Ex-Guns N’ Roses and Sixx:A.M. guitarist Ashba is ditching the “DJ” in his name.
“I was born with the name Daren Jay Ashba,” the musician explains in an Instagram post. “My dad is the only one who ever called me Daren and he left a few years after I was born. My mom got remarried to an amazing man who I consider to be my dad. My mom and dad are still happily married to this day. When they got married he already had 4 kids of his own and one of his sons name was also Daren. So by default my name immediately became my initials, Dj.”
Ashba shares that he would never respond to Daren, and DJ “never felt like a name, more of a nickname.”
“[That’s] why my close friends call me ‘ASH’ a shortened version of my last name,” Ashba writes. “It’s the only name that feels like my own. I never chose to be called Dj, in fact it’s been more of a curse, being a guitar player, everybody thought I was a ‘DJ,’ and I still get asked if I’m a DJ.”
“So I’m going to legally change my name to just ASHBA,” he continues. “So, call me ASH. That should clear things up moving forward!”
Ashba played in Guns N’ Roses from 2009 to 2015. Sixx:A.M., which also featured Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx and vocalist James Michael, was active from 2007 to 2021.