Why Steve Stevens Left Vince Neil’s Band: Exclusive Interview

Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens says taking part in on Vince Neil’s first post-Motley Crue report was “a blast,” however the grunge revolution triggered him to reevaluate the gig.

Stevens loved the highlight within the mid-’80s, taking part in on Idol’s double-platinum Insurgent Yell and its platinum follow-up Whiplash Smile. He additionally guested on Michael Jackson’s “Soiled Diana” and gained a Grammy for his efficiency on 1986’s “Prime Gun Anthem.” The great occasions stored rolling when he joined Neil’s solo band.

“I had a blast. It was a celebration. You realize, it was every little thing you’d count on Vince Neil in 1990-91 to be,” Stevens tells UCR. The ensuing album, 1993’s Uncovered, additionally served as a departure from the “economical” guitar solos he had tracked on Idol songs. “So [on a] Billy Idol report, songs usually have eight bars for the guitar solo,” he explains.

“We’re within the studio engaged on Vince’s factor. It is eight bars. ‘Make it longer.’ Oh, OK. Sixteen bars for guitars. ‘No, make it longer.’ Thirty-two bars for guitars, 64 bars for the guitar solo. Which was nice. ‘Make it heavier, louder, sooner!'”

Take heed to Vince Neil’s ‘Sister of Ache’ That includes Steve Stevens

Whereas Stevens was feeling extra musical freedom on Uncovered, the music trade appeared laser-focused on the grunge motion that was taking the rock world by storm. The change was instantly evident following a profitable tour opening for Van Halen. “Being out on the highway with Van Halen was simply implausible,” Stevens says. “Did not matter what was happening; Van Halen are large. They supersede all that stuff. They’re Van Halen. However instantly after that tour, it turned obvious that the tide had modified, and the entire type of Seattle sound was now turning into the subsequent factor.”

The guitarist was not significantly shocked or bothered by the grunge revolution. As an alternative, he took it as a cue to strive one thing new. “You realize, issues are cyclical anyway. And it enabled me to go do [something different],” he says. “I stated, ‘OK, I am gonna do a flamenco report, return to, actually, my roots of the place I began initially on the guitar.’ So all that stuff, it is all wholesome, and music has to evolve and alter.”

Stevens launched his sophomore solo album, Flamenco a Go-Go, in 2000, recording the principally instrumental LP in his dwelling studio with a Spanish guitar. The album additionally options different atypical devices for a flamenco report, together with electrical guitars, drums and bass loops. Stevens’ love for flamenco guitar persists to this present day, and in January, he collaborated with the String Revolution quartet on a flamenco rendition of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Loopy Prepare.”

Different bands, reminiscent of Motley Crue, additionally noticed the grunge motion as a chance to strive one thing new. “I welcomed that with the largest open arms on the planet,” Crue drummer Tommy Lee instructed Apple Music in 2020. “I used to be like, ‘Sure, any person’s fucking stirring it up.’ Every thing was simply sounding the identical.” The band explored extra critical sounds and subjects on its self-titled 1994 album with new singer John Corabi. Though it wasn’t as commercially profitable as earlier information, Motley Crue continues to be thought-about a artistic spotlight by many followers and sure band members.

Stevens and Idol will hit the highway this spring and summer time for a run of dates within the U.S. and Europe, together with a U.Okay. tour with the Go-Go’s in June. The guitarist additionally tells UCR that Idol has completed a follow-up EP to final yr’s The Roadside, which he predicts will come out this summer time. “It is heavy,” he guarantees. “You realize, we needed it to be private and intimate on the primary go-round, however this one is large and heavy and the opposite facet of the coin.”