DECADES OF DECADENCE TO CLIMAX IN L.A. IN 2016, WHEN MÖTLEY CRÜE RETURNS TO ROCK SUNSET ONE LAST TIME
‘After New Year’s [2016], we’ll do three nights at one of the arenas in L.A. and then do a special show at the Whisky-a-Go-Go on our 35th anniversary.’
— VINCE NEIL (Las Vegas Weekly)
MOVIES’ MOTLEY CREW: THE 10 BEST, WORST & WEIRDEST ROCK STAR CAMEOS IN HOLLYWOOD FILMS
1. VINCE NEIL
DEJA VU DEBUT: VINCE NEIL IN FORD FAIRLANE
Motley Crue singer Vince Neil didn’t need any acting classes before stepping into the role of heavy metal singer Bobby Black, ill-fated frontman of Black Plague, in Andrew Dice Clay‘s big-screen comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. The Dice Man, an avowed rock ‘n’ roll junkie, also invited a few of his other famous rock star friends to appear in the 1990 flick, including Sunset Strip refugees like legendary Brit bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo, who have both played on some of Ozzy’s greatest albums, and Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazzo. Neil tapped his real-life band to punch up the film’s soundtrack with the Crue classic “Rock ‘N’ Roll Junkie.”
2. GUNS N’ ROSES
COOLEST SCREEN DEBUT: GUNS N’ ROSES IN THE DEAD POOL
Seemingly possessed by Ozzy, Axl, Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, Jim Carrey is brilliantly bad but entertaining to watch as a faux Axl Rose covering “Welcome to the Jungle” in the 1988 Clint Eastwood flick The Dead Pool. Fortunately, it’s the original Guns N’ Roses band that steps in to add some credibility to the flick and steal the spotlight with a brief bit in the cop drama. Axl, Duff McKagan, Slash, Steven Adler and Izzy Stradlin are featured in a funeral scene mourning the murder of Carrey’s Axl character.
3. OZZY OSBOURNE & GENE SIMMONS
BIZARRE BITS: OZZY & GENE SIMMONS IN TRICK OR TREAT
The only thing scary about the 1986 horror flick Trick or Treat, about a vengeful rock star zombie, is that the film was ever made. Saving the low-budget, bizarrely directed 1986 movie from being a total waste of film are guest appearances by rock legends Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons.
Ozzy’s appearance in Trick or Treat is not as memorable as his stint in the 1997 blockbuster Private Parts, featuring the P.O.F.D. famously calling Howard Stern a “f**king jerk,” but it is worth a watch. Ozzy is in fine comedic form again in a tongue-in-cheek cameo that sees the sometimes Black Sabbath frontman taming his famous locks and adopting a clean-cut persona to play an evangelist ranting about dirty lyrics in heavy metal music. Talk about art imitating life!
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Gene Simmons has been moonlighting in Hollywood for awhile, including co-starring alongside Tom Selleck in the 1984 feature film Runaway. However, if you ever thought that Simmons could never make a film worse than the 1978 TV movie KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, think again. The rock bassist and “God of Thunder” singer puts his famous deep vocals to work in another capacity in Trick or Treat , playing a creepy-cool rock radio DJ. Looking like the bastard offspring of Ted Nugent and Merle Haggard, Simmons sports a leather cowboy hat and Wolfman Jack-like growl as a disc jockey enlisted to help battle a troublesome zombie musician. Where’s the KISS Army when you need it?
MOTLEY CRUE TO DROP ‘SEX’ ON JULY 17
Summer is about to get a whole lot louder beginning July 17, when Motley Crue releases its titillating new single, “Sex.” The new track drops three days before the Hollywood band kicks off a co-headlining summer tour with KISS on July 20.
Although this is great news for fans, unfortunately, “Sex” is just a random one-off release to hype the tour, but the band has no plans to release a new album anytime soon. In other words, “Sex” is kind of a one-night stand as far as new Crue music goes.
SUNSET STRIP LANDMARK & EARLY GN’R HAUNT BECOMES RUBBLE
Iconic Sunset Strip landmark Tower Video, the timeless neon-lit hub of hipster activity that was the main spot to head to for concert tickets and music videos, has become a pile of rocks. Earlier this month crews began to deconstruct the famous spot that once employed a pre-rock star Axl Rose as its night manager and Guns N’ Roses bandmate Slash as a counter clerk.
In the fall of 2006, as Internet music piracy and iTunes began to claim their stake on the Net, Towers’ chain of music and video stores filed for bankruptcy after 46 years as the go-to place for discovering exciting new bands and picking up tickets to L.A.’s hottest shows.
Tower Video was located at 8844 Sunset at Larrabee, across the street from the defunct Tower Records. The split-level video store also served as a concert ticket venue, classical music annex and sold rock novelties. The store’s small back parking lot, where the photo on the left, of Tower Video rubble, was snapped, is the infamous location where Rose once challenged Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil to a fight over some trash talk. The incident sparked the singers’ well-publicized, longstanding feud.
R.I.P. Tower Video.
Check out what remains of the landmark location as it becomes rock and roll rubble.
SUNSETandCLARK.com 