Chronological Crue - The History of Motley Crue in 2001

2/1/01
After being due on December 17, Frankie-Jean Mary Sixx is born at 10:29pm as the first child for Nikki Sixx and wife Donna D’Errico. She weighs 8.12lbs and is 21.5” long at birth. They have four children from previous relationships that live with them in their Agoura Hills home. Nikki says he told Frankie the one thing she can’t do in her life is date a rock star and she agreed, so he pre-orders her a pink 2017 BMW for her sixteenth birthday. The Frankie part of her name is derived from Nikki’s birth name, which he decides he now wants to keep alive in some form, while her Jean name comes from Donna’s mother whose name is Jeanette, as well as Donna's middle name. Frankie's middle name Mary is after Donna's sister and Grandmother.

6/1/01
A new JVC Mobile Entertainment lifestyle-oriented advertising campaign featuring Nikki’s tattoos is launched at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Visitors have the opportunity to meet Nikki at the JVC booth as well as view his ‘57 Chevy that is on display throughout the show.

11/1/01
Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting uses Mötley’s Kickstart My Heart as his theme song that plays over each ground’s loud speakers before he bats in the Carlton One Day series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe.

6/2/01
The Frezno Smooth movie soundtrack is released on Spitfire Records and it begins with Mötley Crüe’s Shout at the Devil. It also includes Union’s song Who Do You Think You Are?, as well as songs from Dio, Alice Cooper, Dee Snider and Testament.

7/2/01
Donna D’Errico’s publicist confirms that she and Nikki have separated after four years of marriage, and the birth of their daughter last month. The publicist says there has been no mention of divorce and the split is as “amicable as can possibly be to the extent of any separation.” Later in the day Nikki says, “I still consider her my best friend in the whole world and love and adore her and our children to death, but sometimes people need to take time away to grow. My dream is for us to have a happy healthy future and to watch our amazing children grow.” Nikki is using heroin again.

26/2/01
Former Wildheart’s main-man Ginger says his current band SilverGinger 5 may record their next album for Nikki’s Americoma Records with Nikki at the production helm.

Meanwhile false rumours continue to circulate that Mick Mars decided to leave Mötley in January due to health reasons.

1/3/01
While Mötley Crüe takes a well-earned rest, Vince Neil focuses attention on his solo music as he works with guitarist Brent Woods on songs for a new album, as well as scheduling some shows to begin in six weeks. A rhythm section is still being put together. His previous solo albums Exposed (1993) and Carved in Stone (1996) will be re-issued in Japan with bonus tracks on April 25 through Beyond.

5/3/01
Century Media Records is planning on issuing a full-length CD tentatively titled Violate This that will contain two brand-new Stuck Mojo songs plus numerous B-sides, as well as previously unreleased and rare tracks. This includes their cover version of Mötley’s Shout at the Devil recorded during their Pigwalk sessions in 1996 and featuring lead vocals from Devin Townsend of Strapping Young Lad, who also co-produced that album.

10/3/01
Former Mötley front-man John Corabi marries his girlfriend Layla Dawn, who recently had a Union logo tattooed on her back.

17/3/01
At the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, the Etchells Racing Camaro Z28 driven by Jim Epler in the 2001 NHRA Winston Drag Racing season bears the colours and logos of Mötley Crüe as part of a three-event sponsorship package. Vince says, “I’ve always been a huge fan of drag racing, but to actually have a real-life Mötley Crüe funny car is amazing!” To commemorate the May release of Mötley’s autobiography The Dirt, Racing Champions will be producing a series of highly detailed die-cast replicas of the Mötley Crüe/Matco Tools Camaro – the Mötley Crüe-zer – that will be available soon.

20/3/01
A song titled Tommy Lee is featured on a punk rock album from Norway’s Mensen, released on Gearhead Records. Crüeheads will find the lyrics to the catchy song quite interesting.

25/3/01
The lineup of Vince’s solo band is complete with Union members Brent Fitz on drums and piano, and Jamie Hunting on bass. Ironically, Union came together after John was replaced by Vince in Mötley late 1996, following John’s previous replacement of Vince in 1992. The band is currently rehearsing with more shows being announced. A possible summer tour with Slaughter is being discussed but is still unconfirmed at this time.

27/3/01
Nikki takes time to update fans with the current status of the band and its members, saying the cover of The Dirt will soon be added to the Mötley Crüe-zer drag car, which Vince will watch at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. Nikki says that Tommy’s new songs sound cool as they have more guitars and are better suited to his voice. Mick is working on his solo blues/funk project and Randy Castillo is continuing to recover well from his cancer. Nikki says he has been writing lots of songs and receiving lots of offers to produce other bands, while pushing his Outlaw Girl clothing range to retail stores and searching for a great band for his Americoma Records. He is also spending time with Donna working through their personal issues. He says the band is pumped about the forthcoming release of The Dirt and the 5.1 Live DVD but advises that fans won’t hear new Mötley Crüe music for at least eighteen months.

31/3/01
Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson attend the AIDS benefit event Ribbon of Hope Celebration in Hollywood together, walking in holding hands and refusing to be separated from each other’s company all night. Following their divorce in 1998 after a turbulent three-year marriage, Pamela recently split with Swedish model Marcus Schenkenburg and has since kept her love life out of the spotlight until these public signs of a reignited passion between the couple. Tommy previously said he would never re-unite with her again after she put him in jail for a second time.

1/4/01
Available on store shelves worldwide this first week of April is Tribes 2, the sequel to Tribes that was awarded 1999 Online Action/Strategy Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. The new game features music recorded by Mötley Crüe as well as Crüe Cyborg characters.

5/4/01
Tommy is set to make a guest appearance in a new comedy movie titled The New Guy. Other cameos are expected by Buckcherry’s Joshua Todd, Gene Simmons from Kiss and Henry Rollins.

13/4/01
It seems any romantic reconciliation between Tommy and Pamela is further away, as reports of Kid Rock being seen entwined with Pam at the VH1 Divas Live after-party a couple of days ago begin to be published.

18/4/01
Vince performs the first show of his solo tour at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri.

20/4/01
Tommy says his second Methods of Mayhem album has more of a rock core than his debut album while still being “next-level-sounding stuff.” His publicist says fans can expect some guest appearances, but Tommy declines to name any collaborators on the as-yet-untitled opus that is about a quarter complete. The album is being prepared for a September release after initially hoping to have the album out in time to tour on OzzFest this summer. Work has been delayed because his producer Scott Humphrey is in the studio with Rob Zombie.

24/4/01
This day marks the twentieth anniversary of Mötley Crüe’s first-ever show. Two decades of decadence from the bad boys of rock’n’roll have now passed. Vince plays a solo show at Remington’s Niteclub in Topeka, Kansas while The Scream album Let It Scream is re-issued by Spitfire Records featuring John right before his Mötley Crüe days.

25/4/01
Vince’s previous solo albums Exposed and Carved in Stone are re-issued in Japan with bonus tracks through Beyond.

Tommy testifies at a civil trial in Manhattan’s Federal Court in defense of copyright infringement allegations that he took his Methods of Mayhem band name from a sound effects CD of the same name produced by Swedish company TT Soundgood AB.

27/4/01
Tommy is angered by the lawyers representing him, Universal Music and MCA as they decide to settle with the Swedish CD manufacturer TT Sounds Good AB in a trademark infringement case after the jury deliberates for an hour and a half and reaches a verdict. The last-minute agreement seems to annoy Judge Richard Berman and Tommy only returns to the courtroom after his lawyers plead with him to reappear. The judge makes the jury verdict public record by saying, “The jury finds the defendants not liable” of New York State and federal charges of unfair competition, cyber piracy, and New York State and federal counts of trademark dilution. They would have owed nothing if the lawyers relied on the jury’s verdict. Terms of the settlement are not revealed but Tommy can continue to use the Methods of Mayhem name. If the jury had found in favour of the plaintiff Thomas Tibert of Ulebo Kvarn, Sweden, Tommy would have had to hand over the Methods of Mayhem website and domain name, deliver all Methods of Mayhem merchandise including albums and other items in stores to the “rightful owner” in TT Sounds Good AB, and he would have had to pay either or both compensatory damages and punitive damages. Tibert used the name Methods of Mayhem on a 1995 CD of brief instrument sounds used by musicians as they write new material. Tommy testifies that he used some of Tibert’s sounds to work on demo tapes but said none of the sounds made it onto any of his CDs.

29/4/01
Randy tells Chronological Crue that his body is now free of cancer with one remaining chemotherapy session left. He says he’s practicing every day and promises to be ready for whatever comes his way.

3/5/01
Vince hosts the Ffifth Annual Skylar Neil Memorial Golf Tournament at the Malibu Country Club in California.

Currently touring Europe in Ratt, John will soon front a cover band Angel City Outlaws that will tour upon their return to the U.S. with Ratt band-mates Bobby Blotzer and Robbie Crane (who also used to be in the Vince Neil Band), along with Keri Kelli on guitar.

6/5/01
Nikki says apart from spending more and more time with Donna and his family, he’s been continuing to work with JVC promoting their stereo equipment. Campaign ads featuring Nikki will run in magazines as well as on a forty-by-forty-foot billboard in New York’s Times Square.

9/5/01
Holding his final copy of The Dirt, Nikki says, “I can’t believe it... in my hands under my thumb, grazing my finger tips is 431 pages of my life.” He goes on to say, “I didn’t think it would be so emotional to hold it in my hands (I said that at thirteen too) but it’s a nice way to say thank you to the fans and a better way to say F you to the rest.” In a separate message he also says he is about to go on a vacation for a few days with Donna as the couple plans to make their relationship work, much to the delight of their family. Nikki says, “I can’t wait to move back in... what the hell was wrong with me?”

14/5/01
Vince is to take on the role of label head later this year when he establishes his own label VNS Records, as a means to re-issue his two mid-nineties solo albums Exposed and Carved in Stone and possibly release new albums by himself or others. Vince says, “It’s very humbling that Beyond Music, in conjunction with my label, VNS Records, feels strongly enough to re-issue my work and share it with my fans again. I look forward to a long, formidable relationship between my new label, VNS Records, and Beyond Music.”

19/5/01
Nikki and wife Donna put their home up for sale as they look to make a fresh start and move closer to the city for Donna’s auditions. He also says he has recently talked with Randy about making some music but feels it’s a bit premature for them both.

21/5/01
On Howard Stern’s radio show Tommy says that he was recently back together with Pam for twelve days until he found out about her having sex with Kid Rock in a Las Vegas bathroom. He says Kid Rock, a guest on his first Methods of Mayhem album, phoned him saying how they’re bros but Tommy hung up on him after calling him a moron. Tommy also said that Pam recently called him, crying and asking to get back with him but he told her to go call Kid Rock, feeling that they will never be together again. In true Mötley fashion, Tommy says after being married for eleven years, he’s very single right now and he’s enjoying a harem of non-famous women. He predicts that his next wife will be an unknown.

22/5/01
Mötley Crüe’s autobiographical book The Dirt (Pt.1) - Confessions of The World’s Most Notorious Rock Band is officially released through the Harper Collins imprint Regan Books. The four-hundred-plus-page hardcover book is co-authored by Rolling Stone and New York Times rock journalist Neil Strauss. Nikki and Vince sign copies of The Dirt in store at Virgin Megastore, Times Square, New York in the evening.

23/5/01
Donna D’Errico says over two thousand copies of The Dirt were sold at the in-store appearance in New York last night and as of this past weekend, the book has already gone into its fifth printing after its initial thirty thousand first print. Donna and Nikki recently reconciled their marriage.

31/5/01
Nikki and Mick sign copies of The Dirt in-store at Tower Records in Los Angeles. The book has sold over seventy thousand copies to date.

2/6/01
Tommy and rap star Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs spend the day shopping at Dolce & Gabbana on Rodeo Drive where they buy tailored suits for their appearance together at the 2001 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles later at night. Their friendship came about due to Combs’ management of Lil’ Kim, who was a guest on Tommy’s last Methods of Mayhem album.

6/6/01
JVC unveils their huge new billboard in Times Square, New York, right across the street from ABC Good Morning America, as part of their Ride the Wild Side campaign running through September 30. The billboard will be up for three months and features Nikki and Shaun Palmer, snowboarding and mountain biking world champion and winner of the 2000 ESPY Awards for Extreme Sports.

7/6/01
When asked if there’s going to be some new Mötley Crüe music during an interview, Nikki says, “Absolutely – in two years. We’ll get it together and we’ll get out there and do the big reunion, big bombastic, badass tour from hell.” This adds further speculation to recent rumours that the band is to be working on material for a new studio album with the group’s original line-up, including Tommy.

Prayers are asked for Nikki’s eight-year-old step-son Rhyan D’Errico who is fighting an unidentified illness.

9/6/01
After being introduced through their managers, Tommy guests in the futuristic video Sometimes Wanna Die from the forthcoming Joydrop album on Tommy Boy Records called Viberate. Tommy plays the love interest of singer Tara Slone in which they act out the various emotions talked about in the song, including lust and anger.

10/6/01
Mötley Crüe’s autobiography The Dirt debuts at number eight on the New York Times Bestseller list. The band members are now best-selling authors as the book becomes one of the biggest-selling rock bios of all time. The book is only the third-ever to chart on the New York Times best-seller list after The Beatles Anthology and Aerosmith’s Walk This Way. The Dirt also comes in at number fifteen on the Wall Street Journal’s list.

13/6/01
In an on-air interview on radio station KNAC, Mick says he’s putting together a new unnamed funk-rock side project. With “a bunch of stuff written but nothing in stone,” he confirms former Deep Purple and Black Sabbath vocalist Glenn Hughes and James Kottak from the Scorpions and Krunk are involved in the project. Kottak is also Tommy’s brother-in-law. Promoting The Dirt and the Crüe’s upcoming DVD, Mick also says he has a tough time reading without glasses or a magnifying glass these days and had actually only been able to read small sections of The Dirt. Mick says the band will be gathering soon to begin writing songs for an upcoming album and tour down the track. He says he doesn’t know who will play drums on the material and mentioned he hasn’t spoken to Randy since he began cancer treatment last summer.

On the contrary, Nikki tells Launch the band has lost its legs and is taking a few years off saying, “I think it’s going to take a serious, serious recharging of the batteries because we have been completely sucked dry by our own demise. But right now I have no intention of doing anything Mötley Crüe related musically at all.” He adds, “In a couple of years the songs will come, the energy will come, the band will come back together, and it’s going to be something very spectacular.”

16/6/01
Four-year-old Daniel Karven Veres, son of veteran TV actor and producer James Veres, accidentally drowns at a birthday party at Tommy’s Malibu home, attended by thirty-to-forty people. One of about fifteen children attending the party for his Malibu Seaside pre-school mate Brandon Lee, Daniel is found floating facedown in the shallow end amongst the other children swimming in the pool. Two adults pull him from the water and begin CPR while Tommy frantically calls 911. A six-member fire and paramedic crew arrives at 4:45pm and transport him to Los Robles Medical Center in neighbouring Thousand Oaks, where he’s pronounced dead at 5:55pm. Tommy’s assistant Viggy goes to the hospital to see if he can help in any way. He calls Tommy from the hospital to tell him the bad news.

18/6/01
Tommy’s weekend seven-minute call with a 911 dispatcher is released by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He requested an ambulance, and then stayed on the phone while the dispatcher attempted to determine whether the boy was breathing. Tommy responded with, “He’s not breathing. He’s throwing up but he’s not breathing.” The dispatcher advised he needed to be turned on his left side, before giving CPR instructions for Tommy to relay to those closest. Yesterday’s autopsy showed the boy died from asphyxia by drowning, after police ruled the death was an accident.

19/6/01
Actors James Veres and Ursula Karven, the parents of the boy who drowned during a pool party at Tommy’s home, issue a statement that characterises their child’s death as “inexcusable” and says they have turned the matter over to their lawyers. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is conducting a routine investigation into the boy’s death.

20/6/01
Local news reports that the parents of the drowned boy in Tommy’s pool left their son in the care of his male nanny, who in turn asked a pre-school teacher to watch the child so he could leave to attend the Wango Tango concert at nearby Dodger Stadium featuring performances by Ricky Martin, Will Smith, Britney Spears, UB40 and Blondie. The deceased Daniel Veres is said to have been wearing water-wings earlier in the day to help him stay afloat in the pool, but after the accident he did not have any flotation device on. The reports also say Tommy was questioned at the police station until 2am.

21/6/01
Tommy tells Chronological Crue, “It’s been a rough week here and I’m doing better. Being a father myself, what happened really freaks me out. Gotta stay focused and get back in the studio. Been recording like crazy. Finally have a release date – the new [Methods of Mayhem] CD will be released on October 17.” Upset by this recent tragedy at his home, Tommy records a new vocal track for his song Blue and the emotion pours out. It is kept as the final take.

22/6/01
Christian Weiss, the babysitter supposed to be caring for young Daniel Veres who drowned at Tommy’s house, has reportedly fled the United States and is now in Munich, Germany where his family lives. Weiss apparently left the boy unattended at the party to attend a concert and is now said to be distraught and in fear of legal repercussions, according to sources who know Veres’ mother, German actress Ursula Karven. Karven and her TV producer husband James Karven, who have both worked extensively in German television, had planned to leave California’s show business scene and relocate to Germany in August with Daniel and their eight-year-old son Christophe. A report said Karven had been complaining about Weiss in recent weeks but had not acted on her doubts about his care of Daniel.

1/7/01
John says he’s been busy writing for a solo album that is sounding awesome and he can’t wait for everybody to hear it. Further Ratt dates with John are expected in the future.

2/7/01
Janelle Harris, the twenty-year-old woman who pulled the drowned boy from Tommy’s pool, vows to testify on Tommy’s behalf if a touted $160 million negligence lawsuit against Tommy is filed and the case goes to court. Harris claims the woman who was asked to watch young Daniel Karven by the boy’s male nanny while he attended a concert was walking a dog at the time of the accident. Harris sells her story of the incident to the National Enquirer for $10,000, which disgusts Tommy.

3/7/01
Vince re-issues his two mid-nineties solo albums Exposed and Carved in Stone on his own label VNS Records in conjunction with Beyond Music throughout the U.S.A. The releases don’t contain any bonus tracks.

4/7/01
Currently receiving treatment for his addictions, Nikki spends his Independence Day in a rehab facility in Tuscon, Arizona. He has now been sober for two days. He feels his life is at the lowest point it has ever been and he wants to change it forever, so he vows that no matter what, he will never use drugs again.

11/7/01
The PlayStation 2 game Grand Turismo 3 is released and features Mötley Crüe’s Kickstart My Heart.

17/7/01
Mötley Crüe’s first-ever live concert release on VHS video and DVD hits the streets called Lewd, Crüed & Tattooed. With over seventy five minutes of concert footage filmed in Salt Lake City on July 5 during last year’s Maximum Rock tour supporting the band’s New Tattoo album, the new release also includes almost twenty minutes of bonus never-before-seen footage; including the making of New Tattoo, backstage moments on tour, and the video of Hell on High Heels. DVD bonus extras include a 5.1 audio mix of the show and treats for your computer, as well as the recently-found recording of the Crüe’s first song Nobody Knows What It’s Like To Be Lonely, recorded only seven days after they came together as a band.

18/7/01
On radio station KNAC, original Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby admits to having full-blown AIDS and thus confirming the long-rumoured story that he has been fighting the virus for seven years. Crosby says he got into heroin early in the Ratt career and that is how he acquired AIDS. Crosby says, “Nikki Sixx and I had gotten into the heroin thing together. He was supposed to be the best man at my wedding and he didn’t even come ‘cause there was going to be people drinking and that was when he had just gone through his rehab thing. That really fried my ass.”

19/7/01
Deftones singer Chino Moreno lays down a vocal track at Tommy’s home studio for his next Methods of Mayhem album.

John says the songs he’s been writing for his solo album are in the vein of The Beatles meets Led Zeppelin and Lenny Kravitz. He has met with a few producers who he’d like to work with and they have all expressed interest as well. During his downtime with Ratt and his writing, he wants to put a side acoustic solo band together for shows while he is not touring. John plans to play songs from every album he’s done in the past, including Mötley Crüe, Union, The Scream and also some of the songs on tribute CDs that he’s done. He plans to record the acoustic shows and make the CD recordings available online for fans.

29/7/01
The New York Daily News says Tommy’s new girlfriend is Prince’s protégé and former wife Mayté Jannell Garcia, whose album is currently being produced by Tommy. He’s also bringing her to the upcoming Twentieth Anniversary MTV bash where ex-wife Pamela Anderson and her unconfirmed fiancé Kid Rock are set to attend. Tommy’s production manager Viggy worked for Prince for five or six years and introduced her to Tommy after the MTV Icon show for Janet Jackson, as he was drinking champagne with Jermaine Dupri. A few days later she called Viggy to ask if Tommy would be interested in working on music together, and they soon found themselves becoming friends and partners. She told him she’s never heard of Mötley Crüe but Prince used to play Welcome to Planet Boom all the time and that’s where she’d heard of Tommy. Born on 12 November 1973 of Puerto Rican decent, she began classical ballet and belly-dancing at three years of age and soon appeared on the television show That’s Incredible as the world’s youngest professional belly-dancer when aged eight. Following her dance and background vocalist role with Prince’s New Power Generation, Mayté has directed a dance tour, recorded various CDs and EPs, as well as directed videos for Chaka Khan, Graham Central Station, and the New Power Generation’s single The One, in which she also starred. Tommy now has a print of Mayté’s lips tattooed on the left side of his neck. Mayté means “love” in the Basque region of Spain. She also sings backup vocals on the title track on NSync’s album Celebrity released five days ago.

30/7/01
Tommy attends court in Malibu where Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira feels he is abiding by the terms of his probation for spousal abuse and is steadily working at completing his community service obligation. Tommy has completed his domestic violence counselling and is no longer required to undergo random drug testing. He has logged more than one hundred and fifty four hours so far in eliminating his four-hundred-and-fifty-hour community service obligation and he will donate a drum kit to charity as part of this court-mandated community service. He is ordered back to court on January 4 for another progress report.

1/8/01
Tommy performs live at MTV’s twentieth birthday party at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom in New York with Sum 41 and Rob Halford. They jam on Mötley’s classic track Shout At The Devil and Judas Priest’s You’ve Got Another Thing Coming to kick off the party dubbed MTV20: Live and Almost Legal. Moments before Tommy goes on stage he passes Kid Rock and thanks him for taking up with Pamela Anderson by saying, “If it wasn’t for you, I would have never met her” at which point he picks up new girlfriend Mayté and kisses her on the lips before bounding on stage.

23/8/01
John’s post-Mötley band Union is set to play their first concert this year when they perform a one-off show at El Teatro in Buenos Aires on October 19. It will be the band’s second appearance in Argentina, following the group’s two triumphant shows back in December 1999.

26/8/01
Vince’s touring bassist Jamie Hunting reportedly quits his role after an altercation with Vince. Former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan replaces him effective immediately. Phil was the original bassist for the Vince Neil Band and co-wrote most of the songs on Vince’s first solo album Exposed.

28/8/01
During an online interview, when asked if he would you rejoin Mötley Crüe if they called him, John says, “Not as a singer. I might do a re-union tour as a five-piece if the money was right and Tommy was involved; AND maybe as a break in the set for Vince I could sing a couple of songs, but that’s it! I’m too busy working on my own stuff for a change.”

29/8/01
Vince’s wife of fifteen months Heidi Mark files a petition for divorce in the Los Angeles Superior Court citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. She is seeking spousal support, to be determined after the assets are reviewed. Vince has been seen with a variety of different women on his summer tour and the final straw came when Heidi found a Palm-Pilot with fifty girls’ names, cities and sexual comments.

2/9/01
Tommy is the Grand Master Pimp as host of Club Rubber’s annual Pimp N Ho Party at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

4/9/01
Vince’s estranged wife Heidi Mark attends the star-studded Rock Star premiere in Los Angeles for the Warner Bros movie that she has a part in. An after-party is held at the House of Blues where Randy is among those attending. The film’s star Mark Wahlberg says he loved reading The Dirt recently and he also spent a lot of time with Vince and another member of the Crüe on the set while making the movie.

6/9/01
During the MTV Video Music Awards, Mötley Crüe’s Girls, Girls, Girls is played as Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore and girl-group Dream walk on stage to present an award. Tommy’s girlfriend Mayté teaches Britney Spears some bellydancing moves for her performance on the night.

The Methods of Mayhem song Hypocritical is featured in the Playstation videogame Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 that is released today, along with other tracks by The Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Sum 41, Godsmack and Rage Against The Machine.

9/9/01
Jamie Hunting is back in the Vince Neil Band following a recent argument stemming from Hunting’s unfulfilled request for a bass tech, which escalated and resulted in him being sent off the tour. After Phil Soussan filled-in for three shows and Vince and Jamie had a chance to cool-off and make up, he was asked to return to the band.

11/9/01
Mötley Crüe management advises that all band members and their families are safe and fine, following the New York terror strikes and they thank fans for their concern. Randy provides Chronological Crue with the following statement when contacted to see if he was safe and if he had any comments: “Yeah Paul, I’m doin’ fine. I’m just sad for the state of mankind in this world; so much waste of innocent lives... so sad. But angry as hell too and anger needs revenge and justice for the evil that was brought on innocent men, women & children... God help us.”

18/9/01
Nikki’s eighteen-month unsupervised probation period ends, which stemmed from his charges arising from the Greensboro Mötley Crüe concert on 30 October 1997.

3/10/01
For his birthday, Tommy skydives from an aeroplane for the first time in his life, along with girlfriend Mayté. Their jump commences at twelve thousand feet. Tommy chooses Kickstart My Heart from their selection as the song to be played in the plane prior to his leap.

5/10/01
Nikki attends the first annual Massachusetts Tattoo Festival at the Worcester Centrum Centre making appearances over the weekend at JVC Mobile Entertainment’s multimedia complex. He also presents some of the awards in the tattoo competitions. His wife Donna gets tattooed on her lower back by visiting Japanese artist Miazo with a design that includes the kanji symbol for endure.

8/10/01
In an interview with Metal Sludge, Nikki provides some updates for fans while taking a mental break from twenty years of Mötley. He’s been spending the first quality time with his family in years, as relations with wife Donna heal after their separation at the start of the year, following Nikki’s cheating on her while pregnant with daughter Frankie. He says about three hundred thousand copies of The Dirt have now been sold and they are negotiating licensing deals covering the world, but sees it will still be eighteen months yet before Mötley actually records a new album. As to who will play drums on the album is still a topic for speculation as he says that nobody is really the current drummer. Nikki last spoke with Tommy a couple of days ago after Tommy’s father David Bass passed away at home from multiple myeloma cancers during the week of September 11. He spoke with Vince the day before, when Vince called for Tommy’s phone number. His Americoma Records label is also re-structuring to gain greater reach to audiences by moving to a major label. Talks have commenced and he is expecting a re-launch in the next few months.

21/10/01
During the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood is played as Jim Carrey accepts his award for Best Male Style, presented by Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones.

25/10/01
In Argentina for solo concerts over the next two nights, Vince holds a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buenos Aires, where he stays. He is then interviewed on Much Music Argentina and asked what happened with Mötley Crüe. As an exclusive for the Argentinean fans, Vince says he will begin writing new songs with Nikki and Mick next March for a new studio album to be recorded with Tommy. After a Christmas 2002 album release, the original re-united band is planning to head-out on a world tour early in 2003.

Nikki later responds by saying there’s no truth to it and nobody has agreed or even had talks about it yet. He says he is busy writing songs with no destination in mind. Fans recall that Nikki previously claimed he had no idea what Vince was talking about back on 10 July 1996 when Vince said on Canadian TV that he’s been talking with Nikki about an album and a tour. It was not until the end of that November that the picture became clearer, leading up to the band’s reunion at the American Music Awards another two months later. Tommy also tells Chronological Crue that it is just drunken talk from Vince.

27/10/01
Tommy says the first single and video from his second Methods of Mayhem CD should be released late in February with the full release following in March, now that the record is finally done. The album was recorded in Tommy’s home studio and is said to be heavier than his first, and with a lesser amount of guest stars. It will be called Never A Dull Moment.

29/10/01
In an Internet post titled Every Scar Tells a Story, Nikki says, “Strip back down to the skeleton that you really are” is the opening line to a new song.

31/10/01
Machine Head performs a Halloween show as Ten Ton Hammer to a capacity crowd at the Pound in San Francisco, dressed as Mötley Crüe from the Shout at the Devil era. They open the performance with that song and also play Live Wire later in the set. Several Machine Head classics are also played among further covers from Judas Priest, Sepultura, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath.

1/11/01
Pamela Anderson files a motion to change the current joint-custody agreement she has with her former husband Tommy as she seeks full legal custody of their two young boys. The fifteen-page petition details several incidents as her reasons for wanting full custody and claims Tommy is a bad role model for their children and that he has a lack of parenting skills and good judgment in his life that revolves around alcohol. Pamela’s petition asks the court to order Tommy to participate in a six-month parenting class, a six-month anger management course, and have a psychiatric evaluation. It also seeks to stop him from using any derogatory language about her and new boyfriend, bad-ass rap rocker Kid Rock. Tommy would have monitored visitation and be required to attend parenting classes should the motion proceed. Tommy requests that the court increases his time with his children and his attorney says Pam’s claims are vehemently denied and says the truth will come out in due course.

5/11/01
After recovering from his health set backs, Randy prepared himself over summer to tour with Ozzy Osbourne, only to not hear back from the Ozzy camp about a month before the tour was to begin. He begins a new heavy band, working and writing with former Alice in Chains member Mike Inez, who also previously played with Randy in Ozzy’s band. Un-named as yet, the band has about five tracks written and recorded, minus vocals.

12/11/01
Nikki says that due to the success of The Dirt, of which paperback deals with foreign countries are currently being negotiated, they are now having meetings with major movie companies and directors about turning it into a movie. A lot of up-tempo heavy metal and rock’n’roll songs have been penned by Nikki lately. He’s also been writing some tracks with New Tattoo collaborator James Michael for his sophomore album. Nikki’s Americoma Records scales down its operations as too much focus on Mötley remains for him to dedicate enough to the label. This re-focusing is also the case with his and wife Donna’s interest in Outlaw Clothing, as they end their involvement with the company. Donna is preparing to open a health spa facility called DK Renu, which will be built-in with a new line of ladies audio equipment from JVC, thanks to an increasing relationship with the audio giant.

13/11/01
Rob Zombie’s second solo album The Sinister Urge is released as the follow-up to his 1998 Hellbilly Deluxe. The new Geffen Records album includes guest appearances from Tommy, Beastie Boy’s MixMaster Mike, and Ozzy Osbourne on track five titled Iron Head. Slayer’s Kerry King and Limp Bizkit’s DJ Lethal also guest on the album.

16/11/01
While working on a song called Vibrator, Nikki says the Mötley movie will be a major big-screen production and not a TV movie. He feels they will push the R to X rating boundary as much as they can as the film needs to capture the true essence of Mötley Crüe.

17/11/01
Vince attends the grand opening of the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas where he parties with Dennis Rodman in the casino owned and operated by George Maloof.

4/12/01
At the My VH1 Music Awards where he introduces Mary J. Blige before jumping into the crowd, Tommy says his second Methods of Mayhem album is now set for release on May 21 next year, preceded by a single and video in March. The final name of the album with the working title Never A Dull Moment is yet to be decided, but it may be opened up to fans as a contest. The first single and final album track listing are also yet to be decided but Tommy feels a track called Blue that features the singer and guitarist from Incubus will make the final cut. Other collaborations include a track with Cypress Hill rapper B-Real, another with Beastie Boy’s MixMaster Mike, and a remake of David Bowie’s song Fame with turntablist DJ Z-Trip, which may get a remix treatment from Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs.

6/12/01
Nikki writes a new song called Pretty Good Day To Be Alive before heading off to the Fashion For Freedom event where wife Donna struts the catwalk.

18/12/01
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lee Smalley Edmon denies a request by Pamela Anderson requiring former husband Tommy to be monitored while visiting his two sons, seeing no evidence that any protection of the children is required. When rebuffed, her lawyers request that the kids’ full-time nanny be required to monitor Tommy at least until he completes about nine weeks of psychological testing, but Tommy’s lawyers refuse the request. Pam tells the Judge that Tommy is highly unstable and presents a danger to himself and others especially when he drinks alcohol, but Tommy denies the accusations saying he has been sober for two years. In the end, Judge Edmon orders Tommy to keep the kids off his motorcycle until further notice and admonishes both of them against insulting each other in front of the children. The next hearing of Pam’s challenge for full custody is set for March 19 next year. After the hearing, Tommy says he thinks the ruling was fair, while Pam defends her actions against him saying, “I’m just acting like any other mother. I will protect my children until my last day and my last dollar.”

30/12/01
John will be contributing his lead vocal talents to the forthcoming Twenty 4 Seven side project release from his fellow Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer, who will be playing rhythm and acoustic guitars, as well as bass and drums. Former Iron Horse member Robert Marcello is set to play lead guitar on the songs.

On with the show