RATT Producer Talks Robbin Crosby, Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer, Juan Croucier

[@Lynchfan88]

Ratt is an interesting band. I, like millions of other kids in America became a fan in early summer, '84 w/the 'Out Of The Cellar' record and the huge song 'Round and Round.' I enjoy all their releases and have everything the classic lineup (meaning Pearcy, DeMartini, Crosby, Blotzer & Croucier) released. It's sad what happened to Robbin. As you heard in this interview and if you're a knowledgeable Ratt fan you know he had problems almost since the beginning. I still feel now that nobody (at least nobody I can think of) sounds like Stephen Pearcy. Such a unique voice. Warren will always be one of my favorite guitar players, he's excellent. The first cd I ever bought, EVER was the last ever from classic lineup which was in Aug, '90, 'Detonator' (I actually bought it Labor Day weekend in '90, I remember) and I still have my copy. R.I.P. Robbin 'King' Crosby.

[@cherobinson6371]

Rat really benefited from the MTV golden era. We’d sit there glued to the TV and these new songs and wild videos would pop up daily. Twisted Sister,Ratt,Crüe…

[@shamifasahat992]

Michael condelli .... Bro ! It's Such a great and sensible comment on RATT and I love 💕 RATT n ROLL.... Such a great musicians Stephen, warren, Robbin,Juan and bobby of classic 80's..... I was a kid in 1990 when I bought first cassette of RATT (DETONATOR) ....... Before listening to Ratt I was a diehard fan of Def Leppard .......... Anyways huge fan of RATT with love and respect from Pakistan.....

[@dwade6322]

Beau is a one of a kind encyclopedia of working w/great bands..lots of history there. Salute.

[@jimshomestudio]

The glamour shot at 6:50… a great addition to this already amazing interview. These are some of my favorites, the Beau Hill Ratt series. Thanks Full In Bloom.

[@scottperdue7340]

I have been a Ratt fan since their inception. As a drummer, Bobby Blotzer was always one of my favorites. Of course, there were so many great ones back then, but his drumming is powerful, tight and his fills are priceless. I have every album and listen to them all the time reminiscing back to growing up in the 80's...

[@redrum567]

Blotzer was/is/and always will be one of the standouts imo too. Well said, "powerful, tight, priceless fills."

[@quierovermitubo]

Yesssss!

[@pal4597]

Blotzer was very creative. Too bad his Toms were Simmons on some of the albums. Likely annoyed him and led to tension with Beau.

[@randytyson7262]

Beau Hill was in a late-'70s/early-'80s Sweet-type rock band called Airborne with Texas guitarist David Zychek, who at one point was in Night Ranger.

[@joeybee1914]

Juan Croucier's stage moves hold the key to unlocking all the mysteries of the universe.

[@frankrichards3089]

Lmao

[@magnusjmvc8895]

😂😂

[@matthewfeduzi4751]

Again great stuff here. This is the best in music anywhere

[@sandkid69]

ROCK ALL THE TIME!!...................RIP....KING..............

[@ryangettig274]

full in bloom & Scott On Tape are my favorite KZbinrs!!Always Educational & Genuine!God Bless Them:)

[@ryangettig274]

Was Robbin Crosby the nicest guy in ShowBiz,ever?Sure seems like it.Heaven Bless His Soul:)

[@Razrback]

God I miss RATT with ROBBIN

[@effdonahue6595]

Rattman and Robin doh!

[@Acducec]

I met Robbin at the Coconut Teaser he was the nicest guy you would ever met. As he left i was standing at the front door he didn't see me his buddy said lets go he said wait i have to say goodby to Terry. . Class act wish he was in my band

[@Howdy699]

That’s awesome. I wish I could have met him

[@charlieswitzer9931]

One night when Ratt was in town, My girlfriend calls me and acts all violated cause she worked at a restaraunt where the band was all drinking etc. She said you need to get over here and save me from one of the band members who kept flirting......so I show up and acting all tuff -- so which one is messsing with you ? that big tall blonde dude........Oh hell no -- he was huge -- I bolted quickly........lol

[@dragonqueen6589]

Juan is super talented, one of my fave bassists by far… man Cuba produced a couple of awesome bassists in him and Rudy Sarzo! Juan Croucier: Bassist, great vocalist, and one of Cuba’s best musical exports.

[@kaseybuckner8326]

Along with Sarzo.

[@dragonqueen6589]

@@kaseybuckner8326 I already said that dude.

[@daveclelland1188]

Don’t forget Rudy.

[@christopherweise438]

Dragon Queen - Juan was the original bassist in Dokken. That's when i first saw him. Solid player and solid guy.

[@simonlloyd7557]

Nobody could be as overtly camp as Juan

[@mhitson7483]

Great insight as always. Ratt was the best of the genre in the day.

[@forgotmyname4971]

Would love to hear that 1st take solo that Beau mentioned.

[@jimmiemiller828]

I first heard RATT in 1983 in casper wyoming when I was 9 years old, i stayed the night with my best friend at the time,who was 9 as well,his older brother of my buddy he was 14 years old James Collingwood was his name. HE Shared the room with my buddy ,and he came in the room and said check out this new record I got , I said ok . He played the song round and round and then asked me and his younger brother what do you think ? I SAID I LIKE IT ,his brother is a panzy and said no I don't like it ,this was the end of me and him hanging out ,and from then on I was hooked on RATT.

[@tomsav8848]

Love Ratt, love Asteroids too, so this vid was a double win!

[@dudebud72]

I’m back! Been a year since I listened to this. This is incredible stuff!

[@guitarstar717]

Beau did an outstanding Job brining out the Ratt Talent & Iconic slick sound, this coming from someone who recorded with Max Norman behind the Board another Iconic Producer.

[@80s_kid]

4:22-4:55 I'm pretty sure that Robbin plays the solo at least for the song 'I Want a Woman' (one of his songs) so I don't think that EVERY solo played by Warren on the RFTS album. I write this not only because it shows in the music video but because anyone who is familiar enough with Robbin’s guitar playing and style will mostly recognize his solos.

[@CaptainVelveeta]

no doubt..def agree...it's like knowing the difference between Glen Tipton and K.K. Downing or Dave Murray and Adrian Smith...if you were a enthusiastic guitarist you could just listen and tell the difference.

[@dimebagsixx]

You are totally correct, Robbin was a great player and a great song writer. Ratt overall doesn’t speak very highly of Beau Hill.

[@dimebagsixx]

Beau is also referring to Reach for the Sky era too.

[@MusicMeanderings]

Excellent, insightful interview. Well done!

[@toddman26]

There are always issues when the writing credits come up for debate. Most bands I have played in, the credits were divided equally and there were no issues as everyone contributed their share and the songs would not sound the same with different member(s); we didn't get into the whole arrangement credit/writing credit issues...everyone gets equal royalties. One artist I played lead guitar for, always took all the writing credit except for one song...I didn't think it was fair but, he went by technical definitions and did not give credit for arrangements. The outcome is I didn't get as much royalties from spins than I should have, in my opinion. In summary, I think bands should throw the ego and greed out the window and split everything equally...this would keep bands together in most cases.

[@Slammers-Rea-]

Your opinion is one that many share but unfortunately not reality. Was in a band where the singer and I (guitar) spent many nights at the rehearsal room writing without any sight of the drummer or bass player. Once the songs were written we presented to the band and showed the chord arrangements and melodies. Of course here comes the writing credit conversation once we were talking about recording the new material. As I explained to the bass player, if you don't show up work your boss doesn't pay you so why would you get paid for writing songs when you decided going to the movies with your girlfriend was how you wanted to spend your time.

[@DrTomoculus]

I believe everyone should get credit, ideally. Any band that has one main writer, or a duo, I just think that leads to trouble later on. I can think of a ton of bands that have those troubles. You got Sting with The Police. The Beatles. Ric Ocasek with The Cars. Another is Genesis, when Peter Gabriel left. You get that trouble with Tony Banks and Steve Hackett occurring, which ultimately changed the direction of the band once Hackett left. In the end credits went Banks-Collins-Rutherford. But they were democratic before Gabriel left. Seems as if Banks wanted to get a bit more credit for what Genesis was, after Peter departed. But it just caused a rift. In the band I was in, when originals were written, everyone was given credit, but whomever came up with the original idea or work, was listed first, then the other members followed. At least that's how I always labelled it. Main composers first, band after. I just think everyone contributes to it in the end, and you're a team. You're a band. I just believe in that ideal. Everyone has a stake in what comes out, I think everyone should benefit when it works out well. And everyone should take the fall when it sucks! :D

[@toddman26]

@@DrTomoculus Well said!

[@toddman26]

@@Slammers-Rea- Did the bass player write the bass lines? That's where that person's writing contribution would come into play, regarding credits.

[@swampfoxgolf65alanreynolds33]

I agree with your opinion, but I have never been in a band or part of the music industry. If you take 2 completely different bands and look how they have done business, one took the road you mentioned and the other did not. Hootie and the Blowfish all agreed to split publishing 4 ways. Obviously, Darius Rucker has a great solo career and probably could have pushed the notion that the bass player and drummer shouldn't get the same credit for work not created, however I just believe these guys didn't want to end up hating each other in the end. Darius probably knew he could have a decent solo career afterwards anyway. Then you take KISS. Gene and Paul ARE money hungry and always have been, but early on, say the first 4-5 albums, they would give Ace and Peter a song or 2 on each album. After BETH went Platinum, Peter wanted more songs of his included and I believe Gene and Paul saw their size of the pie in publishing start to shrink if they allowed that to happen. In my personal opinion, as a fan of KISS for 40 years and watching how things have unfolded, if Ace and Peter had been like Tommy and Eric Singer have been for the past 17 years, show up to work, don't bitch, get your paycheck and do exactly what Gene and Paul want, then KISS would still have had the original 4 members. However, Ace and Peter were born for the rock and roll lifestyle and as they say, the rest is KISStory! The point is, KISS is very lucky they have been able to carry on with only 2 original members and be successful, HATB have also had success, but I believe Hootie are much more happier and all get along better than Gene, Paul, Peter and Ace.

[@stephenblake2196]

ROBBINS SOUND IS RATT!!

[@THECLARENCES]

Excellent interview…as usual!!! xoxo The Clarences

[@DWyn-xq4yf]

In defense of Steven, he knows that he cannot sing in the traditional sense. I remember Don Dokken recalling Pearcy saying that he thinks of himself as am entertainer/frontman when doing an acoustic show together.

[@Razrback]

I love ratt I'm a 80s guy steven made a mark on the first 4 records R.I.P ROBBIN DRUGS SUCK

[@Razrback]

@Konservative Kirby VI does it matter idiot

[@venturamichael50]

Dons one to talk.

[@johnnykR9]

.... not to get off topic but I didn’t think Dave Lee Roth could sing in a “traditional sense” either

[@philipmendisco6656]

@Konservative Kirby VI man..what a jerk. Coming from the guy who spells conservative with a K. HAHAHAHA

[@BadRonald1]

No exaggeration what so ever about Bobby cause it's totally true. Always complaining.

[@chriswilgus165]

My first concert...ratt..brittany fox..and kix!

[@mscott2074]

Mine also, the Los Angeles sports Arena...

[@clausm2203]

Great interview

[@gipsyavenger9829]

Def a connection between VH and RATT. Juan/Michael Anthony to DLR/Pearcy is not that much of a stretch internet !

[@jimmynashert4695]

I know he briefly mentioned it, but did Beau ever go into detail about the “Dancing Under Cover” album?

[@Razrback]

KILLER ALBUM BRO

[@Starlaangel]

Yeah he did I think

[@fullinbloom]

Yes, more info coming soon.

[@Imokyourok440]

Just as I saw your comment, I was putting on my Dancing undercover tshirt!

[@cherobinson6371]

You just put inspired me to go listen to Undercover. Cheers

[@simonlloyd7557]

Lets hear it for Marianne Gravatte...The body that launched a millions loads.

[@chatter7653]

I always felt like thru all of Ratts albums the guitar solo wasn’t up quite loud enough in the mix and if Warren felt that way.

[@j_freed]

06:00 there are SO many instances where bands should’ve spun off a SAFETY COPY of a good take (or a good mix!) onto quarter inch tape before erasing an amazing solo… Just in case they don’t get the magic back on the third or the 10th try. Even if tape synchronization wasn’t a thing back then… You could print a mix guide track on one channel of the guitar solo safety tape, to help fly it back in if needed. I believe SMPTE tape synchronization and Dolby SR were already common then though? And quarter inch tape is fairly cheap.

[@Mikey_Sea]

Is this a continuation of the last interview with Beau?

[@AngelaSwenson]

I think it is.

[@dwaynestjohn5324]

Yeah I think it is

[@dragonqueen6589]

Yup it would be, makes sense.

[@MaverickMustaine]

Can’t wait for the Beau Hill interview on Europe’s Prisoners in Paradise

[@dragonqueen6589]

Would love to see an interview with Beau on Kix’s Midnite Dynamite, it was only released 7 weeks after Invasion of your privacy, it’s very likely Ratt & Kix toured together.

[@steveschu]

This is why you split everything equally

[@toddprater14]

@ rush too!! And Neil wrote all the lyrics.

[@russellparker5272]

People remember things their way, right or wrong.

[@connoraskew7478]

Idk why but I think Bobby is underrated

[@Assimilator702]

If anything Blotz is OVER RATED. His drumming was always pedestrian and boring. Toss in a disagreeable personality/delusions of grandeur and you get a perfect shit storm.

[@connoraskew7478]

@@Assimilator702 I guess but his style worked for the time he was playing with ratt

[@mavericknonconformist69721]

Right Joe, The two greatest I have seen where, Mickey Dee and Carmine Appice. Just saying.

[@Assimilator702]

@@mavericknonconformist69721 Exactly. Blotzer isn’t even in the same universe as a drummer compared to either Appice brother or Mickey Dee.

[@jeffd3219]

What about Victor Andujo!

[@dustdevil240]

In 84 Ratt was the biggest deal by a mile

[@jt-xg5cu]

Robin RIP.

[@phillamoore157]

Anyone know what that recording console is in the opening picture?

[@acepaul407]

I think that's a Neve 8068 board. The picture looks like it came from sound city.

[@phillamoore157]

@@acepaul407 I think you’re right. The one Dave Grohl wound up with?? The album I’m most curios about is Invasion. I would pay good money for just a list of that gear. That album to this day is an absolute masterpiece. Hill’s finest work, IMHO.

[@Assimilator702]

Has this entire interview been uploaded to the website yet?

[@nikolas_schreck]

4 months later.

[@1m2s3t]

RATT❤

[@kenfuscious]

Out of all the great Metal , This is not even a dribble of piss in the bucket

[@nikolas_schreck]

👍

[@rocky-iv1446]

It's hard to believe that Robbin Crosby couldn't find a bus full of women willing to take care of him as well as his money problems??

[@mattmacarthur520]

Oh I’m sure he did and I’m sure he used and burned any and all resources and friends he had .. that’s addiction for you, he had a $500 dollar per day habit since around 85 so just imagine how tough that would be to keep up ? So sad because he really was the heart and soul of ratt .

[@michaelgarcia2050]

Did anyone in this band even like each other?

[@venturamichael50]

I got the impression in the Behind the Music that the band didn't like Beau Hill very much.He was very involved with his girlfriend Fiona(80s singer)and didn't give them his full attention.

[@shlepmessing8703]

Most producers aren't well liked. They're responsible for making it work under budget and on time. Hence the problem with rock "stars"....

[@ytusersumone]

Rarely is it fair to give all equal percentage of credit/royalties. It's quite logical to do so if a band together has worked for peanuts toward success which wouldn't happen without all members. But at least after initial success it should be about the actual value. An excellent musician isn't only a natural genius, he has also worked his ass off to develop his skills. It should be rewarded. At the same time, much less skill is required for some things, which become OVER valued in royalties. Case Ozzy O. shows us such things. For sure negotiations are needed. I'd try to negotiate beforehand and avoid working with people who seem to have difficulties concerning values of different kinds.

[@joestewart2298]

Rest In Peace Stephen Pearcy or soon to be Rest In Peace if he doesn’t get surgery on his cancer, or is it already to late.

[@ryangettig274]

Say a prayer for the cat,man-Jeremiah 17:14 works:)Stephen Pearcy is Alive & Kicking:)

[@Lisa-xm4bw]

Joe Stewart, Pearcy was diagnosed roughly 3 years ago. There are recent interviews with him speaking about his diagnosis. The cancer was removed.

[@joestewart2298]

@@Lisa-xm4bw thank you, and that’s a great thing to hear from the greatest hard rock hair metal vocalists from the 80s, we’ve already lost to many heavy metal gods over the years.

[@joestewart2298]

How long has stephen pearcy been sober of drugs and alcohol as of 2021

[@shlepmessing8703]

@@joestewart2298 Greatest? Stephen is a lazy poser that can't sing and never could. Are you kidding us?

[@brad3009]

Nikki Sixx introduced Robbin to heroin or other way around?

[@johnmiller9219]

what's warren up to ? he belongs in the band

[@Iampowerful8]

One Croucier.

[@markbrooks8623]

"We distinguish writing" -- there's part of the problem right there. Who told Beau he got an opinion? It was up to the band how it was to be handled, and there are lots of bands who don't distinguish between arrangement and publication rights, because that's what it means to be partners in a band. You aren't just an employee, you are a partner. So Beau is way off here, and if he's responsible for this thinking in the band, he's also responsible for some of the damage that was done long term.

[@voxpathfinder15r]

That’s why boys & girls, it sucks to be the drummer! Drummer for over 35 years now. Been practicing & learning guitar for the past 7 years. Even if I never play guitar for a crowd, I am definitely not going to be left behind when it comes to writing. Doing live shows are great when you’re young, but publishing rights is what gives you a retirement. I understand drummers feeling left out and bitter, but drums don’t make a song. I got really bored with drums after 7-8 years. And there is a reason why, drums aren’t musical- there is only so many records you can play along to before you’ve done it all. A guitar, you can strum chords by yourself and make music til the day you die!

[@petersmith1104]

When music and drugs were good.

[@troyelliott390]

✔

[@mavericknonconformist69721]

I always said that Pearcy should learn to sing or take up plumbing.

[@kmortensen]

But his singing isn’t going to wreck my hardwood floor. Ha

[@TheCountofToulouse]

Ratt is a band that really would not have gotten off the streets and would have NEVER created anything if not for a PUNY handful of guys working their butts off....and almost NONE of them were in the band. The rest of the guys have been coasting on the work of Beau and Juan for decades.

[@MrOctober44]

Right. Their success has nothing to do with Robin's songwriting, Warren's guitar playing or Stephen as a front man. Moron

[@drivenmad7676]

When bands like this came out, i liked it. I was a kid, drummer and rebellious. Hearing how this was made, i now know why it was so terrible.

[@grathapilot]

why? what's so bad about 'how this was made'? sounds like pretty normal studio stuff.

[@drivenmad7676]

@@grathapilot I guess what i meant was, i'm not surprised it sucks because half the members suck.

[@Plymouthmusicschool]

I always thought that the Melodie’s on invasion were too basic and boring

[@johnadams2063]

Bobby blunder literally ruined all there photos with that vile mug of his