Derek St. Holmes
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Derek St. Holmes is a rock musician who is most famous for being Ted Nugent's vocalist and lead guitar player, though he is not noted for playing solos on songs such as "Stranglehold," for which he played the entire solo on, which Nugent to credit for.
St. Holmes also worked briefly with German guitarist Michael Schenker (of UFO fame) on the Michael Schenker Group's "Built To Destroy" album and a European tour.
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[edit] Early Years
In Riverview, Michigan Derek had gotten his first guitar for his twelfth birthday. Allowed to practice in his basement, Derek St. Holmes played and learned everything he could from all the rock and roll idols of the era. He started his own neighborhood band, played for all the high school dances and perfected his craft.
Then in 1974, hard-rocker Ted Nugent first saw Derek's band, "Scott", as he opened for a Michigan Nugent show at the Lincoln Park Theater. After several months, Nugent's road manager tracked down and phoned St. Holmes about auditioning for Nugent's band, then called Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes. The Amboy Dukes had already recorded several albums and was popular among the rock circuit but, after the lead-singer left, Nugent needed a lead singer to give his band the sound that would catapult him into stardom.
St. Holmes was hired and the band of Ted Nugent with Derek St. Holmes, Rob Grange and Vic Mastriani, later changed to be known as The Ted Nugent Band was launched and started immediately on an extensive U.S. tour. Traveling and performing nearly 300 days a year, they played with other popular bands, such as Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Van Halen and Black Sabbath among other greats. They created an era of music which has been admired by millions of fans. At only 22 years old, St. Holmes found himself traveling the world and playing to sold out audiences in U. S. and European cities as did the Rolling Stones and The Who.
[edit] St. Paradise
The endless tours, combined with St. Holmes' feelings of lack of musical appreciation and sufficient recognition caused heated confrontations between Nugent and St. Holmes. As a mutual agreement, St. Holmes left the Nugent band along with another dissatisfied band member, bassist Rob Grange, and formed St. Paradise. Together with drummer Denny Carmassi (Whitesnake, Jimmy Page, Heart) and rhythm guitarist John Corey (Eagles, Don Henley, Rod Stewart), St. Paradise gave St. Holmes the freedom he needed to grow. The band wrote and recorded two albums for Epic Records.
With the same wrath, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford experienced band difficulties. He was also unfulfilled with Aerosmith and joined St. Holmes in 1980 to form the Whitford / St. Holmes Band for CBS Records. The band had but one album release and then extinguished when both St. Holmes and Whitford eventually reconciled with their original bands. The Whitford / St. Holmes album was considered only a collector's album until 1995 when it was re-released on CD and is now available in the retail music stores.
[edit] Reunited with Ted on an on-again, off-again basis
Although St. Holmes returned to Nugent's band to record numerous albums, not until 1995 did St. Holmes and Nugent co-write another project. This was the first Nugent / St. Holmes writing collaboration in nearly fifteen years. Atlantic Records' Spirit of the Wild was reminiscent of the early Ted Nugent works and confirmed to many fans the Nugent / St. Holmes sound still rocked.
The song "Hey, Baby" was recorded originally by blues legend Koko Taylor, St. Holmes said that he could die and go to heaven, as she is certainly a blues icon. His Motown rhythm and blues roots surface on songs such as this.
The only thing that St. Holmes regrets after all these many years is that most people do not know that he's the voice on such songs as "Stranglehold, Live It Up, & Hey, Baby".
An episode for VH1's series, "[[Behind the Music]]" he talks about this dilemma in late summer '98.
St. Holmes' new solo CD, Then and Now, is a collection of many St. Holmes' rock material. Bassist Chase Chitty (Pat Travers Band), drummer Steve Pace (Hydra, Krokus, Whitford / St. Holmes) and keyboardist Russ Still accompany St. Holmes with sexy songs such as "Dr. Love" and "Surrounded", the energy rocker "In Too Deep".
[edit] Discography
1975 TED NUGENT "TED NUGENT" (Epic Records)* 1976 TED NUGENT "FREE FOR ALL" (Epic Records)*
1977 TED NUGENT "CAT SCRATCH FEVER" (Epic Records)*
1979 ST. PARADISE "ST. PARADISE" (Warner Bros. Records)
1980 & 1995 WHITFORD/ST. HOLMES "WHITFORD/ST. HOLMES" (CBS Records) 1981
TED NUGENT "GREAT GONZOS" (Epic Records)**
1984 &1985 MICHAEL SCHENKER "BUILT TO DESTROY" (Chrysalis Records)
1990 & 1993 VANILLA FUDGE "LIVE" (Rhino Records)
1993 TED NUGENT "OUT OF CONTROL" (Epic Records)
1994 "DAZED AND CONFUSED" Movie Soundtrack (MCA Pictures)
1995 TED NUGENT "SPIRIT OF THE WILD" (Atlantic Records)
1997 "PRIVATE PARTS" Movie Soundtrack (Paramount/WB)
1999 "That 70's Show/Rockin" TV Sitcom Soundtrack (Volcano Records)
THEN AND NOW
The latest album from Derek. Features: Standing in the Rain, Dr. Love and Surrounded.
Derek's version of Aerosmith songs are now available online on his website. Derek has re-recorded some famous Aerosmith songs for a special promotion and is making them available to all his fans in MP3 format.
Derek is singing with guitar maker Paul Reed Smith's band. Derek has co-written many of the tunes for a new CD including "One In the Same" and "Ice Cold Kisses". The CD is in the vein of 70's rock with some more modern elements. The yet unnamed CD is currently being mixed and will be released in 2007.
