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What the Down Boy knows.
Interview with Warrant Bassist Jerry Dixon
By Thomas S. Orwat, Jr.
July 22, 2003
It’s hot, women are wearing close to nothing and the beer never runs out. It sounds like heaven to many, but actually it’s just  summer 2003. And in what is becoming synonymous with summer, the hard rock, party hard band Warrant is out on tour once again and rocking a venue near you. If you are lucky, heaven isn’t too far away.
Warrant, which formed in 1986 when glam-metal ruled the airwaves, still contains three of its original members in 2003: Jani Lane (vocals), Jerry Dixon (bass) and Eric Turner (rhythm guitar). They are joined by Billy Morris (guitar) and newcomer Kevan Phares(drums). During the late 80’s, early 90’s, sold out tours, multi-platinum selling records and top 40 singles made them one of the most popular bands on the face of the planet.
This summer Warrant embarks on the ‘Rock Never Stops’ two month tour with some of the most successful glam-metal bands of the 80's- Whitesnake, Kip Winger and Slaughter. During a recent interview, bassist Jerry Dixon explained the philosophy behind the tour. “We originally were going out with Great White, we signed the contact on the day of that terrible tragedy. We then decided to go with the ‘Rock Never Stops’ tour when the Great White tour looked like it was in jeopardy. We will get an hour to perform, there won’t be much time to fool around.” Because of the short performance time it was easy to decide on the bands set list, “we are just going to play the hits, one after another,” promises Dixon.
Last summer, Warrant was a stand out on the Metal Edge’s ‘Rock Fest 2002’ tour. “We had a great time, it was nice to be play some of the smaller cities and towns that we’ve never played in before,” said Dixon. That tour was considered to be a success even through it was cut short one date (the show in L.A.), because of internal problems in the Dokken camp. “They kissed and made up,” laughs Dixon. He continues, “The tour was good because we were playing in front of a large number of people.” There was even one date on that tour where over 25,000 people were in attendance.
However, back in the late 80’s, Warrant had played to even larger audiences. Dixon reminisces about the biggest. “In Switzerland we once played in front of 70,000 people, it was such a trip. People started looking like ants, it was cool, but also very nerve-wracking.”
Unfortunately for Warrant, their peak in popularity was short lived. A new sound emerged in 1992, it was from Seattle,WA and was simply called grunge. It started dominating the sales charts and radio play lists. Dixon reflects on the past. “It wasn’t just Nirvana and alternative music (that killed glam-metal), it was overkill.” He continues, “I said that if I heard our song “Heaven” one more time on radio that I would kill myself. “ Dixon adds, “At one point in L.A it was on three stations at the same time.” It wasn’t just Warrant that suffered severe popularity erosion, it was pretty much any band that was popular in the 80’s. “I think that every one was shocked, that glam metal went away so fast, a couple months and it was all over. Warrant went from playing sold out arenas back to playing clubs. We were angry young men, it was a rude awakening, a shock, a real big shock,” Dixon sighs.
With all the adversity that Warrant has faced, one might think that a tell all book would be in order, however unlike some of their contemporaries, Warrant has no plans to write an autobiography. Dixon states “We’re not book writers, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue use to write everything down. He was always showing us his journal when we toured with Motley Crue in 1989.”
Since that tour (Warrant’s first major tour) the band has gone through several personnel changes and has just recently replaced their drummer Mike Fassano. Dixon reflects, “We hated to have to see Mike leave, but Jani went on a solo tour last spring and really liked his drummer. He thought in would be good to get him in Warrant and bring some new blood into the band. So Kevan is like our seventh drummer we’ve had.” As far as getting the other two original members back in the band, Dixon stated “In Warrant we have 3 out of 5 of the original members because two of them didn’t want to play. That doesn’t mean that I’ve got to go home. People over think it. So they don’t want to tour, we do! We’re going to do it. You would like to have the original members, but it doesn’t always work that way. I talk to Joey Allen about once a month, we would love to get him back, so it’s something that we do talk about. But, not everyone has the same vision and goals. Like with Kiss, I’d rather see them with people that want to be in Kiss, then people just going through the motions. Original or not.”
So now the question is, after the ‘Rock Never Stops’ tour, what’s next for Warrant? Dixon states, “We don’t have any current plans to get anything out right now, but we would like to have a new cd out by next summer.” He continues, “We’ve kind of been in a tour mode for the last few years.” In regards to the current music scene, Dixon states that he does like today’s music, but his heart is still in good old fashion 80‘s rock. “I like the sound that’s out, I like a lot of the bands lik e the Goo Goo Dolls. In a weird round about way, they remind me of Warrant. They have their rock songs and a lot of good ballads. Their songs and song writing is good and I think that they’re a great band. I think that if our first record D.R.F.S.R. came out right now that it would be refreshing and that people would like it.” However, I’m waiting for a band to come out with rock riffs and just pumping music.
Dixon may just make that perfect record himself. In addition to working with Warrant, Dixon has been finishing up his solo CD. Dixon explains, “Yeah, I finally started to work on my CD, it’s ¾ of the way finished and I plan on putting it out after this tour.” Dixon solo band consists of a couple of prominent musicians. “I have ex Warrant drummer Mike Fassano playing all the drums and Jeff Duncan, who is currently in Armored Saint, plays lead guitar and does vocals as well, states Dixon. “I sing on two tracks and that’s all I’m going to sing on,” laughs Dixon.
When all is said and done what will the legacy of Warrant be? “They came, they conquered, they kicked ass, that’s what I want the legacy of Warrant to be,” boasted Dixon. He concludes “I also hope people go back and dig through our catalog and re-discover some of our lesser known songs.” Hopefully their will be a few more hit releases to dig through. “On The Web:” www.warrantweb.net
Discography:
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich-(1988, Columbia)
Cherry Pie (1990, Columbia)
Dog Eat Dog (1992, Columbia)
The Best Of (1992, Columbia)
Ultraphobic (1994, CMC)
Belly to Belly (1996, CMC)
Live 86-97 (1997, CMC)
Greatest & Latest (1999, Deadline)
Under the Influence (2001, Downboyrecords)
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