Guns N’ Roses’ recent Not in a Lifetime… Tour which ends on November 29 2017 featured a female on the keyboard and singing backup, alongside Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Dizzy Reed, Frank Ferrer, and Richard Fortus. That said woman, Melissa Reese, also makes history as the only woman to have joined the band as a full-time member since it formed in 1985.
The steel blue-haired classically trained composer does jobs for television, film and video games aside from her work with Guns N’ Roses, and some of her stuff have appeared on Fox, The CW, E! and Sony PlayStation franchises such as Infamous. And to keep up with everything on her plate, she even takes a mini recording studio on tour.
“People, unfortunately, even now in 2017, have a tendency to be harder on women,” Reese mentions. “You have to work to break glass ceilings and to be noticed and acknowledged. But if I spent my time worrying about that shit, [I’d] have less time to do the work.”
Her long-standing musical background surely contributed to her undeniable talent. At 4, Reese was already able to play a beginner Bach piece on the piano, and on top of piano lessons, she had voice lessons, was a part of the Northwest Girl Choir, and was a hula dancer for 13 years.
At age 13, she got the opportunity to work with “Take My Breath Away” crooner Tom Whitlock from Top Gun to record her first “demos”, as she calls them. And from there, Reese met her first manager Joey Minkes before kickstarting her whirlwind career writing, producing and meeting many influential people along the way. You go, girl!
You can read more about Reese and her career with Guns N’ Roses via this interview.
