MÖTLEY CRÜE Guitarist Talks About Upcoming Tour

MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars took part in an MSN online chat Tuesday night (Feb. 1). Several excerpts from the chat follow:

Q: Is there anything you can tell me about the new tour, what to expect?

Mick Mars: "It's gonna be really crazy, over the top, Circus de Soleil, it's going to be loud and nothing you've ever seen. I promise."

Q: What are you doing to prepare for the show?

Mick Mars: "I'm learning songs I haven't played in 20 years. We're rehearsing and getting the show together and the costumes and acrobats and fire breathers together. That kind of stuff."

Q: Which of your guitars means most to you and why?

Mick Mars: "All of them mean something to me so that's a tough one to pin down. It's like girlfriends and past girlfriends and past wives. That's a tough question to answer my favorite right now Fender built me two Stratocasters and there's a black and a white one."

Q: Do you have rituals before a show?

Mick Mars: "No, not really. I just play my guitar before to limber up my fingers, there's no meditation. I do sacrifice women though." (laughs)

Q: Hey Mick, what do you do to prepare yourself for being on the road for so long?

Mick Mars: "Some things you just do. It's what I do, it's what I love to do. I'm sure that you have a job, how do you get up every day. It's the same for me, it's what I love to do. It's my gig."

Q: Are you glad to be back with the guys performing again?

Mick Mars: "Of course. The four of us, it's crazy when you have to go on. I call it more of a separation than a breakup, so it's all good."

Q: If you weren't in a rock band, what would you be doing?

Mick Mars: "Strippin'!" (laughs)

Q: Who would you like to play you in the movie of "The Dirt"?

Mick Mars: "Colin Farrell, because he's better looking than me."

Q: With only 2 weeks away from your first show, are you feeling nervous, excited, worried?

Mick Mars: "I always get concerned about the first few shows. Once they are over, then I'm thinking it's a piece of cake."

Q: What is your advice to someone (like me) who wants to start a band?

Mick Mars: "I had to search for so long to find the right people. Just find some people until you feel it's right. Don't be afraid to tell them if it's not right and keep looking until it is right."

Q: Do you like the new songs as much as the old?

Mick Mars: "Yeah because they are becoming more current sounding. I'm not dating the old songs, but it's hard to keep up with the times and still sound like MÖTLEY CRÜE."

Q: Was shooting the video "If I Die Tomorrow" rough for you?

Mick Mars: "It was a little bit hard for me because I just had gotten out of the hospital. It went pretty quick though, it was only about 8 or 9 hours. It was ok, a little rough in some spots, but it was OK."

Q: How did you guys come up with the song "If I Die Tomorrow"? It is a cool song.

Mick Mars: "Nikki came up with the song. He just went in and did it. It is a cool song, it's a fun song to play."

Q: What's the hardest CRÜE song to play and get right?

Mick Mars: "'Afraid' off the 'Generation' album. There were so many electronics going on and it was hard to copy the synthesizers. I still have trouble with that song and that album too."

Read the entire chat transcript at this location.