Who the Hell Are the Guitarists in Faster Pussycat Right Now?
So who the hell are the guitarists in Faster Pussycat at this moment?
Faster Pussycat man! An eternal inspiration and a band that has always embodied the meaning of the word sleaze. Because of that, even today, their every move is followed with great attention, which is definitely not the case with other bands of that generation. You can see that from the content on Junkyard lately.
That’s exactly why we’re asking the question from the title: who the hell are the guitarists in Faster Pussycat today? If you were on the boat or if you’ve seen footage from the recently finished Monsters of Rock Cruise 2026, you could notice a very strange lineup with which Faster Pussycat blasted through their sets on the open sea.
First of all, Greg Steele, the band’s original guitarist. And this is who knows which time he has come back to play a few songs with the band. In and out, just like that since April 2023 and the 51st anniversary of the Rainbow Bar & Grill that year. You remember, we wrote about it. Now, for someone to board a ship and sail away with the band just to play as a guest… hmm? You don’t see that every day, do you? It could be that Greg has once again become a full-time member, and that nobody has officially told us yet. And you’ll see later why that might be possible…
However, at the two MORC shows, which are also the only two so far this year, Ace Von Johnson was also on stage with Faster Pussycat. A guitarist who was a driving force in the band from 2009 to 2019, and since then a permanent member of L.A. Guns. What is he doing there? L.A. Guns weren’t part of this year’s lineup, but Ace obviously stepped in as a replacement for Keiran Robertson.
Of course, alongside them, the show was led by the young Sam Bam Koltun, who is actually the main guitarist of Faster Pussycat since the moment he was recommended to the band by Ace Von Johnson himself. Sam Bam Koltun, a guy we pointed out to you about five years ago when we wrote on Junkyard about the band Budderside, which was releasing their second album at the time. Sam Bam Koltun was the guitarist of that phenomenal hard rock band back then. We told you the guy was insanely talented and that he had a bright future ahead of him…
And we were right! Since then, Sam Bam has released another album with his main band Budderside, which is currently inactive, although a few days ago a studio recording story appeared on their Instagram, so hmm, let’s not jump to conclusions. Besides that, Sam Bam has become the main guitarist of the band Dorothy, of course also Faster Pussycat, and recently, which was news that echoed across social media, the young talented player has become a new member of Godsmack.
If we take into account that Godsmack is going on a major tour from May to September, with special guests Dorothy (with whom Sam plays), and that Faster Pussycat will most likely have more shows this year, the question arises: where will Sam be, and who will play in Faster Pussycat?
From the moment MORC ended and we found out that Sam Bam Koltun is becoming the new member of Godsmack, we searched for the answer to this question about the reshuffling of Faster Pussycat’s lineup, until the answer was given to us by Taime Downe himself, in the podcast Laughingmonkey, where he said the following:
- the band is planning shows this year, not only in the USA but also in Europe
- Keiran Robertson was not on MORC because he has certain immigration issues, and because of that he was not able to leave the USA, and his status is still uncertain
- and while Sam is on tour with Godsmack, there will be other guitarists in the band, including at the upcoming M3 Rock Festival, which takes place practically a week after this article is published
And who will play at M3? We got the answer – it will be Ace Von Johnson and Jacob Bunton, whom you know from bands like Lynam, Adler, Mick Mars, Neon Coven, etc.
An interesting and dynamic duo, no doubt. If you were following closely than you know that we’ve already seen them working together in the aforementioned goth dark glam group Neon Coven.
As for the European shows, which are very likely, Taime Downe explained that he would most like to have Sam Bam Koltun there, without whom Faster Pussycat isn’t really Faster Pussycat, according to the legendary frontman, as well as Keiran Robertson, who by then should sort out his immigration paperwork. If that doesn’t happen, Taime says that many friends of the band will pick up the guitar for that occasion, first and foremost Ace Von Johnson again, but many others as well… And Greg Steele is a friend right?
So in the end, we got the answer to the question that was bothering us. Crazy, right? And it’s not like it hasn’t happened before. Basically, that’s the story of the state the rock scene and musicians are in today. There’s no more exclusive loyalty to just one camp. If a bigger and better opportunity comes along, it doesn’t get missed. That’s just how it is today.
