Ratt bassist Juan Croucier said he and singer Stephen Pearcy – the band's only remaining original members – were hoping to secure “a level of class” with their latest lineup.

The “new breed” version of the group was unveiled earlier this month, featuring guitarists Jordan Ziff and Chris Sanders plus drummer Pete Holmes. Ratt’s latest tour arrived after a drawn-out legal battle with former drummer Bobby Blotzer and the recent departures of Warren DeMartini, Carlos Cavazo and Jimmy DeGrasso.

“The group has been through a lot in recent years, some of which is not exactly flattering, and we're out to sort of change that and give it a level of class,” Croucier told 94.9 The Rock. “Look, some things with rock bands are better left unsaid, and a lot of times when dirty laundry gets aired, nobody wins that.”

Declining to go into detail about the reasons behind the lineup switch, he said, “People change, people's objectives and agendas change, and all Stephen and I are trying to do is keep the group moving forward in a positive way and give the Ratt fans what they love, and what we love as well. So there's nothing really other than that.”

You can listen to the interview below.

He said they avoided identifying their new colleagues before their first show together in an attempt to minimize any negative commentary online. “We both sort of agreed that in this day and age of social media, there's a lot of people out there with five-pound opinions," Croucier said. "We kind of figured that it would be best if we just walked up onstage and showed them who the lineup was.”

The new arrivals had gone through “a pretty intense audition process” before staring, the bassist added. “The band is really, really honoring the level of musicianship and quality that Ratt has always tried to maintain. And the response has been positive."

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