BRET MICHAELS: POISON Is 'Never Breaking Up'

Bret Michaels, who will embark on the "Parti-Gras" solo tour this summer, has told People magazine that POISON isn't going anywhere.

"There's a brotherhood there," he said. "We're never breaking up."

Bret also talked about the infamous backstage fistfight between him and POISON guitarist C.C. DeVille at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. Soon after, C.C. DeVille was fired and replaced by Richie Kotzen, who would stay with the group until 1993, and play on POISON's next album, "Native Tongue". Kotzen was later replaced by Blues Saraceno, before DeVille rejoined the band in 1996.

"C.C. and I get along 99 percent of the time," Bret told People. "When it goes bad, it turns into a fistfight. Parting ways [then] was heartbreaking for me, but he's one of my best friends now."

Last August, Michaels told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that POISON fans may have to wait until 2025 to see the band perform again after 2022's "The Stadium Tour".

POISON's long-delayed North American trek with DEF LEPPARD, MÖTLEY CRÜE and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022. "The Stadium Tour" concluded last September in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2018, POISON completed the "Nothin' But A Good Time" tour with CHEAP TRICK and POP EVIL.

POISON's last album of new material was 2002's "Hollyweird". An album of covers, "Poison'd", followed in 2007.

Back in 2018, POISON bassist Bobby Dall said that the band "should" be making a new studio album but claimed that he didn't know if it would happen. "I'm not going to bullshit you and say there's any [new music] in the process [of being made]," he told All That Shreds. "Would I like there to be? Yes. But, it's a matter of everyone having the time. Everybody in the band has other commitments. Some members have younger children than others. So between those two issues, it's difficult, and, you know, [there are] health issues as we get older. Should we be making a new record? Yes, definitely. But will it happen? I don't know."

In a 2017 interview, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett acknowledged that part of the reason the band hasn't been motivated to work on new music has been the fact that fans rarely show interest in hearing fresh material performed live when classic rock groups go on tour. "We could write the second coming of 'Talk Dirty To Me', and I don't know if people wanna hear it or not, and that's a frustrating thing; it really is," he said. "AEROSMITH was able to do it, but not everybody is. I mean, even THE ROLLING STONES have had problems with that in the last few years. So… I don't know. But I do think it's important to stay viable. For the 'über fans,' it's always a really, really good thing. And that's what you do it for — you do it for you, you do it for the real fans, the real true fans."

More recently, Rockett admitted that he and other members of POISON harbor some resentment toward Michaels, whose frequent tours as a solo artist caused the band to take a five-year break from the road.

"I think we need to get away from each other and do other things, but at the same time, I think he spent a little too much time away," Rockett said. "There's definitely some resentment, but not resentment like I want him to fail. I want him to do good. I just want POISON to be important too, and I would like [him] to put a little more energy into POISON."