Las Vegas Weekly

September 16, 2009 · 1:36 PM

Vince Neil discusses 30 years with Motley Crue, Crue Fest and Ink

By Robin Leach

Vince Neil at the opening of his tattoo parlor Vince Neil Ink in The Rio.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

At the opening of his second Vince Neil Ink tattoo parlor, the Motley Crue frontman told me exclusively that he already has plans to open another 20 across the country. “That will make me a tattoo mogul,” Vince laughed. “I’m not quite sure what it will all mean, but I hope so.”

Vince said he will pair them with his Dr. Feelgood’s Rock Bar & Grill restaurant and music venues as he rolls out the expansion plans. The new Ink salon at The Rio follows the success of his debut tattoo parlor between O’Sheas and the Flamingo.

He told me: “This one here at The Rio is three times larger than the first one at O’Sheas. It turned out the way I wanted, and the fact there’s people here, it’s exactly what we wanted. People say it has an interesting feel to it, it is almost like a tattoo and motorcycle rock museum, and it is bigger than O’Shea’s. This used to be the hotel’s games arcade, full of pinball machines and stuff. I like everything we did to it with the artwork and motorcycles. It’s a first-class place.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabik.com

Motley Crue at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel.

“I want to pair them up with Feelgood’s around the country. It’s all set for us to open up about 20 of them. We will do five next year, and then eight a year for the following two years. Then we’ll see about adding even more so the chain is coast to coast! Our next two where we’ll start are San Diego and Phoenix. We already have a great site locked for New York City in Manhattan. Then we roll out to Chicago, Columbus and Austin.”

I joked with Vince if he was preparing for the day when the rockers retired and he wouldn’t be able to do another Crue Fest! He laughed back at me: “I’ll always be able to sing and do that, but this retail business is one more creative thing to do, something for me to be able to say let’s make something from nothing. Let’s go and keep going! That is what I am trying to do.

“Our new Dr. Feelgood’s here in Vegas is now our flagship. It turned out beautifully, and it is now going to be the one that when we build the others, Vegas is the mold. They will all resemble it one way or another.”

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

Vince Neil performs with his Vince Neil Band at The Rio.

We also talked about his current Crue Fest 2 tour. “That officially ends in May 2010,” he said. “We have to go back to Europe, bring Crue Fest back to Europe through the arenas, have to finish Canada, go to Australia, then in the spring of 2010, we will start work on another record, release it early 2011, and Crue Fest 3 will get underway as we celebrate Motley Crue’s 30th anniversary.

“I don’t even feel as old as it all sounds. I don’t even feel as old as I am. Rock and roll keeps me young. I have been doing this almost every night of my life. Even though I complain it’s something like Groundhog Day, you can’t ask for a better job … going out and playing in front of 20,000 to 30,000 people every day. The contract is set for us to continue through 2018! That’s when I’ll probably feel old!

“It’s all going well. No fighting, and the voice is still going strong. I’ve never had a problem with my voice ever. It is a weird thing. We are playing two hours per night. I don’t even have to warm up. There’s no real breaks in between all the cities; it’s a five-day-a-week job. But I did get 10 days off this time to be back home in Vegas and open this new Vince Neil Ink. I’m also going to fulfill a dream and sing ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ with our friends Zowie Bowie at their new Monte Carlo show.

“I just like the song, and even though one doesn’t think of a rock and roller doing Sinatra, you should hear me in the shower!”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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