On The Record: Mick Mars on perseverance & post-Mötley Crüe music

Mick Morris, a musician with ankylosing spondylitis, plans to retire from touring but not from writing and playing music. He discusses his new record, which took a while to come together and features diverse songs. Mick is excited about the album and mentions two songs he's proud of. He also talks about his future plans, including working on a second album and collaborating with different artists. Mick discusses his gear and guitar collection, as well as his use of the Floyd Rose. He defines success as positive feedback from listeners and chart rankings. Mick shares how he overcame challenges in his career through dedication and perseverance. I will never retire from writing, playing, and putting on music. I retire from touring, because I got a little rough on me from this disease that I have. That's an ugly word, disease, you know. But it's called ankylosing spondylitis. And it just fuses your bones up, and it gets fairly painful. But, again, dedication, you know. If there's a time, you gotta hang it up. Hey, this is Mick Morris, and you're on The Record with Ultimate Guitar. All right, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today. It is Valentine's Day as we're filming this. Of course, it won't be going live until later, but it's great that it's Valentine's Day because I'm loving this new record. Oh, thank you, man. Thank you. So it's coming out February 23rd, I believe. When did this album start to come together? As I understand it, most of the songs were pretty fresh. Thanks. That was intended. I actually started working on this in around 2016, right after the final tour. You know, it went in and out, up and down, a couple things in the way. You know, that kind of stuff. But it's okay that that happened, because the songs got better. You know, I still got songs left from that tour, and I went like, what was I thinking? Yeah, and there's a lot to be proud of on this record. So I'm curious, is there a riff or a solo or a song that you're most proud of or most excited for fans to hear on this record? There's a couple, which is Killing Breed and Undone. I mean, it's a pretty diverse album. I know that fans from the Motley Days and things like that kind of expect either to hear a blues record or something closely relating to the last band I was in, right? But I'm trying to move into another direction, but slowly, you know, step by step. And I'm working on a second album now, because that one took so long. You know, but yeah, and I got like really four really solid, solid ideas. And it's hopefully going to come out faster than waiting two years for this one, you know? But yeah. Will it be mostly the same band? The band sounds amazing on this first record. I'll probably more than likely be working with Paul. Paul and I work well together. I don't really know or plan on who I'm going to, you know, hire to do what or do this or do that. The record isn't a real band, you know. It's a bunch of friends and friends of friends that, you know, came in and played parts. Like, you know, I met various people. I mean, Ray Luzio, you know, I have to hang on to that guy. He's so good. I can't really say that there will be the same people, but, you know, like Paul and I, yes. Ray, yes. Chris Collier, yes. I don't know. I guess I'm just trying to be different, experiment and do something. I think all musicians want to do that. But, you know, now that I'm like more solo artist, I can do that, whatever I want. I can put a blues band, a female singer. I've always thought about, this goes way back, putting Robbie Williams on a song, you know. Do you know who that is? The Crazy Bastard. Yeah, yeah. But, yeah, I mean, just something like a little different, you know, not to repeat myself again. You know, the next level is where the album will go for sure. I can say that for sure. But playing-wise, I don't know, you know. I mean, the few that I mentioned, yes. I know a lot of times when people go and do these solo projects, you know, there's kind of a short list of collaborative experiences that they want to have. Are there some artists that you would really love to collaborate with in the future? They're all dead. I don't know. I haven't really thought about it that way. I mean, he's a bud. If he goes like, hey, Mick, can I play on your record? Okay. Yeah, sure. You know, somebody like that or something. But I can't explain it really. You know, it's like, and I'm not trying to be like this guy, you know. It's like, I guess I'm trying to express what's going on in my brain, you know. I don't know where I'm going yet. You kind of want it to come together organically, it sounds like. Pretty much. Pretty much, yeah. When I hear it, I'll know it. You know what I mean? I don't want to repeat myself. You know, like bands get locked into that, of course, you know, and not their fault, really. You know, because they'll go in and record an album and manager goes, you're going on tour and tour this and you're out there for six, eight, ten months or whatever. And you come home, oh, you did great. Time to go in and do another record, you know. And then you're going to go out again after a few months, a couple months. That's not enough time, really, to change up what you're doing. So I guess that I got the luxury of time, you know. I would imagine, and I hear this from a lot of people that end up doing solo projects after being in a band for a long time, that it's very liberating. It's very freeing that you're able to write music that maybe you couldn't within the context of the band that you were in. Probably not, you know. I mean, when I was writing songs for Motley, they were for Motley, you know. And to be out, just me is to express what I'm feeling, I guess, you know. I like so much different styles or flavors. You know, like that video noir song that's on there is, you know, based on, you know, 40s detective sleuth kinds of movies. Kind of sleazy, slinky kind of a thing. You know, I love that stuff. I love old Cab Calloway stuff. You know, that kind of stuff, too, you know. So, you know, I don't know. Just expressing me, you know, whatever comes out. Well, it sounds great. L.A. Noir is a really beautiful song. So well done on that one. Thank you. So when you went in to do this record, were you taking out maybe instruments, amps or guitars or changing up the gear that you were using from the Motley days? Or were you kind of sticking to what you love, those old straps? Well, I still used my straps. You know, my main one I used on stage. Well, the main three that I used on stage. There's an Ibanez seven string that Steve Vai had given me. Oh, lordy. And mid 90s, late 90s, somewhere around there. And I used that on Undone. Because the parts that were on it were heavy, but I want them heavier. So I added that Ibanez seven string on. And, you know, it's just one of those things, you know. Needs to be thicker. So, yeah, mostly those. Amplifiers I used pretty much the same. I mean, I threw high watt, Riveras, Soldano, of course, Marshall, of course. All sorts of, even Magnetone. I have a 63 Magnetone. And it's just got a little three watt little amp and I used it on, I used that on Right Side of Wrong. The beginning chord and the ending chord is that, that's through a Magnetone. Is that the first time you've ever used a seven string in the studio? Yes. First time. But now I bought one of those Ernie Ball Paccucci. Yeah, I got one of those. Sounds really good. So you'll be hearing that on the next record. Fantastic. Now, I've heard that you have quite an extensive and amazing guitar collection. Do you have some gems in there, some guitars that you'd never let go of? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I have quite a few. When I was on tour and, you know, 40 years of touring and, you know, going around the world or whatever, it was like I collected, you know, the guitars, whether I really wanted to hang on to them or not didn't matter. Because I always had my other dream was to open a music store. So it's like actually an investment. I have something like 62 Marshall stacks that I've collected. So all years from, I don't know, 62, 63, all the way up to new and all models. Just having fun on the road, I guess. When did you switch over to the Floyd Rose and start using that? You've always been one of my favorite Floyd Rose users. Thanks. That actually came when we recorded Home Sweet Home. I don't exactly know what happened. I can't remember because I was too drunk. But I know that I had, well, back then they were roadies. I sent them out, Skull and Crossbones, to pick me up a Kramer Beretta. And that's the first song I used Whammy on and, you know, developed my own kind of a thing over the years. So at this stage in your career, how do you define success as a musician and an artist? Mostly, you know, feedback from, you know, the listeners. And looking at the sound scan and, you know, just the regular things that musicians do. And keeping up on looking at it and seeing. When you look at the charts and you're like number five on the top 100 hot list or whatever, you know, that tells me a lot. I mean, that's kind of how I keep track. And it's like a funny thing to me is I put out Loyal to the Lie first. And it did really well. I put out Right Side of Wrong after that, which people really loved, you know. And then when I'm done, it was like over the top. That's the kind of direction. So it's like it kind of like, again, like I was saying earlier, set the bar a little higher so I could go there. That to me is success because it's like what I kind of set out to do. Absolutely. How did you overcome the challenging times in your career? We all kind of run into times in our career where it's difficult. And music's a very therapeutic thing. Was music kind of the thing that brought you through it? Well, to get through that era of playing in cover bands and all that stuff, you know, there's too much alcohol, of course. And sleeping on floors, cockroaches biting on you and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, I guess it goes with the tequila in your deuce, I guess, you know. But I stayed to it, you know. That was my goal, I guess, you know. Since that little kid that played the mouse guitar. So when I sat on the end of my bed and said I want my music to be heard on the radio, I want it to be on commercials or movies and, you know, all that stuff. That's what I kept saying, kept doing and kept progressing and kept, I don't know, just moving, moving, dedication, being there. I don't know if that makes a lot of sense. It does. And you know what? You've walked the walk your entire career because you're, I don't know how old you are, but you're still doing it. You're still putting out music that I love. First, as a rock and roll fan. So thank you for continuing to put up with all the shit that you've had to put up with to continue making great music for us to listen to. You know, I got to say thank you to you because you're a young guy and you're digging what I'm doing. I think everybody will go through that, you know. But it just makes you better. Keep on. I'm 73, by the way. I would imagine that at this stage retirement is kind of a four-letter word. We don't use that word. Has there been any thought to retirement when you would ever hang it up or is this what you're going to do? I will never retire from writing and playing and putting out music. I retire from touring. I got a little rough on me from this disease that I have. That's an ugly word, disease. But it's called ankylosing spondylitis, and it just fuses your bones up and it gets very painful. So it's like I had to hang it up, you know. I already went through like a bunch of years with that, you know. But, again, dedication, you know. But there's a time you got to hang it up. Well, it makes me very happy to hear you say you'll never retire and you'll never stop putting out music. No, never. All right. Well, thank you. You've been very gracious with your time, and I really appreciate it. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the kids who are looking up tablature at Ultimate Guitar? Well, I would say if you want to be a guitar player, do it. Don't think it. Do it. You can do it. That's great advice. So what does the rest of 2024 have in store for you? I wouldn't expect to see another album drop this year. The first one hasn't even dropped yet. I can't believe I'm even asking. That one drops on the 23rd of this month, you know, what is it, a few days. I probably won't drop a second until, you know, I don't know, probably earlier next year or something, just like to give this album a good listening to. But you know what I say, I won't release something that I don't like, you know. I always go back on my Pro Tools and listen to some ideas and go, oh, no, and I get rid of it, because I'm afraid that it will end up on a song somewhere. So, you know, again, I'm taking the next step, just doing what it is I do. I'm excited to see what that next step is. So a little more blues, a little more stepping into some other genres, perhaps. You never know. Never know, because I don't know. But I know that I have four really great songs. This album is diverse. I have, like, just keyboards. I don't know anything else. But I wrote the song on guitar. I might redo it again on guitar and release the same song, but more guitar, you know, oriented, without a piano. Maybe a different singer. Maybe a female singer. I don't know. I'm sorry to keep dragging this on, but I did have one more question for you that I totally forgot about. And I was going to ask you, is it true that your guitar playing can be heard on Aerosmith's pump? Yes. Bob Azzarine came over. He goes, you're all over the tracks, blah, blah, blah. And Tyler, and he came over. He's going, oh, yeah. Yeah, it's all over the place, yeah. I was just thinking back, and I had a vision in my head of going, like, remembering that. Yeah. So you used to record that loud, huh? Well, you know, you got to break stuff. So you might as well be on two records at once and break some microphones and, you know, that kind of stuff. Right? It's got to be that way. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for all the music that you've put into the world. Thank you for the music that's coming out on the 23rd. People are going to love it. I love it. I'm hoping, man. I'm hoping. Judging by the first three, you know, singles, I'm hoping they dig the rest of the record. So. Thank you so much, man. You know, thank you for having me. Thank you.