BRET MICHAELS > NIKKI SIXX

I know we give Bret Michaels a lot of shit around here, and rightfully so. But I actually do think he deserves a big pat on the back for this.

In case you haven’t been following the drama: Nikki Sixx has been saying no band of his would ever tour with Poison since as far back as 2004, and then in November Bret Michaels said that Motley Crue were going to tour with Poison, and then Tommy Lee was all “Oh no we’re not,” and then it turned out the tour was happening anyway, and then Nikki, rather than admit that The Crue are putting aside whatever hatred they have for Poison in order to please the fans/get paid, came out and was like, “Yeah, we’re just doing this tour with New York Dolls,” who will act as support on the bill.

Now, inevitably, Michaels has been asked about all the brewing drama in a recent interview. And he could have started some shit by smack talking Sixx right back, which I certainly would have found entertaining. Or he could have told some bullshit lie like Sixx did, which would have provided me the opportunity to make fun of him some more. But, no, he did something kind of unusual instead: he took the high road and told the truth.

Here are some choice excerpts:

• “I think Motley and Poison touring together is going to be an amazing summer tour. The bottom line is, all that matter is that we have a good time and the fans get completely rocked.”
• “Vince [Neil] has toured with Poison many times solo. We get along great.”
• “If there’s going to be a friendly competition [between Poison and Motley Crue] as far as wanting to go out and put on a great show, absolutely. As far as saying anything bad about them, I just don’t.”
• “As far as getting along, I’m not around them enough to know or really care how they feel. Even if they like Poison or don’t like me, I’m playing to fans who show up. It doesn’t have to be a lovefest between our two bands. I don’t want the fans to be separated. Motley fans are Poison fans are rock fans.”

Bret does sneak in one kinda-sorta insult towards The Crue (“Motley has a certain way they want to brand themselves… With Poison, we just want to go out to play for fans.”), but it’s pretty minor and he’s actually 100% correct so it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. And, sure, he never comes out and says “We’re all gonna make a lot of money doing this tour,” ’cause I suppose that would be gauche, even by Bret Michaels standards.

But the gist of what he’s saying is true — the two bands have a largely overlapping fan base, and that fan base wants to see this tour, and that’s the reason to do it, regardless of how the bands actually feel about one another. He managed to be diplomatic AND honest. That’s what Nikki should have done when he tried to back-track and undo his 2004 vow never to tour with Poison — come out and said “We have the same fans and we’re giving the fans what they want.” Instead, he underestimated the intelligence of his fans and he tried to stink palm Poison. Not cool.

So there ya have it. Bret Michaels, lookin’ like the good guy for once. Miracles are a really real thing.

-AR