Motley Crue
Rock's Bad Boys Are Back
November 18, 1998

What Year Is It Anyway??? - by Sean Coulter

BEEP... "FREAKS!! Coulter you must call me immediately, as soon as you get this message... MOTLEY CRUE IS BACK TOGETHER AGAIN, YEAH!!!  How big is the Beacon anyway?"  CLICK.

That's the message that still resides on my answering machine.   It was left there by a good friend and co-worker who couldn't contain himself when he fount out Tommy was out of prison and that the Crue would once again be touring.

So when Teif (the phone caller), the Sarge (who quite possibly could have been hit with some chems in the Gulf War), Tim who looks normal, but is by no means sane after a few drinks, Brian (the birthday boy and perhaps biggest Crue fan among us) and my roommate Paul decided it was time to re-live high school, there was no turning back.  After all, I owed it to myself to see these five so-called professionals regress to their high school days and go completely insane while shouting at the "Devil" and pretending they're "Dr. Feelgood."

Fast forward four weeks and even though Halloween is still a day away, like Whodini said, the "freaks come out at night."  At least at night when Motley Crue is in town.  Dudes in leather motorcycle and faded blue jean jackets with album covers painted on the backs ruled the night, as hairspray harlots screamed, "I Love You Tommy," from the front row.  It was 1983 again, as Motley Crue brought back their high-energy gutter punk to the Beacon Theater.

It was a class reunion of the guys and gals who chewed gum in class, smoked in the boys room, and carved Motley Crue logos into desk tops.  Guys had bandannas attached to their sleeves and girls used way too much Aqua Net, then and now.   There were guys dressed up like Gene Simmons, girls wearing too tight pants and belly shirts (that would make a crew slut blush) and lots of love for all as fans shouted, "No, No I want a picture of Nikki, I don't like Vince," or "Tommy we're glad you're back out."

Going in, I had no idea of the spectacle that was about to befall me.  I was expecting some fun, but the passionate response of the fans on this night blew me away.  It was a loyal group of Crue-heads who made this show more than just a concert; it was a religious experience.  Groupies were jumping on stage to hug their favorite Motley dude, as guys were throwing their fists in the air as they sang along with the band.  It was the type of response that only fans of a band like the Crue could deliver.

From the start it was a party gone way overboard when band members jumped onstage and introduced the crowd to perhaps their biggest hit in a Top 40-heavy career, "Dr. Feelgood."  By the end of the night, after the lighters had burnt out to the ballads, and the entire crowd was hoarse from screaming, there was only one song left.  So out strode Vince Neil arm and arm with MTV metalhead wannabe-VJ Jesse who dueted with the singer on "Smoking in the Boys Room."

Walking out of The Beacon, for a moment time retreated and I was worried that I had to get home to finish my chemistry homework for Brother Kevin's class the next day.  It was a slip in the time-space continuum that brought me back to high school (I know I'm dating myself here), Joe's Goatmobile, and hot Summer nights spent cruising Jersey City while blasting "Shout At The Devil."

A lot of people have discounted the recently re-formed Motley Crue, but what they fail to realize is, that for every ballsy ballad that may have escaped from Vince Neil's mouth years ago, there were three or four raunchy rockers that were better than any other pablum puke that was spewed forth in the big-hair era.  From 1983 on the Crue ruled rock radio and easily outlived any of their creepiest competitors.   The only down side to the story was the band members' personal lives which sometimes mirrored their music: hard, fast and out of control.

The world knows the Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson story.  Those in metal rank and file also know that Vince Neil has done some time in the joint as well.   But for all of their run-ins with the law (Don't discount Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars who have had their share of confrontations with the boys in blue), it's the music that continues to matter most to the band and their fans.  All of their early records have gone gold, and with the release of their newest, Greatest Hits, it looks as if Motley Crue will continue that trend well into the next century.

The Aquarian Weekly recently caught up with Motley guitarist Mick Mars, the man who once claimed "My brains are oatmeal," who shed a little light on the current state of the Crue and also added a little insight on the future.

What's the best thing about touring again?
Mick Mars:  It's probably the fans that have been following us since our very beginnings.  I mean we have fans that are there every time we come to town.   There's this one guy who makes his way to the front of the stage whenever we're in his hometown.  This dude's missing his front teeth so he always makes his way up front and takes out his teeth to say hello to us.  That's the kind of fan support we have.

Sometimes we run into people who tell us that we saved their life.   They tell us that, if it wasn't for our music, they may have done something really stupid, but instead they just turned on the stereo and listened to one of our songs.   I think that we may have the best fans in the world.  They stick with us through thick and thin.

Is there anything different about touring now than there was say 10, maybe 16 years ago?
Mars:  Well, now there are a lot of fans who bring their children to the shows.  So it's kind of like two generations of Motley Crue fans out there now.   They're kind of passing the torch along to their children and it's actually kind of weird to see them out there.  But other than that it's the same fans that we see year after year, and then there are new faces sprinkled in.

Why did the band choose to release another collection of songs, rather than a new LP?  It seems as if Decade of Decadence was just released and now there's Greatest Hits.
Mars: The Decade of Decadence LP was what everyone else though were the best songs we ever recorded, while Greatest Hits is the album that has all the songs we think were the best we recorded.  There are two new songs 'Enslaved' and 'Bitter Pill' on the record as well.

Why did the band choose to record the new album on your own label instead of Elektra Records?
Mars:  We felt that it was in our own interest to separate ourselves and release this album on our own.  We had just formed Motley Records so that we could help younger bands who haven't had that much exposure yet.  We're definitely going to release other bands on the Motley label.

Did your old label, Elektra, try to influence the sound or direction of the band back when metal seemed to be on the outs in the early '90s?
Mars:  Actually we have always had complete creative control over our music. No one has ever stepped in and said you should record this or that.  We have always recorded the music that we liked and that we were about at the time.  So no, they never really influenced us, but I bet they would have liked us to do some things differently.  I think all labels are controlling to a point, and they want to make money.  After all, to them it's a business, while to a musician it's art or even life.

Was there any animosity between the band and Elektra?
Mars:  Well, not really.  I mean we have had trouble with them in the past (ed. note: like Nikki Sixx calling the label and cursing them out in front of thousands of fans while on stage), but I think this was just a parting of ways.  We needed to do our own thing and they needed to do their thing.

You mentioned before that with the new imprint you would be able to help out younger bands who may not be ready to record for the major labels.   Is that a reason that you are letting local acts open at each stop on the current tour?
Mars:  Yeah, that's part of what it's all about.  I mean we never forgot our roots, and the chances that some other bands gave us in the early days.   Some of these bands may be just one gig away from a deal and they just can't get the music out to the right people.  So yeah, I think that's part of the plan.

Do you think that metal may be on the comeback, now that grunge has come and gone, and punk has kind of peaked out?  Will there be a return to metal's heyday like the mid-'80s?
Mars:  I'm not sure about that.  I think that music definitely cyclical, though.  I mean punk was also big in the late '70s and early '80s, so yeah maybe metal will come around again, but I also don't think that we ever left.  I mean, we kept recording and playing live through the grunge era and also through the second wave of punk, so maybe.  Music has always come and gone in cycles since the earliest days of rock and roll, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon.

What was up with the WWF appearance last month?
Mars:  We were approached by them because one of their wrestlers, or a group of wrestlers, were big Motley Crue fans.  They just wanted to do a sort of cross-promotional thing, and since the album was about to come out we figured, 'what the hell?'  It's a way for us to get out before our fans and do what we do best.

What's next?  Where does Motley Crue go from here?
Mars:  Well right now we have been working on new material. Two of the new songs are on the Greatest Hits record.  We're all working on individual things at the moment, so it may be awhile before we get together to do a new studio album, but I think we'll continue to play as long as we can...

Rewind... Getting back to that fateful night on Oct. 30th when Motley Crue infected the combined craniums of those in attendance at The Beacon, my boy Teif looked dazed (like a man sated after a huge pleasing meal), the Sarge was yelling at the top of his lungs at some girl to "don't go away mad, just go away," Conaughton, sporting a new Motley Crue baseball cap was as crazed as usual egging on Sarge, and I was spent from throwing my fist in the air.  In the background, my roomate was taking it all in, while the birthday boy was thinking back to what happened to his Shout At The Devil LP.  It was a night that transcended time and space as we all stepped out of ourselves to take a walk on the "Wild Side."

And with a little luck (well, maybe a lot of luck, these guys seem to be a magnet for mayhem and madness) we'll be able to get together 10 years from now, and Motley Crue will once again take over the stage at the Beacon Theater.  That is if they don't get thrown in jail or beaten to death by pro wrestlers in the meantime.   Until then, I'll keep Teif's message saved on my answering machine to remind me of the Crue, and christen my "Home Sweet Home."

(special thanks to a friend of mine for sending me the newspaper with this article in it - cherie)

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