VINCE NEIL Says He Was 'Really Shocked' CRÜE Sold Out Madison Square Garden

Aidin Vaziri of The San Francisco Chronicle recently conducted a short interview with MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil about the group's "Red, White, and Crüe 2005...Better Live Than Dead" tour.

Q: How are things going with you and Tommy [Lee, drums]?

Vince Neil: The press actually made more of it than it actually was. There are a lot of people who I'm really good friends with that I haven't talked to in a really long time, you know what I mean? We're like brothers — we argue, we don't talk to each other for a while, and then we forget why we were even arguing in the first place.

Q: I think you were arguing because he punched you and you had him arrested while he was already on probation. And then he declared this reunion tour "wack."

Vince Neil: Well, you know, it doesn't really come up.

Q: Did you invite him to your wedding?

Vince Neil: Yeah, and he came.

Q: Before the wedding, your fourth, VH1 gave you a really expensive makeover. How did that work out for you?

Vince Neil: It was one of those things where you want to get a kick in the butt to get motivated, so I was willing to do whatever they wanted to do, and it turned out pretty cool.

Q: Do you think you'll still be able to hit the high notes on songs like "Live Wire" without wearing spandex?

Vince Neil: I've been doing that song on my own for years, so no, I'm not worried about it at all.

Q: OK, just checking. Can you believe MÖTLEY CRÜE sold out Madison Square Garden on this tour?

Vince Neil: Yeah, I was pretty shocked. It could have gone either way. But I think it's the right time. Nobody does what we do with taking the visuals and making it a complete rock 'n' roll show with the really good songs. Nobody's done that in a long time.

Q: I thought you were going to have to drape off a bunch of empty seats at these big venues, or at least give free tickets to homeless people and dogs from the SPCA.

Vince Neil: Well, it kind of didn't work out that way. I was shocked at the venues they decided to put us in, and I was really shocked that Madison Square Garden sold out in a day. It was very amazing. But the reason we got back together is because the fans wanted us to get back together.

Q: A year ago, you were playing these same exact songs on your own and you could barely sell out bars in strip malls. What changed?

Vince Neil: I can sing these tunes the rest of my life, but when you get the four of us together, it's magical onstage. That's MÖTLEY CRÜE.

Q: Do you honestly think you can spend the next two years on the road with these guys without wanting to kill them?

Vince Neil: Like I said, I've been touring every year since the band broke up. It's my job. It's what I love to do. So I'm all good with it.