The members of Motley Crue have been sharing studio updates on social media over the last few weeks and have confirmed that they’re working on new music, but it’s still unclear where Mick Mars stands with the band after he filed a lawsuit against them earlier this month. In a new interview, Nikki Sixx said that the guitarist is “a little bit confused” and has been “misled” by his representatives.
Mars filed the suit in early April, claiming that Motley Crue have been trying to oust him from the band ever since he announced he was going to retire from touring. The group released a statement in response to the lawsuit, noting that Mars’ performance over the years had been struggling, which contributed to his retirement. They also suggested that Mars had been given poor guidance by his advisors.
The guitarist did an interview with Variety the same day he filed the suit, denying that his skills had diminished and asserting that he was the only one in the group playing live 100 percent of the time.
After Mars announced his retirement, Crue recruited John 5 to fill in as their touring guitarist — but according to the studio updates they’ve been posting, he’s going to play on the recordings, not Mars.
“We’re always chatting and jamming and the friendship is so wonderful,” Sixx told Planet Radio of their relationship with John 5. “Him and Tommy [Lee] are really close, Vince [Neil] loves him. He’s just a great guy and a great musician and he gives us a great opportunity as a three-piece so to speak to really lock in. He’s just such a great guitar player.”
The bassist explained that playing with a new musician has re-inspired them, despite the fact that they’re playing the same songs they always have been.
“We’ve always been really supportive of Mick no matter what Mick was going through. We’re just happy with where we’re at right now… If a member of a band tells you that they can’t tour because of health reasons, you have two choices. You can quit as a band [after] 42 years of work. Or we could look at each other and go ‘are we done yet?!’ We’re really peaking and we understand [Mick’s] health issues.”
READ MORE: Motley Crue Confirm They Are in the Studio With Bob Rock
Sixx concluded that he and the rest of the band wish Mars the best, but stated that the guitarist is “a little bit confused” because he’s “being misled” by his representatives, regarding the lawsuit and where he stands with them.
Motley Crue manager Alan Kovac and Mars’ lawyer Edwin F. McPherson recently explained both sides of the lawsuit as well. Kovac suggested that the guitarist was attempting “to gain leverage in a smear campaign on Motley,” while McPherson argued, “No, resigning from touring — or even from the band entirely — is not resigning from the band’s corporations and LLCs. Corporate law doesn’t work that way. If Jeff Bezos stops working at Amazon someday, he still gets to own the company! So does Mick.”
Read More: Motley Crue’s Manager + Mick Mars’ Lawyer Explain Lawsuit
Crue’s tour with Def Leppard picks back up in Europe in May. See all of the upcoming dates and get tickets here.
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