Rikki Rockett Delayed Memoir to Avoid Embarrassing His Parents

Rikki Rockett says he avoided publishing his memoir while his parents were alive to save them from embarrassment.

The Poison drummer also admitted he had concerns about what his kids might think of his story – but decided he’d have to take the risk.

Ghost Notes, co-written with Leif Eriksson and Martin Svensson, will be published on Sept. 15 via Rare Bird Books. In a new interview with This Day In Metal, Rockett was asked about the timing.

“I think this is the funny answer, but it’s kind of the truth,” he said. “I didn’t want to embarrass my parents when they were alive by telling some of these stories!

“And then I was, like, ‘Oh, now I’ve got kids…’ But I’m always going to have kids, and in a normal life they’re going to outlive me. So at some point I got to do this. And they’re old enough now that I can say, ‘Well, let me explain this…’ So I feel like that’s okay now.”

Rockett said he knew readers would want to know about “the bad things,” including Poison’s drama at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1991, and his battle with cancer.

“[T]hey’re part of the ride,” he reflected, “so I think I went pretty deeply into most of those, I think – enough to give a lot of understanding.”

But he allowed that he’d pulled back from telling some anecdotes. “[There were] a lot of things that I later… said, ‘You know what? I don’t feel good about that. Let’s reel that back in.’

The Bret Michaels Quote that Rikki Rockett Lives By

“I don’t feel like I ever threw anybody under the bus… If somebody feels that way, it’ll be interesting to find out why they feel that way.”

Instead, he explained, “I want people to see me as a person, not just a fixture, and realize that… not just me – anybody, any musician or actor, entertainer – there’s real feelings back there.”

He continued: “I am eternally grateful to be where I am and and the band I’m in and what the fans have given us.” And he quoted Poison bandmate Bret Michaels to sum up his feelings about his career: “He said, ‘Fame is what other people give you, and success is what you give yourself.’”

Rockett’s memoir is available for pre-order now.