March of the Saint

Biography

March of the Saint is the first album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1984 on Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Michael James Jackson who previously worked for Kiss. The debut album yielded a minor MTV hit with "Can U Deliver", but Joey Vera and John Bush later recalled the album's recording as a frustrating and disappointing experience, explaining that Jackson's approach was much more commercial than the heavy metal sound the band had wanted.[1] As Vera...

March of the Saint is the first album by American heavy metal band Armored Saint. It was released in 1984 on Chrysalis Records and recorded with producer Michael James Jackson who previously worked for Kiss. The debut album yielded a minor MTV hit with "Can U Deliver", but Joey Vera and John Bush later recalled the album's recording as a frustrating and disappointing experience, explaining that Jackson's approach was much more commercial than the heavy metal sound the band had wanted.[1] As Vera recalled in 2006: "At the end of the record we were very unhappy with the production, the mix, the way we worked and who we worked with. And the producer and our manager let us spend over ($)300,000 on our first record. To this day we are still in debt for that one."[3] In 2006, Rock Candy released a remastered version of March of the Saint with additional unreleased demo tracks. Credits John Bush - vocals Dave Prichard - guitars Phil Sandoval - guitars Joey Vera - Bass Gonzo Sandoval - drums Quotes FIBM: Any memories stand out from the March of the Saint recording sessions? Where was it recorded? What was the Budget? Any cool, sucked, brilliant moments stand out? Joey: By the time we were to record March, our recording experience was very limited. We had done a drunken and stoned session which was our first EP and then we did 2 sessions with our A&R guy at Chrysalis (Ron Fair) which led to us getting signed. So, we went in to Ocean Way Studios home of such heavies as AC/DC, BB King, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Supertramp, Barbara Streisand, Tom Petty, Rolling Stones....Well, you get the picture. In fact, we were there for 2 and a half months and during that time, Supertramp was recording in the studio on one side and Barbara Streisand was in the other. And there we were making March, bringing our friends over, drinking beer and just having a party. We were 21 years old. Little did we understand though that this studio was costing us 300.00 an hour (by now it must be more like 600.00 an hour) or 2500.00 a day. And we missed the part about having to pay that back to the record company. Our producer Michael James Jackson (KISS, Creatures of the Night) was never there or always on the phone. But we didn't quite see eye to eye with him anyway. One day he told us that he didn't like Black Sabbath. From that day on it was like "you just don't get it". The whole thing was a great big slap in the face. Suddenly we had all of these outside people fucking with our thing, slowing tempos down, making things overly polished, trying to manufacture a "sellable item". It was the first time we felt like we were losing control. At the end of the record we were very unhappy with the production, the mix, the way we worked and who we worked with. And the producer and our manager let us spend over 300,000 on our first record. To this day we are still in debt for that one. FIBM: Your video for Can U Deliver received a lot of airplay on MTV? What was that following year like for you? What kind of effect did MTV have on the band? Joey: Aside from the nightmare we endured making March, we already had a buzz around from our EP and just being the heaviest band at the time to come out of LA. So, after March came out the benefits of being on a major label kicked in. We got a good tour, and we had a video on MTV. It did a lot for us. It just kicked it home for people who saw us on tour or had heard of us from press. As silly as it is, the video did a lot for the record. FIBM: Anything stand out from the video shoot for Can U Deliver? Joey: Again, I personally thought some of it was really silly. We had a pretty good time shooting it though, doing the Road Warrior thing. We were so into it back then. I remember hating this sort of demon/monster head they put behind the drum kit. I thought, c'mon guys, Iron Maiden already has Eddie! FIBM: Who were some of the bands that you toured with for that release? Who were your favorites to tour with? Joey: Our very first tour was with Quiet Riot (Condition Critical) and Whitesnake (Slide it In) playing all arenas. It was great. Our next tour was with WASP and Metallica. Obviously, we were way more at home on this tour. Although we played smaller venues and to less people, it was the right people. These guys were our contemporaries and it was just an amazing tour. FIBM: Please share one of your favorite stories / memories from that tour? Joey: One day on the Quiet Riot tour, David Coverdale came into our dressing room and said "Hey mates, have a kick-ahss show". We were like, holy shit that was David Coverdale! From that day on, he made it like a ritual. We were completely honored. FIBM: How many copies of March of the Saint were sold back then? Joey: Initially a year after it's release it had sold 125,000 copies. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.