West Arkeen
| West Arkeen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Aaron West Arkeen |
| Also known as | West Arkeen |
| Born |
June 18, 1960 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Died | May 30, 1997 (aged 36) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | rock, Hard rock, blues rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1981-1997 |
| Labels | Reality Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Guns N' Roses, The Outpatience, Drunkfuxs, Duff McKagan, Brother Cane, Phantom Blue, Asphalt Ballet, Back Alley Sally, Femme Fatale |
Aaron West Arkeen (June 18, 1960 – May 30, 1997), was an American musician best known for co-writing several Guns N' Roses songs. He died in Los Angeles as a result of a drug overdose.
Aaron Arkeen was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France and grew up in San Diego, California. He was the grandson of Russian-Jewish immigrants and the son of a US Army sergeant, Morris Arkeen. Arkeen started playing guitar when he was 14 years old. After having only one guitar lesson, Arkeen was a self-taught guitar player. Arkeen cited John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, and Ted Nugent as musical influences from his youth.
Arkeen worked in the oil industry in Texas and as a slot machine repairman in Las Vegas, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a music career at age 21.
After several years of struggling to launch a career, Arkeen befriended a group of musicians, later to be known as Guns N' Roses. Arkeen co-wrote "It's So Easy," "Crash Diet", "Bad Obsession", "The Garden", "Sentimental Movie" and "Yesterdays" for Guns N' Roses. Arkeen also penned "Make Your Play" and "Pressure" for Brother Cane, as well as co-wrote "My Misery" for Phantom Blue. In the late 80's, Arkeen lived in an apartment next to Duff Mckagan and Sly Stone.
After working on other songs with the band for their double set Use Your Illusion I and II, Arkeen started his own project in 1995, The Outpatience. Featuring vocalist Mike Shotton, bassist James Hunting, guitarist Joey Hunting, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and keyboardist Gregg Buchwalter, the band released their debut album, Anxious Disease in 1996 in Japan. The album has connections to Guns N' Roses: Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan appear as guest artists and Izzy Stradlin co-wrote one of the songs.
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