In 1988, at the pinnacle of the “Hollywood Hair Metal” craze, WILDSIDE, then called YOUNG GUNNS, were sharpening their teeth, playing continuous SOLD OUT shows at clubs like the Roxy, Whisky, Troubadour, Gazzarri’s, and X-Poseur 54. Don’t let this fool you! While Wildside were called Young Gunns in the late 80’s and when signed to Capital Records, it was the same exact band! Due to The band needed to eventually change their name. the producers of a western film using a similar title (released incidentally after the band was already well on its way) from Lionsgate Studios and Artisan Entertainment issued a series of cease and desist warnings and wanted $350,000 for the rights to the name. So Young Gunns changed their name to Wildside and grabbed the 80’s/90’s hair metal scene by the balls!
Wildside was on the front of every local L.A. magazine and rag and the record labels had no choice but to listen. The band was made up of Seattle transplants Drew Hannah and Barney Rhynedance whom switched their early name from The Boyz to Young Gunns (and later to Wildside), Brent Woods from the Sunset Strip band ALRISHA and bassist Marc Simon from local heroes ST. VALENTINE. The band was rounded out by the addition of drummer Jimmy D.
Diligently writing and rehearsing in their shared Hollywood gigs, the boys played endlessly throughout 1988-1989. When they weren’t ripping through impassioned sets, they were putting up flyers on every telephone pole in town. Their self-determination turned self-promotion into an art form and soon the band’s name was on everyone’s lips. With the majority of the labels soon taking interest, Young Gunns/Wildside signed with Capitol Records and began writing music for the album that would be called Under The Influence.
After another late night Sunset Strip gig, while the guys were afterwards at the Rainbow bar, the name WILDSIDE was thrown around and seemed to fit their lifestyle perfectly, while being inspired by the Lou Reed song of the same name.
With their new name, a new phase of the band history was about to begin. But, that’s another story…
FnA Records is pleased to release the bombastic Wildside album …Formerly Known As Young Gunns. The album is silver-pressed and consists of 15 tracks, all written before Under The Influence. The tracks are Raw as hell, Gritty, and full of Piss and Vinegar…and mostly about Sex, Sex, Girls, Sex, and more Girls. The CD booklet is a beautiful and colorful 8-page layout. The songs have been remastered and sound fantastic considering they all come from band demo cassettes…you won’t be able to tell the difference.
You can check out Wildside’s first single and music video from the album …Formrly Known As Young Gunns
