Tommy Lee has rocked every continent multiple times, sold millions of records with MÖTLEY CRÃœE and on his own, done everything a musician dreams of doing, except he’s never made a record with the entire world. The new METHODS OF MAYHEM album, now entitled “A Public Disservice Announcement”, is set for release on September 21 and features Tommy Lee collaborating with the world. Lee commented, “When I founded METHODS in 1999, the whole purpose of the band was to be all over the place. In keeping with that, this METHODS isn’t anything like the last one. There’s no hip hop and there’s no roster of guest stars. This time, it’s me, my band, and the world.”

Tommy Lee and his team, including producer Scott Humphrey, singer-guitarist J3 and others, wrote and recorded the songs for the new album, then made the core components of each available for download on www.thepublicrecord.com to anyone who wished to add their playing or otherwise re-interpret the music however they saw fit. Lee listened to every single submission that was uploaded, chose the best, and integrated the actual audio tracks into the album’s final cuts. Every single musician whose part was used is credited and thanked on the album.  Read the rest of this entry »

It wasn’t logical but it made complete sense. Tommy Lee has rocked every continent multiple times, he’s sold millions of records with MÖTLEY CRÃœE and on his own; he’s done everything a musician dreams of doing. Except this: he’d never made a record with the entire world. “This really was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had making a record, other than the first time I made a record — because there’s nothing quite like popping your cherry!” Tommy says. “This record was the craziest thing ever. Parts were sent in from all over the world by people wanting to participate in the first once-in-a-lifetime global collaboration. It was insane dude!”

The result is the second METHODS OF MAYHEM album, “A Public Disservice Announcement”, the first truly collaborative effort an artist of Tommy‘s magnitude has ever dared to attempt. The concept came easy, the execution did not — it took time, technology, patience and dedication. The first step was to set the parameters. Tommy and his team, including producer Scott Humphrey, singer-guitarist J3 and others, wrote and recorded the songs, which ran the gamut from hard rock anthems to ballads to dance tracks. Then they made the core components of each song available for download on ThePublicRecord.com to anyone who wished to add their playing or otherwise re-interpret the music however they saw fit. Tommy listened to every single submission that was uploaded, chose the best, and integrated the actual audio tracks into the album’s final cuts.  Read the rest of this entry »

Contrary to popular belief, Tommy Lee is still very much involved in the world of music. This is no more evident than by news that the musician has teamed up with several other high-profile drummers including Velvet Revolver’s Matt Sorum, Incubus’ Jose Pasillas, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, and Max Weinberg’s son/E Street Band member, Jay, as well as Godsmack frontman Sully Erna for a brand new project. Eclectic to say the least.

According to Lee, Bezerk, as the group is known, is an “exclusive project commissioned by� Guitar Center and as of now their only scheduled appearance is at the Guitar Center Drum-Off ‘09 Grand Finals at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre on January 8th. No word on whether this is a one-off deal, but given the fact that Chad Smith is involved in like 13 other projects, we’re guessing it is.

So, with that in mind, if you’re interested in attending the concert, tickets can currently be purchased via Livenation.com. The evening will also feature performances by Jason Bonham and Danny Carey. Stephen Perkins has the honors of serving as host.  [Source]

Tommy Lee is returning to Methods of Mayhem and he needs your help.

The short lived project for Lee only released one self titled album in 1999, and now left to his own devices (Tilo, the other driving force in the band left after the first album) he is putting up unfinished tracks and getting his fans to top it off.

If you head on over to The Public Record you can download bits and pieces of the record and re-upload them with your own recordings on instruments of your choice.

Those of you who make it on the record will have a donation made in your name to the Musicares Foundation, which provides help and support for musicians and people in the touring industry who have fallen on hard times.

The songs are actually complete, but just require some killer musicians to play on the record. They’ll do it for free and get no remuneration from the record.

In an e-mail conversation with music blogger Bob Lefsetz, Lee claimed to have recorded many drum parts for free just to build up a name for himself and he is giving you the chance to do the same.

Just think, you could play on an album that will be just as memorable as, say, the last Methods of Mayhem album, and all for nothing!  [Source]

MÖTLEY CRÃœE drummer and METHODS OF MAYHEM mastermind Tommy Lee was a guest on last night’s (Monday, November 23) edition of NBC-TV‘s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”. Make sure you watch the first sketch in Chapter One (see video below), where he reads a letter home.

METHODS OF MAYHEM‘s “Public Mayhem” album collaboration project was launched on October 5. Lee and METHODS producer Scott Humphrey posted isolated instrument tracks, or stems, from the upcoming album on the web site ThePublicRecord.com. Anyone with a great musical idea is invited to play a part in helping to achieve true “Public Mayhem”, i.e. collaborate on the album. A wide range of formats are available to work with, including RiffWorks, WAV, Logic, GarageBand, Pro Tools and the Four Track 3.0 iPhone application. Participants will also have a chance to perform with METHODS OF MAYHEM at their record-release show.

“Public Mayhem” is set for release in early 2010.  Read the rest of this entry »

Drummer Tommy Lee says that response to the public recording outreach for his upcoming Methods of Mayhem album, “Public Mayhem,” has been “absolutely insane,” with 1,000 or more submissions for each of the six tracks released so far.

“My God, you would not believe what’s coming in from around the world,” Lee tells Billboard.com. “When we set out to do this, I was worried, like, ‘Man, how good can it actually be having people submit parts from all over the world?’ I was kind of freaking out, but not a day goes by when my producer (Scott Humphrey) and I don’t look at each other and go, ‘Oh my God, are you kidding me?!’ There’s so many talented people out there, just kicking around.”

Lee says it was Humphrey’s idea to make the raw tracks for the album available for fans to download — at ThePublicRecord.com — and put their own parts on them. “Look, people steal the fucking music anyway,” Lee notes. “These days you’ve got to have some way to involve their fans so it’s an experience, not just another record, and involve your fans. This just seemed like a perfect way; you can download the tracks for free, get involved, take some ownership, tell your friends about it, maybe be in an album. And the enthusiasm is overwhelming. I’ve never experienced anything like this.”  Read the rest of this entry »