JIMMY D'ANDA On Latest Reunion Of BULLETBOYS' Original Lineup: 'We're In A Better Place Than We've All Been'

The original BULLETBOYS lineup consisting of Marq Torien (vocals),Mick Sweda (guitars),Lonnie Vencent (bass) and Jimmy D'Anda (drums) — returned to the live stage for the first time in more than four years on December 19 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois. The band also played on December 20 at The Vault in Saginaw, Michigan and on December 28 at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go on the famed Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California.

Speaking to Izzy Presley and Mike Dawson of the Another FN Podcast, D'Anda stated about the BULLETBOYS' latest reunion (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, actually, we had reunited — just me, Lonnie and the singer, Marq, and we had a guitar player that was sitting in for a minute... And Mick had a change of heart and wanted to come back into the fold. So that worked out. So we have all original members, and we've done three shows thus far, which is really kind of cool."

Jimmy continued: "Playing music, you guys, I think we all know this now, it's a gift, man. You don't deserve this. But I will say for the first time in a long time, we're in a better place than we've all been. And I think it had to take age. I think we had to get older. I'm not saying anybody's more spiritual or fucking saw the light. I do believe we got older and we looked around and we went — and Lonnie was the one that said it, he said, 'Jimbo, how much time do we have? Seriously? If you just look at the clock, how much more time?' I go, 'Lonnie, You're preaching to the choir. You're right.' But it's been good. So [we've done] three shows [so far] with the full lineup."

After Izzy noted that it must be more "fun" than before for Jimmy and his BULLETBOYS bandmates to be sharing the stage again, the drummer concurred. "You're a hundred percent right," D'Anda said. "Right now it's not as fun as it's going to be, and I'll tell you why. Because right now — it's just like any time somebody gets back with an ex. We have to just kind of get re-used to each other. I mean, on stage, don't get me wrong, on stage — we try to talk about it, the band, we are all backstage going, 'Why does this sound the way it sounds?' I've played with George Lynch and Warren DeMartini, some of the greatest guitar players in the history of the fucking planet, and when I play next to Mick Sweda, it's a completely different animal. And I know it has a lot to do with we started out together, we created something together and we have this thing that when we were in the studio and rehearsals and so on. But I will say right now it's good, but it's gonna get better, 'cause we're gonna get a little bit of a staff involved, somebody to help, do the heavy lifting on the road. That's gonna take a big part of the stress out of it. And we're just hang out and go do shows, have food, see other bands play, come home to our families, a check comes in the mail, and then that's it. Rinse, wash, repeat. And no more bullshit."

Jimmy continued: "We've all said this, and I'll be honest. I've have never aired dirty laundry in my fucking life about my band 'cause there's no sense in it. I don't wanna hear Robert Plant talk shit about Jimmy Page. So I've never talked shit about anyone in this band. But I will tell you right now, this band right now is probably in the best place because we've set some rules up. We've said, 'You guys, no more fighting, no more yelling, no more 'fuck yous'. None of that shit's gonna happen now. If there's a problem, if there's an issue, let's discuss it. If we can't resolve it, let's turn around and walk away until the answer shows itself.' So in that sense, we're already off to a better start than we have been in our past at all."

Asked if "the same old drama" was one of the reasons the BULLETBOYS' last reunion, which lasted from mid-December 2019 until January 2022, fell apart, Jimmy said: "Well, unfortunately, we tried to do it during COVID. And in that instance there was already so many kind of barricades up for the band per[sonally], and so we just couldn't really sit down and have discussions. And really, the truth was we didn't kind of go back and clear some of the air up. One of the first things that me and the singer, Marq, did is we went to a Mexican restaurant that we both have grew up by, [and] we sat there and I said, 'Marq, I'm gonna say some words that might hurt you, but I mean it out of love because I want this thing to work and I don't wanna set us up for failure like we did before. So let's begin this process. You can say the things. I can say the things, but these are not coming from a bad place. They're coming from a place that I want to heal from this. I don't wanna have all that shit hanging over my shoulder where I'm pissed at you and you're pissed at me about stuff.' So we did do that, but does that mean it prevents any future problems? No, it does not. We're human beings and we're subject to fail in a lot of places in our lives. So that's why in the talking process, and nobody gets fucking angry and nobody does this stuff, I think kind of eliminating those things, and if we just go, 'Well, I'm not happy now, bro. I'm gonna walk away. Okay, I'm out.' And just walk away for that time period so we can then still know, 'Okay, we're still a band. And we're gonna move on.'"

Jimmy went on to say that he is hoping BULLETBOYS' current reunion is able to stay intact for many years to come. "Honestly, I would love to finish my career with BULLETBOYS," he explained. "I was 19 years old when I did the first BULLETBOYS album. I would love to say from here, from 58 to 68 or 70, I can say, 'That's it. I finished my career with the band that I started with,' and I will be a fucking happy person."

After Presley speculated that playing live shows with BULLETBOYS will only "get a lot funner" in the coming months, Jimmy said: "I really do believe that, because I think that just the fact that we're being honest with each other. That's one of the things that a lot of bands, and we all know this… If it was easy for bands to reunite and stay reunited, you'd see every fucking band out there doing it. And there's a reason that there's so few. I mean, if you guys think about it, outside of right now us BULLETBOYS, there isn't one band from the '80s that's all original… I'm telling you —it is very, very difficult, because it's not only personalities, but it's egos and it's feelings and people get hurt and it's a 'fuck you' and a 'fuck you'. And then they decide to make that entire decision reflect their business career. And don't get me wrong, I'm guilty of it. I've done it before. I think a lot of us have done it, but I know that if you could set up some guidelines to help each other, kind of guardrails, if you will, so no one fucking goes over the edge, I think we're able to have some, some luck, some hope, some success in staying together. So that's what I'm hopeful for. So, again, we're trying to do this now with BULLETBOYS. I hate this be so morbid, but you kind of have to put that in the back somewhere, like, 'You guys, there's only so much time we got on planet Earth, so let's do our best, please. Let's not fuck this up, you guys. Let's just do our best.' And that's where we are right now."

Last month, Torien and Sweda spoke to Matt Bingham of the Z93 radio station about the latest reunion of BULLETBOYS' classic lineup. Regarding his return to the group, Mick said: "I love playing with these guys. And we've come to some agreements that weren't necessarily on the table before. And suffice to say that it's pretty momentous for all of us, and we're looking forward to sharing that with everybody, especially people that have never had a chance to see us."

Added Marq: "Absolutely. I concur with that. I'm just so excited that… I'm just happy that Mick's back. [Laughs] I love him so much. He's the sound of this band. And me and him are like the Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, David Lee Roth [and] Edward Van Halen, Jimmy Page [and] Robert Plant — we're those two guys… It's just something that I personally have been wanting to do, is to work with Mick. We've had different situations where we've agreed to disagree and we've disagreed, but I think we've found common ground. And the common ground is love. The common ground is the original band. And … to come back and to do something really special, not basically, I'm saying for myself for myself, but for the fans. The fans have been with us for so many years and given us so much love and been waiting for this to happen again. So, I'm ecstatic. I'm so excited. I can't wait to be playing with the fellas and be up there with Mick. And that sound that Mick has, that guitar, I need to have that so I can do what I can do. It's just this chain of events, magical chain of events that have to incur to make the sound of this amazing band, and we're getting another shot at it. And I just feel like so much humility and positivity in moving forward and bringing something that people haven't seen in a long time. And I'm just really excited about getting up with Mick again and doing what we do, and the fellas. And let's go."

Asked how something like a reunion of the BULLETBOYS' classic lineup happens at this point in time, Mick said: "Well, it's usually a number of phone calls and reaching out and people being vulnerable and saying, 'Hey, man, I really wanna get this back together.' And there was always reticence on everybody's part, because we were all kind of in our own flows. And so I give Marq a lot of credit because he's been doing his thing for a long time and I've been kind of spectating. And he came to me with, like he said, love and caring and sincerity, and everybody else felt the same way. And when that happens, you don't let it go. I mean, we have a bit of a legacy and we all wanna finish it off on a great note. And we wanna put this thing back together and show people the chemistry and the magic that I don't think any of us have with any other bands. I mean, we've all played with other guys, but when we get together, and I'm not saying this just from my own perspective, I hear this from people all the time, like, 'You guys have something that just isn't out there anymore.' And I think it's only fair that we share that."

Added Marq: "Absolutely. A hundred percent. I a hundred percent agree. It's something very special and magical that the four of us have that sometimes, maybe individually we don't really realize that. And I give Mick all the credit too.

"I've opened up my heart, and sometimes you have to really come with empathy and love and to find common ground and to have to bring something back where other bands aren't really doing this right now," Torien explained. "So it's a challenge. Challenges are always good because they always breed positivity and moving forward and stuff. And I'm just ecstatic that the four of us were able to do this and to… How would you say? There's strength in numbers. And Mick is a hundred percent right about the legacy that we do have. And I agree with Mick — it's time for people to see this. And we're not getting any younger. [Laughs]"

Asked if they would agree with Jimmy's previous comment, when he rejoined the BULLETBOYS in October, that the recent death of Ozzy Osbourne was a partial catalyst for the decision to bring the classic lineup of BULLETBOYS back together, Mick said: "Yeah, it's true. I'm sure that was a catalyst. I totally respect Jimmy's position on that.

"There's not an infinite amount of time left for us, and we have to put those differences… I mean, there's gonna be differences, obviously," Mick admitted. "There are four very energetic personalities in this band. And I think we're all at a point where we can manage those and understand that the end result is worth whatever struggles there are to get there."

Marq added: "I think I've said this before too — not to be redundant with Mick, but with all due respect — we are the makers of our own demise, the four of us, and we are the makers of our own success. It's something that I really believe in.

"When you get older you start thinking about different things in your timeline about being on this planet and when the Lord's gonna call your name," he continued. "That's what I think about. So I played with a lot of gentlemen. There's been some really good guys, but there's been some really hard times with people that don't have vetted interest into the brand. What I do know, with myself, Mick, Lonnie and Jimmy, that we have vetted interest into the brand. The brand's the most important, to me, and that we're going to be able to share this, the four of us, and moving forward is… I keep on telling about the challenge… How can I say this? I know Mick's a reader like I am. I do a lot of reading and a lot of research, and one of the main things is to find common ground and to find a parlay and to be able to sit down and negotiate situations. And sometimes it's going to take time, but if we can all agree and find common ground, I think that that's the best thing. And the common ground is our music."

Sweda's bandmate in THE ROCKETT MAFIA, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett, confirmed that he was aware of Mick's return to the BULLETBOYS, writing on his Facebook page: "Yes, of course I know about this for those of you asking. Mick is desirous to continue with THE ROCKETT MAFIA, he assured me. If, however he finds success and happiness again with the BULLETBOYS, I'll be the first to cheer him on!"

Prior to the St. Charles show, the original BULLETBOYS lineup of Torien, Vencent, D'Anda and Sweda last reunited back in mid-December 2019 and lasted for a couple of years before Sweda announced in January 2022 that both he and D'Anda were exiting the band. In December 2024, Vencent rejoined BULLETBOYS once again.

After the original BULLETBOYS lineup's most recent full reunion disintegrated almost four years ago, Sweda said in an interview that he would "never do anything with BULLETBOYS again."

D'Anda broke the news of his return to the BULLETBOYS in an October 13, 2025 post on his Facebook page. He wrote at the time: "Everyone knows it's a monumental task for bands to reunite, especially bands that have been fractured for years… Having said that, I felt that there was unfinished business with my old band BBOYS and after losing OZZY , that shook me to my core … So Lonnie, Marq and myself sat down at SALSA AND BEER and had a heartfelt moment of honesty and cleared some years of resentment ( witch we had never done before). I then sat down with Mick, the original guitarist, and asked if he’d come back, he had no desire to do so, and understandably so."

BULLETBOYS formed in 1988 at the very peak of the Los Angeles glam metal movement. As a collection of talented musicians, BULLETBOYS were able to quickly capture the attention of music fans around the world. Unlike other rockers of the day, the BULLETBOYS possessed more hard rock-blues fusion than pure hair metal. Thanks to comparisons to the likes of AEROSMITH and VAN HALEN, talent scouts came running and the band quickly received their first major label contract.

BULLETBOYS' self-titled debut was released in 1988 via Warner Bros. and peaked at number 34 on the Billboard 200. The album spawned two hit singles, a cover of the O'JAYS classic "For The Love Of Money" and "Smooth Up in Ya", both of which charted on the Mainstream Rock chart and saw regular airplay on MTV. BULLETBOYS went on to release two more albums, 1991's "Freakshow" and 1993's "Za-Za", before splitting up.