By Martin Popoff
"Yes. I would be lying if I said no. Yes. But I think the way we do it has minimized it. You know, this is a band of brothers and everything is right down the middle. If you want to be part of this band, everybody partakes. It's the yin and the yang. Somebody might not be as personally involved in a particular song at a given point. You know, I might be out of the room when Rikki, Bret and C.C. are working on a particular song. But I'm probably stepping outside the door booking a f**king tour. That's how this band works. And I think it's actually been one of the strong points, that it eliminates most ego. It's just not a negotiable factor. I think we do all step up. Because we share everything, it eliminates most of the arguments, or more accurately, it eliminates the greed factor. There is no sense in jockeying for your song because you want to make more money (laughs). It's counterproductive, do you understand what I'm saying? So we end up arguing for what the best song is. Money is taken out of the equation and that's why we've always done it that way."
Bobby offers a looksee into the assemblage of the circus that has been Poison's wildly successful traveling glam revival show. "It's ultimately... all decisions are derived from Poison, the four members. Our business motto is very hands-on and it has been from day one. Obviously there are other business parties related that we deal with and work with and work for us. But a touring cycle process starts usually six months to a year ahead of the cycle. Last year I injured my neck and we had to cancel about the last month of the tour dates and I went in and had emergency surgery and had two discs replaced. That was at the beginning of August and by about September 1st, the process began. And basically we go through a gauntlet of names, and then we take it through the booking agency and it's a gradually made decision. You pick and choose, pick and choose, and the process takes a little time. There are many people coordinated and involved; you've got promoters, you've got radio stations, the booking agency, you've got a management company and you've got the bands."
So do some of these parties say whether or not a certain backup band will draw in a specific territory?
