Tommy Lee – Never A Dull
Moment……To Say the Least
Interviewed by Keith McDonald
Tommy
Lee was as wild as they come. Having honed his rock star skills as the
drummer for the heavy metal outfit Motley Crue, Tommy has began a new
chapter in his rock n roll diary. After leaving the Crue a few years
back, Tommy has tasted some success as a solo artist with his Methods of
Mayhem project and now with his first official solo release. With the
MCA Records release, Never A Dull Moment, Tommy has been separating
himself from his past with a new style of music that has little to do
with his hard rocking’ Crue days. From MOM’s rap material to his
newer, modern rock sound, Tommy has been gaining attention as a
songwriter guitarist and frontman. I recently had the opportunity to sit
down with Tommy while in New York and get an update to what’s been
going on. You can check out the website at www.mcarecords.com
Why did you leave the Crue and go solo in the first place?
There were two reasons. One of them was creativity. I remember in the
early and mid 90’s music was changing and I was changing. I was
bringing stuff to the table, songs, like the stuff I’m doing now, and
the guys were like ‘sounds awesome but it’s not really Motley’. I
kept putting it aside. So on a creative level I think we were just going
different ways. Then on a personal level Vince and I don’t get along
at all. You have to look at those two things and said I gotta get outta
here.
Why did you jump over to MCA while you had Motley Records? Nikki
started his own label, why didn’t you?
I wanted to go to a major label. I didn’t trust and still don’t
trust the organization, Left Bank, the management company. Allen Kovac
is a bit shady and I don’t think Nikki has his label anymore, not that
he did anything with it. I wanted a major label behind it.
Now with your new solo project you really have jumped around
musically. You went from Motley Crue, which was hard rock to Methods of
Mayhem, which was rap to this project, which is a type of modern rock.
Why the drastic change in musical styles?
Like I said before, I was changing, music was changing. I’m such a
big fan of so many different styles of music. I love industrial metal,
hip-hop, and techno. I guess because I’m a drummer I’m attracted to
the beats, I love all that shit, it’s all drums. You have to put
yourself in my position for a minute. I had been doing one style of
music for 20 years. Then I became a creative kid in a candy store. I
wanted to get my hands on everything. Then I toured with Methods of
Mayhem on Ozzfest and in September of 2000 I started writing the Never A
Dull Moment record and that’s where my heart was. I think I sort of
dabbled in some of the things I wanted to play with.
Did the Methods of Mayhem album do better than you expected?
Yeah. It went Gold in America, Gold in Japan and Canada. I did not
expect anything. I thought people were going to trip out when they heard
this record. Some hardcore Crue fans were like ‘what the fuck is
this’. I expected that. Some parts of America there are people stuck
in a time warp. You drive through Peoria, IL and they’re still playing
old Scorpions. In LA, where I live, you never hear them on the radio.
Since we’re talking about radio, how has it been to the new
record, any problems getting airplay?
For about five months “Hold Me Down” has been Top 10 on the
Active Rock N Roll charts which I thought was crazy. In the last two
weeks it’s started to drop down because it’s time for another single
to play the fuck out of it. There are some modern rock stations that
won’t play my record, like K-ROCK here and K-ROCK in LA and Chicago.
Three of the biggest cities and there’s no airplay. I’ve been
beating my head trying to get my music on the stations. I’m going to
K-ROCK today, which doesn’t mean they’ll add my record.
How hard was it to go from being a drummer to fronting your own
band? How hard of a transition was it?
It’s not easy at all. It’s sort of natural because in Motley I
always wanted to be in the front, like the drum solo. Out in front or
spinning over their heads or blown up or in a space suit. I always
wanted to be a ringleader. So the transition was difficult but not as
difficult for another drummer who just played in the back and didn’t
do much. I think what made it easier is that I’ve been playing guitar
and singing forever.
I didn’t realize that you did that.
Even back further I wrote a lot of the hits. Girls, Girls, Girls I
wrote on guitar, Home Sweet Home and Wildside I wrote on piano. I’ve
been playing guitar for a long-ass time. I would write music for the
band and I would have to thank Vince and Mick for not showing up at my
house because that made me work harder. I would ask Vince to come by and
he would be like ‘I gotta take helicopter lessons’ or ‘I’m
racing cars’. So I was like ‘fuck it’, I’ll sing it. I used to
sing everyday in my studio and I’d bring in finished demos, me playing
the bass, guitar, drums and vocals. Then we would go in and record them.
That transition wasn’t difficult, it was just getting comfortable.
It’s always easier in the studio; live you are singing and playing
guitar at the same time. Doing the Methods of Mayhem tour, that’s
where I really got the bugs out and got comfortable. Now I’m totally
comfortable and having a blast.
Do you find it harder to break as a new artist than you did when
Motley was breaking in the early 80’s?
It’s a lot harder now. When Motley was first busting out it just
seemed we were really lucky to get that Ozzy tour and be able to play in
front of that many people every night. That helped us and radio wasn’t
like it is now. Now major corporations own them and they’re the
gatekeepers. If you’re not on radio you ain’t shit. That means no
one gets to hear you. There’s some shady pay-olla; it’s whacked
dude.
Does the album title Never A Dull Moment reflect your wild
lifestyle?
Pretty much.
How does your lifestyle affect your music and writing?
I pretty much write about experiences, shit I’ve been through that
I wanna share with people. I’m not a fiction writer; I like to write
about real shit people can relate to.
Why did you part ways with Tilo and was it hard to do?
He was bummed, he understood. Between the label, my manger and the
producer, they were like ‘Tommy, you don’t need two frontmen, you
can do this on your own. I dig Tilo. Eventually I had to let him know I
was going to move on without him.
Why did you go out on tour alone and not get a package together
like you did with the Ozzfest?
We were offered Ozzfest and I didn’t want to do it again. I don’t
care for going on during the day while people are still pulling up in
their cars. Half the people weren’t even there. You play in front of
people just getting there, not in their seats. I’d rather be playing
House of Blues style venues packed with 1,200 people. It’s dark in
there with a light show. I’m not a daytime guy. We’ve been touring
and then in August we go home. We’ve been talking with the guys in
P.O.D. and maybe some dates with Disturbed.
What can we expect from live show?
We’re doing everything. Mostly the new record, a Crue classic
that’s heavy as fuck and Methods of Mayhem. My band is tight as fuck;
the drummer is a badass. I spent a long-ass time and about a month in
pre-production rehearsal making the show look the way it looks. We do
meet and greets after the show, it’s awesome.
There have been rumors flying around that Nikki has said there
will be no new Motley Crue music and that what he’d like to do is a
Farewell Tour with the original members. What are your thoughts on this
and would you be interested?
He’s not going to make new shit? I might consider it. I wouldn’t
say no. It would probably be awhile because I’m really enjoying what
I’m doing now. If that were to happen it would be much later.