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Poison stays true
to its glam-rock roots By Andrea Berninger, aberninger@forumcomm.com The Forum - 06/14/2001 Warning: Don’t ask Rikki Rockett for hair-care tips. “Oh Andrea, don’t go there with me,” Poison’s drummer says on the phone, with a real hint of annoyance in his voice. Seems Rockett and his band-mates are none too fond of the term “hair metal,” which critics coined shortly after the big-haired, guitar-driven band debuted in the late 1980s. “First of all, we’re rock and roll; metal’s Judas Priest,” Rockett clarifies. “It’s strictly a journalist thing … it’s a shame. One or two journalists that went to college how many years, and that’s the best term they could come up with? It makes them look silly when they write it.” Ahem. Point taken. Discussing coiffures might be taboo, but Rockett talks enthusiastically about everything from band fights to animal rights. He’s especially excited about Poison’s summer tour, which stops at the Red River Valley Fair June 23. “I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s excellent pyro, and we have one of the best sound men in the business. We’re energetic as ever,” he says. Nevertheless, rehearsals weren’t without the occasional tiff between band members. “CC (DeVille, Poison guitarist) and I got in a fight at rehearsals, and we didn’t resolve it. I got home and there was a 10-minute message from him, saying ‘Hey I’m really sorry, please call me, I don’t feel good about this.’ We used to hold stuff back and be passive-aggressive. Now we know it won’t work if we don’t address it.” Better communication is one lesson the band has learned over the years, Rockett explains. Sobriety, or relative sobriety, is another. In metal’s heyday, Poison was famous for hardcore backstage partying. Now “several of us are clean and sober,” Rockett says. But Poison hasn’t let go of its glam roots – literally. Rockett sports a purple feather boa in one band photo. Singer Bret Michaels still has his enviable flowing blond locks, and bassist Bobby Dall sports black fingernail polish. After 15 years in the business, the band’s motivation has evolved as well as its look. “This is the best time for us because I think we’ve gone through that period where you have to prove yourself. Now we’re doing this because we want to do it,” Rockett says. “Our desire is to please ourselves and the audience. We’re not so young and insecure and feel like we have to make a mark.” Where Rockett prefers to make a mark is speaking out for animal rights. As a spokesperson for the organization Animal Liberation, he could be the anti-Ted Nugent. “I consider animal abuse someone being a bully. I never really liked bullies, especially when you have a being that doesn’t have a voice and can’t tell about it,” he explains. After touring this summer, Poison will enter the studio to record a new album. Rockett and company are confident their sound will continue to find an audience. “We’ve withstood the test of time,” he says. “There’s a lot of angry music right now and super pop-smiley music; it’s like Disney music. There’s nothing wrong with any of this stuff … but here we are, not any of those things. We’re kind of the alternative now. People are turning to us and going ‘Wow, that’s rock and roll.’” Readers can reach Forum reporter Andrea Berninger at (701) 241-5533 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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