Warrant is one of the few bands from the 80’s that has survived and managed to still have a successful career in music today. The Down boys originally busted out of the Los Angeles metal scene in the late 80's. Their hits included,” Cherry Pie, "Heaven", and "Uncle Tom's Cabin." MTV embraced The Down boys, and who could forget the popular video of "Cherry Pie" that featured blond bombshell Bobby Brown.
 
Warrant is currently on the road touring in support of their latest release,” Born Again" on Cleopatra Records. The original Down boys are back together again with new singer Jaime St. James. Produced by Pat Regan, "Born Again" is all about the rebirth of Warrant and marks Warrant's first release since 1997. Since the departure of Jani Lane, Warrant have found a newfound energy and rekindled the sound that made the band popular back in the days when rock was fun and exciting.
 
Warrant's latest release,” Born Again" is infused with catchy guitar riffs and great vocals. First single "Bourbon County Line" has a driving sound reminiscent of Warrant's early days. In the past, Jani Lane wrote all of the lyrics. It was great to see the band pulling together as a unit and share the songwriting.
 
Warrant have managed to capture their old school roots, and take the band into a new direction with new singer Jaime St. James. Although Jaime St.James has a very different vocal style than Jani Lane, "Born Again" will attract new fans, and delivers the classic 80's sound, that will take the die-hard Warrant fans into the future of the rebirth of the band.
 
One of the driving forces and backbone of Warrant is rhythm guitar player Erik Turner. Erik never gave up on the dream of Warrant, even when Grunge took control of the music charts.

Warrant will be performing at the Wolf Den at The Mohegan Sun Casino on December 22. For complete tour dates check out www.myspace.com/warrantband 
 
In this very special pre-show interview, I recently spoke to Erik Turner about the rebirth of Warrant, the departure of Jani Lane, the 80's, and the current Warrant Tour.
 
Erik, First of all let me congratulate you on the release of "Born Again." This is Warrant's first album since 1997. Tell me about the direction of the music on the new CD?
TURNER: Yes, it is the first all original record. There has been a bunch of stuff live records and re-recordings. It has been ten years since we put out ”Belly To Belly." It has all new original material on it. We are pretty proud of it.
 
Tell me about the title? Does this symbolize the rebirth of the band? 
TURNER: Yes, that is kind of where the title came from. We got a new singer. It kinds of feels like a fresh new beginning. It would be nice for our musical careers to be born again. It has that kind of double meaning. A lot of people think of Christianity, when they think of "Born Again." 80's rock being born again, that is where the title came from.
 
I think you picked the best time to actually be re-surfacing as a band and make a comeback. Do you feel like there is a resurgence of 80's metal?
TURNER: I think that people are definitely a lot more open to listening to that type of music, and then they were seven years ago. The timing is better, people still like melodic hard rock, so we made the CD for them.
 
On your current tour are you performing new songs from your latest CD? What is Warrant's set list like these days?
TURNER: Yes, we are playing "Bourbon County Line", "Dirty Jack." There was a while there, when we were playing "Good Times." We are kind of rotating the songs in the set.
 
I noticed on your new album that it is a lot more guitar oriented. I know there was a time back in the grunge era, when the guitar solo sort of took a back seat, and everything sounded the same. How do you feel about the popularity of the guitar riff making a comeback?
TURNER: I like a lot of the grunge music, like Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. There was awhile there, where people got away from guitar solos. I play rhythm guitar. I play one solo on the record. I love a guitar solo, that is what I grew up with Aerosmith, and AC/DC, Led Zeppelin. If you listen to Avenged Sevenfold, there is some great guitar playing on that record. We just make Warrant music. Hopefully people will like it. We had a lot of fun making the CD, and out our heart and soul into it. The CD turned out cool. 
 
Would you say, "Born Again rekindles that old school sound? Is that what you were aiming for at when you went into the studio?  
TURNER: We did "Belly to Belly" and those CD's, and we are proud of them, but they are definitely a stretch from the old school Warrant sound that people seem to know and love. When we went into to make this CD, we really wanted to make a CD for people that dig Dirty Rotten Stinking Rich, and Cherry Pie. We wanted to make a CD that would fit in with that sound. We wrote 22 songs. When we went to select the songs for the new CD, we kept in mind the type of CD, we wanted to make. So yes there was a conscience effort involved, in making the record.
 

Did Jaime St. James help write the lyrics since Jani Lane is gone?
TURNER: Yes, he wrote about half the lyrics. Jerry wrote the other half. I came up with a couple of titles. "Velvet Noose" and "Bourbon County Line" are my titles. Jerry and I were taking one night about our Dads. My Dad's nickname was Dirty Jack, so that is where that title came from. The song is not about my Dad, but the title is inspired from the nickname.
 
Now Joey Allen and Steven Sweet have returned to the band 2 1/2 years ago. How did you rekindle the friendship?
TURNER: I have always stayed friends with Joey. I didn't stay in touch with Steve too much. When Jani left the band, we thought what a great time to have Steven and Joey to come back. Joe was game for it. Steven was a little hesitant at first, then he changes his mind a month of two later. So yes, we have been playing with the four original guys and Jaime for 2 1/2 years now. In February, it will be three years. 
 
Why did Jani Lane leave the band? Did he want to pursue a solo career?
TURNER:  Yes, pretty much. He left the band in 93 to do a solo career and then returned. I don't know exactly what all of his reasons were. I mean we had some conversations, as you can imagine, it wasn't very pleasant. Then that was it. He was like; I want to do my own thing. We decided to keep on going. Now 2 1/2 years later, we are still doing it. 
                                                                                  How did get Jaime St. James to replace Jani Lane in the band?
TURNER: We have known Jaime for a long time, about twenty years or so from the Black n' Blue days. We thought, he is a great guy, a good singer, he fit in with Warrant and what, we are doing, where we are with our lives.
 
How do you feel his vocal style compares with Jani Lane?
TURNER: They are two different singers. I think after singing Warrant songs for the last two years, it probably has had a little bit of an influence on his style of singing that you might hear on the new CD. He has always been a great singer. Jani Lane has always been a great singer. We are lucky; we have had two great singers. 
 
Yes, the band has been very fortunate. MTV embraced Warrant, the band and had so many hits, "Cherry Pie, "Heaven", Uncle Tom's Cabin." It was amazing. Now was it hard being on the road 24/7 and being on the same bus with so many different personalities?
TURNER: No, sometimes we got tired. Overall we loved it.
 
How does the new version of Warrant compare to the old Warrant sound back in 1989?
TURNER: I think we are better musicians. We appreciate what we have more. We just enjoy doing what we do.
 
Last time that I saw Warrant perform was on the Rock Never Stops Tour with White snake. Did you enjoy that tour? 
TURNER: We had a blast on that tour; I would love to go out on tour with Whitesnake again.
 
Are you working on a DVD?
TURNER: We shot twelve videos for the new CD, "Born Again." It is basically a compilation of those twelve videos. It also features about a half hour into he studio, footage from the road. It is turning out pretty cool; we will probably release it in the Fall sometime.
 
In your spare time, do you enjoy playing any sports?
TURNER: I play a little golf, and I am looking forward to football season. I like the crappiest team in the NFL, The 49ers. I like San Diego too, I live near San Diego, so I support the Chargers. 
 
Well, I am from the East Coast and I am Patriots and Steelers fan. Do you listen to any bands from today?
TURNER: I got the new Buckcherry CD, Avenged Sevenfold, and Nickelback. There are a lot of good bands out there. 
 
What made the songs from the 80's metal genre so timeless?
TURNER: I think it just the good melodies and good songwriting; the lyrics are pretty easy to listen to. 
 
Eric, how would you describe the 80's?
TURNER: Good times, it was all about a big party and just having fun.
 
What does the future of Warrant hold?
TURNER: All I can say is that we have a bunch of shows booked thru December; we are going to be pushing the new CD. 
 
Eric, Thank you so much for doing this interview, and Best of Luck with your new CD. Hope to see you perform at Mohegan Sun Casino.
TURNER: Thanks for your support.