Erik Ferentinos was offered and accepted rhythm guitarist position in Ratt before being told out of band

Erik Ferentinos was offered and accepted rhythm guitarist position in Ratt before being told out of band

Stephen Pearcy solo band member Erik Ferentinos was recently interviewed by Rob Loiacano for the All Music/All Bands‘ Facebook page. Ferentinos played guitar on Pearcy‘s last four studio albums, Fueler (2005), Under My Skin (2008), Smash (2016) and View To A Thrill (2018), on the acoustic album Stripped (2006), and he is the main architect behind the singer’s next solo studio record.

Ferentinos was asked why he had been pulled off the Ratt tour featuring Pearcy and bassist Juan Croucier to which he replied:

“It wasn’t my decision. We were in the middle of recording “View to a Thrill” when the courts sided with Stephen and Juan on the Ratt name. I thought we were going to tour and promote the new record. Stephen initially offered me the rhythm slot for Ratt and I reluctantly agreed to it. About a week went by and I didn’t hear anything. When I called him, he told me that if he hired me in Ratt it would sink the solo band. He made it clear that he still wanted to make solo records and tour in the future. I was quite bummed out to be sidelined like that after 18 years of playing together, but it’s not about me. It’s about Ratt and what’s best for Stephen and Juan‘s version of it.”

In an interview with Sleaze Roxx back in May 2019, Pearcy was asked whether Ferentinos was ever considered for Ratt or whether it simply did not work out. Pearcy indicated: “Yes. He was. Yes. He was but you know, he’s literally been in my band for years, in my solo band. He’s a big part of my life, my solo records, the mixing, the engineering, just everything. I mean, we’re like a team when I go in to do my solo records with Matt Thorne in the studio, and Erik and myself. We get in there and there is no stopping us so I wanted to keep that a little separate but he’s always ready to go at any moment. He’s a total professional.”