RATT's STEPHEN PEARCY: 'I Don't Mix Politics Or Religion With Music'

In a new interview with the On The Road To Rock With Clint Switzer podcast, RATT singer Stephen Pearcy was asked for his opinion on artists like POISON frontman Bret Michaels recently backing out of the ill-fated "Freedom 250" concert series on the National Lawn in Washington, D.C. On May 28, Michaels announced he would no longer perform at the event, saying what was initially pitched as a patriotic music festival had become increasingly divisive and raised safety concerns.

Pearcy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, my opinion is I don't mix politics or religion with music. Never have, day one, nor do I think anybody else should. Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but the minute you start taking sides, you're gonna start making enemies. And that's just the way it is. So if you commit to something, you better believe in it or you're gonna be dealt with the consequence, and that's mixing politics and religion with music. And I think Frank Zappa, our godfather of music, said it straight, you know? Don't do it. [Laughs] And me, I'm a firm believer. We never believed in it, taking sides for anything. All for one."

Back in March 2025, Pearcy called out GREEN DAY for dragging politics into the band's music after Billie Joe Armstrong took shots at U.S. vice president J.D. Vance, Elon Musk and U.S. president Donald Trump during a performance in Australia. Stephen took to his account on X (formerly Twitter) at the time to write: "Why, no politics in music please. Never makes sense."

Although Pearcy doesn't discuss politics in his interviews, he has in the past made it clear that he was a Trump supporter. When one X user asked in January 2026 for people to describe Trump using one word, Pearcy wrote simply "TCB", using the acronym that most commonly stands for "taking care of business". Two and half years earlier, Pearcy responded to a September 2023 poll from The Epoch Times about who the Republican nominee should be in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, writing: "Trump".

Pearcy's sixth solo album, "The Dogg Mob", is tentatively due this fall via Pearcy's Top Fuel Records label.

Pearcy's most recent solo LP, "View To A Thrill", came out in 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The follow-up to 2017's "Smash" was produced by Stephen's bassist Matt Thorne and Pearcy and was mixed and mastered by Stephen's longtime guitarist Erik Ferentinos.

This past April Pearcy released "I Need U", the first single from "The Dogg Mob". The track features Pearcy on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Ferentinos on guitar, Thorne on bass, Blas Elias on drums and an undisclosed "special guest" on guitar.

For the past year, Pearcy has been playing sporadic shows with guitarist extraordinaire Warren DeMartini — his longtime bandmate in RATT — under the PEARCY/DEMARTINI moniker.

RATT hasn't released any new music since 2010's "Infestation" LP.

Photo courtesy of SRO PR (Schneider Rondan Organization)