Rikki Rockett grateful to be making money

Poison drummer Rikki Rockett says he’s grateful to be able to make a living in the modern music industry.

And he reports the band are considering hitting the road in 2015 for their first tour in several years.

His comments come after Kiss star Gene Simmons became the latest big name to claim the rock scene was dying.

Rockett tells Iron City Rocks: “I feel very blessed to be an older rock guy able to get out there and play, and make a living at this. I consider it to be an awesome thing.

“There’s so many of my peers who haven’t been able to do that – they’re doing something else, which is not the end of the world, obviously. I have two kids and that’s the stuff that’s important. But you want to support them, and you want them to be proud and excited about what you do.”

Poison have only played together recently at private events. “They’re fun and they pay very well,” Rokkett says. “It gives us a chance to get together and play. But they’re the only shows Poison is doing this year. A few things are being thrown around by our management for next spring. We’ll have to see.”

Meanwhile, he’s focusing on his company Rockett Drum Works, and hopes to keep working with his other outfit, Devil City Angels. “This isn’t a project,” he says. “Poison is my priority – but this band is something I’d really love to stand behind.”

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.