Editing Poison (band) (section)

===Arrival of DeVille===
Now based in Los Angeles, Poison's stage show began earning them considerable attention in the West Hollywood [[Sunset Strip]] club circuit. The band lived together in a small apartment on Orange St. in Hollywood, and many local female fans began bringing them bags of groceries and cleaning the apartment in exchange for the opportunity to spend time with the band members. The Pennsylvania natives endured culture shock upon settling in Hollywood; "The first week we're seeing people get their asses kicked out front. I remember this pimp was literally smacking the hell out of his ho across the street", Rockett recalled of Poison's early days on the Sunset Strip. That same pimp would later pull a large knife on the band when they decided to intervene, and they learned quickly not to get involved in such matters.<ref name="decibelgeek" /> Hamilton, who had previously represented [[Stryper]] and who would go on to discover [[Guns N' Roses]], negotiated a deal with influential club [[Troubadour (West Hollywood, California)|The Troubadour]] which would provide the band with a regular gig and allow them to further develop their image and stage show. They recorded demos for [[Atlantic Records]] but ultimately the label passed on the band.<ref name="FullInBloom" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last =Konow|first=D|title=Bang Your Balls|publisher=Three Rivers Press|year=2002 |page=266}}</ref> By 1985, guitarist Smith was rapidly becoming disillusioned with Poison, as he was about to become a father and was growing doubtful of the band's chances of success. He subsequently left the band and returned home to [[Pennsylvania]], leaving Poison's future very much in doubt.

The band auditioned several guitarists in Los Angeles and eventually narrowed the field down to two candidates, [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] and [[C.C. DeVille]]. The band knew Slash from the band [[Hollywood Rose]], of which he was a member before joining [[Guns N' Roses]], but the band was hoping to find an east coast guitarist. DeVille recently turned down an offer to join Christian rockers Stryper,<ref>{{cite web |title=Yellow & Black Attack: The Stryper Story |url=http://www.annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=1197 |website=www.annecarlini.com |publisher=Exclusive Magazine |access-date=May 21, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> and although the rest of Poison were duly impressed with his playing and image, they did not care for his brash New York personality. DeVille reportedly dismissed the material written by the band which he had been asked to learn for the audition, and clashed with Poison over which songs would encompass the audition. Michaels and Dall, in particular, disliked the guitarist on a personal level and had strong misgivings about hiring him. Ultimately, in spite of their apprehension, the band decided that DeVille's talent and drive to succeed made him the best choice. The band's desire to replace Smith with another east coast guitarist fueled the move to hire DeVille over Slash. The band also saw hit single potential in the song DeVille brought with him to the audition, "Talk Dirty to Me", a song from his previous group The Screaming Mimis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livinglegendsmusic.com/library.php?groupID=1386#|title=Living Legends music: Poison|year=2011|access-date=June 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005011927/http://www.livinglegendsmusic.com/library.php?groupID=1386|archive-date=October 5, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="decibelgeek">{{cite web |title=POISON Drummer Rikki Rockett Recalls SLASH Almost Being In The Band – "CC (Deville) Auditioned And He Just Made More Sense" |date=March 23, 2017 |url=https://bravewords.com/news/poison-drummer-rikki-rockett-recalls-slash-almost-being-in-the-band-cc-deville-auditioned-and-he-just-made-more-sense |publisher=Decibel Geek Podcast |access-date=March 17, 2022}}</ref>