Nearly 35 years ago, Regency Records released California Metal Volume II, a follow-up to their popular 1987 first volume. While the first album featured more well-known Christian metal bands, such as Barren Cross, Guardian, Neon Cross, and Deliverance, a lot of up-and-coming bands were given the spotlight on volume two. And while only Ransom, Recon, and Mastedon managed to secure proper label releases following that compilation, several others, including Emerald, Vision, and Soldier were also given a chance to shine. For me, however, possibly the best of these unsigned bands was the seriously underappreciated Judea. Now, thanks to our friends at Roxx Records, the world is getting a chance to hear what Regency Records heard when they asked Judea to be on the album. Judea's founder and original drummer, Steve Lamb, was kind enough to talk to me about the band's past, their present, and if there is any kind of future for the band!
PRR: Steve, thank you for taking the time to talk
with me. First, congratulations are in
order as Judea recently saw its first official album release with our friends
at Roxx Records. That has to feel good,
even if it was 35 plus years in the making!
Steve: Thank you,
Brother! It was pretty cool! It actually came out of the blue and happened
fast!
PRR: How long had it been since you had heard some of those songs? There were several 35 year-old, unreleased, but fully produced, songs included in the package, and they sounded really good!
Steve: Thanks for the
kind words! I heard “Knock” and “Heart
of Stone” because those songs were on YouTube since they were on the California Metal II album. “Wanderer”, “Turning Away”, and all the
demos, I hadn’t heard those songs in years.
PRR: So, some of those songs were from 1986, which means Judea was right there in the middle of things when metal was really blowing up. How did Judea come together, and were you there from the start?
Steve: Yeah, we were. Judea formed in 1984, and I was the founding member on drums.I was in a band called Toxxin, and two members quit, which left me and the bass player, Jeff Castle. I put an add out in the paper for a lead guitarist, and a dude named Norm Stevens, who had just hitchhiked from Florida, walked in where we were a house band and said he was there answering the ad. He had a
Stryper Bible in his guitar case. I am cousins with Michael and Robert Sweet, so we hit it off, and it went from there.
PRR: Now, I’m guessing that based upon the name,
Toxxin wasn’t a Christian band. Was the
plan for Judea to be Christian from the start?
Steve: Toxxin was not
a Christian band, no. We were a cover
band in a club. Once we joined with
Norm, we decided to become a Christian band after we started praying about
it. Funny enough, we were a three-piece
instrumental band that just talked about Jesus until we got a singer!
PRR: So, in 1984, were there any other Christian
bands that you were aware of other than Stryper? That pre-dates Holy Soldier and Guardian,
right? Eternal Ryte wasn’t a thing yet,
were they?
Steve: There was Rez
Band, Petra, Daniel Band…Barren Cross and Barnabas were big in the scene at
that time.
PRR: But not in LA, right?
Steve: At that time I
wasn’t familiar with the LA scene yet, as Judea was still based in Oklahoma.
PRR: So when did Judea make the move to
California, and what prompted the move?
Steve: We moved to Cali in 1987, with a new singer and bass player. We had new material and were looking to see what could happen. We were able to book some sessions at Pakaderm Studios and
Kansas singer, John Elefante, produced them. That led us to being on the California Metal II album.
PRR: Did Michael and Robert encourage the move, as
they were blowing up big time in California?
Steve: Judea opened
up for Stryper in Oklahoma in 1985 on their “Soldiers Under Command Tour”. That show did get us major attention, so
there was some influence there.
PRR: How old were you when you got to
California? What were your first
impressions of that LA/Hollywood music scene?
Steve: I was 22, and
the LA scene was wild! We went to all
the big clubs to check out bands…the Whiskey, Gazzarri’s, the Troubadour… Local bands had amazing support from their
fans, at the time. Of course, metal
would be competing with grunge…Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc.,…and we all know how
that comes out!
PRR: So, in 1987, Holy Soldier and Guardian were
on the scene, correct? Were there other
Christian bands you can remember?
Surrender gets mentioned by a lot of people I talk to…
Steve: Yes, they were. In 1987 there was also Emerald, Ransom, Vision, Recon, X-Sinner, Soldier…a
lot more I can’t remember right now…
PRR: Was the official lineup in place already, or
did California bring about some shakeups?
Steve: The lineup was
in place. We wrote “Knock” in my
brother’s garage in the first two weeks we were there.
PRR: How quickly were you able to start
playing? Do you remember where you first
real show was, and who else played?
Steve: It was at a club called Jezzebals. It was a show to promote the release of the California Metal II album. All the bands on the album performed. (California Metal II also featured Vision, Emerald, Recon, Soldier, Mastedon, and Ransom)
PRR: So, you actually recorded California Metal II
before you really got a chance to start playing out a lot?
Steve: Actually, we
didn’t go into a studio to record California
Metal II. We went to the studio to
record the songs that we already had so that we could shop them to record
labels. While we were recording, Regency
Records actually chose us to be on the album.
PRR: Interesting!
Were you aware they were looking for bands for this new compilation?
Steve: Not at all!
PRR: So, how did you get involved with the Elefantes
and Pakaderm Studios? That’s where the
demos were recorded, correct?
Steve: We wanted to
record at Pakaderm because it was the best studio at the time. Once we started recording, John and Dino were
behind us.
PRR: So, you were pretty fortunate in that you had
a recorded demo from a very well-known studio…did that help you get your foot
in the door with some of the bigger clubs?
Steve: No, it didn’t
help a whole lot. We played a few bigger
clubs, and we did a showcase show for Enigma Records, the label Stryper was
signed on. They told us we had the
sound, but a few in the band did not have “the look”. At that time, look was more important than
sound! So, we disbanded not long after
that.
PRR: How long did Judea try to keep things moving in
LA?
Steve: Well, I
elected to leave after four or five shows.
It just wasn’t working. I was the
only one in the band with a family…I had two young daughters at that time. The way it worked in LA, you had to buy
tickets to your concert, then you tried to sell them to recoup that
expense. We simply didn’t have the
following, and I worked long hours and was 40 miles away from rehearsals. It just didn’t make sense for me to continue. Even after I left, I think they did a few
shows and that was it.
PRR: Do you think Judea being an openly Christian
band hurt the band’s potential for success in mid-80’s LA?
Steve: No, not at
all. Look what Stryper did. Sadly, as most bands in that era had “the
sound”, a lot of bands sounded alike, so it became more about “the look”. We had the sound, but only a few of us in the
band had “the look”, at least according to labels.
PRR: Was there ever any consideration of changing
members? Or did the whole situation just
prove too much to overcome, especially with your family and work?
Steve: No, we never
considered it. Hundreds of people told
us if the original lineup had gone to California we would have gotten
signed. Our original singer actually
went to Texas to audition for Pantera, and our original bass player was only 15
and was still in school.
PRR: Before you left, the band did record “Over
And Done” at Pakaderm in 1987, and on the retrospective CD that just came out
on Roxx Records, there was a 1991 demo, also.
Were you a part of that?
Steve: I was part of
the 1987, “Over And Done” track, yes.
The ’91 demo, no, and I don’t believe Norm was, either.
PRR: What about the Judea 2.0, as it is referred
to on the Roxx package? Are you a part
of that?
Steve: No, and
neither is the original guitar player. A
lot took place without our knowledge, which is all I care to say about
that. But, all is good with us.
PRR: So after you left Judea, how did you get back
into music?
In 1995, I replaced Robert Sweet in Titanic, and in 1997, me and my family moved back to Oklahoma, and our guitar player moved to Nashville. In 1998, we formed a band, Normandy, and got signed to
Kalubone Records.
PRR: How did you end up with the Titanic gig? Did you do any recording with the band? I loved Maiden
Voyage, by the way!
Steve: I hadn’t
played drums in seven years. One day,
Robert Sweet showed up at my house and said “come out to my truck”. In the back was a new set of drums. He said God told him to bless me with
them. I played for a few weeks, and
since Robert had obligations to King James and touring with them, he and
Titanic’s lead singer showed up at my house with the Maiden Voyage CD ad asked if I could learn it in two weeks to
replace Robert, and I said yes. The lead
guitar player lived in Vegas, and we had our first rehearsal. After the first song, they decided to hire
me. We did some recordings at practice
and at live shows, but I was just mainly there for touring.
PRR: So, between the time you left Judea and when
Robert brought up the Titanic gig, had you essentially given up music?
Steve: No, I never gave up on music, but at that point I had
no time. Two kids, raising a family, and
working all the time. Even back then, in
California, rent was very expensive…everything was. By the time I joined Titanic, I had a great
flexible job making $100K, I had time, and I had the means to play.
Steve: In 1997, me and
my family moved back to Oklahoma. The
guitar player from Judea and his wife moved to Nashville. In ’98, they formed the band Normandy, and
got signed to Kalubone
Records. They had
a tour booked and asked if I was interested in joining the band. We had known each other for years, so I said
yes. They sent me a copy of the debut
album and I learned it, then headed to Nashville, rehearsed for a week, then
headed out on our first of two east coast tours.
PRR: Was it good to get out on the road again?
Steve: It was awesome
to tour again!
PRR: How did the Roxx
retrospective come together?
Steve: It all happened fast. I had seen a post from another band using Judea’s name that was putting
out some songs with a few titles that were very similar to ours. A few weeks later, Roxx contacted our singer, or vice versa, I’m still not clear.
PRR: Who was the other band? Was it former members?
Steve: No, it was
just a band who stole our name and was using it.
PRR: With a lot of Christian metal festivals
starting to pop up, especially retro-fests like ImmortalFest, would you be
interested in getting Judea back together for a show like that? Barren Cross got back together this year for
ImmortalFest…Sacred Warrior reformed, the new version of Whitecross was
there…what would that take, in your estimation?
Steve: We talked
about it a lot. The guitar player lives
in New Orleans, and at this time it is not possible. Plus, I got Covid back in January, and my
legs have not been the same since. I’m
in need of prayer, there. Anyway, we did
not feel it would be right if it were not all of us back together.
PRR: Speaking of the original line-up, what stands
out most to you about your time in Judea?
Steve: Probably when
we opened up for Stryper on their Soldiers
Under Command Tour, out there in front of 20,000 plus people!
PRR: That had to be a rush! So what does Steve Lamb do today to get that
rush? Anything musical?
Steve: Well, I haven’t
played in about five years. But…Normandy
did write a new album in 2005 that we never released, and I’ve been working
with the singer to remix it. Roxx
Records wants to release it, too, so that could be cool. Other than that, I get to play school bus
driver, picking up my young grandkids from school, which I love. I’m still a metalhead, though! (Laughter)
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So, there you have
it, folks! Steve was a very cool guy to
talk with, and was very kind and giving with his time. Hopefully we get to hear more of his work
with Roxx Records, this time with his last band, Normandy. If that project comes to light, you know we’ll
have it reviewed here at Positive Rock Review!
If you haven't picked it up yet, head over to ROXX RECORDS and snag your own copy of Out Of The Darkness: The Lost Sessions! You can even pick up an autographed copy if you hurry!
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