In a new interview with Waste Some Time With Jason Green, Stephen Pearcy spoke about his reunion with his longtime RATT bandmate Warren DeMartini for a handful of shows this spring and summer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s always been going around, ‘You guys should get together.’ I believe I actually approached Warren a few years ago. I go, ‘Hey, why don’t we try doing this [Jimmy] Page-[Robert] Plant [-style] thing or something.’ And nothing became of it. So, I’m, like, hey, well, he’s grooving. He’s still that guy — he’s the lead guitar player in RATT, the guy who co-wrote those songs; he’s the guy. So I went about my business, as you know, and do my solo thing. And I have great players, but this is the real deal.”So what happened was, over seven years later here, we get a contact from a promoter at M3 [Rock Festival], and it was, like, ‘Well, I have this idea. Maybe we can get you guys back together and you can headline one of these nights.’ And I’m, like, ‘Okay. Yeah, right. Okay, well, let’s see what happens.’ So anyway, long story short, I said, ‘Hey, whatever it takes, I’m in. Let’s see if we can make this happen.’ Well, it just happened to be the right timing for Warren too, to go, ‘Hey, why not? Let’s play again.’ And here we are.”Pearcy and DeMartini played their first reunion show last Saturday night (April 5) at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Playing alongside Pearcy and DeMartini were former RATT and QUIET RIOT guitarist Carlos Cavazo, former RATT and ROUGH CUTT bassist Matt “Thorr” Thorne and former SLAUGHTER drummer Blas Elias. Thorne and Elias are both current touring members of Pearcy’s solo band.”It was fucking amazing,” Stephen told Waste Some Time With Jason Green about the Mohegan Sun show. “And we kind of blundered here and there and it’s a given. We had a few rehearsals.”The way Warren and I worked in RATT was we do like to be loosely tight,” he explained. “We don’t wanna be that technical out there when we play. So it kinda worked out the other day, like, ‘Okay, we got our feet wet. Now we know what’s happening.’ So, some of those songs you may never hear us play again, that we played.”Asked if there are any other songs that he would like to perform at the future shows, Stephen said: “Oh, a hundred percent. And I think [Warren] would do it. I wanna play ‘Eat Me Up Alive’. And that’s a song Carlos and I wrote, so what the fuck? We played it before. That’s a song I wanna do. I liked the couple songs Warren picked.”For me, it’s kind of cool, and even being this sobered up guy for years, is going out there and it’s still the same as it was in ’85, ’86 with Warren up there,” Pearcy added. “That’s the vibe I got. I mean, we were able to sit there and chit-chat and didn’t give a fuck on stage. ‘Let’s take a second out for us, dude. This is funny, huhThis is a trip, right?’ That’s our conversation up on stage.”Regarding the fact that drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Juan Croucier, who were both members of RATT’s classic lineup, are not playing with Pearcy and DeMartini at the current shows, Stephen said: “People are already going, ‘Oh, bring back the other guys.’ Well, I don’t really think they know how complicated it is or it would be, or if it even need be. Because the reason Warren and I are out here in the first place is to kick about the legacy of the music. Hey, we had great songs.”It wouldn’t have worked [with the other members], nor would I think I would’ve… Of course if you’re really doing ‘business business’, you have to consider all aspects,” he added. “But do I wanna fuck with our fans or our friends and go out there and pretend it’s fucking cool and it’s really not? You know what I mean? I mean, look, it took seven years for Warren and I [to play together again], and it was, like, ‘Hey. Wow.’ I never thought it would happen, but now we’re talking about writing new music. So what the fuck?”Asked if he thinks he will ever play under the RATT brand again, Stephen said: “Uh, well, I could say it would be cool, but I’ve proven it’s not necessary right now. If you’re doing ‘business business’, so to speak — but it’s not necessary. That’s why I’ve been out there busting ass for the last few years, is to establish that… It’s irrelevant. I’m the guy who co-wrote or wrote those songs, created the band. Here I am — I’m singing. Because one day I’m gonna wake up and go, ‘I don’t wanna do this shit anymore.’ And it happens… But, yeah, I think about that all the time. I mean, I’m fucking Evel Knievel right here, so I’ve gotta take it carefully.Pearcy and DeMartini will also perform a set of RATT classics at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival, which will take place May 2-4 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, and at Rock The Dam 8 in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, on July 26.”It’s all good,” Stephen said. “And I’ll tell you what we’ve decided to move forward and because of that show, because we were touchy- touchy, if we wanted to stay out. And so we’re gonna entertain some more shows. It’s by overwhelming demand. I mean, this might be it, the last you’ll see of RATT, for all I know. I don’t know. But I’m enjoying this shit. It’s fun again. It’s been fun for me for the last few years, and I’d like to keep it that way.”Pearcy and DeMartini will headline the final night of M3 Rock Festival on May 4.During an appearance on the January 29 episode of SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Stephen said about the lineup of his new band with DeMartini: “We’re gonna have Carlos out there, which is cool. And I’m bringing in Matt Thorr on bass, who’s pretty much an original RATT guy from 1981, ’82, when Jake E. [Lee] and Warren pulled in. And then we’re taking Blas Elias on drums from SLAUGHTER and my band. And we’re ready to go.”Added Warren: “When I moved up to L.A. to join RATT, I stayed at a house with Jake E. Lee for a few months, and, it was like a three-bedroom [house], and Jake had one, and Matt had the other, and this other musician had the third. And I was on the couch. But Matt goes way back with [RATT]. I’m actually kind of looking forward to checking that out again. He was playing bass at the time I joined [RATT].”Regarding why they are not playing the M3 show under the RATT banner, Pearcy said: “Well, I’ll tell you right straight up — it’s not about RATT. It’s about the legacy of our music. And who better to deliver it, because we don’t have all the proper original elements, which would include [late RATT guitarist] Robbin [Crosby]. So we just decided — no. This is great. This is perfect. I mean, we don’t wanna hit a brick wall. We want this nice and smooth. So that’s what we intend to do. It’s not about that — it’s about the legacy of RATT. Period.”DeMartini went on to say that he was open to playing more shows with Pearcy in the future, assuming that everything goes will with the M3 gig.”Since we announced the M3 show, other stuff has come up,” he revealed. “When this [M3 concert] came up, I was treating it as a one-off, but everything has a momentum, or it can have a momentum. And in this case, it just feels better and better.”I’ve always wanted to play these songs to the people, like we always have,” he added. “So I’m totally game to doing more.”Asked if Blotzer and Croucier would have any involvement in M3 and other gigs Pearcy and DeMartini plan to play together, Stephen said: “No, no, no. Not on this. No. Like I say, we wanted it to be about the music and Warren and myself delivering it, because it is gonna be a little different. If you were to throw the other guys in the mix, it wouldn’t be exactly what it is now, the opportunity.”On the topic of what he has been doing in the seven years since he last played with Stephen, Warren said: “What I always did and what I always do. When I’m not sort of dealing with all the stuff that we deal with in life, I drift back into the studio and either start working on something that I hear in my head or refining something that I have going. So it’s been a really nice thing to be able to do all this time, because basically since Stephen and Robbin and I wrote ‘Round And Round’, it’s, like, ‘Okay, you can be a writer if you wanna be,’ so that’s what I do, basically.”Asked if he missed being on stage and being in front of an audience, Warren said: “Oh, of course. It’s hard to find words to describe the kind of energy that we have with our audience. It’s just fantastic… I did do some gigs with some friends, like the last one was with Billy Gibbons and Sebastian Bach, and we would all play each other’s songs. It was two or three songs each. And stuff like that kind of kept it burning, but this is the real fire.”Last year, Pearcy celebrated the 40th anniversary of RATT’s classic debut album, “Out Of The Cellar”, by performing it in its entirety and in sequence for the first time.RATT exploded on to the national scene in 1984 with the release of “Out Of The Cellar”. Featuring an undeniable hook and legendary music video, lead single “Round And Round” hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Out Of The Cellar” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified triple platinum. Two more charting singles followed with “Back For More” and “Wanted Man”. RATT started the tour as an opening act, but by the end of the tour had climbed to arena headliner.RATT returned in 1985 with its second full-length album, “Invasion Of Your Privacy”. Certified double platinum and also reaching No. 7 on the Billboard 200, “Invasion Of Your Privacy” also featured the classics “Lay It Down” (No. 40 on Billboard Hot 100) and “You’re In Love”.”Dancing Undercover” followed in 1986 as RATT toured North America with a then-brand new Los Angeles band called POISON as the opening act. Lead single “Dance” hit the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned another music video hit with “Slip Of The Lip”, while “Body Talk” was featured in a key scene in the Eddie Murphy film “The Golden Child”. “Dancing Undercover” became RATT’s third consecutive platinum album and reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.1988’s “Reach For The Sky” saw RATT return to the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 album charts, peaking at No. 17. Driven by the bluesy hit and MTV favorite “Way Cool Jr.”, “Reach For The Sky” was also certified platinum and became RATT’s fourth album in a row to move well over a million copies. “I Want A Woman” was also a successful single and the video captured the excitement and energy of RATT live.RATT released its last full-length record of the Atlantic era, “Detonator”, in 1990. Music was changing, but “Detonator” was still a success, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and going gold. It was the first RATT album to feature major outside songwriting contributions (Desmond Child, Diane Warren) and guests (Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Schenker). Lead single “Lovin’ You’s A Dirty Job” hit No. 18 on the rock chart while the power ballad “Givin’ Yourself Away” reached No. 39.In 1991, they released the single “Nobody Rides For Free” from the hit film “Point Break”, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.In January 2021, Pearcy told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that he was open to the idea of making a new RATT album with all the surviving members of the band’s classic lineup.RATT hasn’t released any new music since 2010’s “Infestation” LP.[embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content][embedded content]”Round and Round,” to Mohegan Sun! Pearcy and DeMartini Performing RATT with special guest Vixen are coming to Mohegan…Posted by Mohegan Sun on Monday, February 24, 2025
