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Rolling into today's Super Bowl festivities where they'll be featured in the KIA Optima commercial airing during the third quarter, the world's most notorious band has taken the world's most notorious city by storm. MÖTLEY CRÜE — vocalist Vince Neil, guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee — launched Las Vegas' first-ever hard rock residency with "Mötley Crüe In Sin City" at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with the first two rapturously received sold-out shows.

The "Mötley Crüe In Sin City" experience got underway this weekend on Friday, February 3 — also declared "Mötley Crüe Day" by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman — as The Joint transformed into a rock 'n roll carnival extravaganza bringing in elements of MÖTLEY CRÜE's arena show, including Tommy Lee's 360 drum coaster and the biggest lighting and sound production ever brought into The Joint, including their over the top signature pyrotechnics which fittingly incorporated a Vegas feel. The shows are produced and promoted by AEG Live.

From costuming — which included Vince Neil's illuminated poker-hand belt buckle and rogue carnival styled seat ushers -- to showgirl dancers, female aerialists, little people, macabre clowns and stilt walkers, each element dazzled the eye throughout. In addition to MÖTLEY's high-octane numbers, which included "Kickstart My Heart", "Shout At the Devil", "Saints Of Los Angeles", "Same Old Situation" and "Girls, Girls, Girls", the band also dedicated a portion of the show to an acoustic performance. High above the audience on a floating circular platform, they performed stunning renditions of "Without You", "On With the Show" and "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)". Other songs in the set included rare live gems "Piece Of Your Action" and "Afraid", which haven't been performed live in over 10 years.

On Saturday night (February 4), MÖTLEY was joined by their friend Jacoby Shaddix of PAPA ROACH who jumped on stage for "Smokin' In the Boys Room". Rumor has it that there will be more guests jamming with MÖTLEY CRÜE throughout the residency.

"The 'Mötley Crüe In Sin City' residency transformed the town, not only the Hard Rock Hotel," states Paul Davis, Vice President of Entertainment, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. "It's never been done like this before." Billboards on the world-famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles and the 15 Interstate upon entering Vegas beckoned fans to the Hard Rock. Upon entering the casino lobby, Vince Neil's custom 1932 Ford Coupe hot rod was displayed and poker players found themselves gaming on MÖTLEY CRÜE-branded tables. Even maid service signs for hotel guest rooms indicated cleanup for "Home Sweet Home".

Tonight, Sunday, February 5, the quartet returns for the third night of the run which lasts through February 19. Leading up to it, fans can experience their current KIA automotive TV commercial during the third quarter of the Super Bowl. The 60-second spot, titled "Drive The Dream", stars Vince, Mick, Nikki and Tommy in a race car dream sequence performing their 1989 smash hit "Kickstart My Heart". Victoria's Secret Angel Adriana Lima, mixed martial arts legend Chuck Liddell and champion bull rider Judd Leffew are also featured in the commercial.

Don't miss "Mötley Crüe In Sin City" at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas now through February 19:

* Wednesday, February 8
* Friday, February 10
* Saturday, February 11
* Sunday, February 12
* Tuesday, February 14
* Wednesday, February 15
* Friday, February 17
* Saturday, February 18
* Sunday, February 19

Tickets, starting at $45 (plus applicable service fees) are available at the Hard Rock box office.

ARTISTdirect.com editor Rick Florino recently conducted an interview with MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

ARTISTdirect.com: So how do you up the ante every night with the Las Vegas residency?

Mars: The more we do the show, the tighter and better it gets. You find little things and say, "Oh, this doesn't work. Let's tighten that up and do it this way instead of that way." We fix the little odd events that go wrong. Something might get stuck in the ceiling, and we watch out for that next time [Laughs]. It's real!

ARTISTdirect.com: Has MÖTLEY CRÜE always had a connection to Las Vegas?

Mars: Vince Neil lives here. We play here quite a bit. As far as gambling and all of that, I'm pretty much done. I stopped a long time ago when I lost a few thousand bucks or a little more [Laughs]. It's a cool city. There's so much amazing stuff going on. I remember this place way back in the late '50s and early '60s. I'd come here when I was a kid. I think the brightest lights I saw on the Strip came from the Flamingo Hotel. When I lived in Indiana, we drove out here and went through Las Vegas. We'd ride over the Hoover Dam. It was such a naïve kid, I wished there was snow on it so I could sled down it [Laughs].

ARTISTdirect.com: Does the setlist change nightly?

Mars: It stays steady. There may be some weird things that happen nightly. As far as the music goes, we play it in order. We play the hits and the "near misses" as Joe Walsh would say [Laughs]. Off the new album, there's a song or two. From the first album, we play "Too Fast For Love" and "Piece Of Your Action". We play "Afraid" from "Generation Swine" and things like that. We try to change it up some. However, if you've been to enough concerts, you'd get disappointed if AEROSMITH didn't play "Walk This Way". We've got the songs in there you want to hear.

ARTISTdirect.com: Have you started working on the next record?

Mars: Not yet, but we do have quite a few ideas. I work on my own at home. Nikki [Sixx, bass] does. Tommy [Lee, drums] does. Nikki will call me up and say, "Hey, I've got a great riff". I'll go, "Okay, send it over!" Tommy's the same way. Sometimes, we'll do some goofing around during soundcheck. Mostly, we put a lot into pre-production, adding different elements to the show. I have my riffs. I've got them all recorded. I have stacks of them on my Pro Tools. When tape was happening, I had stacks of tapes. I've got probably a thousand songs that we could work from. I'm sure Nikki does as well. Nowadays, it's easy because we can send a hard drive back and forth.

Read the entire interview from ARTISTdirect.com.

MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee was interviewed for the cover story in the March 2012 issue of U.K.'s "best-selling drum magazine" Rhythm.

In addition to his touring and recording obligations with the CRÜE, Lee continues to make appearances around the world with his dance-music partner DJ Aero. He also founded the rap-metal band METHODS OF MAYHEM in the 1990s and has pursued other solo musical projects.

When asked if he still loves loves drumming, Lee said, "I do, I still love it! But it's not my only thing. It's weird because whereas early on it was my main thing, then I taught myself guitar and I love to sing. Then I started singing background vocals with MÖTLEY and then I was singing all the time and people would say, 'Hey, man, your voice sounds really good,' the I'd sing demos for MÖTLEY and bring them in and Vince [Neil, vocals] would sing on the track. I'm constantly evolving as a musician. Drums isn't my one thing anymore. I love to produce. I love to make tracks, write tracks, produce tracks and I can't just sit back as a drummer anymore, I have to have my hands on it and say, 'The guitar should sound like this, the bass should sound like this, this is how the drums should sound, the vocals would be really cool like this, this melody is not so good, let's try this.' I just have to touch all of it now. I just know too much!"

Nikki Sixx — founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX: A.M., "Sixx Sense" radio host, recovering addict and author of two New York Times bestselling books — appeared on "Piers Morgan Tonight" last night to share his point of view on Whitney Houston's tragic death. Immediately after hearing of the pop legend's passing, Sixx took to Twitter and stated, "You know what's scummy about the music industry? Everybody all of a sudden loves you when you’re dead." The tweet sparked media attention, and led to Sixx's appearance on the show.

As a rock icon who has been in the business for over 30 years, Sixx spoke out; citing flaws in the industry that are all too often left unsaid. He told host Piers Morgan, "We have a long list of artists who fall prey to enablers. I was hoping people would be saying 'we tried…we stood beside her,' and instead I'm hearing people just stood by and let her be an addict." Sixx is very passionate about sharing this point of view and continued, "We need to educate young artists to not fall victim [to handlers, agents, road mamagers, lawyers, etc. who continue to enable addicts in fear of losing their own revenue stream]."

Speaking about physicians who cater to celebrity clients and end up being caught prescribing things inappropriately, Sixx said, "How does nobody get caught doing this? I don't have experience in that field, but I imagine if you're getting different prescriptions filled from different doctors, there have to be some checks and balances somewhere."

He also weighed in on the way celebrities can use employees and hangers-on to acquire drugs. Sixx asked, "Where does the fault lie? Is it with the artist?" He added, "I had to find the courage to turn my life around, but it took a minute for me to wake up and realize I was just a slave to the system. I was being put out there to work for months and months and months, because everybody gets paid again on the gross."

After the show aired, Sixx wrote on Facebook, "Amazing and honest interview on 'Piers' yonight! Thanks for calling out all the enablers. Hopefully soon the enablers will be held accountable and this madness stops. I personally am tired and sickened of losing these very talented people."

While having all the rock star riches and luxuries, Sixx told Sun Media that he once had a $5,000-a-day drug habit, one that is vividly chronicled in his 2007 memoir, "The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star".

"That's how I communicated," Sixx said. "I had to or I would go crazy and even as I was going crazy I had to write it down to see if what I was seeing and hearing and feeling was real.

"Cocaine was really the biggest downfall. Heroin you can maintain, sadly, but cocaine you start getting into the amounts of freebasing and mainlining you go into a whole other world of insanity."

Nikki Sixx is a recovering addict and been sober for adecade and counting. In his two New York Times bestsellers, (2008's "The Heroin Diaries" and 2010's "This Is Gonna Hurt"), Sixx has been candid about his experience with drugs and alcohol addiction in hopes that it will help others see see recovery is possible. In 2008, Sixx teamed with Congress to speak on Capitol Hill as part of National Recovery Month. He continues to speak out about hard-hitting issues on his national radio show "Sixx Sense", syndicated via Premiere Radio Networks to over 100 stations.

"American Idol" finalist James Durbin will release his debut solo album "Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster", on November 21 via Wind-Up Records. The includes a guest appearance by Mick Mars of MÖTLEY CRÜE, as well contributions from songwriters James Michael (SIXX: A.M., MÖTLEY CRÜE) and Marti Frederiksen (AEROSMITH, BUCKCHERRY, OZZY OSBOURNE), along with Swedish rock band HARDCORE SUPERSTAR.

When asked by Artisan News (see video below) how the Mars collaboration came out, Durbin said, "Mick Mars actually reached out to us. I had met him at the MÖTLEY CRÜE show at the Hollywood Bowl when MÖTLEY played and NEW YORK DOLLS and POISON opened and I got to go back and meet Mick Mars. And when we were making the record, Mick Mars reached out and wanted to play on the record. [I was like] 'Wow. You want to play on the record? We don't need to ask you? You actually want to? Whoa! No freakin' way!'"

Durbin, who co-wrote five of the albums tracks, previously said that it was "surreal" to be working with this bevy of rock royalty and recalled, "When Mick Mars started shredding on his guitar I literally lost my mind." The long-time MÖTLEY CRÜE fan continued, saying, "He's a true rock legend and he's playing on my record. It doesn't get any cooler than that." Mick Mars concurred, "It was sick to have played on James' debut album. To be the only featured guest artist on the record was really cool as I know a lot of others wanted to be on it. James Durbin kicks ass; he's the real deal."

22-year-old Durbin was guided throughout the making of "Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster" by leading rock producer, Howard Benson. Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, DAUGHTRY, MOTÖRHEAD) gives Durbin room to evolve musically on the hard-hitting album, saying the opportunity to work with Durbin was "pretty simple: I loved his voice. I think he has a compelling story to tell." Benson, who kept his eye on Durbin throughout 'Idol' thought, "It was interesting that he spoke his mind and didn't back down from who he was. That's always a good sign."

On "American Idol", James Durbin waved the flag for rock and it was that devotion to rock that helped him overcome his private struggles with tourette's and Asperger's Syndrome. He touched the hearts of people everywhere while on the show, and with the release of "Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster" he is ready to wave that flag high again.

"Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster" track listing:

01. Higher Than Heaven
02. All I Want
03. Love In Ruins
05. Right Behind You
06. Love Me Bad
07. Deeper
08. May
09. Screaming
10. Outcast - feat. Mick Mars
11. Everything Burns
12. Stand Up

MÖTLEY CRÜE recently became the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The CRÜE will play a three-week series of four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting on February 3 and running through February 19.

In a brand new posting on his Twitter profile, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx wrote, "We're looking for an angry midget for our Vegas shows and was thinking of using the singer from GODSMACK."

Sixx's comments were undoubtedly fueled by his ongoing war of words with GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna reportedly wrote the band's song "Cryin' Like A Bitch" about Sixx after the two musicians clashed during the 2009 Crüe Fest 2 tour, on which GODSMACK was a support act and CRÜE was the headliner.

When asked directly if the track was written about Sixx, Erna told Albany, New York's Q103 radio station, "It's very difficult for me to restrain myself from answering that question because as honest as I'd like to be, the other side of me doesn't want to give anybody the extra exposure, even if it's negative. So, I'm just gonna plead the fifth."

Back in May, Sixx had the following to say regarding Erna's complaints about how GODSMACK was treated on the Crüe Fest 2 tour, "Every person — from road crew, fans and even all the bands on the tour (including [Sully's] band) — was so happy, but [Erna] just seems to be crying like a bitch," Sixx replied. "Funny, even his manager told me he's an asshole... Maybe the problem is just in HIS head... I got no problem with him."

Erna admitted in a webisode for the band's fifth studio album, "The Oracle", that "Cryin' Like A Bitch" was inspired by events of Crüe Fest 2. Sully told Artisan News Service at the time, "There's definitely been some rock-star garbage on this tour that we just have never seen in our career . . . this was the first time that I felt like, 'You know what?! If there's gonna be some people that are gonna treat other people a certain way, then I'm gonna go out there every night and . . . make sure that we make you look old and fat, and go home with a nice big fat paycheck."

Samples of some of the lyrics on "Cryin' Like A Bitch" include lines like: "Strut on by like a king/Telling everybody they know nothing/Long lived what you thought you were/Time ain't on your side anymore"

Speaking to Tricia Weight (a.k.a. A Geek Girl) of "Interviews From The Edge" during last year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin stated about the inspiration for "Cryin' Like A Bitch", "Several things actually happened [during that tour], honestly. You know, the rest of the band... we get along great with [other MÖTLEY CRÜE members] Mick Mars, Tommy Lee. I got along great with Nikki Sixx. In fact, he had called me over to catering one time and said would I like to play with his SIXX: A.M. [side project], on the record. And I was like, 'Yeah!' But then this was, like, three weeks into the tour, and then four weeks later, him and Sully had this clash. And it stemmed from [MÖTLEY CRÜE's] security, I think, more than Nikki, but you know, Nikki is the leader of the band. Basically, [it had to do with their] security throwing us off the stage... whatever... It was a bunch of ego shit that none of us really got into. But MÖTLEY CRÜE kind of acted like... Well, their security, in any event... they were real weird with our guests getting backstage, like our guests might want to look at MÖTLEY CRÜE. Our guests were there to see us and they didn't care a shit about MÖTLEY CRÜE. And MÖTLEY CRÜE is a legendary band that we all respect. When I was 17, I had 'Shout At The Devil' and all that, hell yeah! But it just kind of fronted us a little that they would think that our guests would be star-struck over them. And half the time these were people I've known for 30 years — [and they] can't even get backstage because MÖTLEY CRÜE doesn't want people back or whatever. So that's where the bad blood came from. And then Sully runs his mouth, Nikki runs his mouth… They're both big rock stars. Next thing you know, it's a battle in the press."

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil has revealed to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun that the band will be co-headlining a massive U.S. tour with KISS from July through September. Expect the official announcement from Los Angeles next week.

"It's going to be really cool because KISS is bringing their full stage show, and MÖTLEY will be bringing our full stage show, so you are going to see two huge headliners at the same time," Vince said. "It's going to be one of the biggest tours of the summer, if not the biggest."

MÖTLEY CRÜE recently entered drummer Tommy Lee's studio called The Atrium in Calabasas, California to begin recording a new song that will be released to coincide with the band's upcoming tour.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's latest studio album, "Saints of Los Angeles", sold 99,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release. The CD was CRÜE's first studio album since 2000's "New Tattoo", which has sold over 200,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The band's previous studio effort with all of its original members was 1997's "Generation Swine", which debuted and peaked at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, and has sold more than 300,000 units.

KISS has completed recording its new album, "Monster", for a late spring release. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "It's A Long Way Down", "Back To The Stone Age", "Shout Mercy", "Out Of This World", "Wall Of Sound" and "Hell Or Hallelujah".

KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley recently admitted that he's never surprised by how deep KISS' fan devotion continues to run worldwide. "It really for me, resoundingly once again, I guess validates for me why this band exists," he told The Pulse Of Radio. "It's not a tepid recreation of the past, it's really an ageless beast that dominates at will. It's timeless."

KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE will embark on a massive co-headlining tour this summer. The trek — which will see KISS closing the show each night — will kick off on July 20 in Bristow, Virginia and will run through September 23 in Hartford, Connecticut. The Live Nation-promoted tour will go on sale beginning Friday, March 23 at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. The KISS Army fan club pre-sales begin Wednesday, March 21 at 10 a.m.

Said MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx: "Growing up, I had a KISS poster, AEROSMITH poster and SWEET on the wall, and for me to go out and do this together, it's an honor. I know what KISS is about — I've been watching them for years — and I think it's a perfect, perfect match. Maybe a match made in hell, in some places in America they may think, but it's a perfect match and it's gonna be all night long — hits, bombs, girls, topless a few. MÖTLEY CRÜE and KISS — I can't wait to experience it myself."

Added KISS frontman Paul Stanley: "Nikki and I have been each other and just going, 'This is awesome.' This is something we're all really fired up about. It's double what either one of us could do, so exponentially it's that much bigger. Whatever either band is capable of doing, you do it double on one night. It's out of the park, man. We're gonna level each city, literally."

With combined album sales of almost 200 million, KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE are more than just iconic; they remain today as the dominant powerhouses of rock music tallying 30+ chart-topping hits, countless sold out tours and awards and accolades from around the world. Known for their elaborate and spectacular stage shows, each band plans to give fans the ultimate summer concert experience with the most impressive lighting and sound production ever and their signature over-the-top pyrotechnics. This is the first time KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE will share a stage since 1982.

Stanley told The Pulse Of Radio that his band has never thrown a slow pitch opening act simply to make KISS look better. "I've never been a fan of bands who take on weak support to make them look good, or because they're not sure that they're up to the task," he said. "I always think that if you put on the great acts before us, then we go out there and have to prove why we deserve to be the headliner."

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil told Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun about the upcoming tour, "It's going to be really cool because KISS is bringing their full stage show, and MÖTLEY will be bringing our full stage show, so you are going to see two huge headliners at the same time. It's going to be one of the biggest tours of the summer, if not the biggest."

MÖTLEY CRÜE recently entered drummer Tommy Lee's studio called The Atrium in Calabasas, California to begin recording a new song that will be released to coincide with the band's upcoming tour.

KISS has completed recording its new album, "Monster", for a summer release. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "It's A Long Way Down", "Back To The Stone Age", "Shout Mercy", "Out Of This World", "Wall Of Sound" and "Hell Or Hallelujah".

The dates are as follows:

Jul. 20 - Jiffy Lube Live - Bristow, VA
Jul. 21 - Farm Bureau Live - Virginia Beach, VA
Jul. 22 - Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion - Raleigh, NC
Jul. 24 - Aaron's Amphitheater at Lakewood - Atlanta, GA
Jul. 25 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - Charlotte, NC
Jul. 27 - Cruzan Amphitheatre - West Palm Beach, FL
Jul. 28 - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheater - Tampa, FL
Jul. 31 - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre - Pelham, A\L
Aug. 03 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Woodlands, TX
Aug. 04 - Gexa Energy Paviliion - Dallas, TX
Aug. 07 - Hard Rock Casino Presents: The Pavilion - Albuquerque, NM
Aug. 08 - Comfort Dental Amphitheater - Englewood, CO
Aug. 10 - Ashley Furniture Home Store Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 11 - Mandalay Bay Arena - Las Vegas, NV
Aug. 12 - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre - Chula Vista, CA
Aug. 14 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Irvine, CA
Aug. 16 - Sleep Train Pavilion - Concord, MA
Aug. 18 - White River Amphitheatre - Auburn, WA
Aug. 19 - Sleep Country Amphitheater - Ridgefield, CT
Aug. 24 - Rock Jam - Grand Junction, CO
Aug. 26 - BOK Center - Tulsa, OK
Aug. 27 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - Maryland Heights, MO
Aug. 29 - Minnesota State Fair - Minneapolis, MN
Aug. 31 - Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
Sep. 01 - Klipsch Music Center - Noblesville, IN
Sep. 02 - First Niagara Pavilion - Burgettstown, PA
Sep. 04 - Bridgestone Arena - Nashville, TN
Sep. 05 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI
Sep. 07 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Tinley Park, IL
Sep. 08 - Alpine Valley Music Theater - East Troy, MI
Sep. 11 - Allegan County Fair - Allegan, MI
Sep. 12 - Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Sep. 13 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
Sep. 15 - Darien Lake PAC - Darien Lake, NY
Sep. 16 - Comcast Center - Mansfield, MA
Sep. 18 - Toyota Pavilion - Scranton, PA
Sep. 19 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
Sep. 21 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
Sep. 22 - Nikon at Jones Beach - Wantagh, NY
Sep. 23 - Comcast Theater - Hartford, CT