Guitarist Craig Locicero and drummer Steve Jacobs, formerly of the early 90's San Francisco Bay Area band Forbidden, founded Manmade God a couple years before the millenium. After a few comings and goings, MMG's lineup was eventually solidified with the additions of bassist James Walker and vocalist Pann. The resulting combination produced the band's Rick Rubin-helmed eponymous debut album, which was released on Aug. 26, 2003, and included the single "Safe Passage," a song that reached number 36 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Track list.
MMG spent time touring with bands such as Saliva, Ra, Doubledrive and Stone Temple Pilots, but by mid-2004, Pann left the project, leaving Locicero, Jacobs and Walker without a frontman. The remaining trio soon joined up with former Systematic singer/guitarist Tim Narducci and became Spiralarms (www.spiralarms.com).
Walker later left Spiralarms and was replaced by Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo on bass. Also, Jacobs was forced to leave the band due to injury and he was originally replaced by former Stone Temple Pilots drummer Eric Kretz. Chris Kontos later took over the reigns behind the drum kit when Kretz needed more time to focus on his Bombshelter Studios. Finally, keyboardist Brad Barth came on board and rounded out that lineup.
Additional Manmade God bio courtesy of musicemissions.com:
...Vocalist Pann, who'd been Pong-ing between coasts in a frustrating search for a band... was on the verge of surrender when he hooked up with Manmade God. "I said, ‘I've been doing this for about five years and I've had it. I'm done. Maybe this isn't for me…but I'm going to put one more ad out in the paper…'"
The ad got bites, one of which was from Locicero, who called but failed to leave a number. Pann immediately dismissed the call, but "he called back a couple minutes later and left his phone number. I went down to the studio because Craig was so persistent. When I sat down and they started playing…I was blown away. There was so much power…it was really an intense experience."
Locicero was reciprocally awed, saying an immediate and urgent alchemy within MMG manifested at Pann's enlistment. "Before Pann joined, we were more of a fingerpainting experiment; it never felt like a band. Pann just made all the difference, having direction and emotion."
...Soon after, the band met up with Stone Temple Pilots' Eric Kretz, who was impressed enough to produce MMG's 3-song demo... The disc subsequently caught the ear of Brian Joseph Dobbs (Echobrain, engineer with renowned producer Bob Rock), with whom the band smithed their next demo at the famed Plant in Sausalito. These demos reached American Recordings and eventually a private showcase was set-up with Rick Rubin. MMG signed to American in October 2002, their debut produced by Dobbs and executive produced by Rubin.
Manmade God draws from wells along rock's originally charted path, spitting out the stones and swallowing the melodic artistry of the Beatles and Pink Floyd, the balls-out rock and roll of Led Zeppelin, the mysticism of The Doors and the heavy duty stomp of Sabbath, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. Better to call them students, artisans and craftsmen, making music according to their master plan.
