In a new interview with The Chuck Shute Podcast, WARRANT guitarist Joey Allen spoke about his decision to leave the band in 1994 and his eventual return a decade later. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I wasn’t really in a good place, to be honest with you. When you’re in a band, you rely on the other three or four people in the band to get up in the morning and show up to work, so to speak. And there was one person that I couldn’t rely on. And I decided that I would take my life into my own hands and be responsible for myself. So that’s what I did. And it wasn’t fun being in school and being in class with a bunch of pocket protectors, dudes, and learning IT and data and everything I did, Microsoft certification. But in hindsight, it was probably one of the best things I ever did because, one, both Jerry [Dixon, WARRANT bassist] and Erik [Turner, WARRANT guitarist] have told me, ‘You didn’t miss anything while you were gone.’ It was really dark for the band. And I got an education and worked in private business for eight years, and it’s helped me with what I do today with Pearl Drums. I’m hitting my 20-year mark with Pearl in August. And it’s a great bunch of people I work with at Pearl. They’re some of the best in the industry. I’ve learned tons from guys that have master’s degrees and economics and that have run businesses, and it’s just a different world, having a day gig and working in business and then being in a band.”But this band has matured so much over the last 20 years,” Joey revealed. “We’re still friends. We’ve always been friends — Steven [Sweet, WARRANT drummer] and Jerry and Erik and I. Erik and I have known each other the longest of anybody, really — a few years before WARRANT even started. And now Robert’s [Mason, WARRANT singer] been in the band longer than Jani [Lane, original WARRANT singer] ever was, so I’ve been in a band longer with him. But it’s like five grownups going on tour. And everybody’s smart. There’s no low-IQ guys. There’s no passive-aggressive [behavior]. If there’s a business decision that’s gotta be made, we sit down and we talk about it like adults, and everybody’s got an opinion. And nine out of 10 times when we roll out of a meeting, everybody’s in a great mood. Every once in a while, you get a situation where you might disagree, but it’s not a negative thing. It’s always learning. Everybody always learns, and everybody’s great. Everybody’s in a good place. The band’s never been in a better place. We’ve worked hard, man. I mean, I’ve been back in the band 20 years now, 21 years.”When host Chuck Shute suggested that WARRANT is a “side hustle” for Allen, considering that Joey has worked in sales for Pearl for the past couple of decades, the guitarist clarified: “Well, Pearl has been around 80 years next year. Pearl’s a worldwide business. And I’m really blessed that… I take it for granted sometimes. My education really helped me out, to be honest with you — knowing data and knowing how to navigate Excel spreadsheets close to the advanced stage, and just knowing how to communicate with people properly and not blow up and say the wrong thing when you get frustrated. There’s frustrations everywhere. The band’s taught me a lot of that. But the band is in a great place. The band is financially better now than we were in the heyday. So side hustle, to me, would be, like, is it something where it’s just kind of icing on the cake? And the band is a viable business. I mean, at 40 to 50, 40 to 60 gigs, it’s a very viable business.”Asked if WARRANT is “the only source of income” for some of the other members of the band, Joey said: “Absolutely. Absolutely. And a great source of income. Well into six figures for everybody. I don’t wanna talk about money — it’s not important — but WARRANT has worked very, very, very, very hard, and we’ve gotten to the place now to where it’s a great business. And we’re gonna keep on going. And we’ve got some things up our sleeve. We’ll see what we do this year, maybe early next year. And it’s all good.”Regarding how WARRANT goes about touring and playing shows nowadays, Allen said: “We have five band members and four crew members. One crew member handles merchandise, and that’s a great business for us on the road. And then we’ve got a stage left tech, a stage right tech, and then a tour manager that does front of house.”We’ve got a very tight ship,” he explained. “We don’t use a tour bus. It’s a waste of money. And we fly in and out of every gig, and we drive. I drove almost five hours Saturday from Farmington, Pennsylvania all the way up to Elmira to go play Tag’s. So there’s a band van that’s got five band guys in it, and then there’s two crew bands with gear. We take enough gear to get through a show, and backline’s on the rider. And that’s what we do.”Allen went on to say that VIP experiences with fans are providing artists like WARRANT with an additional source of revenue that wasn’t available when the band first started. “Yeah, it’s cool,” he said. “I’d say 9.9 outta 10 people have a good time. You get to come in, you get to say hi to the band. You get a picture. We hang out while we sign something for you. And then that’s it. And sometimes there’s 20 people, sometimes there’s four people. It’s an opportunity there for everybody. It’s just another opportunity for income for the band, because, basically. we make money touring. That’s how the band makes money.”Joey continued: “We haven’t had a proper record deal since Sony/Columbia, from my perspective, and we still have catalog with them and we’re square with them. So there’s all kinds of different revenue streams. But as far as business is concerned, I’m really proud to say that this business is viable. The guys that manage the portion of the business that’s the money do a great job. And no complaints. And [this is] coming from a guy that’s worked for Pearl, which is a huge company worldwide, and I’m right under that executive level at senior sales, and I know enough to get in trouble. But seeing how a major corporation like Pearl works and seeing how WARRANT works, WARRANT’s run pretty well. No drama. There’s no drama. There’s no infighting. There’s no low-IQ band members.”There’s a lot of low-IQ musicians out there,” Joey added. “It’s unfortunate. They probably don’t think they are, but I’d love to give everybody an IQ test. In the industry — they’ve got the egos because they’ve sold records, but just because you’ve sold records and you’re successful doesn’t mean you’re smart. I know a lot of rich people that aren’t smart. There’s a difference. And it is what it is. It is what it is.”Mason replaced Lane in 2008 and has brought a degree of stability to WARRANT after Lane’s unceremonious departure and subsequent 2011 death.WARRANT’s latest studio album, “Louder Harder Faster”, was released in May 2017. The disc was recorded with Jeff Pilson — a veteran bassist who has played with DIO, FOREIGNER, DOKKEN and T&N, among others — and was mixed by Pat Regan, except for the song “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink”, which was mixed by Chris “The Wizard” Collier (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, PRONG, LAST IN LINE).[embedded content]