Former Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi opened up about his current relationships with his former bandmates, revealing that he remains on good terms with most members of the group. His comments were shared on Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk.
Corabi addressed his personal connections with Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, and Nikki Sixx, noting that while things are largely positive, there is one exception.
“No, you know, I didn’t really, I mean, to be quite honest with you, I didn’t really say anything that wasn’t kind of common knowledge. I think, you know, in my stories about the band, I think I was more about telling people what I was going through, my mental, you know, while everything was happening,” Corabi said.
He went on to describe his ongoing contact with several members of the band.
“But, you know, I still, on occasion, I’ll get a text from Tommy and, you know, he’ll be like, ‘Crab, what’s up, bro? Miss you.’ You know, I’ll talk to Mick. Even Vince, like a couple times I’ll do, you know, I’ve done different festivals or, you know, a show that Vince was at, and him and I are fine,” he continued.
Corabi then singled out Nikki Sixx as the one member with whom he has had a strained dynamic, while also touching on fan reception to his book.
“And, you know, it’s just, there’s been a rub somewhere, which I can’t explain, between Nicky and I. And it’s really kind of, if anything, it’s really a one-sided rub, so. But having heard anything, the only thing a lot of the fans, you know, that did purchase the book, they’re like, ‘Man, it was a great read. You saved the F-bomb a lot, but other than that, it was a great read, dude,'” he added.
Corabi did not elaborate further on the nature of his tension with Sixx, leaving the specifics of their strained relationship unexplained.
Corabi’s comments come years after one of the more unusual chapters in Mötley Crüe’s history — a period that produced a single album and ended with his quiet exit from the band.
Corabi served as the band’s lead singer from 1992 to 1997, stepping in after Vince Neil’s departure from the group. During that time, the lineup recorded Quaternary in 1994, the only studio album to feature Corabi as frontman. The record marked a notable stylistic shift for the band. It failed to match the commercial heights of their earlier work.
Corabi was fired from the band in 1997, after which Vince Neil returned to reclaim his role as lead vocalist. Despite the circumstances of his exit, Corabi has consistently spoken about his time with the band in measured terms, focusing more on his personal experience than on pointing fingers.
His memoir, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, revisits that era in detail. The book has drawn a warm response from fans, a reaction Corabi himself acknowledged during the interview. The positive reception suggests that his account of life inside Mötley Crüe resonated with readers, even if the relationship with at least one former bandmate remains unresolved.
The tension with Nikki Sixx stands out precisely because Corabi’s connections with the other members appear intact. He still hears from Tommy Lee and maintains a cordial relationship with Mick Mars. He has also crossed paths with Vince Neil at various shows and festivals without issue. With Sixx, however, something has clearly gone differently — though Corabi has chosen not to spell out what that something is.
