Friday, June 21, 2002 | 3:08 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION: June 23, 2002
Drummers don't usually get famous.
They keep the beat and bash away in virtual anonymity while their bandmates, specifically the lead singer and lead guitarist, get the attention.
Tommy Lee is different.
Over the years with former band Motley Crue, Lee took the routine drum solo and made it a concert highlight, playing while spinning upside down in a metal ball-shaped cage or soaring above the crowd. As a result Lee has placed himself in the upper class of drummers, along such luminaries as Keith Moon, John Bonham, Neil Peart and Buddy Rich.
Of course, much of the notoriety he enjoys has little to do with his musical talent. Lee, who performs Saturday at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, has managed to make headlines in a variety of ways:
Marriages to starlets Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson (both ending in divorce). The X-rated video starring he and Anderson, which was stolen from the couple and made notoriously public. A six-month jail term in 1998 for kicking Anderson (his wife at the time); Lee was already on probation for injuring a photographer. And health concerns -- Anderson has claimed she contracted hepatitis C from Lee after the couple shared a tattoo needle, a charge Lee denies.
More tragically, during a birthday party last June for Lee's oldest son, Brandon, a neighbor's 4-year-old boy drowned in Lee's pool. The neighbors have since filed a lawsuit against Lee.
As for his music, in May Lee released his second solo album, the aptly titled "Never a Dull Moment." The record is proof the drummer has evolved musically since his days with Motley Crue; he wrote the songs, sings lead and plays most of the guitars.
In a recent interview with the Sun from Lee's home in Malibu, Calif., the 40-year-old discussed a possible TV show on VH1, the hepatitus C accusation and the misconception that he is a "crazy party dude."
Sun: It's been reported you are in negotiations with VH1 for a reality show similar to "The Osbournes." Is that why you asked for permission for VH1 to record this interview?
Tommy Lee: VH1 is sponsoring the tour. I can't really say a whole lot about what's going on. But, yeah, they are here filming some stuff.
Sun: So, it is possible we could see "The Tommy Lee Show"?
TL: It could be. (Laughs)
Sun: Look at what "The Osbournes" has done for Ozzy. Are you hoping for the same kind of success?
TL: Yeah, I think it's pretty cool ... we'll see what happens.
Sun: There's an old joke: "What's the last thing a drummer says to his band? Hey guys, I've got a new song for you."
TL: (Laughs) That's funny.
Sun: But with Motley Crue, you did a lot of the song demos yourself.
TL: Yeah. I've been doing this for a while, playing guitar and singing and playing drums, sort of producing a bunch of my own stuff and bringing it to the band for album material. I've written a bunch of stuff for Motley. I don't think fans really bother to look at the credits very much, they just read the lyrics and look at the pictures. I was involved in writing a lot of the hits: "Home Sweet Home," "Girls, Girls, Girls," "Wild Side" -- a bunch of stuff on the "Dr. Feelgood" record. I've been doing this for a long time, I just don't think a whole lot of people either A, paid attention or B, just didn't know.
Sun: In bands, the accolades almost always go to the lead singer and then the lead guitarist.
TL: Of course. I always wanted to be a frontman. I always wanted to bring my drums out and fly over people's heads or spin around upside down. Bringing the drummer up front, that's what I always wanted to do.
Sun: In concert you'll be singing and playing guitar. Are you abandoning the drums?
TL: No. halfway through the show I go back to my drummer and we do this crazy kind of a rave/tribal drums-from-hell piece with computerized lights and video. I'll always go back and play the drums, are you kidding? I wouldn't be able to stand it.
Sun: How long have you played guitar?
TL: I've been playing since '82, is when I really started to take interest in playing guitar and really sit down and learn some chords and play guitar and try to do a good job at it.
Sun: What prompted that interest?
TL: I remember sitting in my home studio back then trying to get the guys in the band to come over and work on new tunes, and I couldn't get them to come by. And I've got to thank the guys for not coming by because it really pushed me to do it on my own. I'm sitting there thinking, "God, if I can't get my singer to come by, well (expletive) it. I'll sing the part, I know what I want to hear. I hear melodies in my head ... so I can put this together, I know I can do this. If you keep doing something long enough you get really good at it. That's sort of how it all started back then for me, with just a lack of bandmembers around.
Sun: Do you still talk to any of your former bandmates in Motley Crue?
TL: I actually see and talk to Nikki (Sixx) a lot, he lives around the corner from me. Vince (Neil) I see every once in a while, sort of out and about and we're cordial to each other, but we're not really buds and hanging out and stuff. And Mick (Mars), I talk to him every once in a while as well. I would say I'm still friends with Nikki and Mick.
Sun: Your ex-wife Pamela Anderson recently accused you of giving her hepatitis C. You've denied that you have the disease, so there's no truth to her accusations?
TL: It's such a bizarre thing to even talk about. A, it's nobody's business and B, I just don't understand why anybody would air that out, it's just (expletive) silly. It's just another ploy to make me look bad in the custody battle, like I'm some piece of (expletive). It's just not true and it's not gonna work.
Sun: You share joint custody of your two sons?
TL: Yes, but she's trying to take full custody and I'm not going to let that happen.
Sun: It seemed that everything was quiet in your life until the tragedy at the pool party. The parents of the boy who drowned, Daniel Karven Veres, have since filed a lawsuit against you.
TL: They're suing me. It's this unbelievable tragedy, and to think that anybody would think that it was my responsibility is beyond me. I was watching my own children and the parents of little Daniel weren't even present. And the person that they employed to watch him left the party and left somebody else in charge. And that person was walking her dog out in my front driveway when we found Daniel in the pool. It was just unbelievable, but yet it was my fault because it was here at this house. I don't get it.
Sun: There are those who, after reading about the drowning, probably said, "I'm not surprised it happened, it's Tommy Lee."
TL: Of course. Everybody's got this preconceived image of me that I'm some irresponsible person. I have two children and I was hawk-eyeing my kids. I don't let nothing happen to them. But I'm not responsible for other people's children, that's for sure.
Sun: What is the biggest misconception about Tommy Lee?
TL: Um, I think there's a lot. The biggest one? It would be interesting to go around to a few people who aren't music fans and ask them, 'cause really, I don't know. I'm just sort of guessing when I say this, but I would just imagine it's, "some sort of crazy party dude who's totally irresponsible." God, if people only knew.
I just think there is a lot of confusion as to who I really am out there. I'm not confused, but I think a lot of people out there might be, they don't really know who or what kind of person I am. I think the people who know me really well would tell you that, "Tommy is a really nice guy." I always wanted to bring my drums out and fly over people's heads or spin around upside down. Bringing the drummer up front, that's what I always wanted to do."
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