Everyone knows that Bret Michaels is having a hell of a time on the Rock of Love Bus. But fans should also know that Bret’s bringing the boyz in Poison out on the road this summer. They’re sharing a bunch of tour dates with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick. Poison’s got a great songbook, natch. We spoke with Bret about which of their many songs turn out to be his favorite. Here he is in his own words.

Talk Dirty to Me
There’s something I’ve always wanted to get off my chest – if I may. A lot of people who call themselves acclaimed musicians have said, “Well, I like Poison’s music, but they’re not virtuosos.” When we had our first audition for a guitarist, every single guy from the Guitar Institute of Technology showed up! I’m like, “Dude, I thought this wasn’t your thing!” It came down to three guys – C.C. DeVille, Slash, and Steve Silva from The Joe Perry Project. It was a tough battle. Probably what started our friction was that in the band vote, I leaned towards Slash. He had this Joe Perry thing and C.C. had this in-your-face Rick Neilsen thing. But C.C. brought in the riff to “Talk Dirty to Me.” In hindsight, he was great for our band. He loves The Ramones and those very down and dirty in your face guitar riffs. It’s like a grand punk anthem.

Nothing But a Good Time
There are songs that you write which will never see the light of day. Back when I was 15, I wrote a song called “Rock ‘n’ Roll Bandit.” The riff is great, but I’ve set fire to the lyrics and no one will ever find them. Back then, however, I thought it was brilliant stuff. The end result may not have put “Stairway to Heaven” out of business, but it was the effort that counted. I tried to show C.C. the riff, and he added the C.C. to it that really gave the song its life. When I wrote the new lyrics, I was thinking about when I worked [cleaning tables] at Bob’s Big Boy on Trindle Road in Mechanicsburg, Pa. I know what it means when that five o’clock whistle blows.

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