Saigon Kick
Encyclopedia
Saigon Kick was an American rock
band from Miami, Florida
that formed in 1988.
and guitarist Jason Bieler
along with bassist Tom Defile, and drummer Phil Varone
. They gained a following on the local club scene and generated enough of a buzz to be signed to Third Stone records in 1990 and release their first album in 1991. They toured at length but the album only made a marginal national showing.
They went immediately back into the studio to record their second album, The Lizard
which was released in 1992. The album spawned the bands biggest hit single, "Love Is on the Way", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100
and received a gold record
, and whose video was in the top 10 MTV countdown for many weeks. Just before touring for the album commenced, bassist Tom DeFile was fired. He was replaced by ex-Cold Sweat bassist Chris McLernon. They toured from summer 1992 to spring 1993, enjoying gold status sales for The Lizard.
The band then headed to Sweden to record their third album Water
. During recording, Matt Kramer became disgusted with the direction that the band was heading both musically and stylistically. Kramer also argues that there were financial differences within the band, and that Bieler took most of the money. Matt flew back to Florida.
With Kramer gone, Bieler decided to take over all of the vocal duties as well as playing guitar on the album. The basic tracks were recorded in Sweden, with finishing touches added at sessions in Tampa, Florida. Water sold significantly less than the previous album and Atlantic dropped the group. It took two years for Saigon Kick to find another record label to sign them.
Former Cryer guitarist Pete Dembrowski joined the band for their fall 1993 tour, and performed on the band's fourth album, Devil in the Details
, released in 1995. The band toured to large success globally in 1994, 1995 and 1996, but Saigon Kick never managed to build on the success of The Lizard in the USA.
Bieler, Dembrowski, and drummer Rick Sanders would record the final Saigon Kick album, Bastards
for release in the Far East before changing their name and starting anew as Super TransAtlantic. The album would not see release until 1999.
In July 1997, the band attempted a reunion with Matt Kramer on lead vocals. Phil Varone had quit and been replaced by former Cryer and future Super TransAtlantic drummer Ricky Sanders. A new song was recorded with this line-up called "Dizzy's Vine" which was released on their Moments from the Fringe
CD. The reunion was quite short lived however and Bieler left after two shows, effectively ending the band.
In 2000, Kramer, Varone, and DeFile resurrected the Saigon Kick name for a short tour. Bieler, being involved with Super TransAtlantic and wanting no part of a reunion, was replaced by former Left For Dead and current Slaughter
and Vince Neil
guitarist Jeff Blando
. After the tour, the members scattered, and it was thought that Saigon Kick was done for good. Saigon Kick was supposed to have a reunion at the Rock Gone Wild festival, however the show was canceled.
As a possible sign of things to come, the Saigon Kick website was put back up with Matt Kramer (vocals), Jason Bieler (guitars), Phil Varone (drums) & Chris McLernon (bass) listed as the current members.
Matt Kramer released his debut solo album titled War & Peas on September 11, 2002 through Lascivious Records, and added the release of his debut book of poetry, An American Profit, on October 31, 2007 through Lascivious Books. Kramer has 3 additional books finished and slated for released in the near future.
Bieler, Dembrowski, and Sanders along with bassist Pat Badger
of Extreme
formed Super TransAtlantic' and released the album Shuttlecock in 2000. They also appeared on the American Pie
soundtrack with the song "Super Down".
Phil Varone joined Skid Row, and also played in the band Prunella Scales
with Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan
. Phil left Skid Row, citing his ongoing battle with cocaine addiction and his need to turn his life around. Afterwards, he began promoting his movie Waking up Dead in which a film crew followed him around for several years to document the life of a rock star and the ups and downs that come with it. Varone is now clean and sober. His focus is no longer primarily music, and up until the Summer of 2010, he was booking and hosting standup comedy shows in Los Angeles. In the Fall of 2010, Varone moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. There, he began playing drums again with a new band, The Jimmy Crespo Project, a band that consists of hard rock and heavy metal superstars, fronted by Jimmy Crespo
, formerly of Aerosmith.
Tom Defile is clean and sober, is now a massage therapist and living in South Florida. He currently plays with Sex Cells, a local band that plays all over the tri-county area.
Chris McLernon and Ricky Sanders teamed up to form Two Heads Music working in television, film and advertising music production. Jason Bieler and his brother Aaron now own a music studio and record label in South Florida called Bieler Bros. Records
. Ricky Sanders is currently the touring drummer for former Bad Company
lead singer Brian Howe
.
Jason Bieler, Ricky Sanders and Chris McLernon are currently in the studio recording new material under the name Owl Stretching.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
that formed in 1988.
History
Saigon Kick was formed by lead vocalist Matt KramerMatt Kramer (musician)
Matt Kramer is a singer who is most famous for being the original singer of the band Saigon Kick. He sang on their first two albums.The second album "The Lizard" propelled Kramer's lead vocals and the band to a Top 10 single on the Billboard charts, and a Number 1 MTV request countdown video with...
and guitarist Jason Bieler
Jason Bieler
Jason Bieler , is a singer, guitarist and songwriter who is most famous for playing with hard rock band Saigon Kick....
along with bassist Tom Defile, and drummer Phil Varone
Phil Varone
Phil Varone is an American drummer, music producer and songwriter. He is a founding member of the band Saigon Kick, and later joined Skid Row. He has also played drums for Vince Neil and Prunella Scales.-Early life:...
. They gained a following on the local club scene and generated enough of a buzz to be signed to Third Stone records in 1990 and release their first album in 1991. They toured at length but the album only made a marginal national showing.
They went immediately back into the studio to record their second album, The Lizard
The Lizard (Saigon Kick album)
The Lizard is Saigon Kick's second album. After this album, singer Matt Kramer and bassist Tom Defile left Saigon Kick. The song "Body Bags" was featured in the soundtrack in the film Beyond the Law from 1992.-Track listing:...
which was released in 1992. The album spawned the bands biggest hit single, "Love Is on the Way", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and received a gold record
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
, and whose video was in the top 10 MTV countdown for many weeks. Just before touring for the album commenced, bassist Tom DeFile was fired. He was replaced by ex-Cold Sweat bassist Chris McLernon. They toured from summer 1992 to spring 1993, enjoying gold status sales for The Lizard.
The band then headed to Sweden to record their third album Water
Water (Saigon Kick album)
Water is Saigon Kick's third album. It was originally planned to be titled, "Fields of Rape", but censorship concerns forced the band to change it. The album cover was not changed. It is the first Saigon Kick album to feature guitarist Jason Bieler on lead vocals, and to feature bassist Chris...
. During recording, Matt Kramer became disgusted with the direction that the band was heading both musically and stylistically. Kramer also argues that there were financial differences within the band, and that Bieler took most of the money. Matt flew back to Florida.
With Kramer gone, Bieler decided to take over all of the vocal duties as well as playing guitar on the album. The basic tracks were recorded in Sweden, with finishing touches added at sessions in Tampa, Florida. Water sold significantly less than the previous album and Atlantic dropped the group. It took two years for Saigon Kick to find another record label to sign them.
Former Cryer guitarist Pete Dembrowski joined the band for their fall 1993 tour, and performed on the band's fourth album, Devil in the Details
Devil In The Details
Devil In The Details is the fourth album by Saigon Kick, and the first to feature guitarist Pete Dembrowski.-Track listing:All tracks by Saigon Kick# "Intro" – 1:14# "Russian Girl" – 4:14# "Killing Ground" – 3:45# "Eden" – 5:02# "Going On" – 4:45...
, released in 1995. The band toured to large success globally in 1994, 1995 and 1996, but Saigon Kick never managed to build on the success of The Lizard in the USA.
Bieler, Dembrowski, and drummer Rick Sanders would record the final Saigon Kick album, Bastards
Bastards (Saigon Kick album)
Bastards is the fifth and final studio album by the band Saigon Kick. The album was only released in the Far East and Japan.- Track listing :# A Lot Like You# Jehovah# Meet Your Maker# Break My Heart# Sign Of The Times# So Sad To Say# Solitary Jerk...
for release in the Far East before changing their name and starting anew as Super TransAtlantic. The album would not see release until 1999.
In July 1997, the band attempted a reunion with Matt Kramer on lead vocals. Phil Varone had quit and been replaced by former Cryer and future Super TransAtlantic drummer Ricky Sanders. A new song was recorded with this line-up called "Dizzy's Vine" which was released on their Moments from the Fringe
Moments from the Fringe
Moments From The Fringe is a Saigon Kick demo compilation.-Track listing:# Dizzy's Vine# Colors# Hey Hey Hey# Homeland# Beautiful# My Only Friend# Love Is on the Way# Spidee the Rapist# God of 42nd Street# Feel the Same Way# When You Were Mine...
CD. The reunion was quite short lived however and Bieler left after two shows, effectively ending the band.
In 2000, Kramer, Varone, and DeFile resurrected the Saigon Kick name for a short tour. Bieler, being involved with Super TransAtlantic and wanting no part of a reunion, was replaced by former Left For Dead and current Slaughter
Slaughter (band)
Slaughter is an American heavy metal band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada by lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum. The band reached stardom in 1990 with their first album, Stick It to Ya which spawned several hit singles including "Up All Night", "Spend My Life", "Mad...
and Vince Neil
Vince Neil
Vincent Neil Wharton is an American vocalist and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.-Early life:Neil was born in Hollywood, California to Odie and Shirley Wharton...
guitarist Jeff Blando
Jeff Blando
Jeff "Blando" Bland is an American guitarist who played for Michigan based cover Band, KODY LEE, Left For Dead and Saigon Kick...
. After the tour, the members scattered, and it was thought that Saigon Kick was done for good. Saigon Kick was supposed to have a reunion at the Rock Gone Wild festival, however the show was canceled.
As a possible sign of things to come, the Saigon Kick website was put back up with Matt Kramer (vocals), Jason Bieler (guitars), Phil Varone (drums) & Chris McLernon (bass) listed as the current members.
Post-breakup
Matt Kramer and Jason Bieler both later released solo albums.Matt Kramer released his debut solo album titled War & Peas on September 11, 2002 through Lascivious Records, and added the release of his debut book of poetry, An American Profit, on October 31, 2007 through Lascivious Books. Kramer has 3 additional books finished and slated for released in the near future.
Bieler, Dembrowski, and Sanders along with bassist Pat Badger
Pat Badger
Pat Badger is the bassist in the band Extreme. He is also a former member of Daemon, In The Pink, Super Trans Atlantic, and Tribe of Judah....
of Extreme
Extreme (band)
Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...
formed Super TransAtlantic' and released the album Shuttlecock in 2000. They also appeared on the American Pie
American Pie (film)
American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy film written by Adam Herz. American Pie was the directorial film debut of brothers Paul and Chris Weitz, and the first film in the American Pie film series...
soundtrack with the song "Super Down".
Phil Varone joined Skid Row, and also played in the band Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales (band)
Prunella Scales was the side project of Skid Row bass player Rachel Bolan and then Godspeed and now Solace guitarist Tommy Southard. The band also featured then future and now former Skid Row drummer Phil Varone. The band released only one album, Dressing Up the Idiot....
with Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan
Rachel Bolan
Rachel Bolan is the bass guitar player and main songwriter of the metal band, Skid Row. He was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, USA, where he founded the band in 1986 with the guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo. Bolan has appeared as a vocalist on two of the Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's solo...
. Phil left Skid Row, citing his ongoing battle with cocaine addiction and his need to turn his life around. Afterwards, he began promoting his movie Waking up Dead in which a film crew followed him around for several years to document the life of a rock star and the ups and downs that come with it. Varone is now clean and sober. His focus is no longer primarily music, and up until the Summer of 2010, he was booking and hosting standup comedy shows in Los Angeles. In the Fall of 2010, Varone moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. There, he began playing drums again with a new band, The Jimmy Crespo Project, a band that consists of hard rock and heavy metal superstars, fronted by Jimmy Crespo
Jimmy Crespo
James "Jimmy" Crespo Jr. is an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith from 1979 until 1984. Jimmy co-wrote Rock in a Hard Place with Steven Tyler...
, formerly of Aerosmith.
Tom Defile is clean and sober, is now a massage therapist and living in South Florida. He currently plays with Sex Cells, a local band that plays all over the tri-county area.
Chris McLernon and Ricky Sanders teamed up to form Two Heads Music working in television, film and advertising music production. Jason Bieler and his brother Aaron now own a music studio and record label in South Florida called Bieler Bros. Records
Bieler Bros. Records
Bieler Bros. Records is an independent record label based out of Florida, USA.-History:Bieler Bros. Records was formed in January 2002 by brothers Aaron and Jason Bieler...
. Ricky Sanders is currently the touring drummer for former Bad Company
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
lead singer Brian Howe
Brian Howe (singer)
Brian Anthony Howe is an English rock singer and songwriter, best known for replacing Paul Rodgers as the lead vocalist of Bad Company. Howe's career was jump-started in 1983 when Ted Nugent recruited him to handle lead vocals for his Penetrator album and front its subsequent world tour.-Early...
.
Jason Bieler, Ricky Sanders and Chris McLernon are currently in the studio recording new material under the name Owl Stretching.
Albums
| Year | Album | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Sales / certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Saigon Kick Saigon Kick (album) Saigon Kick is the eponymous debut album by the band Saigon Kick. It features backing vocals by then future and now former Journey singer Jeff Scott Soto.-Track listing:All songs by Jason Bieler except for when noted.# New World - 5:42... |
— | 100,000+ |
| 1992 | The Lizard The Lizard (Saigon Kick album) The Lizard is Saigon Kick's second album. After this album, singer Matt Kramer and bassist Tom Defile left Saigon Kick. The song "Body Bags" was featured in the soundtrack in the film Beyond the Law from 1992.-Track listing:... |
80 | Gold (500,000+) |
| 1993 | Water Water (Saigon Kick album) Water is Saigon Kick's third album. It was originally planned to be titled, "Fields of Rape", but censorship concerns forced the band to change it. The album cover was not changed. It is the first Saigon Kick album to feature guitarist Jason Bieler on lead vocals, and to feature bassist Chris... |
— | 70,000+ |
| 1995 | Devil In The Details Devil In The Details Devil In The Details is the fourth album by Saigon Kick, and the first to feature guitarist Pete Dembrowski.-Track listing:All tracks by Saigon Kick# "Intro" – 1:14# "Russian Girl" – 4:14# "Killing Ground" – 3:45# "Eden" – 5:02# "Going On" – 4:45... |
— | 15,000+ |
| 1998 | Greatest Mrs.: The Best of Saigon Kick Greatest Mrs.: The Best of Saigon Kick - Track listing :# "What You Say"# "Coming Home"# "Colors"# "The Lizard"# "All I Want"# "Love Is on the Way"# "Hostile Youth"# "One Step Closer"# "Water"# "I Love You"# "Close to You"# "Russian Girl"# "Eden"# "Everybody"# "Hey! Hey! Hey!"... |
— | 5,000+ |
| 1998 | Moments From The Fringe Moments from the Fringe Moments From The Fringe is a Saigon Kick demo compilation.-Track listing:# Dizzy's Vine# Colors# Hey Hey Hey# Homeland# Beautiful# My Only Friend# Love Is on the Way# Spidee the Rapist# God of 42nd Street# Feel the Same Way# When You Were Mine... |
— | — |
| 1999 | Bastards Bastards (Saigon Kick album) Bastards is the fifth and final studio album by the band Saigon Kick. The album was only released in the Far East and Japan.- Track listing :# A Lot Like You# Jehovah# Meet Your Maker# Break My Heart# Sign Of The Times# So Sad To Say# Solitary Jerk... |
— | — |
| 2000 | Greatest Hits Live | — | — |
| 2007 | Live Around The World 1991 - 1996 | — | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
U.S. Main. Rock | U.S. Main. Top 40 | |||
| 1992 | "Love Is on the Way" | 12 | 8 | 9 | Gold |
| "All I Want" | — | 15 | — | — | |