Mick Mars recently sat down with Igor Miranda for an interview, where he declined to comment on allegations of false bass playing against Nikki Sixx.
The host said there have been some negative news stories about Mötley Crüe, including a claim by Greg Leon that Sixx didn’t actually play many of the bass parts on their albums. The question asked for confirmation of this claim, to which the guitarist replied:
“I can’t comment on that.”
Questioning The Authenticity Of ‘The Dirt’
In the follow-up question, Miranda reminded Mars of Tom Werman’s statements who expressed doubts about the accuracy of some stories in the book ‘The Dirt.’ He then wanted to know if some of the stories in the book were exaggerated or not entirely true. Mick noted in his response:
“Maybe. I don’t know what they’re writing anymore. I pay no attention. Like I said, it was like… I don’t really want to talk about it in depth, but what I stated in my sworn statements is true. So I have to leave it at that.”
Carmine Appice’s Support For Allegations
Previously, Carmine Appice also supported the claim that Nikki didn’t play his own bass parts on Mötley Crüe albums. In a later post on X, the drummer disclosed the bass player who recorded Sixx’s parts, writing:
“I rest my case regarding Nikki Sixx… Carol Kaye.”
Lawsuit And Podcast Revelations
These rumors began when Mars sued Sixx and the band over pre-recorded tracks used in live shows. The issue resurfaced during a podcast interview with producer Bob Rock, who shared a story about Sixx doubting his own contributions to the ‘Dr. Feelgood’ album, but later clarified that he believes Sixx did play bass on the band’s records. Rock explained:
“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.”
Former Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi also suggested in an interview with Cassius Morris that Sixx might be using backing tracks. When asked about this possibility, Corabi mentioned the ease of isolating and sharing individual tracks with modern recording technology like Pro Tools.
You can watch the entire chat below.
