Most '80s metal bands that made it big, only to find themselves three decades later on a career resurrection of sorts, wouldn't be happy as an opening act in 2010. In that sense, Ratt isn't your typical Sunset Strip/hair/glam band.
However you refer to them, there's no denying that not only is Ratt refusing to live on their past, but the Los Angeles quintet couldn't be happier to be "Back for More." Literally, one version of Ratt this time. The collective mood shines through in their seventh studio album Infestation, which was released April 20. It's Ratt's first effort since 1999 and is being hailed as a reminder of 1984's Out of the Cellar and 1985's Invasion of Your Privacy, but still has a more modern '80s sound, if you will, with opening rocker "Eat Me Up Alive," "Last Call," "A Little Too Much" and "Take a Big Bite."
Currently moving "City to City" in clubs and theaters as headliners, singer Stephen Pearcy, guitarists Warren DeMartini and Carlos Cavazo, bassist Robbie Crane and drummer Bobby Blotzer will be opening for German greats the Scorpions on their three-year farewell tour on Friday, July 23, at the AT&T Center.
Not long ago, DeMartini and Blotzer were at odds with Pearcy, resulting in the group's Big Three splitting into two factions and going to court over the band's name. In fact, Pearcy's solo version of Ratt played the inaugural South Texas Rockfest in 2008 in West Boerne.
But the band that brought us classic hits "Round and Round," "Lay it Down," "You're in Love," "Body Talk," and "Way Cool Jr." -- just to name a few -- soon put their legal struggles to rest. Cavazo, the former Quiet Riot guitarist, was brought on to replace then-rhythm guitarist (and former Motley Crue replacement singer) John Corabi. And Pearcy came back to the fold, reclaiming the vocal slot that Jizzy Pearl -- who played Backstage Live on March 18 with one version of L.A. Guns -- had kept warm from 2000-06.
Blotzer, now also an author at 51, considers Texas a home away from home. He talked about early Ratt, present Ratt, and the ups and downs in between when I phoned him Wednesday during a tour stop in Cleveland:
Q: It was confirmed this week that Ratt will be here opening for the Scorpions. Do you have any memorable stories from previous trips to S.A.?
A: We're excited for sure to do this tour with those guys. We're old friends. I have a book out, and I talk about those guys. I knew them before I was in Ratt. San Antonio was the first really big arena Ratt ever played. We were invited to open for ZZ Top, while we were in the studio recording Out of the Cellar. We played two shows, and we opened for ZZ one night. We played, I think it was called Sneakers. They treated us great, and the audience received us very well, and that's what started my love for Texas. I lived in Houston for a year-and-a-half and had my own recording studio, producing bands. I couldn't handle the humidity, though. That's why I left back for L.A.. That and being homesick. But I can't wait to get back to Texas. It'll be like a second homecoming.
I gotta tell you that my first concert was Ratt and Poison on June 30, 1987, at Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Two years later, I received my high school diploma on the same stage.
Oh, nice. I remember Poplar Creek.
Q: And of course, Bret Michaels' appendectomy took place here in S.A. last month just prior to his brain hemorrage. I know you're good friends, so is there anything you'd like to say about his plight?
A: He's doing much better. He's obviously laying real low. I haven't talked to him on the phone yet or anything, but through a mutual friend and a statement released, he's beating it. I'm really happy he's fine, for him and his family. I've enjoyed seeing him on "The Apprentice" this season. I watch it every year, and I hope he wins the thing.
Q: What do you like and dislike most about Infestation?
A: The thing I like the most is that everybody likes it, hands down. Everybody's got a buzz about it. To enter the Billboard Top 30 at No. 30 and the Japan charts at No. 5, it's just a trip. I definitely was not expecting that. I thought people would dig it because it's a great record. But with that said, the thing I don't love is that had it come out in 1988, it could've sold six million records. In this day and age, that's not likely. But at 100,000 units in a month, that's pretty promising. At this stage of my career and how long I've been in this band, which is 28 years, to have a platinum or gold record would be a trip.
Q: With an 11-year break between Infestation and the previous, self-titled album, what concerns, if any, did you have going into the recording process?
A: I had no concerns. When we signed the deal (to play and record again) and everybody was geared up, everyone wrote a lot of songs. I wrote seven songs, and two of them made the record. I think we were focused. We had a relaxed atmosphere in the studio, right on the beach in Virginia Beach, and I was completely focused. I was done with my parts in four days.
Q: What did the audition process for Carlos involve, and what does he bring to the band that perhaps Ratt has never had?
A: We had a bunch of guys coming down, but Warren was adamant about getting him. I've always been friends with him, and he's a great guitar player, but I was used to John Corabi as the rhythm guitar player. To have two leads (Cavazo and DeMartini) was a little disconcerting for me. My job is to make the rhythm section solid, and I didn't know if it (bringing in Cavazo) was the right thing. Warren kept pushing for it, and we played it, and it blossomed into the original two-guitar duel that Robbin Crosby and Warren had. He's a really good guy. He came up with the riffs to my two favorite songs on the record, "Eat Me Up Alive" and "Best of Me."
Q: I interviewed David Ellefson of Megadeth in February, just 10 days after he rejoined the band. Of course, he and Dave Mustaine were the backbone of that band for many years, then got to the point where they were suing each other, and now they're somewhat miraculously reunited and touring again -- a similar path followed by you and Stephen. What was the deciding factor in you two coming together again?
A: You know, I think for the kid (in me) being in the band Ratt. It makes for smarter business. I knew all along there would someday be a reconciliation even though when we were in court, it was a war. We (he and DeMartini) won the war, but we had a lot of battles in the press going back and forth, and I regret that. At the time, it was any little thing I could do to put the sting on him, and I'm sure he felt that way about me. But once it was time for the first rehearsal, it was like old times.
Q: During the Jizzy Pearl years, did you ever wonder if it was going to fall apart quickly, because many fans identify a band with the singer's voice and style, and they might not have accepted Ratt without Stephen?
A: No, in all honesty, and no disrespect to Jizzy Pearl, but if I had to do it again -- and I don't plan on it or want to -- the Ratt brand is like a TV show. Every band that replaces their singer and does well, and there are many that do, they get someone that sounds exactly like the (original) singer. I thought Jizzy was close enough to Stephen that it would work, and it did work. We did a lot of good tours. But it wasn't close enough.
Q: What would you like longtime Ratt fans, and perhaps those just getting turned on to the band for the first time with Infestation, to know about your autobiography?
A: The book is something I've thought about, and my friends have encouraged me to do, for many years. I have so many stories, a helluva lot of funny stories. It's really fun and comes from an honest position of my life, and especially my life in Ratt, which is 28 years. It takes you to places you wouldn't normally hear unless you're my friend and we're on a boat or a ski trip sharing stories. It's outside and inside the realm of the music business. Like anybody's life, it has its ups and downs, funny and sad, but it's not a negative book or tabloid. I made sure people weren't going to be embarrassed by anything in the book. It's not tattle tails. It's tales of my life. People really like it a lot. I don't have a major publisher right now, but it's selling really well. Right now you can get it on Amazon.com or Bobby Blotzer.com with a signed picture.
Q: Can you share one of your favorite stories?
A: (Chuckles) We were just talking about the Scorpions, so I'll give you one off the top of my head. One night in 1988, the day before the Monsters of Rock tour with Van Halen, Metallica, Scorpions (Dokken and Kingdome Come) in L.A. at The Coliseum, Matthias Jabs came to my house. We went out on the boat. We left at 4 p.m. from Redondo Beach and drove down the coast to Newport Beach. We went to dinner on the dock, we're laughing, having a ball. On the way back to Redondo Beach, I'm 2 miles off the coast, nice clear water. At the front of the boat, there's a big windshield. I had one section of the roof open to get some air and so that I could look out, keep an eye on things. Me and Matthias were sitting at the helm probably only a foot apart. All of a sudden, this flying fish came out of nowhere and flew between our heads -- and I didn't see it. My friend Larry was like "F---!" Screaming really loud. "You didn't see that?" I'm like, "See what? . . . Dude, you're crazy." But there it was on the deck, my friend's dog was looking at it. Matthias was sitting there and in his German accent, he was like, 'Vwhat? Vfish don't vfly!" He was astounded. We got back and jammed till 7:30 in the morning, and I was like, "Dude, you've gotta get up on stage in six hours."
Q: Any funny behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the "Round and Round" video shoot with Milton Berle?
A: The funny thing was just having Milton Berle in our video, for starters. He pretty much took over the direction of the thing. The guy who was directing it was doing maybe his first or second video, and Milton took over. Even though he was immensely popular in the '40s and '50s, he was still Mr. Television. It was a trip to have someone that huge in our video, and it got MTV to play that thing, which broke the band. I thank MTV and the late, great Milton Berle for that.
Q: Your former bandmate in Ratt and Contraband, Michael Schenker, is scheduled to perform here two days before your show with the Scorpions featuring of course, his brother, Rudolf Schenker. Why didn't Contraband continue beyond one album?
A: The problem was we were on tour with Ratt. I was headlining a Ratt set and playing with Contraband, which for some reason pissed off Warren and Stephen pretty much. It was set up by our co-manager. What happened was Richard Black, the singer, he was telling us the story of how he came up with the band stopping between songs or in the middle of songs, like Axl Rose makes Guns N' Roses stop. It's common knowledge Axl copped Richard's moves from what he does in Shark Island. He would tell us that Axl stole that routine from him, which I thought was a f------ asinine routine in the first place. We were playing one night, and he wanted to stop, and I'm like, 'No, I'm not stopping." So he decides to run off the stage, and I went back there and was like, "What the f--- are you doing? Do you know you just left Michael Schenker, and me -- and I'm naming everyone in the band -- hanging?" So that was pretty much it. He was out of the band at that point.
Q: What did Robbin Crosby's passing teach you about life on the road and in general?
A: I don't know if it taught me anything. It definitely hurt me. It shows me that drugs . . . 'cause he was so involved in a heroin addiction, but at the same time, he was a very educated and intelligent person. I thought I was too smart, but more too scared, to ever try heroin. That doesn't mean I didn't have my share of experiences with other things, but heroin is a thing that's ruined and killed so many people. It taught me that it transcends education and common sense, that he still was not able to kick that habit. It's a shame. A waste of life.
Q: Are you content with Ratt's legacy among all the '80s and glam-metal bands?
A: Absolutely not. Because I think '80s bands as a whole, they carry this hair-band thing. I don't understand it. I don't think we were trend followers. Every person that's reading this interview we're doing can look back as far as grade school, high school, their early 20s and laugh at themselves and what they were wearing. This record pretty much is a redeeming thing for people to take us serious. I want to be taken serious. Maybe we don't write lyrics that think socially like U2 does, but that doesn't mean we don't write in a way that moves people, and we should be taken seriously. But I'm not done. I'm going out fighting. It's a lifelong thing. I'm the drummer of Ratt, and that's what I want to be.
Awesome, Bobby. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this.
Thanks for a great interview, and take care.
- Who: Scorpions with special guests Ratt
- When: Friday, July 23 (8 p.m.)
- Where: AT&T Center
- Tickets: To be announced
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