Gothic Theatre
Bret Michaels (Of Poison)
BRET MICHAELS
Poison vocalist Bret Michaels steps out with his new full-length enhanced solo album, Songs Of Life, which hits the streets May 20, 2003 on his own Poor Boy Records. Written and produced by Michaels, all 14 tracks on Songs Of Life are exactly that, songs inspired by events in the singer/songwriter’s life. Says Michaels, “This is my sound and these are my songs. It is my own record label, and there is no one telling me how to sound or how to look. I am independently owned and operated and built from the ground up. Love it or hate it, Songs Of Life is me, a straight-up rock record, and the fans are getting the real deal. Always have and always will. I don’t know any other way.”
Michaels, who turned 40 on March 15, 2003, has truly withstood the test of time. He has been an insulin-dependent diabetic since the age of six. The vocalist has suffered and survived the complications of this deadly disease. Michaels states, “In many ways, diabetes is as much a blessing as a curse. It’s taught me that even if I’ve had to work twice as hard to get half as far, it has shown me to never give up, no matter what the conditions. It has especially helped in the entertainment business to build nerves of steel and withstand scrutiny and criticism and survive 20 years.”
Through years of touring and partying, Michaels has managed to keep his body in top condition through rigorous exercise, motocross, mountain biking, snowboarding, kickboxing and an over-the-top energetic stage performance. Michaels, an extreme-sports enthusiast, helped to kick off ESPN’s Max Out by inviting them to his Malibu ranch to film him motocross racing on his personal track. The vocalist has graced the covers and pages of Diabetes Forecast magazine, as well as Playgirl, People, Jane and many others.
2002 was both a rose and a thorn for Michaels. The year was packed with a highly successful Poison tour, movie and TV appearances as well as the completion of his solo album and video. On a personal note, however, Michaels lost his Grandfather the night before he was to see him in Greenville, SC at the Bi-Lo Center on May 19. Edwin McCain joined Michaels on stage that night to dedicate “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” to Bret’s Grandfather. Bret also lost two of his aunts to cancer as well as his Uncle Don, just after seeing him at the New Jersey show. Another emotional setback for Michaels was the loss of his good friend, Dave Williams (lead singer for Drowning Pool) who had joined Bret onstage at many shows. Williams passed away just hours before he was to join Bret and Poison on stage in Roanoke, VA.
Born in 1963, Michaels’ Songs Of Life spans five decades of events in the singer’s life, and as much as Michaels helped define the rock sounds of the 80’s and early 90’s, this album is not about one particular era. Michaels continues, “To me, all music is relevant…to the people who create it, and the fans who listen to it, regardless of the genre, the era or the image. The real success is the fact that you had the balls to go out and make a CD that you believe in, regardless of what’s popular at the time.”
Songs Of Life kicks off balls to the wall with rebellion and angst, in songs such as “Menace To Society” and “Bittersweet.” It’s about unconditional love, such as in the first single, “Raine,” written after the May 20, 2000, birth of his daughter. It’s about life after the tragedy and heroism of September 11, in the all-acoustic song, “One More Day.” It’s about tough relationships, like in the songs “Forgiveness” and “Strange Sensation.” It’s about surviving diabetes, in the song “I Remember.” It’s about sex and violence, in the songs “It’s My Party” and “Loaded Gun.” It’s about attitude, in the title track “Songs Of Life.” It’s about family, loyalty and sacrifice (Bret’s father was a Navy veteran who served in the Korean conflict, his Uncle Nick was killed in World War II and Cousin Bobby, a marine, was wounded in Vietnam), in the song “War Machine.” Songs Of Life is about the lyrics, music and production, all of which stand on their own. The music tells a strong story and the CD booklet is a pictorial, loaded with photographs and images of Michaels’ life, including a never before seen photo of Michaels after his horrific ’94 car crash.
In addition, Songs Of Life will be an enhanced CD with the video for the first single “Raine,” containing exclusive footage not shown on the TV version. The CD will also include two bonus tracks, “Party Rock Band” from the film and soundtrack, A Letter From Death Row, as well as “Stay With Me,” an acoustic piano track from the album, Ballads, Blues and Stories, a unique storytellers CD made available only through Michaels’ fan club at bretmichaels.com.
With a full time staff and an extremely successful business model, Michaels’ website, bretmichaels.com, manages to be one of the most hit rock websites. It is also one of the only fan clubs to offer backstage passes to all members to meet the vocalist at select shows.
Michaels is the only musician in history to successfully write, direct, executive produce, camera operate, perform his own stunts, score and star in, as well as record a complete soundtrack for A Letter From Death Row, a feature film distributed worldwide by Showcase Entertainment, which also starred Martin Sheen and Charlie Sheen.
The video for “Raine,” was directed by Michaels. It was shot in ten locations: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Vancouver, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Las Vegas, the beaches of Maui and the high desert of Victorville. “The video was an absolute labor of love,” states Michaels, “it needed to have a certain look. After all, it was about my own flesh and blood, and the unconditional love and loyalty of generations of family.” (Only Bret’s real family footage was used, not movie house stock footage.)
The video was shot over a six-month period on 24-P high definition cameras, the same type cameras used to shoot the latest Star Wars film. Says Michaels, “It was expensive, but it gave the video the warm and unique look I wanted. Then we spent months in the edit bay going through all the location footage as well as the 8mm footage of my family, from back in the day. The big kicker: I am working on a very classy and unique way to open up the video with the footage from Raine’s birth. Talk about reality TV!”
Michaels will start his promotional tour for Songs Of Life in March and continue throughout the summer while on tour with Poison in arenas and amphitheaters.
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