MÖTLEY CRÜE's TOMMY LEE Talks METHODS OF MAYHEM, Upcoming OZZFEST Tour Dates

ARTISTdirect.com editor Rick Florino recently conducted an interview with MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer and METHODS OF MAYHEM mastermind Tommy Lee. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

ARTISTdirect.com: What inspired you to bring METHODS OF MAYHEM back now?

Tommy Lee: 2000 was the first album, and now it's 2010! [Laughs] Every once in awhile, I've got to get my anything-goes-hat on and go for it. That's what METHODS OF MAYHEM means to me. Anything goes stylistically. Whether it's having a bunch of guest stars on the record like the first album or this one. I made this record with the whole world!

ARTISTdirect.com: Well, that aligns with your boundless mentality.

Tommy Lee: Totally, man! If I would've known how much work was involved in doing this, I probably wouldn't have done it knowing that, but I'm glad I did it because it's sick. People sent in the wildest stuff from all over the globe. You're going to trip out when you hear it. It's really a bitching record.

ARTISTdirect.com: What encouraged you to open up the gate and allow the world to contribute?

Tommy Lee: You know what, man? I like pioneering something new and being the first. It seemed like the perfect time. Technology-wise, it was ready to go. My partner Scott Humphrey had this great idea and the perfect way to set up the backend of this site so that we could house tens of thousands of submissions on a daily basis, listen to them, use them and communicate back and forth with these people who submitted them. So, the time was right in terms of technology and we were in the right frame of mind like, "Okay, let's do something totally insane." That's where it all started.

ARTISTdirect.com: Did you learn a lot from the process?

Tommy Lee: I totally did! The craziest thing was it really opened my eyes to how many talented people are out there. There are 13- and 14-year-old kids ripping guitars in their bedrooms, recording music on their computers. That happens all around the world. Or you've got these weekend warrior dudes who don't want to be rock stars and don't really give a shit about anything but playing on Saturday and Sunday. They've got normal jobs, and on the weekend they drink beers and play in their club bands. You've got people all over the world who are super talented out there doing their thing [Laughs]. For them to be involved and for me to have the opportunity like that is remarkable. Just imagine an artist with every single color on his palette being able to play with all of these amazing talented people and ideas. It's pretty wild, dude! It's hard to explain because it's really so overwhelming.

ARTISTdirect.com: Your collaboration with Chino Moreno [DEFONES], "Ashamed", always stood out. Did you do a new track with Chino for the new album?

Tommy Lee: There's a track on the record called "Only One". Chino and I got back together and did that one. I've just always loved his voice. He's got that really haunting, cool sound. The song starts off slowly and a bit jarring like that. Then it just gets ridiculously heavy. Wait until you hear it! [Laughs] Everyone who hears it goes, "Whoah, dude! That's gnarly!"

ARTISTdirect.com: Your voices really complement each other.

Tommy Lee: We do have a similar feel and a little bit of a sound sometimes. They're not exactly the same, but they just work well together. They're two cool-sounding voices. I think you'll dig it!

ARTISTdirect.com: Having toured with Ozzy Osbourne back in the day, does Ozzfest 2010 bring things full circle?

Tommy Lee: Yeah, you know what! It's a big one for him. Ozzy got us our very first big tour. It was the start of our relationship with him. Because of Ozzy, MÖTLEY's got its own Crüe Fest. It's a big "thank you" and honor for us to go rip it with him, showing our appreciation and love. If it wasn't for him, he really took us under his wing and said, "I love you guys! You guys are fucking amazing!" He took us out on the road and really gave us an opportunity to play in front of 15-20 thousand people every night. That was a big deal. He had a lot to do with getting us out in front of the world. Ozzfest is going to be fun. It's a quick one. Next summer, MÖTLEY will resume Crüe Fest, but we're going to do this run with Ozzy for a second here.

ARTISTdirect.com: Ozzfest is going to be the first time a lot of kids have seen Ozzy and MÖTLEY.

Tommy Lee: That's true! It's the weirdest thing, bro. Just imagine. Put yourself in my position for a second, there was a day when you look out and everybody in the crowd is pretty much exactly the same age as you or maybe a little younger. Now, a whole new generation is coming to see MÖTLEY for the first time. I've seen guys as little as seven-years-old on their dad's shoulders throwing the horns up singing, "Shout at the Devil", and I'm like, "Wait a minute… How does this work? You weren't around for that!" [Laughs] I think it's amazing that there's a seven-year-old kid out there pumping his horns up and singing, and I see it all the time. It's good because it makes me realize that CRÜE's got some longevity. We've been around for awhile and will be around longer. There's a whole new grip of people coming to check it out. I don't think anything would make me happier. That's cool.

Read the entire interview from ARTISTdirect.com.

METHODS OF MAYHEM's "Fight Song" can be streamed using the audio player below (courtesy of AOL's Noiscreep).