The Dirt (14 page)

The next evening, I was still shooting up at Lovey’s when I realized we had a gig at the Country Club in ten minutes and I was stuck. I didn’t have a car or any way to get down the hill she lived on. I sprinted out of the door and ran downhill until I managed to hitch a ride. I arrived at the club forty-five minutes late, still wearing a bathrobe. The guys were freaked out. They were pissed that I was using needles and showing up for gigs dressed like an old man. They told me that if I shot up one more time, I was out of the band. They were so furious and self-righteous that it was hard to bite my tongue a few years later, when Nikki and Tommy were using needles.

From that night on, I was determined to escape from Lovey. I was stranded on
Gilligan’s Island
, dependent on her money or her car if I wanted to go anywhere—and her drug supply if I didn’t. A few mornings later, while Lovey was asleep, Tommy drove up to the house. I bundled my clothes in a sheet and threw them in the back of his truck. I didn’t leave a note or even bother to call her afterward. She stopped by Tommy’s every day after that, thinking she’d catch me there. But I managed to avoid her for three days. Then, when we were getting ready to take the stage for a gig at the Roxy, I spotted her pushing through the audience and told security to kick her out.

Later that month, I moved into a two-bedroom apartment on Clark Street (just fifty steps from the Whisky A Go-Go), which Coffman had bought to keep Nikki, Tommy, and me together and near the clubs. I didn’t see Lovey again until fifteen years later, back at the Roxy, when I was playing a solo gig. After the show, around midnight, she came backstage, dragging a little girl behind her that she said was her daughter.

Just a few months later, I saw her on the news: She had been stabbed sixty times in a drug deal gone wrong. I often wonder what became of her daughter, and hope that she wasn’t mine.

fig. 9

Coffman & Coffman Productions

156 Mill Street

Grass Valley, CA 95945

FOR RELEASE: June 22, 1981

Mötley Crüe is the commercial hard rock band the eighties have been screaming for. In just a few months, Mötley Crüe has become the hottest group in Southern California. Mötley Crüe has set all-time attendance records at the Troubadour in Hollywood and has sold out the Country Club and the Whisky A Go-Go. Mötley Crüe is one of the few acts to play the Roxy Theater without major record company support. Mötley Crüe will soon release their debut album on their own label—Leathür Records. They provide an outstanding live show which excites, stimulates and moves the audience. Mötley Crüe is as exciting to watch as they are to listen to. Mötley Crüe is four gifted artists doing what they do best—making timeless music.

fig. 10 and 11

NIKKI SIXX, on bass guitar and vocals, at 22 has made a lasting impression on the Hollywood scene with his former group, London. Nikki is an exceptional songwriter, heavily influenced by the Sweet and Cheap Trick, and is the inspiration behind much of Mötley Crüe’s music.

MICK MARS, at 25, may be Newfoundland’s greatest claim to fame. Mick’s unique emotional guitar playing combines a fast sound with great showmanship. Mick assists on vocals, and his songwriting ability is a perfect blend with Nikki’s. Together they create most of what is Mötley Crüe.

TOMMY LEE, age 21, on drums, is high energy personified. When Tommy picks up a stick, no one sits still. Whether he’s playing sticks, drums, cymbals, gongs, cowbells, or wood blocks, Tommy’s ability and showmanship are unequaled. He is another important component uniquely contributing to Mötley Crüe.

VINCE NEAL, fair-haired, 21, lead vocalist and writer, will have the girls’ hearts throbbing. Vince commands the stage and his every move is watched intensely. Vince’s unique styling and versatile range were influenced by John Lennon and Robin Zander. He is the final piece creating the band Mötley Crüe.

When Nikki, Mick, Tommy, and Vince came together, the magic was instantaneous and Mötley Crüe was born.

The creative genius of these four performers has brought forth a new music that will not soon be forgotten. Their music and showmanship are a new driving force in rock. The themes which run through their songs involve the audience in a musical reality of day-to-day living, expressing joys and tragedies to which today’s youth can relate. Mötley Crüe is what the youth of the eighties have been waiting for—the sound to move to, the words that speak, and the looks that heroes are made of.

Mötley Crüe is not a rebellion but a revolution in rock. A return to the hard-driving sound of the Beatles reenergized for the eighties.

For booking information and interview requests, please call Coffman and Coffman Productions: (916) 273–9554.