TOMMY LEE Looks Back On His Exit From MÖTLEY CRÜE More Than 25 Years Ago: 'I Was Creatively Dying Slowly'

In a new interview with the Zach Sang Show, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee spoke about the band's upcoming "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of CRÜE's groundbreaking 2005-2006 "Carnival Of Sins" tour and the 45th anniversary of the band. The 33-city Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on July 17, 2026 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania at the Pavilion at Star Lake and will feature support acts EXTREME and TESLA. Regarding the preparation for the tour, Tommy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We start rehearsing in — I don't know — two weeks. So I'll be playing every single day then.

Asked about the musicianship and chemistry between him and the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE when they meet up and play together now, Tommy said: "We've been playing these songs for so long, if anything, we're just brushing up on some of the newer stuff. But we've played those songs so many times, we could all play them blindfolded, drunk and standing on your head.

"The vibe's cool, man," he continued. "As we've grown, the vibe as a band has really gotten closer, and you would think it wouldn't. We've gotten closer. Everybody, I think, has had enough time to kind of step back and reflect on what we've done together, man, and we're still doing. Count that on one hand. There's not a whole lot of bands that are still doing it from when we started. So we all have a big gratification, a new love, and just — I don't know — appreciation for a lot. And we've been very, very fortunate."

Regarding whether MÖTLEY CRÜE is "bigger than any one person", Tommy said: "Yeah… When the four of us get together, each guy brings a certain something to the party, and only those four guys can do that. You can't really assemble it. And it's really hard to be objective talking about yourself. You're, like, 'Uh, I don't know, quite know how to answer that.' I'll just tell you how I feel. But it's a trip, dude."

Asked what the reason is for MÖTLEY CRÜE's success, Lee said: "The reason? Oh my God, dude… Okay. Luck, talent, timing. There's so many reasons. I don't know if you can necessarily just be it's one thing. It really is a combination of timing, luck, talent, just all this stuff that somehow the universe lined up for you to go and play with.

After host Zach Sang noted that there must have been a lot of moments where Tommy could have quit MÖTLEY CRÜE, Lee said: "Oh, for sure. Oh, yeah. I mean, I actually did quit MÖTLEY for a couple years. I was creatively dying slowly as just my personal musicianship and craft and stuff, and I needed an outlet. So I actually quit for a couple years, and that's when I started METHODS OF MAYHEM and started doing some solo stuff because I had to switch gears. I wasn't able to creatively do anything outside of the MÖTLEY format. And with my own stuff, it was a place for me — I call it the adult sandbox. Like, literally anything goes. No genres, no style — it doesn't matter. We're doing whatever I wanna do and just have fun with it. Creatively I needed that, 'cause I was at kind of a bad place in my life. And then I realized it sitting in jail", referring to the time in 1998 when he served four months in jail for a spousal abuse charge on then wife Pamela Anderson. "I was, like, 'I gotta change something, 'cause obviously I'm here. I gotta switch it up because I gotta get happy and get out of here.'"

Tommy went on to say that he knew his unhappiness was linked to his creativity. "100%, man," he said. "It's such a big part of me. If you're not happy creatively and you don't feel like you're able to constantly evolve and create and do that stuff, that's dangerous.

Asked by Sang if he thinks he was "born to do this" and "it's a part of who" he is, Tommy said: "I think so, dude, because… I mean, I wouldn't remember, but my parents tell me, as soon as I was tall enough to reach into the silverware drawer and pull out all the pots and pans, I was just constantly playing, constantly playing. That I don't really remember, but a little later on in life, I remember just jumping up and down on my bed playing air guitar and knowing that 'I'm doing this'. There was no other thing. I was, like, 'I wanna do this.' And I remember having some funny arguments with my parents, quitting school my senior year. They're, like, 'Dude, just graduate. Oh my God, you only have a couple of more months. What if this music thing doesn't work out?' I'm, like, 'Oh, it's gonna work out. It's gonna work out. It's gonna fucking work out. I got this.' And then the time came where both of my parents come to the Forum [in Los Angeles] and watched us on tour with Ozzy Osbourne — sold out, 18,000 people. And my mom and dad are sitting out there. And they're looking around. The house light, the blinders go on and it lights up the whole audience. From playing my drums, I can see my parents, and both of my parents are looking around, and they're, like, 'Fuck, he said he got it. He got it.' 'Cause I was, like, 'No, I got this.' And that look, that moment was, like, 'Oh…' What gets any better than that? You're kind of going against your parents' wishes, but you're confident enough to know, like, 'No, this is in me. I have to do this.' And to be able to have them come and see that, and watching that from the stage, I'm, like... I almost started crying. I was, like, 'This is what it's all about. This is what it's all about, man.'"

Tommy is a founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE, which formed in 1981. He also founded the rap-metal band METHODS OF MAYHEM and pursued solo music projects. The drummer has dabbled in TV and starred in two reality shows.

2000's "New Tattoo" album was the only MÖTLEY CRÜE studio record ever made entirely without Lee. Randy Castillo, a former member of Ozzy Osbourne's band, was behind the kit in the studio.

When the "Carnival Of Sins" tour first hit the road in 2005, it wasn’t just a concert — it was a full-scale production that pushed the limits of live shows. It combined grit, humor, and high-voltage energy with elaborate staging and a sense of chaos that only MÖTLEY CRÜE could pull off. Two decades later, fans will have the chance to experience "The Return Of The Carnival Of Sins" as MÖTLEY CRÜE revisits one of the most memorable live tours of their storied career with a reimagined show and updated setlist.

MÖTLEY CRÜE said that $1 from every ticket sold for "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" will be donated to ASAP! (After School Arts Program) through the Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative to fund hands-on arts programs for young people.

Photo credit: Leo Baron