services the reviews were stellar.
Fans globally gave the 5 song E.P. 5 stars across the board. Rose’s vocals are as powerful as ever with his trademark lower register growl and razor blade rasp evident in these early gems.
Lawrence was 51 at the time of his passing according to close friends.
All of the Rapidfire songs are on Youtube. Kevin fought for years to get these released to GNR fans so why not give them another listen tonight in his memory 
Source: Metal Sludge
- Me_Wise_Magic
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Re: RIP Axl Roses Ex-Guitarist :(
I felt sorry for the guy trying to release those Rapidfire demos but at the same time understood Axl's reasoning for not wanting them to surface. He had a lot of fans behind him mainly for the desire to hear unheard songs with Axl singing but when he tried to gouge some fans for them a few years back......that was pretty much the end of the road in terms of hardcore GNR fans advocating its release. They finally came out of course but seemed to go under the radar. Didn't get nowhere near the attention that the Hollywood Rose recordings did.
RIP
You certainly played a small yet very crucial role in the GNR story. Had he made a few different decisions, Axl's life may have went down a different path and the GNR as we know it might never have existed.
Since the beginning I was always intrigued by all the various things that occurred leading to the band's existence where it felt like it happened by fate or mere accident.
Re: RIP Axl Roses Ex-Guitarist :(
I felt sorry for the guy trying to release those Rapidfire demos but at the same time understood Axl's reasoning for not wanting them to surface.
I'm going to say R.I.P. anytime anyone dies and I don't want to trash the guy in this thread.
That said, well he came across very sleazy in his MYGNR posts. He made some comments which didn't come across well years ago (it was related to money). I can't even remember what his account was or what year it was in though.
That said best wishes and sympathies to his friends/family at this time.
Re: RIP Axl Roses Ex-Guitarist :(
Listen, Axl's vocals/lyrics are HIS art, just like Kevin's guitar parts were his. Axl wants/wanted control over the distribution of his own art, just like any of the rest of us would. They just wound up on different sides, and Axl's always had a habit of burying whatever doesn't pass his personal bar of excellence.
Regardless, RIP Kevin. 51 is very young. Damn shame.
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