Was Tommy Lee Caught Faking It?!

[@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain]

Yay! Justin Hawkins Rides Again merch is OUT NOW! thejawsofvictory.com/collections/jhra (and it includes free shipping!)

[@Bls-of1ld]

You look like his long lost brother

[@chadschulz380]

It's likely high-hat "inserts" placed by an engineer as a click track for the entire band to keep tempo. It's damn near impossible to fake a live drum performance. I think he's playing his kit.

[@IntoTheVerticalBlank]

yep.

[@miketyworth1029]

You hear Mick Mars come in on the guitar on the high hat which makes me think it’s a click-track for the band like you say that maybe is coming out of the wedges and was picked up by the person who recorded it.

[@miketyworth1029]

Watching the video again, the recorder looks to be second or third down and the wedges right in front of him.

[@billyhughes9776]

You're spot on.

[@ericjam6346]

This is the most likely.

[@Rompler_Rocco]

He's just that good a drummer. The bronze alloy of cymbals magnetically reacts to Tommy Lee's aura.

[@davidmatthews3131]

I think you need iron for magnetism?

[@pasqualecurry7773]

@@davidmatthews3131 and people's auras dont nomally move metal. Its a joke, man.

[@onenotesolo256]

@@pasqualecurry7773 credit to @David Matthews for the top pedantry though. Keeping it real.

[@michaelslaughter6557]

He is the Steven Seagal of drummers.

[@erickimm5150]

So good 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@darthlazlo]

Russian Circles is such a great band. Nice shirt Justin.

[@FakeBob80]

Hi Justin! Love the channel and have been following you guys since my little brother introduced me to the Darkness waaaay back in 2003. We first saw you guys at Manchester MEN arena in ‘04 and every chance we could go together to see you since. We last saw you in Bristol in December 2017. We were both huge fans! That was the last time we saw you together. This week, we commemorated 3 years since we lost him. He died of endocarditis, an infection of the heart muscles due to complications of a dental infection, aged 37. We miss him dearly. He would have loved this channel! My 13 year old son is now fast becoming a big fan, so in Greg’s honour, we will be seeing you guys on tour soon, and having the daddy of all curries at a local curry house beforehand as tribute to him. I am forever grateful to you guys for the music you made and the bond my brother and I had over it. Thank you so much. (And yeah, technical cock up I’d bet was to blame for the cymbal faux pas!)

[@eily_b]

Love that they still like comments that are not super comments or how these paid for comments are called. 👍

[@jkb1O5]

Kinda lame of (???apparently????), too cool; Justin Hawkins …..to’ve only “liked” = as a “Heart” this^ comment^ ^your genuinely heartfelt expression|s of praise… towards Justin / his band, etc… >full of details and diff aspects you’d wanted to share w / (to) him > showing/describing your admiration for & appreciation of all sorts of Justin Hawkins > all the things He does / has done I mean…. Like…. How can Someone read something like that - about themselves -& not at least throw back a reply / just a quick = sentence or two Maybe he’s got someone who just scrolls & auto-“likes” = every response/comment Idk… & I’m not coming @Justin In a super shitty / all puffed up & angry / type of way, either…. Im more….Curious & a little perplexed ( I hope it’s not just someone who’s so used to getting stuff like that said to them, that they’ve become jaded and careless toward any their admirers - Aight….. ✌️❤️

[@halcyondays1andy]

@@jkb1O5 hopefully he's reached out with a private message, would be pretty shitty if not

[@halcyondays1andy]

@@jkb1O5 actually I tried to reply to the comment with my condolences and you can't for some reason, so that's likely the real reason

[@martymartin2894]

Sorry for u're loss very tragic he was young.

[@jtmichaelson]

As a drummer I have to say, if you're going to mime playing the drums, a physical exertion of the instrument, you might as well just play the kit. We've used a click track and count-in meter to keep us dumbasses in line. Tommy's slow start is real and cannot be mimed.

[@RustyApper]

spot on! seeing non drummers not get this at all drives me nuts. drummers dont really mime 'live', its just too complicated. and pointless!

[@AaronDrums]

Exactly if it was recorded the song would have came in perfect not jumbled 🙄

[@ErnestRamos]

Agreed. Besides, if you are going to make a track to mime, you might as well make the track perfect. Mistakes like these are actually harder to mime. :D That said, the audible hi-hat count is likely just a part of the backing track.

[@jonmay55]

Wrong. Tommy can play more complicated grooves as well as different styles then presented in Motley Crue. Tommy also has a style which is a sign of a great drummer, you know it’s him when he is playing. Not everybody can be so unique you can hear the drummer without being seen. This is one of the reasons he quit the band was to be able to experiment more and not play constant typical 4/4 rock beats. Also his power is practically unmatched as many drummers will tell you.

[@jordanstrang8056]

From what I can see, As a drummer myself, the hi hat count in was prerecorded but the stuff after that is actually him cos his timing was a bit off after that as he was trying to find his way again so there’s nothing fake about his actual playing, it’s just the count in that I can see

[@markblanch2905]

OK, so you're agreeing with what Justin said

[@allenmitchell09]

Yeah I agree with this as well as a lifelong drummer.

[@michaelr.4878]

Same here..and I totally agree. Has anyone gone back to see how they started this song on other dates from this tour? Did he do a count-in on the hi-hats that drowned out the recorded count-in that everyone is talking about?

[@ericcindycrowder7482]

Yea the cymbal hits were just part of the intro tape they play before the band starts. All live bands play an intro tape while they walk on stabe

[@Parker--]

@@ericcindycrowder7482 But that was more than that. That was actually part of the intro to the song where they would theoretically have plenty of time to hit that himself, right? So does he mime that in other concerts or does he not mime it?

[@jackshittle]

My drum teacher when I was in 7th grade asked me who I thought was a great drummer. I said Tommy Lee and he laughed and said "Tommy Lee is not a drummer, he's a stick twirler.".

[@patm5086]

Perfect

[@jonesygw]

He's made a truck load of money for a stick twirler!!

[@jackshittle]

@@jonesygw I agree!

[@dgenerated]

Tommy is (or was) a great rock drummer and the producers they've worked with have vouched for his skill!.. He's no "Neil Peart or Gene Krupa" or whomever your teacher thinks has talent, but he was Perfect for Motley Crue, even if he is faking it here for whatever reason?. At one point though, he could play and yes he was a showman!..

[@jackshittle]

@@dgenerated I agree.

[@TheRicardoSanchez]

I look fwd to this daily

[@vgaportauthority9932]

If you're counting in 8 it helps a lot if it's 4 clicks and then 4 of another sound. That way you don't have to guess if you heard the first click or not.. "Is this 7 or 8..." If you miss the first two clicks you'll still know where 1 is at when the 4 hi hats come in. I think it was supposed to be in his ears only..

[@theS4V0Y]

Agreed. I have never counted 2 and then started playing on purpose… They must have used it from before on another transition. That count is way easier to hear than other things for count.

[@richiep3520]

Detective Hawkins on the case 🚓 😁

[@Alex-dv2yy]

Fucking love this channel!! 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain]

And I love you!!

[@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain]

Hello!! It's a new month so this is the best time join my Patreon if you fancy it. There's so much stuff on there I can't be bothered to write it all out in one comment, but you can check it out here (I'd recommend the Personal Chat tier, it's the most fun one): www.patreon.com/jushawk

[@OfficialMKUltraMusic]

I wrote a song called Hollywood Holocaust. It's on KZbin. Check it out :)

[@Reid_Jorgensen]

Best.Channel.Ever. Your Patreon is even better! Cheers!

[@sepiarain]

You listen to Russian Circles?

[@richardbeaton7324]

Looks to me like the high hat 4 is for him and the band and he just came in late. Maybe the high hat 4 is for the band to sync up for other pre recorded samples later in the song maybe some backing vocals ?

[@EasyThere]

30 grand in guitars and broken mic/xlr cable....more buzz than a swarm of hornets. Slap your sound guy.

[@DarrenMichaelBoyd]

A possible reason the audible hi-hat count is there is to be sure it's loud enough in the monitors of the rest of the band (Tommy's actual count may not always be). I had a situation using backing tracks once where I couldn't tell if the drummer hit the hats 3 or 4 times because of other noise, and I was starting the song (guitar)... I started playing and praying haha! I got lucky... but it was a lesson. Make that count loud enough!

[@briankendallRyanandBrian]

thats my analogy as well, I am the track maker in my band and if everyone has in ears, and dont have the hats very loud they may not hear the count in as well without the count in also in the monitor mix. so they have a count in track that everyone can hear/control the volume

[@DG_musician]

I agree. For anyone who's ever played on a huge festival stage, you'll have experienced that it's almost impossible to hear anything that isn't coming clearly through the monitors or the in ears. It's just a count in for the band that's disguised as a live cymbal (there's probably a click going and some backing or off stage additional musicians too)

[@BassMatt1972]

Being taken for a walk by the dog haha.. been there done that haha

[@colincampbell7126]

The reason is simple.., he's really playing all the drums , but there's alot of pre recorded sounds, horns, backing guitar effects etc. Its a computer, so it just makes this input at so and so number of clicks into the track. So everything has to be aligned when that big horn blast comes in, or that big bell sound in looks that kill, backing vocals etc

[@hectorvasquez3605]

Bullshit bro. That's what click tracks r four

[@OliverAmberg]

As long as you can't hear Vince... just kidding

[@big____rich4560]

I think you nailed it with the hidden count in being audible as a fault of the sound team. It's possible that just one of them (Mick Vince or Nikki) has a specific preference to hear a hi hat count off vs. a standard click sound. Tommy probably plays along with is normally but was just a tad late this time so had to catch up. Faking drumming is really hard to do since everyone can visibly see what you're doy

[@JustJoshLTRB]

I think you're not far off.

[@mitchcarson6309]

I don’t buy that. The in ear feed shouldn’t be anywhere near the main mix section on the board. It’s supposed to be there but needed for the prerecorded guitar pats to line up.

[@timothynelsonmusic]

@@mitchcarson6309 The clicktrack would still take up a channel on the mixer it would just be muted at FOH

[@ronnie_5150]

That's what all the flashing lights, pyro, dancers, and giant screens are for. It's distraction.

[@Witherfall]

Sounds like someone in the FOH messed up and sent their backing track with the click count in to FOH. That doesn't mean that the drums are on tracks. His drums are totally live.

[@JosephMichaelVocalist]

100

[@bensouthgate7512]

I have watched 2 and a half hours of your videos continuously. It’s 2 am. I need to sleep but I’m scared to close my eyes incase you appear in my dreams. So glad I stumbled across this. Thank you zuckaburger and your weird algorithm. Keep being awesome ❤️

[@kathrynb8677]

Same I just found this channel two days ago and am obsessed.

[@kendavis2766]

The intro to the same song from a show from a few weeks earlier: you can hear two of the cue hi-hat hits, then Tommy joins in, and there's a little full-band shudder before they all lock in. Other clips have Tommy playing all four hits. It's got to be a cue meant for everyone in the band and maybe the dancers? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGivnJ-wnLh4aK8

[@nunodarrell6606]

He’s on a click throughout the whole song cause of the pre recorded elements such as backing vocals, few guitar parts etc. Like you said, he just stumbled on the first count. No drummer could play a song bang on, the same exact way every night to match pre recorded drums (unless you’re a machine T1000 from Skynet) I’ve watched the whole video and he’s definitely playing live drums. There’s no pre recorded drums.

[@FabledFrame]

It's not the worst video of Tommy out there.

[@gmail2728]

not the best either 😉lol

[@witch_haunts_ghost]

Love Russian Circles! I agree, I think it's a soundy that had cues going through monitors and it went through front of house instead. OR Tommy Lee, I imagine would now be super hard of hearing, and maybe, it was just monitors but it was so loud it bled through to FOH? Who knows! Either way, he looked like an absolute powerhouse even recovering from four broken ribs and I think his playing was real. If I had four broken ribs and told to play (even well after the fact) I would immediatly assume the foetal position and cry my eyeballs out until I got home.....but I am not Tommy Lee and clearly I don't have his work ethic....I am just a mere mortal... Edit again!: here is what I think happened > monitors fed the click track to foldback > foldbac level was super loud > picked up by drum mics > went through FOH. Bam!

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

It could be that only Tommy is playing to a click, and one or more of the members NEED to hear the count-in, but they don't actually want that hi-hats that loud in their monitor mix for the rest of the song. That and/or so the sound and lighting guy have a reliable audible count in. That's what I can come up with.

[@AngusClarkGTR]

Are we sure the recorded hats are coming through the mains? I’ll bet the hats are on the backing track because someone on the stage isn’t wearing ears and the monitors are cranking. Some of the guys refuse to wear them, like Rick Savage from DL. Also Crue has dancers on stage.

[@meddle333]

You can almost hear the count-in get quickly overpowered, just by the guitar feedback if you listen carefully. I think you could be right...

[@AngusClarkGTR]

@@meddle333 The smpte has to be running to keep the lights, video, and pyro in sync and Mick does a powerslide into a full band entrance on the downbeat. I’ll bet you it’s Mick’s wedge.

[@dannylorenze6188]

As a drummer that has played to many backing tracks live, the hihat hits at the beginning are prerecorded to count the band into the track. Normally, the drummer has an 8 count, 4 clicks to start the drummer then 4 clicks to count in the band. Since everyone nowadays has an iPhone and KZbin it's hard to hide these little mistakes. But I don't think these are fake drum tracks at all. Carry on

[@JordanSheppardMusic]

From what I understand the backing tracks are because Mick's condition has gotten so severe that he needs a little help. He's still doing most of the playing, but not all of it. That's the reason for the intro hats. Everyone is thinking it's Tommy messing up but it's not. They're being gracious to Mick. I hope the fans are gracious too.

[@tomhaughton710]

That comment did not age well due to the recent revelations from Carmin Appice.

[@JordanSheppardMusic]

Carmine isn't wrong, but even in that article they go on to talk about Mick's condition, and how he had to start back off just by holding a guitar for an hour a day. I think pride is getting in the way now for all of them.

[@Imyourfather225]

you can mute whatever you want. No reason to have the high hats in FOH. Bass is also a track as well as the backing vocals

[@JordanSheppardMusic]

@@Imyourfather225 that's fair. Someone screwed up for sure.

[@wendygould4476]

Reading through all the various drummer related comments I have even more respect and admiration for what these guys have to deal with to keep time. You are the heartbeat of your respective bands 💛😊

[@jamiehovis7722]

you think all drums do is keep time?lmfao

[@loftlegacy]

That t-shirt, I once went to see Russian Circles and it took me a while to twig they are instrumental (they were supporting Tool)

[@aprilkurtz1589]

Broken ribs hurt like all get out, but only when you breathe, and the first time you sneeze you think you're going to die of pain. Tommy Lee must be made of some strong stuff. Don't sneeze, Tommy!

[@felixr.6438]

Russian Circles is one of my favourite bands! With an incredible drummer btw (Dave Turncrantz), who has a unique style.

[@BradYaeger]

Anybody that has ever made a music video knows you can't really "fake" playing the drums the way you can guitars and voice. You still got to hit things , cymbals are moving , etc. If you want to see what happens to the overall production when you get off the "click" so to speak, find the recent Sebastion Bach show, 18 and Life , where the bass amp goes down and they have to go into a stretch intro

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

Drums I would recon are definitely the hardest thing to fake.

[@bastikoch5152]

Love some Russian Circles. Great shirt. If you haven’t already check out pre-RC ‚botch‘.

[@AvenEngineer]

We missed the forest for the trees on this clip. Toms drum tech was switching out snare drums, while the recorded intro for the song plays. They just get the swap done. I've worked with the Crue's crew and they are real pros. I would not be surprised if the monitor tech punched the tracks into the monitors and side fills for the rest of the band until Tommy got in his pocket.

[@hootie297]

what's ur opinion on all this craziness since you have worked with them

[@cbr9914]

those are live drums. these shows are on a grid. that count in is just a cue. people have zero idea how these shows work.

[@astraliguana9485]

Russian Circles are an amazing band! I was lucky enough to catch them supporting Tool at Brixton, then a bit later playing in a tiny venue in Bristol with High on Fire and Taint. Any chance of talking about one of their pieces at some point please Justin?

[@Lebowski333]

Ænima tour?

[@astraliguana9485]

@@Lebowski333 10,000 Days, 2007. I've been lucky enough to see Tool live nine times, and that was the last one. Feels like a long time ago now!

[@twin2civicgaraget2cg75]

Really great band!

[@cricketbatman]

Agreed, they're fantastic. I see them every time they come to Portland

[@JunkRemovalPro]

Tommy Lee is a household name of the drumming world. Fact not open for debate. Tommy and Neil Peart are the far most influential of the 80's era, by both drumming and showmanship. The best!

[@turntodust86]

I shot the original video in Kansas City, which was the fourth show of The Stadium Tour that I attended. I was fiddling with the zoom at the start, waiting for the song to actually begin, and didn't see what happened until later that night when I was uploading the video in my hotel room. While I thought it was quite strange, I didn't think too much of it considering how blatantly obvious it is that Crue has tapes running for backing vocals and guitar parts at the very least. Even at my very first show in New York, I knew those things were being piped in. Most of the time, Nikki is the only one half-pretending to sing backing vocals, many times not all that close to the actual mic, yet it still sounds like a chorus of voices coming through. That goes for when the girls are on stage and especially when they aren’t. I don’t think the girls are singing live either. But that’s not exactly what they’re there for, is it? There's several songs (“Looks That Kill” included) with a rhythm guitar audible under Mick Mars while he's playing a guitar solo. And at the Kansas City show, there was a moment that Nikki walked up to one of the mics on the catwalk and started shouting to the audience but the mic wasn't even on. I've seen other fans report seeing Nikki and Mick with their hands off their guitars while you can still hear bass/guitar parts being played. If you watch other videos of "Looks That Kill" from the tour, it seems like every single one starts with Vince Neil saying "who knows this song!?" in exactly the same voice/phrasing at exactly the same spot in the song. His actual vocals are so spotty and frequently off tempo that I don't really think his main vocals are piped but perhaps some parts are? It's hard to tell. As for Tommy, I think he is playing drums. Maybe there are drum parts on tape underneath what he's playing but he's clearly playing live. It's all a bit strange and I wasn't even trying to bring attention to it, hence me titling the video exactly the same way as all my other concert videos (including The Darkness!) rather than pointing out what happened right in the title. My guess, having seen this tour up close multiple times, is that a tape runs with backing vocals, rhythm guitar, and possibly (some/all?) bass underneath whatever is being played live. I would agree that there’s probably a four click count-in before the pre-recorded four hi-hat count-in that is taped. Looking forward to my next Darkness show where I don’t have to worry about what’s live and what’s not. 🤘

[@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain]

Ah so it’s yours? I was trying to find the original footage but couldn’t, can I credit you?

[@turntodust86]

@@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain Absolutely! No worries but I appreciate it. And as a fan of The Darkness since ‘03, I really appreciate all the great music & memories. Take care!

[@thehighdeath5562]

I think you’re right on point. I think Tommy had to play to those hi hats/clicks so that all the other stuff (rhythm guitar, vocals, bass(?)) can be synced up properly. Two things amuse me in all this. 1. Tommy is being critiqued here when in fact he might be the only member not receiving pre recorded support. 2. Everyone knows Vince is so bad, why not just use backing tracks for the lead vocals as well? What’s the difference at this point?

[@mdecamp6406]

Thanks for jumping in with all that detail! 4 ribs is alot. Tommy gets a PASS from this old guy. Justin, another great one. Cheers. The intro on this one was smashing as well. +1 for a killer choice of band shirts. Top marks all around :) see u on the ice

[@mbrando4403]

i assume that any band with a lot (too much) pyro and all that.... that has explosions synced up perfectly, uses some sort of backing track. but fans don't want to see a stripped down realistic set from certain bands. i think that is one reason i really like Poison, they seem to not push their capabilities, (i dont mean that in a bad way) they just seem like they know what they are doing and not trying to overdo it. lol, not that the Crue are doing anything wrong, i think they've both done a fantastic job on this tour, of what ive seen on YT. (i wont be paying 4 grand to go see them. lol)

[@keithhavens6566]

I’m absolutely hooked on your videos Mr. Hawkins! Cheers from Denver, Colorado 🍻

[@SeagoGuitarist]

I'm surprised by how many people are tricked into thinking this isn't live. That first snare hit is late, but you can hear Tommy correct it pretty quick. It's just a count in. They probably play with pre recorded stuff in their ears. Not that uncommon. I play in a band that does Thin Lizzy covers, our drummist uses a metronome for himself onstage to give him the correct tempo when he starts playing. It's not quite as fancy, but it's basically the same trick. We just take the stabilisers off after the metronome and do it all live dammit!!!! Just seems like a sound engineer had a fader up that should have been monitors/in ears only, but accidentally went out the front instead. Maybe that day they wired things a bit wrong? They do seem to use pre recorded backing vocals imo. Plausible mistake?? 🙏😁😎

[@shady1kenobi]

so this is a thing!!! i just replied to someone else thinking maybe it's just a click track/metronome for him to set (or keep) he right tempo for the song. they are old! :)

[@SeagoGuitarist]

@@shady1kenobi 100%, a buddy of mine does sound for a reasonably big band (they play stadiums etc) he's played me some of the in ear/guide tracks when I've been in his studio before. It's an eye opener. Sometimes it can be just a basic guide guitar track or something, other times it literally queues in different sections of the song. As in, a voice track that says 'countdown, third verse, lead guitar, 1, 2, 3, 4.' etc. It's entirely possible they all have their own unique guide tracks for the big stadium gigs. I'd put money on this just being Tommys guide accidentally being pushed out through the main PA!

[@shady1kenobi]

had no idea... but it makes complete and total sense... thx for the insight!

[@jasonesty3880]

It's really simple. There is a backing track with a count in. This allows the band to use time code to sync Video, Pyro, and Lighting aspects of the show. What you saw here was a pre-recorded count in that Tommy would have also played at the same time if he had been in position. The only people that are losing their minds over this are people that know nothing about modern live production techniques. He definitely was playing live.

[@JeffroBahr73]

I agree with this assessment. Probably using Ableton Live (or something like it) to sync all those elements. And it looks like there is a tech that is fixing something before Tommy is able to jump up behind the kit as well. So whoever is kicking off that Ableton track maybe didn’t realize that they were addressing a drum issue before hitting start!

[@powbobs]

Modern production where nobody has to actually play their instruments.

[@ivanfranco2363]

I agree. Perhaps the prerecorded count is there to make absolutely sure that their tempo is as close as possible to those tracks. If they allowed tommy to count it off himself there is a good chance (drugs, alcohol, exhaustion) that he would be off a bit and the engineers would have a harder time syncing up the tempos. Instead the count syncs everybody up to the prerecorded goodies.

[@thomasbonnett4800]

Crue’s participation in this tour will go down as the biggest miscalculation in music history. Sloppy, lazy.

[@pancakepunch1011]

I absolutely love this channel. Mr Hawkins is correct. I just done a video on this about 4 days ago and it kind of fills in the cracks of what mr hawkins is saying. because I'm an eighties drummer and I thought I'd do a video. When he rushes over to his kit, he's already getting a four count or whatever it is that they've rehearsed in their in-ear monitors. the count off on his hi-hat is nothing more than show all eighties drummers kicked songs off that way, as you probably know. They have that click in their ear for about two bars and everyone hears the same click. A video was posted on kiss, that allows you to hear the in ear monitor feed. Every song tells them something like, Strutter 1 2 3 4 1 2 all members are then in. It's an interesting video thank you for doing this. Oh hes playing drums. The monitor guy jumped the gun. Why through FOH though?

[@ericcindycrowder7482]

“You just can’t do it with 4 guys on stage” um we’ll Rush DID do it with 3 guys on stage!

[@Mahoney5881]

I believe sound thought something wrong with the tech taking a bit and forced out the drum track then shut off? Idk! Going to see them saturday! Love Crue! Peace brother

[@maxxschneider5534]

That wasn't a click track. I understand two laptops run the whole show. You have all your digital triggers. You have a click track. You start supplementing and sequencing parts onto the laptop. People don't notice and they are cheering. I saw Ozzy Osbourne lip syncing to a vocal track. Then he would stop and yell "go crazy" in real time. Personally I think I would be embarrassed. But you get used to the lifestyle so you go Milli vanilli.

[@tsargoyle]

As a sound engineer I’m also a bit stumped. If the count in is for the band’s benefit it wouldn’t sound like a hi-hat, it’d sound like a metronome. If I mix any band with a click of sorts being sent to in ear monitors I make sure that that input doesn’t even get added to my faders.. I don’t want to accidentally put up something people shouldn’t hear. It’s also smart to keep your fader count as low as possible.. id imagine that the sound person for this show will be mixing groups rather than individual faders (kick, snare, toms groups, cymbals/overhead group for example) so rather than having many faders to keep track of, they’ll be keeping track of maybe 5 faders instead of 15. Only thing I can think is there’s a pre-recorded element in case he’s unable to actually play. Miming is easier than actually performing. Not a fan of them but I know they’ve been “caught out” a few times lately. As much as I’m an advocate for proper live music, if this is what they want to do then go for it. The only fools here are the people paying these massive ticket prices to see them.

[@johnhalll5455]

$4000 VIP...😂

[@TheStacanova]

My guess is, it’s Motley Crue being Motley Crue and being ridiculous. Something like, they’re playing to a click in the monitors, with a 4 beat count in. Except Mick can’t hear the click & wanted Tommy to count it in on the hi-hat so he could hear, which probably became an argument, because Tommy’s like “I’m not psychic, I can tell exactly when the click is going to start, and a 3 count, count in on the hi-hat will sound weird”. Then Mick said, “well, I can’t hear the click, so I’m starting late”. Tommy said, “if you wore the “in ear” monitors this wouldn’t be a problem”. Then Mick says, “the in ear’s make my ears hurt and I lose balance and fall over if I wear those”. Then Nikki said, “we can get you a Walker, if that helps keep you from falling over”. Then Vince asked everyone to calm down. More argument ensued, until the manager came in and came up with a compromise, of sampling a hi-hat count in, so Mick could hear it and Tommy didn’t have to try to execute it, matched up to the click and agreed he’d join in after the 1st hit, but they would also put it through the monitors and front of house, since people in the 1st 10 rows can hear Mick’s monitors, since he doesn’t use the in ear monitors, so that everyone has a 4 count, count in they could hear, that will line up with the click track that 3/4’s of the band has in their in their in ear monitors. The life of a rock manger, finding brilliant solutions to problems that should have never existed in the 1st place!

[@benwharrier4221]

Justin! A question for your next comment react video thing… as an aspiring young songwriter myself I was wondering if when you wrote I believe in a thing called love you knew it would be the hit it was? Or were there any other tracks on that album you thought were stronger initially? Ps was wondering if you could ever do a video on Ginger Wildheart? I know you did backing vocals on a couple wildhearts tracks and I think he’s one of the most underrated songwriters personally! Love the channel and can’t wait to see you with black stone cherry!

[@11thdimension1986]

RUSSIAN CIRCLES! ♥ Please do a video on your thoughts on Post rock / post metal > bands like Russian Circles , Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Rós & maybe heavier bands like Cult of Luna!

[@markanthony5897]

Deliberately flown in by production to cover for TL who is late for his downbeat. The system here made available in case TL suddenly becomes unable to play, due to aggravated injury. The fact that he's playing at all is a testament to his commitment to the band and fans. To have some peace of mind should he again, aggravate his wound or need to take a breath, soft roll the beat, his ass is covered. Understandable.

[@noonecomics]

well a couple of months later, turns out he is "kind of faking it", Mick Mars really spilled the beans!

[@billyjeffersoniv4344]

Nothing super wrong with tempo setting when the drummer is in pain.

[@muzikkification]

Nothing wrong with it in general. It gives the rest of the band reassurance that everyone's in time. People talk about this crap as if it's auto-tune.

[@realjohnnysorrentino]

hi hat click indicates the start of lights and pyro for each song... thanks @Justin for your channel... cheers!

[@charleigh195]

Justin dearest would you be so nice to play a gig at my local golf cub my dads runs in on a Friday and Saturday and books local bands we can afford £150 quid and I know that’s an insult but I can but ask ole bean.Thank you kind sir Lee C kent of Kingston upon Hull.xPS if your rider is too large we can offer a wholesome and homemade meal for the whole band and can go half’s for fuel if it’s a tranny van.If it’s a bus I’m afraid we can help of load your gear ,alas some of the members may be knackered but I promise you have me for the day to be a runner.Once again dearest thank you for even taking the time to read this hopeful message.x

[@kathrynb8677]

I watch your videos because I love the reactions, the analysis and because you’re funny but I can’t lie, I also appreciate the fashion. 😎

[@MartinBellamyMBDrums]

Definitely just a count in screw up. Saw them live and there's no denying Tommy was playing the shit out of those drums!

[@luizarthurbrito]

The fact we hear the first hi hat sounds slightly out of time indicated he was really playing.

[@pwrmac7600]

Yeah Tommy definitely plays the song's live. But no doubt they do play to some color tracks, we just heard a count in for some odd reason. But he without a doubt doesn't mime....

[@bridgetyoung190]

I've witnessed worse out of Tommy Lee....without broken ribs. 😉😂🤣

[@philipmorris57]

I doubt that, did you sleep with him 🤔 😴 xxxx

[@bridgetyoung190]

@@philipmorris57 I didn't, did you?

[@willwhite5848]

Omg JH likes Russian Circles?!?? Fucking legend.

[@barrymills1069]

Love the channel man. Startling honesty about the symp limp, same as talking like you've a sore throat when you have a general malaise to make sure everyone knows you're sick.

[@chadburrows8925]

ok...so the four count is for everyone including tommy so there is no question of when the actually song starts....(with a long back track a four count in the backing track for everyone to start with will always be on time!)

[@nathanwalsh3028]

As a drummer who's played with many click tracks and sequence live it's exactly what it looks like. There's a four count Tommy realizes that he's a little late getting on the drum throne and comes in a little late on the first downbeat, corrects it by the second downbeat and off you go. Nothing crazy here people. Just normal shit us drummers deal with when we play with machines live. I thought Tommy did a nice job of adjusting and getting it back on track quickly.

[@danielortega3647]

Agreed!

[@RickReasonnz]

Love the tshirt! Great band, Russian Circles!

[@jenniferrichardson8474]

I agree. I think it was just a cue to let him know when to start playing. He is definitely hitting the cymbols and drums. No way to 'fake" playing.the drums.

[@jimbanda]

Hmmmm.... Not being miked and a few facecloths can pretty much mute them in a large arena. Although the symbols would make a fair old noise.

[@alittlebitgone]

Justin literally explains how it's possible to "fake" playing the drums in this video, lol.

[@jimbanda]

@@alittlebitgone I probs dint wait long enough to hear him, sometimes I tune out or make a cuppa. 😭😭

[@frankshailes3205]

@@jimbanda I've just got a phone which allows me to play KZbin so I can take it with me into the kitchen 😁 🍵

[@jimbanda]

@@frankshailes3205 😂I watch most on the phone, just too lazy to unplug from the charger and lift of the cheap phone stand. 😂

[@jimmybaumgardner6144]

Don't know but it probably is pre-recorded he's playing along with just like the bass vocals of the singer that's the way it is

[@Ajessordinaryhistory]

I’ve had that happen before where our click was piped through the mains by accident. It is surprisingly a super easy mistake to make. Our count off click was actually a stupid loud 4 count cowbell due to playing medleys and no clear start and stop points that we could always hear🤷‍♀️ that’s what that sounds like to me. Tommy is great so I’m sure that was just a count in click that should have just been in their ears👍🏼

[@Metal-Possum]

RUSSIAN CIRCLES ARE ACE BISCUITS! I don't much care for these Mottled Crew fellas though.

[@ryanboyd4770]

Quality as per usual 👍

[@stevenfairclough5745]

Russian Circles: awesome band. Got to see them at a local place here in Oklahoma City. The Diamond Ballroom. It was a great show.

[@togger3.011]

Tommy knew it was coming from how quickly he jumped to the kit. I actually think the backing track was for the guitars not the drums, guitars sound way to full for Nick to pull that off.. I agree with Hawkins, Tommy’s late kick proves his kit was Mic’d and he was playing for real.

[@markblanch2905]

How is it possible for the guitars to sound "too full" when there is a world of processing and PA there specifically to achieve that? I'd get it if this was in the 60s

[@StickmanCyclops]

Russian Circles [Isis-like instrumental trio] shirt! Yes....so obscure.

[@CMFO83]

Thanks Justin. Tommy is a huge 80’s Icon and I think most people tend to forget the dudes age ( which is clearly not as obvious as Vince’s age ) , He ploughed through the 80’s on cocaine not remembering anything , fucked Pam basically all through the nineties and somehow survived all the dumb shit he mentioned in his autobiography and is still playing like a beast behind the drums today …. Who gives a shit if there is a backing track to get a song started the dude is a legend . I find it’s normally those people that don’t understand music or the whole concept of what it takes to play live music . There will always be fuckups and no two shows are ever the same no matter how much you have amps , Guitars , pedals and front of house dialled in

[@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain]

Thanks Cashel!

[@CMFO83]

@@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain pleasure brother.

[@stevebennett3653]

Tommy is a fantastic drummer and has been since the 80s. This is all just part of the technology that makes shows look and sound their best. I’m sure there are extra guitar tracks in there that supplement what Mick is playing live. Probably some percussion, effects and backing vocals, too. It’s obvious Tommy is playing once the song starts.

[@markwhite2207]

You would have to PAY ME at least 4G to go and see Motley Crue.

[@adamheywood113]

"Maybe one of the crew... Not the Crüe, but the Crüe's crew" idk why I had to see this typed out but it tickled me

[@jontypiper9881]

Russian Circles, a recent discovery for me, so glad I came across them.

[@_garebear]

Caught dead-to-rights. Cymbal crashes where no cymbals are hit. Next issue,.

[@evansevansevans1]

Russian Circles tee?? Wow.

[@julianburnan4496]

Justin, we love you, but please buy a stand for your acoustic guitar!

[@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain]

I will!

[@StrangeDevice]

@@JustinHawkinsRidesAgain Justin, I have a desktop cradle thing I can send you. You put it on your desk and can just set your guitar on the floor and the neck sits right in the cradle. That way, the guitar is right next to you for easy access and you don’t take up any floor space with a whole stand.

[@paulboggan]

Russian circles rule!!, that's me banned from yourtubes

[@randomprecisionmotors3130]

4000 dollars??!! I don't like ANY band enough to throw down that much money...I can remember a ticket to a Crue show was 8 bucks...who the hell do they think they ARE anyway, the f@cking Beatles? Gimme a break...

[@hinjurock70]

I wouldn't pay more than $100 to see any band.

[@StumpyMantis360]

Much respect for Representing Russian Circles ❤️ amazing act

[@lookingatcrap]

If you're a fan of Russian Circles I'm going to lose my shit. Amazing band

[@Jess-Markt]

Nice Russian Circles T!! One of the great post-metal bands ever!

[@pazwretzky4673]

so Tommy was a little late for work...I like how open you are to music overall, I'm really enjoying your channel Justin...are there other Sargent House artists you like ?

[@SouthJerseyMatt]

The Mick Mars controversy happening now explains all of this.

[@OFR]

I worked for a few days helping motley set up for their first reunion tour. They have backing tracks for guitars bass and drums, but not the vocals!

[@azaz...]

wow, Russian circles , have you heard their new album? great band

[@iainsmith3079]

You should d a video on Russian Circles...freakin awesome band

[@altered7144]

Blimey! 😵 Indian bells would've been a mission when I had broken ribs!...there must be some kind of pain relief involved there, delay or not! 🙌🥁🕺

[@ferndawg1111]

Russian Circles? Now, there's a band that never fakes it.

[@ballenasvolando]

Russian Circles!!! 😍🖤

[@ctcards2636]

Im shocked anyone wants to see the Crue, they are terrible live even with the backing tracks lol! I was less than impressed last time i saw them about 10 or 12 years ago @ Ozzfest. It hasnt gotten any better.Luckily that stadium tour has some real bands on it to make up for the pathetic performance that the Crue bring each night. Just saying. Now let the BS comments towards me begin ! :-P lol

[@overthewaterx2]

you make us look and listen to things in more depth, we are learning lots from you, when our new album comes out give it a going over!...gently! Rose and Tilds xx (yee loi)

[@johncollins5552]

The drum tech delays Tommy getting sat in for the pre recorded hat count in that the sound engineer triggers too soon and has also obviously put through the pa out instead of the monitor system so it's a whole bunch of errors that Tommy couldn't control but legend that he is, he deals with it and keeps the whole show on the road.

[@KsiazeIgor]

The acoustic you're on now sounds flatter than the Gibbo you played before. Pity, I love the opening tune sounding full n rich. Greetings from Poland, Justin mate.

[@Ranger-ib7xw]

ITS JUST A COUNT OFF OR CLICK TRACK, THEN TOMMY JUMPS IN LIVE.

[@mattgriffin2880]

The new Russian Circles LP, Gnosis, is out on 8/19!!