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RATT DRUMMER BOBBY BLOTZER ON USING THE RATT NAME TO TOUR: “I WANNA TAKE IT OUT, AND I HAVE THE RIGHT, BY LAW, TO DO IT”

Ratt drummer Bobby Blozter was a guest on the September 28th broadcast of Eddie’s Sirius/XM show, Eddie Trunk Live. Highlights from the interview appear below as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net.

Blotzer stated about his decision to tour under the Ratt name, “I wanna tour. Me and Warren own 50/50 of the name. He does not wanna tour. The other guys aren’t gonna tour [under that band name]. So it leaves me sitting here — the one guy who never quit, out of the whole band, and who’s always been pushing the other guys to get back together. ’97, [and] continued in 2000 when Stephen quit again, etc. [I’m the one who who tries to] keep things motivating… that’s me all the time. And maybe not always in the best way. But my 50/50 partner doesn’t wanna tour as a member, [and] he becomes a non-touring member, and that leaves me open to go out and bring the songs that people wanna hear on the road.”

He continued, “If you have a company that you’ve been with for 34 years, and you and one other person own that company, and one guy doesn’t wanna work and you do, what’s…? You know what I mean? If I wanted to stay home and Warren wanted to go out, I’d be, like, ‘Okay, just have the check here by Friday.’ Because I will get dividends, and he will get dividends.”

Blotzer added, “I wanna work. I wanna play our tunes. I’ve done a lot of outside projects. I get it; it’s fun. But my body of music that I’m associated with and most accepted with is Ratt.”

Blotzer also spoke about Warren’s apparent threat of legal action if the drummer continues to book shows under the Ratt name.

“I can’t really talk a lot about the specifics, because he’s now [saying that he will try to stop me from using the name]… which is amazing to me,” Bobby said. “He’s really the one who prevented [the original band from] being together right now, by and large. Because in owning this name and this stock that he and I own 50/50… The other guys wanted 25 percent. I’m, like, ‘I don’t care. Whatever it takes.’ Safety nets below. Everybody has safety and job stability and we all tour every year, like a normal job, normal people. He wouldn’t give it up. So he’s not willing to tour, and he’s not willing to give up the stock in the name. So he puts us in a position where… I don’t know. He’s up in Candyland in the hills here.”

Bobby went on to speculate as to why guitarist Warren DeMartini is against Blozter touring as Ratt without the original lineup. He said, “My guess is, him and I both have pretty substantial hearing loss from so many years of doing this. I think that maybe his ears are bugging him a bit, and he’s just not saying anything. That’s just a guess, obviously. But I wanna take it out, and I have the right, by law, to do it.”

He continued, “[Warren’s] reasoning for not wanting to tour Ratt was not giving [the other original members] the [rights to] the name, in case Stephen took the name and toured as Ratt, and then we’d be back in court. So I’m saying to him on the phone… I’m, like, ‘So he’s not coming back and you would rather me not do that and are threatening to sue me, who you’ll make money from if I go out and you don’t go.’ That makes a lot of sense. To who? Not me.”

According to Blotzer, the recent disagreements between the members of the original lineup have likely caused irreparable harm to their relationships.

“I’m gonna say something right here that I’ve never said, ever,” he said. “I don’t ever see Ratt getting back together. There is just right now, at this point, four corners, and no one’s leaving that corner. I’m leaving it, because the guy that chose not to go — the other member; there’s two members of Ratt: me and Warren, and Warren doesn’t wanna tour. Legally, that left me allowed to go put a band together, go out, tour. He makes money. When the bills are all paid and the dust clears, here’s your check, bud.”

Blotzer also believes that there is another layer to Warren’s motivation to try to keep the drummer from touring under the Ratt name

“Let’s just say, if you were to talk to anybody else in the band, or that’s worked for the band, or in the band — any of the members, not just the originals — there’s a lot of issues with control that came from his area of the world, and complete and utter… He wants to control this until his dying days,” Blotzer explained. “Why would he not want me to go out…? If he doesn’t wanna tour. We make great money residually. Everybody can stay home and not work; I mean, that’s not a problem. I wanna get the fuck out of the house. I played enough golf. Mind you, five years we’ve been off. You can’t do that legally. It’s against corporate law in California. I don’t know what everybody does outside this state, but you cannot be an officer an a shareholder and not work your company. It’s called breach of fiduciary duty. That I know. And I’m surprised he’s not knowing that.”

Blotzer also addressed DiMartini’s September 25th statement in which the guitarist said that he was “totally against” Blotzer’s decision to use the Ratt name for the drummer’s “tribute band” and was taking steps “to prevent any further misuse” of the brand.

“I saw that thing that he put out on Blabbermouth, or wherever it came from — somebody sent it to me,” Blotzer said. “[Warren wrote], like, ‘I’m against this and [Blotzer] called to ask me if he could do this. And I said, ‘Be Bob’S Cellat.” It’s, like, I didn’t call you to ask you anything. I called to ask him if he saw the video… I’ve asked him a hundred times in the last five years when the guys didn’t wanna play, ‘Do you wanna get a band together?’ We had a very famous singer that wanted to join this band, and he wouldn’t even have a part of it, or talk about it. He’s, like, ‘If it’s the original band, I’m in.’ Even though he knows Stephen’s condition in the last few tours weren’t very productive, to put it lightly. So why aren’t you ready to switch gears and go? We did it for seven and a half years without the original guys — just him and I. So whatever his reasons are, I don’t know. But him stopping me is a direct aggressive move to stop me from earning a living with my company — that’s also his company too, but if he chooses to sit it out, that’s his choice. But I’m bringing it to the fans. When people come to the gig, they are so excited, they love it. They have a great time.”

Bobby Blotzer’s version of Ratt is made up of Josh Alan (Sin City Sinners), Scotty Griffin (ex-L.A. Guns), Doc Ellis (Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate) and 22-year-old guitar hero Blaze.

On a related note, original Ratt bassist Juan Croucier is also performing songs from the band’s catalog under the name Ratt’s Juan Croucier. Some fan filmed footage of their debut show Michigan was posted online and can be seen here.

additional source: blabbermouth.net

ORIGINAL GUNS N’ ROSES DRUMMER STEVEN ADLER SAYS THAT DUFF MCKAGAN “DOESN’T THINK I’M COOL AND THAT I AM NOT THAT GREAT A DRUMMER.” ADDS SLASH “DOESN’T BELIEVE I HAVE 21 MONTHS SOBER”

Original Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler was Eddie’s guest on the September 28th broadcast of Sirius/XM show, Eddie Trunk Live. Excerpts from the interview appear below, transcription courtesy of Blabbermouth.net.

When asked if he knows anything about a rumored reunion of Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction lineup, Adler told Eddie Trunk, “Nothing. Even if it was happening, I don’t think Slash would tell me, because he knows how excited I get and that I would probably say something before I should. I would be the last one to know.”

He later continued, “I love those guys, and I always will, but Duff, he doesn’t think I’m cool..He doesn’t think I’m a cool guy. This is what people tell me. And he doesn’t think I’m cool and that I’m not that great of a drummer. And Slash, he doesn’t believe that I have 21 months and 21 days sober. He doesn’t believe it. I don’t know why, but they forget that at one time in their life, they were doing drugs and drinking and they were f–king up. They forget that they were like that too. Duff has got 20 years sober or more, Slash has got, like, 11 or 12 years sober, and I’ve got a year, nine months and 21 days. So everybody gets it at a different time. I’m just thankful I got it.”

“….”They don’t think I’m cool and they don’t think I can play drums that great and they don’t think I’m sober. Duff, he has a right, in a way, but, like I said, he forgets where he came from too. But we did do some shows [together] in Japan [in 2013], and Duff invited [Steven’s current band] Adler to come down, and I was still drinking then. And the second I got to the airport, I made a beeline for the bar, and I just started doing shots of Jäger. And the whole trip I was sick and I was just a mess. And, you know, Duff’s sober and he’s very judgmental and forgetful of where he came from. And he was just so bummed and pissed at me. I mean, the playing part, the shows when we actually were performing, that went all right, but everything else… So I kind of ruined it and gave him the excuse to be able to say, ‘Well, he’s not cool and he’s not that good.’ But I stopped doing that. They stopped doing that. Just because they stopped doing it before I did doesn’t make them any better. We’re all people who have addiction problems. I was just able to get a grip on it later on in life than they did.”

Adler stated that he is still in touch with Slash but that it is difficult to get him to meet up. “I’m always trying to get [Slash] to go to Crossroads, this vegan restaurant. I [tell him], ‘Get your girlfriend and come meet me and my wife over… And John 5. I say, meet me and John 5 and Rita over at Crossroads for brunch or dinner.’ [And he writes back] ‘Ehh, I can’t. I’m working.’ I’m going, ‘You’ve gotta be home way more than that. Just come meet with me. Let’s go have a cup of coffee.’

Adler also expressed frustration over the fact that so many world-famous musicians, including Guns N’ Roses, cannot seem to overcome personal differences and reunite for the sake of their fans.

“I don’t understand what the problem is,” he said. “We’re just rock bands. We all started practicing in our garage or our bedroom. We met each other, and we started playing in our garage, then we worked on songs. This is what we wanted to do. Our dreams came true. I don’t know why it’s so difficult for people that have been successful and still can moderately successful…Of course, nobody’s gonna be like they were in the ’80s; that was our generation. It’s a new generation now of music and people and kids. But there are bands like Bon Jovi and Metallica and the Guns N’ Roses reunion; [if that were to happen] that would be huge.”

Adler added: “I don’t get it. We just play music. We’re living our dream. Why does everybody have to be such a dick and so fucking crazy? It’s, like, hey, we play music. When we’re together, we play it really great. Let’s just do it. What’s the problem?”

additional source: blabbermouth.net

SOUNDGARDEN FRONTMAN CHRIS CORNELL SEARCHES FOR A “HIGHER TRUTH” ON HIS FOURTH SOLO ALBUM

Greg Prato of the Long Island Pulse spoke with Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell about new solo album, Higher Truth, and other topics. The interview appears in its entirety below. A video for the song Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart also appears below.

Pulse: What are some differences between creating songs for Soundgarden and a solo album?

Cornell: Soundgarden is something that you sort of write into. You imagine what this band is, and what it means, and that identity kind of changed over the years. And then up until this album, really, I think writing solo songs has always been whatever I feel like. There was no identity to worry about. In Higher Truth I clearly had a goal in terms of writing—all the songs needed to work in an acoustic context, stripped down entirely to just acoustic guitar and singing. And if they didn’t work that way, then they weren’t going to make it on the album.

Pulse: Looking back on the grunge movement, do you feel it was the last significant one in rock music?

Cornell: It could feel that way to me, but I’m viewing it from a different vantage point than maybe, somebody who’s 15 years old and just discovering rock. To me, there’s always two ways to look at it. One is, it is kind of a guitar, bass and drum thing. These instruments were accessible, anyone could pick them up and make a song. So it has to be a grassroots/blue-collar/homemade thing. And I think that’s what hip-hop became. [Anyone] can sit in his bedroom with a laptop and make a record, and it’s grassroots, it’s homemade—it’s all the things that rock music was when I was a teenager. But if you want to look at the sort of guitar/ bass/drums/longhair/white person version, then yeah, I think Seattle is sort of the last great cultural shift in traditional rock music.

Pulse: Grunge was similar to psychedelic rock of the late 60s and punk of the mid 70s because it went beyond the music—it affected fashion and even political outlook. Can these broad-sweeping movements happen again?

Cornell: It was the sort of purging of a lot of ingredients that started with pop culture that then spilled over into a lifestyle. I think we still have different movements or subgenres of music, it’s just that now it becomes so scattered and fractured that it’s smaller groups. And they don’t make one big sweeping impact. There isn’t enough time now for the spore to culture. The bacteria won’t grow enough to actually become an illness and take over and change everything. We move on. And that next clique is the sort of antiseptic that wipes out whatever it is that was about to start.

Pulse: Outside of playing live, how do you connect with your audience?

Cornell: One of the great things about being able to connect with fans through social media is to remember these are real people. That part really draws you in. It can become kind of isolating when you’re able to just focus on one thing and your life’s passion all the time. But sometimes, we get distant from what the music can actually do. And social media can remind me of that.

Higher Truth was released on September 18th through Universal Music Group.

source: lipulse.com

FORMER RATT BASSIST JUAN CROUCIER DEBUTS HIS VERSION OF THE BAND IN MICHIGAN, FAN POSTED VIDEO ATTACHED

Ratt’s Juan Croucier made its live debut this past Thursday, September 24th at the Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

As previously reported, Ratt’s Juan Croucier is made up of Juan Croucier (Ratt), Pete Holmes (Black N’ Blue), Mike Moore and Toni Aleman. The band will be playing songs from the Ratt catalog, exclusively. Read more here.

Ratt has been having some issues as of late. Drummer Bobby Blozter claims that he has taken control of the Ratt brand, forcing Guitarist Warren DiMartini to release his own statement declaring that Blozter is unauthorized to use the band’s name. Further more, former Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy has launced a solo career. He released a video for the song, I Can’t Wait, on June 8th. Click here to watch it.

BASSIST BILLY SHEEHAN DISCUSSES THE NEW WINERY DOGS ALBUM, HIS CONNECTION TO MICHAEL SCHENKER/UFO AND DAVID LEE ROTH

Ruben Mosqueda of Sleaze Roxx spoke with bass virtuoso Billy Sheehan about the Winery Dog’s new album, Hot Streak and other topics. Excerpts from the interview appear below.

Sleaze Roxx: When you guys set out to write for the debut album, you had a massive writing session. When you set out to write for Hot Streak — was it done in similar fashion or did you each come in with ideas?

Billy Sheehan: Oh, it was similar to what we did the first time. As you go along; as a player, musician and writer — you always get new ideas. I can’t say that I documented any of the ideas but I did have them in my head. We played over 100 shows together on the last tour. We developed this instinct towards one another and how we play. So, while we approached the writing for this record the same as the last time around, it was different because we had a lot of experience playing together. We experimented more. We took a lot of left turns here and there… We could have done the “smart business thing” and done the first record all over again. I think a lot of bands often do [that] but I think fans see right through that. I think we took some chances and pushed ourselves as musicians and writers.

Sleaze Roxx: It’s an eclectic record no question. When you guys are in writing mode, do you guys have the live performance in mind?

Billy Sheehan: Well, for us if we can’t pull it off live between the three of us in a writing session, we certainly couldn’t do it live in front of an audience. We don’t rely on tracks and things like that. I think the studio has become the “5th Beatle” to a lot of bands. They have all these programs and capabilities that they get caught up in building this “beast” they can’t really control anymore. Then they can’t perform live without the use of tracks that play along with the band as you perform live. We don’t use tracks. We’ve never used tracks. I’ve been in bands that have used tracks — it’s not my thing. So to answer your question, the way we write it is the way we play it and we think of it “live” because we’re going to have to perform it.

Sleaze Roxx: I don’t have the liners since I have an advance copy of your new album. Are the songs written by all three of you exclusively or did you bring in outside writers to help on Hot Streak?

Billy Sheehan: No outside writers. It’s the three of us hammering things out in the studio. We haven’t said no to it though. I would prefer that we do it ourselves. If you bring outside writers, it becomes this “thing” with publishing and you’re open to possible lawsuits and things of that nature. I went through that with Mr. Big when we wrote To Be With You. We had a guy that co-wrote the song with us. He got his money but somehow he felt entitled to join us on stage to perform the song! You have to keep in mind this is a guy whom I’ve never met in my life (laughs)! He went to the press and told them how awful we were and how terrible we were — it really complicates things.

Sleaze Roxx: Since you brought up To Be With You — as a Mr. Big fan, I was a bit upset that people came on board based on that song when it wasn’t really an accurate representation of the band. I saw it similar to what happened with Extreme. What’s your take on that song now?

Billy Sheehan: Yeah, I hear what you’re saying but I love To Be With You. I love singing it and I love playing it. I think people think of Paul Gilbert and I and they think “shred, shred, shred.” It’s like “shred this, shred that, shred the other thing!” I remember Tommy Lee was at a rehearsal studio where we were rehearsing at the time and he saw us and started shouting “shred, shred, shred!” He was really fucking annoying. I remember I said “Hey, Tommy how are you doing?” And he responded by yelling “shred, shred, shred!” I was like “f–k you!” I didn’t say that to him but I was thinking “f–k you dude!” So that’s why I was so glad for To Be With You. Here’s your “shred, shred, shred!”’ It’s number one bro — for three weeks (laughs)!

Sleaze Roxx: You have this [Michael] Schenker/UFO connection which I find fascinating. You demoed songs which would later go on to be part of the first MSG album, right?

Billy Sheehan: That’s correct. They flew me to London to be their bass player and the drummer at the time was Denny Carmassi who you know played with Montrose. So we spent two weeks there working on the songs. We demoed them and were ready to go into the studio and the whole thing fell to pieces. Michael is a great guy and all but at that time it was a case of too much intoxication, a lot of pressure coming at him from a lot of different people. I honestly feel that at that time, he wasn’t able to cope with that kind of pressure. So Denny and I packed up and left and we never went back. There were bootlegs of the original sessions that we did later on that were on CD. Michael later released the record with the tracks that we recorded! Which I would have liked to been asked permission, which at the time I didn’t think was cool. Later on, I didn’t care so much. Michael is a really cool player. I love his work with UFO and it just kind of fell apart. UFO called me after that when they were having problems with Pete Way. They knew of me because Talas had opened up for UFO in Buffalo [New York] once. They were on tour and they were heading down to the border as Buffalo is on the border there. I recall that there were a couple of support acts and one of the bands got held up at the border so they needed another band and they had Talas open for them.

Sleaze Roxx: With UFO, Pete Way had some issues when you stepped in. Was there any talk of you joining UFO full-time?

Billy Sheehan: Yeah, that was the plan. It was to do the tour and then remain with the band. I like to have a glass of wine once in awhile [but] other than that I haven’t even had an aspirin since like 1974 and I don’t use drugs. It’s just not my thing. I don’t get so drunk to the point that I just don’t know where I am. I like to drink, I like the feeling but never to the degree where I don’t know where I am or what my name is. I just can’t be around stuff like that and there’s a work ethic involved too. I learned the whole UFO setlist front and back and I’m ready to rehearse with the band and at 4:00 pm, everyone shows up, we play for about 45 minutes and we take a “break.” They head to the pub and don’t return until about 8:00 pm. They’re too drunk to do anything but they manage to fumble their way the rest of the rehearsal. So we had two days of rehearsal and we hadn’t gone through a single song! It was incredible! Finally, I urged them to get it together because we had a set to rehearse. It’s sad because I really love those guys. Phil Mogg is a great singer and fantastic guy but sometimes the stuff that happens behind the scenes can be really sad. I was so prepared to be a part of that band but I just couldn’t do it.

Sleaze Roxx: We know the story of Talas opening up for Van Halen which is how you popped up on [David Lee] Roth’s radar when it came time for him to form the band that would record Eat ‘Em & Smile. It was in fact a band was it not?

Billy Sheehan: We were a band. Our pictures were on the album liners. We were in the interviews. We were in the videos. He was very generous. We were like “The Dave Gang” — we hung out together, we went out to clubs. I still keep in touch with Steve [Vai] and Gregg [Bissonette]. In fact Steve, Gregg and I had dinner a couple weeks ago just to reminisce about our time together. I jammed with Steve recently. People heard that we were going to jam at this club and all these people crammed into this club to watch us. It was a blast! I love the time with David Lee Roth.

Sleaze Roxx: Was there or has there ever been discussion of you, Steve and Gregg working together on something?

Billy Sheehan: Not really — not that there’s been no discussion. I haven’t really thought about it — maybe some day, we’ll be able to play together.

Sleaze Roxx: When did things begin to unravel with the Roth situation. I know you played a part in the follow-up Skyscraper — that was a really slick album. It was departure from we had heard on Eat ‘Em. I think shortly thereafter the completion of the album, you left.

Billy Sheehan: I felt that the tone of the relationship within the band changed. It was no longer a band. There was a dividing line between band and management. I think stylistically, it was a different record. I give Dave credit for giving it a try to mesh dance music with rock music. Unfortunately, the wall between dance music and rock music makes The Berlin Wall look like a picket fence. I’ll give you an example. We play Europe and we finish playing the gig at a club and they flip the room and turn it into a dance club. There are times that our fans are hanging around after the show because they’ve had too much to drink or maybe they want to catch the band — one sure fire way to clear a room is to play dance music (laughs)! You should see how quickly all the rock people run out of the venue (laughs)! Again, I have to give Dave credit. He tried — had he succeeded, he would have been called a genius. That bass line pulse type stuff just isn’t my thing. Dave predicted that dance music would be huge and damn is it ever (laughs)!

Read more at Sleaze Roxx.

source: sleazeroxx.com

JOEL HOEKSTRA’S 13 PREMIERES THIRD SINGLE “LONG FOR THE DAYS,” ALBUM OUT OCTOBER 16TH

Joel Hoekstra’s 13’s has released their third single, called Long For The Days, from their forthcoming album Dying To Live, which will be released October 16th on Frontiers Music Srl. Watch it below.

“Long For The Days is a song about reflection and regret over a relationship gone badly,” explains Joel. “It’s a good old-fashioned, classic-rock style track that captures elements of some of my favorite bands (I’ll let you figure them out!). Vinny Appice (drums) and Tony Franklin (bass) lay it down while Derek Sherinian (keys) provides the right sounds and parts with tasteful perfection. Russell Allen delivers one of my favorite vocal performances EVER and Jeff Scott Soto sings some amazing backgrounds to support them. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing/recording it!”

To listen to other songs from this release, please click on ther highlighted song titles.

Until I Left You
Anymore

Dying To Live features an all-star cast of rockers including Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Russell Allen (vocals), Tony Franklin (bass),Vinny Appice (drums), and Derek Sherinian (keyboards), and will be available via Frontiers Music SRL on Friday, October 16th.

Joel Hoekstra is a guitarist in the legendary Whitesnake and is also well known for his work with Trans Siberian Orchestra, Night Ranger and the hit show Rock of Ages.

Pre-order Dying To Live at iTunes and Amazon.