20 QUESTIONS WITH…

Ratt Drummer Bobby Blotzer

This week’s 20 Questions is with Ratt drummer and Sludgeaholic Bobby Blotzer.  Bobby emailed us back in September and said he dug the page, so we hit his ass up for 20 Questions.  Blotz went into detail for most of his questions, so that’s always cool.  After his interview he even invited us to hang out at a Ratt show sometime to have a few beers, but unfortunately for us we have a really bad case of shyness, so we had to decline.  Maybe next tour.  

1.  What are you currently up to?  This is your only chance to plug your albums, websites, tours, and shit like that!
BOBBY:  We are currently finishing up the second leg of the RATT tour in support of the Sony RATT release.  I just recently signed a deal with Columbia on a side project with myself, Jack Russell, Jack Blades, and C.C. DeVille that will come out in spring 2000.

2.  Why do you think Great White’s new album is selling more copies that Ratt’s new release?
Well, Great White had a top 10 AOR single and more people have heard that they have a new release with that amount of airplay…but overall worldwide they are not ahead of us.  We have a new single coming out on January 4th that the label is going right to top 40 radio with.  Bottom line is this, I wish them all the success they can achieve and I hope that we can sell as many records as possible.  I am just happy to be touring with a major label release and hope for bigger and better things down the road.  It’s all good!

4.  What hard rock/heavy metal band should give it up and call it a day?
Not for me to say.  It is up to the people that buy the records to decide who comes or goes.

6.  Is it true that you guys didn’t want L.A. Guns on the tour with Poison, and if so, why?
Absolutely no truth to that what so ever.

7.  How much alcohol had you guys been drinking when you decided to let Kerri Kelly in the band? (Did you know he use to play with Big Bang Babies & Pretty Boy Floyd!)
Those two bands mean nothing to me.  But I think that Kerri is a great guitar player and has added a spark to the band and he is totally cool.

8.  What’s the most damage you’ve ever caused to a hotel room, tour bus, dressing room, etc…? I never wanted to part with any cash for breaking shit, so really just throwing deli trays and shit like that in those days.  We thought it was funny. 9.  Why does Stephen Pearcy have the stage presence of Kurt Cobain’s corpse? That’s not very nice.  It is kinda hard to run around a stage with no knee cap in your leg.  For those of you were not aware, Stephen took a fall off the stage in 1997 that resulted in him suffering major irreparable knee damage.

10.  Rate the following chicks on a scale of 1 to 10.  1 being a nightmare and 10 being a hot piece of ass.

Jewel – Fix the fucking tooth, nice rack though. 6
Bobbi Brown – Should give out mileage plus points. 5
Tawny Kitaen – 7
Lita Ford – 4
Courtney Love – 3
Claudia Schiffer – Reminds me of what Bridget Bardot looked like before she became leather face.  An 8 pre 30’s.
Britney Spears –  Hot young under belly.  Great for my sons.  7
Carmen Electra – 9
Pamela Anderson – 9
Sheryl Crow –  Great musician.  Sometimes looks good, sometimes looks bad.  Has the ugliest legs in show business.  4

13.  Who is the most overrated band today and why?
Well, for me, of course they are not together now, but a band like Nirvana.  A band like REM, and bands that the critics hail but to me don’t mean shit.  Nirvana had a couple of cool songs and that was it! 

14.  For $10,000,000, which would you choose:
A.  Sacrifice a 13-year old virgin (given, of course, that no one will ever know about it);
B.  Strangle one of your band members to within an inch of their life, rending them comatose for several days (and never be able to explain why you did it);
Or,
C.  Actually kidnap a seven-year old child for one week then release him/her with the total security of knowing you’ll never get caught?
What’s with the kid sex questions?  Are guys trippin or what?  The answer is B of course, but in a loving way. 

15.  How much of a pain in the ass is it dealing with John Kalodner? If Stephen Tyler can handle it then anyone can.  16.  What rock star deserves a smack in the mouth and why? Kevin Dubrow because he is such a loud mouth, pompous geek that it is unbearable to listen to him talk, sing, or breathe. Bruce Dickinson- He has a kick ass voice but is a total jerk-off!

17.  Of all the bands that Ratt has toured with, who were the biggest dicks?
38 Special were total assholes.  We played a few shows with them in 1984.  I can’t think of anyone else though that I can name.

18.  There have been a lot of rumors about Robbin Crosby for years.  What is he doing, and is it true he has HIV? Robbin as far as I know is fine.  I talk to him often and he has his own band that he is trying to get up and going and I wish him the best.  As far at the other rumors…you would need to ask him.  I don’t ask questions about his personal life.

19.  Which of the following best describes what you think when you watch or listen back to your live shows?
A.  Why the fuck can’t Stephen hit any of the notes anymore?
B.  Why did we let Kerri Kelly in the band?
C.  Why do we always get Mexicans playing bass for us?
D.  How come our new material can’t hold up to our old material?

20.  Time for Metal Sludge’s Word Association.  We list a name and you give us your thoughts.

L.A. Guns – Good street rock band.  The singer is kinda of geek though.  Phil Lewis.  And Tracii and Steve are very cool friends.             
Dana Strum – Stop producing your bands records!  It’s not working.  But seems to be
a good bass player though.
Juan Croucier –  I wish I had his studio.  But Juan, please start using a mic on the high hat.
Vince Neil –  Somebody explain to me how this guy blew through 15 million dollars.
Lars Ulrich - prick!
Fred Durst –  Don’t know the man but what can I say he gave props to RATT in the Rolling Stone interview that he did.
Jerry Dixon –  Cool guy.
Tommy Lee –  The Tommy Lee that was my brother for years no longer exists.  Tommy disassociated himself from all of his old friends and some of his family from what I understand.  YO YO YO YO YO…GIVE IT UP TO YO PEOPLES T-BONE.
Sebastian Bach – Perpetually on 50.  Kick ass singer though.
Robbie Crane –  My little brother…I love ‘em!
             
The Tommy Lee and Lars Ulrich disses were a nice touch, and Blotz didn’t really avoid any questions.  He also likes our Sludge Scan because he recently emailed us asking when we were going to update it.  I wish we had an answer!

For more info on Ratt, you can take your ass over to www.therattpack.com.  They have all the Ratt info that you need to know.