L.A. Guns frontman Phil Lewis recently addressed his striking new look. He defended his decision to cut off his long hair and embrace a short, cropped style.
Lewis spoke candidly about the change. He drew a contrast between the conformity of the late ’80s Hollywood rock scene and his current sense of personal freedom.
“It’s funny because I look back at us in the late ’80s, and all the bands that were around at the time in the Hollywood scene, they all looked the fucking same,” Lewis said. “They all had the same hair. They all wore the same kind of threads, and they all claimed to be individuals. It was, like, ‘No, we are individuals.’ And they weren’t. It was a uniform.”
Lewis went on to describe the moment he decided to make the change. He explained it was a spontaneous decision made during a break from touring.
“Everyone dressed the same, everyone spoke the same, everyone behaved the same,” he continued. “Looking back on it now, I see old flyers for bands that didn’t break through, and it’s absolutely terribly boring. Cut to now. We played the Whisky this year on New Year’s Eve, and then we didn’t have anything for a couple of months. I went home, looked at myself in the mirror, and thought, ‘Oh, this hair. I’m going to get it cut. Or I’ve got to dye it because it’s getting a bit gray. Should I part it on the left? Part it on the right? Down the middle? Push it back? Push it forward?’ And I just said, ‘Fuck it.’ I shaved it all off. The whole f*cking thing!”
He described the experience as liberating and unplanned. He noted that his hair has since grown back naturally.
“Honestly, I’d been meaning to do it for a long time, and it was just where the dice landed,” Lewis said. “I thought, ‘Whatever. I’m going to start again from scratch.’ Fortunately, it’s grown since February, and it’s doing its own thing. I’m not doing anything to it.”
“I didn’t plan on stopping dyeing my hair or stopping trying to tease it up. I didn’t plan on any of that. It was just liberating. It felt so liberating not to have to fucking worry about it. And it’s grown in beautifully.”
Lewis also addressed criticism from some fans who accused him of selling out. He made clear he has no intention of backing down from the decision.
“Tracii [Guns, L.A. Guns guitarist] loves it, and 99% of the fans love it,” he said. “Some of the South American diehards think, ‘He’s sold out. He’s just getting old now.’ And they can f*ck off. I tell them that, and our fans tell them that as well! So be it.”
The haircut, which Lewis shaved off in February 2026, marks more than just a cosmetic shift. It signals a wider personal reinvention that extends to his wardrobe and overall stage identity. Lewis made clear that the change is permanent. His days of chasing a youthful image are firmly behind him.
“This is it,” Lewis stated. “I’m never going to dye my hair again. I’m never going to try and look like I’m 30 anymore. I’m over that. And consequently, dress sense as well. I’ve got all the gear. I’ve got all the leathers and all the studs and all of that. But I’m a bit bored with that, to be honest with you. I’ll leave that to Alice Cooper! I’m just being myself.”
The shift in attitude comes at a moment of genuine momentum for L.A. Guns. The band is set to release a live album, Live From The Guild Theatre, on July 3, 2026. It captures a recent performance and underscores the creative resurgence the group has been experiencing with the reunited Lewis and Tracii Guns lineup.
The new look has not gone unnoticed in the wider rock community. The overwhelming majority of the band’s fanbase has embraced the change. Some corners of the internet remain skeptical, with at least one observer noting they are “still not sold” on the haircut. Lewis appears entirely unbothered by the dissent.
Rather than being a calculated image overhaul ahead of a new release, the transformation was a quiet, private decision made during downtime at home. It was a moment of personal clarity that happened to coincide with one of the band’s most active and celebrated periods in years.
