At the time it was punk-like, it was like Motörhead
Stone Gossard once let us browse through iTunes collection on his iPhone during an interview after we asked him what his guiltiest musical pleasure was. We can confirm it was an extremely eclectic list of songs, so his latest admission regarding Mötley Crüe doesn't surprise us too much – but its timing is impeccable.
The Seattle icons' Eddie Vedder rustled Crüe bassist and songwriter Nikki Sixx's feathers recently when he recounted that he 'despised' the band's music – namely their song Girls, Girls, Girls – back in his pre-grunge days when he was earning money loading gear at a San Diego club venue. But it seems a young Stone Gossard was far more accepting of the band, in their early era at least.
"For sure Jeff [Ament], Mike [McCready] and I loved hard rock and went through it all," admits Gossard in a new Fan First interview on his musical influences with Revolver above. "I bought the first Mötley Crüe Leathür Records [Too Fast For Love album]. At the time it was punk-like, it was like Motörhead – there were things about it that I was discovering about British hard rock at that time that felt also rebellious, or against the norm, or something that made me interested in it."
Who doesn't like Live Wire? The interview has a lot more insight on Gossard's influences too, including the impact true alternative rock trailblazers Jane's Addiction had on his life.
"Jane's Addiction – fucking hell, changed my life," marvels the former Mother Love Bone guitarist. "It wasn't about humility, it was about crazy outsider circus freakout. Which I love too. I love that. I'm like, where is the next Jane's Addiction right now? Beyond thunderous rhythm, but organic… it's not programmed. There's nothing about it that's to a clicktrack."
"[Perry Farrell] showed the path that you could be s singer in a lot of different ways. There's lots of ways to impart rhythm and lyric and deliver that in a way that's totally real and nobody will ever question as to whether you're a good singer or not. They're jumping up and down – they don't need it."
“It didn’t even represent what we were doing. Even the guitar solo has no business being in that song”: Gwen Stefani on the No Doubt song that “changed everything” after it became their biggest hit
"There was water dripping onto the gear and we got interrupted by a cave diver": How Mandy, Indiana recorded their debut album in caves, crypts and shopping malls
“It didn’t even represent what we were doing. Even the guitar solo has no business being in that song”: Gwen Stefani on the No Doubt song that “changed everything” after it became their biggest hit
"There was water dripping onto the gear and we got interrupted by a cave diver": How Mandy, Indiana recorded their debut album in caves, crypts and shopping malls
