Leonard F. George (born January 9, 1965), best known by his stage name Rocky George, is an American guitarist who has been a member of several notable musical acts, including

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...

, where he was their lead guitarist from 1984 to their first breakup in 1995, and was the first African-American member of the band. After Suicidal Tendencies, George played with 40 Cycle Hum and

Cro-Mags Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they were among th ...

, and in 2003, he joined

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the lat ...

. George was also a member of a local punk rock band called Pap Smear with Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo. In 2019, George returned to the Cro-Mags lineup.

Biography

During his tenure with Suicidal Tendencies, George joined a short-lived punk side project called "Pap Smear", formed by

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical styl ...

members Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo. Although Pap Smear has never released any records, two of their songs were re-recorded on Slayer's 1996 covers album ''

Undisputed Attitude ''Undisputed Attitude'' is the seventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on May 28, 1996, by American Recordings. The album consists almost entirely of covers of punk rock and hardcore punk songs, and also includes ...

''. George joined Suicidal Tendencies in 1984, replacing Jon Nelson, who replaced the first album's guitarist Grant Estes. His debut with the band was ''Welcome to Venice'' on the song "Look Up...(The Boys Are Back)" written by Jon Nelson and

Mike Muir Michael Allen Muir (born March 14, 1963) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and the only sole continuous member of Los Angeles-based bands Suicidal Tendencies, Los Cycos, and Infectious Grooves. He has also released several solo al ...

. George is largely considered responsible for moving Suicidal Tendencies away from their

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

roots into a more

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *'' Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video gam ...

oriented territory. He is also responsible for

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash ban ...

joining the band, who was a high school friend of his (at Culver City High School). George joined

in 2003 and played on the 2006 studio album '' Still Stuck in Your Throat'' plus two EPs. In 2008, after thirteen years, George played with his former bandmates during an Infectious Grooves set. He left Fishbone in 2017 when that band's classic lineup reunited.

Instruments

George has used

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, ...

guitars almost exclusively for years (particularly the RG series). He is still endorsed by Ibanez. Despite rumors, however, Rocky did not design the RG series (as "RG" stands for Roadstar Guitar, not for Rocky George). He is also a long time user of Mesa Boogie amplifiers.

Discography

Suicidal Tendencies

* ''Welcome to Venice'' (1985) * ''

Join the Army ''Join the Army'' is the second studio album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies. It was released in April 1987, and is one of the most well known albums for crossing over the genres of punk and thrash metal, known as crossover ...

'' (1987) * ''

How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today ''How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today'' is the third studio album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies. It was released on September 13, 1988 on Epic Records, the band's first album on that label. It was also ...

'' (1988) * '' Controlled by Hatred/Feel Like Shit...Deja Vu'' (1989) * '' Lights...Camera...Revolution!'' (1990) * ''

The Art of Rebellion ''The Art of Rebellion'' is the sixth studio album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, released in 1992 on Epic Records. It was the only Suicidal Tendencies album to be recorded without an official drummer; the drum tracks were ...

'' (1992) * ''

Still Cyco After All These Years ''Still Cyco After All These Years'' is the seventh studio album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, released in 1993. The album is composed of re-recorded songs from the band's 1983 debut album, ''Suicidal Tendencies''; re- ...

'' (1993) * ''

Suicidal for Life ''Suicidal for Life'' is the eighth studio album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, which was released in 1994. It is their sixth full-length album with original material, and their last album to feature lead guitarist Rocky Ge ...

'' (1994)

Cro-Mags

* ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

'' (2000) * '' In the Beginning'' (2020)

With Harley's War

*''Cro-Mag'' (2003) *''Hardcore All-Stars'' (2009) *''2012'' (2012)

Fishbone

* '' Still Stuck in Your Throat'' (2006) * ''Crazy Glue'' (EP, 2011) * ''Intrinsically Intertwined'' (EP, 2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Rocky 1965 births Living people People from Culver City, California African-American guitarists African-American rock musicians American heavy metal guitarists Guitarists from California Lead guitarists Seven-string guitarists Fishbone members Suicidal Tendencies members 20th-century American guitarists Cro-Mags members