West Arkeen |
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| Birth name | Aaron West Arkeen |
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| Also known as | West Arkeen |
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| Born | (1960-06-18)June 18, 1960
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
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| Origin | San Diego, California |
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| Died | May 30, 1997(1997-05-30) (aged 36)
Los Angeles, California |
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| Genres | Rock, hard rock, blues rock |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
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| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
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| Years active | 1978-1997 |
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| Labels | Reality Entertainment |
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Musical artist
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 of an accidental opiate overdose.[1]
Early life
Aaron West Arkeen was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He was the grandson of Russian-Jewish immigrants to America and the son of Morris Arkeen, a U. S. Army Master Sergeant and single parent.[2] He grew up in San Diego, California with his older brother, Abe.[3]
Arkeen was born with craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the skull grows irregularly, often constricting brain growth.[4] The condition required surgery, from which he fully recovered, but left an ear-to-ear scar over the crown of Arkeen's head.[5] Arkeen’s mother abandoned him after the surgery and was a non-factor in his life, contributing to his later substance abuse.[6]
Arkeen began playing guitar when he was 14 years old.[7] He took a single guitar lesson and was a self-taught musician.[8] He cited John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and Ted Nugent as musical influences from his youth.[9]
Arkeen worked briefly in the oil industry in East Texas and as a slot machine repairman in Las Vegas. In 1982 he relocated to Los Angeles, where he worked as a house painter for a day job while pursuing a music career.[10]
In a LA Weekly profile on Arkeen, his partner for nine years, Wendy Lou Gosse, described the couple “going to see bands at local clubs and bring friends back to jam and write, sometimes deep into the next day.[11]
Music career
After several years of struggling to find success as a musician, Arkeen befriended a group of musicians in Los Angeles which would soon rise to international fame as Guns N' Roses.
Arkeen lived in an apartment next to Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan.[12] He and McKagan formed a friendship and began writing songs together.[5] Though he was never a member of the band, the group's vocalist Axl Rose considered adding him as a third guitarist, primarily for his prolific songwriting abilities.[5]
Arkeen collaborated with Guns N’ Roses members co-writing the songs: "It's So Easy," "Crash Diet,” “Bad Obsession,” "The Garden,” "Sentimental Movie,” and "Yesterdays.”
Guns N’ Roses traditionally opens its live performances with “It’s So Easy, a song Arkeen co-wrote.[13]
Arkeen also penned "Make Your Play" and "Pressure" for Birmingham, Alabama band Brother Cane, as well as co-writing "My Misery" for Phantom Blue.
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. Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan appear as guest artists and Izzy Stradlin co-wrote one of the songs.[5]
Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan are most closely associated with Arkeen. The trio played in The Drunkfuxs' side project together, and Arkeen co-wrote two of the songs on McKagan's debut solo record, Believe in Me.
Death
On May 30, 1997, Arkeen was found dead in his Los Angeles home at 36 years old.[14] Arkeen had been at home recovering from severe burns suffered in an accident. He died of an injection of heroin, morphine, and cocaine.[15]
Legacy and influence
Duff McKagan credits Arkeen with teaching him about alternate tuning on guitar.[16] Slash stated that Arkeen was "the only one that always came through when any of us needed anything. For a long time he literally was the only one we could trust."[17] Arkeen’s bluesy style affected Guns N’ Roses’ songwriting style.[18] The Guns N' Roses album Live Era: '87-'93 was dedicated, in part, to his memory.[19]
