Crüe: Sex, drugs, and Mötley cruises
Members of veteran hair band have plenty of solo projects in the works, including a biography and accompanying soundtrack.
What does a veteran hair-band act do when it's not pumping out nostalgia tours with the likes of Aerosmith?
They write autobiographies that have their own soundtracks, helm rock cruises with the likes of Skid Row and Slaughter, and shepherd the next generation through the record business, of course.
Mötley Crüe played a couple of live dates in the UK this week, including a stop at the Download festival where they covered the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK" and had to deal with the loss of drummer Tommy Lee, who sat out with a shoulder injury. Evanescence drummer Will Hunt took his place.
But members of the Crüe have mostly been focused on individual projects in recent months, particularly Nikki Sixx, who is set to publish an autobiography later this summer that will be accompanied by its own soundtrack.
The book, titled The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, focuses on Sixx's addiction and wild ways over the years. It features loads of artwork from artist Paul Brown.
In a unique twist, the book will be accompanied by a soundtrack of the same name that Sixx recorded with DJ Ashba and James Michael under the name Sixx: A.M. "Life Is Beautiful," the first single from the soundtrack, has been building buzz for the book. Check out the video for the song here.
The album hits stores August 21, while the book arrives September 18. The album's 12 tracks each match up with one chapter in the book
Not to have Sixx steal all his thunder, Crüe frontman Vince Neil is overseeing a rock cruise between Miami and Playa del Carmen in Mexico in late January 2008.
The cruise will feature performances by Neil, as well as fellow hair-band vets Skid Row and Slaughter. Tickets for the cruise cost between $636 and $886 per person. Check out the Mötley Cruise Web site for more info and to buy tickets.
Although he has been sidelined over the years by a degenerative back condition called ankylosing spondylitis, Mick Mars will be collaborating with Rock Star: Supernova runner-up Dilana Robichaux on tracks for her yet-untitled debut LP, which should surface early next year. The pair have been working on material for the release in a Los Angeles studio.
But it's not all business for the Crüe. During the band's performance at the Download festival at Donnington Park, Sixx reportedly told the crowd, "England has made a lot progress on the groupie front since we were last here. I've just had two groupies backstage sucking my di*k and they just happened to be sisters."
It might be a while before the band takes the stage together. In a UK press conference to promote the book, Sixx said, "We love to play live. There's only two more shows for us, and we won't be playing again until sometime next year, maybe '09, depending on how it goes on making a record."
