Mick Mars recently opened up about his ongoing battle with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a chronic inflammatory disease that gradually fuses the bones in the spine. During an interview with Q104.3, he shared how this condition has been affecting his life:
“My AS is what it is. There’s nothing I could do about that. The hard stuff, like flying here and doing this — that crap is a little difficult for me to do nowadays ’cause I’m almost a solid bone now.”
Despite his health problems, the guitarist said he’s beeen committed to making music:
“It got a little rough, but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna do a lot of music. As long as my brain and my hands and legs work, I’m never stopping.”
No Plans For Touring
Mars is gearing up to release his first solo album, ‘The Other Side Of Mars,’ on February 23. But he has no plans to support the new record with a tour, as he explained:
“I would say if there was one-offs or a residency for a couple of nights or whatever, I could do that. But it’s the flying around. And then you get, like, let’s say, Japan. And it’s like a 12-hour flight or something. And it’s just, like… I mean, getting older with this crap. I’m not 30 anymore; I’m 72 years old.”
The New Album
After Mars stopped touring with Mötley Crüe a year ago due to his health issues, a legal dispute between the two parties arose, causing a period of silence on his part. Following that period, he returned with the release of the first single from his new album on October 21.
For a while, some fans speculated that the track, ‘Loyal To The Lie,’ was an ‘attack’ against the guitarist’s former bandmates, but he made it clear that this wasn’t the case in a chat with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk by saying:
“Mötley will always be a part of me, my legacy, stuff that I’ve done, and I loved what we’ve done, but there’s a time to call it. This crap that I have got a little rough on me traveling. So, it is what it is. But no. That song is full-blown just against the lie, whether it be cultist or, I’m not gonna say government, but I say, governor: government and that kind of stuff.”
You can check out Mick Mars’ recent interview below.