Former Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin has publicly apologized to Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, walking back the backing-track comments that sparked a short-lived war of words between the two.
Larkin addressed the situation during a Facebook Live stream on June 29, saying he regretted singling Sixx out while making a broader point about click tracks and pre-recorded elements at live shows. According to Larkin, he never meant it as a personal shot or a play for attention.
The drummer explained how a general observation turned into a headline-grabbing spat.
“And so I put my two cents in it, and then where I messed up and started this f**king drama is I used Nikki Sixx as an example of someone that I’ve seen singing at a mic and then walking away from it and his vocal’s still going or whatever, or the bass thing, whatever it is,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And I called him out, I guess, but I didn’t… Like I said, it was taken out of context because I was talking about the whole thing and then I kind of said, ‘Like Nikki Sixx does when he’s at the mic.’”
Larkin then spoke directly to the Mötley Crüe icon, framing his apology as an open letter.
“So I wanna make an open letter to Nikki Sixx,” he continued. “And I’m looking at Nikki Sixx, I’m looking at you, and I’m talking to you. You’ll probably never see this. And I didn’t think you’d ever even respond or hopefully wouldn’t see the thing, but I had nothing to do with that.”
He added: “That’s why I’m apologizing. I was not doing that to attack you. I had f**king your first record on Leathür Records [Mötley Crüe‘s original record label]. I have nothing but respect for you. You’re a legend, and you’ve deserve all the accolades that you’ve gotten and every award and all those gold records, platinum records, all that s**t — you deserve all that.”
He continued: “I made the mistake, which I’m apologizing for, sincerely too. Look at my eyes talking to you, because I’m sorry. I used you as an example. I’m one of those guys that’s I’m on the… I don’t do the tracks, but I have nothing against bands that do. And f**k, 80% of bands probably run the tracks. I don’t give a f**k.”
The apology landed just days after Sixx hit back at Larkin on X (formerly Twitter), taking aim at musicians he said spend more time talking about Mötley Crüe than writing memorable songs of their own.
Nikki wrote: “Who’s this Shannon Larkin hater?
“It’s funny how so many B- and C-level bands seem to spend more time talking about us than writing songs people actually remember. Maybe it’s jealousy, maybe it’s insecurity, maybe ticket sales are a little slow. Either way, borrowing someone else’s spotlight has never been much of a long-term career strategy.”
“I genuinely feel for musicians who never figured out that the best publicity is writing great songs — over and over again, decade after decade for fans not critics.”
“It reminds me of the endless bimbo podcast crowd that builds an audience by talking about everyone else instead of creating something worth talking about.”
“Anyway, maybe he’s [sic] needs to take a nap before he does more press.”
The dust-up began during a June 19 livestream on Larkin‘s YouTube channel, where he defended Godsmack‘s decision to bring in ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini and explained why the band performs without click tracks. It was there that he pointed to Sixx and Mötley Crüe as an example.
Larkin was discussing how Godsmack‘s refusal to use click tracks or backing tracks shapes the feel of their live show when he turned his attention to Sixx.
“And so what I try to explain to people about tempo and when you’re not a band that’s a click-track, backing-track kind of band. So Godsmack uses no click tracks, no backing tracks. It’s a thing that a lot of other musicians talk about too, I notice now. I’m really noticing it. We’ve been saying it for years as we watched the advent of everybody started adding some, the rhythm guitar or something being played, but there isn’t a guy behind the amps playing it. It’s on a track. Oh, it’s a new thing, kinda. And backups, you see Nikki Sixx up there [with Mötley Crüe]. He’s not really singing, he looks away, but you still hear his voice. Well, it’s a track playing. But in order for those things to happen, the band has to be on a click track — and the band doesn’t have to. It’s just us, the drummer. We’re on a click, so it’s always the same every night. So it’s a homogenization of what used to be the dangerous feeling of a rock show — dangerous from the band’s aspect on stage too. You don’t know what’s gonna go on,” he said at the time.
While standing by his own preference for playing without tracks, Larkin stressed he holds nothing against bands that use them, and that he never wanted the moment blown up.
“I wasn’t trying to get publicity, and you’re so famous, though, that I mentioned you in a sentence just as an example, and I shouldn’t have done that ’cause people take the track thing negatively,” Larkin continued. “But I was being on the fence about the whole issue and just giving my opinion on what I felt. I feel it takes the danger out of it.”
Later in the stream, he made clear he wanted the whole thing over with.
“I don’t like beefs,” he said. “I don’t like that L.A. f**king, like how you guys all hate each other and s**t. And then — I don’t know. Beefs suck, and I don’t want to be in a beef. And I didn’t do this for f**king publicity. I don’t give a f**k.”
He closed with a final word to Sixx.
“I hope you see it and just f**king take me for real and know that I am sorry for saying it, for using you like that. But it wasn’t for what you think it was for, for this f**king press and attention… I was not starting s**t… And so, for what it’s worth, you don’t know who I am, but you can sleep at night knowing I do respect you, and I didn’t mean to call you out like that. That was bulls**t. Anyway, f**k it. I’m done. I’ve been talking to you, man, and I’m sorry. And that’s the truth,” he concluded.
The exchange carried extra weight given the long-running history between the two camps. Sixx and Godsmack frontman Sully Erna feuded years ago after Godsmack supported Mötley Crüe on the road, a rift widely believed to have inspired the Godsmack track “Cryin’ Like A B**ch“.
