You really can tell that summer is here, because love 'em or hate 'em, Poison is back on the road. It looks like the middle of bumf*ck nowehere loves them (sorry Montana).
The Great Fall Tribune really seems to love them. As Eddie Van Halen says in The History of Rock n Roll - "things change, but rock never dies."
Sorry, that was a paraphrase, but I am sure that you know what I mean.
Two decades later, pretty Poison still packs a rockin’ punch During the era, the band sold millions of records and became known for having the most requested videos in MTV history, all the while spawning copycat bands at every tour stop. Twenty years later, Poison continues to rack up highway mileage and pump out albums, the most recent being the all covers record “Poison’d.”
Twenty years ago, rock was dominated by men who teased their hair, wore spandex, lace and lipstick and wrote songs mostly about partying. Perhaps the most notable ambassadors for the genre that would be coined “glam metal” was Poison, led by its enigmatic frontman Bret Michaels.
“We were looking for a record we could go in with Capitol/EMI that would be fun to do. Something that wouldn’t be a battle,” explained Michaels during an interview with the Tribune from his ranch in Los Angeles. “We could all go in and pick a couple of songs that we all liked and rearrange them. Songs we used to cover in bars when we were younger.”
In addition to adding more notable Poison covers like Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite,” and the Loggins and Messina tune, “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” to the album, Poison entered the studio to perform new cover songs from David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones among others.
“You know when you go into the studio and you have fun doing (stuff) the way it’s supposed to be?” Michaels asked rhetorically. “We had a good, creative time making this record. We just wanted to go in and have fun and pick out some stuff that was really interesting for us to do.”
Having fun is key to the band that has experienced more than its share of meltdowns. It was nearly a year ago that the band nearly imploded on stage in front of a packed Atlanta crowd when bassist Bobby Dall flung his guitar at Michaels, injuring the singer’s knee.
“I thought we were gonna go mano y mano, fist-to-fist, good old style,” said Michaels of the now infamous guitarthrowing incident. “He took his green, sharp, pointy Warlock bass off, winged it around like Peter Townshend and then it hit me that he was actually gonna throw it at me and I’m like ‘man, I’m gonna die.’ I went into a karate kick stance, he threw it and the bass caught my knee. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to block all of it and it took a nice chunk out of my leg.”
After the two were separated, Michaels hobbled to the microphone and told the crowd, “this is our last song you may never see us again.”
The tensions that boiled over onstage that night were gone just as quickly as the two made up that same evening.
“Not a couple hours later, they stitch me up and we’re at a truck stop laughing about it.
I had to play in a knee brace the next five shows,” said Michaels. “We have many a laugh about our own exciting, yet ‘Spinal Tap’-ish career.”
Chalk that incident up to an abnormal amount of passion, something that Michaels attributes to the band’s longevity.
“We still argue about songs that are going in the set,” he said. “We’re still fired up, but when that passion works right, that chemistry, it makes for a really great show. That’s the one thing, we’re really good friends that just have the occasional disagreement.”
“I’m still passionate about what I do,” he continued. “I come on stage feeling as excited today as I did when I started.”
The biggest difference between Poison’s touring life today and 1988 is the band’s means of transportation.
“The best thing is we all got our own private tour bus,” Michaels said laughing.
“It keeps us friendly (although) last year we still had our own buses and me and Bob still got in a fight onstage.”
While the band is headlining a nationwide tour with Ratt over the summer, Michaels also will be invading the homes of millions of people during July and August when “Rock Of Love with Bret Michaels” airs on VH1. In the show, 25 women compete to be Michaels’ girlfriend in a “Bachelor”- style reality show.
“It’s gonna be VH1’s biggest show of the summer,” Michaels said of “Rock of Love.”
“I promise this, I will make all rockers proud. The show is insane and bizarre and it’s off the chart. It may push reality to a whole new level.”
In the show, Michaels puts the contestants through a variety of stunts before ultimately voting them out of the house.
“I did everything I wanted to,” he continued. “Motocross.
I got to do football. We played mud football, full-on tackle and whatever team won got to go on a date. It was really fun for me.”
Michaels will be a key component in the upcoming “Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the ’80s” in which Poison’s “Talk Dirty To Me” and “Nothin’ But a Good Time” are featured.
Michaels also contributed his moves to the video game as the singer. “We hooked up the Xbox and I was playing it with my daughter the other day. I suck at the game.
“I even play my own stuff and I’m like ‘hold on a minute.’ It’s a challenging game,” Michaels said.
An avid motocross fan, Michaels makes it a point to stop by the Billings Motorcycle Club whenever possible. He filmed footage for the Poison video, “Ride The Wind,” at the track.
“I ride out there anytime we’re there through town and it’s pretty cool,” Michaels said. “There’s a big, I don’t wanna say creek, but a river that runs beside it. Real beautiful.”
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