In 1981, bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee founded Mötley Crüe in Hollywood, California. Shortly after, they added guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil. Debuting with 1981’s Too Fast For Love, Mötley Crüe went on to sell more than 100 million records across the globe, enthralling fans with their wild antics both onstage and off. In November, the “Dr. Feelgood” hitmakers announced The Return of the Carnival of Sins, a sprawling 33-date tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band’s 2005-2006 Carnival of Sins trek.
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Kicking off July 17 at the Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, Nikki Sixx is promising Mötley Crüe fans all of the pomp and circumstance they have come to expect from live shows.
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“I just think it’s going to be just like, the next level,” said the 67-year-old musician, born Frank Feranna Jr., during an interview last month with Utah radio station 103.5 The Arrow.
Mötley Crüe “Has a Lot to Live Up to,” Says Nikki Sixx
Amid rampant interpersonal conflict and the changing landscape of rock music, Mötley Crüe went on hiatus in 2002. Two years later, Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil reunited with Tommy Lee, who left the band in 1999, and released the compilation album Red, White and Crue in February 2005. That same month, the bandmates embarked on their blockbuster Carnival of Sins tour. And suddenly, the old Crue was back.
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“The first one was a lot of people’s favorite tour, so we have a lot to live up to,” Sixx acknowledged. However, he assures fans that the “Kickstart My Heart” rockers are more than up to the task.
“Back then, [we had] probably 20 semi-trucks full of gear — hard goods, as they call ’em — [with] all kinds of stuff,” Sixx said. “And now, with the advancement of technology, we can just take the fans on a crazy journey.”
In this rapidly-evolving world, Sixx says the three-time Grammy nominees cannot simply rely on pyrotechnics alone. “[You] you can watch a baseball game and they have pyro now. So it’s, like, how do we take advantage of new technology?” he said. “We don’t want you to show up and go, ‘Yeah. It looks just like the last four bands that I saw.’ And so there’s always a lot of pressure on us to do that. And that’s, I think, what really drives us.”
Featured image by Chris Putnam/Future Publishing via Getty Images
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