MÖTLEY CRÜE Guitarist Talks About Upcoming Album, 'The Dirt' Movie And Reunion Tour

IndyStar.com recently conducted an exclusive interview with MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars. The brief question-and-answer session follows:

IndyStar.com: How did Huntington, Indiana, prepare you for rock stardom?

Mick Mars: "It all started at the 4-H Fair when I saw (country singer) Skeeter Bonn playing at Hiers Park. I was maybe 3 years old. He had on a bright orange suit with a bunch of rhinestones on it, and a big white Stetson hat. I was a little kid, but I was knocked over."

IndyStar.com: How are you holding up physically?

Mick Mars: "I'm OK. What I got — it is what it is, you know? Life goes on."

IndyStar.com: Have the four of you sketched out plans beyond this tour?

Mick Mars: "We're planning on doing an album, which should be out by 2007, a movie (based on 'The Dirt', the band's 2001 autobiography) and another animated movie called 'Disaster'. Plus, a live CD and DVD."

IndyStar.com: "The Dirt" was such a great read. How is the movie going to work?

Mick Mars: "We don't want to come out with something cheeseball like that 'Rock Star' movie. It needs to be real, like the real thing. We're trying to get the right director. There have been a few who wanted to do it. Once we get one in place, then it's going to move very quickly."

IndyStar.com: Are you going to act in it yourself?

Mick Mars: "Oh, no. I'm one of the executive producers. I'm going to be there to make sure that when they depict me, it's going to be accurate."

IndyStar.com: In the book, you implied that some metal bands ruined the 1980s. Do you care to elaborate on that?

Mick Mars: "I think that when any kind of new music comes out, the record companies do overkill. In the 1980s, we had gimmicks like the big hair."

IndyStar.com: By the time it got to bands like BRITNY FOX and SLAUGHTER, it was about done?

Mick Mars: "Yeah, something like that (laughs). In the '90s, it happened with grunge and alternative music. They overdid that crap."

IndyStar.com: The Internet has preserved an interview you and bass player Nikki Sixx gave to a morning television show in St. Louis. You were rather animated when the host asked, "Who rocked harder in the '80s, MÖTLEY CRÜE or POISON?"

Mick Mars: "Well, good Lord. That's a pretty silly question."

IndyStar.com: Aside from one clueless guy on TV, do you think you guys get the respect you're due?

Mick Mars: "Yeah, from the right people. The industry recognizes us. I don't think they put us up there with the ROLLING STONES or anything. But they will. They'll wake up pretty soon."

IndyStar.com: What's it like to have all four of you together, as opposed to some of the later tours with different people in different roles?

Mick Mars: "It's a great feeling, because everybody I talk to at meet-and-greets and at radio stations are so enthusiastic about seeing the four of us together. The shows are doing really well. It's one of the biggest shows out on tour right now. It makes me feel good that we have a lot of support."

IndyStar.com: I have to ask about Tommy and Vince: Do they interact during the course of a day or during a show?

Mick Mars: "In the show, yeah, we all do. When we're offstage, we haven't gotten together and collaborated. But we write music and we do stuff. We all have different agendas. Not saying that we don't get along, because we get along better than we ever have."

IndyStar.com: Do you have a closest ally in the band?

Mick Mars: "It's a toss-up between Nikki and Vince. Tommy and I? I don't know. It's over-the-top with him. We're really close onstage, but offstage I spend more time with Nikki."

IndyStar.com: A lot of the band's mystique was built upon the four of you as a "gang" of sorts. Does it make a difference in the quality of the work if you're not as close today?

Mick Mars: "I think this next album will prove that we're as rude as we ever were. This is going to be the best album. We're not going to sit around and put out a record just to put out a record. We're going to really work and think it out and make it the very best we can. We're still a unit, and our music is still street-level, aggressive and raw."