Stephen Pearcy does not know if he would ever play with guitarist Carlos Cavazo again
Stephen Pearcy does not know if he would ever play with guitarist Carlos Cavazo again
Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy was recently interviewed by Metal Mike for the 80’s Glam Metalcast podcast.
Pearcy was asked about some of Ratt‘s albums including Reach For The Sky (1988), Detonator (1990) and Infestation (2010) and he took that time to also comment about guitarist Carlos Cavazo who played in Ratt (according to Wikipedia) from 2008
Photo by Joe Schaeffer Photography
to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2018.
With respect to Reach For The Sky and Detonator, Pearcy indicated (as transcribed by the 80’s Glam Metalcast podcast with slight edits): “We were sidetracked on Reach for The Sky. That record took a lot to get done. The band was combusting internally and not in a good way. It sold well. It was like our fifth consecutive platinum [album] I believe. All we can do is write and hope it works…and most of the time it’s worked. I love that album, but I think I’m into Detonator a little more. On that one we had some new blood working with Desmond Child. We wanted to try something different. We thought we were getting too glossy. Desmond wasn’t there to be Mr. Hitmaker, just to bring a new perspective to the writing. My best experience on that album was writing “Givin’ Yourself Away” with Desmond and Dianne Warren. That was worth the whole record to me. That song was only released in Japan and we did a video for it. The album did what it did as the music scene was changing.”
In regard to Infestation and Pearcy not wanting to do another Ratt album without the original surviving members consisting of guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Bobby Blotzer, the singer stated:
“I will not do another record unless it’s with the original guys. There’s no way in hell. I’ve given DeMartini and everybody the courtesy. Why would I do that? There’s no reason. We tried that with Infestation. People go, ‘That’s a great record.’ I’m, like, well, that’s because it was the only thing that we were able to give you. If there was Juan in there, if there was [deceased guitarist] Robbin [Crosby] in there, if there was the original guys, the nucleus, you would have gotten a better record. It’s just the way it is; that’s just the way it works. Because as dysfunctional or functional as we are, that’s what makes our music. Look, Carlos Cavazo was in the band for a bit. We wrote the first two singles, Carlos and I. So there you go right there. It wasn’t even really a true Ratt record. I don’t know if I would ever play with Carlos again. That’s a bridge that’s so far out there. No disrespect to the guys that played on Infestation. But without the original guys – I just wouldn’t do that to Ratt, to the brand.”
Infestation finished at #1 on the Sleaze Roxx Readers’ Top 20 Albums of 2010, #2 on the Sleaze Roxx’s Top Ten Albums of 2010 and #9 on the Sleaze Roxx’s Top 12 Albums of The Decade (2010-2019).
You can listen to the interview with Stephen Pearcy on the 80’s Glam Metalcast podcast below:
Ratt‘s “Way Cool Jr.” video (from Reach To The Sky album):
Ratt‘s “Givin’ Yourself Away” video (from Detonator album):
Ratt‘s “Eat Me Alive” video (from Infestation album):