POISON's RIKKI ROCKETT Launches New Band THE ROCKETT MAFIA

POISON drummer Rikki Rockett has launched a new band called THE ROCKETT MAFIA. Joining him in the group are Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Mick Sweda (BULLETBOYS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals.

Rockett and Gibbs played their first show as THE ROCKETT MAFIA in May at the end of The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride motorcycle charity event in Santa Monica, California. They were joined at the gig by guitarist Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH, CHEVY METAL) and bassist Wiley Hodgden.

Rockett and Gibbs previously played together in a band called DEVIL CITY ANGELS, also featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS) and bassist Eric Brittingham (CINDERELLA). The band released its self-titled debut album in September 2015. Following the recording of "Devil City Angels", Brittingham decided not to continue with the project and his spot was taken by Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE). Around a year later, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham joined forces with guitarist Joel Kosche (ex-COLLECTIVE SOUL) to form the LORDS OF DEVIL CITY. Within a few months, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham relaunched DEVIL CITY ANGELS, only for Eric to exit the project in the summer of 2017 and be replaced by Topher Nelson. In July 2020, DEVIL CITY ANGELS released a new single, "Testify".

When Rockett and Gibbs first jammed together four months ago in preparation for their appearance at the The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, Rikki wrote on social media: "Last night Brandon and I jammed for the first time in very long time in order to grease the wheels for the show. We rolled through some cover tunes, but when we chomped on a some DEVIL CITY ANGELS tunes we both felt some serious passion come back.

"If you don't know, we put the DEVIL CITY ANGELS together several years back and made what I think is a very good record. Tracii Guns along with Eric Brittingham, Brandon and I, as DEVIL CITY ANGELS, made our way across the country playing shows in a single tour bus and trailer, old school. The steamroller was going well until I got cancer. Then Tracii got asked back into L.A. GUNS, etc, etc. Bottom line, the band sidelined and only ever did a couple more corporate gigs. With the exception of 'The Stadium Tour' and a few sit-ins with CHEVY METAL, I have pretty much stayed away from live performances with other artists. I pretty much have always put my heart and soul into everything I do and I had a passion for the DEVIL CITY ANGELS project.

"This is] not the DEVIL CITY ANGELS and it's not CHEVY METAL, this is THE ROCKETT MAFIA, a jam combo that I may put together from time to time to enjoy my love of Rock 'N' Roll with some of my besties in the rock world."

In early 2019, Gibbs and Rockett were embroiled in a public war of words after Gibbs indicated he was no longer involved with DEVIL CITY ANGELS due to the fact that the band was "inactive." Rikki responded that DEVIL CITY ANGELS "went inactive" because he was diagnosed with cancer and suggested possibly moving on without Brandon. This prompted Gibbs to fire back that he had "never seen someone complain about money, perception and 1st class tickets" as much as Rockett allegedly did, "to the point where it gets in the way of doing anything." The two have since resolved their differences.

Back in 2015, Rockett told Sleaze Roxx about Gibbs: "The thing about Brandon is that he's a young guy but he sounds like he's from the '70s. That's what is so appealing for guys like us. That's the reason that I really wanted Brandon involved with us. Brandon doesn't have any baggage, which is good and he has a lot of experience. He's got a great pedigree."

In 2015, Rockett and Gibbs joined forces with Rikki's POISON bandmates Bobby Dall (bass) and C.C. DeVille (guitar) to play several shows as THE SPECIAL GUESTS in what was widely perceived as a not-so-subtle message to POISON singer Bret Michaels that they weren't willing to remain completely inactive while he pursued a solo career.