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Motley Crue to take up Ozzfest torch
By JOHN BENSON
For nearly three decades, Motley Crue has been living on the “Wild Side” and littering the rock ’n’ roll highway with tales of debauchery, drug use and, of course, “Girls, Girls, Girls.”
Though the hard-rocking band — Vince Neil (vocals), Mick Mars (guitar), Nikki Sixx (bass) and Tommy Lee (drums) — has had its share of breakups, today the Los Angeles act that cut its teeth in the clubs of Sunset Strip appears to be back for the long haul.
This summer Motley Crue known for hit songs “Home Sweet Home,” “Dr. Feelgood,” “Kickstart My Heart” and more — is returning to its roots by signing up for Ozzfest and sharing the stage with Ozzy Osbourne.
The loud bill rolls into Pittsburgh for a Thursday show at First Niagara Pavilion.
The Vindicator recently connected with Neil about Ozzfest, the importance of Crue Fest and the future of Motley Crue. (Note: The interview with Neil took place prior to his June arrest on suspicion of DUI.)
Q. First of all, why did Motley Crue agree to be on the abbreviated Ozzfest tour this summer?
A. Because the way I hear it, this is Ozzy’s last Ozzfest. Since we had Crue Fest 1 in 2008 and Crue Fest 2 was last year — and we’re planning on Crue Fest 3 next year for our 30th anniversary — Ozzy is kind of passing the torch. So now it’s time for Crue Fest.
Q. In your opinion, what is that torch?
A. Well, Ozzy was pretty much the guy who gave us our break touring with him back in 1984. He’s a close friend of ours, and he’s a legend. So it was really cool for him to ask us to do this thing. And he knows that Cr ºe Fest is important to people, important to us, and Ozzfest is important to a lot of people. So it’s time to kind of combine them and go forward.
Q. Having successfully established your own touring festival is quite an achievement. What does that mean to Motley Crue?
A. It’s just a concert series. If it wasn’t Cr ºe Fest, we’d still be out there touring like when we tour in the winter and do arenas. But it’s great to just put a lot of friends on the bill with you and have fun with it.
Festivals are great. It’s like one of the most fun things for me to play, to be outside and the festival atmosphere.
Like in Europe they have 100,000 people with festivals. And in the U.S. it’s scaled down, but it’s just important to give to the fans a whole day’s worth of music, I think.
Q. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of your debut album, “Too Fast for Love.” Any plans?
A. I’m sure we’ll put out something. I’m not sure what.
Q. We hear there’s also a book coming out titled “Tattoos & Tequila.” Is this a followup to the Motley Crue autobiography “The Dirt”?
A. The book is done and it’ll be released in September. In “The Dirt,” I touched on my childhood and certain things I didn’t really get into details before. So this book really focuses on details on me growing up in Compton (Los Angeles), where I saw a lot of crazy stuff — including people murdered — and just getting into rock ’n’ roll and being in Motley Crue.
Also, “The Dirt” is 10 years old, so there’s a lot of stuff that’s happened since then. So it’s from my childhood to present day.
Q. Finally, M ∂tley Cr ºe has had its share of drama in the past. Why is the band still going strong in 2010?
A. It’s just human life, there are good times and bad times. There are ups and downs. It happens to everybody in their life, and it happens to bands in their careers. What happens with most bands, they ride that up and everything is great but once that down comes they break up and that’s it. Motley Crue has kind of weathered the ups and downs of a career but every band has done it. Look at Aerosmith when Joe Perry left the band. That was their down time. It ebbs and flows, and we’re riding back on the up again.