Poison could move on without Michaels
Drummer Rikki Rockett says he’s open to continuing band with Brandon Gibbs instead of frontman Bret
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Poison drummer Rikki Rockett says Poison could move forward without frontman Bret Michaels.
Rockett insisted last year there was no feud between himself and the singer. But he’s recently been playing with his Poison bandmates Bobby Dall and C.C DeVille, with Brandon Gibbs from the sticksman’s other outfit Devil City Angels on vocal duties.
He tells Sleaze Roxx: “When I was touring with Devil City Angels, Bobby Dall came to one of the shows and jammed with us. We got offered some shows that Bret either really wasn’t interested in doing or he had shows of his own scheduled.
“Bobby and I looked at each other and said, ‘Why don’t we just get Brandon to do them?’ We’d never call it Poison but we did think it was good to offer the promoters a chance to work with the three of us with Brandon fronting the band.”
He continues: “It makes you really think, ‘Is this something that we could do moving forward?’ I think we could.”
Rockett reports he hasn’t spoken to Michaels in months, and adds: “I just think that at this point in time he prefers to do his own thing. Bret has his own way of doing things and I’m getting the feeling that he’d prefer not to deal with the three of us if he can avoid it. I can’t think of any other reason.
“If we’re going to continue with Poison, we have to look at other ways that we can do this. Brandon isn’t a bad choice. It’s all I can say.”
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As for a possible album with Gibbs, Rockett says: “Oh absolutely! I know that with Brandon we could do a great job. It’s not like I’ve written Bret off but I don’t think he’s got a lot of desire to work with us. That’s just my feeling at this time.
Michaels underwent kidney surgery last year and suggested they could tour this year – but only if it involved all four original members.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.
