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Cities to be Conquered: Ventura* San Francisco*Yucaipa*San Diego*Anaheim* and *West Hollywood*.

Here on this 2nd leg of the US Dio tour, I found myself clearing out my work schedule to take a well deserved vacation not to any island resort mind you, no this was better: 6 days and nights right here in Cali on the road with my long time friends, Armored Saint. I've been to been a fan of theirs since '83, but was never in a position to review them. I just went to the concerts, banged my head, maybe go to an after party or two and then went home. Nowadays, who knows if and when Saint will play again, since all of them have their own individual projects going on. This tour and last years release of"Revelation" was a big surprise as it all came to be from the guys having a lot of down time in the first place.The following is a mini-tour diary of sorts of my experiences plus details that my presence on this tour would come in handy during a crucial moment.

FIRST UP: "VENTURA THEATRE"- Ventura

Ventura, California: Nice drive up from LA heading west with my car packed with a change of clothes, lots of water, vitamins and a bunch of CD's for the journey which I figured I'd keep simple. As I arrived at the venue the band were already in the middle of a soundcheck and I heard "Nervous Man" through the backstage doors. I waited till they finished so I could get the ball rolling on my "March with the Saint" quest. I labeled myself thee "professional stalker" from this point on I figured. First out the door to say hi was Gonzo, followed by Joey Vera then we made a beeline to the bus where I squared away everything with the rest of the guys, made sure everything was fine, met stage mgr/tech Pat (who's one particular "duty" I would later inherit) and tour manager Greg who I remembered from Florentine Gardens a club here in LA or was it XPoseur 54?? Anyway, the guys were loose and in good spirits, some family and friends were aboard who also made drive here to Ventura.I talked with them about how the previous dates went, the weather, crowds, etc In about an hour before Saint was to go on there was some minor controversy that had nothing to do with the show whatsoever. Since the bus was parked directly across the street from the theatre apparently the fumes were overwhelming the patrons at the local bar there (I think it might have been a different "kind" of fumes) which prompted the manager there to ask that the bus be moved. So after a lot of haggling back and forth , Greg smoothed it all out and the band obliged and eventually moved it to the hotel down the street.
THE SHOW: When I checked the set times surprisingly, I had no idea that Saint was going on before Lynch Mob and the kicker it was a short 30 min set to boot! Fortunately that was to be extended to 45min for all remaining dates except tomorrow when they headline. I mean no disrespect to Lynch Mob but Saint had a hell of lot more energy, PLUS they have more releases out!( I'm sure there was some politics involved on the billing) I thought the crowd was kinda lame in my opinion as Saint came blasting out with "Can U Deliver" charged fully amped they never let up once throughout their set. Sure the the DIO followers were here in full effect, but I wish fans of HEAVY Metal no matter what town would show stronger support to all opening acts than the poor response tonight. I mean, Ventura Theatre didn't sellout, there were no ins and outs unless to smoke and apparently some $$ was being charged to fans who wanted to go down in front near the pit!!? Huh? And that was ON TOP of the ticket to get in to a general admission show!! Some scam going on somewhere so whatever, luckily I was able to get around it somehow, oh I yeah, I had a camera and I'm reviewing the show! Duh! I spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd and one notably was Aaron Samson who played with Jeff in ODIN(remember them?)back in the day. He mentioned he may be playing bass on some of the Lynch Mob headlining dates, so I told him "If thats the case glad to see your active on the scene...now how about writing a follow-up to that big hit "Shining Love"? Once Saint finished I figured that this was probably going to be one of the weakest dates thus far crowd wise, turns out I was right as the guys confirmed with me back on the bus. There are always going to be slow dates for whatever reason. **A side note: This is to be vocalist Oni Logan' last show for a while as he would need to recouparate from illness which left bassist Chuck Garrett taking over the vocals duties till further notice.

*****MULLET Watch: 9*****

As the DIO Crew started breaking down gear, I was on the bus with a few people till about 3 in the morning and must have dozed off during that time cause Jeff told me what I did before everyone said their goodbyes as the bus was getting prepared to leave for San Francisco. Now I must have heard the engine start up or heard a noise, I dunno but apparently like a "zombie" being summoned, without saying a word I suddenly opened my eyes, stood straight up, grabbed my jacket and walked to my car which freaked out everyone who thought I was angry at something! Jeff told me this whole story later in SF and asked me if he said something wrong to piss me off,but no I hear the motor and that was my que to bail. I just had a good laugh hearing this cause I must have been on serious "auto-pilot"!
I had no clue....its a wonder I drove as far as Fresno afterwards before shutting it down for some zzzzz's at a nearby rest stop.

Day 2:"THE POUND" - San Francisco:

Now this place was new to me as well as the rest of the clubgoers I talked to when I got there as The Pound has only been open a couple of months for live shows and it's located in a strange industrial area right at Pier 90 just east of 3Com Park. Now I will admit its cool having new places to play but The Pound was a pain in the ass to find. No matter, once there it was all good. Since this was a headlining show for Saint, I had no idea who the opening acts were and normally its local support but it turns out to my surprise some of them were some old school cats from the Bay Area thrash scene! First was the band "SWARM" which has 3 members of the defunct Death Angel, Mark Osegueda on vocals, Andy Galeon on drums and Rob Cavestany on guitar and the second band:"Man Made God" featured Craig Locicero formerly of Forbidden on guitar. Also, as an added bonus in the crowd was Mike Coons ex-singer of "Laaz Rockit" and Craig Berhorst formerly of :"Ruffians" who I haven't seen in years!!! Maaan it was really cool thinking about of all of these bands from the past I have either worked with, worked for or seen live in some capacity. After both bands played to strong responses, up next was the headliners: Armored Saint'. Make no mistake:This was THEIR night. Once the capacity crowd started the chant of SAINT! SAINT! SAINT! up came the intro tape in the speakers, the lights went down and the opening riff of Can U Deliever?once again got things going despite some sound problems in next couple of songs. Saint ripped it up! Highlights were:"Warzone" "Paydirt" and "Tribal Dance" and during a break in-between songs John Bush mentioned that the last time Saint played "Take a Turn" was at place called Winterland(R.I.P.)back in 1984. I observed the stage manager Pat besides tuning Phil & Jeff's guitars, was handing John & Joey shots during the whole show and a couple of times gave the audience a toast which I though was a cool gesture. Afterwards, I said my goodbyes and gave my thoughts of the show to them. Once the stage was broken down and the gear packed away, the guys stayed around little while longer by the bus to sign autographs and take pictures with the diehard fans who stuck around in the freezing cold air of SF.

*****Mullet Watch: Only 3*****

**OVERHEARD ON THE BUS: "She's cheating on him with other mullets"

Day 3: "CROSSROADS" - Yucaipa:

Before driving again "comatose" I decided that this time I'd get some proper sleep before making the 6+ hour drive to Yucaipa. Once inside the Los Angeles city limit, I made a quick pit stop in Glendale to grab something to eat then straight to the club. Crossroads turns out to be nothing more than a glorified biker/bootbarn complete plenty of bouncers "flexing" all night, letting the crowd know:"We are in charge and we'll throw your asses out if we see fit!" No matter I'm hear for the music, not to feel out of place. Still...I must have witnessed more Harley/ Nascar gear and large belt buckles than Armored Saint,DIO and Sabbath shirts combined! Tonight...its a mortal lock that the "mullet-count" was going to be off the hook...trust me.
On the bus I found out from Greg the tour manager that the "runner" for Crossroads had not arrived yet to take the band to their hotel, so I figured that this was a perfect opportunity to help out. It was no problem for me to drive the guys over there in my car which was a few miles away and also do some other assorted errands. I got a chance talk to them about personal stuff, the music business, etc which was nice. Also in my conversations with Bush I asked him:"Why not let me be your "shot man"? Pat the tech has enough to do as it is." Once he said "cool!" I was all set with new duties. Now while my bartending skills are'nt a 100%, I definitely know my way around a good mix of Crown Royal & Coke! Tonight was the start of the extended set time as promised by the head soundman for DIO. I mixed a few before they took the stage to get a feel for it, as they were to be ready on demand. Crossroads is packed! I roll inside behind Saint and take a place off to the side then the guys go to their places on stage, plug in and then the chanting starts...
"Can U..." is the opener again and you know that this crowd is here to go off! Now...where I set up shop was in this small room by the side of the stage mainly to stay out of the way and mix shots, but I had NO idea that it was off-limits, except for DIO' crew. So during the 3rd song by Saint in walks 6 foot plus, 300-pound "Hoss" into the room to scream me down to tell me just that, only his version was: "Get out and leave the alcohol here!" Well great..."Zeke" here thinks I'm glomming DIO hootch! Plus it was kinda hard trying to explain what I'm doing over the music, so much for being elected the "shot" roadie! And wouldn't you know it, 5 minutes later,John Bush said a few words about wanting to "toast the crowd" which would have been my cue. I was dejected after being denied by "Big Ernie"(doesn't matter what his real name was ANY of these will do) so once he heard what John said this misunderstanding was all cleared up and I was mixing shots galore mainly for John & Joey and Gonzo had a few as well.

*****Mullet Watch: 26 - Including 5 ladies!*****

DAY 4: NEXT UP:"4th & B" - San Diego

(Still in Yucaipa) This morning I was going to witness a real "Spinal Tap" moment very shortly...
I woke up and got myself together, with no need to rush as I had stayed at the same hotel as the band and upon leaving the parking lot I saw someone in a black leather jacket frantically on a cell phone outside the lobby that looked a hell of a lot like Jeff Duncan (!?!)I drove a little closer and determined...yep it WAS him! I said: "Dude what the hell are you still doing here!?" Turns out the bus left WITHOUT HIM by minutes! How classic was this? Wasn't there a head count? I just figured he was maybe getting a ride with his girlfriend or with one of his brothers since San Diego isn't that far of a drive. Shaking my head in disbelief, this was funny only for a couple of minutes more, but hey there was the next Saint show to see and I think having a FULL line-up to play later tonight, was probably what everyone wants!(laughter) So Jeff hopped in with me and I drove us both down and gave us a chance to talk about the old days, but the bigger picture is luck would have that being at the right place at the right time, at the right place must count for something.
I couldn't believe this and neither could Jeff! We arrived in plenty of time to 4th & B before the Saint soundcheck which was perfect as I dropped him off (couldn't wait to hear the real story) and went to go grab something to eat and check out the local records stores like Blue Meanie in El Cajon where I found a ton of music to add to my collection. It rained tonight at the venue, but not hard enough to keep those in-line from heading for shelter, considering well, there was none. I was thinking that this might be an exceptional show and maybe the best out of all these California dates thus far. Not only did this sellout with 2,000 metalheads strong, but the atmosphere,the sound, the energy, not to mention the women walking around (!!) were just awesome for all of the bands. The fans I spoke with directly were really anxious about seeing this show, of course some were diehard Saint fans and well as diehard Anthrax fans as well, who never saw John with Saint. THE SHOW: Huge thunderous cheers for: "Chemical Euphoria", "March of the Saint","Warzone" and "Take a Turn" which was added to the set list days earlier. Bush was kind of surprised afterwards that this somewhat slower song was getting the response it did, since the majority of the set list each night was all up-tempo madness. I of course didn't mind what they played just as long as it was with ALL 5 members! I went back to my "shot mixing" routine again off to the side this time without incident. I eventually earned the nickname:"C.C.Distille"



*****Mullet Watch: 14*****

OVERHEARD ON THE BUS:"Our music adds dynamics to drinking"!


Day 5:"HOUSE OF BLUES" - Anaheim

Since this was a pretty easy drive back to Orange County I took my time coming up in the late afternoon. Once there, it was good to know what a major headache the parking situation is for all future shows at this fairly new House of Blues which is located right in the middle of "Downtown Disney"(sic) and a much smaller one than the one in Los Angeles. There were plenty of screaming kids, family shops, long lines,etc You can just hear the loud "CHA-Ching!" of cash registers of full of money being spent on all kinds of overpriced crap. Sad but true. This was the last show which also sold out with this 3-band bill as DIO was off to South America and Lynch Mob were to go back out on their own. Oni Logan by the way made his return tonight on vocals and was back to full strength.

*****Mullet Watch: 7*****

DAY 6:(LAST NIGHT) "THE WHISKY" - West Hollywood

Well this was it....back in town. Finally made to the end with all the usual suspects at this hometown crowd who also made it out to the other shows. Plenty of family and friends showing their love and support. Also in attendance: Scott, Frank and Charlie from Anthrax who all hung out afterwards. Saint blazed through this last show without a hitch and this would definitely be it for them for a while anyway as John reiterated at the end of the set. He graciously thanked the rest of the guys in Saint individually; all of the crew ( me as well) and most importantly all the loyal fans for coming and making it all happen.

*****Mullet Watch: 2*****

Phil & Jeff trading leads.

Phil, Me & AJ from KNAC.

Great live shot by Alex Solca @ Ventura.

On the bus Jeff & Gonzo.

"CC Distille" and "J&J"

Ventura Marquee.

Vera screaming backups!

Saint tour debris...

A HUGE thanks to all the members of Armored Saint & Crew:Greg, Pat and Jason for letting me tag along and do this...I had a great time and you proved each night life on the road definately has its "bright spots". If there are plans to do this again in the future might I suggest we switch those shots to Cuervo Gold! By the way.......The final "Mullet" tour Grand Total: 61!

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