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GlamMetal.com recently caught up with singer\songwriter Jamie St. James! Most people know Jamie as the front man for the 80's band, Black ‘N Blue. The bands first and self-titled LP was released in 1984, and is loaded with kick ass songs like, "Hold On To 18," "Wicked Bitch," and one of my favorites, "Autoblast," just to name a couple. Shortly after the album was released, the band went out on their very first tour with Aerosmith! How cool is that? Black ‘N Blue were enjoying their new found fame, and what a great time for music, and to be alive!
Black ‘N Blue went on to release three more kick ass albums, "Without Love," "Nasty, Nasty," and "In Heat," the latter two being produced by Gene Simmons of KISS. Four great albums, and of course some live stuff as well, before the band eventually split in 88-89. The very talented front man later went on to form another kick ass band called, Freight Train Jane, and brought in some new blood, and actually recorded a great album with his new band, but unfortunately the timing was terrible because of the Grunge movement. It’s a shame the album never got released in the States because of this thing called Grunge. Ultimately, Jamie St. James, like so many other artists of this genre, went on a long hiatus, waiting to reign once again.
Currently, we are well over the days of Grunge, and there are new and great things happening, like Warrant’s upcoming release of "Born Again!" You heard right! Warrant has a brand new album coming out very soon, with Vocalist Jamie St. James at the helm. According to the Saint, this new record is gonna kick serious ass!
Here at GlamMetal.com TM, we love Warrant and we love Black ‘N Blue, and we’re excited, because Jamie St. James is here for the first time to talk with us about Warrant, Black ‘N Blue, new albums, old albums, and much more! So enjoy this exclusive interview with the man himself, Jamie St. James!
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Jamie St. James, how the hell are you man?
I’m good man, thanks!
Welcome to GlamMetal.com TM. I’m Doobie, and I’ll be your captain for this flight, so kick back and just ignore the no smoking signs man! (Laughs)
Ok! (Laughs)
You’re the new singer for Warrant...I hate to say "New," because you’ve actually been with the band for a little while now. How long have you officially been in Warrant now?
Ah...I think I joined in like February of 2004, or something like that.
Warrant has a new record completed, and titled, "Born Again" with you singing on it. I can’t wait to hear it! When is it scheduled to hit the shelves?
It’s an ass-kicker! It’s going to be released on March 31st, this month in Europe and Japan, and will be officially released in America on June 4th.
I love the title man! It’s very fitting. With Joey and Steven back in the band, and with you as the new singer, it just makes sense to call it "Born Again," you know?
Yeah, it does. The title came from Eric Turner, and it really fits if you’re close with the band here, because we’re really all kinda rejuvenated in a way, and we all feel fresh. It’s like a new band, only a band that’s been around for a long time, and the name has been around for a long time, and all of us have been playing forever, but it feels like our first band, you know? It really kinda feels like that, and we’re really pumped up and excited, and that’s why we jumped right in and started writing and doing a new record. It just came natural.
It kinda does seem like a new band really.
It kinda is. Steven and Joey were out of the band for like twelve years, so it really does have a fresh feel to it.
How would you best describe "Born Again?"
I think it’s straight ahead, old school rock! That’s really basically it. We’ve got one ballad... it’s kind of a heavy ballad on the record, and the rest of them are straight ahead rockers. Purposely, we knew we wanted to do an old school record, just straight ahead guitars, bass, and drums just slamming away almost like you’re cranking it out live, you know? Um...It’s fairly raw, some of the vocals are a little polished here and there, but I’ve always done that since my days in Black ‘N Blue, and Warrant has always been a big vocal band, so we have some polished vocals, but for a lot of parts, I’m just kinda screaming away, and doing my thing.
How much of the writing were you involved in on this record?
The record was written by Eric Turner, Jerry Dixon, and me. I wrote about half of the lyrics on the record, Jerry wrote the other half, which I never usually let anybody do, but Jerry came through with some cool stuff, so I let him go.
So you like to write your own lyrics then huh?
I usually do my own lyrics, I always have, but this time around Jerry came up with some good stuff, and I just helped him with some melodies here and there. Basically, it was a collaboration between me, Jerry and Eric.
What’s a couple of your favorite songs on "Born Again?"
Geez...I honestly do really love the whole record. When we were recording it, I knew it was going to be a really special record. I love the first four songs, right of the bat on the record, they’re real strong, that’s "Devils Juice," "Dirty Jack," "Bourbon County Line," and "Hell, CA."
(Laughs) Those sound like Warrant titles for sure man!
Yeah, it’s very Warrant, and it’s also kinda Black ‘N Blueish. People think it’s kinda reminiscent of the first Warrant record somewhat. It really is all those things blended together into kind of a new deal. I like the ballad, "Glimmer," it’s really cool, and I like a song I wrote called, "Roller Coaster" as well. It’s all really good stuff, it’s a great record man.
Cool! So it sounds like you’re totally satisfied with the way this record turned out, huh?
Yeah! I’m real happy with it, I like it. I think it’s a great record, it’s very honest, what we wanted to do, nobody over our heads telling us what they thought we should do, just the five of us doing what we wanted, and I love that. I think it came out great, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s one of the best records I’ve ever been involved with. We’re already writing for another record, and this one isn’t even out yet, and I think the next one will be even better.
Will you guys be touring in support of "Born Again," when it’s released?
Yeah, we’re basically doing all kinds of shows through this spring and summer. Actually, we’re heading for Texas next week, and we’re basically doing our own thing, we’re jumping on the festival type things, playing some shows with some other bands, and that kinda deal. We’re keeping busy, and we’re out there pushing it, so...yeah, we’ll be touring extensively all the way up to September or October, and then we hit Europe.
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So you’re pretty much headlining then?
Yeah, it’s pretty much headlining, nothing interested us with any package deals, so we’re just doing our own thing, and that’s fine. We’re playing a lot of shows with Firehouse, some with Great White, and of course some festival things with multiple bands on them.
Have you guys bounced any of the new stuff off a live audience, and if so, what’s the response been like?
We’ve been playing "Dirty Jack" live at just about every show, and it’s amazing to me, because people really do get into it. By the end of the song, they’re shouting out "Dirty Jack." It’s a really good sign when you can play a song that nobody has ever heard before, and they get into it, you know? I can tell by the applause that people are really digging it, and I see the looks on their faces, that it’s working.
I like the name "Dirty Jack," it’s got a catchy name.
It is. It’s very, very cool. It’s a touch of blues, and a touch of AC\DC, and it just kicks ass.
Changing singers in band can be a touchy thing, how well of a response are you getting Jamie, with being the new guy in the band?
You’re right, and it is a touchy situation, and it’s the toughest thing for a band to have to do. I think basically what it comes down to is, as far as the live shows go, my job is to go out there and win the crowd over, you know? If I go out and do my thing, and give it all I got, and perform to the best that I know I can, I’ll win em’ over. Granted, there are gonna be some people that are not gonna give Warrant a chance with a new singer, but that’s ok. I play in front of thousands of people every week, and it goes over really well, and I got my own fans to goddamn it! (Laughs)
Exactly! (Laughs)
What would you say to the hardcore Warrant fans that may not accept or approve of you being the singer for Warrant, to put them at ease if you will?
I would just say, that this is the reality for Warrant in 2006. This is what the band is, and if it weren’t me, it would be somebody else, you know? If they like the old stuff, I think I do it justice, I sing the songs very well, and ah...it might be a little bit different vibe, but we’re out there doing it, and I’d say people should come on out and give it a shot. I think there are a hell of a lot of people that come out, and are blown away when they hear us. If you just give it a shot, you’d probably be surprised. There’s a lot of people that are digging it.
You’re a great singer Jamie, and noone can take that away from you! I just had to ask, because it generally doesn’t usually go over that well replacing a singer in a band. Motley tried it, Ratt, and a bunch of other bands, you know?
Thanks! Well...it’s a hard one, it probably depends on the singer, and what the former singer had been doing, or whatever, you know? Every band is different, and I think individually you just kinda take each situation like that. I’d like people to come out and see how happy this band is on stage, and how great the vibe is, that comes across.
I sincerely hope that people do get out and see Warrant live in 2006.
There’s a lot of people that do. Dude, every show that we’ve played so far this year in 2006 has been sold out!
No Shit! That’s awesome man!
Yeah it is!
I understand that you’ve known the guys in Warrant for a few years prior to you joining, mind telling us a little about how it was decided that you were the guy for this gig?
Sure. Basically, I got a call from Jerry Dixon, and he mentioned that they need a new singer, and I thought wow, that’s a big thing. Ah...he basically asked if I wanted to come out and do it. They made a list of singers, and I was on top of the list, so I came down and sang like five or six songs with them in the rehearsal room, and everybody was smiling. It worked, and for me, if I’d have sang the songs with them, and I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with it, I would have said, no thanks guys, because it doesn’t feel right for me. But...it just so happens that my voice sounds good doing the songs, and I sing a bit like Jani Lane sang. I’m melodic, heavy rock, so I just kinda fit the mold. It was a natural thing, I’m not trying to, it’s just my voice seemed to work with the songs, and those guys all thought so, so I went for it. I’ve known the guys since the band first formed, the early version of it, when Jerry and Eric were the only original guys in it at that point. They always used to come out to Black ‘N Blue shows, because we were a big band in LA at the time, and they were just up and coming. I’ve known em’ a long time, and they’re great guys, always were.
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You guys all jive great then huh?
Oh yeah, we get along great! That’s one thing that every band can’t say, we all get along unbelievably well. We love each other, and we’re having a great time.
My next question was if you planned to record with Warrant again, but you kinda answered that already.
Yeah, we’re already working on another record, and it’s so far, real promising. We’ve got some good tunes were working on. It’s a very functioning band right now, let me tell ya! (Laughs)
What’s a couple of your favorite Warrant songs to play live?
I love "Uncle Tom’s Cabin." Ah...I enjoy doing the ballads, because I never really did to many before... stuff like "Heaven," and "I Saw Red, " are all really good songs to do live. It’s fun for me, because I never got to do much of that in my Black ‘N Blue days. I like "So Damn Pretty," the fast ones like that, it’s good stuff.
I’m looking forward to seeing you guys live at some point this summer.
I tell ya, it’s getting better all the time. We’re really getting the set fine tuned. This run here this year is just killing.
Are you doing any Black ‘N Blue in your set?
We’re playing "Hold On To 18," and we might learn up another one just to flip flop it a bit.
Speaking of Black ‘N Blue, aside from recording and playing out with Warrant, you’re also working on a brand new Black ‘N Blue record titled, "Hell Yeah." That’s exciting news for all the Black ‘N Blue fans! I know that you’re probably getting tired of this question, but do you have a time frame of when this record will be out?
Yeah, but you know what, there’s some internal problems with the Black ‘N Blue guys, I don’t wanna get into specifics, but basically I’ve been beating my head against the wall trying to get this thing out. I’ve also had a hard time dealing with the record company, it took a while to get the funds out of them to try to get this thing finished, and with that being said, I’m currently trying to get the master tapes flown down to me here in LA from Portland, where we recorded it. I need to get the tapes flown down here to me and try and mix this thing and finish it. It will get it finished, but it’s been difficult, because the band is so goddamn disjointed, you know what I mean? Tommy can’t be involved because his contract with KISS won’t allow him to be part of Black ‘N Blue, even though he’d love to. It’s just been crazy, but I will get it out there, I don’t know when, but I’m not making any promises anymore, because I sound like a goddamn, fucking liar. (Laughs)
(Laughs) I’m sure nobody thinks you’re a liar man. But to put the Black ‘N Blue fans at ease Jamie, it is something that is definitely going to happen though yes?
Absolutely! It will be finished, in fact there are like seven songs I think that are fully recorded. They just aren’t mixed yet, and then there’s some other tunes that are not quite finished, I just need to do some vocals or some guitar on it I think. It’s really far along.
How would you compare "Hell Yeah" to the past Black ‘N Blue albums?
Wow, ah...it sounds kinda like a continuation, but if it sounded like anything, I think it would sound like maybe a cross between the first album, and Nasty, Nasty.
Cool. There are so many Black ‘N Blue songs I dig man.
I like a lot of that stuff, and I loved Black ‘N Blue, it’s a great band, we had some good music. All in all, it’s a good thing for me, because I think it helps make me legitimate in Warrant, that I was the guy in Black ‘N Blue, and not just some guy that nobody knows. People that like Warrant, probably know Black ‘N Blue, so they get it. The Black ‘N Blue thing sure helped me out with this.
Well, I guess we won’t be seeing a Black ‘N Blue reunion anytime soon then huh?
No, you won’t, and I don’t know if it ever will be. If Tommy Thayer’s situation changed, and he wasn’t in KISS, which I don’t wish, I’m happy for him...then maybe something could possibly happen. Him and I have talked about the possibility of doing something more, but I think this "Hell Yeah" record will be it, unless something happens with Tommy. It was hard enough doing this record without Tommy, Black ‘N Blue is really me and Tommy, and all four guys. I still talk with all of them, and I wanna get this record finished up, and then we’ll see. I’m doing Warrant, Tommy’s doing KISS, Pete Holmes is playing drums for Michael Schenker, we’re just kinda all over the place right now.
It’s a shame that Freight Train Jane didn’t get more exposure to the world before Grunge kinda exploded out of nowhere. Have you thought about resurrecting that project since Metal is finally making a comeback?
Well, I have thought of possibly releasing that in America, because it was only released in Japan, and then it imports, and not a lot of people got a chance to get it, unless they did the eBay thing, or bought the imports for a lot of cash. I would like to release that thing in America someday...I don’t know about putting that band back together, and it was bad timing in the early 90's, right when the Grunge thing kinda took over. It was a bad time to have a band like that.
I’d like to get a hold of that record myself.
It’s hard to find man, it’s rare these days. Once the Warrant thing gets out and done, I might look into releasing that in America, on some small label. People who have it, and know that record, always comment to me when I’m out on the road and stuff, how much they like it, so that’s cool.
Would you agree that this genre of music is making a comeback, and what are your thoughts about it?
For me, it’s never gone. I know what your saying though, it has spurts where maybe certain bands will come along and do something, and give it a little momentum again. I don’t know what the future holds, I just know I continue to do it, and I enjoy it. I think that’s there’s a lot of people that have always been here, that love this kind of music. I don’t know...if it’s making a comeback, then goddamn I’m happy.
This genre of music definitely suffered through the Grunge days. Even bands like Def Leppard, for example, weren’t doing that great because of Grunge, you know?
Yeah, it was a weird time. I don’t think we have to worry about that anymore, I think that has come and gone...
Unless Grunge makes a comeback! (Laughs)
(Laughs) well, we’re holding down the fort, I can tell ya that! That’s why we’re so proud of this record, we came out with a solid, old school, rock record that’s gonna kick ass.
That’s what we all need for sure...
It’s not that easy to find these days!
I ask everybody this question... of all the tours you’ve been on, what was the craziest, raunchiest, or weirdest thing you’ve ever witnessed on the road? Can you share a road story or two with us?
I’ve seen some things, and they can get pretty gnarly sometimes. I’ve seen some girls in some bad situations. (Laughs)
(Laughs) I’m sure you have man! My question doesn’t necessarily have to be about debauchery, unless you want. Being on the road for a huge amount of time, you tend to run into all walks of life out there. I didn’t know if maybe something really strange comes to mind?
One of the weirdest things that happened to me really wasn’t that long ago. I had put together a version of Black ‘N Blue, and went out to play with LA Guns, and the Bulletboys, and my tour manager got stabbed by my bus driver.
No Shit, I heard about that!
Yeah, that was really weird! It was like 9:00 in the morning, and I could hear them arguing outside the bus, so I got up out of my bunk, and started walking over, and then my tour manager comes walking in bleeding, saying, "He just stabbed me! He just stabbed me!" I was like, "what the hell!?" So...I ended calling 911, and the next thing you know, the news cameras were there, and cops, and the bus driver was arrested, and my tour manager was in the hospital, and we needed to get to the next gig. That was pretty bizarre, let me tell ya!
Wow, that is messed up!
You’re telling me!
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So...what does Jamie St. James like to do for fun when he’s not working, or touring somewhere?
God, it seems like these days, if I’m not on a plane or traveling, I’m playing guitar and writing songs. I’m really caught up in it right now, I’ve got the fever, you know? Hmm...for fun, I like horror movies. Whenever I want to relax and get out of it, I put on some horror, and believe it or not, every now and then, I might go fishing.
You’re a talented man Saint. You play guitar, drums, and you’re a vocalist.
Yeah, I learned how to play guitar first, and I knew early on that if I want to write a song, I gotta play something, so I learned how to play guitar when I was like thirteen or something. I don’t play that great, but I play it well enough to write, you know?
Do you ever play guitar live?
I have. We used to do a version of "Miss Mystery," and I’d play the acoustic, and sing the first verse, then the band would kick in. I played it live a few times, but I don’t choose to, I’d rather just concentrate on just singing. I don’t want nothing distracting me when I’m rocking out.
In closing, is there anything you’d like to say to all of your fans and friends out there Saint?
Yeah. I love the fact that we can still do this in 2006, and I am really grateful, and happy that I’m in Warrant, and rocking out, out there. If you’re into this kind of music, you gotta pick up the new Warrant record. It’s a must right now, because there’s not a lot of good rock n’ roll out there these days, as far as old school, 80's style stuff, so...and Thank you!
It’s been a pleasure talking with you Jamie. Thanks for taking the time to talk with GlamMetal.com TM, and good luck with everything you got going on man!
You got it, thank you.
Anyone can find out all the info they want about Jamie St. James at www.warrantweb.net and www.stjamesofficial.com
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