Warrant are no strangers to M3 festival. They have performed eight times. Last year they did an acoustic set and this year played a rocking set that made us wish they could keep playing. They are in the middle of the yearlong Dirty 30 tour celebrating the release of their debut album Dirty, Rotten, Filthy, Stinking, Rich. A few hours before they hit the stage, I was able to sit down for an interview and a few laughs with singer Robert Mason and bassist Jerry Dixon.
Angel Alamo: How does it feel to be back playing at M3 Festival?
Robert Mason: It feels great I only have to sing with one band this year. It is half As much work.
AA: I remember last year you have to do a double duty having to sing with Walmart’s and then go out again with Lynch Mob.
Jerry Dixon: It’s a half day for Robert but yeah feels good. We were stoked that the festival has done well.
RM: I think this is the 7th. It is 10th or 11th for M3 it is our 7th or 8th
AA: Wow!
RM: I can’t believe we have done that many of these things. It’s a really cool thing we honestly look forward to it.
AA: How hard is it putting together the setlist?
RM: We let Joey do it
JD: Joey is the setlist guy and then what happens is nobody opens him up to read then we go on stage we’re like what the f*** is this.
RM: I don’t want to play this.
JD: Well you f*** didn’t say anything.
AA: Now the fans know who to blame when they don’t hear their favorite songs
JD: Exactly.
RM: Go immediately stage left.
JD: Joeyallen.com
RM: Jo mama on Instagram (laughs) Jo mama warrant
AA: Does the band have any outtakes from previous albums that they would put together for future release?
JD: I don’t think we really do because when you are in there making a record there is not a lot of time to be goofing around?
AA: I remember back in the day people used to write 30 or 40 songs for an album.
RM: We are usually too focused, yeah you are right we usually write more songs recorded than they end up on the record. Even back then like in Japan import they always want to add another song or two. Sometimes they will end up getting used on the next record or never.
RM: Is there really that much demand for outtakes from our records?
AA: Not really but people are always curious and looking on YouTube for them curious to hear early demos.
JD: There is one extra song released for so far for louder, faster, harder.
Editor’s note: for fans who are curious about the extra song on Japan release it is a song called stop the world.
AA: This year the band is doing the dirty 30 year to celebrate 30 years since the release of Dirty Rotten Filthy, Stinking, Rich. Could fans next year see the band performing Cherry Pie album in its entirety?
JD: I still can’t believe that cherry pie came out the next year. I am still arguing with Joey about that.
AA: I know I can’t still believe it either. I was 11 years old going like yeah.
JD: Let me shake your hand.
Editor’s note: If someone would have told me 30 years ago that I would be shaking Jerry Dixon’s hand talking about the release of the cherry pie album. I would have thought they were crazy.
RM: Technically 89 and 90 right must have been late 90.
JD: It must have been
AA: It was September (1990) that the record came out.
RM: I swore it was like 91′
JD: It must have been 90.
RM: You know when you come out with the first record they like it to be out in the spring. Then when you come out with the next record they want to see it early in the year or later in the year so it is like a Christmas record. That was supposed to be fall record as a 2nd album. It makes a great Christmas gift kids.
JD: We had to do the POISON (Flesh and blood) tour. I don’t know if we would but you never know.
AA: As a fan, I have been dying to ask this question who came up with the name
Blood, Sweat, and Beers tour?
JD: I don’t know we were drinking. (laughs) I don’t know Erik might have thrown that out there.
RM: Then Eric Church stole it.
AA: Did you guys imagined that you would still be doing this 30 years later.
JD: That’s a hard question. You hit a patch of 4 or 5 years where things are messed up. It’s more of like do you want to play through the pain and wait for stuff to come. It is not the band or the artists it is the cycles of what’s happening.
RM: Image in your early 20’s do you image that in your 50’s you would be doing the same thing. no of course then again, I look up to the stones by the times the 90’s came around they had been around for 30 years. So there you go. They have already done that so if that is what you inspire to yeah. You do a great thing for a living so yeah.
JD: you just have to be willing to be around through the good and the bad. You can’t be around when s*** is great. You can’t just play when the market is up. It goes up and it might go down. WE don’t fuck we are going to quit you just do what you love whether you are playing in front of five people or 50,000 people you are fine. You don’t think about it we are lifers we are walking to take the highs and lows.
AA: A lot of bands doing the Las Vegas residency. Would Warrant ever do a Las Vegas residency?
JD: Yes, I live there. I am in. I think eventually what I would like to see is a residency package. Warrant, Bret Michaels, and warrant great white, warrant, firehouse. Maybe we can do residency for two nights we are not that big of a deal.
RM: With an added 3rd night.
JD: We can go from April 1st to April 1st and a half.
RM Afternoon April 3rd with a matinee.
AA: How does the band manage to stay together after all of these years?
RM: I joined this band 10.5 years ago and I saw four guys who are willing to do this and have fun and firing on four out of five cylinders and I became the 5th one. We are all here for the right reasons. We like what we do we still love doing this. The b***sh*t you endure for 22 and a half hours is worth the one and a half on stage.
JD: Within our band it is like a safe zone. We try and leave the family stuff, hardship, and heartache of life everyone comes out here we block that out we give everyone room to do what they and be what they want. If Robert wants to make a record with (Jeff) Pilson and his buddies
RM: It’s not like no you have to be in Warrant dude you can’t do interviews.
JD: We let each guy be themselves.
RM: Erik did a punk record with his friends from Orange County, it was cool.
JD: Anybody who doesn’t want to be here we don’t want them here.
RM: Everybody knows this is our priority and where we stand.
JD: It works out that way.
Angel Alamo 