The Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars stopped touring with the band citing his ongoing health issues last year in October following the end of the Stadium Tour. However, according to what Carmine Appice revealed in an exclusive interview with Andrew Daly of Ultimate Guitar, the only reason was not his health, as Mars didn’t like playing pre-recorded tracks.
Although Mars showed his health problems as the reason for his departure from touring, many rumors have circulated about the matter. For instance, the former Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi claimed that Mars was shown the door because the rest of the band was not satisfied with his guitar playing. So, they even worked with other guitarists to play Mick’s parts in several records.
Another claim regarding Mars’ decision came from Carmine Appice. When asked about his opinions on the issue, the drummer explained that when he talked to Mick, he told him he had not been happy during the Stadium Tour, as the band used backing tracks all the time.
Appice thinks that their method would never work with Mars since the guitarist was a competent guitar player enough to play live rather than act like he was playing. So, he was angry at his bandmates for using pre-recorded tracks. The musician believes it was one of the reasons why Mick decided to stop touring with Mötley Crüe.
When asked about his thoughts on Mars’ decision to leave touring, Appice explained:
“Well, I tell you what I’ve been talking to Mick, and he told me, ‘When I was on the Stadium Tour, I was not happy.’ Basically, everything was on tape; it was all planned out and ultimately a lot of crap. And Mick is a pretty good player, and so, to now let him loose and play the way he wants, that was never going to work for him.
The truth is that everything has been weird for a while with Motley Crue, and Mick didn’t like that everything was on tape. Mick told me that people that came to see it could tell that it was all pre-recorded and that everything was on tape. When you play in a stadium like that, you can hear a lot of things come to the monitors or what doesn’t.
And with Vince’s vocals, bass, drums, guitars, and all the other stuff, it was obvious that it was all on tape. And Mick was pissed off and said, ‘I can play these things. I want to play them. I don’t want to make believe I’m playing them.’ So, I think that’s one of the reasons why he said, ‘I’m done.’ Sure, the disease that he has doesn’t help, and it doesn’t make life easy on tour, but Mick can play all the licks, and he was allowed to.”
While the drummer acknowledges the fact that Mars’ health issues were also influential in his decision, he also thinks that his disagreements with the rest of the band also played a prominent role in his departure from touring. Mars wanted to play all his guitar parts live, while the remaining Mötley Crüe members preferred using backing tracks.
