Mark St. John

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Mark St. John (born Mark Norton on February 7, 1956 in Hollywood, California - Died April 5, 2007) was a guitarist best known for his short stint with the rock band KISS.

Mark replaced Vinnie Vincent as lead guitarist for KISS in April 1984, following Vincent's falling-out with the band (Mark was suggested to Bruce Kulick was featured on the song, "Lonely Is The Hunter"). During work for the album, St. John clashed with the other members of the band, and eventually developed arthritis (Reiter's Syndrome), which caused his hands and arms to swell. He was all but unable to perform live as a member of KISS, and only played three (one in full) shows during the "Animalize" tour, with Kulick filling in for the rest. He was officially replaced by Kulick in December 8, 1984.

St. John's only video appearance with KISS is in the video for "Heaven's On Fire".

After leaving KISS, St. John formed his new group White Tiger with one-time Black Sabbath vocalist David Donato and released one LP in 1986. St. John teamed up with Jeff Scott Soto in 1988 to make a demo. St. John made another demo in 1990 with fellow former KISS member Peter Criss.

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In 1988 Logic Productions (G. Lane) came into the picture with Mark St. John and his new band "White Tiger". Logic Productions (G.Lane) held an audition at Trojan studios in Garden Grove California with Mark and his new band "White Tiger" (Mark St. John, his brother Michael Norton, David Donato and Brian Fox). In late 1988 Logic Production showcased a club concert with "White Tiger" at a club known as the "Hot Spot" in Huntington Beach California where the night was lit up like the 4th of July. What an awesome show and turn out for the band "White Tiger". Only working together for a short time Logic Production and "White Tiger" decided to call it quits due to bigger and better things for Mark St. John and his new band "White Tiger".

After limited success with White Tiger, Mark didn't release anything for many years. He was in a short lived band with Peter Criss called the Mark St. John Project which released a limited edition EP. Later he released an all instrumental CD in 2001 called "Single Bullet Theory."

In later years, St. John did not make many public appearances, however, he was rumored to have returned to his pre-KISS gig as a guitar instructor in the Los Angeles area.

Died on the morning of April 5 2007 of a cerebral hemorrhage.