Drummer Bobby Blotzer has confirmed he’s taken over the Ratt name following a five-year trademark battle.
He’s moved on without former singer Stephen Pearcy who quit last year and has gathered a lineup consisting of frontman Josh Alan, bassist Scotty Griffin and guitarists Blaze and Doc Ellis, and they will be launching on the Re-Invasion tour across North America in 2016.
The band say in a statement, “After a five-year battle over trademark issues, doing everything he could to appease and re-assemble the band, Bobby Blotzer, the CEO of WBS Inc. has taken control of the Ratt brand. He’s taking his multi-platinum Ratt back on the road, bringing fans the songs they love and shows they’ve missed, continuing to build upon Ratt’s legendary legacy.”
A full run of 2016 dates will be revealed in time.
Pearcy revealed earlier this year that he’d recorded one final song with Ratt before his departure but admitted he could accept it if it never saw the light of day.
additional source: classicrock.teamrock.com
32 Responses
I don’t get the hostility, to be honest. These guys aren’t Led Zeppelin. 20,000,000 people aren’t going to line up for tickets for even the original members (Robbin RIP). I also disagree with the “common wisdom” (which is anything but) that “no one knows who’s up there”. People know. We’re not total idiots, even if it is fun to think every one else is. If Blotz, or Warren, own the name and want to go out under that name, it’s their choice to do it. If you won’t pay for that, then don’t. If someone else does, so be it. Whether it is a drummer or a singer or a bass player or a guitar player, if they have the wherewithal to do it, it’s their prerogative. And it’s your choice to go or not, but speculating whether it’s going to suck or not before it’s ever even heard, I’m not sure that is reasonable. Personally, I wouldn’t go to any of these second- or third-tier shows without at least the song-writer and/or singer present (that’s just my thing) but for me, there are bands I like to see, and if that means a replacement player or even multiple replacement players, so be it. I’m glad to be able to see Kiss or Guns at this point; it’s an excellent night out.
There are many bands – Metallica, Dream Theater, maybe Rush – where the drummer is (or was) absolutely the heart and soul of the band.