by christina wagner
WHO: Ratt with Poison
WHERE: Times Union Center - Moran Theater
WHEN: Sunday, September 2nd
When my editor first told me that I would be doing an interview with Stephen Pearcy from Ratt, I flipped. My head began spinning and I couldn’t wait to make it back home and dive into some Google.There I was on a happening Wednesday evening, knee-deep in some “Rattical” material, completely prepared for my hot Thursday phone date, but my knight in shining armor never called. It was like my sophomore prom all over again. Their breakout classic, ‘Round and Round’ kept on playing inside my head as I stared at the sad little hands on the clock in front of me.
I waited two traumatic hours before throwing in the towel, picking up the remaining pieces and trudging home, sans my story. It’s going to take something bigger than Mr. Stephen Pearcy to take this broad down.
With my middle finger sternly erect, I continue on without him, determined to roll out the red carpet and to keep this professional, despite our personal past. After a semi-comeback attempt a couple of years back at The Marquee Theatre, Ratt returns to Jacksonville, this time with legendary frontman Stephen Pearcy, to perform at the Veterans Memorial Arena.
This West Coast, self-proclaimed “sleaze metal” group started out in the early 80’s, but it wasn’t until the 1984 hit, ‘Round and Round,’ that they really appeared on the map. Ratt has sold an impressive 18 million records worldwide, scored #79 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” and been through more members than the Pussycat Dolls.
Despite the usual band drama, the boys were able to pull through and pop out 6 stellar albums as well as the “greatest hits” cleverly titled Ratt n’ Roll 81-91, but they weren’t able to hold it together to survive the 90s. In 1996, Ratt put together what turned out to be their first attempt at a reunion with members Pearcy, DeMartini, Blotzer and new member Robbie Crane on bass. They released Collage, a collection of B-sides and new versions of songs from the early years (then named Mickey Ratt). In 1999, their luck seemed to find its way back to them with a worldwide record deal with Sony. Leaving behind their anthemic sound and trading it in for a more conventional blues-rock vibe. Fans and critics alike crushed it.
Pearcy left the band in 2000 and formed Vicious Delite and then Nitronic. He moved on to focus on his solo work and started his record label Top Fuel Records. Ratt moved along with new vocalist Jizzy Pearl and continued touring under the name Ratt, much to Pearcy’s dismay. There was a battle over the name for quite some time.
All of that has seemingly been placed behind them and they moved forward sprouting rumors of a new CD in the works as well as their first ever DVD and an upcoming European tour. When asked about the lyrical content of the new material, Pearcy responds, “I couldn’t tell ya, because I write with whatever suites me at that moment. I’ve always been a writer about what I live, see and breathe. It’s not fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons, or politics, it’s about having a good time or f**kin’ kicking ass… or just f**king!”
If starting a label, being active in two groups and raising a daughter weren’t enough, Pearcy also finds time in his borderline Jamaican work schedule to squeeze in a book titled, RaTTails. The status?
“Still working on it. We now have closure. The final chapter of this book is this tour. Who knows, maybe it isn’t the end of everything, but it’s quite full of…. forget dirt (reference to Motley Crue’s book ‘The Dirt’), it’s mud! And I’ve got photos to back all of it up. It’s quite an experience. It’s not just about the rock ‘n roll world, it’s about somebody who was into something, me into racing, who got introduced to something else. It takes you into that whole trip, but yet it’s sincere. The book’s been 4 years in the making. It’ll be an interesting read!” Pearcy explains.
Hopefully, for these boys the third time will be a charm as they make their way down to our neck of the woods and rock our faces off. Pearcy, if you’re reading this, I expect two front row seats, some red roses, fine bourbon and a damn good excuse for standing me up like that. What would your mother say?
|
EU Critic’s Choice Awards
