TRIXTER's MARK 'GUS' SCOTT Is Ready To Apologize To His Bandmates: 'I Think It's Overdue'

In a new interview with The Bay Ragni Show, TRIXTER drummer Mark "Gus" Scott was asked if it bothers him that his bandmates, TRIXTER guitarist Steve Brown and bassist P.J. Farley, have been performing acoustic TRIXTER shows, backed by Ben Hans on percussion, without him and TRIXTER singer Pete Loran. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, God bless 'em. They're carrying the flag, It bothers me they didn't wanna do more when we were all together. But otherwise, no. They're doing their thing. If they're happy… The only thing that does — I don't want to use the word 'bother' me, but I just don't know why they didn't have that attitude when we were all together instead of doing… They were in favor of doing less as opposed to doing more… And let me tell you something — even if we weren't getting fucking paid, I'd do it anyway. From day one, it wasn't about the paycheck… I wanted to rock. I wanted to beat the shit out of my drums and have a great goddamn time. And the bigger audiences we did, it was freaking, it was great. And when we put it back together in 2008, our first show back was Rocklahoma, 35,000 people. Woohoo! Second show back, 35,000 people opening for POISON and the band BOSTON. Woohoo! You don't wanna do that more? So I mean, now we did some club shows and theater stuff and smaller stuff and whatever, but, man, boy, did we have a fucking blast. And it was like we didn't miss a beat. When we put it back together? Oh my God."

When host Bay Ragni asked Scott if he feels he "did something wrong", apparently alluding to online rumors that Mark tried to trademark the TRIXTER name behind the other members' backs after Brown let it lapse a few years ago, Mark said: "It wasn't right, I'll be the first to admit it. Yep. It could have gone a lot more wrong, let's put it that way.

"Here's the weirdest part of all: for three, three and a half years, no one said a goddamn thing. Then out of nowhere one day, someone decided to light it up. Where the fuck did that come from? It's not like I launched an attack or something. It was very strange. But I think when I redid the [TRIXTER song] 'Give It To Me Good' [as a solo single], or the fact that I acknowledged the fact that it was the 30-year anniversary since TRIXTER released their first record and they did absolutely fucking nothing, which I felt was inexcusable… And I don't profess to be a better singer than Pete Loran. I don't profess to be a better guitar player than anybody in the world. But I wanted to do something as opposed to doing nothing. Not to mention, I also felt that 'Give It To Me Good', the song that was [one of our biggest singles], had a wider demographic footprint than what the song was exposed to. It has a cool country feel. I think that if a real country artist did it, it could really be something. So I said, 'Fuck it. I'm gonna give it a shot.' And I was very happy. It got a lot of attention, that's for sure… I had fun, and again, I did it to have fun and to do something I believe that was right to recognize it as opposed to when nobody else was recognizing anything. I'm, like, what are you fucking talking about? You're not doing anything?"

Circling back to the rumors that he tried to trademark the TRIXTER name, Mark said: "I understand why they were pissed. I'm not angry at them for that. And I was pissed at the time too. My actions were certainly prompted by other things. And I never really wanted to make it public, but I'm not gonna sit here and just be a fucking whipping boy. Those cocksuckers fucking act like a couple of assholes. And now things are okay and it's all right, but it's not like I just woke up one day and decided to be a fucking dick."

Asked if that means that he has spoken to Steve and P.J. and that they have buried the hatchet, Mark clarified: "I have not talked to P.J. or Steve. Pete and I talk all the time. He's the one that got me out to Arizona. He's neutral, and that's cool. And I don't hold anything towards anybody. I didn't hold anything towards anybody really at all until all the badmouthing in the press crap came out and all that stuff."

When Ragni suggested that Mark pick up the phone and get in touch with Steve and P.J. and admit that he "did something wrong" and attempt to repair the friendship, the drummer said: "I am not averse to that idea or taking action to create that scenario. I don't know how receptive they're gonna be. But I would be willing to do that. And honestly, I think it's overdue. If anything, I probably should have done something prior to this point, but then I start channeling my energies towards other areas. We'll see. And I hate to say the reason why I hesitate, it's not exactly the first thing on my priority list. You want honesty? I'll give you honesty. I've got 17 states to conquer," he added, referencing the fact that his American Premium Vodka has joined forces with distribution industry leader Johnson Brothers and currently serves four states. "And I've got some other crap that I have to deal with also. And again, I'll go back to what I said before: those guys are playing more shows now than they really ever have. And my biggest question is why didn't you wanna do that when we had the whole thing intact?"

Both Brown and Farley have been critical of Scott in recent interviews, with Steve saying that the drummer is on "the shit list beyond belief" with the rest of the group, while P.J. compared being in a band with Mark to owning a disobedient dog. "Sometimes you let the dog off a leash and he just goes running to the middle of the street — no good," he said.

Since reuniting in 2008, TRIXTER has released two studio albums via Frontiers Music Srl — 2012's "New Audio Machine" and 2015's "Human Era".

TRIXTER toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Japan in support of its five major label releases. They have performed live in arenas and amphitheaters with crowds up to 35,000 people, appearing with such rock superstars as KISS, SCORPIONS, POISON, TED NUGENT, NIGHT RANGER, CINDERELLA, TWISTED SISTER, DOKKEN, WARRANT, GREAT WHITE and FIREHOUSE.