RIK:   Hi Back!

Q:   Hope you Doing Good in crazy L.A.

RIK:   Just doin' my Best, thanks!

Q:  Quick Question, Can you tell me what was Really the Difference between being in a Heavy Metal band in the 80's Compared to 90's or 2000,

RIK:  Hmmm, that's hard to say, since I haven't played in any bands in 2000, ...I guess, back in the 1980's we were really out to have fun, and push punk rock back out to the outer fringes, As we got into the 90's and Seattle began to hit, 80's types of music, which was fun, began not to be fun (at least for me, anyway), anymore. And when they say, "If it ain't fun anymore, then get out"...So I did. I played with a small act here & there, and a few all-star jams but nothing permanent. Oh, I tried. I wanted in with World War III / WWIII, Big-time! but Mandy Lion passed on me for another bassist, and then the band fell apart, when Mandy began to work with Jake E. Lee, and, I don't know where that ever went. A Lot of other players began toi see me as some form of 'dinosaur' which, ironically enough, they ALL are today!

Q:  People seemed to be very Skeptical with the New National HARD ROCK that's coming up ! Also me Being from a different Country and Culture (But Now Living In L.A')

RIK:   You know, One of my ALL-Time Favorite bands was a group called "CACTUS", they were the pre-cursor to the 80's VAN HALEN, Before Eddie Van Halen, but much more Bluesy. I LOVED CACTUS, and, I'd always wanted to make a more modern, re-vamped version of them only in black leather. I believe that, that, would sell! I also LOVED URIAH HEEP, and also STARZ. I think, that if there were bands as cool as my influences such as these, they could be BIG today, because, as they say: "What's old is new again". Actually, STARZ is back together, on the east coast, and my good friend, guitarist, Richie Ranno is blazing away once again!

Q:  I find people very Stuck up, Unfriendly and party Poopers,

RIK:  well, a lot of the bitter, burn-outs and jaded players and hanger-on from back then have finally realized that there's really not room enough for EVERYONE at the top, and some of us have to go back to day jobs to survive. Some were lucky enough to continue as producers, and writers, but very few, and have chosen to remain 'low-key'.

Q:  Most of the 80's Metal songs Reflect Party "Atmosphere", And a very Comfortable sense of Easy going Decadence as well, Have thigs changed over this past 2 decades in the L.A. Metal,and Party Atmosphere!???

RIK:  Although I no longer hang-out at the clubs I once did, and I am not longer 'in-the-loop' on such things, I still do hear a lot, and you have to remember, we did fun music to escape the problems of the world around us. Many bands like KISS formed to not be like political bands who only wrote & sang about problems in the world. so, we created our own escape. At some point, you have to wake up, and realize there's a real world out there, and have to deal with it...Sorry to say, but that's reality. That's why people do drugs, to escape reality.

Q:  P.s. Also I've met couple of Musicians from the Golden Days Of Hard rock(80's) in L.A., And only one seemed Nice enough to Admire and that was NIKKI SIXX, The others which i won't mention, Seemed very Pathetic and Full of themselves.

RIK:  Hmmm, seems like you might have ran into Quiet Riot or some of the other 'dinosaurs' Lol!!! Sorry to hear that. The MAIN thing that most musicians and entertainers seem to forget, that without their fans, they are nowhere! Their fans are what supports them. Fans are the BEST! As for Nikki, now HE was ALWAYS THE COOLEST! That man sweats 'cool'. I was interviewed for HIT PARADER Magazine about him years ago, & he used to give me his hand-me-down amps and stage costuming for free! I used to hang with him, when I first came to L.A., and he had every opportunity to be a snob. But NIKKI SIXX was NEVER uncool. He's the BEST.

Q:   Thank you Man! God Bless

RIK:  And THANKS to YOU too...YOU'RE the BEST! Same to you, always "BE COOL", and let others copy YOU!