Heavy metal icons Motley Crue are known worldwide for embracing the wildest of rock n’ roll lifestyles, but all that founding guitarist Mick Mars wants to be remembered for is his diehard dedication to his craft.
The infamous Los Angeles rockers will be stopping at the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain on Sunday, July 31, with fellow ‘80s glam act Poison and special guests the New York Dolls.
As early as age of 3, Robert Alan Deal knew what he would be doing with the rest of his life. After playing in various small bands throughout the ‘70s, he decided to dye his hair black and change his name to Mick Mars, advertising himself in a local paper as “a loud, rude, and aggressive guitar player.”
Bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee immediately hired him as singer Vince Neil rounded out the group that would soon be known as Motley Crue, a name that Mars also coined.
“I was bored with my other life. I don’t know…Change is good,” Mars said. “But I’m still me.”
Clad in heavy make-up and a colorful wardrobe, the band burst onto the scene in 1981 with a rebellious attitude that quickly gained them both media attention and animosity from concerned parents and political leaders. Their lives of sex, drugs, and rock n’ rock may have thrust them into the spotlight, but Mars said his primary concern was always the music.
“I really do focus on music. When I was 3 years old and I decided that I was going to be a musician, a guitar player – that’s the same way I think today. I don’t care what kind of consequences might come or get in my way…This is what I chose to do and I’m not going to let anybody or anyone or anything mess it up for me. I just love music. That’s all I want to do,” Mars said.
“I have to admit that some of the guys like that media attention. I don’t. I’m about the music. I skip the (expletive).”
Now age 60, Mars also confessed that he thought at least one member of the band “would be dead by now,” but he feels that maybe a few hard lessons were learned to bring them to this point in the careers.
“I think I would say that we’re probably a bit more educated after a couple of overdoses. You know what I mean? It’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that again.’ I think everybody goes through that, really.”
While the band was often trashed in reviews when they started, Motley Crue has since gained respect and its own place in the music industry, which the ax man thanks his fans for.
“Our fans grew up and took over…It’s pretty funny, you have to admit. I think that any new band that comes out gets rejected unless you’re very, very poppy and commercial. Anything new and different or whatever you want to call it has to get respect. You have to earn it, I guess, paying your dues,” he explained.
“Notice every time a new band comes out it’s ‘the devil’s music.’ Imagine if there was no change and we were still playing ‘Hound Dog’ by Big Mama Thornton or Elvis. I guess that people are accustomed to gradual change, but radical change? No.”
As the songwriter behind some of the bands more recognizable riffs, Mars credits his unique style to a wide variety of influences, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Alvin Lee, and Johnny Winter, and playing in many cover bands early in his career that allowed him to combine and learn parts from many different types of musicians.
While that may be obvious to careful listeners, what many fans do not know is that Mars suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic form of arthritis that causes inflammation of his spine and pelvis. He said that he takes anti-inflammatory drugs to help him get through sometimes grueling tour schedules, but mostly he is forced to work through the pain.
“It still hurts. It still grinds now and then, but like I said, music is my whole passion. It’s what I do. It’s what I live for. I guess it keeps me alive,” he said.
“I’m just happy to be here, to be able to make people happy, to make people smile and give them what I feel inside from my music…I hope you like this, and if you don’t, oh well.”
Those who think that his career may be winding down may also be surprised to learn that his musical aspirations are just beginning.
“I think Motley was a giant stepping stone for me. I’m far from being over. I am going to do a solo album, but I am also going to make sure that it’s the right people that I want to play with. A lot of people will look at this record that I want to do and go, ‘I didn’t know Mick could do that.’ If it doesn’t come off that way, I won’t do it,” Mars said.
On this tour, Motley Crue is offering audiences the chance to witness a 360 degree roller coaster drum solo and pyrotechnics that are “stupidly over the top,” but through it all, the quietest and most humble member of the group also hopes that fans will turn out for the music.
“This is probably one of the biggest and best shows we’ve done since quite a long time. Even with ‘Red, White, & Crue’ and ‘Carnival of Sins,’ this is even better than that.”
