"It wasn't Nikki (Sixx) playing bass" on Motley Crue's Theatre of Pain Says 'Eye Witness' Greg Leon 

If I was Greg I wouldn’t claim theatre! I don’t think his tone was too good in it. Shout was great! I’d like to know who was ghost playing tho….

rik did nikki play at all on those records back in the hey day ?

@@jasoncrocker5138 he likely didn't set up Mick's amps to please himself.

@80sRocker Good question 🤔. I know he did play live; I saw him. I saw him playing the albums live, so, that's anyone's guess. There's a video on RU-vid I saw recently where they said that Nikki took bass lessons and improved, but that was later. I can't speak for his condition while on heroin. But, early on, he was very gracious to me; I still have a pair of his thigh high stiletto boots that he gave me. When their Shout at the Devil budget came in, Nikki got my number and called me and said that if I want, he's giving me one of his Ampeg V4-B bass amps sitting in SIR studios in Hollywood for free, just go pick it up. He also gave me other assorted costuming gear. He didn't have to do that. So, I'll always remember how kind he was to me.

That’s amazing! Thank you!

That’s not exactly true now is it? Put your emotions aside, the first 2 albums were killer. After Girls Girls Girls they declined. They’re old now and have a pool in the back yard, of course they’re not the same.

dewds talkin str8 outta his ass

My sentiments exactly. I still love the music on those 80's records and will still play them loud, but the fake, lying, corporate shills that Motley Vanilli have become now is something I will only make fun of and never pay to see.

I feel the same. They were my first concert! I saw them on the Girls, Girls, Girls tour. When I found out Sixx was faking it onstage, I lost complete interest in the band. How could anyone stand onstage and fake it? I don't even understand that mentality. One would think after being in a band for forty years he would at least be competent at the instrument. Motley Vanilli can stick it.

I'm playing guitar (and some base) on a hobby level and it's such a delight, and to actual play yourself is the actual purpose with playing an instrument. What's the point in running around show off with an instrument without playing. It may be cool as a little kid to stand in front of the mirror, play some music in the background with an guitar, base or whatever, but NOT cool in front of a paying audience.

Check out Mars' new solo release. Motley had it's time but honestly they did Mick a favor because he has pure fire coming from his fingers. Mick is the Crue!

Ive been a crue fan since the beginning but see how full of shit they are. Now, after how they've treated Mick they can blow me.

Who wrote 90% of their songs....Ok genius.

I seen motley Crue open for Ozzy and yes Nikki was actually playing the bass

@@theshawdowsFunny because even Nikki says he does use Pre-recorded tracks for a live show soo…… yeah.

@ConservativeKirbyXIcKXIAnd you ran the control board when they recorded ? No you didn’t. Obviously you do not know how the industry works. That or you know how it works but being a “fanboy” you just go with a narrative 🤘😎🤘

@@Terk131 maybe these days but not in the 80s at least not when I saw them

He's dope

Nikki can't play bass for shit, but he can sure write good songs.

@@derekrodriguez6030 It's always interesting to hear these little snippets on the behind the scenes junk !!

imagine me after a two bong hits

He may have even lied about that story just to gain "punk street cred". Nikki was always a fraud.

True story "here" definitely 😏..... WELL documented FACT since SHOUT was released and the band started getting notoriety. It WAS IN ALL those rags I used to read BACK when .😄 Lol 🤘🔥🤘

How do you get in a band if you can't play? Also If Nikki can't play an instrument how does he write songs without being able to play it on a guitar at least to play it for his bandmates to learn it? Makes you wonder.

Yes! I remember reading that story in a Metal Edge mag way back in the 80s.

Yup,a gold top Les Paul

I remember reading an interview way back in the 80s one of those Metal Edge magazines where Nikki said he wanted to play guitar so he went to a guitar shop and stole a bass. He didn't know the difference between a guitar and a bass guitar. So that's how he ended up "playing" bass.

@@goodmorningsundaymorning4533 I read that as well......

@@goodmorningsundaymorning4533 That’s true, he talks about it in the movie “decline of the western civilization”

​@@goodmorningsundaymorning4533I read that article in high school (during class, lol)

Nikki described a period of time in the book "the Dirt" where he was living in Seattle in the Queen Anne neighborhood and was playing a Rickenbacker in a band. No doubt Nikki isn't that great of a player and I've heard that theft story, or something like it, a few times. But, I think he was playing bass for some time before he got down to LA.

Matthew Trippe or whatever his name was. He always said he got hired by McGee around this period cause Nikki was strung out and got in a car accident and hurt his shoulder or arm and couldnt play bass. So McGeee hired Nikki look alike and he claimed he wrote some riffs for a few of the songs on the album. Played some bass. He also claimed they started the tour and Nikki was sent to rehab or something if I remember correctly so he claimed to have played bass at a few gigs till Nikki came back. To me with MCs lack of overall integrity why couldnt Matthews story or at least some portions of it not be true?

@@rocknroll6396 I remember hearing something about this all those years ago.

@@rocknroll6396 yeah, the Matthew Trippe story is a great one. Too bad he's dead...If people aren't familiar with the story, just google "Matthew Trippe Nikki Sixx" and enjoy going down that rabbit hole.

@@bdm1000 Same.I remember all the promo photos and they all conspicuously covered certain tattoos.

I looked up the last name you gave "Trippe" and found that story link.

Tommy a good drummer

Mick? Hmm...ok.

metal guitar player replies: ok you know everything

Tommy is actually a great drummer. Not a rudiments guy but an exceptional time keeper, highly innovative beats and has his own style.

Mick's only released one song ! Hi full album wont be released until February 2024 !

"Played the guitar and bass parts at the same time...." That's when you jumped the shark. You almost made it until the end without doing so. Considering bass by design is playing at least 1 octave lower than the guitar, it's not possible to play the bass parts on the 6 string guitar.

😂😂😂😂

Didn't Sixx write pretty much all the tunes?

It's even tougher when the bass player can't tell that it's not him playing. It's funny to think that there wasn't one note or part he doesn't recognize or think "did I play that, I never done that before?" I ran a recording studio for 12 years and there were a few times that another member would have to do the bass parts, mostly because the guitar riffs were so complicated that the bass player would have to be as versed in his instrument as the two guitarists. But ironically the bass player was flipping most of the bill for the studio time.

It happens that way alot.

Happened to me… first song on the record… that ain’t me!!! 🤣 Rips your heart out

Nikki can't play bass for shit, but he can sure write good songs.

So he's so stupid he can't tell the difference or it was so insignificant of a difference it was a waste of time just to keep an engineer.

Hahah. Yes, I love all the people with the, "I can't belive" or "I lost respect for them". What? You actually had respect for a bunch of degenerate dope fiends before? 🤣

Well to be honest. For the most part, many bands all members played on the album. Some bands however, had members who could not perform in the studio intricately enough, some not at all.😂 But could play live no problem. Beau Hill brought in a guy for Eric Turner’s and Joey Allen’s parts on the Warrent records. And again, they were really good live. He also wanted to bring in one for some of Warren DeMartini’s parts on Ratt albums. But Ratt said, no. And I always thought Robbin and Warren were great on all those records.

All the guys in GNR played every note on appetite for destruction. Even Steven Adler, as doped up as he was, played every drum part

​@mikeryan5088 Yeah, the Warrant stories are incredible. They couldn't play anything, they were just the "looks" while and actual player (can't remember his name) played the songs. I remember listening to their album "dog eat dog" and wondering how they suddenly became THAT good at solos...listen to that album, it's incredible. No way Joey played a note of that stuff.

@@williamlangeii4012 Well like I said just because a guy’s not good enough for the studio doesn’t mean he can’t play. Unless Warrant was playing to a prerecorded version of their live music in concert, I’ve seen them twice and I wouldn’t never have known. I think Eric and Joey were great live. I had absolutely no clue they didn’t record on their albums. I would imagine that some players simply don’t have the technical ability for studio music recording, but fine actually in front of a crowd. I’m not going to mention any of these bands. But they sounded awesome on their albums. But they were such a disappointment live because they were either just ok or they flat out sucked. And one is a huge iconic band with one of the greatest guitar legends of all time. Maybe they were just really drunk or they weren’t that great live?

That's a shame. It's a good song, cool bass line, too. Seems like a no-brainer for a live setting- unless the bass player can't play.

I was thinking the same thing

100%

😂

Yes

My thoughts exactly. I knew Mathew. He used to come into the small little music store in Tampa Florida called Horizon music. Swore that he was the bass player for Crue briefly.

Nikki can't play bass for shit, but he can sure write good songs.

If Randy had gone on to become a teacher.....😢. It's not quite fair that he died, while so many other awful(personally/professionally)musicians seem to live forever. I feel so bad for Randy's parents😭

It’s does make sense!

Tom Werman said Nikki played it while in a sling

It’s possible Tom is lying to protect Crue Inc, himself and label, etc. The Music industry is a vipers pit of deception, let’s get real 😂

​@@TheoriaZonehe could a also signed NDEs too?

@@justinsixx90 yah true, like the Wrecking Crew players did when they played on all those “ Talented Artists/ Songwriters albums in the 60’s & 70’s. Yep, Non Disclosure Agreements ( NDA )are common too.

So a huge name pro trashes a big name star to a nobody band, risking never working again...because you're soooo awesome he risked it getting out and never working again...ok,if you say so

It's kind of surprising not to hear that Mick didn't play all those simple bass lines on records, as he probably could've played them in his sleep.

Man, I wore that record out!

My husband literally said the same thing before I read your comment.

Recording Too Fast For Love, they were still nobodies. If he was so bad, they wouldn’t have been so popular on the club circuit and the band would’ve just replaced him. They wouldn’t have had the budget to hire ghost players.

So, no one ever, including their supporting acts ever noticed that Nikki had been replaced on stage? Has Mick Mars commented on this?

isn't head dead now?

@@jasonmarchant4525 yeah.

@@LuisHernandez-hw7dj maybe Nikki got to him

For what I know now, I believe everything this Guy says!!

It always was. Very driven, very cunning, but not a virtuoso by a long shot.

What abilities ?

No way…I’ve seen videos of him and he’s so good he doesn’t even have to touch the bass to play it!

It's such a joke when people say Nikki .. wrote all their music . How can he "write" anything when the guy couldn't even play Bass correctly . Mick and Tommy have carried that band from day 1 musically .

And you'd think after all these years, with all the experience, and learning opportunities, that he'd be a solid bass player. If not a killer one.

Complete fiction.

they are B league frauds

Dont work like that. You dont have Nikki playing the bass and then have someone else punch in here and there. There would be no consistency and result in a pile of dog sheet. Them having a ghost player come in for sessions is the most likely answer. Nikki is and always has been the biggest poser in the biz. More concerned about photo shoots and how he looks then he was recording the music and how he played. Dictionary definition of POSER IMHO.

He played bass on all of there albums, Nikki did, I was around those guys for years, this is all a bunch of BS.

Sure Jan.@@TheJindelt

Why?

Had you? This isn’t some made up story. It’s Greg Leon.

@@heyjarrod and so that means it true? The producer just did an interview recently, and he says Nikki played his parts on the albums.. The guys bio basically says his "notable" parts are stints in Quiet Riot and Dokken, and that later on with his Invasion project he toured Europe with new material and the "Myth" of his name.. Just sounds like somebody thats jealous the guy he didnt like, and thought couldnt play got famous and he didnt.

Greg is known for being an amp guru, look it up. I wouldn't doubt that Mick needed some kind of amp tweak to get the sound they needed, all the Greats have had people like this. EVH had people to do the same. Greg is also a great player who just never got the big break others got. Look him up as a player. No shame in not making it, tons of fantastic players never made it.

@@Myrrhkuri Looks like you just don’t understand. I give you all this great first-hand info, but you think you know more than people that personally lived through all of this. You’re probably in the middle of nowhere, and know nothing about the LA music scene. He left quiet, right, and Dokken, to pursue his own music. We could easily be talking about him instead of George Lynch, or Carlos Cavazo. There are no guarantees, a lot of great musicians aren’t household names… while a lot of terrible musicians are. He’s not jealous at all, and never talks poorly about anyone-if you watch any of his interviews. There’s hundreds of interviews with Greg, from people in the business that know he is the go go to guy to learn about the growing heavy metal scene out of LA in the early 80s. He’s not worried about a Wikipedia page, nor is Chet Thompson. He has nothing to prove, and nothing bad to say out anyone. He is just being honest. It’s common knowledge that Nikki and others did not play on some albums. The wrecking crew played on everyone’s albums. It’s hard for a lot of musicians to be able to deliver in the studio, and record clean tracks that can be used.

You forgot to add: The only thing Nikki was interested in laying was your girlfriend.

No, Bob did not say Nikki didn't play bass. Bob simply repeated what Nikki said to him about not remembering, and for all he knew, someone could have replaced his bass parts. Fact. Not hearsay.

Rex's book was a rough read, he essentially took credit for everything in Pantera and made Vinnie and Dime out to be hillbilly jackasses.

@@tommyibanez3958 - Yep. Big boasts, considering the man's recorded contributions to the band were replaced as soon as he'd leave the studio. I've heard that Timothy Gaines of Stryper was another whose studio work played out in much the same way.

Yup 100%

Exactly right. Steve played bass on many of these 80s records. It was well known at Musicians Institute where Steve taught at the time.

I heard it was Jim Lacefield who did Crue stuff. I hung out with Steve Bailey quite a bit back in the 90s and he was pretty hush hush about the ghost sessions. He said that once, after a few drinks , he ran his mouth at a party and wound up getting blackballed by one particular producer who didn’t take kindly to his studio secrets being revealed .

Hi Nichole.

No. He only wrote some lyrics. The music is all Mick.

​@@johannjohann6523Most of the music and all lyrics are attributed to Nikki on the first 5 albums. If Mick was writing the music he would have his name on the credits.

Motley Crue was Nikki Sixx vision. It worked. He can play bass now?

@@johannjohann6523 not according to the credits. And that reflects the truth.

Vh,Journey,Metelica,Aerosmith. On on on! It's normal, folks!

@jeddej7884 VH Journey Metilica Aerosmith the Stones all have uncredited musicians on their records genius!

@@jeddej7884 Do your homework genius!

@jeddej7884 Go & talk with an adult who knows about the Rock music industry. Then thank me latter after you google those bands son!

@jeddej7884 Stick with Miley Cirus & the Jonas bros kid! You can't handle the big boys' debates! Oh & there is no Santa Claus! Lol!!!!

😂😂😂😂😂

Didn't Nikki write the majority of MC songs? I'm not a huge fan but I love there 1rst album to this day! It's fun!

​@@rona.9731 yeah, it's weird! I like up to Theatre of Pain most, but Dr. Feelgood and Girls, Girls, Girls are alright, too, once in a great while.

@@ML-eh8td but why would the rest of the band allow him to get all the credit for the lyrics?

@@AtacamaHumanoidEveryone had an equal share in the company.

Jeff was a “go to” guy for a lot of albums. He and James Kottack were the rhythm section for quite a bit of stuff in the 90s. Not sure about the 80s but it wouldn’t surprise me. Great player. Nice guy too. When I first moved to LA to play in Wild Horses he loaned me a Spector and an Ampeg stack to use. He had done the bass tracks on the album before I joined.

@@chrislestermusic Jeff is an awesome guy, always a great friend; he once offered to sell me his white Gibson Thunderbird bass for $600, but I didn't have the money for it. When I'd see Dokken in concert, he'd toss his guitar picks at me🤣...

it wasn't Crol Kaye. It was the guy who played for David Bowie

Yes it was the Wrecking Crew, so came the name Motley Crue

Funny

Rob Corabi, and certainly Motley Crue's heaviest album. Too bad it came out in the early '90's when "grunge" for some reason became King. For a short while anyway. Vince while not a great singer but good, does or did have what I thought was a really unique voice.

The album flopped.

​@@michaelharrington75had it came out now or during their prime it would have done much better

Well, Sue, if I were you I'd check my sources.His "alleged" shoulder injury was the real deal, I didn't take "forever, grinding out" Nikki's bass lines, and I'd love to know what "interesting techniques" were on the first album that you were missing on "Shout".

"there's no clear footage of the '83 US festival." ..... Wat?! And as far as whether or not there was a fill-in, it's not possible to go from being an innie to an outie without a hernia. Yet somehow Sixx managed it. Strange.

You didn't actually quote my comment, you inserted the word "no" into it. About his navel, where did you find closeup pics of it?@@icaanul

Weird... you would think Jani could have played it.

Mr. Rainmaker is an overlooked Great song that I Crank pretty often. There is another video of the session guitarist that actually played all of Uncle Tom's Cabin and Down Boys instead of Joey & Eric.

Yeah that is the question we should keep in mind

@@TheoriaZoneStill, to think he was 3x unlucky. Most people wouldn’t have that many brushes…. Or maybe there’s a slew of those guys from that scene, you just never hear about them?

Saying he had to dial in Mick's guitar tones was when I knew he was full of shit.

@@stevemorissette5080 That's been my main sticking point. If he was so great, how come he's not become known until now? And, it seems, these "ghost" spots, are the ONLY thing he's done of note. His personal projects, seem to have never got off the ground.

Eddie Van Halen swapped equipment with Greg, and you have a problem with him adjusting Micks amp?? LOL..

@@outoforder2162 WTF Said I have a problem with it?, I think I made it pretty clear that I think He's a BS artist and I don't believe His little studio story for a second I'll take Wermans account any day over WTF Greg Leon is, I mean "Nobody touch those dials for THE Greg Leon finally gave us the sound we've been looking for😂

So you’ll take Werman’s account over Bob Rock’s? Bless your heart. @@pycellesbeard9728

Its well documented that Nikki can only play like 3 notes and thats a stretch....

No. Greg himself told me it's not him.

Geoff (RIP)? where did you get that from? I'm not going to rag on the guy, cuz he's no longer here. But no, he didn't play the bass on any Shout tracks.

Now THAT one is the prizewinner for ridiculous declaration of the day....

@@tomwerman5960 I've had many this week. If this is Tom, I'm a huge fan

Well, ALMOST all the guitars. C.C. DeVille did the solo on "Cherry Pie."

Yeah, STORIES is correct!

Agreed, Lost interest after Shout also..

Pretty much, yeah.

Girls, Girls, Girls had its moments but it's true that nothing they've done since comes close to the first two albums.

@bth9318 Nobody here but you is talking about sales figures. Go ahead and follow the masses - they’ll lead you right into a Taylor Swift “concert” 🤣

@bth9318 Done = a spent force creatively

Nikki is good at lyrics which is good bc Vince can't sing OR write.

You think he’s good at lyrics? Oooook….@@williamlangeii4012