Bobby Blotzer says the singer for his revamped Ratt lineup blows former vocalist Stephen Pearcy “out of the water.”
The drummer heaps praise on his current bandmates, including singer Josh Alan, for their talent, “integrity” and willingness to “go the extra distance” for their stage shows – but he insists he means no disrespect to former Ratt members, including bassist Juan Croucier and guitarist Warren DeMartini.
He tells ClassX Radio: “These guys are focused on the replication and integrity of Ratt music.That’s why everybody’s been hired. It’s been uncanny. Especially for the age of some of these guys.
“The lead guitar player, he just turned 22 about a half-year ago or something, and he’s amazing. He cops Warren’s stuff amazingly. The singer just blows Stephen Pearcy out of the water at this day and age – and frankly, is even better than when we started out.
“I don’t want to insult anybody in the old-school Ratt camp – I call it the class of 84 – but these guys were our own worst enemies. They’re on a five-year strike thing that was going on between Juan Croucier, who came back in after 20 years gone, and got Stephen riled up.”
Referring to the legal battle with DeMartini over the use of the band’s name, Blotzer says he offered the guitarist the chance to perform in the “great” new incarnation of Ratt last year – but he apparently refused.
He continues: “Last year was five years that we were away from the road and I was not willing to sit, as one of the owners of the name – DeMartini and myself own the name. I’m, like, ‘I’ve got a great band, Warren. Do you want to come out and play with this band?’ It’ll be our band, obviously, but these are great.
“He just didn’t want to have any part of it. So I said, ‘I’m going out. I’m taking it out.’
“God bless Stephen and my other Ratt cohorts. We made history – I recognise that, I appreciate it. We all wrote it together, wrote the music, rode the waves.
“But now, it’s, like, okay, guys. There’s three rafts left here. You’re in or you’re out. And it’s been going on for five years. And I want to finish the race. So that’s where I’m at.”
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Pearcy recently teased the possibility of a separate Ratt reunion after he was pictured with former bandmates Croucier and DeMartini at the Los Angeles birthday party of former RIP magazine editor Lonn Friend last month.
But he hinted that he’d wait until the legal process over the band name has played out, adding: “Good things come to those who wait.”
Blotzer’s Ratt continue their Re-Invasion tour, with a number of US shows planned over the coming months.
Ratt Re-Invasion US tour dates 2016
Aug 11: Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground , SD
Aug 13: Three Forks Rockin’ The Rivers, MT
Aug 18: Des Moines Iowa State Fair , IA
Aug 20: Lancaster Glass City Event Center, OH
Sep 03: Dubuque Mystique Rocks, IA
Sep 04: Akron Goodyear Hall Akron, OH
Sep 09: Allegan County Fair, MI
Sep 10: Hinckley Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater, MN
Sep 17: Roanoke Rapids Theater, NC
Sep 23: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, NH
Sep 25: Moorhead Bluestem Amphitheater, MN
Oct 15: West Memphis Mid-South Great Steak Cook-Off, AR
Dec 02: Nampa Ford Idaho Center , ID
Dec 03: Spokane Arena, WA
