Daren Jay Ashba (born November 10, 1972) is an American musician, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He was the lead guitarist of Sixx:A.M. He is also known for his work with hard rock bands

BulletBoys BulletBoys is an American hard rock/glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1987. The group's original lineup was composed of singer Marq Torien (formerly of Ratt, King Kobra, and Kagny & the Dirty Rats), guitarist Mick Sweda (formerly of King ...

, Beautiful Creatures and

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

. He has worked with various artists including

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Drowning Pool Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie ...

Marion Raven Marion Elise Ravn (born 25 May 1984), better known as Marion Raven, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Raven formed the pop duo M2M with Marit Larsen, though they ceased performing together in 2002. Raven was later signed as a solo artist b ...

, Aimee Allen and

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

Biography

Early life

Ashba was born in

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

, Indiana. He was raised in Fairbury, Illinois. His mother was a classically trained pianist who began teaching him about music as a toddler. Ashba performed in his first piano recital at the age of five, where he played Beethoven's "

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" ( ) is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by the German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller. It was published the following year in the Thalia (German magazine), German magazine ''Thalia''. In 1808, a slightly revi ...

". His next ambition was to learn the drums. He built kits out of garbage cans and pots and pans, until he finally acquired a real set at the age of six. When he was eight, he took a job detasseling corn in the fields to earn enough money to buy his first guitar out of the

Sears catalog Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwa ...

. He would ride to his job in the corn fields on the bus with a guitarist from a local band, who would teach him a new chord each day on a

fretboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The stri ...

that they had carved into the back of a bus seat with a pocket knife. For his 16th birthday, his father took him to his first concert:

's Girls, Girls, Girls Tour. He later said, "The crowd, the music, the lights! It was the night I realized that no matter what it takes, I was gonna be on that stage one day." At the age of 18, he packed up his possessions and moved to Hollywood to begin his career.

Solo, BulletBoys (1991–1999)

Eventually, he joined the group Barracuda and toured with the band for two years. In 1996, he released his debut instrumental album, ''Addiction to the Friction''. In 1998, Ashba joined

as part of the band's new lineup. It was during his time with the band that he met Joe Lesté of

Bang Tango Bang Tango is an American hard rock band. The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1988 and was signed to MCA Records the same year. History Formation (1988) Initially the band was founded by guitarist Mark Knight and bassist Kyle Kyle in 1 ...

. In 1999, he departed the group to start a new band with Lesté, piecing together the band that would become Beautiful Creatures.

Beautiful Creatures (2000–2002)

After finding former Shake the Faith and No. 9 bassist

Kenny Kweens Kenny Kweens is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist in the hard rock band Beautiful Creatures. In 2009, Kweens also joined L.A. Guns (fronted by Phil Lewis), replacing previous bassist Scott Griffin. However, in 2011, Kweens ...

, Ashba and Lesté hired session drummer Anthony Focx to become the group's second guitarist and Glen Sobel, another session drummer, was brought in to take over drums. This was the first lineup under the moniker Beautiful Creatures. Prior to naming, the band opened one show in Detroit, Michigan, for

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

during their farewell tour after

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

pulled out. The band then signed with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and released their self-titled debut '' Beautiful Creatures'', produced by

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

cohort

Sean Beavan Sean Beavan is a musician, record producer, and audio engineer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, God Lives Underwater, and Slayer. His production style is typically heavy, with heavily saturated ...

, on August 14, 2001. Album track "1 A.M." was featured in the soundtrack for the 2001

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'' Valentine'' and

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

''. "Ride" was featured on the soundtrack to the 2002 remake of '' Rollerball''. Despite appearing at

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

as part of the ''Rolling Rock Tour'', the band was dropped from their label due to poor album sales. On February 13, 2002, the band announced that Ashba had left the group and the band found a replacement and continued on.

Solo (2003–2006)

Ashba with Guns N' Roses during a concert in Bangalore After his departure from Beautiful Creatures, he formed another solo band, ''ASHBA'', with Bones Elias, bassist John Younger, and former

Tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

guitarist Michael Thomas, who was Ashba's replacement in Beautiful Creatures before leaving the group in 2003. Also in 2003, Ashba was invited to participate in the group

Brides of Destruction Brides of Destruction was an American hard rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band's last lineup consisted of singer London LeGrand (vocals), Tracii Guns (lead guitar) and Scot Coogan (drums, percussion). Previ ...

with

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and radio personality, best known as the co-founder, bassist, primary songwriter, and only constant member of the hea ...

and

Tracii Guns Tracy Irving Richard Ulrich (born January 20, 1966), known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the Supergroup (music), supergroups Brides of Destruction ...

but turned it down to focus on his solo project. In 2005, a small controversy was caused when it was suggested that neither Tommy Lee nor Mick Mars played on the new tracks for

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Red, White & Crüe''; duties were supposedly handled by Vandals drummer

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American drummer. A member of punk rock band the Vandals since 1989, Freese has also been a member of new wave band Devo since 1996. He was previously a member of hard rock band Guns N' Roses ...

and Ashba as well as Mick being replaced by Ashba on their reunion tour. Ashba hit back at the rumors:

Sixx:A.M. and Guns N' Roses (2007–2016)

Ashba playing with Sixx:A.M. in 2016 In 2006 Ashba had set up ''Funny Farms Studios'' with

. They began writing and producing, and performing music together which included collaborations with singer

, whom Sixx had worked with before, on her '' Heads Will Roll EP'' and album '' Set Me Free''.

James Michael James Andrew Michael is an American record producer, sound engineer, mixer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was the lead singer of the rock band Sixx:A.M. Early life He took piano lessons while growing up and sang in Holland High Scho ...

also is credited on the albums. In March 2007, Sixx penned "Reason I'm Alive" for

's new album '' Full Circle'' with both Sixx and Ashba co-producing the track. Ashba released the critically acclaimed album ''

The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack ''The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack'', often referred to as simply ''The Heroin Diaries'', is the debut studio album by Sixx:A.M., a side project of Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. The band also features lead vocalist James Michael and guitarist D ...

'' after collaborating with

bassist

and producer

under the name Sixx:A.M. in August, 2007 serving as a soundtrack to Sixx's autobiography '' The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star''. The single "

Life is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' (, ) is a 1997 Italian period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who employs his imagin ...

" reached #2 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

. Originally the group stated they had no intention of touring. After constant support for the band and interest in a tour, they held a nationwide vote for tour dates. The tour was scheduled to start in spring 2008, but had been postponed to the summer due to unforeseeable circumstances. On April 15, 2008, Sixx:A.M. announced they would be touring as part of

Crüe Fest ''Crüe Fest'' was a summer 2008 tour by Mötley Crüe, which commenced on July 1, 2008 and concluded on August 31, 2008. It featured Mötley Crüe themselves, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt. ''Crüe Fest'' was said to be "the ...

, along with

Buckcherry Buckcherry is an American hard rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1995. The band released two albums, ''Buckcherry (album), Buckcherry'' (1999) and ''Time Bomb (Buckcherry album), Time Bomb'' (2001), before dissolving in 2002. Buckche ...

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

and

Trapt Trapt is an American rock band formed in Los Gatos, California. Nine studio albums have been recorded to date: ''Amalgamation'' (1999), '' Trapt'' (2002), '' Someone in Control'' (2005), '' Only Through the Pain'' (2008), '' No Apologies'' (2 ...

. The tour began on July 1, 2008, in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

. During Crüe Fest,

drummer

Tony Palermo Anthony Joseph Palermo (born November 22, 1969) is an American musician who is the drummer of Californian rock band Papa Roach and is the former drummer of punk rock bands Pulley and Unwritten Law. He was also a touring drummer for Sixx:A.M. ...

served as a touring drummer for the band. A deluxe tour edition of ''

'' was released on November 25, 2008, which included a bonus live EP entitled '' Live Is Beautiful'' which features recorded performances from the band's summer tour. In April 2009, both

and

confirmed that the band was in the studio, recording new material. Sixx added that the new material is "''inspiring. it feels like we may have topped ourselves on this album coming up, and can't wait for you to hear what it sounds like.''" DJ Ashba 2013

On March 23, 2009 Ashba was announced as the new lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses replacing

Robin Finck Robert John "Robin" Finck (born November 7, 1971) is an American guitarist. Finck is the longest-serving touring musician for Nine Inch Nails, performing with the band from 1994 to 2000, and returning in 2008. With Nine Inch Nails, Finck contribu ...

, who had left the band to rejoin

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

. He first toured with the band as part of the Chinese Democracy Tour where on December 11, 2009 Guns N' Roses played in Taiwan, and continued with the band for the next five years. On May 3, 2011 the Sixx:A.M. album '' This Is Gonna Hurt'' was released, followed by '' Modern Vintage'' in 2014, and their first headlining tour in the spring of 2015. After balancing Sixx:A.M. and Guns N' Roses duties for years, and only appearing on the ''

Appetite for Democracy 3D ''Appetite for Democracy 3D'' is a live concert film released in Cinemas, Broadcast and BD/DVD by Guns N' Roses, filmed live at The Joint at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas on November 21, 2012, on the tenth night of their residency, as part o ...

'' video release for the latter band, Ashba announced on July 27, 2015 that he was leaving the band, citing his commitment to his family and his other band. The statement read "I have reached a point in my life where I feel it's time to dedicate myself to my band Sixx:A.M., my adoring wife and family, and to the many new adventures that the future holds for me." After leaving Guns N' Roses, Sixx A.M. released two albums in 2016, '' Prayers for the Damned'' and '' Prayers for the Blessed'', before embarking on a world tour. Subsequent to the tour the group entered a hiatus, confirmed by Ashba and James Michael in February 2018.

Return to solo work and Sixx:A.M. reunions (2017-present)

In February 2018 Ashba and James Michael announced a collaborative project called Pyromantic, focused on mixing rock with pop and dance influences. By the following year Michael had exited the project. In 2019 Sixx A.M. reunited to record and release the charity single "Talk to Me", and announced the impending release of several other tracks recorded for a greatest hits album. By 2020 the Pyromantic project had evolved into a resurrection of the ASHBA name, now a solo project, with the release of the singles "Hypnotic", "Let's Dance", and "A Christmas Storm". The following year he released the cover single "Bella Ciao". In 2021 Sixx A.M. released ''Greatest Hits'', which featured three new songs. James Michael subsequently said that it was "a good way to kind of wrap of Sixx:A.M.'s body of work", while not ruling out future reunions.

Other work

Ashba owns two corporations, Ashba Media, Inc. and Ashbaland Inc. In 2003, he founded Ashba Media, Inc. This creative agency was announced the Agency of Record for Virgin Entertainment. AMI designs the look and feel of every

Virgin Megastore Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street. In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenh ...

. They also have other clients, such as

Ovation guitars The Ovation Guitar Company is a manufacturer of string instruments. Ovation primarily manufactures steel-string acoustic guitars (both 6 and 12-string versions) and nylon-string guitars, often with pickups for electric amplification. In 2015, i ...

Royal Underground
and many more. Ashba contributed to

's 2008 album ''

Saints of Los Angeles ''Saints of Los Angeles'' is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on June 24, 2008, by Mötley Records and Eleven Seven Music. This was the only full-length studio album with the band's original lineu ...

'' penning all tracks with the exception of "This Ain't a Love Song". The title track "

" was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

the same year.

Equipment

; Guitars: * checter Guitar Research. As of 2016, now uses his very own Schecter DJ Ashba signature model from the Schecter USA Custom Shop. *Ernie Ball Music Man Axis guitars ; Amps: * Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier 100W heads, feeding Line 6 Spider Valve 412VS 240W 4X12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet Straight, loaded with

Celestion Celestion is a British designer and exporter of professional loudspeakers. History Origins What became Celestion was started in Hampton Wick (suburban London) in 1924. Cyril French and his three brothers had taken over a plating works and ...

Vintage 30s *Two modified Line 6 POD pro amp modules - Line 6 Vetta HD and Vetta HD II Heads ;Pedals: *Morley Dj Ashba Skeleton Wah Pedal *Digitech Whammy Pitch-Shifting Guitar Effects Pedal *GCX Ground Control PRO Midi Controller *Ernie Ball 6166 Mono Volume Pedal,

Personal life

Ashba married Nathalia Henao on September 23, 2013, after one year of dating. In 2013, three Las Vegas police officers took Ashba and his girlfriend Nathalia Henao on a ride in a police helicopter, ending with Ashba proposing marriage to Henao. The three police officers involved were punished by the department for improper and unauthorized use of a police vehicle. One officer retired in anticipation of demotion, one was transferred and the pilot was banned from flying for the metro police department. In February 2023, it was announced Ashba and Henao would be divorcing after nine years of marriage. Since 2023, Ashba has been in a relationship with

Kerri Kasem Kerri Kasem (born Carrie H. Kasem, July 12, 1972) is an American radio host. She hosted the nationally syndicated ''Sixx Sense'' and ''The Side Show Countdown With Nikki Sixx'' from February 2010 to April 2014. Kasem later became a judge on ''Who ...

Discography

Solo

*''Addiction to the Friction'' (1996) *''Songs for the Demented Mind'' (2012)

With Beautiful Creatures

*'' Beautiful Creatures'' (2001)

With Guns N' Roses

*''

'' (2014)

With Sixx:A.M.

*''

'' (2007) *'' Live Is Beautiful'' (2008) *'' This Is Gonna Hurt'' (2011) *'' 7'' (2011) *'' Modern Vintage'' (2014) *'' Prayers for the Damned'' (2016) *'' Prayers for the Blessed'' (2016)

Production, songwriting and guest credits

References

External links

*
Sixx:A.M. official website

Talk live to Daren @ Stickam.com

Guns N' Roses.com

Forum fans club French
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashba, Daren Jay 1972 births 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians American heavy metal guitarists Beautiful Creatures (band) members Guns N' Roses members American lead guitarists Living people People from Monticello, Indiana Sixx:A.M. members Songwriters from Indiana American multi-instrumentalists People from Fairbury, Illinois Guitarists from Indiana American male guitarists BulletBoys members