Former Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy says he walked out on the band for the last time because he felt three decades of “volatile” living was enough.
He believes the notoriously unstable band changed for the worse when guitarist Robbin Crosby died in 2002 – but his offer of returning for a final album remains open.
Pearcy, who quit in April, tells Inappropriate Earl, “30 years is enough time to be in something that’s so volatile. Things weren’t proper.”
He reports he’s enjoying life more with his solo band, although he’s not planning to stage any large-scale tours. “There’s less drama and there’s less overall business structure,” he says. “It’s more back to basics. I just like getting out there once in a while.”
The singer describes Crosby’s death after a heroin overdose as “the end of the Ratt tale, so to speak,” adding, “I knew it would never be the same. No disrespect to whoever else stepped in. It’s just not the same – and hence all the catastrophe that followed.”
Speaking about the chance of recording a follow-up to 2010’s Infestation, Pearcy says, “If it’s the four original guys, that would be cool. If not, you’ll get what you got before. We’ll see.”
However, if it doesn’t happen, he reflects, “I’m happy with my legacy. We do very well for ourselves, so it’s all good. I can live with it and move on. The heyday is over with.”
Drummer Bobby Blotzer reacted to Pearcy’s departure earlier this year by accusing him of being “delusional” – but added he’d welcome “the nice Stephen” back into the fold.
additional source: classicrockmagazine.com
39 Responses
The 4 Original members ? Is Steve saying he doesn’t want Carlos there ,or is he saying he wants to make sure Juan is there? I thought Infestation was great and would love to see a new Ratt album with all original members, but please include Carlos. The one and only single guitarist album Ratt recorded sucked.
RATT & ROLL “Out Of The Cellar”, and come “Back For More” Stephen. Ratt needs you as much as you need them, so resolve your “Lack Of Communication”, and keep Ratt running “Round And Round”! 🙂
Crap tunes will deflate any new album. Ask Carlos about it with Quiet Riot. “No large scale tours”. Since when is Pearcy in a “large scale tour”? The day he played that restaurant outside Boston some years back was when I knew Ratt-less he’s help-less.
A large scale tour to these guys is a county fair in a small town in ARKANSAS with 20 people in attendance who are there only because the stage is near the bathrooms. Win a stuffed bear throwing darts at balloons or see RATT. Dude I’m going for the bear.
Sadly, you’re fairly spot on. Ratt hasn’t played here in a long time. Stephen did a solo show here a couple of years ago, and there was nobody. A friend of mine went and said there were MAYBE 10 people, and it was advertised well, since it was a Clear Channel show. They made it clear it was Stephen Pearcy: Original Lead Vocalist of Ratt, so you can’t blame the advertising or wording. I would hope they could pull more than 20 as Ratt, though, because I’m pretty much a small-time artist, and I get bigger crowds than that. LOL! Aside from the occasional festival (ex: Rocklahoma, or the now defunct Rock N’ America), the interest for 2nd tier 80’s bands in this area is down. 3rd tier bar bands do okay, since there’s a huge bar/club scene down here. You can go to a Quiet Riot or Winger show at a club here, and it’ll have a pretty good draw. Other than that, the only 80’s bands that get really good crowds are the obvious commercial ones like Bon Jovi.
Pearcy will return when he runs out of money
Which will be in about 2 hours. He can clean pools during the winter.
I agree, Matt.
I’m not sure what the “you’ll get what you got before” comment is supposed to mean. If that means something like “Infestation”, then bring it on! That album rocked! Weren’t they already well into the process of writing and/or recording the followup when he left? I thought Juan Croucier was already on board for that?