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 Music Radar recently sat down with Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars to talk about the bands new album 'Saints Of Los Angeles', as well as covering topics about his guitar playing and the seriousness of his Ankylosing Spondylitis which is "squeezing my rib cage together".
Several excerpts from the interview are included below.
Despite the success of the band, you're never celebrated for your guitar playing. In fact, the opposite - people rag on you.
"I
never got in this to be the fastest guy around. I love the blues, man.
I know it's a hip thing for a lot of people to say, but I was lucky
enough to hear the blues early on. Right about the time I was starting
high school we moved from Indiana to Garden Grove, California, which
had a real diverse mix of people: blacks, Mexicans, and us! [laughs]
But there was all this different music, such a wide variety. I started
hanging out with a pretty cool crowd and they turned me on to R&B,
funk, soul, gospel even. The music they loved became the music I loved.
"But the thing I loved the most was the blues. The Paul
Butterfield Blues Band's first album, that record spoke to me like a
secret language only I could understand. Songs like Born in Chicago and
Thank You Mr Poobah - that was the shit. Walkin' Shoes, Got My Mojo
Workin'…what a great album."
I imagine you liked Michael Bloomfield.
"Oh,
yeah. I followed him from when he played with Paul Butterfield until he
formed the Electric Flag. But then he started getting too country-fied
for my liking. But still, I'm really into the blues. That's what I
love, that's what I listen to."
Still, you are maligned
in the music press - you've been called a bad player, a terrible player
even. During the late '80s and early '90s, you and CC DeVille
alternated winning Worst Guitarist in practically every poll.
"I
don't think people realize that the music they hear coming off the
stage is me. People try to tear me down, break me - I don't care.
Sooner of later they're going to figure it out. Guitar playing isn't
about how fast you can make your fingers go; it's about making music.
There's tons of guitar players better than me. I know that."
Read the full interview here.
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