Black n Blue / Warrant Vocalist
Jaime St. James

FIB MUSIC:  What's New? What have you been up to lately? What's in the future?

Jaime:   New Warrant CD "BORN AGAIN" in stores now. We are finishing up a DVD with studio videos, and extra footage to compliment the new CD. The boys and me are writing new songs all the time and of course kicking ass live! Go to www.warrantrocks.com

FIB MUSIC:   How is it that Jaime St. James becomes the singer for Warrant? Did they call you? Did you have to audition?

Jaime:  Jerry Dixon gave me a call and said they needed a new singer. I learned 5 songs, went down and rocked with them. They liked the way I sounded with the band so they called me a few days later and asked if I would join. They had no other auditions. It's been one of the best experiences of my career.

Movie Star
(L - R) JULIAN RAYMOND, JAIME ST JAMES,
JON PETERS, TOMMY THAYER & VIRGIL RIPPER
FIB MUSIC:  Will you be touring at all with Warrant, it looks like you guys are just doing just a few select dates? Why aren't you playing more dates?

Jaime:  We are doing what's known as fly-ins. 2, 3, or 4 shows on the weekends and then home until the next run. We are open to a proper tour if one comes up but for now we do our own shows and multi band festivals. I have done over 200 shows with the band to date.

FIB MUSIC:  How many Black n Blue songs are in the set? Which songs do you usually play?

Jaime:   We do one. Hold On To 18

FIB MUSIC:  How has it been playing with those guys? Does it feel different than your days in Black n Blue, or the same? Is there a different chemistry amongst you and the band?

Jaime:  We all get along great. It feels like we've been together for a lot longer than we have. I couldn't be involved with a better bunch of band mates and it does remind me of the fun BNB days for sure.
FIB MUSIC:  Can you give us a little history on how Black n Blue formed and how & when you guys made your move to LA?

Jaime:  We formed in the fall of 1981.Tommy and I put the band together. We were in a band called Movie Star for a few years before BNB and I was the drummer. It was a pop band and the two of us wanted to follow our hearts and do a heavier project. We moved to L.A. in 1982 and were signed to Geffen in 1983.

FIB MUSIC:   Wasn't "Chains Around Heaven" on a Metal Massacre album? How did that come about?

Jaime:  Yes. We sent our demo to Brian Slagel (Metal Blade) and he liked it.

FIB MUSIC:  You also recorded a demo with Don Dokken and Michael Wagener. What was it like working with those guys?

Jaime:  Working with Michael Wagener was great. He made the demo sound killer. Don was great with me and working with vocal melodies. He also took the demo to Kalodner at Geffen so he gets a lot of credit for that.

FIB MUSIC:  What songs appeared on that recording?

Jaime:  Hold On To 18, Violent Kid, Sign In Blood and Wicked Bitch.

FIB MUSIC:   How long after arriving to LA, does it take for you guys to get signed?

Jaime:   About a year.

FIB MUSIC:  Didn't the band live in an apartment together? What was that experience like?

Jaime:  We had a house just off Sunset Blvd. Not far from the Rainbow, Roxy and the Whiskey. The Band and our crew all lived there. We had no food but our manager owned a pizza place so we ate pizza for a year. We went out every night and drank for free because we were packing in the crowds at the clubs.



FIB MUSIC:  Describe a typical DAY IN THE LIFE OF Jaime St. James during this time. From the time you woke up, to the time you went to bed.

Jaime:  Wake up, go down and get some pizza, come home work on songs with Tommy, go to rehearsal, go to get some more pizza, go out drink and party and probably get laid.

FIB MUSIC:  We have done a massive three part interview with Rik Fox. Any Rik Fox stories come to mind? Didn't he use to hang out at your apartment?

Jaime:   Yes Rik was around back then. He had the look down and was always out at the shows. Good dude.

FIB MUSIC:  Any cool memories stand out from the day you signed your record contract?

Jaime:   Yeah, we got signed after a show at the Troubadour by John Kalodner and he has a huge beard. I hugged him when he said welcome to Geffen and my earring came off in his beard and it hung there like a Christmas ornament. Also the next night I threw a beer through the Troubador window out to Santa Monica Blvd. I don't know why?? Just excited I guess.

FIB MUSIC:   Did you almost sign with any other labels? Why did you choose Geffen?

Jaime:  Other labels wanted us. I think Atlantic or Epic was one, but Geffen was supposed to be the best label back then.

FIB MUSIC:   How does the band decide on using Dieter Dierks to produce your first album?

Jaime:   We liked the way the Scorpions sounded. The Blackout album was the one that sold us on him.
FIB MUSIC:  What was it like working with him?

Jaime:  Very cool. It was an early digital recording. They do it different now but he did a great job. Some of the tunes seem a little stiff compared how they were live but it was our first time doing a record.

FIB MUSIC:  Any cool, brilliant, sucked moments stand out from those recording sessions?

Jaime:   Most people don't know that the bass intro to Hold On To 18 has me plucking a grand piano string with a guitar pick. That's why it sounds like that.

FIB MUSIC:  Where was it recorded? Do you remember the budget? How long did it take?

Jaime:   It was recorded in Germany at Dierks studio. We spent $300,000 dollars and it took 3 months. It would be different today with all the new technology.
FIB MUSIC:   I actually loved the production on this album, even though I think most would say Without Love is the best produced. What did you guys do differently with Dieter, if anything, than you did with other producers? What made it sound different?

Jaime:  think it was just the way Dieter recorded, and the digital 3M 2 inch tape machines he used.

FIB MUSIC:  Any memories come to mind when thinking of writing or recording "Hold on to 18". How did that song come about?

Jaime:   We wrote that song while we were still living in Portland Oregon. Tommy had the music all figured out and I came in and wrote the melodies and lyrics.

FIB MUSIC:  You guys toured with Aerosmith to support that album. If I remember correctly, it was before the band had gotten sober. What was that like and please share at least one good story.

Jaime:   Well yes, they were not at all sober. Tyler had all the lyrics taped to the stage and he would walk off behind the PA and not come out. They had to put a crew guy on each side to push him back out. Some nights they would carry him off stage. One night he mumbled to me that I wear too much make up while the crew were dragging him to the dressing room. He was fucking great.

FIB MUSIC:   How long does the Aerosmith tour last? What was that experience like for you?

Jaime:  I think about 3 months or so. It was our first big tour so we loved it. It was Aerosmith for god sake.

FIB MUSIC:  I am truly amazed that the self-titled record did not go gold or platinum for that matter. You guys were being played on MTV constantly. Did you receive much radio support? Why did you only do one video?

Jaime:   Our wonderful label didn't want to do another. They didn't see it through. They were great at first but they would always fizzle out.

FIB MUSIC:  Any idea how many copies have sold of the first release? Was that Black n Blue's biggest seller?

Jaime:  I have no idea at this point. I don't think they ever told us how many it really sold.
FIB MUSIC:  Did you tour with any other bands for that album? Who were they? Anything stand out?

Jaime:  We did some shows with Dio and Whitesnake. Also Night Ranger.

FIB MUSIC:  How did the decision come about to use Bruce Fairbairn as a producer on Without Love?

Jaime:  We decided on our own to use him. We thought a heavier version of what he was doing with Loverboy at the time would make for a good sound. Geffen agreed and so we sent him some demos and he went for it.

FIB MUSIC:  What was it like working with him? What sets him apart from other producers?

Jaime:   He was a great coordinator. He would bring in guys like Jim Vallance or the dude from Toto to help out. He had a good ear for a strong song or what a song needed to make it work.

FIB MUSIC:  Wasn't Bob Rock his assistant, at the time? Didn't he engineer the record?

Jaime:  Bob Rock was our engineer. Mike Fraser was the assistant.



Black n Blue
(L - R) Tommy Thayer, Pete Holmes,
Jaime St. James, Patrick Young & Jeff Warner

FIB MUSIC:   What was it like working with Bob Rock?

Jaime:   Bob was huge in making the record sound as well as it does. It was kind of a dream team when you look back on it.

FIB MUSIC:  Any cool, sucked, brilliant moments stand out from those recording sessions?

Jaime:  The whole damn thing was brilliant in my opinion. Totally underrated record.

FIB MUSIC:  Where was it recorded? What was the budget?

Jaime:  It was recorded at Little Mountain studio in Vancouver BC, Canada. Again we spent around $300,000.

FIB MUSIC:  Who did you guys tour with to support that record?

Jaime:   KISS, the Asylum tour.

FIB MUSIC:  Why do you think that album didn't sell huge numbers? There were some major songs on that record. Did Geffen stop promoting it? Did you not tour long enough? Any opinion?

Jaime:  I really don't know. I believe the songs were there. Geffen once again were great in the beginning but they chose to bail on it rather than push it.

FIB MUSIC:  Didn't Bon Jovi hear Without Love and from that moment, decided to use Bruce Fairbairn to produce Slippery When Wet?

Jaime:  Yes, that's what Jon and Richie told me one night at the Rainbow.


Black n Blue w/ Gene Simmons

FIB MUSIC:  How does the band decide on using Gene Simmons as a producer for your next release, Nasty Nasty. Other than the fact you grew up loving KISS, was there any other reason?

Jaime:  We wanted a producer that would be on our side and not the labels. This would allow us to rock the way WE wanted to. In the end we did "I'll Be There For You" for a movie sound track and Geffen put it on the record. It was a good song but it was out of place. Geffen told us if we did not put it on the record, they would do nothing to promote it. They got their way in the end.

FIB MUSIC:  Any cool memories stand out from working with Gene?

Jaime:   I asked Peter Criss to come down and sing on a song and he hadn't seen Gene in years. They talked for hours about the old days and it was fun to see them together again (thank you very much)

FIB MUSIC:  I asked Marc Ferrari this, in his interview, and he wasn't sure, but was there a reason everything Gene Simmons produced, sounded like KISS drums. The drums had the same KISS drum sound that KISS had in the 80's & 90's? Did Pete Holmes want that sound, or like it, did you guys like that sound or were you even aware of it?

Jaime:   Everyone in those days was going for a Back In Black meets Def Leppard drum sound. It's all Mutt Lange's fault.

FIB MUSIC:  Could you have ever imagined that Tommy Thayer would one day be dressing up as Ace Frehley and playing in KISS? Did he call and tell you? How did you first hear about it? Were you surprised?

Jaime:  When we were younger I would have never guessed it but he was working for them for years and I saw it coming. I can't remember when he told me. We lived together for a while so maybe he told me then.

  

FIB MUSIC:  With your final album with Geffen, In Heat, what was that status of the band at that time. Did you know it would be your last album on Geffen, if it didn't hit?

Jaime:  Yes we knew that. Gene offered Geffen a boatload of money to buy us off the label and put us on Simmons Records because he knew they were not going to get behind it. They wouldn't do it. They did no promotion and just let us die out there.

FIB MUSIC:  Did you guys tour to support that record? If so, who were some of the bands you toured with?

Jaime:  We did some shows with Queensryche and Yngwie Malmsteen. Can anybody f*cking spell that for me???

FIB MUSIC:  Any cool memories stand out from those recording sessions?

Jaime:  There were some great songs that came about for that record. "The Snake", "Live It Up"

FIB MUSIC:  Any idea what the budget for that record was? Where did you record it?

Jaime:  We did it in LA at Rumbo studio. I don't remember how much we spent.

FIB MUSIC:  Why did Tommy decide to leave the band?

Jaime:  Frustration I presume.

FIB MUSIC:  After Black n Blue you formed a band called Freight Train Jane. Will that ever be re-released? It seems to fetch quite a lot on Ebay.

Jaime:  I might do that. It never got released in America

FIB MUSIC:  Speaking of Ebay, the Black n Blue catalog was probably one of the highest priced catalogs for the genre, with each cd costing a considerable amount of cash, some of them costing $100.00 or more per cd. Did you used to crap your pants at some of the prices people would pay, before the re-releases came out? Were you flattered, or did you ever notice?

Jaime:  Yes people would tell me about it. I thought it kinda sucked that fans had to pay so much money for a damn CD.

FIB MUSIC:  During the 90's you had a KISS tribute band called Cold Gin. How did that come about and who else was in the band.

Jaime:  Well I was Peter. Tommy was Gene (just kidding) I mean Ace. We had 2 Genes, first was Chris McLearnon and Spiro Papadatos replaced him when Chris joined Saigon Kick. Anthoney White was Paul.

FIB MUSIC:  Did you guys play a lot of gigs?

Jaime:  We toured America and Japan. It was fun but we knew it would not be a permanent thing.

FIB MUSIC:  Jaime St. James is transported back to the year 1983 and were instructed that you had to do two things differently this time around. What would they be?

Jaime:  I would have taken the Ozzy tour that we turned down so we could use Dieter Dierks, and I would sign to one of the other labels that wanted us.

-THE FAST 5-

FIBM:  What is your most disgusting habit?

Jaime:  Nothing I do is disgusting.

FIBM:  What is the most feminine thing you do?

Jaime:  The hair products.

FIBM:  If there is a God, what is the first question you would ask God when you arrive?

Jaime:  Do you guys need a singer?

FIBM:  Greatest Rock band of all time?

Jaime:  It's a tie, The Beatles and AC/DC

FIBM:  What were you doing 40 minutes before you sat down to do this interview?

Jaime:   Since this took three separate days to finish that's tough to answer. Writing a song or making popcorn would be the truth depending on the day. Rock on brothers and sisters!



The Official Jaime St. James Website

The Official Warrant Website


Additional Reference:
Watch Black n Blue Videos

One of Jaime's great friends:
Full in Bloom Music Interview with Ron Keel



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