Dizzy Reed

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Dizzy Reed
Dizzy Reed, 2006
Dizzy Reed, 2006
Background information
Birth name Darren Arthur Reed
Born June 18, 1963 (1963-06-18) (age 45)
Hinsdale, Illinois
Genre(s) Hard rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Keyboards, Piano, Guitar, Organ, Bass, Mellotron, Calliope, Hammond organ, Percussion
Years active 1990-Present
Label(s) Geffen
Associated acts Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit, Gilby Clarke, Tommy Stinson, Hookers N' Blow
Website www.gunsnroses.com

Dizzy Reed (born Darren Arthur Reed, June 18, 1963 in Hinsdale, Illinois) is a contemporary rock musician. He is best known for his tenure as the keyboardist for the rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has played, toured and recorded since 1990. Aside from frontman Axl Rose, Reed is the only member of Guns N' Roses to remain from the band's Use Your Illusion era.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life
* 2 Music career
o 2.1 Work outside Guns N' Roses
* 3 Personal life
* 4 Discography
o 4.1 With Guns N' Roses
o 4.2 Guest appearances
* 5 References
o 5.1 Footnotes
o 5.2 External links

[edit] Early life

Reed was born as Darren Arthur Reed on June 18, 1963 in Hinsdale, Illinois, and was raised in Colorado.[1] As a child, Reed was described as reclusive and introverted. His grandmother began teaching him to play the organ when he was a young child, and before he was out of elementary school, he formed small local bands.[2][1] At the age of fifteen, he took up keyboard playing as a release from the constant bullying he endured at school.

[edit] Music career

As an adult, Reed pursued a music career in Los Angeles. He was a founding member of the club band The Wild in the late 1980s, with whom he spent five years[3]. He also replaced August Worchell as the guitarist of the group Johnny Crash although the band split up shortly after he joined.

Reed met the original lineup of Guns N' Roses in 1985; his band, The Wild, rehearsed in a neighboring studio.[1] He kept in touch, and in 1990 was invited by friend Axl Rose to join the group for the recording of the two Use Your Illusion albums. His induction into GN'R was far from smooth: former bandmates Slash and Izzy have said that no one in the band but Axl talked to Reed for the first two weeks.[4]

In spite of the rough start, Reed soon became an accepted member of the group. As a member of Guns N' Roses, Reed has become well-known for his keyboard work on such songs as November Rain, Estranged and Civil War, as well his contributions to some of the band's new tracks, including "I.R.S", "Madagascar", "Silkworms" and "Street of Dreams". When not playing keyboards, Reed frequently provides backup on percussion during live Guns N' Roses performances.

Dizzy continues to record and play live with the current Guns N' Roses line-up, and has now been a member of Guns N' Roses longer than any other member besides Axl Rose. Since he joined the band in 1990, five years after its formation in 1985, he cannot be described as an original member. However, apart from Rose, he remains the only remaining link to the Use Your Illusion era and Guns N' Roses's heyday in the early 1990s.

[edit] Work outside Guns N' Roses

Outside of Guns N' Roses, Reed played on albums for his former bandmates Slash, Duff McKagan, and Gilby Clarke. He also guested on current Guns N' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson's 2004 solo effort Village Gorilla Head. Reed is additionally a fan of Larry Norman, a pioneer of Christian Music, and played on Norman's Copper Wires album. Most recently, he has composed music for the film scores The Still Life, released in August 2007, and Celebrity Art Show (2008).

When he is not touring or recording with Guns N' Roses, Reed frequently tours with his hard rock cover band Hookers N' Blow, in which he plays keyboard and guitar and occasionally sings lead vocals. For his work with Hookers N' Blow, Reed was named Outstanding Keyboardist of the Year at the 2007 Rock City Awards ("Rockies"). Hookers N' Blow was also named Best Cover Band.[5]

Reed has also dabbled in acting, appearing as 'Mumbles' in the 2005 film Charlie's Death Wish.[6][7]

Before Guns he was in a band called Wild and release an album called Wild 1, featuring great rock songs like Motor Angel, High Rider, She drew blood, Hot 4 love and Mean Dream Queen.

[edit] Personal life

Reed has been married to Lisa, an author and teacher, since 1991. They have two children. When not touring, he likes to unwind by spending time with his wife, describing himself as very faithful to her and his children.

In 2005, Reed took the unusual step of seeking admission to a college fraternity well after the traditional age of inductees, and on January 22, 2006 was admitted to the Cornell University chapter of Zeta Psi.[8][6]

[edit] Discography

[edit] With Guns N' Roses
Title Release Date Label
Use Your Illusion I 1991 Geffen
Use Your Illusion II 1991 Geffen
"The Spaghetti Incident?" 1993 Geffen
Use Your Illusion 1998 Geffen
Live Era: '87-'93 1999 Geffen
Greatest Hits 2004 Geffen
Chinese Democracy 2008 Geffen

[edit] Guest appearances
Title Artist Release Date Label
Coneheads soundtrack Various Artists 1993 Warner Bros.
Believe In Me Duff McKagan 1993 Geffen Records
Pawnshop Guitars Gilby Clarke 1994 Virgin
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere Slash's Snakepit 1995 Fontana Records
Playtime Michael Zentner 1995 Warped Disc
Not What I Had Planned Maissa 1996 Sonic
Steinway to Heaven Various Artists 1997 Magna Carta
Copper Wires Larry Norman 1996 Solid Rock Records
Electrovision Doug Aldrich 2001 Pony Canyon
Hammered Motörhead 2002 Castle
Ready To Go Bang Tango 2004 Shrapnel
Village Gorilla Head Tommy Stinson 2004 EMI
Strangeland Court Jester 2006 Cellar Records
Gilby Clarke Gilby Clarke 2007 Spitfire
Backyard Babies Backyard Babies 2008 Universal

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ a b c "This week in local music: Dizzy Reed's Hollywood Bulldozer: Interview with Kate Bredimus.". Richmond.com. September 16, 2004. http://www.richmond.com/music/output.aspx?Article_ID=3249415&Vertical_ID=2&tier=1&position=3. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
2. ^ "Dizzy up the Girl": Interview with Debbie Rao.". glammetal.com. May 9, 2004. http://www.glam-metal.com/dizzyreed.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
3. ^ "Dizzy Interviewed". Rock Journal. July 11, 2004. http://www.gnrlies.com/dizzyinterview.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
4. ^ "Interview in Vox". Vox. 1991. http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=71. Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
5. ^ "Rockies 2007 list of winners". Rock City News. December 2007. http://www.rockcitynews.com/awards/awards07.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
6. ^ a b "Dizzy Reed does marathon interview". Metal Sludge. January 29, 2006. http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1152&Itemid=42. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
7. ^ Dizzy Reed at the IMDB
8. ^ "Famous Zetes". Zeta Psi Fraternity website. http://alpha.zetasite.com/about-famous.php. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.

[edit] External links

* gunsnroses.com - Official Guns N' Roses website
* Dizzy Reed at the IMDB