WARRANT Guitarist Says Group Will Continue To Record And Release Albums: 'It Feels Good To Create New Music'

WARRANT guitarist Erik Turner recently appeared on the Wyoming radio station KUGR program "Let's Talk". The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On WARRANT's m.o.:

Erik: "We're all about having a good time. There's other bands that do politics and talk about religion and stuff like that, which we're all for, but our band's always been a party band — leave the news at home and come out and just have a great time."

On the band's current lineup, which features four of its five original members:

Erik: "We're lucky. We're fortunate that we still get along. We've known each other for thirty-plus years, so [there's] no surprises. We all know each other's personalities, and we have a good time when we're out there on the road. We're also very professional. We've gotten a lot better at what we do. We play about fifty shows, sometimes sixty shows, a year, so the band sounds better than ever. We still like to have a few beers, but definitely, we don't party like we used to when we were 25 years old."

On when he realized that WARRANT had "made it":

Erik: "I think when it really first started sinking in was when we got our first gold record. We put our first single, 'Down Boys', and MTV played the heck out of it. It was a Top 40 Billboard hit, and we all got presented gold records. It's like, 'Okay, this is really happening.' It's been a wild ride — a lot of good times, a lot of bad times. Some days are better than others. It's rock n' roll. I'm sure we've all read a biography here or there. It seems like every band has the same story — pretty much just the names change."

On why the group continues to write, record and release new albums:

Erik: "We still really enjoy the recording process. Playing live is a lot funner, but it feels good to create new music. A lot of bands from our genre aren't creating new music nowadays, and if they do, they put out four or five songs because of the musical environment we're in, but if we're going to do one song, we might as well do fourteen."

On what he still enjoys about the music industry:

Erik: "I love playing live. When you're playing in front of 500 or 5,000 people or anything in between and everything's going well, there's just a certain magic in the air. When I was a kid, I would go see concerts, and I just couldn't get enough of it. I loved being in a concert, and there's an energy in the air. I'm still addicted to that rush you get from playing live. We feel blessed to still be able to do that, because that honestly is the funnest part of our job."

On what he doesn't enjoy:

Erik: "The record industry is pretty tough. It's changed so much. Music has been devalued. When Napster came out, everybody stopped buying music and just got it for free on the internet. It's recovered a little bit, but nothing like it used to be. I don't like that part of the business where you create a product and people can just take it for free."

On balancing his career with his home life:

Erik: "I've been happily married for 22 years. It's been working great. I met my wife long after I'd been doing this for a living. Just love and respect each other, and don't mess it up. Don't be a jerk. Everything will be all right."

WARRANT's latest album, "Louder Harder Faster", was released in May 2017 via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc was recorded with producer Jeff Pilson – a veteran bassist who has played with DIO, FOREIGNER, DOKKEN and T&N, among others – and was mixed by Pat Regan, except for the song "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", which was mixed by Chris "The Wizard" Collier (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, PRONG, LAST IN LINE).

Photo credit: Stephen Jensen / F3 Studios