Craig Hlavaty spoke with MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx for Houston Music's Rocks Off column. An excerpt follows:

Q: So this is the 30th anniversary of the band. How does it feel to be on top of the mountain?

A: "It's interesting when you stick around and you make music and you perform, and it becomes such a part of you, and it is you. Like a tattoo. Other people see it and I look in the mirror and don't see it, but then I walk on the street and people say, 'Look at that guy covered in tattoos, he's crazy-looking'. You forget that you do this thing called Mötley Crüe and all these projects because you are in them all the time."

Q: Being around 30 years, you guys can get one of your biggest influences, the NEW YORK DOLLS, to open for you...

A: "To me, that is the reason for the tour, the Dolls doing it. Them and the fans were the ones that closed it the deal. The fans really asked for Mötley Crüeto tour with a band that they wanted to see, different than what we had done before. We've done GODSMACK, PAPA ROACH, BUCKCHERRY, but they were like, 'We love it, but we want to see a band that is packed with hit singles too'. They said DEF LEPPARD, POISON, GUNS N' ROSES, and the fans were the ones that voted. We talked to David Johansen and the other guys in the Dolls now, and they were on, and we talked to Bret Michaels and he said, 'Let's do it'. It's just a great package."

Q: Knowing your history, it has to be a thrill for someone like you to be able to show kids the Dolls every night.

A: "I think it's our responsibility that when we do interviews to talk about how important these bands were. I grew up in the '70s, and great bands came out of the '70s, and you are hard-pressed to find bands that measure up to some of those standards. There are exceptions, of course. I look at bands today like MUSE, who are definitely raising the standard, musically, living in the world that QUEEN was in. That's exciting because Queen was a huge influence to me. Seeing bands like the Dolls still out there still doing it makes me scratch my head and ask why there are not more rock stars. Why are there not bands out there putting on a show, writing great songs and putting on a production? I don't understand why more bands aren't doing it. I'm dying for rock and roll to become exciting on a multitude of levels again."

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Mötley Crüe/Poison/New York Dolls tour dates are as follows:

June

10 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
12 - Albuquerque, NM - Hard Rock Casino Presents The Pavilion
14 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
15 - San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
17 - Phoenix, AZ - Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion
18 - Las Vegas, NV - Red Rock Casino Resort
19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Usana Amphitheatre
21 - Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
22 - St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
24 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
25 - Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
26 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
28 - Toronto, ON - Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
29 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre

July

1 - Tinley Park, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
2 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
3 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
5 - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Live
6 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
8 - Biloxi, MS - Mississippi Coast Coliseum
9 - Birmingham, AL - Verizon Wireless Center
10 - Atlanta, GA - Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
12 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
13 - Hershey, PA - The Star Pavilion at Hersheypark Stadium
15 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
16 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
17 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
19 - Mansfield, MA - Comcast Center
20 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
22 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
23 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
24 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
27 - Cheyenne, WY - Frontier Park
29 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
30 - Frederick, MD - Eventplex at the Frederick Fairgrounds
31 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion

August

2 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
3 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
5 - Sparta, WI - Fort McCoy Army Base
6 - Moline, IL - iWireless Center
7 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
11 - Ridgefield, WA - Sleep Country Amphitheater
12 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
13 - Nampa, ID - Idaho Center
16 - Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center
17 - San Diego, CA - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre