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3/1/06
Responding to fans' concerns
about his well-being after being pulled off stage at the end of Mötley
Crüe’s New Year’s Eve concert in Detroit, Mick Mars says, “I'm fine,
I am undamaged. I had a great time, and to the girl that pulled me in,
I am not upset with her or mad. I hope she got my pick. See ya'll next
time. Thanks for a very memorable New Year's evening.” Mick apparently
leaned forward toward some fans
(he
says to give them a guitar pick) but the two fans, Karen Ann Sklar and
Christine Bajaj, told Auburn Hills Police they saw him reaching out
to them and thought he was trying to pull them on stage, maybe to go
backstage. Witness reports vary: two bystanders back the women up, saying
they didn't yank him, while a venue security officer thought they did.
Although Mick asked for the police be called, he declined to press criminal
charges.
4/1/06
Nikki Sixx tells Launch Radio
Networks that
Mötley
Crüe’s film adaptation of its autobiography
is making significant progress. "The movie is getting some legs. The
script's done. I mean, the people in Hollywood
–
the movie companies
–
are just freaking out over the script. They love it."
6/1/06
During an appearance on the
Opie and Anthony show on XM Satellite Radio, Vince Neil says Mötley
Crüe will be teaming up with Aerosmith for a co-headlining tour later
in the year. The Crüe also plans to playing several European mid-year
dates with The Rolling Stones.
13/1/06
Documentary filmmaker Bruce Sinofsky, best known for his award-winning
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster film, will turn his cameras on Tommy
Lee this spring for an as-yet untitled film, currently in pre-production.
Sinofsky believes few characters in rock are as 'colourful as Lee, and
not just because of his tattoos.' The documentary seeks a candid glimpse
behind the celebrity and tabloid personality into who Tommy really is,
watching him interact with family, friends and business associates.
Tommy says, "I'm honoured that Bruce is turning his cameras loose on
me."
Former Mötley front-man John Corabi is
to contribute an acoustic version of Home Sweet Home to a forthcoming
Mötley Crüe tribute CD from Versailles Records, due for release next
year. John will also record harmony vocals for Versailles artist One
Bad Son on their version of Misunderstood for the release.
14/1/06
In an interview with Guitar World magazine, former Marilyn Manson guitarist
John 5 says he wrote a song for Paul Stanley's solo album at his home
with Desmond Child and then, "Desmond called me again to write a song
with him and Nikki for Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell III."
17/1/06
The New York Post reports Tommy has been quietly dating twenty-year-old
Vivid Video porn star Stefani Morgan after the pair met at an Adult
Video News Awards after-party held at the Venetian in Las Vegas a few
weeks ago.
19/1/06
New Line Cinema’s President of Music Paul Broucek announces that Tommy
has recorded a cover version of Love Train to be featured in the upcoming
film Final Destination 3, arriving in theatres on February 10. The tune
is currently only available in the movie itself and can be heard as
the end title song. The original version was released by the O'Jays
on their 1972 album Back Stabbers, hitting number one on the pop and
R&B charts en route to becoming a classic landmark song in the history
of Philadelphia soul. Tommy says, “I've always loved the song and it
was great being able to put my own darker spin on it for the movie."
25/1/06
Mötley Crüe is honoured with the 2301st star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame at 11:30am in front of the Musician's Institute at 6752 Hollywood
Boulevard (east of Highland) in Hollywood, coinciding with the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the band's founding. Nikki tells the six hundred fans
in attendance, "We're across the street from the Erotica Museum and
Frederick's of Hollywood. This is a perfect place for us to be."
28/1/06
Vince performs at the tenth annual Bay Point Schools Charity Gala called
Puttin' on the Ritz at the Ritz-Carlton in Miami, Florida. Hosted by
the charity’s founders, attorney Roy Black and wife Lea, the black-tie
fundraising event gets spiced up when an inebriated Vince swaggers to
the stage, spewing profanities at the high-powered crowd of South Beach
denizens, judges and lawyers on the way. After attempting to lead his
stunned audience in a spirited chant of f-words, Vince then struggles
to remember the words to Dr. Feelgood and mumbles his way through the
single song. Exiting the stage, he plants a kiss on drag diva Elaine
Lancaster as he returns to his wife Lia at their table. Later in the
night, he has a Ritz employee hook him up with an employee rate for
a hotel room. When the hotel discovers the guest is not her step-brother,
Vince is told he is never welcome back to the hotel.
1/2/06
Tommy flies to Arizona and watches Aerosmith from the side of the Glendale
Arena stage where they play with Lenny Kravitz.
3/2/06
In Detroit for the Superbowl weekend, Tommy and his entourage go to
Jenna Jameson's Vivid party before heading to Bleu where Fergie from
the Black Eyed Peas hosts a party. They then move on to P. Diddy's party
at the Elysium Lounge, before finishing their night out at the Blue
Martini in neighbouring Birmingham.
4/2/06
Nikki thanks the winning bidders from auctions of his personal items
that raises money for his Running Wild in the Night charity. His Harley
Davidson sells for $21,000 to take the total raised to more than $60,000.
As he prepares to head out on the road with Mötley Crüe again he says,
“I hate leaving the family behind, since I never really had one. They’re
the most important people in my life and to be away from them is hard,
to say the least.”
After enjoying checking out some of Eminem's
Shady Bowl Super Party at the State Theatre in Detroit, Tommy gets sucker-punched
in the face by a local rapper as he leaves the building. Ignoring the
one punch from out of nowhere, Tommy walks outside in the snow while
two guys with video cameras encourage Tommy to hit them because they
'want to get paid.' Tommy tells them to get a job as he continues to
Bleur where he DJs 'hard-ass breaks and electro' to a packed house for
two hours with DJ Aero. Scheduled to then DJ at the Penthouse – Rockstar
party at Vault, Tommy is a no-show due to security not being tight enough
at the venue.
5/2/06
Tommy watches the Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl Xl from a private
suite parallel with the 45-yard line with DJ Aero, Chad Kroeger from
Nickelback and P. Diddy. After the game, Tommy heads to the hotel after-party
of The Rolling Stones.
7/2/06
Mötley
Crüe releases their Carnival Of Sins Live Volume I & II CDs
exclusively in Walmart stores across the United States. Behind the
scenes, a key component of the deal commits Wal-Mart to paying the
Crüe a $900,000 advance to record a new full-length studio album of
all-new material, of which $600,000 is set aside for production of
the album while the rest is disbursed to the band. The new album is
scheduled to be recorded this year for a release in late in 2006 or
early-2007. An international tour in support of the album is also
planned, along with the movie in support of the tour.
9/2/06
Nikki says, “I'm really anxious to start playing new music. I'm panting,
I want it so bad. I just looked down at my list, and I have forty five
ideas for songs; Mick's probably got somewhere between forty and a hundred
riffs. Tommy's got a ton of ideas.”
10/2/06
Mötley
Crüe kicks off the next leg of their Carnival of Sins tour in
Columbus, Georgia. A ‘jam room’ is being set-up in every city for
song writing and the band plans to take the ideas home and commence
the final writing sessions in May. Nikki says they intend on adding
some new tunes to the set to keep it fresh (mostly for the band);
they just need a few days to settle in to their tour environment
before they start working them up. He also says he mostly spent time
with wife Donna and their kids over the long break but he did get in
some song writing and a few photo sessions behind the camera in his
studio.
12/2/06
Vince gets hit with a plastic water container thrown from the audience
while performing on stage during Mötley’s show in Columbia, South Carolina.
As the Crüe stops playing, Nikki says over the microphone, "You don't
throw shit at the band. Why don't we find that guy and bring him backstage?"
Vince throws his microphone into the crowd before returning fifteen
minutes later to continue to rock. Nikki later says, “Vince got hit
in the face by some asshole with a cup of piss. Last I saw of the guy
he was handcuffed, face bloodied, screaming, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’
- what an idiot!”
22/2/06
Promoters in Ireland announce a huge outdoor concert at Dublin’s RDS
Arena on June 9 featuring Guns N’ Roses with support from Mötley Crüe.
The Crüe
has previously said they will play several
shows in Europe during June with The Rolling Stones, and it seems the
offer to support Axl Rose’s band in front of an expected 30,000-plus
capacity crowd seemed too good to refuse. Crüe
fans speculate over the possibilities
of Axl and Vince finally settling their long-standing feud that stemmed
from a 1989 incident between Vince’s then-wife Sharise and Axl’s former
band-mate Izzy Stradlin’, with Vince most-recently stating in The Dirt
that the offer to fight still stands. As tickets are about to go on-sale
a couple of days later, the promoter says Mötley decided to cancel their
date, even though some radio adverts still say the Crüe is playing.
3/3/06
Sitting in a Quebec City hotel room reflecting on the last year of touring,
Nikki remarks that he feels rock’n’roll is stronger than ever again.
Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton tells Nikki on the phone that they’re
also seeing a younger audience at their concerts. Nikki says, “All’s
well out here but I look forward to heading back to L.A. in mid-April
for a short break before we start rehearsals for the next album. We
have been working on songs out here on the road, but I’m excited to
not have any distractions when we’re home. Good news is my book
The Heroin Diaries is 100% finished and now we're just laying out
the design and looking at an October/November release.” Meanwhile L.A.
Guns drummer Steve Riley says, “Thanks to the Mötley Crüe reunion, there
is a demand for ‘80s bands. Mötley Crüe has opened up a lot of doors
for bands like L.A. Guns once again.”
12/3/06
From Charleston, West Virginia with just a month of shows left to perform
on this tour, Nikki says, “We've been touring, writing and recording
for over sixteen months now. I can safely say we need a break. No complaints
though – how lucky we are to be able to still do this after twenty five
years. But I feel like Ripped Van Winkle, ready for a mending and hibernation
from the volume.”
Nikki also provides closure clarity on
his situation with Dragonfly, explaining, “I wanted you guys to know
that the company Dragonfly Clothing ripped me off and I chose to not
go into litigation with them. It would have been a mess. They showed
me how they hide their money in Lebanon and didn't pay taxes on a lot
of their income. I know that unlike Vans (who is a public-held company),
this would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and would have
taken my eye off the more important things in life. So it works in their
favour, but please know that buying anything with their name and my
name together is not approved by me. It is disheartening to know there
are still scumbags out there willing to take advantage of someone's
hard work, but life is full of lessons and I'm sure their karma is going
to come down on them like a nuclear bomb. I know of many different companies
and artists who have sued them. Most win, but it's so sticky. I was
the fool; shame on me for trusting them. A lot of their employees and
sales staff have left and contacted me to do a clothing line. More on
that down the road.”
16/3/06
CBS announces the second season of the worldwide hit TV series Rock
Star will feature a new supergroup called Supernova, comprising Mötley
Crüe's Tommy Lee on drums, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke,
and former Metallica member Jason Newsted on bass. They will use the
popular reality TV show to find their lead singer this summer as Rock
Star talent scouts currently audition hopefuls around the world. Dave
Navarro and Brooke Burke will return as hosts and according to Navarro,
"Friends of mine, like Slash, Macy Gray, Moby and Rob Zombie will join
us and throw in their two cents about who should stay and who should
go." Supernova's debut album, tentatively scheduled to be released in
Fall 2006 before a world tour early next year, will be co-written and
produced by reigning Rolling Stone magazine 'Hot Producer Of The Year'
Butch Walker, a songwriter/producer who has previously worked on hits
with Avril Lavigne, Pink, Bowling for Soup and Tommy Lee. The first
series of Rock Star last year saw J.D. Fortune chosen to front INXS.
The show's producer Mark Burnett says, "The winner of CBS's Rock Star
will not only play in huge stadiums before sold-out crowds, they will
do it alongside legendary musicians from three of America's biggest,
all-time rock bands who have sold a combined total of a quarter of a
billion albums: Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses and Metallica. Fronting Supernova
is the ultimate rock ‘n' roll dream and it's about to come true."
Tommy’s Rock Star Supernova commitments
cause scheduling conflicts and Mötley Crüe management cancels
approximately forty European tour dates planned for May and June,
plus scraps plans for a tour through Southeast Asia and Japan being
scheduled for July. The band’s package tour with Aerosmith being
planned for an August kick-off is also delayed until September.
19/3/06
After performing a DJ set at Global Gathering 2006 in Miami the previous
night, Tommy DJs at his Rokbar nightspot. His three DJ gigs in as many
nights kicked off at the famous Rick's Café in Jamaica, as he keeps
busy on days where no Mötley concerts are scheduled.
21/3/06
From Mexico, where the four original Mötley members just played their
first concert there together, Nikki says they are all getting along
great and writing music together, but they can't really tell where the
music is headed yet. “You just have to close your eyes and let it happen.
The only thing we all agree on is it has to be the best album we've
ever made.”
Paul Brown has undertaken the huge task
of laying out all the artwork for The Heroin Diaries as the book is
being prepared for release this October or November. The photo shoot
is done and Nikki says the publisher is really excited about the book,
adding, “It's really a great read now that all the pieces of the puzzle
are in place. So many people came to the table to tell their side of
the story relating to the actual diary entries. The title of the book
is somewhat misleading because it also deals with my family problems
as a kid, depression, as well as my downward spiral into freebase and
pill addiction.” The more copies the book sells, the more awareness
on drug and alcohol addiction there will be, and the more money it will
raise for Nikki’s Running Wild in the Night charity and its beneficiary
Covenant House. Nikki says Lemmy from Motörhead has written a short
medical history for the beginning of the book that is very demented
and there is an album's worth of songs already written for a soundtrack
to the book that are ready to record. “I’d say it's very '70s glam sounding.
Bits remind me of Bowie and T-Rex with a darker edge to the melodies
and lyrics."
Steven Tyler prepares for throat surgery
this week, forcing Aerosmith to cancel the remaining dozen dates on
their North American Rockin' the Joint tour – the number three tour
in the U.S.A. this year, behind U2 and Bon Jovi. The band’s publicist
says, “The band is now on hiatus, with no set plans to return to touring
or recording”, which casts doubts on the anticipated Mötley Crüe and
Aerosmith co-headlining tour later this year that Vince spoke of in
January.
25/3/06
Vince says he hopes to begin work on a new solo album with producer
Desmond Child for release early next year, once Mötley's Carnival of
Sins tour winds up.
5/4/06
After playing multiple shows wearing a brace and taking anti-inflammatory
injections, Tommy’s doctor instructs him to give his injured right wrist
a rest after his tendonitis makes it difficult for him to perform. Instead
of cancelling their Canadian show tonight in Red Deer, Alberta, Mötley
Crüe decides to give a fan an opportunity to play with them – Harvey
Warren, drummer of the local Canadian bands 1-900 (who previously supported
a Vince Neil solo show) and Bröken Töyz (who covers Mötley Crüe songs
in their show every week). Tommy is on hand to play the piano parts
on Home Sweet Home and ride his Harley on stage, while sharing pointers
with Warren as he plays. Father to nine-year-old triplets and manager
of a local Starbucks during the day, Warren is asked to travel with
the Crüe for the next few days. With a day off tomorrow, Tommy is under
doctor supervision and plans on resting in hope that he can continue
on and finish the remaining few dates of the tour.
Hands-On Mobile, a leading global publisher
of mobile lifestyle, games and personalisation products, announces a
partnership with Tommy at the CTIA conference. Under the agreement,
Hands-On Mobile will reportedly be able to channel Tommy's far-reaching
brand personality to the medium of the cell phone to offer playful,
innovative entertainment to consumers.
8/4/06
Still unable to take his place behind the drum kit due to tendonitis,
Tommy has his former solo band drummer Will Hunt, now of Dark New Day,
replace him for the final Mötley Crüe Carnival of Sins concerts in Canada.
Tommy does manage to perform his drum solo though, much to the delight
of the crowd.
9/4/06
From Nashville, where he is winding up some song-writing sessions, John
Corabi says, "I finished a song called If I Never Get To Say Goodbye
with Gary Hannon (who wrote Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off). I also
finished writing a song with Steve Azar called Then Comes Sunday that
is going to be amazing. Last but not least, I finished and recorded
a song called She's A Lot Like The Woman I Love with Marcel Chagnon
and James Slater."
11/4/06
Chronological Crue releases two brand-new Mötley Crüe books titled Mötley
Crüe Down Under: On Tour with The Carnival of Sins and What Mötley Crüe
Means to Me: Crüeheads Share Their Stories.
Now available
exclusively from CafePress.com, the paperbacks give rock music lovers
a unique insight into life on the road with the bad boys of rock’n’roll
during their wildly successful comeback tour, as well as short stories
showing the huge impact and inspiration that Mötley Crüe has had on
the lives of their fans.
13/4/06
Mötley Crüe winds up the third-leg of their comeback tour at the Brandt
Centre in Regina, Canada. According to figures later released by Pollstar,
the Crüe moved 234,643 tickets for these 42 concerts in 2006 that hit
‘C markets’, averaging 5,587 fans in attendance per show.
19/4/06
John Corabi plays the first of two Australian shows with ESP in Melbourne,
and includes Mötley's Power To The Music in the set of covers. The shows
are John's first visit to Australia in eight years and he says, "I realise
that I really need to get here more often." Upon his return to Los Angeles,
he plans on finishing a couple of songs to be released via the Internet
only.
24/4/06
Chronological Crue's complete history of Mötley Crüe is released as
a much-anticipated three-volume series of paperback books to mark the
anniversary of the band's first-ever live show that took place at the
Starwood in Los Angeles twenty five years ago this day. Authored by
Paul Miles, the world’s #1 Mötley Crüe historian, the Chronological
Crue series is published as
Vol 1. The Eighties,
Vol 2. The Nineties, and
Vol 3. The Naughties. Exclusively available from CafePress.com,
the books include a foreword written by best-selling author of The Dirt,
Neil Strauss.
25/4/06
Tommy Lee Goes To College is released on a single-disc DVD by Image
Entertainment. Featuring each of the six half-hour episodes, the DVD
also includes Tommy's Good Times music video and behind-the-scenes video,
plus behind-the-scenes videos of Hello Again and Tryin' to be Me.
28/4/06
The feature film of Mötley Crüe’s autobiography The Dirt takes a step
forward with the appointment of Larry Charles as Director. Paramount
Pictures' indie division Paramount Classics is producing the movie with
MTV Films, while all the band members and Neil Strauss will serve as
Executive Producers on the film. Larry Charles has previously directed
Masked and Anonymous, which starred Bob Dylan, as well as the soon-to-be-released
comedy Borat for Fox.
Donna D'Errico files a petition for Dissolution
of Marriage to Nikki Sixx in the Los Angeles Superior Court, based on
irreconcilable differences following more than nine years of marriage.
She seeks physical custody of their five-year-old daughter Frankie-Jean
and her thirteen-year-old son Rhyan from a previous relationship. Court
documents show D'Errico has requested that the court grants joint legal
custody with child visitation to Nikki, and that spousal support and
attorney fees be paid by him as well. Nikki says to Chronological Crue,
"It's a private matter, so tell everyone they can keep out of our business."
1/5/06
John Corabi hosts his own radio station through Rock.com and Live365.com.
John Corabi Radio promises to play a great mix of all things rock. The
shows are pre-recorded and new shows will be uploaded several times
a week. An archive station will be launched as well, so fans can listen
to past shows they may have missed. A request line is also being planned.
3/5/06
Vince is in negotiations to open his own tattoo parlour on the Las Vegas
Strip. He has his sights set on a place at the Flamingo Las Vegas and
plans to call the studio Vince Neil Ink.
5/5/06
Tommy sends a ship-load of his latest album Tommyland: The Ride to US
Army National Guard troops stationed in Afghanistan after being appalled
when he heard that commercial shipping containers full of personal items
destined for the Task Force 50th Personnel Services Battalion there
were raided by thieves. He immediately contacted charity organisation
Operation AC, which sends care packages to deployed US troops, and made
arrangements for copies of his album, games consoles, DVD players and
more to be shipped out. Tommy says, "I'm so happy to be able to do something
for them. Music gets us through a lot." Boosted by his latest charity
venture, Tommy also plans to send more copies of his album to other
troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Vince hosts the Tenth Year Anniversary
edition of the annual Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament at the Lost
Canyons Golf Club in Simi Valley, California. The event raises over
$175,000 to help fund research for cancer, leukemia, and AIDS. Vince
also presents a one-million-dollar commemorative cheque to the T.J.
Martell Foundation, representing monies raised over the past ten years
for the T.J. Martell Foundation in memory of his late daughter Skylar.
8/5/05
Mötley Crüe's Carnival of Sins live CD is released in the UK as a double-disc
set including live videos of Too Fast For Love and Dr. Feelgood, plus
a free sticker and booklet.
9/5/05
Adult actress Stefani Morgan reveals in a spread in FHM magazine’s June
issue that she met Tommy at a Vivid Video party in January, fell for
him and has been dating him. The porn star says, "More guys than girls
ask me about Tommy in the bedroom. Everyone asks me, 'So how's the sex
with Tommy?' I have no complaints. I've had a lot of great sex with
other people before, and with Tommy it's awesome. He's also the most
down-to-earth person I've ever met. I'm crazy about him."
10/5/06
Nikki says, “Sometimes we don’t know that we’re right where we are supposed
to be in life, even when looking down the barrel of a loaded gun. Life
has a way of showing us that pain isn’t always bad. Sometimes we need
to grow from it. I have nothing bad to say, nor will I ever about my
life with Donna. She is a wonderful lady, but life doesn’t always deal
us the hand we want. Powerlessness is a gift I am learning to accept,
love is a gift I have received and tomorrow is something none of us
have the ability to see. Today is all we have. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow
may never come, life is strange, wonderful and painful. Pain hurts,
but we hardly ever die from it. Thank you for keeping us in your hearts
and not in our wildest dreams did we think we would end up a statistic,
but dreams... they’re not predictable.”
19/5/06
Vince plays a solo show in front of about seven-hundred people at The
Afterdeck - Dollhouse in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as part of Bike
Week celebrations. With Slaughter's bassist Dana Strum and guitarist
Jeff Blando joining him in his band, they play covers of Led Zeppelin's
Rock N Roll and Montrose's Rock Candy, along with You're Invited from
Vince's first solo album, and his most recent solo song Promise Me.
The fourteen-song set of mainly Crüe songs winds up with Vince joining
in on guitar for a long version of Teaser.
20/5/06
Versailles Records says Vince Neil’s son Neil Wharton and his band Rock
N’ Roll Junkies will contribute a song to their forthcoming Too Fast
For Love: A Millennium Tribute to Mötley Crüe double-CD to be released
early next year. Other artists to record their parts on the twenty songs
include Jizzy Pearl, Phil Lewis, Erik Turner, Frankie Banali, Keri Kelli.
The label has also lined up Crash Kelly, Pretty In Stereo, Fuel From
Hell, Afton Markham and Joetown as new additions to the album. Artists
already recorded include John Corabi, Fred Coury, One Bad Son, Radiovipers,
Richard Kendrick, Straitjacketsmile, Derrick LeFevre, Marko Pukkila,
Chris Catena, Chris Heaven, and the Slashtones.
22/5/06
An un-mastered song from Meat Loaf's next chapter in the Bat Out Of
Hell series began to appear on peer-to-peer file sharing websites last
week, providing Meat Loaf fans around the world with an unexpected first
taste of Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose - the long-awaited
third instalment to rock music’s most successful series of all time.
The escaped title track was co-written by Nikki with John 5 (guitarist
for Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie) and Bat Out of Hell III producer,
Desmond Child. The album is due to be officially released on Halloween
this year by Mercury Records. A Mercury Records spokesperson says, "We're
investigating the source of the leak from the studio, but once the Monster
is Loose, you really can't stuff it back in its cage. Because we don't
want to encourage further illegal peer-to-peer file trading, we're going
to make the song available on Meat Loaf's website and MySpace page."
25/5/06
Paying tribute to Kiss at the first annual VH1 Rock Honors with a rendition
of God of Thunder, Tommy plays drums in an all-star band consisting
of Rob Zombie on vocals, Slash on guitar, Scott Ian on bass, plus special-surprise
second guitarists Ace Frehley and Gilby Clarke. The two-hour tribute
show salutes the groundbreaking bands of rock, the once-in-a-lifetime
events and the influential people who made a lasting mark on the history
of hard rock. Tributes are made through spoken tributes, filmed packages
and performances by some of today's hottest rock acts, as well as the
legends themselves. This year's celebration honours the music and influence
of Judas Priest, Kiss, Queen and Def Leppard and includes performances
by all of the honourees, as well as tribute performances by Godsmack,
Foo Fighters and The All-American Rejects. The event is also attended
by Vince Neil and his wife.
9/6/06
Vince tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he is opening a tattoo
shop at the Flamingo in the area where O'Shea's Irish pub is being replaced.
Construction begins in ten days on the 2,200-square-foot shop that will
front the Strip when it opens in the late-summer. Vince says he had
originally planned a tattoo studio at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, but plans
changed when Harrah's executive Don Marrandino moved to Las Vegas as
president of Harrah's and the Flamingo.
10/6/06
Tommy DJs at the grand opening of Crash nightclub in San Francisco to
kick off his new resident gig there every month with DJ Aero.
11/6/06
People's Liberation announces a collaboration with Tommy to create a
limited-edition clothing range called ‘PL for TL’. The clothing line
consists of denim, hooded sweatshirts and hats for both men and women
and will combine modern tailoring with an edgy, yet super-sleek fit.
The inspiration of the PL for TL group is the artistic elements of Tommy's
tattoos; the knits and denim will have authentic detailing influenced
by Tommy's unique aesthetic. Tommy will also be intimately involved
in the design and development of the products and will make a minimum
of six annual appearances at a combination of trade shows, retail locations
and fashion shows to promote the clothing line. The PL for TL collection
is expected to launch in Bloomingdale's in September.
16/6/06
Rock N' Roll Books announces the release of a new paperback called Behind
the Boards Volume One. The book features exclusive, one-on-one, chapter-long
interviews with some of the most successful, innovative and influential
record producers of the past forty years, including Scott Humphrey with
Tommy Lee (in a special artist/producer segment), Dave Jerden, Tom Werman,
James Michael, Bob Ezrin, Bob Rock and Andy Johns.
17/6/06
Accompanied by DJ Ashba, Nikki attends the Fourth Annual Friends of
El Faro event at The Henry Fonda Theatre, hosted by Molly Sims. The
fundraiser of the non-profit charity organisation helps improve the
lives of the children in the Casa Hogar Sion orphanage and school in
Tijuana, Mexico.
Vince headlines day two of the Rock the
Fort festival in Ontario, Canada while Tommy DJs at the Exotic Erotic
Ball and Expo in New York City.
20/6/06
Mötley Crüe and Aerosmith end months of speculation and rumour by announcing
plans for a massive Route of All Evil tour across North America of predominantly
outdoor amphitheatres in the fall. With each band featuring all their
original members, the Live Nation-produced tour is to kick off September
14 in New Jersey, marking the first time these veteran bad boys of rock
have toured together. Determined to out-do themselves in typical decadent
Mötley fashion, the Crüe promises major surprises from a whole new bag
of tricks including monstrous new production and tons of additional
pyrotechnics, so fans who caught their Carnival of Sins tour can expect
a completely new experience this time around. Aerosmith will thrust
themselves into the audience during each night of the road trip by erecting
a seventy-foot-long ramp that will extend from the stage into the middle
of the arena, giving fans an up-close-and-personal experience.
26/6/06
Former Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi has signed with the New York-based
literary agency Fletcher Parry to shop his authorised autobiography
for publication. The firm has repped books by Paul McCartney and Ali
G among other entertainment personalities. The as-yet untitled autobiography,
co-authored with biographer Jake Brown, is scheduled for release next
year.
27/6/06
Tommy guests on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live and talks about Rock Star Supernova.
He shows his new tribal-style lion tattoos on his chest and says he
can't wait for the Crüe's tour with Aerosmith, especially now that Steve
Tyler is also a single man.
While Tommy briefly uses the single-stall
men's room at Bella nightspot in Los Angeles later in the evening, Las
Vegas actor Josh Duhamel impatiently pounds on the door. Tommy's security
guy waiting outside tells him that Tommy is in there and he'll be out
in a minute, but Duhamel starts yelling obscenities. Words are exchanged
when Tommy comes out and Josh gets in his face, so Tommy's security
guy launches Duhamel ten feet before he gets walked out of the restaurant.
30/6/06
A heavily intoxicated Vince performs a solo show at St. Pete Times Forum
in Tampa, Florida with Ratt in support. After struggling to sing the
first couple of Mötley tunes in Kickstart My Heart and Piece Of Your
Action, spilling his beer, and falling into the audience before being
pushed back up, the seven-hundred-strong crowd becomes irate and starts
booing, to which Vince tells them all to shut up. When Vince exits the
stage during a guitar solo and doesn't return, his backing band (consisting
of Slaughter's Dana Strum on bass and Jeff Blando on guitar) starts
playing Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love with Blando singing. After some
more Zeppelin songs minus Vince, the band says special guest John Corabi
will sing with them, after he was asked to help out by management backstage.
A few bars into Live Wire, Corabi is joined on stage by Vince, who hangs
on him as they share lyrics together and tells the crowd, “I love this
motherf@cker.” At the end of the song, Corabi exits the stage while
Vince throws his mic into the air behind the drums and stumbles on stage.
Into the next song, Vince wanders behind a speaker stack where he is
seen being held up, before falling flat on his back. Vince returns as
the band plays Teaser, and he yells to the crew to bring his guitar
as they play a long solo towards the end of the song. Vince repeatedly
yells for the sound guy to turn his guitar on. At the end of the song,
Vince is assisted off stage as the set ends early and the crowd boos
loudly in displeasure as the house lights go on.
5/7/06
Rock Star: Supernova premieres on TV around the world, as Tommy joins
forces with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and former Metallica
bassist Jason Newsted. They use the reality TV talent competition to
find their new lead singer to record and tour the world with.
Responding to his recent drunken solo performance
in Tampa, Vince tells the Calgary Sun newspaper, "I was pretty buzzed.
I tripped, fell off (the stage) - sometimes it happens. But, this isn’t
a tour. This is just me going out and having fun and sometimes, yeah,
I drink a little too much. That’s just the way it is. I just finished
185 shows with Mötley Crüe, so one show in Tampa where I drank a little
too much - whoopdie-doo. I am still doing my shows and I’m going to
record another Mötley Crüe album and then be back out on tour; by then
nobody’s really going to care anymore. We’re actually going to be writing
a lot of music out on the road and should have an album out late next
year. We’re not ever going away."
7/7/06
Pilot David Martz lands a helicopter in the 1800 block of Wattles Drive,
outside a residence in the Hollywood Hills to give Tommy and guests
an 80km flight to a Nine Inch Nails concert in Irvine, California. Alerted
by residents, the LAPD's Air Support Division spots the chopper hovering
above the home and tries to contact the pilot without success. Officers
watch as the pilot lands on the street and goes into the house. Other
officers go to the house and tell the pilot that he has illegally landed
on a public roadway, before Tommy and two other passengers get into
the helicopter with the pilot and fly south. Two hours later the party
returns and lands again at the residence, even after authorities specifically
told him not to do so. Martz is later criminally charged with one count
each of reckless flying, landing an aircraft on a public road and landing
an aircraft without a permit. Each charge carries a maximum penalty
of six months in jail and a thousand-dollar fine. City of Los Angeles
officials say the only other incident they could recall of a celebrity
landing on a public street happened decades ago, when neighbours complained
to the West Los Angeles Police substation about helicopter visits to
Frank Sinatra's home.
10/7/06
Nikki says, "After the tour and after the divorce papers were served,
I was dead, rotting and confused. Time seems to heal all wounds; now
all that's left are the bruises. In the end, all I really care about
are these beautiful kids. I've just been focusing on my kids and making
sure they're OK. I feel they're getting what they need in the way of
support and love from myself, Donna and Brandi. Of course, there's the
lawyers, lawyers, lawyers — draining, emotionally and financially —
but this isn't my first rodeo, but I will tell you it's my last. The
upside to the downside is I'm on a creative high. I've been on a song-writing
binge. I've gotten back into photography too. Funny Farm studios is
up and running five or six days a week. I've been writing with DJ Ashba,
who works out of Funny Farm, every day, churning out songs with me and
a lot of other great songwriters. In an all-out attempt to let go of
the outcome, the new songs have no destination at this time. At some
point I have to focus on the Aero-Crüe tour and a new album (both of
which I’m very excited about). We have a show somewhere in a week or
so, and to be honest, I don't have the heart to go do a gig right now,
but once the stage lights dim, I always come alive. Sikki is always
waiting in the wings. To quote a favourite cliché: What doesn't kill
you makes you stronger. I'm living proof of that."
11/7/06
Vince attends the 2006 ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic at Lost Canyons Golf
Club in Simi Valley, California. The event raises a record $1.1 million
in net proceeds for The V Foundation for Cancer Research. He also plans
to attend the 2006 ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre tomorrow night.
12/7/06
Vince guests on the TV program Criss Angel Mindfreak. The episode features
illusionist/ escapologist/ stunt performer Criss Angel using hypnosis
techniques to read the minds of Vince and other celebrity guests including
Ice Cube, Mark McGrath and Robin Leach.
John Corabi says as well as recently signing
a deal with a literary agent in New York for his autobiography, he has
been doing a lot of song-writing lately for his solo works and also
for Nashville artists. He says, “I wrote a song called Crash that is
really perking up some ears, and I'm really proud of it, ‘cause it’s
just honest and beautiful. I've also been working on a Zep-like acoustic
song (working title) Danse de Papillion.”
13/7/06
Tommy attends the Rock Star: Supernova Season 2 premiere party at The
Roxy with fellow band members Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted, plus hosts
Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke. Also in attendance are this year’s contestants,
along with some of last year’s runner-ups, plus former Mötley manager
Doc McGhee, members of Hootie & The Blowfish, and adult stars including
Mary Carey and Tabitha Taylor.
15/7/06
Versailles Records announces plans to release the first-ever live album
by The Scream, featuring John Corabi on lead vocals just prior to when
he joined Mötley Crüe. Entitled The Scream Live - The Official Bootleg,
the CD will feature a seven-song show recorded for KNAC in 1992, plus
four or five bonus tracks by Corabi marking various points in his career,
from Angora up through the present day. However, days after announcing
a mid-Spring 2007 release date, the release is permanently pulled by
Versailles due to legal reasons related to clearance rights of The Scream
songs.
18/7/06
The Crüe rehearses for their upcoming Rock Fest performance in one of
the small studios at Center Stage Studios in Burbank, California, running
through all their hits.
22/7/06
Vince plays a dinner-time, seventy-five-minute solo show at the Rock
the Park event in Ontario, Canada that includes Set Me Free, the Sweet
cover from his Exposed solo album. He then flies to Wisconsin to join
Mötley Crüe on stage at midnight for a ninety-minute headlining set
at Rock Fest. Sounding a little hoarse at times, Vince struggles through
a similar set of songs as on the Carnival of Sins tour, but without
Mighty Mike, the dancers and Tommy’s camera interlude. Fans feel Nikki’s
first live performance since his divorce is the night’s standout. A
few songs into the set he tells the crowd, “I’m not sure if you are
having fun but I f@ckin' need this!" The old scorpion tattoo on Mick's
strumming hand has recently been enlarged.
25/7/06
Carl Bell says Tommy has laid down a killer drum track to Fuel’s possible
first single from their new album, currently being recorded in Scott
Humphrey's Hollywood studio.
29/7/06
Vince is coaxed up on stage by host Criss Angel to sing a karaoke song
during the final Beachers Madhouse show at The Joint at the Hard Rock
Hotel and Casino Resort in Las Vegas. When the DJ has no Mötley Crüe
songs on hand, Vince chooses to sing along to Steppenwolf’s Born To
Be Wild instead.
31/7/06
Nikki takes part in the press conference for Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of
Hell III listening party at Avalon in New York City.
At the Activate Asia
conference in Australia, games publisher RedOctane announces Mötley
Crüe’s Shout At The Devil will be one of the tracks in its forthcoming
Guitar Hero II – the sequel to one of the best, most popular and certainly
most rocking music games ever created. The game’s developer Harmonix
has now officially announced eleven songs on the tracklist with many
more expected before the game is out on Playstation 2, hopefully in
November this year.
6/8/06
John Corabi says he’s in the process of moving into a new home and has
been trying to finish a couple of new ideas for songs. He also says,
“I just played in Las Vegas on Friday with some friends and I had a
blast. Gilby Clarke came and played a bunch of songs with us, and it
was great to see him again. I also ran into Tommy and had a couple of
drinks with him at a club in L.A. called the 40 Deuce.”
7/8/06
Back from a five-day trip to San Francisco, Seattle, Aspen, New York
City and Dallas, Nikki leaves tomorrow for a seven-day journey to England,
India, China and Japan. He says he has finished two amazing songs with
DJ Ashba titled Hero and Worst Days of My Life, plus another two songs
co-written with DJ and Mikal Blue titled Ugly and Beautiful Death Angel.
“Music is flowing – upheaval does that to you. We've been designing
the set, lights and stage for the Aerosmith-Crüe tour plus going to
court and family time; I'd say sleep is on the backburner. It’s weird
to be single. I’m not really a 'go out kinda guy' so I'm just spending
all my time with the kids. Summer is winding down and school is gearing
up so I won't be too freaked about leaving for tour. Tommy was too kind
to offer for me to fly back and forth with him on the jet while we're
on tour and he finishes off his Rock Star Supernova show. So I'll be
seeing the kids a lot more than I usually do when I tour.”
Hard Rock International announces Mötley Crüe will headline the New
York stop of the Ambassadors of Rock Tour. On September 18, the Crüe
will take the stage at the Hard Rock Café New York, taking time out
of the band's packed tour schedule to celebrate the company's thirty-fifth
anniversary and to rock one of the world's most historic stages, in
the former Paramount Theater, as such greats as Frank Sinatra, Elvis
Presley and The Beatles have done previously. Hard Rock's Ambassadors
of Rock Tour, a worldwide concert series to celebrate thirty five years
of Hard Rock, kicked off at Hyde Park Calling in London with legendary
musicians Roger Waters and The Who. Nikki says, "For years, we have
had a great relationship with Hard Rock. It's a perfect fit for us to
be in New York to celebrate Hard Rock's 35th anniversary."
8/8/06
Nikki is partnering with Kelly Gray, former co-president and house model
of St. John, to launch a contemporary sportswear label called Royal
Underground. "I don't think anyone else could have convinced me to get
back into this business, but he has a passion for clothing that is unparalleled,"
Gray says of Nikki. "We design everything together, down to the colour
of the thread. The marketing behind this is going to be the most exciting
thing I've done in five years. Apparel from Newport Beach-based Royal
Underground, whose clothing range includes $100 T-shirts, $900 cashmere
sweaters and $1,200 leather jackets, will begin arriving in high-end
stores such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus in early November. Nikki
says, "To me, fashion and music go hand-in-hand. Too many of today's
fashions have skulls or look tattered and worn out. I think there's
something cool about that, but you can step it up a notch and have something
a little bit on the classier edge."
10/8/06
Tennessee singer-songwriter Lennon is announced as the opening act for
Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe on the Route of All Evil tour that kicks off
next month. She will be supporting the September 19 release of her new
album Damaged Goods, featuring the single Where Do I Fit In.
11/8/06
Southern California punk band Supernova files a preliminary injunction
to stop Tommy’s supergroup on the CBS-TV reality show Supernova from
using their name. The injunction suit is filed after the band and CBS
fail to settle the matter out of court. The original band, which was
formed in Orange County in 1989 and has released three albums, initially
sued CBS, the show's producers, and the members of the new supergroup
last month.
12/8/06
Vince performs the pre-game coin toss at Ontario’s Ivor Wynne Stadium
in front of thirty thousand people watching the Canadian Football League
game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
18/8/06
Nikki posts diary
entries from his short trip around the world for conducting face-to-face
business meetings with his new Royal Underground clothing line co-founder
Kelly Gray. From Saudi Arabia’s Muscat airport, he says after an emotionally
moving time in India (equal to his trip to Cambodia last year) he woke
that morning in Jaipur, India before taking a private plane to New Delhi
for a connecting flight to Dubai. After business in Saudi Arabia, he
flies to Shanghai, China today where he goes straight to more business
meetings after landing. Their clothing line is developed and going into
production, but he says they are really two seasons ahead in design
and development. “There's a lot of research and design in every line
and we have a lot of partners both overseas and in America. As soon
as I land, it's right back into the final touches of the new
Mötley
tour. It's hard to design
a show as a co-headliner. There are different rules, concerns and limitations
that apply for both bands and you have to have your show mobile and
fast to take down; it's a lot of work. With that being said, I hope
I'm not building anybody's hopes up to high (mine too), but I think
this show (visually) is even better than the Carnival of Sins tour.
I don't want to give it away; the Internet sort of kills the element
of surprise after the first show anyway.” From a business meeting taking
place two hours outside of Shanghai, Nikki then heads back to the airport
for a flight to Tokyo, before returning home to Los Angeles.
The movie
10th & Wolf, co-starring
Tommy in his film debut, hits cinema screens across the U.S. The mob
drama is inspired by the true story of Joseph D. Pistone, the FBI agent
known as Donnie Brasco. James Marsden plays a man who thought he'd left
behind his family's ties to organised crime only to face his past demons
when he returns home to Philadelphia. Marsden co-stars with Giovanni
Ribisi, Brad Renfro, Piper Perabo, Brian Dennehy, Lesley Ann Warren,
Dennis Hopper, and Val Kilmer.
24/8/06
Tommy
will star in one of three new Australian ads as part of a $5 million
advertising blitz promoting Telstra BigPond content. The campaigns,
created by long-time BigPond advertising partner Belgiovane Williams
Mackay, will kick off next week.
5/9/06
Mötley Crüe kicks off their
Route Of All Evil tour with Aerosmith at the Germain Amphitheatre in
Columbus, Ohio. Now with hair extending further over his shoulders,
Vince starts proceedings with Dr. Feelgood as the band runs through
a thirteen-song set of hits on a wrought-iron and skulls-based set conceptually
developed by Crüe dancer Jozie Di Maria, straight out of a gothic Victorian
horror story. Plenty of shooting flames, smoke and other pyros add to
the voodoo-inspired theatre that also includes a mock slaughter of a
rooster by three dancers - Jozie, Alecia Schultze, and Dream
Rockwell - wearing strategically-placed, bloodied, white
cloth. During Girls, Girls, Girls, Vince rides a custom leather-finished
chopper on stage, as detailed in the cover story of this month's issue
of Street Chopper magazine. Nikki says, "The first show of the tour
was pretty good considering all the little wrinkles that need ironing
out. All I saw was smiling faces from the front row all the way to the
back of the place. There were a few of the older Aerosmith fans holding
their ears, but we like it loud."
12/9/06
San Diego U.S. District Court Judge John Houston grants the request
from the members of the original Supernova (an Orange County, California,
punk trio formed in 1989) for a preliminary injunction to halt Tommy’s
new band from performing or recording under the name Supernova if they
fail to change or add any words to the moniker. The injunction keeps
the producers of Rock Star: Supernova from "performing rock and roll
music, or recording, or selling rock and roll music recordings under
the same name, pending a trial of this action on its merits, or until
otherwise ordered by the court."
13/9/06
Twenty-nine-year-old Canadian singer and former Hooters fry cook Lukas
Rossi is chosen to front Tommy's new band in the final episode of Rock
Star: Supernova, ahead of Dilana Robichaux from Houston, Texas and Toby
Rand from Melbourne, Australia. Following release of their debut album
scheduled for November, they will play their first gig on New Year's
Eve before their twenty-eight city North American tour gets into full
swing early in 2007. The competition attracted twenty five thousand
applicants from around the world.
Vince is featured on the cover of VegasGolfer
magazine’s current issue. In the accompanying interview, Vince talks
about his golf game, stating, "I started in 1985. Our tour manager was
an avid golfer, and we were staying at the Four Seasons outside Dallas,
where they have a TPC course, Los something. And I rented some clubs,
and it was fun, and I actually bought my first clubs there at the pro
shop. And I dug it, so then I played every time that I could. We'd play
almost every day, because most of the places where we stayed were on
golf resorts."
15/9/06
According to Production Weekly, Larry Charles is now in pre-production
on his next film The Dirt. Based on Mötley Crüe's 2001 best-selling
autobiography, the film is being made by Paramount Classics and MTV
Films and will shoot on location in Los Angeles.
Two new Rock Star Supernova tracks featuring
singer Lukas Rossi alongside Tommy, Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke are
made available on the band's MySpace page, allowing fans to hear the
tracks It's All Love and Be Yourself & 5 Other Clichés.
18/9/06
Mötley Crüe headlines the New York
stop of the Ambassadors of Rock Tour at the Hard Rock Café, celebrating
the institution's thirty-fifth anniversary.
Steven Tyler joins Mötley on stage to sing
Helter Skelter. The event is hosted
by comedian Jim Breuer, while Anthrax members Scott Ian and Frankie
Bello also attend. Dimebag's famed diamond-plated guitar from Pantera's
Reinventing the Steel tour is inducted into the café at the event.
Carnival Cruise Lines announces Vince
Neil’s Mötley Crüise 2007: a four-day, three-night rock and roll cruise
setting sail on Friday 12 January from Miami, Florida, to Nassau in
The Bahamas before returning to Miami on the following Monday. In addition
to a live concert by Vince and his band, a wet and wild shore excursion
is planned, and several on-board activities to raise money for his Skylar
Neil Memorial Fund and The TJ Martell Foundation. In true Vince style
there will be plenty of bikini-clad babes on and off the ship. Hooters
will send thirty of their most beautiful models to compete in The Hooters
Girls, Girls, Girls Bikini Contest, as part of Vince Neil's Tres Rios
Tequila Beach Party. South Florida's finest gentlemen's club Pure Platinum,
a long-time supporter of Vince's charitable efforts, is sending a bevy
of Platinum beauties to be caddies for the Pure Platinum Miniature Golf
Challenge, which will also raise money for charity. Vince Neil's Mötley
Crüise passengers will also enjoy a slew of other rock star-style amenities
and events including a custom Mötley Crüise Survival Kit, Vince Vineyards
Wine Tasting Party, a one-of-a-kind live charity auction, photo and
autograph session with Vince, and a No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament
where one lucky winner could disembark with an extra $10,000 in their
wallet.
19/9/06
Whilst in New York, Nikki says he has had
a heap of daytime appointments for his Royal
Underground clothing label, with Mötley concerts at night plus after-parties
and fashion shows.
20/9/06
After getting a cover-up tattoo, Nikki says, “The tour is killer but
the days off are killing me. Damn, not enough time to go home and too
much time to sit and stare at the same four walls. DJ Ashba’s coming
out to write music. We’ve finished up eight new tracks with no destination
in mind; just following our hearts and even more so - our fingers.”
30/9/06
DJ Ashba says he and Nikki have now finished sixteen brand new songs
that no-one has heard yet. After spending time with Nikki out on the
road this week, he says they wrote two amazing songs and also came up
with another fourteen song ideas during this time.
1/10/06
James Otto's song Ain't Gonna Stop is selected to be part of EA
Sports' NASCAR 2007 video game. Co-written by Nikki, John Rich, and
Kenny Alphin, the song is expected to be included on Otto's next
full-length album. Otto says, "This is the first song the three of
us ever set down to write, and it was a long time ago. Four years or
more during the really early days of the MuzikMafia. We were in
John's old condo, and he brought in this groove he had written with
Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx at a writer's retreat. That really cool,
syncopated lyric is very John Rich. When it came to the chorus I
starting doing this really big, seventies, southern rock sound and
Big Kenny came up with the lyric "fly just as high as I want to." At
the time there was nothing happening in country music that sounded
even close to it. When we started recording the album I was really
in that headspace of breaking loose, so this was a natural fit for
what I was thinking. It’s dead on with where I was mentally and
really set the tone for the record."
2/10/06
Before the Mötley Crüe and Aerosmith show at the Air Canada Center in
Toronto, Tommy tells Steve Tyler ‘my birthday is tomorrow and I'll give
you oral sex if I can play the drums on Last Child. That would be the
best birthday present I ever got.' After talking with their drummer
Joey Kramer backstage, Tommy joins Aerosmith on stage and plays the
song live to the delight of the Canadian crowd. Passing on the oral
sex, Tyler says, “We should’ve played Big Ten Inch but he slammed Last
Child. I love that boy; he was born with a horseshoe up his ass.”
3/10/06
Nikki and his estranged wife Donna D'Errico have put their Californian
home of eight years on the market at close to three million dollars.
The Spanish-style villa is in a gated community of four homes in Agoura
Hills, each on a forty-acre parcel. Built in 1982, the six-thousand-plus-square-foot
house has been extensively remodelled over the last five years, including
a complete overhaul of the kitchen in 2002 with granite counters, slate
floors, hand-hewn oak cabinets, top-of-the-line appliances, a copper
sink and a built-in cappuccino machine. The villa has six bedrooms,
four-and-a-half bathrooms, a family room, a formal dining room and a
bonus room. The master bedroom suite has a balcony, vaulted ceiling,
two walk-in cedar-lined closets, a spa tub, a steam shower and a redwood
sauna. One of the other bedrooms was designed as Nikki’s music studio.
The grounds have a pool, spa, meditation garden, vegetable garden, playground
and mountain views. A river-rock waterfall accents the house's double-door
entry, which is reached by a private drive.
4/10/06
Scheduled to kick-off a U.S. arena tour next month, emo heavyweights
Panic! At the Disco recently asked to borrow Mötley Crüe's famous circus
tent from their Carnival of Sins tour to enhance a circus-themed production
in planning, but they were told the Crüe might use the tent again on
some upcoming tour.
Meanwhile, Tommy films Rock Star Supernova's
first video in Los Angeles for the song It's All Love.
16/10/06
After rehearsing and doing a show at the Cat Club with Billy Idol a
couple of weeks ago, John Corabi says he’s been fortunate lately to
have done some shows with some people that he really admires. He played
a gig with Eddie Van Halen and Starfuckers a few days later at Eddie's
house to celebrate the Sacred Sin movie release. He also just played
a gig in Salt Lake City with his jam band called Delicious Vinyl (Fred
Coury, Robbie Crane, Brent Woods, Teddy Zig Zag) where they played old
Rainbow songs and some other classics like Highway Star, All Right Now
and Tush with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals.
23/10/06
Tommy's Rock Star Supernova suffers
a major setback with the loss of bassist Jason Newsted who is scheduled
for immediate surgery to repair a torn anterior labrum in his left shoulder
plus a rotator cuff and bicep tear in his right. Newsted suffered the
injuries while trying to catch a ninety-pound bass head that had fallen
from atop his amp. The surgery will be followed by a lengthy rehab assignment
that could leave him sidelined for up to nine months. The band is currently
searching for a suitable replacement to handle touring duties while
Newsted recovers.
24/10/06
Nikki says, "The other night my friend John Rich from Big & Rich came
on stage and played Don't Go Away Mad with us in Nashville. Fun times.
We met a few years ago while writing music together and have been fast
friends ever since. Royal Underground is shipping this week and all
the clothes have arrived in L.A. and we're packing them up for the stores.
Tommy stole one of our shirts right off my back the other day and Steven
Tyler won't take off the cashmere hoodies - I'd say that's a good sign.
Last show tonight and we go home for a ten-day break. I can't wait to
lay my head on my own pillow and to wrap my arms around my kids. Hell
yeah, life is good… Thank you for everything… This has been a hell of
a year… good and bad… but we survive."
Restless Records releases a
Butchering The Beatles tribute CD featuring twelve new, ass-kicking
versions of The Beatles' chart-topping hits including I Saw Her Standing
There sung by John Corabi.
31/10/06
Mercury Records
releases Meat Loaf's album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose,
the long-awaited third instalment to rock music’s most successful series
of all time. The title track was co-written by Nikki with John 5 and
producer Desmond Child.
2/11/06
Rock Star Supernova recruits former
Black Crowes member Johnny Colt to step in for injured bassist Jason
Newsted. Colt, also known for his work with Train, will join Tommy in
the rhythm section for the band's North American tour, which launches
on New Year's Eve with a sold-out show at The Joint in Las Vegas.
3/11/06
The Vince Neil Ink tattoo shop opens
at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. The
1,230-square-foot shop at O'Shea's
Casino is the first tattoo parlor
inside a Las Vegas Strip casino.
To celebrate the grand opening, Vince
gets a tattoo on his left calf by Brett Caron of a spider web ace design
with VNI initials over the top and today's date underneath. Nikki is
one of the guests in attendance that also includes Criss Angel, Evan
Seinfeld, Dana Strum and Jeff Blando.
Vince's
motorcycle from the Girls, Girls, Girls video is on display inside.
While waiting for the creation of their very own piece of skin art,
customers are continuously entertained with
Mötley music
videos on large plasma displays.
During the press conference, Vince tells
ABC Radio News that Oscar-winning actor Christopher Walken will make
a cameo appearance as Ozzy Osbourne in The Dirt, the movie based on
the band's controversial autobiography. While the
Mötley Crüe
band members are to be played by unknowns, Vince says that other stars
are going to appear in the film as rock stars, including Val Kilmer
as David Lee Roth. The story gets widely published by media outlets,
demonstrating a high-degree of interest in the movie.
4/11/06
The first Cruefest event outside
North America takes place in Melbourne, Australia.
Chronological Crue's Paul Miles emcees the event and DJs in between
the Cruefest Down-Under band performances, as thousands of dollars are
raised for Mötley-related charities.
5/11/06
Vince hosts the second annual Off
the Strip - Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament at The Hard Rock Hotel &
Casino in Las Vegas, benefiting the T.J. Martell Foundation. Celebrities,
poker pros, and Las Vegas' hottest dancers join Vince for an entertaining
evening. Beginning at 3pm, Vince hosts a special cocktail party, followed
by a one-of-a-kind live auction, hosted by Tiffany Granath before tournament
play commences an hour later.
7/11/06
The much-anticipated Playstation
2 game Guitar Hero II is released in the U.S.A. and features Mötley
Crüe’s Shout At The Devil.
9/11/06
Tommy is one of thirty six stars
appearing in the new Johnny Cash video for the song God's Gonna Cut
You Down. The treatment for the clip was written by Justin Timberlake
and other stars who appear in the video include Iggy Pop, Kanye West,
Chris Martin, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Amy Lee, Chris Rock, Kate Moss,
Sheryl Crow, Woody Harrelson, Keith Richards, Bono, Travis Barker, Kid
Rock, Jay-Z, Trent Reznor and Johnny Depp.
15/11/06
Mick joins Aerosmith on stage in
Dallas, Texas and plays the song Stop Messin’ with them. Joe Perry says,
“He really ripped it up and we had a great time. He’s got great blues
chops even though he plays classic metal in the
Crüe.
I have a feeling we may do this again before the tour is over. I gave
him a DVD of the song for a present and he gave me one of his favourite
fuzztones effects pedals. Like I said before, these guys have been great
to tour with. Not only are they great to play with but Nikki even outfitted
us with his new clothing line.”
16/11/06
Nikki guests in-store at
Neiman-Marcus in Houston to promote
his Royal Underground clothing line.
Tommy also guests in-store in the
Y.E.S. Contemporary Sportswear
department at Bloomingdale's in San
Francisco to support his tattoo-inspired, limited-edition collection
Peoples Liberation for Tommy Lee (PL for TL).
21/11/06
The self-titled Rock Star Supernova
debut studio album, featuring Tommy on drums, is released on Epic Records.
The band performs on Jimmy Kimmel
Live to celebrate its release.
22/11/06
An intoxicated crowd member flips-off
Nikki and Vince as they play Same Ol’ Situation in Tampa, Florida. He
throws something at Vince and then spits at him. Vince quickly spits
back and when the guy does it again, Vince takes off his guitar and
swings it down at the guy before jumping off stage onto him, crashing
through the folding chairs in the first two rows. Members of the Crüe’s
personal security quickly apprehend the drunk and remove him as order
is restored. Vince addresses the crowd upon his return to the stage
to finish the show, perplexed why someone would come to a concert and
start such trouble.
24/11/06
Sitting in another hotel room in
another city, Nikki says he is missing deeply what he’s worked so hard
for. “The kids are all home having Thanksgiving and I'm still on tour.
This is the second Thanksgiving in a row away from home. The end of
the tour is almost here and room service (a cold turkey sandwich) is
almost here too. There are no plans to do anything at this point and
that's fine by me, 'cause I'm burnt out and as grateful as I am, I'm
ready to go home and stay home. This has been a stressful year and I
can't wait for the ball to drop on 2006 and welcome 2007 in.”
27/11/06
INXS singer JD Fortune says he has auditioned for the role of Nikki
Sixx in The Dirt movie, "I'm up for a role of a heroin addict, which
could be interesting for me considering I don't really party anymore.
A needle has never touched my arms I'm glad to say, so it will be acting.
It's just like anything: you've auditioned and then you put it out of
your mind. If you get it, you get it and if not, whatever. I didn't
want to be one of those typical, 'Oh, I think I can act, so let's try
that.' It's not that at all. I just happen to really believe in the
story."
29/11/06
Tommy’s band Rock Star Supernova sells almost seventeen thousand copies
of its self-titled debut album in the United States during its first
week of release to debut at position number 101 on next week's Billboard
200 chart. In Canada, it sells 19,159 copies and debuts at number 4
behind The Beatles, Il Divo and U2.
8/12/06
Tommy says he will be adding a brand new line for children to his Peoples
Liberation for Tommy Lee (PL for TL) clothing line that features t-shirts,
jeans, hats and hoodies with dragon motifs. He stresses he is a fashion
fanatic and would love to venture into women’s wear as well.
12/12/06
The Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe
Route of All Evil tour earns a nomination for the Most Creative Tour
Package award in Pollstar's eighteenth annual Concert Industry Awards.
The other nominees in the category are Bon Jovi & Nickelback, Def Leppard
& Journey, Fall Out Boy & All-American Rejects, Sheryl Crow & John Mayer,
plus Tim McGraw & Faith Hill. The awards ceremony is to be held February
8 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal Citywalk, Los Angeles.
13/12/06
Aerosmith asks Nikki to join them on stage during the final concert
on the Route of All Evil tour in Vancouver, Canada. “They asked me to
play Helter Skelter on stage with them tonight and it was a dream come
true (not to mention we kicked some f@cking ass). I'm so pumped right
now thinking back on rocking up the stage with my heroes. The Aerosmith
guys have been the easiest band to tour with in our career. No drama,
no competition. We all hung out together and had a blast. I'll miss
them and I know they feel the same.” Nikki also says, “For me, this
has been the hardest year of my life I've experienced in almost as long
as I can remember. Going through a divorce during a tour is another
level of stress I don't wish on anybody. But we get through what we
have to get through and now it's time to focus on the most important
things in my life: my children and my sobriety. Someone asked me how
I didn't go into a downward spiral and I told them because it isn't
an option anymore in my life. I'm excited to get back into photography
and will post pics when I get them. Paul Brown and myself went into
some back alleys here in Vancouver and gained the trust of some local
drugs addicts. They ended up after time asking us if we would photograph
them getting high and we did. Days like yesterday and today are reminders
how good we have it, even when we feel like our head is to the grindstone.
I'm heading into the creative underground for a while, hopefully to
resurface recharged and ready to come out swinging. How long? However
long it takes.”
Mötley Crüe grosses
$19 million in revenue during 2006, less than the previous year due
to fewer concerts played. To try and maximize revenue, the band
hoped to play more headline shows on nights that Aerosmith did not
perform, but this was said to be hampered by scheduling conflicts.
Behind the scenes, band management is keen to schedule lots of
European dates next year, since they couldn’t go ahead with them
this year, but the impending success or failure of Rock Star
Supernova impacts their ability to commit. Management is
disappointed that all four band members have been unable to get into
the studio together this year to work on their album of new
material.
29/12/06
Nikki makes an in-store appearance for his Royal Underground clothing
line at Tomorrow's Laundry in Aspen, Colorado on behalf of Aspen Peak
magazine. Guests include John Oates, Tom Gardner (co-founder of The
Motley Fool), and fashion legend Domenico De Sole. After celebrating
the New Year in Aspen, Nikki will head to Maui for a vacation with his
children.
31/12/06
After roughly two weeks of rehearsals, Tommy's Rock Star Supernova band
plays their first live show in front of two thousand people at The Joint
in Las Vegas to ring in the New Year. The band is preceded on-stage
by a taped video message from front-man Lukas Rossi with a slogan of
"What happens at a Supernova show, stays at a Supernova show." They
open with the song Underdog at 11:20pm and work their way through a
patchy thirteen-song set, punctuated with Tommy's tittie cam interlude
borrowed from Mötley Crüe shows, a cover of The Verve's Bittersweet
Symphony, and a two-take encore of The Rolling Stones' Let's Spend the
Night Together. The band uses a four-woman string section for three
songs and two dancers in lingerie, denim chaps and boots gyrating during
several others.
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