Guitarist Mick Mars opened up about his ongoing battle with degenerative disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS), during a new conversation with Chris Akin Presents:
“When I see myself, especially on the past couple of years, like the (Motley Crue) farewell (tour in 2015) and ‘The Stadium Tour’ that just happened and I see myself on film, I absolutely am not digging it at all. I don’t like the way I look. I don’t like the way I can’t move.
”I was like, I can look down on my guitar, but I can’t bend my head to see, so I have to look down. And when I walk on stage, it looks like a praying mantis with a guitar or something. It’s kind of messed up. It’s hard for me to look at myself that way ’cause I don’t feel that way. But I see it. […]
“My brain’s as sharp as ever. These new ideas this is a weird way to explain it. My brain, my mind, my ideas are expanding beyond what I figured, but it’s still my idea, my creativity. The stuff is growing as a solo artist.
”And I’m not in this shell confined to one type of (sound). This stuff, if it was any different, wouldn’t sound right. I can do anything I want, take it where I want. And if people are digging it, I’m loving it. And if they’re not, it’s okay too, because that’s what’s in my mind.”