MÖTLEY CRÜE recently responded to a comment made on a video published to their Facebook page, saying “there were no backing tracks for band members” on last year’s summer “The Stadium Tour”
After Mick had announced his retirement from the road with MÖTLEY CRÜE back in October, as a result of ongoing health issues related to ankylosing spondylitis, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 filling his six-stringer position while the group was on tour.
In April, Mars filed a lawsuit against the band in Los Angeles County’s Superior Court, in where the 71-year-old musician claimed that, after his touring retirement announcement, the rest of MÖTLEY CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group’s business holdings. Mars also alleged that he was the only bandmember to play 100 percent live on their recent “The Stadium Tour“, claiming MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx “did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour.”
Just prior to Mick’s lawsuit against his former bandmates, iconic drummer Carmine Appice, who is a close friend of Mars, told Ultimate Guitar that he had been talking to the guitarist about his latest split with MÖTLEY CRÜE, saying: “Mick told me, ‘When I was on ‘The Stadium Tour’, I was not happy.
He continued: “Basically, everything was on tape; it was all planned out and ultimately a lot of crap. And Mick is a pretty good player, and so to now let him loose and play the way he wants, that was never going to work for him. The truth is that everything has been weird for a while with MÖTLEY CRÜE, and Mick didn’t like that everything was on tape. Mick told me that people that came to see it could tell that it was all pre-recorded and that everything was on tape.”
Meanwhile, MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s team has argued that they had to use backing tracks to cover up Mick’s sloppy playing.
Yesterday (May 1), MÖTLEY CRÜE published a video to their Facebook page of drummer Tommy Lee playing at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California on Aug. 27, 2022. When one commenter, named Bruce Holland, said, “Saw the backing tracks tour last [year] and paid dearly to see it. It’s a hard NO for me this time around…,” to which MÖTLEY CRÜE replied: “THIS IS THE SUMMER TOUR FOOTAGE FOR FUCKS SAKE. THERE WERE NO BACKING TRACKS FOR BAND MEMBERS.”
You can check out the video and comments below courtesy of Loudwire.
An additional screenshot of the comment (captured by Sleaze Roxx) shows that one hour after the band’s comment was published, it was edited to say the same thing as mentioned above, but with the added words “fucking clown” directed at Holland.
Apparently, the comment was edited more than once.
MÖTLEY CRÜE manager Allen Kovac recently spoke to Variety and said he was so infuriated with Mick Mars‘ recent interview with the publication that he agreed to go on record himself to address the guitarist’s accusations.
“Everything is live with Nikki’s [Sixx] bass playing and Tommy’s [Lee] drum playing,” said Kovac. “When they’ve used loops, they’re still playing. There are augmented vocals, which were (recorded) in the studio and are backgrounds behind the two ladies who are singing and (other background vocals by) John 5 and Nikki Sixx, and before that Mick and Nikki.” He described the pre-recorded vocal layering as where “you multi-track and you do gang vocals with, like, 20 people, just like all the other bands do with background vocals. They’ve got background vocals in the mix. That’s the truth.
“But Nikki played his bass and always has,” Kovac continued. “Vince [Neil] was singing better than he was before (on the latest tour). That was in reviews. Now, John 5 is playing like who John 5 is. I’ve heard John 5 perform and I heard Mick perform. Both are great guitar players. Unfortunately, Mick is not the same. He hasn’t been the same for a long time. Which was in reviews! You see that the professionals knew.
That being said, the below video, filmed during the band’s July 19th, 2022 show in Kansas City, MO, seems to show a cymbal count-in being heard, despite Tommy Lee not yet being behind the drum kit.
