West Arkeen

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.[1]

West Arkeen
Background information
Birth name	Aaron West Arkeen
Also known as	West Arkeen
Born	(1960-06-18)June 18, 1960 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Died	May 30, 1997(1997-05-30) (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

Early life

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. As an infant, he suffered from craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the skull grows irregularly, often constricting brain growth. The condition required surgery that left an ear-to-ear scar over the crown of Arkeen's head.[2]

Arkeen began playing guitar when he was 14 years old. Though he took a single guitar lesson, he was largely a self-taught musician. 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.

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 and 1960's funk pioneer Sly Stone, and he and McKagan quickly formed a friendship and began writing songs together.[2] Though 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.[2] Arkeen would ultimately leave his mark on the band by co-writing the songs "It's So Easy," "Crash Diet", "Bad Obsession", "The Garden", "Sentimental Movie" and "Yesterdays" with Rose. 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. 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.[2]

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. Arkeen had been at home recovering from severe burns from his indoor barbeque that exploded. His death was ruled an "accidental opiate overdose."[2]

Legacy and influence

Duff McKagan credits Arkeen with teaching him about alternate tuning on guitar.[3] 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"[4] The Guns N' Roses album Live Era: '87-'93 was dedicated, in part, to his memory.

Discography

Year	Artist	Album	Notes
1987	Guns N' Roses	Appetite For Destruction	"It's So Easy"
1991		Use Your Illusion I	"Bad Obsession", "The Garden"
		Use Your Illusion II	"Yesterdays"
1993	Asphalt Ballet	Pigs	"Crash Diet"
	Brother Cane	Brother Cane	"Pressure", "Make Your Play"
	Duff McKagan	Believe in Me
	Phantom Blue	Built to Perform	"My Misery"
1996	The Outpatience	Anxious Disease
2004	Wildside	The Wasted Years	"Crash Diet"

References

1. "Details Released In Death Of Guns n' Roses Songwriter". MTV. June 3, 1997. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
2. Wake, Matt (July 19, 2017). "The Unsung Songwriters Who Helped Make Appetite for Destruction a Classic". LA Weekly. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
3. McKagan, Duff (2011). Stacy Creamer (ed.). It's so Easy (and other lies). Collaboration by Tim Mohr. Touchstone. p. 45. ISBN 978-1451606645.
4. Slash; Anthony Bozza (30 October 2007). Slash. HarperCollins. pp. unknown. ISBN 978-0-06-135142-6.