(PR) Ratt's Juan Croucier issued an open letter via his Myspace page about the summer reunion of Ratt that he is not involved with. Here is what he had to say: It is with deep regret that I must inform you that there will not be a full reunion of the surviving Ratt members. Considering the original band broke up fifteen years ago and there have been several questionable incarnations of it since then, my hope was maybe this time we could give the Ratt fans what they have wanted all along; the original band. I made an exceptional and painstaking effort to work things out with the others, only to reach an impasse. There has not been a sincere attempt at redemption by my former band mates, for their insidious and sometimes malicious wrongdoings in the past, toward me. Even when they withdrew critical conditions to help facilitate a long-term reunion, I continued to hope, trying to stay focused on a positive outcome for everyone, especially the fans. I told them, in no uncertain terms, that if we could reach a point of reasonable compromise, in good faith, I would return to the band. To my dismay, near the end of negotiations, ulterior motives prevailed and I was eventually simply stonewalled. Therefore, since nothing has changed, I am left no other choice but to abstain from a reunion.
I also made it clear that I was not doing this for the money. My attempt was motivated by my desire to instill credibility back into the name Ratt, settle unfinished business and to give the Ratt fans what I believe they would truly enjoy seeing and hearing the most. However, their ignorant and unscrupulous habits came into focus once again; a stark reminder of our tumultuous and dysfunctional past.
Unfortunately, the biggest losers in this equation are the Ratt fans, and for that I am truly very sorry. It was my sincere hope throughout several months of negotiations that many of the people that never got to see the original band could at least finally see the surviving members, delivering the bombastic assault of what has come to be known as Ratt N Roll.
The band that will be opening for Poison this summer will be basically the same partially reformed band with Stephen coming back to do vocals. I will be recording a follow up to my Liquid Sunday solo record and playing shows with my band.
For more information, please, visit: www.juancroucier.com
Thank you,
Juan Croucier