Bret Michaels Is a Backstage Note-Passer

Bret Michaels' life in Nashville, ongoing solo career and stacked festival itinerary keep placing him in the path of country music superstars. As he's traveled, the member of '80s rock band Poison has put together a behind-the-scenes note-passing system that connects busy people from seemingly different worlds.

“I go around to everyone … Blake Shelton and LeAnn [Rimes] can all tell you,” Michaels told The Boot during September's Hometown Rising festival in Louisville, Ky. "I leave them a paper plate that says, ‘Hey, it’s Bret. I hope you’re doing great. Have a great show.’ Most of the time, they pin one up to my door [in reply]."

According to Michaels, his end game is simply to be kind to his fellow artists: "I don’t do it for any reason other than I might not see them if they’re running late or I’m running late," he explains.

Cordial behavior and genuine pleasantries have connected Michaels with living legend Loretta Lynn and others with the pop culture clout to even make a genuine rock god feel starstruck. And should the Country Music or Rock and Roll Halls of Fame ever want those notes, they’re in luck: Michaels keeps everything archived.

“I’m a hoarder of cool stuff,” he says. “I have everything. You know, when you start to stack it on top of the other, but I know where it’s all at. It’s organized hoarding.”

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