Jerry Dixon's Warrant World: The Origins Of Soap And Other Details

It's widely known in metalhead and hair metal circles (shout-outs to my Metal Sludge minions) that Warrant's bass player Jerry Dixon has been endorsing his own funky line of soap on his website.

Hell, we even did a story about it a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, snort all you want, but at least he's not hocking Jerry Dixon lunch boxes, Jerry Dixon bedsheets or Jerry Dixon condoms (can you imagine his smiling face on your donker?). Still, what exactly made this '80s rocker think "Screw 'Cherry Pie', it's time to sell some freakin' soap?!"

"It's funny, isn't it?" begins Dixon on the line from his home outside of Los Angeles. "People think I'm sitting at home making it or something. I was approached by the company [called Soap Grooves (go to www.soapgrooves.com)] that makes it and there's a girl that emailed me, 'We really have this idea. Send us some picks. And we'll make you some.' And I was just dying, I was on the floor! I just thought it was just cool, y'know. I always get asked for cool stuff and just kind of weird stuff and I just thought it would be something cool on the site."

Not exactly Jerry Garcia and nowhere near the heights of Gene "Mr. Marketing" Simmons, Dixon's interest for marketing has nothing to do with the former artists' greed for the bling bling.

"People don't need to buy something if they don't want it. People say 'you're pimpin' this and that' but if people want something from you they get a chance to really get your autograph, not a rubber stamp, as opposed to those bigger bands."

Musicians' ventures into avenues other than music can sometimes strike fear into the heart of any fan. Even Warrant frontman Jani Lane (ex-husband of hot psycho blonde Bobby Brown who appeared in their famed "Cherry Pie" video) has invested in a restaurant — but he's not flipping the burgers in the back, as a lot of you sarcastic bastards might think ("Man, you guys have been reading Metal Sludge too much. Goddangit!" says Dixon).

But keeping the Warrant train puffing along for 17 years is a continuing passion for Dixon and the Down Boys. They still continue to make records (last of which is a collection of covers called Under The Influence released to coincide with the Poison tour of last summer) and tour their asses off despite the snickering that these "Hairfests" with other '80s bands should be dead and gone. Laugh at them if you will, but just like a defiant Simon Le Bon with his Duran Duran, Jerry Dixon and Warrant still think they're as relevant as ever.

"Bands like Winger and Warrant, we tried to fight [these nostalgic tours] for a really long time, but we are what we are," states Dixon seriously. "We got classified and you gotta put the bat down and stop hitting yourself in the head. You get old and bitter when you try and escape what you got classified as. Christ, I like Sabbath and Maiden. I like heavy stuff. I don't think I'm an '80s rocker dude, but I got classified as that, so screw it. I'm still working. I still make a lot of money. Call it what you will. Whatever! You can still sell it, so take it. It's not going to change you."

It's 2002 now, so forget about the chicks, booze, smack and overall bedlam that Warrant had in their day on tours with the likes of crazy C.C. DeVille (what's up with THAT guy?) with Poison and heavy hitters Motley Crue ("We toured with Motley on the Dr. Feelgood tour and they were all sober — at least at the beginning of it," Dixon laughs maniacally).

The next three months will feature touring (with a possible stop in Toronto in the summer) but it's all about the Gatorade and the kids. Doesn't sound so rock 'n' roll, now does it?

"Yeah, it's funny," Dixon relates. "In this business, you got to reel it in after so many years, you know. You can only drink so much and party so much. It's just not fun anymore. It's actually more exciting, like, 'Let's see how long I CAN'T drink!!!'"

He lets out a hoarse, loud laugh:

"There's just more of a thrill, ya know?"