Saw the Crüe yesterday ...

[leftybass]

Some of my favorite bands to see here in Austin are Les & The Funk Mob and The Eggmen.  Smoking bass players in both bands (Nick Harris in Funk Mob and our very own Leftybass in Eggmen) and everything they do is real and live. (Unlike Strawberry Fields, where nothing is real......I know, I know)

Why, thank you!!

[OldManC]

I think I've seen Motley more than any other band. Granted, most of that was between 1981 and 84, but I spent a LOT of weekends in Hollywood with that band! Mick has always been the one that grabbed the attention (at least to me). He stalked the stage where Nikki sort of pranced. Nikki looked cool in pictures, but Mick was cool personified, both on stage and off. Being a little older and road worn, I think he was content to drink in their impending rise (which could be felt by anyone within shouting distance of the band). After all those years of slogging it out, he seemed to appreciate it more than his recent high school drop out drummer and his classmate singer, and their slightly older bass player.

I think the 1951 birth date is probably correct. Mick's health problems, which were affecting him even then, have aged him a lot (plus, he's a natural red-head, and pale, freckled redheads don't age so well if they got any sun in their youth). One of his old band mates (who is the source for all the pre-Motley Mick photos you see out there) posts on Metal Sludge and has confirmed he's not quite as old as he's been accused of being!  In 1981, the rumor was he was either 30 or 38. At the time they were saying he was 28, so the 38 seemed an easy switch, but I'd be surprised if he was pushing 70.

It was weird for me when Mick switched to that B.C. Rich and Guild (and later Fenders) with the Khaler wang bar, as he was not shy in stating his disdain for them when I knew him. He always said they were a lazy guy's way out. I guess he eventually had to bend to the 80's. His tone was always as loud and rude as he could get it. His 'Mars' Marshalls were always modded out with really hot preamps, which doesn't sound so rare now but in 1981 they sounded VERY different than other bands' amps.

Uwe, I saw Nigel with London when Lizzie Grey reformed the band in an attempt to capitalize on Nikki's new-found fame. Motley's early sound was very much like London's, which was sort of Cheap Trick meets L.A. pop/glam with a punky edge. Nigel's didn't seem to be enjoying himself much by that point and that version of London didn't last long (the same members as when Nikki was in the band but, obviously, with a different white Thunderbird playing bass player.) 

I saw Motley on the latest reunion tour and Mick seemed a lot more healthy than I'd seen him in ages. The band sounded good, but the backing samples were obvious to anyone who saw the band in the 80's. I'm not complaining, just saying they never sounded that 'full' back in the day... The backing vocals especially.

You never know which Vince is going to show up for a Motley show, but when he's on he sounds just like the old days. He's never been a great singer, but he fit the band perfectly and (as evidenced by the great but ignored Corabi album) really added to the chemistry and sound.

[gweimer]

Mick looks better now than that period when he looked like a deranged Klingon.  You have to give the guy credit for continuing to tour with all the pain he's going through.

[gearHed289]

Mick is definitely playing better than ever in my opinion. I've never paid a whole lot of attention to the Crue - I've got the first two on vinyl, which is probably all anyone really needs. I always thought he was the weak link, but he seems very "on" in all the recent footage I've seen. Seems like a nice person too. I feel bad for all the pain he's had to go through, and then the obligatory addiction to pain killers. Vince's voice is amazingly the same as it ever was. Like it or not, he's got his "style". I saw something on VH1 Classic about them getting back together to record their last album. There was footage of him tracking vocals and it was pretty cool to watch/listen to. Tommy Lee kicks ass when he's drumming, and Nikki has written a good pop/metal ditty or three.

[lowend1]

Ah, but is he older than Ronnie Dio? The year 1942 is generally considered to be accurate, but there are some reports that list 1939! In any case, RJD is probably pushing 70. 

[Hornisse]

I've often wondered how tall he really is.

[Freuds_Cat]

never seen motley but dont mind what i've heard over the years. probably not enough to buy an album but good when it gets played at a gig or on the radio.

Speaking of riff based rock, I just got my copy of Kentucky band Rufus Huff first album. Kinda ZZ Top meets Black Crowes with a lot of other cool influences. Jarrod the singer even sounds a bit like Coverdale in one song. Its on Amazon if anyone is interested. I've been driving around with it in my car for the last week. The production is a bit rushed and you can hear it was done on a budget but the riffs are there and the songs are pretty good IMHO.  Love a good 3 piece + singer.

[lowend1]

I've often wondered how tall he really is.

With those of such diminutive stature, one usually wonders how short he really is.
I love that he was in a band called Elf (or The Elves) with his cousin David "Rock" Feinstein, later of The Rods - who was also vertically challenged.

[lowend1]

BTW, Ronnie - as bassist / vocalist for The Elves, sported an EB-0 onstage. Naturally - a short scale instrument.

[Highlander]

I bought their (MC) first album (private release?) and loved it, but never bought the next one, and never saw them live...

Mr Dio is diminutive; although reputedly 5' 4" / 163cm, which I do not believe, I vaguely remember (alcohol blur) seeing him at the Marquee club (there to see his cousin/ex Elf band mate Rod Feinstein's band, "The Rods") and he was tiny, as is Feinstein - small person syndrome...? the Elf stuff was pretty good, but their best album featured Ritchie B on guitar... 

The band I've probably seen the most was probably Whitesnake, but not since DC split the original lineup...

[uwe]

Ha, found something with Nigel Benjamin (Ex-Mott) and Nikki Sixx from London days. Playing a Slade number which Vince I think could not have mastered, Benjamin had some pipes, just listen how he does the chorus generally and especially at 2.10.