On their new album, Poison takes on such classics as David Bowie’s “Suffragette City,” Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers” and The Cars’ “Just What I Needed.” According to Michaels, the concept for the record was just to have fun.
“I always push to do new material,” Michaels said. Bobby and I had a knock down, drag out fight in Atlanta last year. A little fist this way, a little bass thrown at my knee that way. A few stitches later everybody’s patched up and ready for a new tour. We decided for the betterment of the joy of the band, we wanted to do something fun. Doing covers is something we enjoy and we had a blast making this album. It wasn’t the right time for us to start arguing over new music. We needed something to get our creative juices following. This record was it.”
Poison is a band that likes to have a good time and keep the party going. “Fun has been our theme since day one,” said Michaels. “We try to make the music based in reality. Whether it be fun songs, sexy songs or sad songs, it’s all based on experiences in our life. We keep our show based in rock & roll fantasy. When I was a kid and I went to see Kiss or Aerosmith, those bands made me rock out and I had a great time. I want people leaving our show with their hands in the air as they walk out to the parking lot screaming, ‘Hell yeah, dude that rocked.’ There’s nothing wrong with being a good entertaining band.”
As a frontman, Michaels has developed a reputation for being very friendly and warm with the crowd. “I’m a fan that happened to make it in a rock band,” he said. “The crowd sees the excitement on my face and what they see is real. I don’t feel my fans are below me. We’re just extensions of each other.”
While Poison remains the mother ship, Michaels likes to branch out tackling some projects on his own. Most recently Michaels made his reality show debut with the new VH1 hit, “Rock Of Love.” The show has Michaels living with 25 women in one house while he’s recording his new solo album, Custom Built, due out in the fall on VH1 Records. “It’s one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever done. I got to meet some insanely cool women. The strangest thing is finding chemistry. In my life I’ve either had long-term relationships or what I call ‘rock tour bus love.’ I did not know the art of a long courtship period. The hardest thing for me was to say goodbye to them. I had to tell some of them, ‘You’re not the one.’ I even had one girl tell me that I wasn’t the one for her. I got kicked to the curb! I’ve never done anything like this. My private life has always been private.” Michaels swears up and down that the show’s not scripted.
Jones Beach has always been one of Michaels’ favorite stops, and he’s looking forward to their July 24 gig there . “We love coming to Jones Beach – it’s a tradition,” he said. “Last year I even broke out my dirt bike and hit the beach. It was very cool.”
Poison will perform at Nikon at Jones Beach on July 24.
