Get on the Tables or Shut the Hell Up!

Long-haired and frequently seen sans shirt, Kid Rock (born Robert James Ritchie) is one of the most diversely talented artists on the music scene today. Just read through any of Kid Rock's album covers and you will find that he is credited for everything from vocals, guitar (all types), percussion and keyboard to mixing, programming—even producing. And for good reason. For about as long as he can remember, Kid Rock has done nothing but eat, sleep and breathe every aspect of music that he was able to get his hands on. When he was a teenager, he began a career that would eventually range from multiplatinum-selling rock albums to chart-topping country tracks by DJing hip-hop sets throughout the least desirable parts of East Detroit, every chance he could. "I played every ghetto hall, house party or place in the projects. Wherever there was a party, there I was."

It was this early experience on the tables that gave Rock the basic skill set and the trained ear needed to skyrocket his career to the level it's at today. "I felt so much rhythm from those turntables that once I figured out where to put my hands [on any instrument], I just picked them all up really fast," Rock explained. "Plus I've been so fortunate to have so many talented musician friends in my life, like Hank Jr., Billy Gibbons, Jerry Lee Lewis. To be able to pick a thing or two up from all of those cats has taught me quite a bit."

No stranger to the Las Vegas party life, Kid Rock visits our fair city four or five times each year and plans to "jet out more frequently to any worthwhile events" after he purchases his next home, in Malibu, California. His last visit, during the Billboard Music Awards, landed him straight in the gossip columns as he was seen partying at Jet Nightclub in an intimate position with two very sexy blondes, only days after his divorce papers were filed. "That was ridiculous. I'm pissed at [the photographer] about that shit," Rock clarified in a stern voice. "You have all of these photographers at these clubs—I mean, I was shit-faced, no doubt about it, but I'm hanging at the booth by myself, and then some chick jumped on me and they took a picture. At least if I'm going to be in a picture I could have taken her home, but that didn't even happen."

Fortunately this picture-perfect incident didn't prevent Rock from getting back to his roots by agreeing to perform a live DJ set this upcoming Sunday night at Jet, as he hosts a New Year's Eve party and official countdown. But not without a little concern for his rock-star street cred. "You have all of these half-assed celebrity DJs now, like Paris Hilton and Tommy Lee. That seriously just makes me want to puke and not DJ at all." We let that subtle jab at his ex's former love slide by as Rock cautioned that he didn't want to be considered just another "celebrity DJ," and explained that he was always "the first one to bitch about the music at a nightclub," and at some point, "someone reminded me that I was a DJ and told me to either do something about it or shut the hell up." Never one to run from a challenge, Kid Rock assured us that he plans to DJ every New Year's Eve in the foreseeable future. Minus the scandalous photos.