interview with St. Elmos Fire
Jeff Jones (guitarist): Yeah, I’ve played in several other bands most notably “Vamp Le
Stat” which was a glam metal band.We had pretty good success with a CD called
“Bloodline” and a group called “M!ss Crazy”. I am also in “Trauma” with Kris Gustofson.
That was Cliff Burton of Metallica’s original band before he went to Metallica.
Kris Gustofson (drummer): I was in “Mechanizm” and “Moondog Mane” which was Frank
Hannon of “Tesla’s” band. I am also in Trauma with Jeff . I’ve done a lot of stuff over the years.
How is it that you started playing music?
Jeff: I don’t really know. I just remember my earliest memories were always having to do with a song I heard on the radio. No matter what I always associate my childhood experiences with music. When I was about 9 my Dad suggested I take guitar lessons and that was that. I was hooked.
Kris: My Dad was Gus Gustofson a jazz drummer, so music was always a part of my life. He was pretty famous actually. So being a drummer too was a natural thing for me.
What are your names? My name is Jeff Jones and this is Kris Gustofson. Mike Palombi is our singer .
Who plays what?
Jeff: I play guitar.
Kris: I’m the drummer of course.
Have you had other previous members? Jeff: Yes, a few. Our previous singer was Zane Lazar. He was on all of our previous 4 albums, “St. Elmo’s Fire”, “Warning From The Sky”, “Powerdrive” and “Desperate Years”. The first singer though was Tim Allwein. We formed the band together. Great singer and lyricist by the way. Unfortunately he left the band just before we got our first record deal in 1986 on Dream/CBS Records. Zane replaced him. The original lineup before we got signed was myself, Tim Allwein, Alan Kreutzer on drums and Steve Raynor on bass. We’ve had several bass players through the years. We went through a lot of ‘em. Kinda like the way Spinal Tap went through drummers!! Simon Evans was on our first 2 albums, Aaron Smith was on “Powerdrive” and Rusty Aven was on “Desperate Years”. And Chris Marx a bassist we took on the road with to do live concerts. He was a crazy dude!!
Where are you from?
Kris: I am from San Francisco
Jeff: I’m from Sacramento, California
What year did the band form? Jeff: It was formed around June of 1979. Tim Allwein and I started it in his garage in Citrus Heights, California which is a suburb of Sacramento. We soon did shows in San Francisco with Nazareth, Y&T, Nightranger, all sorts of bands. But St. Elmos Fire in the form that it is now really started when we moved to Los Angeles in 1984. By 1986 we signed with Dream Records/CBS to do out first album “St. Elmo’s Fire”. Then in 1988 we were signed to Belaphon Records in Germany and recorded “ Warning From The Sky”. Our last two albums “Powerdrive” and “Desperate Years “ were on the French metal label Black Dragon/BMG Records in 1990 and 1992. Now all these CD’s are being released again thru Pure Steel/ Karthago Records based in Germany.
What's your style of genre? Jeff: That’s hard to say. We always covered a lot of ground musically. We go from metal ballads to in your face scorchers and everything inbetween. But overall I guess the band would be called a melodic metal band. Along the lines of the Scorpions.
What inspires you? Jeff: A case of beer!! Seriously though, that’s a tough question to answer. I don’t Think anything does really. But the energy and creativity must come from somewhere right? The music that I write seems to just flow out of me sometimes. It is kind of strange.
Where does it comes from?
I don’t know. I’ve asked myself that but I haven’t found a good answer yet.
Kris: I just love playing ,plain and simple as that!
How often and where do you rehearse? Kris: We don’t really rehearse a lot unless we are writing new material, going into the studio or going out on tour. Right now we are rehearsing a little more because of the new material we have .
How have you developed since you started with the music? Jeff: Just becoming a better musician and learning that sometimes less is more in a song. I’ve become a better listener as well.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Kris: We both also play in “Trauma”
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that?
Kris: Yes, we are always looking for that. Just finding the right one is the hard part. We would love to tour Europe where most of our fans are. And especially now since all of our albums were recently reissued on Pure Steel/Karthago Records based in Germany. We would like to support those albums again. We are really excited to have those records come out again. They individually numbered collectable limited edition CD’s with a holographic letter of authenticity. There are only 500 copies each with bonus tracks .
Jeff: I have to say they did a great job! Thanks again Andreas and Stefan!! Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that?
Kris: We are signed to do our next album with Pure Steel Records.
What are your songs about? Jeff: Love, hate, aliens, girls, cars, Harley’s...you know the usual metal stuff!
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Jeff: I do the composing and a majority of the lyrics
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Jeff: Always the music comes first . I try to find a cool riff to start with and take it from there.Then after I get the vibe of the tunes I’ll get ideas about what lyrics would work best. It’s always hit or miss.
Do you compose in a certain environment? Jeff: No, not really. I’ve written songs in hotel rooms, bathrooms, garages, airports, bedrooms...just about everywhere!
Have you done any covers live? Kris: We’ve done songs by Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin and a few others.
What language do you sing in? Jeff: English
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Jeff: If you’re in a band you start out playing basically for your friends and family and if you do things right you eventually play for thousands of people. That’s what happened to us.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Jeff: We have a wide range of ages since we’ve been around for so long. I’ve seen teenagers at our shows as well as 50 years olds.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Kris: We have a certain songs we always play.You know, tunes like “Into The Night”, “Warning From The Sky”, “Hot Time”, “Breaking Out”, “Gonna Get Wild” stuff like that. After that we play different songs depending on the crowd.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? Jeff: No
What was your first gig like? Jeff: It was so long ago it’s hard to remember. I think we filled in for a band that cancelled at the last minute. It was a place called the Antique Bizarre in Davis. California
What was your latest gig? Kris: At Cabo Wabo in Nevada. Sammy Hagar’s club.
Have you had to cancel a gig? Jeff: Once, we had to cancel a show in Key West, Florida. I hurt my back pretty bad jumping off a stage monitor during our concert. On tour we’ve been through about everything you can imagine though.
Where do you plan to gig the coming year? Kris: Europe and Japan hopefully. We really want to hit the road by next year for sure. Maybe do some festival dates in Europe as well.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Jeff: Right now we are just selling our albums that were reissued on Pure Steel Records.
Where can people buy your merchandise? Jeff
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?
Jeff: Hey as long as they pay for the music and they’re not ripping of the artist by illegal downloading the music, I’m fine with it. It’s the way things are now anyways. The genie is out of the bottle as they say. But labels like Pure Steel are doing things right as far as still releasing albums on CD’s and vinyl today . They put out albums that are packaged so well that people still want to buy them. By putting out limited editions that are numbered with a hologram to prove that they are not bootlegs, they make them collectable. Some fans still will go old school and want something they can hold in their hands when they listen to a band.
Kris: Nothing wrong with downloads either. It’s easier and quicker to get music that way. For artists nowadays it’s not an either or situation. As long as fans can get the music they want that’s all that really matters.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Jeff: The major labels at least in the heavy metal genre are less important now. Bands can record an album one day and the next day have it released worldwide thru itunes, amazon mp3 or any digital site. They can do it all themselves. That’s huge you know. Back when we started with our first album in 1986 you absolutely had to have a record label if you wanted to be heard all over the world.
What do you think of my work? Kris: You do a kick ass job! No doubt about it. What we like most is that you really ask questions that fans would ask themselves. The layout is great also and it’s very informative.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the Music business?
Jeff: I’m sure that doing this interview with you will get the news out about our rereleased albums. And maybe we will make some new fans also.
Do you have any role models or idols?
Kris: My dad of course but also drummers like Ian Paice, John Bonham and Cozy Powell
Jeff: I don’t really have any idols so to speak. But there are guitarists that I admire. Players like John Sykes, Gary Moore, Terry Kath, Kerry Livgren.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today?
Jeff: I think so. That’s what’s cool about music, you can always learn from somebody
else. The younger bands learn from us and the new guys keep the vibe fresh.
What have been your biggest obstacles? Jeff: Well for one thing the music business is about as hard a business as you can imagine. It’s really tough sometimes and the obstacles are gigantic. But if you want it enough you’ll put up with the shit that goes along with it. You’ve got to really love it. And you’ve got to have a tough skin because rejection is the biggest obstacle.
What advice would you give other bands or artists?
Jeff: Never take no for an answer.
Kris: And if someone does tell them to fuck off!
Do you have any new material? Jeff: Oh Yeah, we have another album already written. We just haven’t recorded it yet. Hopefully it will be released by next summer.
What are your web sites?
Jeff: Our record label is Pure Steel/Karthago Records http://www.karthagorecords.com/releases/view/397/St_Elmos_Fire
Pure Steel Records http://www.puresteelrecords.com/
More St. Elmos stuff is at XXX Records: http://www.xxxrecords.com/
For Booking agents our EPK for St. Elmo’s Fire is at: http://artistecard.com/stelmosfire
my personal page on Facebook so friend request me there:
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.jones.7564
and be sure to “like” the St. Elmos Fire facebook fan page at https://www.facebook.com/StElmosFire108936655798563/?ref=hl
How can people reach you?
Jeff; They can contact us by email
What are your plans for the future? Kris: Touring, recording, all the things we’ve always done.
Do you have something to add?
Jeff; Yes thanks very much for the interview! Also just thought of this. I have many relatives in Sweden. That’s where my family is from originally. In fact part of my family left there in the 1800’s to come to America. My original last name was Jonasson but it was changed to Jones when they moved here. And I hope everyone will take a listen to our songs. And if you’re a booking agent contact us. Thanks again and Keep the metal faith!!
Kris: Thanks also. We really appreciate it.