To hear the guys in Motley Crue tell it, they’re just one happy family now that the band is back together and filling arenas and amphitheaters nationwide.
| With Sum 41: 6 p.m. Saturday, White River Amphitheatre, Auburn; $24-$75, 206-628-0888. |
“We’re getting along better than ever,” guitarist Mick Mars said. “It’s so great to see that … It’s like night and day. We all get along, I mean, extremely well. It’s just all really positive and really good.”
Mars talked during a teleconference interview with reporters in mid-July. Also on hand were singer Vince Neil and bassist Nikki Sixx (drummer Tommy Lee was on vacation).
The reason for the gathering was to promote the 55-date “Carnival of Sins” reunion tour, which hits White River Amphitheatre in Auburn on Saturday.
A first set of dates in the spring was one of the season’s most successful tours, and the new run of dates is a good indication that life in Motley Crue is harmonious and productive these days.
This, of course, is a major change for a band that is as famous for inner-band turmoil and wild lifestyles as for hit albums like “Shout at the Devil” (1983), “Girls, Girls, Girls” (1987) and “Dr. Feelgood” (1989).
The glory days of the band, recounted in salacious detail in Lee’s book “The Dirt,” include: Neil’s conviction for vehicular manslaughter resulting from a drunken driving auto accident that killed Hanoi Rocks singer Razzle; Sixx’s long-running heroin habit that included a near overdose in Tokyo (he’s now been clean and sober for four years); and Lee’s tumultuous relationship with actress Pamela Anderson that included an infamous sex tape.
By the start of the 1990s, things were beginning to fall apart in the Los Angeles-based band. It took until 2002 for the break-up to be complete.
Eventually, the lure of playing in Motley Crue again and the opportunity to rebuild frayed relationships brought the musicians back togethe, they say.
Although it had been 15 years since the band last had a hit album, the reunion tour is an indication that the band may be more popular now than at any time during the preceding decade.
Band members say a little added maturity coupled with a less grueling touring schedule and more comfortable traveling accommodations has helped them enjoy new life as a band.
Sum 41: Over the course of three albums, Sum 41 quite willingly, it would seem had built a reputation as the party boys and practical jokers of punk pop.
But the latest Sum 41 CD, “Chuck,” is getting noticed more for showing a serious, politically attuned side of the band.
Sum 41 opens for Motley Crue Saturday at White River Amphitheatre.
“Chuck” arrived several months after Sum 41 became involved in a documentary film intended to shed light on the long-running civil war in the Congo the worst such war in African history with a death toll that now exceeds 3.5 million.
The band became aware of the project through a Canadian peace group, War Child Canada. The four members of Sum 41 – Whibley, guitarist Dave Baksh, Jay McCaslin and drummer Steve Jocz – traveled to the Congo last May on behalf of War Child to conduct interviews with people affected by the war for the documentary.
Singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley said band members didn’t expect to encounter any troubles.
But seven days into the visit, a battle erupted in Bukavu, where they were staying, and suddenly they were caught in the crossfire.
Associated Press photos
Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue (right) and Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 (below).
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