{"id":62967,"date":"2017-01-27T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T00:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=62967"},"modified":"2017-10-22T00:14:09","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T00:14:09","slug":"feature-stephen-pearcy-01-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-stephen-pearcy-01-17\/","title":{"rendered":"STEPHEN PEARCY – Not Taking It (January 2017) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

STEPHEN PEARCY – Not Taking It<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nJanuary 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

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Stephen Pearcy<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nStudio City, California-based glam metal vocalist Stephen Pearcy, founding member of Ratt, set Sucker Punch<\/em> as the title of his fourth full-length solo studio album as far back as May 2011, the opus slated for issue later that year. Pearcy\u2019s fourth solo affair would eventually emerge in January 2017, its moniker revised to Smash<\/em>, the long-player taking proper shape more recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt probably started about a year-and-a-half ago, at least,\u201d Stephen estimates. \u201cI put a batch of songs together, and was getting ready to start the process. I was on and off the road, going into the studio. I did end up tracking four songs, and as of four to six months ago, I got involved with Frontiers. They liked some of the stuff that I was working on, and so I actually just had my guys and said \u2018We\u2019re just gonna go down another street here, and forget about those songs. We\u2019ll start afresh, and make a new record.\u2019 And, away we went.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among Smash<\/em>\u2019s central compositions happens to be \u2018Can\u2019t Take It\u2019, which was mixed and mastered by Beau Hill, Hill having produced Ratt\u2019s initial four full-lengths. \u201cI wish I could\u2019ve had him on the whole record, but the album title Smash<\/em> came from that song,\u201d the singer tells. \u201cI mention it in that song, that we were gonna smash, and it just stuck in my head. The more I thought about it, I felt this is a very strong word. It can mean a lot of things, but one thing it does means is power. Attack mode (laughs), the final statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of went with it, and the artwork was perfect for the record and what I\u2019m talking about, and the delivery. The subject matter of these songs aren\u2019t party songs; they\u2019re not necessarily relationship songs. There\u2019s a fun song in there too, but everything else is pretty involved. It\u2019s probably the most extensive lyric writing I\u2019ve done in a while, and it\u2019s something that I can\u2019t really do with Ratt either, is write these kinds of lyrics. It was pretty interesting how this kind of evolved into its own thing \u2013 Smash<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smash<\/em>\u2019s lyrical content encompasses a wide range of themes. \u201cWith Smash<\/em>, the topics are anywhere from extra-terrestrials to life, to death, to protection, to underworld, above ground, space, time,\u201d Stephen lists. \u201cI wasn\u2019t trying to make it a mind crime; I just wanted to dwell into things that have my interest, that people don\u2019t really think about sometimes. I had some fun with some things. \u2018Ten Miles Wide\u2019 is not about a relationship \u2013 that will actually be our first single video, that we shoot next week. It\u2019s about a relationship between them and us, them being these other entities out there. I don\u2019t preach anything I say on anybody, but I believe in some things \u2013 extra-terrestrial, or underworld \u2013 so I dwell in it. It\u2019s nothing that hasn\u2019t been said, but for me it\u2019s quite different. <\/p>\n

\u201cThen I wrote a song about my daughter and how people are to people, so there are different subject matters. This is the second and only record that I put lyrics in, and it will be the last. I like people to figure out what I\u2019m saying lyrically, so they listen to it and get the music over and over. This record actually needed lyric sheets though, so people wouldn\u2019t be confused.\u201d<\/p>\n

August 1990\u2019s Detonator<\/em> \u2013 Ratt\u2019s fifth studio jaunt \u2013 was the inaugural Pearcy-related effort to include lyric inserts. \u201cI was reluctant to do that,\u201d the frontman recalls. \u201cAgain though, I don\u2019t know why, but with this record, they asked me to insert the lyrics. I said \u2018I don\u2019t really do that.\u2019 I\u2019m from the (Led) Zeppelin school of having something to speak, of having people figure out what you\u2019re saying \u2013 even if you\u2019re talking about the big party, or whatever. I reluctantly agreed, though. I said \u2019Yeah, I\u2019ll put the lyrics in there. Sure. I think I should.\u2019 There\u2019s too much going on here, but I won\u2019t again. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to put lyrics in my records, no. When I grew up with Zeppelin, (Judas) Priest, (Black) Sabbath, Blue \u00d6yster Cult, all of these bands in the 70s. It was nice to figure out what they were saying, and all you saw was the record cover and some crazy artwork, and that\u2019s what you went with \u2013 your imagination. You can make it your own song when you do that, not having lyrics in there. People can make the song into whatever they want and keep painting the picture, instead of \u2018Here\u2019s the picture. This is what it is.\u2019 When you put lyrics in there, you tend to not leave the door open to imagination and your own assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019 who requested Stephen insert Smash<\/em>\u2019s lyrics within the booklet happens to be Frontiers Music Srl, Stephen\u2019s solo contract with the label having been confirmed on September 14th, 2016. \u201cI knew somebody from the old Atlantic Records days, who got a hold of me \u2013 Derek Shulman I believe,\u201d he shares. \u201cThey said that they were interested, but I had had contact with them years ago previously and nothing transpired. I pretty much do my own thing. I\u2019ve got my own independent label, Top Fuel, but the same can be said for Smash<\/em> \u2013 it\u2019s still Top Fuel with Frontiers. It was a pleasure that they wanted to be involved, though. Right from the get go, I told them that \u2018This isn\u2019t just a standard \u2018I\u2019m gonna write songs and just throw them out there.\u2019 I\u2019m gonna make a real record.\u2019 We set out to accomplish something, and we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stephen Pearcy<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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In accomplishing the feat of cutting Smash<\/em>, co-conspirators were involved. \u201cI co-wrote \u2018Can\u2019t Take It\u2019 and there\u2019s another song on there that I co-wrote with somebody, but the majority of the record was written by me and my lead guitar player Erik Ferentinos,\u201d the composer accredits. \u201cHe\u2019s been in my solo band for 14 years, and he was just a writing machine. We wrote so many songs, including myself. I wrote full songs, but with the stuff that he was coming up with, musically I was just overwhelmed with. It ended up being Ferentinos and Pearcy writing the core of it, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSmash<\/em> is much more involved,\u201d Stephen submits. \u201cIt was a much more sobering place in every way. We wanted to take our time. We wanted it to have substance, diversity. Every song had the same attention, and we methodically thought it through. We didn\u2019t want to rush it; we just wanted to deliver the best record possible, and with that, we needed to take our time. The record was a real thought out, step-by-step process, and that\u2019s how it differs extremely. I could write a record in a day (laughs). With this record though, so many things actually changed. You could be in the studio tracking a song, and then a better song would come up, and I\u2019d say \u2018Put that song away. We\u2019re working on this now.\u2019 We really wanted the best record possible, and in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Differences exist between the mainman\u2019s solo endeavours and work within the Ratt camp. \u201cWith the solo stuff, I have more room to move and try different things, and grooves, and be heavier,\u201d he critiques. \u201cIt is a harder project in terms of how I deliver music. With Ratt, it\u2019s a schematic of who does what. Whether it\u2019s one guy bringing in a song… Most of the times we collectively write. It was the four of us \u2013 myself, Robb (Crane, former bassist), Warren (DeMartini, guitars), and Juan (Croucier,, bass) \u2013 or it could\u2019ve been two of us, three of us. That\u2019s how the difference is, and it\u2019s a whole different animal. We know what we\u2019re actually setting out to do. On that note, Warren and I have already started demoing up songs for a Ratt record, which would be our eighth. We would like to get started on that at the end of the year as we re-establish the brand, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The demo process for Ratt\u2019s eighth studio platter is in its early stages. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say, because it has just started. We have two songs, but they\u2019re taking on their own entity,\u201d Stephen enthuses. \u201cIt\u2019s melodic, and it\u2019s gonna be heavier. Our direction is the Ratt<\/em> EP (August 1983) and Out Of The Cellar<\/em> (March 1984) \u2013 that\u2019s where we want this to end up. We want it to be really good. That we\u2019ve established from the get go, that we\u2019re gonna take the same approach as I did with Smash<\/em>. We want to take our time, and make sure it\u2019s done 150% to the best of our ability. We\u2019re very lucky; we\u2019re fortunate that we can actually be allowed that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2018 release is being targeted. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna hopefully start recording at the end of the year, because this year we\u2019re already doing sporadic festivals and shows, and might end up on a tour,\u201d the lyricist explains. \u201cWe\u2019d like to tap into a lot of other countries that have been neglected in the past. Next year, a new Ratt record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephen announced his departure from the Ratt fold on April 24th, 2014, his re-entry to the ranks confirmed on November 29th, 2016 amid a complex legal battle over the moniker involving drummer Bobby Blotzer. \u201cIt\u2019s not a surprising thing,\u201d Stephen says with respect to his return. \u201cIt\u2019s not that I quit, or anything. I have a tendency… Or Warren, myself and Juan. We don\u2019t want to go out for a year or two \u2013 we just don\u2019t. We find that there are other things in life \u2013 other things that we like to do and accomplish \u2013 but as far as the band Ratt, we just wanted some time off. It had nothing to do with anything else. We just wanted time off, and that was it. It just got turned into something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Ratt\u2019s hiatus was \u2018turned into something else\u2019 has been a point of discussion. \u201cI can answer that pretty deliberately,\u201d the musician begins. \u201cIt was one person who had nothing else to fall back on, and decided that they were going to go out and try to change the course of history \u2013 its members, its achievements, accomplishments. Unfortunately, it happened, but the dust has settled and justice is peace. It\u2019s very unfortunate, but our audience isn\u2019t stupid. They\u2019ve run with us for years, and that was the worst of it. That this person went out there and didn\u2019t let anybody know that the original members weren\u2019t in this project \u2013 what they decided to call the real deal Ratt. If they would\u2019ve left it alone and just said \u2018I am so and so from this band Ratt,\u2019 that would\u2019ve been a good place for everybody. They got greedy though, and couldn\u2019t make a living doing it on their own merits (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Should an entity touring under the Ratt moniker boast solely one original member, that respective entity is arguably not Ratt. \u201cOf course not,\u201d Stephen agrees. \u201cI go out there and tour, but I don\u2019t claim I\u2019m the band. I created it and I\u2019m the singer, but they are still my solo tours and my solo projects, and my solo music. I can stand on my own merits, and so can everybody else. Me and the other guys, we all have different things to do. We\u2019ve been doing this \u2013 very fortunately \u2013 for 30-plus years. You just don\u2019t throw a wrench into something like that. It\u2019s criminal (laughs). It\u2019s criminal to our integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legal status of Ratt\u2019s moniker has been clouded of late. \u201cIt was very confusing, but it\u2019s not any more,\u201d the entertainer stresses. \u201cIt\u2019s all said and done. It\u2019s taken care of, and the final nail in their coffin is coming up real soon. We just really try not to give it attention, but we just want to let people know reality in as few words as possible, because the attention shouldn\u2019t be on that. It should be on our music and our legacy, and our accomplishments, and what we\u2019re doing musically. That\u2019s what it should be about.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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An eighth studio offering featuring Pearcy behind the microphone will be issued under the Ratt name. \u201cWe\u2019re already doing festivals, headlining festivals \u2013 M3 is coming up,\u201d Stephen references. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s Ratt. It\u2019s the original band, and that\u2019s what it is. The other person cannot call themselves Ratt any more. 2017 is a whole new year, like 1984.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to the topic of Smash<\/em>, writing sessions began afresh following the inking of a solo contract with Frontiers. \u201cIt was the same direction, but the songs were more aggressive,\u201d the performer judges. \u201cWe were really going into a different mode, so to speak. The environment wasn\u2019t that sober, meaning we were still crazy. With Smash<\/em>, it was like a clean environment and in every way. We wanted to be tip top, and the same is going to go for Ratt. There\u2019s nothing diluted, cloudy, or that\u2019s gonna get in the way of actually doing the best you can, if you know what I mean. There\u2019s less party, and more artistry. Not that we were ever artistic when we partied it up (laughs). I\u2019ve recorded records laying down with somebody and I\u2019ve recorded records standing up, and I prefer the latter nowadays. We\u2019re very fortunate at this time to be able to do what we still do, or I am, and I appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said writing sessions spawned leftover tracks. \u201cWe wrote so much stuff, Erik and myself,\u201d Stephen reveals. \u201cSome songs are way heavy, and we wrote probably like 25 songs during the whole process of writing. I recorded four of the songs that didn\u2019t make the record, but they\u2019re available out there \u2013 that didn\u2019t go on Smash<\/em>. I still have a couple of songs that are done that will eventually come out, but Smash<\/em> was a whole new thing. It was started from scratch, but there were a lot of songs, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Smash<\/em>\u2019s successor will arrive is unclear. \u201cIt\u2019ll happen whenever I…,\u201d the singer begins. \u201cSolo records, to me they just happen. I have to be in the right place at that time. I don\u2019t just say \u2018I\u2019m gonna do a solo record\u2019 \u2013 there\u2019s something that urges me to do it. With Ratt, we plan it, and it\u2019s that kind of a process because of how we are structured as writers collectively. With my solo stuff, it\u2019s pretty much just me writing songs myself, or collaborating with friends who play guitar, or my right-hand guy \u2013 Erik Ferentinos. We have such a great relationship writing. It\u2019s crazy; we can sit down and write songs all day long, but now we actually take a different approach to what we\u2019re actually doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recording sessions for Smash<\/em> were a relaxed affair. \u201cWe took our time during the recording process,\u201d Stephen remembers. \u201cOur engineer who mixed and mastered with us is my bass player. He owns a studio; I\u2019ve recorded every record at his place, and we know what we\u2019re doing. He was also in an early version of Ratt back in the day, so the recording process was very comfortable for us. The live band is the studio band. When we go out and do shows, we go right back into the studio because we love that live feel, that live intensity. We try to keep it, so the process has some live kind of a vibe, but you go through the same pattern of making sure that everything\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, cutting vocals was a relaxed affair. \u201cWith Smash<\/em>, it was interesting because I wanted to try different things, but I didn\u2019t want to step out of my boundaries,\u201d the frontman notes. \u201cI know who I am, and who my voice is. I don\u2019t do things that I can\u2019t do live, number one. It doesn\u2019t matter. Anything that I do is going to be Ratt-related, but I don\u2019t claim to be some opera, Pavarotti-type singer \u2013 my voice is just what it is. I like it live to be different. I try different things live, but in the studio, it is what it is. I deliver the best that I can, and fortunately I have the kind of voice where I can do it. My voice is holding up better than ever, and I\u2019m happy about that. I don\u2019t abuse it like I used to, so maybe I\u2019m growing up. I don\u2019t know (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

A carnival-esque atmosphere denotes Smash<\/em>\u2019s cover artwork. \u201cCorrect,\u201d Stephen ponders. \u201cHis name is the Smasher, and my art guy… I\u2019m the art director, but my art guy \u2013 the one I mentioned \u2013 he came up with the idea of the Smasher, and I thought that it was so perfect with what I was talking about on the record. The light can actually be the dark; the light can actually be the black. If you notice, he has a halo above his horns. I\u2019m not portraying any negativity here; I\u2019m letting people know that the good and the ugly are capable of smashing you, and we have become a part of that program.\u201d<\/p>\n

A music video will be filmed for the track \u2018Ten Miles Wide\u2019. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be conceptual,\u201d the songwriter divulges. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna have fun with it; it\u2019s gonna have a different kind of vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smash<\/em> was released on January 27th, 2017 via Frontiers Music Srl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHEN PEARCY – Not Taking It Anthony Morgan January 2017 Stephen Pearcy Studio City, California-based glam metal vocalist Stephen Pearcy, founding member of Ratt, set Sucker Punch as the title of his fourth full-length solo studio album as far back as May 2011, the opus slated for issue later that year. Pearcy\u2019s fourth solo affair […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,3745],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-stephen-pearcy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62967"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63009,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62967\/revisions\/63009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}