Oli Coleman of the Page Six of the NY Post reports:
…Poison shelved its much anticipated 40th anniversary tour — because lead singer Bret Michaels reportedly wants to earn $6 for every dollar his bandmates earn from the dates…
…“We had a great offer, I thought. But we left the table,” drummer Rikki Rockett told us, “It didn’t work.”
“Really what it came to was [guitarist] C.C. [DeVille], [bass player] Bobby [Dall] and I were all in, and I thought Bret was, but he wanted the lion’s share of the money, to the point where it makes it not possible to even do it. It’s like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can’t work that way.”
He added, “I don’t do this just for the money. I do have a love for this, absolutely. But at the same time, you don’t want to go out and work really hard just to make somebody else a bunch of money…”
..Rockett says he’s not angry with his pal of many years.
“Every member of this band has given me so much privilege in life,” he said, “It’s like hating your parents.”
To celebrate the anniversary, Rockett plans to tour with his side band, Rockett Mafia, and perform the whole Look What The Cat Dragged In album at each show.
And he’s hopeful that Poison can iron out their money issue by next year.
He joked that it that it would be “a perfect Poison folly to do a 41st anniversary tour.”
But when asked if he’d consider finding a replacement for Michaels and doing the tour with a new singer, he said, “It’s not out of the question. But doing that is like surgery: it’s the last resort.”
He added, “I don’t want to do that. I’m not quarreling with Bret… We just didn’t come to agreement. I don’t like it, and I’ll say that, but it’s not like, ‘Let’s put up our dukes.’ I don’t think there’s a better frontman for Poison.”
Rockett is set to be inducted into the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame next week, and he plans to have a memoir, Ghost Notes, out early this year.
Read more at Page Six.
Formed in Pennsylvania in the early 1980s and had a surprise hit with its first album, Look What The Cat Dragged In, and another smash with follow-up Open Up and Say… Ahhh!, which produced number one single Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Their third album, Flesh And Blood, became their best-selling album, with hits songs such as Unskinny Bop, Something to Believe In, and Ride the Wind.
6 Responses
If this is true, I am very disappointed in Brett. Very sad and disgusting.
If true, I would like to know Bret’s reasoning for wanting a majority of the money. Is it selfishness or something noble not being mentioned?
Yep, read my comments on the Rockett Mafia, ^ there’s always 2 sides to the story, but I can’t imagine Rikki is exaggerating the truth, thanks to Bret’s greediness there will be no Poison 40th Anniversary tour! To quote a Poison song, Bret, I “Blame It On You!”
Who does Brett think he is – Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons?
Sheer greed – too bad Brett cannot be grateful the original band hit it off so well they became famous.
Brett absolutely deserves SIX times as much money. I mean, look at the MASSIVE career he has. When you’re so big that you’re only rival is Taylor Swift, you should definitely make six times more than that high school band you played with 40 years ago….Right?….Right?….