January 7, 1997 / 432 readsCourtesy of Scott from Oregon, USA
"1996 for me was a really good turning point as far as creating different stuff, it was a learning experience for me, a year of expanding--the solo record and the movie. A very big year for me," says Poison's Bret Michaels, whose various projects will see the light of day next year. His A Letter From Death Row movie has been partly reshot to include the participation of actor Charlie Sheen, his partner in Sheen-Michaels Productions (in the small role of a cop) and Martin Sheen, now playing Bret's father. Alas, the part of the female interviewer couldn't be recast. "She was in too many scenes. We'd have to start from scratch. Too expensive," explains Bret, who hopes to release the film and the accompanying solo record in March.
Next up for Bret, who moved from Nashville to Las Vegas, is "an off the wall comedy thriller in the vein of Clerks or Fridays" called Celebrity Pizza, which will shoot there early next year. Bret will be part of the subplot (as his own clone) in the movie, set in a pizza parlor that employs celebrity lookalike delivery people. Before then, he's slated to shoot a Zalman King movie shooting in Bali and called In God's Hands--he plays a cult leader of an "apocalyptic village" where some wayward surfers land. Bret, who may contribute music to this, will also write and appear in one of King's Red Shoe Diaries episodes for Showtime, and girlfriend Kristy Gibson (also in A Letter) will co-star.
All this doesn't mean that Bret is ignoring Poison. "I'm really excited about going in to do the next Poison record," he says, but expects that his bandmates will get started without him. He doesn't want a band record to come out till late '97 or early '98 because "My solo album has to run its course." He's not opposed to touring with Poison for a few weeks next summer, but he's "like to do a full tour for a new record."
The future of the shelved Crack a Smile, with Blues Saraceno on guitar, remains uncertain though two songs from it are on the Poison's Greatest Hits CD. Meanwhile, drummer Rikki Rockett is working on the second five part miniseries of his Sisters of Mercy comic book line (he does all the computer colorization) that debuts in March, and is in negotiations for a comic based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Bassist Bobby Dall and his wife Michelle are awaiting the imminent birth of their second child, a daughter.
