POISON Drummer: 'We Are Some Persevering Sons Of Bitches'

August 10, 2011

Joseph Hudak of TimesLeader.com recently conducted an interview with POISON drummer Rikki Rockett. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On POISON's Pennsylvania roots:

"I still have a connection to PA. It's a great place to grow up, filled with really good people. I'm proud to be a PA boy.

"When we first started, we couldn't get into bars, let alone play them, so we would rent VFW halls and skating rinks and go to Maryland to play bars there, where the drinking age was 18. That's how I can always flush out who actually came to see us. They'll go, 'Man, I used to come see you guys play a bunch of bars in PA.' No, you didn't!"

On why he thinks POISON has endured:

"I've thought about this long and hard. And I think it's all about perseverance. We are some persevering sons of bitches. That's what got us here in the first place, and that's what keeps us here. It's knocking against the wall over and over again until you get through. And we've never lost our sense of that. . . The music has withstood the test of time, and that's a huge part of [POISON's longevity]. You can say they sounded a little trendy [in the '80s], but not really. The song structures are really more like '70s song structures."

On touring with MTLEY CRE:

"I'm not trying to show up MTLEY CRE. I don't look at what Tommy Lee does and then try to steal something from him. It's just not like that. And he doesn't do that. They have their thing, and we have ours.

"MTLEY brings their own catering people, and they always have vegetarian stuff every day. I am accommodated for very well out here.

"I had a mom who was very compassionate, and I kept that in mind as I grew up. I don't want to be involved in some of the things people do to animals. I'd rather rescue them and do things to save them. That's how I'd prefer to live my life."

On not taking his legacy too seriously:

"I've always told this band, 'Listen, your name is always going to be affiliated with POISON. It can either be a cross to bear or a beaming light, so you might as well make the best out of it. If I got in a car wreck and died today, it doesn't matter what I have done in my life, it'll say: 'Rikki Rockett of POISON.' That's what it's going to read."

Read the entire interview from TimesLeader.com.

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