Video Interview: Steven St. James
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Podcast Audio Interview: Steven St. James
[Anchor] [Apple Podcasts] [Audible] [Google Podcasts] [iHeartRadio] [Podchaser] [Stitcher] [TuneIn]Steven St. James has a soulful singing voice that has taken him from Motown’s Hard Rock band Kagny and the Dirty Rats with a pre-BulletBoys Marq Torien, to the band Sarge where he cowrote some of what would become Rough Cutt’s hits with guitarist Chris Hager, to, finally, just in the last couple of years, reuniting with Hager and fronting Rough Cutt itself with a revitalized lineup. His voice brings back to Hard Rock a soulfulness, a vulnerability, but also a street corner toughness, that’s lacking from many bands these days.
Steven’s singing ability is big and beautiful and outdone only by his humility and kindness. I first met Steven at the first performance of the current Rough Cutt lineup in 2019. We’ve been friends ever since. It turns out, Steven is the only member of Rough Cutt I haven’t previously interviewed, so we decided to rectify that in what became part-interview, part-hangout. We talked about his time with Motown, the new Rough Cutt song “Black Rose,” which he co-wrote, his singing and songwriting career, how he gets along with original Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino, and more.
Topics
- Bourbon
- Singing in 118-degrees
- Urgent L.A.
- Why Steven trained for, but didn’t become, and EMT
- Controlling his anger
- Steven’s long history with Rough Cutt before joining Rough Cutt
- Forming the band Sarge with Chris Hager, who was fresh out of Ratt
- Recruiting Matt Thorne and other Ratt members
- Motown seeks out Steven
- Motown demands exclusivity
- Hanging with Ronnie James Dio
- Recruiting Marq Torien for Kagny and the Dirty Rats
- Reconnecting with Chris Hager of Rough Riot
- A singer who helps with load-in!
- Impressing Rockin’ Dave Alford
- Joining Rough Cutt (before he knew he joined Rough Cutt)
- 2019: “I know Chris [Hager] and Dave [Alford] reached out to Paul [Shortino]” and the other former members of Rough Cutt
- The other Rough Cutt’s songs and crediting songwriters
- The classic Rough Cutt lineup then Rough Riot
- How could “those other guys” not know about the 2019 Rough Cutt new lineup
- The perplexing press release by Shortino, Thorne, and Derakh
- An impromptu review of Rough Cutt III
- Rough Cutt vs. Rough Cutt
- Steven reaches out to Paul Shortino
- Who is everybody really mad at?
- Turning off the controversy
- Who’s going to change their name?
- Joking about new band names
- Rough Cutt CD
- RC/DC
- Who couldn’t have known about the new Rough Cutt over the last 2 years?!
- Mutual respect
- Who actually wrote “Black Rose”/”Bed of Black Roses” and who claimed credit?
- Steven co-wrote Rough Cutt’s most famous song… without credit
- Working past things
- Sarge songs reworked to Rough Cutt songs
- Matt Thorne went “full on scorched earth on ASCAP”
- Pariah looks up the actual legal songwriting and royalty credits
- The fight quiets down
- There is no comparison… unless you want to create a conflict
- Steven St. James and Paul Shortino are two different singers
- Fans win–two cool versions of the same song!
- “No [this person], no band” Okay, but we’re both out there
- Butting heads, but making a way to work together
- “Eventually the water’s just going to be red.”
- Paul Shortino apparently won’t talk to Pariah
- Steve Riley’s L.A. Guns at M3 is an example
- Rougher Cutt
- Rougher Than You
- Who is Ezra?
- Keeping his voice in shape during the lockdown
- Plug for LA Fitness
- Shoutout to the Baby Viper Drivers of the USAF
- Friday night karaoke performances reach people everywhere
- Advise for other singers
- What performer would you most like to share the stage with–living or dead?
- Singing with Smokey Robinson, Jimmy Walker, and Mary Clayton
- Playing with C.C. DeVille
- “What should [Pariah] ask Marq Torien?”
- Seeing Enuff Z’Nuff
- Rough Cutt live gigs
- Urgent L.A. gigs
- Steven was the first customer of the Loyal Order
- Supporting the bands
- Steven’s bands’ websites
