Erik Turner

1.) What bands where you into growing up?
Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and AC/DC to name my top 3. I love all kinds of hard rock though. New and Classic. Check out the new Finch.

2.) At what age did you begin to play guitar?
15 years young I got a Hondo Les Paul and a Fender champ. The rest is Hair History ;-)

3.) What guitarists influenced you the most?
Jimmy Page, Joe Perry and Angus Young to start out with. It grew from there to guys like Malcom Young, Michael Schenker, Steve Clark …

4.) How and when did Warrant form?
1984 we played our first show. Adam Shore, Mad Max, Josh Lewis, Chris ? and Erik Turner. 3 shows later Jerry Dixon (My Karma Brother) joined the band and the rest is Warrant history. 20 years & 3 singers later we are still making records and touring this great world!

5.) As a young adult and musician what was it like being in the studio for the first time?
Scary but exciting, Tommy Thayer produced the first Demo I ever played on. Jaime St. James sang some backgrounds. Funny how things work out ;-)

6.) How much, if any, influence would you say Sony had on the songwriting or track listing for ‘Dirty Rotten Filthy Rich?
The band and A&R guy ( Ron Oberman) helped us pick the track listing. Our producer, Beau Hill didn’t want us to put Heaven on the record but the band insisted on it.

7.) Do you feel the ten tracks on ‘Dirty Rotten Filthy Sticking Rich’ captured the band’s sound?
I do but we had about twenty songs to pick from. I wish could have put a few more on there but the record companies only pay you a mechanical royalty on ten songs. All our advisers told us to only put ten songs on there.

8.) What was it like being on tour as an opening act for that first tour?
A dream come true. We opened for many bands and headlined many shows on our first tour. Sixteen months and 262 shows to support Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. We only did 35 shows to support Dog Eat Dog and then Jani quit. It is a crazy business.

9.) Was the songwriting and recording of you next release an easier process?
We were seasoned veterans by then. Ha Ha. But seriously we were very confident going into the making of Cherry Pie because of the success of our first CD. I think Cherry Pie is our best album to date.

10.) Warrant’s first video for the next release was the titled track, “Cherry Pie” when filming the video did you guys expect the video to catch the heat it did?
I didn’t feel any heat. I just saw it on MTV every ten minutes and smiled. It is a really good video. A little tongue and cheek and is suppose to be fun.

11.) Who came up with the idea for “Ode to Tipper Gore”?
Those cuss words were all outtakes from ONE live show. Jani loves profanity I guess. When we were in the studio listening to the outtakes we thought it would be great to put it on Cherry Pie and dedicate it to Tipper Gore the sensorship Queen.

12.) Do you feel ‘Dog Eat Dog’ received the proper credit it deserved?
If we would have toured and supported the record, I think it would have but that is rock and roll history.

13.) ‘Dog Eat Dog’ will be the last studio album with long time members Joey Allen and Steven Sweet, how did their leaving come about?
Joey quit and Steven got let go. That is the short story. I am happy to say that they are both back in the band. There will be a new CD coming out soon with all the original members minus Lane.

14.) It would have been very easy for Warrant to have called it a day at that time, what keep you guys going?
We love being in Warrant. This is what we do. It is our baby. It is in our blood like vodka. The fans keep us going.

15.) For you how difficult was it to step into the studio to record ‘Belly to Belly’ without the long time members?
First of all, we did Ultraphobic first without Joey and Steven. It was exciting and new but it probably would have been a better record with those guys in the band. We made the best record we could at that time under those conditions. I think it turned out pretty damn good.

16.) For me, the bands songwriting really grew between 1992 and 1995 does it bother you that the albums recorded where not very well received even by many Warrant fans?
No because I know that not very many people heard about it. We didn’t have radio support or MTV anymore. We toured, toured, and toured. It was a grass roots campaign. People who heard the record seemed to like it a lot.

17.) Sometime after the release of ‘Ultraphobic’, Jani Lane left the band at that time did you ever think Warrant is done for good?
No- he quit after Dog eat Dog and stayed in the band up until Jan. 2004. We never thought Warrant was done for good. We never say die.
18.) Could you see his leaving coming?
He mentioned it all the time, year after year. Yes we could see it coming but we didn’t know when exactly. It is just like a terrorist threat. You know it is coming but you don’t know when. You just try to prepare for it as best you can.

19.) How did 2001’s ‘Under the Influence’ come about?
We were going on tour with Poison and we wanted to have a new CD to sell at the shows for our fans. Jani and Billy recorded their parts in Cleveland. Jerry and I recorded our parts in L.A. We never saw each other. You gotta love technology.

20.) At what point after the ‘Under the Influence’ CD did Joey and Steven return to the band?
Joey and Steven returned to the band in 2004 after Jani quit.
                                                                      

21.) Who contacted who?
Jerry and I contacted Joey and Steven. Steven said no at first but then changed his mind a month later. Mike Fasano played drums during that time. He is a good friend and a great drummer.

22.) How did the five of you come to the decision to replace Jani?
Jani gave us an ultamatim and we did not agree to it so he quit.

23.) Was Jamie St James your first choice?
Yes, We held no auditions. He has been friends with us for a long time and is very talented.

24.) On the shows you have performed with Jamie how well has he been accepted by the Warrant fan base?
We sign hundreds of autographs every week after our shows and 99 percent of the people never even mention the word Jani.

25.) How has the recording been going for the new cd?
Fantastic, Awesome, Wonderful, and we can’t wait for the whole world to hear it!

26.) Without give too much away, can you give the Blast readers any hints on what some of the song titles are? Dirty Jack, Devil’s Juice, Angels, Velvet Noose to name a few. There will be twelve songs on the new CD.

27.) Will the up and coming tour consist any Black ‘n’Blue songs?
We have been playing Hold On To 18 ever since Jaime joined the band.
All the best and see ya on tour!