Motley Crüe & The Scorpions Team For Maximum Rock Tour
By Athena Schaffer
Monday, May 31 1999
Monday, May 31 1999
Published on AllBusiness.com
Motley Crüe and the Scorpions have teamed up for a 40-city summer amphitheatre tour known as The Maximum Rock tour, which Scott Gelman of Jam Productions describes as "testosterone rock's answer to the Lilith Fair." The tour kicks off June 29 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md.
"It will be a fairly big show," said Crüe production manager Geoff Perrin. "Let's put it this way — I don't imagine any of Motley's or Scorpions' fans will be disappointed by the size of the production. In terms of the content of the show, they're going to get three hours of hit singles. We think it's a good value-for-money package."
Both bands will mesh their two lighting systems into one big system, and the bands will also share a sound system, although each will have its own console.
"I estimate at least four, possibly five, trucks," Perrin said. "There are probably going to be five or six buses out on the road as well. We're trying to keep the entourage to a reasonable number. I'm estimating, at this point, including drivers, there will be 35 crew members. Then each band will have its own people, there will be seven or eight each, including the band members.
"We've got a lot of friendship between the bands. The Scorpions' road crew and my road crew have all worked together on other projects before, so there's a tremendous spirit of cooperation going on right now. There seem to be no egos getting in the way, which is terrific for a project like this."
Load-in at each venue will start at 8 a.m. Break-down should only take two hours. "We've had plenty of practice," Perrin commented.
"In a 'normal' rock show, you walk in and see all the bands' equipment set up in a row in front of each other," said Perrin. "We're not going to do that. We're going to have the Scorpions' equipment set up in the forefront in stage-performance position, with Motley Crüe's equipment behind it. When the Scorpions go offstage, we're going to move Motley Crüe's equipment into their performance position. Each band is going to have a full stage to perform on. It's really the only fair way to do it."
On Motley Crüe's last outing, they did a scaled-down theater tour. This time they're going to be bringing back some of the special effects their shows have been known for in the past.
"I don't know if we'll have a rotating drum," Perrin said, "but we'll probably have the special effects that will take everybody by surprise. There will be a few bells & whistles. You'll probably see some things the fans have never seen Motley Crüe do before."
The Crüe and the Scorpions will each be doing 90-minute sets.
Crüe fans will see a new face onstage joining vocalist Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, and guitarist Mick Mars. Just two months before the tour, original Crüe drummer Tommy Lee announced he was leaving the band to spend more time with his family and to work on a new project called Methods of Mayhem. Randy Castillo (formerly with Ozzy Osbourne) will fill the drumming slot.
Opening the show is Canadian band Flash Bastard. QBQ is booking the tour.
"It will be a fairly big show," said Crüe production manager Geoff Perrin. "Let's put it this way — I don't imagine any of Motley's or Scorpions' fans will be disappointed by the size of the production. In terms of the content of the show, they're going to get three hours of hit singles. We think it's a good value-for-money package."
Both bands will mesh their two lighting systems into one big system, and the bands will also share a sound system, although each will have its own console.
"I estimate at least four, possibly five, trucks," Perrin said. "There are probably going to be five or six buses out on the road as well. We're trying to keep the entourage to a reasonable number. I'm estimating, at this point, including drivers, there will be 35 crew members. Then each band will have its own people, there will be seven or eight each, including the band members.
"We've got a lot of friendship between the bands. The Scorpions' road crew and my road crew have all worked together on other projects before, so there's a tremendous spirit of cooperation going on right now. There seem to be no egos getting in the way, which is terrific for a project like this."
Load-in at each venue will start at 8 a.m. Break-down should only take two hours. "We've had plenty of practice," Perrin commented.
"In a 'normal' rock show, you walk in and see all the bands' equipment set up in a row in front of each other," said Perrin. "We're not going to do that. We're going to have the Scorpions' equipment set up in the forefront in stage-performance position, with Motley Crüe's equipment behind it. When the Scorpions go offstage, we're going to move Motley Crüe's equipment into their performance position. Each band is going to have a full stage to perform on. It's really the only fair way to do it."
On Motley Crüe's last outing, they did a scaled-down theater tour. This time they're going to be bringing back some of the special effects their shows have been known for in the past.
"I don't know if we'll have a rotating drum," Perrin said, "but we'll probably have the special effects that will take everybody by surprise. There will be a few bells & whistles. You'll probably see some things the fans have never seen Motley Crüe do before."
The Crüe and the Scorpions will each be doing 90-minute sets.
Crüe fans will see a new face onstage joining vocalist Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, and guitarist Mick Mars. Just two months before the tour, original Crüe drummer Tommy Lee announced he was leaving the band to spend more time with his family and to work on a new project called Methods of Mayhem. Randy Castillo (formerly with Ozzy Osbourne) will fill the drumming slot.
Opening the show is Canadian band Flash Bastard. QBQ is booking the tour.
