Tommy Lee thinks John 5’s addition to Mötley Crüe inspired them to make new music.
In a new chat with Japanese music critic and radio personality Masa Ito of TVK’s Rock City, the drummer shared why it was important for him and his bandmates to create new songs, like their latest single ‘Dogs of War’:
“Going to record was, yes, it was really important to us because during that [early 2023] tour, we felt all this new energy. Having [new guitarist] John 5 in the band really, really inspired us to share with our fans what we’re feeling. This new energy is like a rebirth in many ways, and so we started writing some music — myself, Nikki [Sixx], and John — and we were, like, ‘Well, let’s get [Crüe’s longtime producer] Bob Rock. Let’s go in and let’s put this on tape and record it.’”
John 5 Was Inspirational To Work On New Efforts
Mötley Crüe wanted fans to know how they feel:
“And so, yes, the whole tour and having John in the band, all of it was very inspirational in getting us to share some new music with our fans, because, also, we’re really strong believers in you’re only as good as your last effort, and we hadn’t recorded anything new in a while. It was really important for us to show our fans and everybody where we’re at right now. What is inspiring us? What are we feeling?”
Lee Talks About John 5’s Talent
In another interview with Spin earlier this month, the interviewer asked Tommy about John 5 joining the band after playing with stars like Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and David Lee Roth. The drummer praised John 5’s talent and said the band was thrilled:
“You know what? If you were to go up to him and go, ‘Dude, play me bluegrass meets classical,’ he would literally go, ‘Okay.’ A rock guitarist would never know how to play that. He can play f*cking anything, and it’s scary. He’s from another dimension. To me, at the end of the day, you can be the most incredible, influential, talented person on the planet, but if you’re an a**hole, none of it matters. He is, hands down, the nicest man I know. He is such a f*cking sweetheart. I mean, we’re in heaven. We just laugh the whole time and just groove on how f*cking rad it is we get to all play together. It’s wild.”
Mötley Crüe released their first song with John 5, ‘Dogs of War,’ on April 26. The band also plans to drop new material by the end of 2024 or 2025. John 5 previously revealed that Crüe recorded a cover of ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!).’
You can watch the rest of Lee’s chat below.