During an interview with Brazilian entrepreneur Paulo Baron and music critic Regis Tadeu, bassist Nikki Sixx was asked about Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder comments regarding Motley Crue.
Here’s what he said:
“I’m not trying to be the guy that wrote [the Crue song] ‘B*stard’ [from 1983’s ”Shout At The Devil” album], ’cause I’m not the guy that wrote ‘B*stard’. I wrote that song about somebody that ripped us off. I am the guy that if you f*ck with me, I will f*ck with you back. And that’s what that song is about. You take a swipe at my band; I’ll take a swipe at your band. You try to hurt my family, which is my band; I will try to hurt you. That’s not something to be proud about. [Laughs]
“We’ve never been afraid to embrace music changing because that’s the whole idea behind the music. If you listen to ‘Too Fast For Love’ and then you listen to ‘The Dirt’, you’re, like, ‘Well, it’s the same band, but it has grown.’ So we never had a problem with that. […]
“My only thing is, you wanna take a crack at my band, I’m probably gonna say something back. But what I don’t understand is why’s the guy even talking about my band? He’s a successful guy.
“Listen, let’s face it: the guy flies around in private jets; he lives in a mansion in a gated community; he sells out stadiums, and then he dresses at the thrift store and tries to pretend some guy in the ’90s. Don’t take a swipe at my band, dude. I mean, I’m at least being honest.”