BRET MICHAELS: POISON To Regroup In 2025 For More Touring And Possibly Some New Songs

Bret Michaels, who spent the summer of 2022 on the road with POISON as part of "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD, has told The Oakland Press that he intends to regroup POISON during 2025 for more touring and possibly some new songs.

"Y'know, back when we started I never knew what would happen, but I never thought it couldn't happen — I just found a way to get it done and enjoyed that," Michaels explained. "My pot of gold is the journey. I've met incredible people. I got to play incredible places, travel the world and play music. I've been through a lot of adversity and finding ways to get by that."

The 60-year-old singer, who was promoting the launch of his "Parti-Gras" 2023 solo tour on July 13 at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, continued: "And I've embraced the changes. I didn't fight the digital world. I didn't say 'no' when they asked me to play country festivals. I'm sincere. I'm passionate. I'm a fan of music, and I appreciate the fans and I come out with the same energy I would bring when I was playing Harpo's or Blondie's — just on a bigger stage and with some better equipment now."

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.

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."