Tommy Lee talks about Rock Star Supernova Tour

When drummer Tommy Lee got started in the music business with Mötley Crüe, he likely never thought 20 years later he’d be on a panel deciding the fates of a batch of hopeful rockers looking for their big breaks.

As a member of the reality TV show “Rock Star: Supernova,” Lee helped create a superband made up of former members of Metallica and Guns n’ Roses. The show focused their search for a singer and once they found their frontman or woman the band would record an album and take off on tour.

Despite setbacks including losing bassist Jason Newsted, who tore his rotator cuff trying to catch a falling amp right before the tour, and a lawsuit that forced the band to slap the words “Rock Star” in front of their original name, Supernova, Lee said the group has had a rockin’ good time.

In a phone interview from Atlantic City, Lee talked about Rock Star Supernova’s past and future.

So you just kicked off the tour, how have things been going so far?

It’s been awesome. For somebody who watched the show I think for them it’s awesome; they get to see Dilana and Dave (”Rock Star: Supernova” finalist Dilana and the show’s co-host Dave Navarro will both open for Rock Star Supernova). They get to relive the live music section of the TV show. I look out in the audience now and see 8-year-old kids up to 80-year-olds. That’s really cool.

You had a bit of a scramble there when Jason hurt his arm and couldn’t go on tour. How is Johnny Colt (formerly with the Black Crowes and the Goo Goo Dolls) doing in his place?

I’ve known Johnny for a long time and we couldn’t have picked a better guy to come in and take care of business. We wish Jason a speedy recovery and hope he gets back into shape soon but for now Johnny is out there kicking ass.

As members of other bands, was it difficult for all of you to connect as a group without the traditional “rock band” beginning?

I’ve known Gilby (Clarke – Guns n’ Roses) for years as well as Jason and Johnny. Even when we were in different bands we’ve been on tours together and we always said, ‘Oh man we gotta get together.’ We’ve talked about it in passing and now we’re getting to really do it.

And how’s your new frontman Lukas Rossi working out — everything you expected?

He’s so one of us it’s frightening — musically and personally. It’s a perfect marriage. I’ll never forget watching him audition and he came walking in and they put him through these crazy tests and psychological analysis and I remember Lukas finishing and he set his guitar down and he goes, “Is it cool if I go get a beer yet?” (The contestants) had all been penned up in a hotel and not allowed to speak to us or to each other and he just wanted a beer. I knew he was one of us.

What got you involved in the show and was it what you expected it to be?

My kids and Mark’s kids (Mark Burnett, the show’s creator) go to the same school and I was picking up my kids and ran into Mark and he asked what I was up to and (Mötley Crüe) was just finishing the tour, and I said I was thinking about taking a break or (doing) another solo record or maybe putting together a supergroup. It didn’t dawn on me that he’d just done “Rock Star: INXS” but what a great way to put together a group. As soon as we got together, I realized that I would have some creative control and that it was not going to be cheesy and we could make it a lot of fun so we did it.

You only had a few months to record your first album after Lukas was named the winner in September, how tough was it putting together an album so quickly?

Once I knew I was gonna do the show I started writing like crazy and we put together about 17 songs that we whittled down to the best 11. It was a little unorthodox to write music when we didn’t know who would sing it but in the recording studio Butch (Butch Walker, who produced and co-wrote the album) sang so there was some presence of a singer. And Butch’s voice and Lukas’ voice are so similar that he just slid right in. You’d think it would be a nightmare but the segue was just seamless. It was a bit scary how it all worked out.

What made you decide to do the show?

It’s weird these days for me. I’m all about a challenge and doing things I hadn’t done yet and this is something that I hadn’t done yet. I love those kinds of challenges.

So after the tour is Rock Star Supernova going to implode or will the band keep going?

Oh yeah, I have a recording studio on my bus and we’re already working on stuff for the next album. We don’t waste any time.

What would you tell people who wonder if a band basically started on reality TV can really rock?

Well, we really aren’t a band “created” on a reality show. Everyone knows I rock and Gilby rocks and Jason and Johnny rock. That was a done deal and all we needed was a singer to front. I knew it would work from the beginning.

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