GEN3 Recruits Former L.A. Guns Singer for New Record

GEN3 is ready to bring a little Sunset Strip flair to Boulder’s 14^th Street this weekend.

The local rock group will play the Boulder Theater on Saturday, October 18, during the Roots Music Fest, which kicks off Friday, October 17, and highlights dozens of bands across several venues through Sunday, October 19. The evening set also serves as a release show for GEN3’s new album, Anti, which released on October 8 and features former L.A. Guns vocalist Scott Foster Harris.

Bandmates David Cremin and Jace Allen found Harris while hosting open auditions for a singer to help complete the sophomore record earlier this year, and his addition took Anti to another level.

“We had versions of all of the songs where either David or I sang,” says Allen, who co-owns Good Noise Studios locations in Denver and Palm Springs, California, with former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum. “We were listening to these songs and were like, ‘Man, some of these songs are really banging, like this is a rock album.’ It’s an unapologetic rock album. We were like, ‘You know what we’re missing is the unapologetic rock singer.’”

Allen initially connected with Harris online, but it was clear he was the man.

“I started scouring all my connections, talking to Matt, talking to a bunch of different singers. I talked to singers from Pennywise and a couple other folks I played with,” Allen adds.  

“We ran our own reality show, our own version of The Voice,” he continues. “I heard Scott sung on L.A. Guns. He has a great reputation. I reached out, and he answered. We had like six or seven people try out and record songs for us. Scott’s voice jumped off the page.”

Harris brought an increased hard-rock credence to GEN3, which aims to put a modern twist on a classic genre, something Allen likes to call “unapologetic rock,” on the follow-up to 2023 debut, Not Coming Home.  

“I think the sound is current, but it certainly hearkens back,” he says, adding that there is something about the music from those early years that still resonates. “When I grew up in the ’70s, I would never have listened to music from the ’40s. But now we’re effectively doing that. What is it? Why did the music from the mid-’60s up to today not die? We’re not going to say sorry for making a rock album, and maybe rock isn’t dead after all.”

With that idea in mind, Allen and Cremin wrote lyrics that reflect the current cultural clime. Such songs as “Animals,” “Big Lie” and “Blood in the Shadows” all relate to today’s zeitgeist, while “Tattoo” and “I Don’t Think You Love Me” hit more like ballads in what Harris does best.

“This time around we decided we wanted to have a harder edge and talk about things that were upsetting in today’s world,” says Allen, who played bass, drums and keys on Anti, in addition to his producing role. “Most of the songs have some sort of anthem or rebellion or fight against something. Every song is against something. And we knew Scott would take it to the next level.”

Of the nine new tracks, Cremin points to “Game On” as the one that really sums up where the two were at with Anti.

“‘Game On’ is such a statement about the rest of the album,” the guitarist says. “We were looking culturally at the world and just thinking, ‘Wait a second’ how do people get off behaving without the respect for others?’”

Similarly, “Rise Up” is more of a call-to-action.

“It’s more like, if you don’t like the way things are going, don’t just complain about, get up and do something about it,” Cremin adds. “I don’t necessarily mean being a revolutionary, but there’s too much complacency.”

There’s even a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” on there. While it started as a funny suggestion, the song fit nicely given the context of the latest GEN3 LP.

“It’s four chords and a pound of dust, but there is a remarkable amount of layers in it. And we were able to take the layers and use are instrumentation and sound and create it,” Allen says.

“Vocally, we went for the big thing, it’s the wall of sound that we used to hear in the ’80s, but it’s our version of it.”

For the record, both Allen and Cremin genuinely love Swift and The Life of a Showgirl. “She’s entered totally in-love nerdhood,” Cremin says of the album. “I think she always sets herself bare in front of everyone and very few people can do that.”

While an opening slot for Swift is still up in the air, GEN3 plans to keep the momentum going with Harris on the mic and its own original brand of rock.

“It just goes to show you that that music is still relevant,” Allen concludes.

Gen3, 5:45 Saturday, October 18, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder. Tickets are $82.