Died On This Date (August 11, 2011) Jani Lane / Lead Singer Of Warrant
themusicsover Jani Lane (Born John Oswald)
February 1, 1964 – August 11, 2011
Jani Lane is perhaps best remembered as the front man and main lyricist for the wildly successful late ’80s / early ’90s hair metal band, Warrant who went on to sell over four million albums. Lane was just barely out of diapers when he first learned to play the drums in Akron, Ohio, and by the time he was 11, he was performing at local clubs. After graduating from high school, he joined his first proper band, Cyren, and by the mid ’80s, he was in the thick of L.A.’s exploding pop-metal scene with his own band, Plain Jane. In 1986, Lane and band mate Steven Sweet joined forces with guitarist, Erik Turner in the latter’s up-and-coming glam metal band, Warrant. The group quickly built a following throughout West Hollywood’s storied Sunset Strip clubs thanks in part to Lane’s commanding stage presence and talent as a songwriter. It wasn’t long before they were signed to Columbia Records, who went on to release a string of hit albums that included the double-platinum sellers, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich and Cherry Pie. The colorful band fast became darlings of MTV with such videos “Down Boys” and “Cherry Pie,” and found themselves playing in front of countless screaming fans around the world. Following the release of Warrant’s third album, Dog Eat Dog, Lane decided to leave the group, but returned the following year and continued on until 2004, only to leave again and return for one last time in 2008. By the end of that year however, he was gone for good due to conflicts within the band. Throughout the 2000s, Lane lent his vocal talents to several other projects, released a solo album, and was part of the hard rock supergroup of sorts, Saints of the Underground, which included members of Ratt and Alice Cooper’s band. Lane also dabbled in acting, appearing such early ’90s films as Caged Fear and High Strung. In 2005, he competed in VH1’s reality fitness program, Celebrity Fit Club where he lost 23 pounds. On August 11, 2011, Jani Lane, age 47, was found dead in a Woodland Hills, California hotel room. The Los Angeles Coroner’s office ultimately ruled that he died of acute ethanol poisoning.
Thanks to Bruce Kilgour for the assist.
What You Should Own
Mickie Jones was the co-founder of and bassist for pioneering ’70s glam metal band, Angel. Formed with guitarist, Punky Meadows in in 1975, Angel would be the link between Bowie and heavy metal. It was Gene Simmons of Kiss who helped the band get signed to Casablanca Records, and in an ironic twist, the members of Angel chose to market themselves dressed in all white as sort of the “anti-Kiss.” The band’s slick pop metal and androgynous image helped pave the way for such ’80s hair bands as Poison, Warrant and Motley Crue. Even the band’s own keyboardist, Gregg Guiffria would go on to have ’80s metal hits of his own. Even though Angel released some of the most memorable hard rock albums of the ’70s, (IE: Helluva Band and On Earth As It Is In Heaven), they never reached much beyond a cult status. Outside of Angel, Jones played in BUX with Meadows and Joe Perry Project singer, Ralph Morman, and Empire with LA Guns drummer, Steve Riley. It has also been reported that Jones was once asked to join the New York Dolls. In recent years, he was working in the film industry. Mickie Jones died of liver cancer on September 5, 2009.