PipemanRadio Interviews Joey Vera of Armored Saint

0:04 Hey, you have done to censure? Wow for you young whycome America, It's time for. The Adventures of pipe Man on W four c Y dot com. West pomp Beach is number one internet radio station. Here's your host, the White Man.

0:54 This is the pipe Man here on the Adventures of Pipe Man W four c Y Radio. I'm very excited about this interview because it's with an old friend of mine who is one of the most amazing musicians and I thought back then and still do now, one of the most amazing basis ever. So let's welcome to the show. Joey Burr from Armored Saint. How are you hello, I'm good, Thank you for having me. Dean's good to see you again. Oh yeah, it's an honor to be here. I know. It's kind of amazing because we first met because I saw this cool ass picture in Bad magazine and went to this show on Halloween with you and Wasp and Headshaker, and now here we are. Was it like forty or more years later? Yeah, and again we're going to talk about you and Wasp touring.

1:51 So touring. Yeah, it's so wild to me and so cool to me. What does it feel like? That's the first thing I asked to be touring with Wasp after all these years. Well it's great. I mean we just we did a tour with them in twenty twenty two and it was just us and them, and you know, that tour was a big success. It did great, tons of shows, sold out, and you know, even internally the two bands got you know, we just got together with them and they're such great people. Everyone in the band was just a total sweetheart. Everyone was great, Their crew was amazing, treated us like gold.

2:38 So for us, it was just like a really, really, really great time. So when they asked us to come back and do this tour with them, we were super stoked and honored because you know, it was just such a great time. It's a cool package. I think it gives people a glimpse of, you know, across the nation what it was like, you know, to see these two bands back in the early eighties when it was first starting out. Really so yeah, we're super stoked, you know, going back out with Wasp and looking forward to it. Yeah, And it's kind of a flashback to a time, as put in your own words to me in conversations in the past, of not leaving your zip code.

3:23 Exactly. No, it's we you know, we're really excited to go out on this, so it's going to be cool. Yes, And so how would you say this tour is different than the last one you did in twenty twenty two or is it just kind of a continuation. Well, I don't know about I don't know about was necessarily, Although what's different about Wasp per Se is that they were doing they're doing their entire first record and in its entirety, so they're playing the whole first record and then at the end they're doing probably some best of hits after that. So that's really cool. And I haven't seen the production, but from what I hear, it's going to have shades of what they used to do back in the old days, which if I remember correctly, that involved like fire and blood and meat and yeah. Yeah, So like I'm I'm I'm like totally into it. I'm totally into seeing what they're going to do. And for us, you know, we're we're just going out and we're just going to give people the best of It's great for us because this run has in particular, has a lot of cities that we've either never played to ever or or played in a very very long time. I'm talking like like thirty years a long time. So wow. So for us, it's really cool because we get to play

4:55 these places that we just haven't been to. I haven't been able to go back to in a long time. So we're you know, our set's going to be varied depending on where we are. If we're playing some places that we have played in the last ten years or something, we'll probably mix it up. We'll probably throwing. We have some deep cuts that we have rehearse, songs rehearsed and stuff like that. But when we get into places like you know, Calgary and places we've never played, we're going to be playing all the hits because those people have never seen us. So we're just going to do jam packed big hits and you know, we have so many hits.

5:35 Yeah, and you know, it's funny. I remember when you kind of like tested some of those hits on us back in the day, you know, and it was like it was so funny, like some of the songs that really did become hits where I saw you play for like the first time, like as a test. Yeah, I mean you you were you probably saw us play. You know Kenny deliver in March of the Saint for the very first time. Yeah, totally. Yeah, So yeah, it like. And I'm still playing that song every so. I know, right, that's right, And you know it's funny because I mean to me, I don't know, to me, it just fits you guys all being together, like during the years you've gone and done different side things and gone different ways. But I think, just to me, the way you guys look in my background is the way it's always been armored Saint.

6:45 Well, you know, we we have a long history together. You know you you already know this, but maybe your viewers don't. But John and myself and Gonzo have known each other since basically since the or grade and then when we got into junior high school in seventh grade, it's when we really became super tight friends and started basically we had a gang, a gang, but like you know, we're a group of people that were friends and it was us and Phil was in there too because Phil went to the same school. So that's what we just started discovered. We started discovering music together at the same time.

7:27 And you know, we were friends a long time before we even started the band. So you know, that's something that's the lineage that goes very, very long and deep. And of course Jeff Duncan came in the picture when we were going through some changes in the mid eighties, so Jeff's been a friend, a long time friend since day one as well. So you know, it's like you said, you know that this is this is who we are, and we're proud of the fact that it's all the same members. We don't take that very lightly. We take it with you know, a lot of power and strength gets us through the tough times. But you know, this is the thing that we're we just hold pretty sacred, you know. And I think that that I think that I think that it translates. I think people get that, people understand that, and I think that they appreciate it.

8:21 You know, it's not like Armored Saint broke up and then you know John John Bush went solo and he's calling an Armored Saint. So it's like it's like Armored Saint and four other guys, you know, so that that's not that's not what this is about, you know. So we're pretty yeah, we're pretty honored and humbled that we are able to do this with these same group of people. Well, and how rare is it too, Like, you know, very rare, even with Jeff. I mean he might as well be from the very beginning. Although I missed Dave a lot, and you know, Dave was a great human being, you know, but yeah, you couldn't have found somebody better to fill the spot.

9:04 I don't know, And you know, we talk about it sometimes sometimes John introduces the band members on stage and stuff, and he when he gets the Jeffer says, or here's the new guy. And you know, Jeff's the new guy, but he's been the band for like, you know, thirty eight years or something like that. Right, here's the new guy, Jeff duncan. But the fact is, as if like Dave Pritchard were still here, we'd have three guitar players. We just would because this is the family vibe we have. So we'd be like, and you right. Right, And you can always tell too, you know, you can tell that you guys are just having fun up there and having a good time, and after doing it for this long, if you're not having fun, you're in the wrong business, because this is a horrible business. If you're not having fun.

9:57 Yeah, that's uh. You are speaking the truth when hundred percent loud and clear. Right, So, how how does this all come about? That it comes round circle? Originally? Had it first happened that you and Wasp in twenty twenty two played together, you know, and then of course you felt the vibe that you had back then, so you're now you're doing it again. But how did it initially happen? Well, to be quite honest, I believe that it came through our booking agencies at the time. I'm not mistaken.

10:38 At the time we had the same booking agent, and so the Wasp Tour was going out. It was an idea, it was a concept. They were looking at dates and routing and all that sort of thing, and then Blackie I think it might have been Blackie's idea to bring in a bit and as a support act that would help sort of celebrate helping this sort of forty year celebration. This is what it was billed as in twenty two, was billed as the forty year anniversary. So it just so happened that we were also going through a forty year anniversary in twenty two. Our bands formed in eighty two, so it was a sort of a revelation to our booking agent and said, hey, you know what, I think Armored Saint and Blackie was like, that's perfect. So that's how it all came to be. And then it was a really cool thing that they just decided to take not a third band, they just had us in another and us in it was just us in WASP. So that made it even a more of sort of a package tour reflecting that forty year anniversary. So yeah, it was so it was it was awesome. It was great, and I think I'm guessing that they had such a

12:10 good feeling about that experience touring with us that when they were looking at dates again for this tour, that they came back to us and said, how about let's do it again? So nice. Yeah, well that's important too, because like you have to be out on tour with a band that you can gel with, and that makes sense, and so I think it's just like putting on an old pair of your best sneakers that you never want to get rid of. Yeah, that's arm sat parablel sneakers. Well, what's even better would be if on the twenty eighth at the Roseland Theater you come out in mentors' hoods.

12:54 Oh, that's right, that's what we did. The first time you saw us on the Halloween we all came out with black hoods. Right, it was cool. That would be funny. Yeah. What else can we expect from after this tour is over? What else can we expect from Armon Saint? Well, we're writing a new record. We have about halfway done, have about seven songs or so demoed, and we're continuing to write and we're trying to get in the studio in the spring of twenty five. That's our goal. Hopefully we meet it. And yeah, so we have a new record deal that we re signed with Metal Blade earlier this year, so looking forward to making another record with Metal Blade. And yeah, so we've been hard, hard working, you know, working on new music and getting that done.

13:51 And you know, we may even do some writing while we're out there on tour, although it's rather difficult to do. But yeah, but you know, we're just going to keep writing and concentrating on new music. And like I said, our goal is to get in sometime in the spring. Very cool. So other than that, twenty five is looking kind of light for touring because we want to make making the record a priority. Yeah. So as of now, there's not a whole lot going on. We are doing two shows though. We're playing a big festival in Brazil called Bangers. I've got to look in to press for that. When I saw you on that, I was like, and I saw the rest of the lamp, I'm like, hmm, I know somebody in Sam and Paulo too that that has been begging me to come there.

14:43 Perfect, you should come down. I've here. It's a great festival. It used to be called Summer Breeze, but they changed the name of it. It was basically the same Summer Breeze that they have in Germany, but they licensed the name of the festival. But it's since change names. But it's the same festival. You know. It's a big festival, twenty five thousand people plus, and it should be really great. This will be our second time in South America. We have a lot of crazy fans down there, so we're really looking forward to playing there. That's on May the second or third. I forget and yeah, it's May second. May second, Okay. Then the following weekend we come back and we're playing at Sonic Temple and Columbus, which is obviously another big festival you're aware of. Yeah, and we don't get a lot of chances to play American festivals, so this is a real treat for us to be on this festival. So we're super stoked to be on that.

15:42 And that's on May ninth. So those two shows as of now are the only two live shows we're doing in twenty five. Well, let me tell you one thing. Like I've been doing all the Danny Wimmer festivals for years, and yes, I've been bummed out. I've never seen you guys at a Danny Wimmer festival and Sonic Temple since COVID, like they've changed things around to where they weren't doing interviews. So they're like, we'll give you a media pass, but there's no interviews being done. I'm like, yeah, then I don't need the media pass because I'm there to work. But this year, if they decide not to do interviews, I'll still get the media pass so I could so I could see you guys there. Yeah, that way cool as hell and uh you know, uh yeah that that one.

16:32 And they say in Brazil like the for the rock metal community that the fans just go crazy at these festivals in Brazil. That's nutty. It's really nutty. I've I've only done I don't think I've actually played a festival in South America. I've only done club gigs or gigs. Yeah, I did a bunch of shows of anthrocks. I did some shows with Fates Warning and we armor Saint did one tour, short tour of South America. But you're absolutely right. They go nuts, like crazy, nuts, like you need a police escort kind of nuts. Wow, I'm not exaggerating. They I know you're crazy because they don't they don't get a lot down there, and so whenever bands go down there, they're really appreciative. And yeah, so I don't expect the show to be really sick.

17:33 Yeah, well your show is always sick. So I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to try to get one on one of these WASP Tour shows. Maybe I'll do Calgary one because by my co hosts, she's up in Calgary and she covers some festivals with me, so maybe she's been begging me to come up there, and so maybe I'll call her up and I'm like, Okay, I'll come up there because there's a show there and. We'll go to that show November first, come on. There it is. Well, I'm so stoked about this and uh man, I'm stoked about Sonic Temple too. That's pretty cool and well, I hope it keeps going and I can't wait for the new album everybody's got. If they don't know you guys, they need to check you out because you guys are like the coolest band. And uh of course you have always reminded me of Steve Harris right from the very beginning, so they got to check out you on base because you kick ass. And thank you very much, thanks once again for being on the Adventures of pipe Man, my old friend of.

18:39 Course, Dean, thanks for having me as always, always great to see you and thanks for the time anytime. Brother. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of plate Man. I'm w for CUI Radio. Hey, this is Joey Vera from Armered Saint and you are listening to Pipeman on wur Cy