Bang Tango

Bang Tango is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1988 and active to the present day. Its music is associated with hard rock and glam metal, and it is also linked with alternative metal, funk metal, funk rock and heavy metal.

Formation and early years

The group is founded by guitarist Mark Knight and bassist Kyle Kyle. Knight brings in guitarist Kyle Stevens, and vocalist Joe Lesté joins as frontman at the suggestion of Amir Derakh of Rough Cutt. Drummer Tigg Ketler, a childhood friend of Lesté, completes the original five-piece lineup. The band builds a following on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, playing clubs and venues there before signing to MCA Records in the same year it forms.

Recordings and charting albums

Bang Tango’s first release is the EP Live Injection, followed by the Howard Benson-produced debut album Psycho Café, which reaches number 58 on the Billboard 200. Singles from the album include “Someone Like You” and “Breaking Up a Heart of Stone”, both promoted with music videos that appear on early 1990s MTV programmes. The band tours with Cheap Trick, L.A. Guns, Ratt and BulletBoys.

The second album, Dancin' on Coals, is produced by John Jansen and peaks at number 113 on the Billboard 200. A video is made for “Untied and True”. The live EP Ain't No Jive...Live! follows in 1992. In 1993 the band records Love After Death with Howard Benson; MCA shelves its U.S. release, but the album comes out in the UK and Japan through Music For Nations. Kyle Stevens leaves after the album is completed, though songs from it continue to appear in live sets.

Line-up changes and later releases

The original line-up breaks up in 1995 after a European tour. Joe Lesté and Kyle Kyle reform the group in 1996 with a rotating line-up. In 1997 they form the alternative rock side project Eating Crow, and its song “So Abused” appears in the film Wishmaster. Bang Tango then releases the live album Live in 1998 and the compilation Greatest Tricks in 1999, which features re-recorded versions of popular songs.

Lesté later forms Beautiful Creatures in 2001. He then reforms Bang Tango in 2002 as the only original member, and the band releases Ready to Go in 2004, From the Hip in 2006 and Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt in 2011. In 2010, the original lineup performs two shows as Bang Tango Redux without Lesté.

Recent members and documentary

Former Dio guitarist Rowan Robertson joins in 2014, and director Drew Fortier joins in 2015 as a second guitarist. The band is also reported to be working on a new album. In November 2019, the original lineup — including Lesté, Knight, Kyle, Stevens and Ketler — reunites for a 2020 tour. Other associated projects from original members include Mark Knight & the Unsung Heroes and Mona Lisa Overdrive.

From 2011 to 2015, Drew Fortier films Attack of Life: The Bang Tango Movie, a documentary with interviews from all original members and most later members. It is released on YouTube because of song-clearance issues and is received positively for its presentation and accessibility to both existing fans and new listeners.

Studio albums

Psycho Café (1989), Dancin' on Coals (1991), Love After Death (1994), Ready to Go (2004), From the Hip (2006) and Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt (2011).