Hello from the road…

I am sorry I haven’t written to you all in a while in the form of a “blog” but it seems the instant contact back and forth of twitter has gotten the best of me too. Well that and the fact that I’ve been finishing a new book, a new Sixx: A.M. album of songs, a Motley Crue tour, a radio show, press, a clothing line, and lets not forget the most important thing I do in life is being a father of four. So excuses aside, how are you? Is your summer full of positive energy as we slowly head towards the Fall? My favorite creative time of year, but this summer has been fruitful for sure.

I wanted to thank all of the fans that came out to Europe to see Motley Crue play this summer. It was one of the best times of my life. Not only were the crowds great but I also had such a wonderful time having Kat along with me for the whole tour. We soaked in your beautiful countrysides and foods together. Her new season of LA INK just premiered and for her to take time out of her equally busy life (including planning her book tour) was something I was just blown away by. I know a lot of you got to meet her and that made her happy too… Again thank you Europe. I fell in love with you all over again.

I did the SIXX SENSE radio show from the road and that was fun but I miss being in the studio with the team with all that energy and creativity flowing. So I look forward to being back in Los Angeles but for now Motley and Ozzy are heading out for 6 co-headline OZZFEST shows and I’ll be doing the radio show from backstage. God knows what opportunity for insanity will arise from that. I told you guys I would take you with me wherever I go with SIXX SENSE and THE SIDESHOW COUNTDOWN. So far you’ve been to Europe with me, now OZZFEST, and not to mention ROCK ON THE RANGE and STURGIS last night. I’ve been having a blast sending quick updates from my twitter account to you all. It’s so fast and on the fly compared to writing out longer replies, so for QUICK updates and opinions on everything from what we’re playing that night in the show to backstage band banter follow me there… www.twitter.com/nikkisixx

I wanted to tell you a couple cool things that give me a buzz doing our clothing line ROYAL UNDERGROUND. We get these calls into the office and they remind you why you do what you do and that you’re still a fan of real fucking rockstars. Ozzy calls and says he loves Royal’s black jeans and can he buy more, Steven Tyler says he wants to wear Royal on tour, Paul Stanley buys our stuff right off the rack when I told him I would give him stuff… The list goes on of rockers who are fans of ROYAL UNDERGROUND and, to be honest, we are fans of theirs… Sometimes chills keep us forging ahead, following what we love. I always say do what you love and the rest of the stuff just works itself out.. If ya wanna keep abreast of what were doing follow us at… www.twitter.com/royalarmy or you can go to www.royalunderground.net

Quick update…

Sixx: A.M. Almost finished…My new book with the tentative title “THIS IS GONNA HURT” is almost done.Tommy, Mars, and myself are excited to get together later this year and start pounding out some new CRUE ideas for the future…

P.S. There is some stuff up this old dog’s sleeve that’s gonna keep you VERY entertained and I promise you won’t be disappointed…I’ve got more fucking energy than I have had in 30 years. Thank you for letting me share my life and creativity with you.

More to come… More to come…

According to Billboard.com, Veteran rock band  Mötley Crüe is second among the current list of Hot Tours based on totals from its Dead of Winter Canadian Tour that played 10 cities during January and February (Billy Joel and Elton John’s ‘Face To Face’ tour is #1).  Totals from eight of those concerts were reported during the past week with an overall gross of $2.8 million ($3 million Canadian) earned at the box office.  Of those eight shows, the top attendance came at Edmonton’s Rexall Place, home arena for the NHL’s Oilers.  The Jan. 27 event produced over half-a-million Canadian dollars in gross ticket sales.  The band’s short Canadian trek follows a busy 2009 on the road beginning with last year’s Saints of Los Angeles Tour in North America and Europe as well as the second consecutive summer Crüe Fest Tour that played July through September.

Coming in 3rd place is Guns N’ Roses featuring Axl Rose and new guitarist, DJ Ashba from Sixx:A.M.  With six venues submitting totals during the most recent reporting period, combined grosses topped $2.6 million (over $2.7 million Canadian).  The 17,500-seat arena Rexall Place in Edmonton produced the band’s top gross and attendance on Jan. 17 just as it did for  Mötley Crüe 10 days later.

A new album from Sixx:A.M. is expected sometime this year.  Tonight (Feb 18th), you can listen to Nikki Sixx (Bassist) and James Michael (Vocals) on the Nikki’s new radio show SIXX SENSE. Nikki and James will be discussing the upcoming Sixx:A.M. album.  Fans can listen to SIXX SENSE at www.sixxsense.com.

Motley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx on his new radio shows — and his new addiction

Buyer beware

Years ago an unauthorized biography called “An Education in Rebellion” was written about me without my approval or support.  It was never endorsed.  In fact, I disapproved and considered legal action because I felt fans were getting ripped off by being sold a book without my involvement.  I feel fans have bought it under the assumption that I approved of it because the writers have collected interviews from people that make it seem relevant – these people who were interviewed have told me afterwards that they had no idea that their conversations were being used for an unauthorized book.  I want to say that I do not, now or ever, approve of people riding the coattails of other people’s hard work and personal lives – this is criminal in my opinion.  This is no different than what the paparazzi does or the gossipy crap that perches like vultures on our newsstands with magazines like the National Enquirer.

The writer and publisher are now “re-releasing” the book with updated information based on my success with Mötley Crüe, Sixx: A.M., The Heroin Diaries and other ventures I’m involved in.  It’s scummy at best to be honest.  My attorneys have already sent them legal letters directing them to stop but they know the loop holes and how to get around them.  Believe it or not, the law allows anyone to write a book about anyone else without getting proper permission which is really crazy because my fans think this was endorsed or approved by me and it’s not.  This is sad.   These people are now partnering up with a company to sell ownership rights to the book’s master rights even though they are my life rights — again, bordering on scum.  As a fan of music I do not buy anything unauthorized because I know, unless the artist signs off on it, its hearsay, gossip, and made up to pad the pockets of the writers, publishers, etc.  Their website gives people the false impression that these “auctions” have the fans buying some portion of revenues that go to artists or songwriters.  In my case at least, nothing could be further from the truth.  Nothing comes to me or my family.  It’s hurtful.

It’s this kind of thing that makes me even more excited to do the Sixx Sense radio show.  I look forward to shining a spotlight on issues like this one — issues that go unnoticed and issues that may otherwise slip through the cracks.

In the end I worry about the fans being ripped off.  I cannot (nor can any of my friends in the public eye) stop these bottom feeders.   If you want to know about Mötley Crüe, get The Dirt.  If you want to know about band members, get their individual books, but don’t support this type of behavior on this or any artists…. they say they’re excited to share this with fans and that may be so, but if it’s not about the money… then donate it to charity…

Thank You,

Nikki Sixx

http://www.myspace.com/nikkisixx

Photo By John Lucas, Edmonton Journal

REGINA  — Mere moments before the curtain dropped before Motley Crue’s highly anticipated show at the Brandt Centre on the band’s “Dead of Winter Tour,” a wall of fire and loud cannon blasts alerted the crowd that this was no Lawrence Welk concert.

After knocking the crowd collectively back a foot or two, the heavy metal quartet took the stage at 10:05 p.m. to the delirious cheers of a nearly full house. The sonic blasts and fire were a recurring event throughout the Los Angeles band’s set, which was to be expected due to their grandiose nature.

Starting their set with the 1989 smash “Kick Start My Heart,” the crowd roared appreciatively as vocalist Vince Neil belted out the opening notes and drummer Tommy Lee wailed on his oversized drum kit.

The stage set up was relatively minimalist compared to previous tours, though was more than compensated by the immense lighting and pyrotechnic production. A standard full-sized stage, the Crue had the left side of the stage packed with a pyro rig that periodically shot off fireworks, flames, and multiple sonic booms during the set. Eschewing the use of LCD screens or any video, the backdrop was a rather understated silver and charcoal, which would be lit up in various colors by the lights during the set.

Lee’s kick drum was at least four or five feet tall and adorned with gears and flywheels, while guitarist Mick Mars had 12 Marshall cabinets, stacked 2×6 high, taking up much of the right side of the stage.

Musically, the Crue were tight as a vise, as Mars and bassist Nikki Sixx wailed on their guitars, and Lee further cemented his status as one of the best drummers of his generation. Neil was solid, as per usual, as the 48-year old vocalist is great at what he does, but struggles with the high notes more than he did in his heyday.

Regardless, this was meant to be a gritty rock concert, not American Idol, so no one seemingly noticed, nor cared.

One of the more interesting points of the set came when Sixx, widely considered to be the heart and soul of the metal mavens, took the mike during one interlude and asked the crowd to loudly repeat after him the following: “God, please help Motley Crue from self-destructing so they can come back next year for their 30th anniversary tour.”

Understandably, the arena went wild as it dawned on them that the super group would likely be back soon.

For those familiar with the bands’ troubled past, having dealt with much infighting, substance abuse, and personal suffering and loss, it was a heartfelt moment that gave promise that the foursome had found happier times. In fact, the guys, who at times had gone years without having meaningful conversation, seemed to be quite pleased to be in each other’s company throughout.

The set was a fair length at 82 minutes including an encore that included Lee helming a piano at the start and conclusion of “Home Sweet Home,” before the Crue ended the evening with a rousing rendition of “Dr. Feelgood.”

While one could argue that the absence of some of the hits and a more elaborate stage show could be a sign of the group pulling some of their punches before launching the big guns next year on their anniversary tour, it really seemed like the group was focusing on stripping things to the basics.

At the heart of it, Thursday’s Motley Crue show was exactly what people thought they were paying for — a loud, fiery, and fun rock concert.

Mick Mars has a fused spine and can’t move his head, but there’s nothing wrong with his hands.

The Mötley Crüe guitarist suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic autoimmune arthritic disorder that has caused the top and bottom of his spine to fuse.

“It’s a bit difficult to deal with. I’ve had a hip replacement too, but A.S. is extremely rare to go into your hands and feet. It can affect your neck and shoulders, but rarely does it go into your hands. I can’t move my head and say yes or no, but it doesn’t affect my guitar playing,” says Mars, a founding member of the Los Angeles hard rock band who has stayed true to the Crüe through all its ups and downs and lineup changes, no matter how much pain he was in.

In the 1980s the glammed-up rockers – Mars, vocalist Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee — lived the clichéd rock star life filled with sex, drugs, stints in jail, trips to rehab and marriages to models and TV stars.

The hedonistic details of the band’s wild times were documented in the 2001 memoir The Dirt, and supplemented with books by Sixx and Lee.

The Dirt revealed the inner workings of the band and the friction between members, but Mars says that’s all in the past now and the group is a perfectly functional unit.

“When we get together, all four of us, it’s like a family reunion kind of thing, you know? We all do our own stuff on our breaks and when we get back together when we do a tour it’s like, drop the nonsense, it’s time to get back to what we do best, which is Mötley Crüe, and all the bad stuff disappears,” he says.

The band achieved stardom in the 1980s on the strength of albums like Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain and Girls, Girls, Girls. Following the release of their most successful album, 1989’s Dr. Feelgood, Neil left the band for one album and started a solo career. He returned to record 1997’s Generation Swine, but Lee was unhappy and split to start his solo ventures, which included a rap-metal band, Methods of Mayhem.

In 2005 the original lineup reunited and have hit the road every year since (stopping in Winnipeg in 2005, 2006 and 2008) and released a new studio album, 2008’s Saints of Los Angeles, based on The Dirt.

There is also talk of a movie based on the book, but so far none of the scripts have done the band justice other than making it look like the Monkees, Mars says.

“I think they purposely left out the juicy parts, but they put the parts in when we drove down the streets with my ass hanging out of the bus. They were trying to make it lighter and all fun and games, but it wasn’t all like that. It was a lot of ups and downs,” he says.

The band appears to be on an up right now. They have started their own music festival — Crüe Fest — and Mars is constantly working on riffs for a new album.

“I’m sure we all have- stuff we could get together and collaborate on. I’m positive that we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, like the Stones, and we’ll keep reinventing ourselves. Madonna is a good example of that.

Not to compare ourselves to Madonna, but putting out new music and

new looks but remaining true to what you are and what you are about is a key factor,” he says.

Winnipeg Free Press

Next year, Motley Crue will celebrate 30 years of full-on rock ‘n’ roll debauchery.

They will probably celebrate with spectacular stage extravaganza somewhere near their old Sunset Strip stomping grounds and continue with an extensive world tour.

Perhaps the thought of that milestone is why the Crue has taken a simpler approach to their Dead of Winter Canadian tour, which made a stop in Calgary last night.

About 9,000 fans watched the four-piece glam-metal band as they made their way through more than a dozen of their classic hits and newer tracks.

With nine studio albums to their credit, Motley Crue could have played longer than the relatively short 80 minutes they did.

But the band managed to cram in the songs the fans— or at least the people with a passing knowledge of the Motley Crue — wanted to hear.

Looking more well-fed than in his heyday (yet better than he has in recent years) singer Vince Neil ran around the stage like an aerobics instructor as he belted out the first song, Kickstart My Heart.

It certainly kickstarted the crowd, some of whom still sported the same hairstyles they had in high school.

In 1987.

Neil could still hit the high notes and, as opposed to other times I’ve seen him, looked like he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

The energy stayed high as the band ripped through Wild Side and Shout at the Devil. Unlike Guns n’ Roses, who played the ’Dome a little more than a week ago, Motley Crue didn’t try to shove too many new songs down the crowd’s throat.

They sneaked in the fist-pumping title track from their 2008 release, Saints of Los Angeles early on in the show, but kept the set streamlined and focused mostly on the tried-and-true hits such as Looks That Kill, Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), Same Ol’ Situation and Girls, Girls, Girls.

Bassist Nikki Sixx acted more like a lead guitarist, whipping his instrument around and holding it up in the air in a typical rock star pose several times. Guitarist Mick Mars, on the other hand, didn’t move around too much due to a painful conditioncalled ankylosing spondylitis.

Still, when he had his moment in the spotlight he proved that he is one of the best — if most underrated —guitar players of any genre.

As of press time, drummer Tommy Lee, himself a fantastic musician, had yet to drag out the infamous Tommy Cam. It’s probably for the best given the state of some of the more, um, extroverted fans.

Australia’s Airbourne had the tough task of opening the show. While very few people had taken their seats in the tiers, the floor was surprisingly full and very receptive to the band’s AC/DC-like power rock. Singer Joel O’Keeffe shares an eerily similar raspy squeal to late AC/DC singer Bon Scott and the band play their stomping, dumb-as-bricks rock with such joyful energy there is no way you can resist them.

The Joe Perry Project pretty much had a built-in audience thanks to Perry’s association with another band you may have heard of — Aerosmith.

But with Aerosmith currently on a singer-induced hiatus, Perry is putting his considerable guitar-playing talent to good use in JJP.

Perry treated fans to old Aerosmith classics such as Toys in the Attic, Walkin’ the Dog and Walk This Way with German singer Hagen Grohe taking over lead vocal duties from Steven Tyler.

The band performed a few tracks from its latest CD, Have Guitar, Will Travel, including the first single, Long Way to Go, a decent rocker that starts off like Aerosmith’s Love in an Elevator but ends up sounding like The Strokes with more hard-rock guitar flourishes.

It’s not Aerosmith but I’m pretty sure I could watch Perry play guitar with just a cowbell backing him up and still enjoy it.

by Lisa Wilton
www.sunmedia.ca

—————————-
BRAND NEW MERCH FROM DEAD OF WINTER TOUR
NEW – Dead Of Winter 2010 Crue Babydoll

Nikki Sixx has updated his myspace blog with the following message regarding his relationship with tattoo artist Kat Von D.

“I want to wish Katherine (Kat Von D) nothing but the best in her life. She has loved and inspired the hell outta me and I know I have done the same for her in these almost two years we ruled the earth together. We are taking a break from our relationship  for reason’s that we will choose to keep personal. You won’t find me saying a bad word about her and I don’t believe visa versa… we have too much wonderful history together to ever deface that.”

Motley Crue wows Victoria crowd in tour kick-off
By Mike Devlin, Times Colonist

On paper, this was a triple-bill that looked great: Aussie rockers Airbourne, who are nothing if not a faithful re-branding of AC/DC circa the Bon Scott era; the Joe Perry Project, a sloppy but entertaining throwback to the days of early Aerosmith; and Mötley Crüe, those bad boys of the Sunset Strip who are surviving and thriving well past their due date.

In execution, it was a study in contrasts. Which is a nice way of saying it was a mish-mash of styles and sentiments. Not bad, but not great, either. Until it came to the night’s headliners. Then it got crazy good.

Mötley Crüe’s Dead of Winter tour kicked off last night at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre before a near capacity audience of 5,300, which advance reports peg as one of the better turnouts of its 10 dates in Canada.

Leave it to Victoria to represent where rock ‘n’ roll is concerned. The Crüe was in expert form and the audience was ready to party. Call it a match made in hard rock heaven.

The band opened with a blaze of pyrotechnics that shrouded Kickstart My Heart, Wildside, and Shout at the Devil in a blanket of smoky sparkles and concussion bombs. As if there was any other way to open a concert that was a fitfully so-so affair until shortly after 9:15 p.m., when singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee and guitarist Mick Mars took the stage.

In the ’80s, they were a curious mix of hairspray, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. In the early days of 2010, they are the absolute essence of rock ‘n’ roll.

“I love you f–kers,” Tommy Lee said. “Can I get a hell yeah?”

You can get a hell yeah, and whatever else you want after that performance, Tommy. Because the Crüe were assassins last night.

Pyro was the name of the game, from Same Ol’ Situation to Girls, Girls, Girls. But the rock of the foundation was Tommy Lee. He drummed his skinny behind off all night.

Mick Mars, the band’s perpetually hunched-over guitarist, was also a fountain of spunk on this night. During his solo turn, he rattled off a slide guitar workout that included snippets of Jimi Hendrix’s Red House — a fitting turn given Mars’s background as a blues guitarist.

Neil, as always, was the weak link. But he was definitely better than the last time he was in town, back in 2006, when he couldn’t carry water. The band, as a whole, wasn’t great back then, but they returned to form last night, for which pop-metal fans were obviously thankful.

For a band that was deemed utterly irrelevant during the 1990s, Mötley Crüe’s brand of sexed-up rock ‘n’ roll appears to be tailor-made for 2010. Enough time has passed that we can forget the band’s past transgressions.

Its music doesn’t sound any better now than it did 20 years ago, but the Crüe haven’t lost a step in terms of their live performance.

Airbourne who were up first, had the necessary tools but not the audience to make major headway during their 35-minute set. The Aussie rockers opened with Stand Up For Rock ‘n’ Roll and Cheap Wine Cheaper Women, which tells you everything you need to know about the group.

Here’s another tidbit of information: Airbourne had 14 amps for three guitarists. If that ain’t rock ‘n’ roll, I don’t know what is.

Joe Perry of Aerosmith opened with Let the Music Do the Talking, which included bits of Draw the Line, two Aerosmith tracks that endeared him to an otherwise indifferent audience. He was smart to tackle Aerosmith’s Toys in the Attic, Walkin’ the Dog, Train Kept-A-Rollin’, and Walk This Way, but the songs from his fifth solo CD, Have Guitar, Will Travel, fell flat.

Perry’s singer Hagen Grohe, who was discovered by Perry’s wife, Billie, on YouTube, was similar to Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler but only in delivery. He had zero stage presence, which is even more than Perry had.

There’s a reason why Perry is the guitarist in Aerosmith, because he ain’t no singer.

That’s all well and fine. The Crüe were the headliners on this night, and they earned every iota of my respect.

mdevlin@tc.canwest.com