In one of the most highly-anticipated tours of the summer, Poison, along with Cheap Trick and Pop Evil will embark on a string of dates across the U.S. that’s appropriately called “Nothin’ But A Good Time 2018”.

For Poison – which consists of all-original members Bret Michaels (lead vocals/guitar), Bobby Dall (bass), Rikki Rockett (drums) and CC Deville (guitars) the new tour promises to bring the hits, high energy as well as a few surprises. The band will also be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its sophomore release, Open Up and Say… Ahh.  An album that featured not only the hit “Nothin’ But A Good Time” but also the #1 song, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”.

AXS recently spoke with Rikki Rockett about Poison’s new tour and more in this exclusive interview.

AXS: What can fans expect from Poison’s upcoming tour with Cheap Trick?

Rikki Rockett: In the past, we’ve always gone old school with pyro and no video screens. This year, we’ve updated and are doing a bunch of video stuff and it really looks great. We also have a new front of house engineer. I’ve heard some recordings and it sounds awesome. We’ve also got a few other surprises in store as well. We’re on fire and ready to go.

AXS: What do you think makes the music of Poison and Cheap Trick so timeless and special? What keeps fans coming back?

RR: When people go to a Poison show, or any other “classic rock” show, they can expect to hear several hours of hit songs that they know. For the money, people don’t want to go to a show and hear just one or two songs they’re familiar with. They want to hear twenty. And that’s what you get with Poison and Cheap Trick. They’re songs that people grew up with and songs that have sustained.

AXS: Poison is one of few bands that continues to tour with its original lineup. To what do you attribute the band’s sustained longevity?

RR: We’ve managed to keep it together by learning how to be team players. To trust the other guy to pick up the slack and for them to expect the same from you. At the end of the day, when we get on stage and play, we understand what it’s all about and why we’re there. Bret and I started our first band when we were eighteen and we’re still doing to today. I’ve literally grown up as an adult with this band.

AXS: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the band’s second album, Open Up and Say… Ahh. What do you remember most about that time?

RR: They always say that it takes your whole life to write your first album, and three months to write your second, but that wasn’t true with us. We were just starting to get a feel for how to write and had all of these ideas that we wanted to get out. We never ran out of ideas. I think that was key.

AXS: Was there any pressure of having to repeat the success of the first album and to avoid the so-called “sophomore jinx”?

RR: Absolutely. People were actually ready to put a gravestone on us right after “Talk Dirty To Me”.  But we just kept putting out a song and then another one. Then we did Open Up and Say… Ahh and started headlining right after the second single. We just kept the pressure on.

You can read the rest of my
Interview with Rikki Rockett by Clicking Here.