WARRANT Singer Says New Songs Have 'Same Spirit' As Earlier Material

Video footage of WARRANT's December 31, 2010 performance in the Iroquois Ballroom at Oneida Casino in Green Bay, Wisconsin can be viewed below.

In a recent interview with the Green Bay Press-Gazette, new WARRANT vocalist Robert Mason was asked if there was any trepidation on his part about taking over for the band's original lead singer Jani Lane in 2008. "It's always a risk, I guess, but no, it was a clear-cut decision," he replied. "They called me and said, 'Look, you're our guy. Do you want in?' For me, I wasn't scared, nervous, any of those things. I wanted to make sure we do it right. We knew each other (since 1991),so it was a pretty easy transition. I just want to make fans happy. Fans deserve to see guys up there having a good time and being entertaining … and doing the songs they want to come and see like they remember."

Regarding the fact that so many of WARRANT's hits are associated with an era in music that was all about the party, Mason said, "There's a certain amount of it that's nostalgic. People who lived through it the first time, but then because of the fact that a) it's happy at a time when people want a little bit of escape and b) with all of the video games, TV and MTV, all of that exposure, it never really went away. It might have fallen out of vogue for a really short time, but at a time when it's about fun, escapism and having a good time, there aren't many WARRANT songs that talk about your problems. I can't think of one actually. So there's fun to be had."

He added, "I still try my best to metaphorically grab the audience by the shoulders and go, 'Hey, have a good time! This is your party, you better have a good time!' You make eye contact with people in the first few rows and you play to the back of the hall or wherever you are. I work my butt off and run around on that stage. I'll be good and sweaty by the end of the show, let's put it that way.

"The videos were done at a time when anything worth doing was worth overdoing. That was kind of the time period. We're not having a confetti bomb and Silly String fight, but WARRANT was never really been about that. It's just five guys who want to keep making music and are very thankful they have really loyal fans."

When asked if WARRANT's new material — which will appear on the group's forthcoming studio album — will have that same Sunset Strip influence as the band's earlier stuff, Mason replied, "The new material doesn't sound exactly like the old stuff did, because we're all a little older and wiser — and maybe a little more sober, I don't know, slightly more sober — but it's still the same spirit. You can take the kid out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the kid, ya know?"