Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • "Worst rap album in history"
  • Superbooth 2025
  • Eilish vs Radiohead
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Tutorials
  2. Drum Lessons & Tutorials

Tommy Lee: what I've learned about drums, music and showmanship

News
By Drum Expo 2014 published 21 August 2014

The Mötley Crüe man drops some hard earned knowledge

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

DRUM EXPO 2014: Take Tommy Lee at face value and it’s easy to undersell the true extent of his drumming skills, knowledge and influence. Yes, he’s the hard-partying, tattoo covered dude who plays drum solos upside down, but beneath the surface you'll find a fully rounded musician who's pushed boundaries with Sunset Strip stalwarts Mötley Crüe for more than 30 years.

In this interview, Tommy shares some of the wisdom garnered in his three decades spent working at the hard rock face…

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Look back to move forward

Look back to move forward

“I had a couple of different influences growing up and each was for different reasons. I was always impressed by some of the progressive styles of guys like Neil Peart.

"John Bonham was probably the most influential in terms of playing style and timing"

"Then I had really simple guys who were some of my favourites as far as really solid playing goes. Phil Rudd from AC/DC was someone I really liked a lot... Not because I was dazzled by his playing ability - he was just a rock, y’know?

“Of course, John Bonham was probably the most influential in terms of playing style and timing. So probably those three guys and maybe in the double bass drumming area Tommy Aldridge was someone I really liked because he was pretty flashy and did a lot of cool stuff. Like the way he caught his sticks and did the twirls.”

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
There is such a thing as 'too much'

There is such a thing as 'too much'

“On our first record, man, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just playing. I was over playing. You’re as green as you can be with no experience in recording or knowing how sometimes a song can work; when it’s too much, when it’s not enough, when it’s not right. You’re still learning all of that stuff.

"By Shout At The Devil and further I was starting to hone my skills for the song. That became really important.”

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Use the live arena as a testing ground

Use the live arena as a testing ground

“Early on you’re also learning things that work live. A certain beat you’ll play live and think, ‘Wow, the whole place is moving to this.’

"Other beats maybe not so much. So you’re constantly learning, and I’m still learning. God, my views from the first and second albums on drumming are completely different now. I’m in a whole different place.”

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Don't be afraid to embrace new technology

Don't be afraid to embrace new technology

“Probably around Wild Side on the Girls [Girls, Girls] record is really when I started to add triggers and samples and all the sequencing.

“I was f**king with Digital Performer on my computer and my whole world just changed”

"I was f**king with Digital Performer on my computer and going, ‘Wow, you can chop up the guitars and do this to them, you can put this drum sound on top of this drum sound and blend the two to make this, f**k!’ My whole world just changed.”

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Listen to your bandmates

Listen to your bandmates

“It’s so cool because no one was doing [the triggers and samples] and I’ve always somehow been able to keep smashing it in there when I can without getting railed because I’m not in the band by myself, you’ve got three other guys who go, ‘Oh, it sounds a little too tech-y,’ so I’m always pulling back a little bit.”

Check out Tommy Lee's studio:

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Record without distraction

Record without distraction

“[For the Dr Feelgood sessions] we stuck ourselves in an environment where it just rains every single day. We couldn’t say, ‘It’s nice out, let’s go to the beach.’ It was like, ‘Man, it’s raining. Let’s go work, let’s record.’

"Bob Rock would come out and strap on a guitar. He was really hands-on"

"We had a really good time in the studio. The recording process was awesome too. Not many producers actually get in the live room with you. Bob Rock would come out and strap on a guitar or a bass or get on the mic. He was really hands-on.”

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Be yourself, everyone else is taken

Be yourself, everyone else is taken

“Maybe it’s part boredom, part thrill seeking, part,‘F**k, someone’s got to do something new!’ Sometimes you operate out of the fear of being the same as somebody else.

“Sometimes you operate out of the fear of being the same as somebody else”

"I always say be yourself, everyone else is taken. That’s a favourite phrase of mine that I constantly remind myself with saying, ‘Well, that’s really cool and so and so might like this and so and so would probably kind of like this, but I wanna do it like this.’

"And not just for the sake of doing that, but just to keep things moving and having everybody thinking about and creating new ideas.”

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Everything has its place

Everything has its place

“In the earlier days everyone was just all blasting at once, [but] things have their moments. There’s only a certain amount of space in a speaker.

"If it's just being hit by subsonic frequencies on top of bass drums and basses and analogue synthesisers and then that bottom end is full, there's no more that can possibly come out. It's a vibration of sound and those frequencies are all filled. Now I look at that as everything has its place. It can’t all be in there at once.”

Tommy firing on all cylinders for Dr Feelgood:

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Add many strings to your bow

Add many strings to your bow

“I do, I still love [playing the drums]. 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…’

"I can’t just sit back as a drummer any more"

"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!”

For more great interviews with the world's best drummers, check out Rhythm magazine.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Drum Expo 2014
More about drum lessons

“I’m sorry I ruined your song!”: Mike Portnoy hears Taylor Swift's Shake It Off for the first time and plays along... with surprising results

“Nile's riff on Get Lucky is a classic example of a funk riff, where the second of each 16th-note duplet is slightly delayed”: Locking down the theory of groove

Latest

“Prince was really excited and kept pumping us up, saying ‘We’re making history tonight’”: How Prince summoned one of the greatest guitar solos of all time from thin air

See more latest
More about drum lessons

“I’m sorry I ruined your song!”: Mike Portnoy hears Taylor Swift's Shake It Off for the first time and plays along... with surprising results

“Nile's riff on Get Lucky is a classic example of a funk riff, where the second of each 16th-note duplet is slightly delayed”: Locking down the theory of groove

Latest

“Prince was really excited and kept pumping us up, saying ‘We’re making history tonight’”: How Prince summoned one of the greatest guitar solos of all time from thin air

See more latest
Most Popular
Paul Di'Anno in 1981
“If you’re a singer, you’re totally reliant on your body. You can't put a bit more distortion on your amp or use effects. You can’t compensate. You’re very exposed”: Why Iron Maiden had to change their singer to reach the next level
Guitars on a shop wall
“The effects of these sudden and unpredictable tariff actions will have a long-term effect on musicians worldwide”: Guitar industry leaders to meet with Trump in a bid to avert “devastating” impact of tariffs
PinkPantheress
“The only difference for me between me calling it an album and a mixtape is what I went into it thinking it was”: PinkPantheress on why her new project, Fancy That, is a mixtape rather than an album
The Beatles in 1967
“John said, ‘I don’t know where to go from here.’ So Paul said, ‘Well, I’ve got this other song I’ve been working on.’ They joined the two bits together to make one song”: The story of the greatest thing The Beatles ever recorded
Metallica
"While being dubbed the ‘Metallica Quake’ online, it actually posed no danger": Metallica’s Enter Sandman triggers mini earthquake on its American Football ‘homecoming’
Trevor Horn
“I had a bit of a shock because I’d just come from working with Yes, who had done 1,000s of live shows and were all brilliant players. Frankie Goes To Hollywood had done 5 shows and they could barely play”: Trevor Horn on the making of Relax
The Who announce final US tour
“I was hypnotised when I was a little boy - by my dentist who was experimenting with hypnotism”: Pete Townshend reveals why he always does his best on stage, as The Who announce final US tour
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: Score an impressive £400 off a Rickenbacker 330, £200 off PRS, and up to 80% off a host of synth gear
Gene Simmons
“We may jump up on stage and jam. It's very loose”: Gene Simmons tells Kiss fans to expect the unexpected at the band’s upcoming Las Vegas event
Lose Yourself in movies
“You sir, are an absolute madman. I can't imagine how long this took”: You have to see this astonishing Lose Yourself movie mash-up

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...