JUAN CROUCIER Says 'Collective Intelligence' Of RATT Bandmembers 'Is Not That High'

Rob Cavuoto of Guitar International recently conducted an interview with former RATT bassist Juan Croucier. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar International: What have you been up to lately with your solo bands and with your recording studio?

Juan Croucier: I have a band called DIRTY RATS, and we play the RATT catalogue and a few original songs that never made it to any of the RATT LPs. It's a three piece. I have Pete Holmes from BLACK 'N BLUE on drums and Johnny Love from LOVE/HATE on guitar. Then, I have another band that I'm working with called the HARDROCK ALLSTARS. It's the same lineup except with Jaime St. James from BLACK 'N BLUE on vocals. For that band we're just doing covers and having a good time. We play locally but hope to start touring more maybe in Vegas or Phoenix. I would love to get out there and play. I'm also working on a solo project similar to LIQUID SUNDAY, and beginning to put together some new songs for it. That's just me and Pete Holmes. I record the bass, guitar and vocals. I handle the engineering and production. I'm a song writer and I have a ton of songs that I need to get recorded and out there. I also want to do an acoustic CD and redo some RATT songs which never made it on the RATT LPs. Maybe call it "Demos From The Ratt Years"! Who knows? I have so many of these RATT demos, it could be a few volumes.

Guitar International: I think the big question was why you turned down the reunion with RATT so many times. What was the decision behind that?

Juan Croucier: Without adding any fuel to already existing fires, we just couldn't reach an agreement. It's no surprise that we had a lot of issues within the band, such as alcohol abuse and various personal issues. So I was of the opinion that it was one thing to have these issues when you're a young man in your twenties, but it's an entirely different thing to have these same issues when you're in your mid-forties. If we can do things intelligently, as respectable businessmen, treating each other with respect and taking advantage of this wonderful thing we've and created, then I'm interested. The longer we negotiated, the more I came to see that nothing has changed. From what you've been reading on the Internet lately, it's obvious. Just to be very clear, I would love nothing more than to be in RATT, let's get that really, really clear. I love what we did and am really proud of what we accomplished. I helped build RATT. Why would I want to walk away from something that successful to play local clubs in Hollywood for a dozen people? I'm being honest here. I would love to be making records and moving forward. But with the personalities involved, we just can't. The collective intelligence of the band is not that high. That's unfortunate and I hate it, but that's what really what prevented us from utilizing RATT to its fullest extent. It really comes down to mutual respect and having boundaries that you don't cross because you're adults. And when there are no boundaries and there is no respect, and someone can lash out at someone for whatever reason, that really damages things. I tried really hard. You have no idea how hard. For 10 years I tried. After a while you just give up. At the end of the day it's a sad thing for the fans. They just want to see the band rock out. It's everything behind the scenes that is so embarrassing and to be a part of that is unbearable, if you're of reasonable and sound mind.

Guitar International: I'm sure you aware of all the recent comments lately by [RATT drummer] Bobby Blotzer against [the band's lead singer] Stephen Pearcy. Looking in at it as an outsider now, what do you make of it?

Juan Croucier: That nothing has changed and they can't contain the problem. There's so much disfunctionality there I wonder why they try. Life is short, and at some point, why are we doing all this for what we're getting?! What recently happened seems unnecessary. When you are going to say something, you need to consider the effect it'll have and what you're looking to accomplish. To besmirch him seems odd. He's your band mate. In any other job, if you made remarks like that you'd probably be terminated. For me it's still embarrassing.

Read the entire interview from Guitar International.