When Motley Crue wraps up its career, it's going to go out swinging, lyrically and musically, according to guitarist Mick Mars. That message was so important that the band held up the release of its new album, "Saints of Los Angeles," so they could include the song "Goin' Out Swinging" on the new set.
"We wanted a song on this album, an ending song," Mars said about the album. "I didn't write the lyrics, but from what I hear about them, no matter what we're doing, if the band goes on or if the band is over when I'm 89, we're going to go out swinging anyway. "It's a song that's embedded in your mind, a kick in the old gonads, I guess."
"Saints of Los Angeles" (released in June) marks the veteran group's first new studio album since 2000's "New Tattoo," and the first to feature the original lineup, Mars, singer Vince Neil, drummer Tommy Lee and bassist Nikki Sixx, since 1997's "Generation Swine." However, the band members did not record the set together.
"Nikki and I were together a lot," Mars said. "Tommy has prior commitments and Vince did too, so it was like we would write stuff and put it down on ProTools, of course, and cut it up and do stuff. We purposely wrote all the songs thinking about the people in the band. Like, what would fit the band the best."
"We would record and either send a hard drive, or have them come out and sing, or play drums. We did it in pieces. The songs were there but we played to drum loops and then Tommy would come in and replace all the drums. Either James [Michael, producer] or Marty [Frederiksen, songwriter] would sing the vocal to see how it would sound. Then Vince would come in and do his thing with it. It was a little different than what we're used to. That's how we had to do it because of prior commitments."
This summer, the reunited band will headline Crue Fest, also featuring Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx's side project Sixx:A.M. and Trapt. The tour started July 1st in West Palm Beach, FL, and hits more than 40 cities in July and August. Many of the band set for Crue Fest appear on "Saints of Los Angeles." The album's first single, the title track, features backup vocals from Buckcherry's Josh Todd, Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix, Sixx:A.M.'s James Michael and Trapt's Chris Brown.
Mars explained that he and his Crue bandmates went through several acts before deciding on what he called a "stellar" lineup.
"There were a lot of bands that we wanted to play with," he said. "A lot of them were busy. All the bands that we chose are great. It's pretty diverse. Sixx:A.M. is Nikki's other band, and they're more poppy than what Motley is; Papa Roach is more rockin' and Buckcherry, of course, are very good. Trapt is the band I'm mostly looking forward to because I haven't heard much of them. I heard bits and pieces. I really want to see them in action. I think it's definitely an interesting bill and it's going to be very good."
Mötley Crüe is known for large stage productions. "We try to keep it under wraps as long as possible just to make it more exciting for the fans," Sixx says. He adds that he hopes this will be an annual event that gets to showcase new bands each year. "We're very excited about the idea of doing Crüe Fest each summertime," he says. "It will be great to do it again next year with a bunch of other bands and building on the idea of great rock bands keeping the ticket prices right and helping to introduce new bands on a second stage or things like that."
August 2008
1 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
2 - Devore, CA - Glen Helen Pavilion
5 - Wheatland, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
6 - Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
8 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
9 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden
11 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
13 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
14 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
15 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre
17 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
19 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Amphitheatre
20 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
22 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
23 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
24 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
28 - Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre
29 - Albany, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
30 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
31 - Burgettstown, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion
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