Bret Michaels Recalls Poison's First Gig — and How They Cleverly Used Beer to Keep Fans Interested (Exclusive)
The rock band's first performance took place at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in the 1980s
Bret Michaels had a trick up his rock star sleeves to keep fans entertained — and coming back for more — during Poison's early days performing.
In a clip from the musician's upcoming A&E Biography series, Biography: Bret Michaels, which PEOPLE can exclusively reveal, Michaels, 61, recalls his band's first-ever gig in Los Angeles and how he and his bandmates would put alcohol at the front of the stage so fans would come up and listen to their music.
"Our first gig was The Troubadour. I mean, this was like a Wednesday night, when the place is probably half-filled," the "Talk Dirty to Me" singer begins. "We were third on the bill. You can either get defeated by it, or you can come out and kick ass."
"We went in with the attitude that we were playing this like we were in Madison Square Garden," Michaels continues.
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Related: Bret Michaels Says His Life and Career Is a 'True Series of Roses and Absolute Thorns' (Exclusive)
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Bret MichaelsTransitioning to an interview done with Poison drummer Rikki Rockett for the special, the musician details, "The first thing Bret always liked to do was buy, like, 20 beers and sit them on the riser."
"And then," he continues, "if the people weren't coming up front, we'd be like, 'You know, if you come up front, you get a drink.' "
Further explaining the move, Michaels notes that he had similar talks with those at the venue, detailing, "I literally had these conversations from the stage."
"So people would come up front to get the drink, and once you're up there, you're not going back, right? So you stay and have fun," says Rockett, 62, as Michaels adds, "Eventually you have people going, 'This is great.' Now, whether it was the drunkenness or they actually loved the songs, I didn't care."
Michaels, who is currently on his Parti-Gras 2.0 tour, says he wants viewers "to understand the adversity" of his life when watching the upcoming special.
"Facing those adversities, along with the triumphs, that's the real journey of life for me," he tells PEOPLE. "In other words, everyone has their own adversities they face."
"And I always say when I'm throwing the rock horns, it stands for stand strong, rock on and remain unbroken," adds Michaels. "Just go out there and rock the world the best you can."
Related: Bret Michaels Calls Bandmate C.C. DeVille 'One of My Best Friends Now' After Past Fights (Exclusive)
Biography: Bret Michaels premieres on A&E on June 16 at 9 p.m. EST. It will be available to stream the following day.
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