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Former Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars has commented on his countersuit against the band in which he is attempting to gain access to their financial records. They claim he retired, but he insists he is still a member, just one who is unable to tour due to an aggressive form of arthritis.
He tells Variety, "I carried those bastards for years...
"I don’t really know if I should say this, but… Those guys have been hammering on me since ’87, trying to replace me. They haven’t been able to do that, because I’m the guitar player. I helped form this band. It’s my name [the Motley Crue moniker], my ideas, my money that I had from a backer to start this band. It wouldn’t have gone anywhere...
"The thing that they keep pushing, for many years, is that I have a bad memory. And that’s full-blown, out-of-proportion crap... And now they’re still playing that game with me.
"I want to retire from touring because of my AS [Ankylosing Spondylitis, an inflammatory, arthritic disease that causes vertebrae to fuse]. I don’t have a problem remembering the songs. I don’t have a problem with any of that stuff. But I do have a problem with them, constantly, the whole time, telling me that I lost my memory. No. Wrong...
"I don’t know why I’m being sued. I’m confused and I don’t get it...
"The four of us that made the band. You would have to have a good reason to be fired... It just makes me really upset that they want to try and bully me more or less out of the band, so it’s the last man standing that collects everything...
"You can’t be fired from your own company, unless you do something horribly bad -- like, be a felon [like Tommy Lee for spousal abuse and Vince Neil for manslaughter]. That’s mean, but, sorry!...
"I think that those guys are hoping that I’ll just fold and lay down. Because I’ve done that many times. But this thing that I helped build for 41 years, I’m sorry, you’re not gonna take that from me. I worked very hard for that. It’s mine. I’m keeping it. You can’t have it. Sorry... I’m most definitely not afraid of them, or intimidated or anything else."
The case will be arbitrated, but there's no date yet.
Meanwhile, John 5 has taken Mick's place on tour.