MICK SWEDA On His Latest Return To BULLETBOYS: 'We Have A Bit Of A Legacy And We All Wanna Finish It Off On A Great Note'

In a new interview with Matt Bingham of the Z93 radio station, BULLETBOYS members Marq Torien (vocals) and Mick Sweda (guitars) spoke about the latest reunion of the band's classic lineup, in which they are joined by Lonnie Vencent (bass) and Jimmy D'Anda (drums). Regarding his return to the group, Mick said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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."

The classic lineup of BULLETBOYS will play its first two shows back together this Friday, December 19 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois and on Saturday, December 20 at The Vault in Saginaw, Michigan. BULLETBOYS are also scheduled to perform on December 28 at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go on the famed Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California.

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!"

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 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.