The Dead Daisies are an Australian-American hard rock band formed in 2012 in Sydney, Australia. The band has sometimes been referred to as a supergroup, as its membership has included a number of musicians who have performed with other highly notable acts, such as Guns N' Roses, Noiseworks, Ozzy Osbourne, The Cult, The Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. The band has had substantial changes of membership since its formation, having only its rhythm guitarist David Lowy as a continuing founding member since 2015.
History
Formation, debut album, and first tour (2013) The Dead Daisies were formed in Sydney, Australia, by Jon Stevens (formerly of Noiseworks and INXS) and David Lowy (formerly of Mink) in 2012. The singer-songwriter and guitarist got together after David Edwards, ex-manager of INXS, had reintroduced them.
The band's self-titled debut album was recorded in two weeks at Wishbone Studios in Los Angeles in 2013 with American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist John Fields. The album was released in North America on 9 August 2013 through Caroline/Universal, and later released in the United Kingdom in mid-November 2013. "Lock N' Load", their first single, was co-written by Slash (the lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses), who also played guitar on the track. The song was a Rolling Stone magazine Daily Download on 25 July 2013 and was also available on the website of BBC Radio 2. The song's music video appeared on more than 20 outlets including Much Music. The single was released in the United Kingdom on 28 October 2013.
The band toured in 2013, including opening for ZZ Top and joining Aerosmith on their Australian and New Zealand tour. This was followed by the 25-date Uproar Festival in August and September 2013 (with Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains, among others). These shows were performed by the first full lineup of the band, which consisted of Lowy and Stevens along with drummer Frank Ferrer (also of Guns N' Roses), guitarist Richard Fortus (also of Guns N' Roses, formerly of Thin Lizzy and Psychedelic Furs), bassist Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake/Thin Lizzy), and pianist Dizzy Reed (from Guns N' Roses). Lead singer Stevens performed for a while with casts on his hand and leg as a result of an injury sustained when escaping from a crocodile on a fishing excursion in Australia.
Lineup changes and Cuba Rocks (2013–2015) In September 2013, the Dead Daisies replaced Frank Ferrer with Brian Tichy on drums (who has also performed with Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner, and Ozzy Osbourne, among others). However, in the fall of 2013 the band played 18 shows in the United Kingdom with the Black Star Riders with new recruits Charley Drayton (who has performed with Divinyls, The Cult, The Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Courtney Love, Iggy Pop, Seal, Paul Simon, and Neil Young, among others) on drums and Darryl Jones (longtime supporting musician for the Rolling Stones) on bass (instead of Brian Tichy and Marco Mendoza, respectively). On 20 November, they played the Underworld rock club in Camden, their first UK show as headliners. The band finished off their touring schedule in 2013 with a gig at The Barby in Tel Aviv, Israel.
"Lock N' Load" was also played at football stadiums, including at Wembley Stadium in London during the sold-out NFL American football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers on 27 October.
Coinciding with the tour of the UK, Britain's Classic Rock magazine included a feature on the Dead Daisies in its November 2013 issue. The band was also November's spotlight artist on the Metal Hammer and Classic Rock websites. In a Classic Rock magazine poll, Lock N' Load was voted 15th best song out of 100 songs of 2013.
In February 2014, the Dead Daisies regrouped with the line-up of Lowy, Stevens, Fortus, and Reed, with a returning Mendoza and new drummer John Tempesta (The Cult) to undertake their first full headline Australian tour, plus shows supporting Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes for two shows: Twilight At Taronga, at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and at the Bateau Bay Hotel.
The band (with Brian Tichy again) embarked on two US tours in 2014, joining the Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd tour in July, followed by the Heroes Tour with Kiss and Def Leppard in August.
During the summer of 2014, the Dead Daisies released the EP Face I Love with four new recordings, including "Face I Love", "Angel in Your Eyes", "Your Karma", and a cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter". Along with the EP, a Facebook app was launched where fans would send in pictures of themselves to try and win prizes.