Mötley Crüe and backing tracks have been a hot topic ever since the band (specifically bassist Nikki Sixx) was accused of relying on them during their farewell tour. Mötley Crüe has since denied using backing tracks, and even got a little pissed at one fan on social media over it.
Now in a new interview with Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, guitarist John 5 says Mötley Crüe hasn't been using them since he joined the band in 2022.
"Nikki is playing every single note on that stage. Now I'm seeing videos on online. Now these videos, musicians will be able to tell and understand this, if you hit an open note on your bass and you raise your arm up, it's an open note. You don't have to have your left hand on the fretboard. Or if you hit an open note, you can, you know, use both of your arms to put your arms up. It doesn't mean you're not playing bass. Nikki plays a hundred percent.
"Now here's what makes me crazy is well… it doesn't really make me crazy because when people say we're playing to backing tracks, I take it as a compliment, I know that sounds crazy, but I take it as a compliment because we rehearse so hard. We even have penalty flags. If someone messes up at rehearsal, we throw a penalty flag at 'em.
"But we rehearse so much and I take it as a compliment. 'Cause that means we're, we sound that good live. In my heart of hearts I know that, you know, of course we're playing live. If you listen to these concerts that I do with [Nikki], you hear bum notes. [Our shows at the] NFL Live, NFL draft. You hear a bum note in 'Home, Sweet Home.' A hundred percent, a hundred percent. He plays every single note on there. Just listen to the shows before you make these statements because you'll hear mess up."
In the same interview, John 5 touched on the upcoming Mötley Crüe material being recorded with producer Bob Rock, saying "The songs are fucking heavy. I sound like a little excited kid right now, but they're heavy and they're mean. I can't wait for them to come out. I'm just so excited.
"Bob would come in and [say], 'OK, let's try this here, and that here and this here. It was one of the most incredible experiences ever. … I'm thinking, 'We've got so much great technology today'… but we got in that room and it was like being in a garage working on a song when you were in high school."
Tall order for the new material, but I guess we'll see how this all shakes out.
