Drummer Jimmy DeGrasso spoke to SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Report” about his decision to exit RATT after playing a number of shows with the veteran California hard rock act in 2017 alongside three members of RATT‘s classic lineup — singer Stephen Pearcy, bassist Juan Croucier and guitarist Warren DeMartini.
“I played with them back in 2014; when they neeed a [fill-in] drummer, I did three shows with them,” Jimmy said.
“And then they sort of went silent, and then all the legal stuff started to happen. And then we all started to talk again. So we decided to come out and play. And, of course, we started on the Monsters Of Rock cruise [in October 2016], which was really cool. And the show, I thought, went really well. We rehearsed three or four days. And then we started to book shows, and then we started to play.
“The odd thing about those guys, it’s, like, there’s no fighting — there was no fisticuffs in the dressing room or no screaming or any of that stuff. I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes with Warren and Stephen and Juan. So we did [shows] pretty much through the end of the summer [of 2017], and then Stephen had to have his knee replaced, which, obviously, is traumatic. And then we started to talk again, and then the next thing I hear, Warren‘s not in the band. [Laughs] I’m, like, ‘Oh, okay.’
About Warren, Jimmy said:
“Honestly, I think you need Warren in that band. There’s no disrespect to anybody, but the band is Warren and Stephen, really, for the most part, I think. I think most fans would agree. And I don’t know what legal squabbles are going on behind the scenes. I’m not sure. I don’t know if there’s even any. I guess it’s just a situation where they just can’t coexist. I don’t know.”