Vince Neil Doesn’t Seem to Be Aware of Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein or Rob Zombie

Do more of today's young rock bands need to take a page from Mötley Crüe in the stage presentation department?

Singer Vince Neil suggested as much during a recent interview with Maxim, arguing that when they started, the Crüe were one of the only bands who bothered to go the extra mile when they put their shows together — and he thinks it's pretty much the same way today.

"When we started getting bigger and were headlining arenas, and all the other bands in the '80s were coming out and 'arena rock' was kinda being born, we really took pride in putting shows together," he said. "We put a lot into the entertainment value of fans coming out to watch a show. And that was really only a handful of bands, like us, who went out of their way to give fans a great show. And there's only a handful left."

That handful, argued, Neil, is lifted from rock's veteran acts — and he doesn't think any new bands on the horizon are interested in carrying on that tradition.

"It's like us, Ozzy, Alice Cooper and Kiss. That's it," said Neil. "When we're all gone, I don't see anyone else carrying the torch of wanting to put together a great show with pyro and lights and fire, along with the songs. It's just kinda sad that that's all kinda disappeared. Hopefully there's someone out there right now in their garage rehearsing, lighting themselves on fire."

Neil's point is well taken in terms of the obvious fact that stage presentation always comes at a premium, and not every band has the ability to pull off, or the interest in, the kind of added visuals he's talking about. Still, anyone who's been to a Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, or Rob Zombie show — or been out to see any of the countless other acts who make their concerts about more than just the music — knows the situation isn't quite as dire as he suggests. Theatricality and rock have always gone together, and always will.

Perhaps Neil will end up sharing a bill with some of those acts when he resumes his full-time solo career after the conclusion of Mötley's Final Tour at the end of the year. As he told Maxim, he isn't allowing for a lot of downtime after the band goes its separate ways.

"My first show back with my solo band is January 12th," said Neil. "I love being onstage, I can't just sit around doing nothing. I love touring, and I'm putting out another solo record with my band, and working on a Las Vegas show -- there's a lot of stuff planned out that I'm looking forward to doing. Mötley Crüe takes up a lot of your time."

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