As the debate around Nikki Sixx‘s use of backing tracks continues, producer Bob Rock joined Talk Is Jericho podcast and looked back on the time he worked with Mötley Crüe on the band’s fifth album ‘Dr. Feelgood.’ In the interview, he revealed that Sixx had bass lessons for five years to improve his playing.
Recalling the time Nikki made him a confession about his bass playing, Rock said:
“I’ve got to tell you a story about Nikki Sixx. This is funny. So, [while we were making] ‘Dr. Feelgood’, [Nikki] says to me; he goes, ‘I don’t think I ever played on any of the Mötley Crüe records. I think somebody came in at night and replaced all my parts.’ He says, ‘So I don’t really know how to play bass.’ And I said, ‘Too bad. You’re playing bass on it.’ So I worked with him through ‘Dr. Feelgood’, did a lot of edits and made him play every note.“
After that, Rock recalled the time he worked on ‘The Dirt’s soundtrack with the band. As the producer said, Sixx surprised him with his bass playing:
“But when we did ‘The Dirt’ [soundtrack], the songs on ‘The Dirt,’ I went to see him, and we started working on the demos. He picked up the bass and started playing, and I said, ‘Woah, woah, woah. What’s going on here?’ He had been taking bass lessons for five years. All of a sudden, he’s an amazing bass player. And I think that’s so cool; at that point in his career, he wanted to be better. I admire that. So now, on ‘The Dirt,’ Nikki and Tommy Lee played live off the floor, both of them.”
Following the news, Rock’s statements made the headlines, and some sources published his remarks underlining that Sixx didn’t play bass on the ‘Dr. Feelgood’ album. Upon seeing this, the producer issued a new statement to clear the air about his comments.
His statement is as follows:
“Yesterday on a podcast with Chris Jericho, I told a story about working with Nikki Sixx and Mötley Crüe on the ‘Dr. Feelgood’ record. Unfortunately, like many things on the Internet today, it was taken out of context and misconstrued.”
Rock continued, pointing out Sixx was just joking around:
“When I began working with Mötley Crüe on the ‘Dr. Feelgood’ record, the band was sober for the first time, and Nikki particularly was recovering from a very public addiction to heroin. We joked around a lot, and in his very self-deprecating style, Nikki would say he didn’t even remember playing on their prior records. This was Nikki’s way of saying that for the record we were working on, he was showing up to do the best he possibly could and to make the best record of the band’s career. Which we did.”
The producer also added that he is confident Sixx played his bass parts on all of the Crüe albums:
“At no time did I ever actually think Nikki didn’t play bass on Mötley Crüe’s records. He’s one of the most unique and talented players in the world, and his approach to the instrument is part of what has made Mötley Crüe great throughout the years.”
In the last part of his statement, Rock said his words were taken out of context, and Sixx is one of the most talented musicians he has worked with so far:
“Lastly, I was commenting on and commending Nikki because he never stops learning and never stops improving. I respect Nikki for always wanting to be better at his craft, and it shows. I have worked with some of the biggest bands in the world, and I can say unequivocally that Nikki Sixx is one of the most talented players, lyricists, and songwriters I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. And if the Internet wants to latch onto a story from one or two sound bytes, it’s extremely unfortunate because it doesn’t reflect the truth of the contributions he’s made to music over the last 40 years.”
Sixx has been accused of using backing tracks during live shows, especially after Mick Mars’ claims. While John 5 defended his bandmate by saying these accusations were compliments, others like Carmine Appice and Stephen Pearcy argue that the bassist uses pre-recorded tracks on stage.
You can listen to Rock’s interview with Chris Jericho below.
