Arcane Saints

As a relative of Iron Maiden founding member Steve Harris, music was always in singer/guitarist Michael John’s blood. Although born in the UK he grew up in Auckland, New Zealand and began writing his own songs at age 15. At the age of 20 he formed his first band. After a couple of years of playing the local circuit he grew increasing bored of the small local rock scene. In 2006 he won an international song writing competition and used the prize money to buy a one way ticket to Melbourne, Aus...

As a relative of Iron Maiden founding member Steve Harris, music was always in singer/guitarist Michael John’s blood. Although born in the UK he grew up in Auckland, New Zealand and began writing his own songs at age 15. At the age of 20 he formed his first band. After a couple of years of playing the local circuit he grew increasing bored of the small local rock scene. In 2006 he won an international song writing competition and used the prize money to buy a one way ticket to Melbourne, Australia. Early in the following year, he formed the first incarnation of Arcane Saints. Following a few line up changes, Jim Luxford was recruited on bass. As well as having strong bass chops, Jim also had singing ability and became back up singer. The band then found the solid rock drummer they needed in Ben Young. Ben had played in various bands in the UK and Canada before moving to Australia. After a couple of months of auditions Michael (Sheep) Gooding impressed the band with his soloing skills and was invited to join the band on lead guitar. The Arcane Saints have secured an extremely loyal fan base with their memorable songs, killer live shows and exposure from supporting popular acts such as Grinspoon and Something With Numbers. In late 2008 the band released their debut E/P “Black Widow Dance” which gained significant airplay on local radio. To support the release, the band completed a national tour and sold in excess of 500 copies. A follow up E/P entitled “Ignite” has been recorded and is due for release in June 2010, an international tour will commence in August. Michael John- vocals/guitar Sheep - lead guitar Ben Young- drums Jim Luxford- bass Audio tracks and live videos are available to hear/view at www.myspace.com/arcanesaints. Black Widow Dance is available to purchase at www.waterfrontrecords.com