Head First
Raz Cue
August 11, 1980
When I was fifteen years old, the summer between ninth and tenth grade, my father’s job put us in Hawaii for a few months. A restaurant man by trade, general manager Pops was
During a family trip to Hawaii, fifteen-year-old Raz Cue suffered a life-altering spinal injury while diving into a shallow swimming pool. This is the story of Cue learning to thrive despite a life sentence of wheelchairs and paralysis. A fat settlement check four years after his injury led Cue into the music business when he bankrolled his high school friends’ band, L.A. Guns.
Then in 1985, Guns N’ Roses formed in Raz Cue’s living room. And thus, Cue became the band’s first manager. It was a brief gig for Cue, but there were absolutely no hard feelings caused by the split. Mr. Cue remained a trusted member of G N’ R’s inner circle for the remainder of the decade, allowing him to witness the iconic band tour the world’s stages as they rose to the pinnacle of rock ‘n’ roll.
When I was fifteen years old, the summer between ninth and tenth grade, my father’s job put us in Hawaii for a few months. A restaurant man by trade, general manager Pops was
And so, back to the real world to witness years fly by from a seated position. Pops’ newest house had a pool in the backyard, which my therapists thought was great. By simultaneously
Shortly after 1982’s first hangover subsided, Ma’s kind friend, Robin, let me have her super-cheap, street-level, one-bedroom apartment. Three days before my seventeenth birthday, I got my own pad to come and go
Pops must’ve climbed into his van right after hanging up, because he was at my door within the hour. He didn’t bring the much-needed firearm, instead suggesting I flee and move in with
The outstanding Ian Gillian, of Deep Purple fame, banded together with Black Sabbath to put out a kick-ass metal record, Born Again. A few weeks into 1984, Mike and me went to enjoy
Barely a month after my chat with a top-ten all-time-great rock god, Ronnie James Dio, my lawyer called to report two of five opposing parties were offering to settle my lawsuit. For two
About two weeks later, I got a call from Mr. Axl Rose himself. He didn’t beat around the bush. Right after a hello, he straight-out asked, “Is L.A. Guns still looking for a
Six days after Axl Rose departed L.A. Guns, Ronald Regan earned a second presidential term with the largest electoral vote landslide victory in United States history. Maybe it just seemed like it because
There’s an old saying amongst poker players, “If you can’t spot the fish, you are the fish.” My freelance music-business school courses depleted my settlement funds at a pace comparable to lighting up
Shortly after that Iron Maiden concert, Izzy and Axl regrouped Hollywood Rose for a one-off gig at Dancing Waters. The South Bay club featured an actual waterfall cascading down behind the stage, but
Axl only had one guitarist in mind. But Izzy expressed a desire to explore all options, in hopes of finding an older, more established musician. Axl remained steadfast and eventually convinced Izzy to
Whatever Tracii Guns believed he had going on, right after getting the boot from G N’ R, never panned out. After a few months of sitting around twiddling his thumbs, one afternoon he
Guns N’ Roses pulled a capacity crowd into the Troubadour on the first Saturday night of 1986. Along with a first-ever opportunity for fans to purchase Guns N’ Roses T-shirts, club goers also
By the start of 87, The Wild were also long gone from their Gardner Street studio. All the cool 24/7 parties moved to Orange Street, right around the corner from the iconic Chinese
After months of relentless touring, G N’ R earned themselves a little time off. At the start of 1988, they returned to Hollywood as conquering heroes and were without a doubt the new