IMPD will not go ahead with gunshot detection system
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE

10 weird-but-true Hoosier tales of Motley Crue

David Lindquist
david.lindquist@indystar.com

This article originally ran July 2, 2014. Motley Crue's "Final Tour" returns for a second visit, this time to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Aug. 20, 2015.

A rock band can pile up plenty of excessive behavior across 33 years.

In the case of Motley Crue, offstage debauchery and self-destruction have accompanied rowdy tunes since the quartet emerged in Los Angeles in 1981.

The end, however, appears to be near. Vocalist Vince Neil, bass player Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars and drummer Tommy Lee signed "Cessation of Touring" contracts in January that prevent Motley Crue tours after 2015.

Motley Crue's "Final Tour" rolls into Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Aug. 20, 2015. The show will add one more Indiana incident to a career that boasts at least 10 items of Hoosier trivia:

1. Mick Mars is an Indiana native.

Guitarist Mick Mars lived in Indiana from birth until his high school years, when his family moved to California. The 63-year-old says Huntington provided his first glimpse of a life in the spotlight. "It all started at the 4-H Fair when I saw (country singer) Skeeter Bonn playing at Hier's Park," Mars told The Star in 2005. "I was maybe 3 years old. He had on a bright orange suit with a bunch of rhinestones on it, and a big white Stetson hat. I was a little kid, but I was knocked over."

2. 'Wild Side' video rocked Market Square Arena.

Motley Crue shot the video for its "Wild Side" single at Market Square Arena, bygone home of the Indiana Pacers, on July 18, 1987. To get the appropriate footage, the band played "Wild Side" twice during the concert. Wayne Isham (whose credits include Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" and Metallica's "Enter Sandman") directed the video.

3. IndyCar dreams broke up the original lineup.

Vince Neil exited Motley Crue in 1992, the year he competed in Indy Lights races at Long Beach, Calif., Milwaukee, Phoenix and Portland, Ore. His best finish was 10th at Milwaukee. On Valentine's Day, the other members of Motley Crue issued this statement related to Neil's departure: "Race car driving has become a priority in Neil's life, and he's dedicated much of his time and energy to it. The Crue's relationship to Vince began to deteriorate because his band mates felt he didn't share their determination and passion for music." Neil's ultimate goal was to drive in the Indianapolis 500. "Racing's just a hobby — but a pretty serious hobby," Neil told Spin magazine at the time. The singer returned to the band in 1997.

4. Wild Ozzy tour first brought Crue to Indy.

The first time Motley Crue played Indianapolis — Feb. 4, 1984 — was a supporting-act performance when Ozzy Osbourne headlined Market Square Arena. Osbourne's "Bark at the Moon" tour featured unpredictable anecdotes such as the time Ozzy used a straw to snort a line of ants from a sidewalk outside a Florida hotel. The members of Motley Crue wrote about Ozzy and the ants in "The Dirt," a 2001 autobiography that's being made into a film. Later in 1984, Motley Crue played two additional shows in Indianapolis and two dates in Evansville.

5. Indiana was theater of pain for Tommy Lee.

Fred Saunders, who began working tour security for Motley Crue in the 1980s, recalled his time with the band in Nikki Sixx's 2007 book, "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star": "When (band manager) Doc McGhee first hired me, he said the band was so wild I should do whatever it took to keep them in line. In fact, he said he'd give me a bonus every time I hit them. I told him he'd got himself a deal. I hit Motley a lot. I once broke Tommy's nose in Indiana."

6. Tommy Lee brought painful music to Indiana.

After Tommy Lee exited the Motley Crue lineup in 1999, he put together Methods of Mayhem — a band that played woefully shallow rap-metal during a 2000 Ozzfest date at Klipsch Music Center (known then as Deer Creek Music Center). The drummer returned to the band in 2004, before quitting in 2007 and then returning the same year.

7. Nikki Sixx hired an Indiana guitarist for his other band.

Monticello native DJ Ashba plays guitar in Sixx:A.M., a side project founded by Nikki Sixx in 2007. Sixx:A.M. reached the Top 10 of Billboard magazine's rock chart with 2011 single "Lies of the Beautiful People." Ashba also played guitar in Guns N' Roses, a band that's had a stormy history with Motley Crue.

8. Vince Neil clashed with famed Hoosiers Izzy and Axl.

At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, Vince Neil punched Lafayette native and Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin in the face. The incident reportedly was a response to Stradlin's aggressive flirting with Neil's wife, Sharise Ruddell, at a Hollywood bar. Subsequently, fellow Lafayette native and Guns N' Roses vocalist Axl Rose challenged Neil to a fight. The iconic metal vocalists have yet to throw down.

9. A cowbell in Fort Wayne landed the Crue in trouble.

During a 1990 show at Fort Wayne Memorial Coliseum, Vince Neil tossed a 3-pound cowbell from the stage. The cowbell landed on the head of security guard Mark Elrod, who then sued the singer and the band. Seeking at least $25,000 in damages, Elrod was awarded $9,000.

10. Vince Neil sports a permanent Indiana souvenir.

During a 1984 tour stop in Evansville, a tattoo artist inked "USDA Choice" — in the style of a meat inspection stamp — on Vince Neil's left buttock.

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.

MOTLEY CRUE

• When: 7 p.m. Aug. 20, 2015

• Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse

• Tickets: $31-$314.

• Info: Visit Ticketmaster.