RATT singer Stephen Pearcy was interviewed for the latest episode of "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon". You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On RATT's new lineup, in which he is joined by bassist Juan Croucier, drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE) and guitarists Jordan Ziff (RAZER) and Chris Sanders (BRITNY FOX, KNIGHT FURY): "It's a whole new, what I call, 'breed of RATT.' It reminds me of '83, '84 sound. It's just straight ahead; we're not walking around wondering who's doing what; and it's exciting, refreshing. Jordan I call 'Killer Kid' — I mean, he's just amazing. Then we have Chris Sanders, who's amazing too. And he's literally playing the parts that he's supposed to be playing. And then we pulled in Pete Holmes on drums, and it just jells very well. We auditioned some people, and some people wanted to do it and some people didn't. But it all worked out for the better, because this is exactly what Juan and I [were] looking for — people who are really, really into it, not just making a paycheck or saying 'I've gotta do something else' in a few months or a year." On RATT's various lineup changes: "The way I see it, it's funny. [JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob] Halford and the bass player [Ian Hill], the original guys, they pull in some other guys and [fans think] it's all good. We're two different animals, PRIEST and RATT, but some people are into it and some people aren't. If you're gonna go out there and give it all you've got… Look, I went out there and did a show. And I never cancel a show — I never have in my life canceled a show — so I didn't wanna cancel a show because my knee has just been hell. So we just go out there and do it. And the guys we have now, it's intense. I mean, we've had the best shows. So I really don't understand the hoopla. Some of these bands have had hundreds of people, some of 'em have only had a few, but it's not the end of the world. It is what it is; that's all I can say… It's up to the individual, and just because we're out there doing what we do, we're open to potshots, people giving us shit and grief. And to me, it means nothing. I do what I do the best I can do it, and we move forward. And that's how Juan and I are thinking; we're gonna just move forward. Some people really don't wanna do what they're supposed to be doing. So don't hold us back. I started the band. If somebody else doesn't wanna play, or they wanna cancel shows, we're not gonna let it happen. The guys we have now, we're having a great time. It's no nonsense; we get along. It's unbelievable." On why RATT's classic lineup couldn't stay together after Croucier came back in 2012: "We start putting all the shows together, and we get problems with one guy. And the other guy doesn't wanna play or anything and wants to sit around. What is the purpose? Why are you even saying you're a part of this band if you don't wanna be a part of the band? And then you've got these two guys fighting themselves, and they're always fighting, and they're trying to sue us. And it just became this open bullshit of 'I said, he said, she said, they said,' and 'sue you, sue me' blues. That's all over and said and done with. And so because one other person doesn't wanna be involved, it's, like, 'There's the door. Don't let it hit you in the ass.' So that's what happened. We moved forward; that's all. Without getting into the legalities, we owe nobody anything; we just moved ahead and said, 'Have a good life. You obviously don't wanna be a part of this like you should want to be. You don't have the desire. We're not running on all cylinders and you're only gonna make things worse.' And that's what started happening." Pearcy's comments come more than a month after he was slurring while sitting down and nearly lying down on the drum riser during RATT's September 26 show in Huntington, New York. The 62-year-old singer also appeared to be slouching or leaning on to the bass drum during "Round And Round" and holding on to the tom-tom stand and bass drum to keep from falling over. Pearcy was similarly incapacitated during RATT's October 5 concert in St. Charles, Illinois, where some of the attendees said the frontman appeared to be "drunk" and "drugged out." He was also criticized for "walking off stage" and "sitting on a drum riser" during much of the performance. Pearcy apologized to the RATT fans, saying in a statement that he was "dealing with a pain-management issue due to a bad knee that is scheduled to be replaced in January." He added that he "made the critical error of adding alcohol to my pain meds while on stage" at the Huntington concert "and it destroyed my performance." Pearcy will release his fifth solo album, "View To A Thrill", on November 9 via Frontiers Music Srl.
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