The Non-POISON-ous BRET MICHAELS

FEATURE 

by  Tom Lounges

It was an era of big hair, spandex, black mascara and music videos chock full of large breasted bimbos.  It was the ‘80s! 

At the center of that pop culture hurricane was the band Poison, who spearheaded nearly a decade of decadence that was pumped into America’s living rooms via MTV.  At the center of Poison was/is lead singer and primary songwriter, Bret Michaels. 

Still, there is much more to Bret Michaels than just Poison. The 40-year-old hardbody rocker produces indie films, does some acting, does charity work on behalf of Juvenile Diabetes research, kick boxes, rides motocross, and has on occasion written songs for other performers such as Stevie Nicks (“Loves A Hard Game To Play”).   

Michaels also maintains a solo recording career apart from his celebrated band and last Spring, released his latest solo album – Songs Of Life – via his own Poor Boy Records imprint.  

With the Poison world tour now wrapped up, Michaels is finally able to focus his attention on promoting his 14-song solo set with what is his first ever solo tour.    

Michaels’ solo combo will spend the next couple of months playing small halls to showcase his non-“Poison”-ous side, hitting Chicago on October 3 for a show at Joe’s Sports Bar on Weed Street. 

Michaels embraces the term “workaholic,” chiding that it’s better than being a “slacker.”  The singer hates sitting idle for very long.  “Life is way too short and there is so much I want to do,”  said the singer, who has been an insulin-dependent diabetic since the age of six.  “In many ways, diabetes has been as much a blessing as a curse for me.  It’s taught me that even if I’ve had to work twice as hard to get half as far, it has shown me to never give up, no matter what!”   

Despite the tremendous success of Poison, Michaels “needs to” do his solo recordings.

  “I love Poison with all my heart, but I need to be able to step back once in a while and do some of the songs in me that are not necessarily Poison songs, but are certainly Bret Michaels songs. Making this record was a blast and I’m really looking forward to getting out there and being able to play these songs,” he said.    

Michaels resisted the temptation to perform any of his solo material on the recent Poison tour saying – “People pay their money to see Poison and hear Poison songs at a Poison concert and I am a firm believer in the old adage, ‘Give people what they want!’   To play a solo song would mean taking a Poison song out of the set that someone in the audience would be waiting to hear.”

 Though a few Poison favorites will find their way into his intimate solo set, most of the show will consist of music from Songs Of Life, along with a few cuts from earlier solo CDs -- 2000’s A Letter From Death Row and 2001’s Ballads, Blues & Stories. 

 “What people will hear on the album and at these shows is my sound.  I did Songs of Life on my own record label, so there was nobody telling me how to look or sound or write,” he stressed.  “This is me standing naked with my art and expressing my personal thoughts and observations.” 

Things do not get too much more personal for Michaels than on the album’s debut single and video, “Raine,” a moving power ballad written on the day his daughter, Raine Elizabeth Michaels was born. 

 “That day was the first day of my life that I understood what unconditional love meant,” he said. “It is probably the most honest and heartfelt song I’ve ever written.” 

That’s not to say Songs Of Life is a all mushy and laid back.  “Life is hard and soft, so that’s what’s on this CD,” said Michaels. 

Opening cut, “Menace To Society,” is a hard rocker that incorporates lyrics Michaels wrote when he was a 17-year-old rock star wannabe bussing tables and doing short order cooking in Harrisburg, PA.    

 “It’s a rebellious teenage song,” he said. “It’s loud, fast and aggressive.  When I wrote the words, my parents were divorcing and my job sucked.  The only place I could turn to was rock ‘n’ roll.”  

 “War Machine” is a personal tribute to his Uncle Nick who died in France during World War II, his dad who fought in the Korean Conflict, and his best friend Doug Lister who is currently serving with Special Forces somewhere in the Middle East.   

 “I hate war as much as any other sane person, but sometimes you just have no choice... I have the utmost respect for the men and women in our military,” he crowed.  “I’m very thankful and proud of those fighting for us today and those who are veterans.”

  “I Remember” is a salute to the old AM radio hits that were a constant companion to those of us who came of age in the 1970s.    

 “That’s exactly the sound I was going for,” enthused Michaels.  “It’s my way of paying tribute to the songs that got me through my teens.  We all gotta give back!” 

Though he is a dedicated rock ‘n’ roller, Michaels said he learned to play guitar by picking along to old Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Sr. records, admitting that there is some notable country in his musical DNA.                    

Those roots revealed themselves as far back as the 1980s when Poison released their mega-hit, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn.”

 Michaels said he has found himself wanting to explore that musical part of himself further, and now aspires for his next solo recording to be a traditional country album. 

 “I’ve been invited on stage to jam with a lot of country artists [Travis Tritt, Charlie Daniels, Kenny Chesney, etc.] and I’ve found that I’m as at home there as I am playing a rock show with all the bells, whistles and explosions.”

 Michaels said he feels in many ways that he is just warming up. 

                                                                Bret Michaels performs in Chicago @ Joe’s on Oct. 3

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