Thirsty for tiger blood, you little Warlocks? I bet you are, but I also bet those of you who bought tickets to Charlie Sheen's upcoming tour have no idea exactly what you're in for.
Well, now I do, thanks to Sheen’s axeman sidekick for the month-long jaunt, Filter guitarist and Carmen Electra's fiance, Rob Patterson. Patterson dialed me up exclusively last week to give me some insight into just what we can expect when Sheen hits a town near you on his My Violent Torpedo Of Truth/Defeat Is Not An Option Tour, kicking off in Detroit Saturday night.
Besides some surprises (Snoop Dogg will be in the house!), Patterson also opened up about why he hasn’t set a wedding date with the missus and his name getting mixed up with a certain Twilight hunk all the time. And to see him do his thing next to the former Two And A Half Men star himself, drop by: www.charliesheen.com/tour.
UsMagazine.com: First of all, tell me what's going on with Filter. I know you're taking a break to do this tour so, are you guys going to hold off on doing another record?
Rob Patterson: Well, we released a record in August or September last year, and we're only on the second single right now, which is called "No Love." We're still working that single at radio and touring. We did a lot of touring at the end of last year and we're doing some heavy touring in Europe starting in June doing all of the festivals and whatnot.
Us: So when did you first get approached to tour with Charlie Sheen? When did this all start?
RP: Well Charlie and I have been friends for a few years. We met through mutual friends. He called me and asked me a couple months ago if I would teach one of his girlfriends, Natty Kenly, otherwise known as "Natty Napalm," how to play guitar. When all this started happening, Charlie asked me if I could do some music for his live show. So I locked myself in my studio for about a day and recorded this epic intro for the show, which, people are going to be blown away by, and he loved it. And since I played guitar on the intro song, he said to me, "You're coming on tour with me!"
Us: It's a good gig! Is the show going to be all music? What is the show exactly?
RP: That is a secret, but I'll tell you this. There's going to be music interlaced throughout the show. It's very music heavy in the beginning and at the end and there's going to be some things in between. But as far as the show's concerned, it's just going to be Charlie Sheen. Use your imagination!
Us: So a lot of monologues, a lot of talking…
RP: I do not think that anyone is going to be disappointed. That's all I can say.
Us: So what are you doing musically? Are you composing music for the show?
RP: I composed, wrote, and played all the instruments. As far as the live gig's concerned, I'm basically playing guitar. What I did is I recorded the intro. The live version has the guitars muted out, and I'm going to be performing that part live. I'm dubbed the "musical director."
Us: Is he going to sing or are you singing?
RP: No, you just have to show up and see what happens.
Us: So what's the process been like? How has it been different than working with the bands you've worked with in the past?
RP: The difference for me is that I don't have four or five other guys to help me. It's all on me, which is cool, but there's a lot of pressure. But I do best under pressure. It's very fulfilling for me to be able to do all that. And then I'm also working on some other songs with some other artists, too, that are going to be part of the show and part of the soundtrack as well.
Us: You can't say who?
RP: One of them is Snoop Dogg. He's working on the vocals for the tracks as we speak.
Us: How did this idea hatch? Why did Charlie decide to do this?
RP: I believe that he just wants to get his truth out to people without the filter, no pun intended, of the media. You know, like unadulterated, uncut, raw Charlie.
Us: Yeah. So a lot of it is going to be shocking — even he won't know what's gonna happen right? People are really going to be surprised.
RP: I can't answer that question until I see the show myself. I know I'm going to be surprised. I think it's going to be shocking, stimulating, hilarious because Charlie is definitely the funniest man I know.
Us: What's it been like to work with him so far?
RP: Like I said, he's hilarious. There's never a dull moment. He's totally kind and an all around great guy to be friends with and to work with.
Us: What do you think about all of the misconceptions going on surrounding him now? And the whole uproar?
RP: I have his back no matter what. Everything is filtered through the media except for the interviews he did, and I think with the tour he's really going to put all that to rest.
Us: A lot of people think he's just on drugs and he's messed up and all that. What do you think about all that?
RP: Well, I can tell you he is not on drugs. He is totally clean. I know he's been drug tested at numerous times in the past couple weeks, and I know the guy. I know he's not on drugs. I'm a recovering addict myself, so I know, and he's definitely not.
Us: How does your fiance feel about you going on this tour and how you handle life on the road with her?
RP: I go on the road a lot, and she knows what she got into when we got together. I'm a musician. It's difficult at times, and I'll probably fly her out for some of the shows, but of course, she supports me 100%.
Us: Yeah. And she likes Charlie and supports him, right?
RP: Oh yeah! She loves Charlie and she knows that he's a great person. She has his back, too, in all this.
Us: You guys have been together a long time! That's great. It's rare in Hollywood. Have you set a wedding date?
RP: The wedding date question! We're just taking our time. If people have an issue with that, so be it. We're great, and we don't need to hurry up because of some sort of society standard. We haven't set a date yet. And when I do, I promise you I'll tell you first.
Us: How have you guys managed to last and still be so happy?
RP: One of the things that I think is really important is to keep your lives as private as possible. Other than that, our inner relationship secrets are going to stay a secret. But we just have a mutual respect for each other, we care about each other a lot.
Us: And I'm sure your name gets mixed up with Rob Pattinson a lot, too.
RP: Yeah! I've never met the guy — he's probably a really cool guy — but I'd like to say that the people that tweet me all day long say they loved me in Twilight and Remember Me…. Well, remember this: read the spelling of my name before you tweet me and say some stuff about Twilight or my acting. Please! Because it's PattINson and I'm PattERson. I've been here a lot longer, and I am not a vampire. Maybe in real life, but not on film!
By Ian Drew for UsMagazine.com. To read more of Ian's blog, click here, and don't forget to follow him on Twitter.
