D.J. Ashba

D.J. Ashba (b. Monticello, November 10, 1972 - ) – Guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although born in Monticello, Ashba moved to Fairbury, Illinois, when he was only a one year old. Ashba showed an interest in music at an early age, as he started piano at age three and drums at age six. Ultimately, he focused on playing the guitar. At age nineteen, he ventured to California, where he joined a band called Barracuda. After two years with Barracuda, he released an instrumental album called Ashba: Addicted to Friction (1996). After playing lead guitar with various bands including BulletBoys and Beautiful Creatures, Ashba joined Nikki Sixx and James Michael in 2007 to form Sixx:A.M., which has 6 albums to date, first being The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack. The album is based on Nikki Sixx’s book called The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star. The album consists of thirteen songs, many of which are written at least in part by Ashba. The album includes the single “Life is Beautiful,” which peaked at #2 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Track Chart. In the summer of 2008, Six A.M. joined Mötley Crüe for the Crüe Fest tour. In addition, Ashba had a hand in writing several songs for Mötley Crüe’s latest album Saints of Los Angeles (2008) played lead guitar and sang lead vocals on “Cat Scratch Fever” for a Guitar Heroes Compilation. From 2009 to 2015, he was a member of Guns N' Roses, while also playing with Sixx:A.M. He recently became part of Pyromantic, a spin-off band of Sixx:AM.