Vain is an American glam metal band from San Francisco Bay Area, California, formed in 1986.
As of 2018, the lineup consists of Davy Vain (lead vocals), Joel Proto (guitar), Ashley Mitchell (bass) and Tommy Rickard (drums).
They signed with Island Records in 1988, before releasing their debut album the following year, titled No Respect, which peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200.
Following the addition of both Shawn Rorie and former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler, Vain renamed themselves Road Crew.
To date, Vain have released eight studio albums; No Respect (1989); All Those Strangers (1991); Move On It (1993); Fade (1995); On The Line (2005); Enough Rope (2011); Rolling With The Punches (2017), and 'Disintegrate Together' (2024).
[3][4] After recording, Vain decided to form a band, in the San Francisco Bay Area,[2] under his own moniker, adding bassist Ashley Mitchell, drummer Tom Rickard and guitarists Dylana Nova and Danny West to the lineup.
[10] Geoff Barton would later give a positive review for Classic Rock describing the album as "a Maybelline-metalised debut par excellence – no 'perhaps' about it" with the music being "unharnessed, haystack-haired heaviness from beginning to end" and that "it's the Crüe at their most coarse and corrupted.
[1][3] In 2000, Davy recorded and released his debut solo album entitled In From Out of Nowhere with Mitchell, Senor and guitarist Craig Behrhorst.
writer Steve Beebee reviewed their show at Rock City in Nottingham, stating that "even though their set-list includes a mere four songs from that Holy Grail of debuts [No Respect]," it was a gig that "leave[s] you genuinely amazed, and more than anything, angry that a trend-fixed music industry could possibly have suppressed this awesome band for 15 years.
[19][20][26] In 2009, original Vain drummer Tom Rickard returned to the lineup, with the band toured the UK from November 24 – December 1 the same year with San Francisco Bassist Fraser Lunney.
[10] The album featured drums by Rickard, Senor and Adler, bass by Ashley Mitchell and Fraser Lunney as well as unreleased material from their time as Road Crew.
A Bay Area native, Proto has been in local bands including GhostTown with singer, actor, comedian Dean Delray.