Born to a Greek beauty queen and a U.S. soldier on October 3, 1962 in Athens, Greece, Tommy Lee (aka T-Bone) and his parents moved to Southern California shortly after his birth. When he was "tall enough to reach the silverware drawer," he wasted no time in transforming eating utensils into drumsticks. As a teenager, he dropped out of school to join a band called Suite 19. The rest, of course, is rock history...

At 17, Lee left Suite 19 and teamed up with bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars and singer Vince Neil, naming themselves Mötley Crüe. With a knack for creating fists-in-the-air anthems, the band quickly built a strong fan base and composed a string of hit releases throughout the '80s, establishing themselves as one of the biggest hard rock/metal bands of the decade. During this time, Lee became known for his crowd-pleasing gimmicks during his live drum solos, such as having his drum kit revolve and spin, or float above the crowd, while he continued to play.

In 1999, Lee officially left Mötley Crüe. With rap metal being all the rage, Lee formed a similarly-styled outfit, Methods of Mayhem, issuing a self-titled album the same year and touring behind it. After several guest appearances on albums by other artists, contributing a song to the soundtrack of then-wife Pamela Anderson's 1996 movie, Barb Wire, and producing an album for the pre-Goldfinger project from John Feldmann and Simon Williams - The Electric Love Hogs, he parted ways with Methods of Mayhem partner Tilo and began recording with members of Incubus and the Deftones. Shortly after, he started recording songs featuring himself almost exclusively, and ended up releasing his first solo album.

He also wrote a book. His candid 2004 memoir Tommyland landed on The NEW YORK TIMES best-seller list. And in 2005, Lee had a reunion tour with Mötley Crüe, which has energised thousands of fans worldwide, recalling the zenith of the band's fame in the '80s and '90s. Soon to follow was his third solo album, Tommyland: The Ride, as well as a reality television show featuring his experiences as he goes back to school, called Tommy Lee Goes to College.

In 2006, Lee will assume drum duties for his new venture, Supernova - an all star unit assembled for the second season of reality TV show Rock Star: The Series. The core band comprises of Lee, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and onetime Guns n' Roses axeman Gilby Clarke.

Finally single, clean and sober, Lee devotes most of his free time these days toward his two children. While appreciating a more normal life, he nonetheless bemoans the lack of originality and rampant political correctness among rock stars today. "Everyone kind of sounds the same and looks the same. I mean, where're the Mick Jaggers, the David Bowies?" lamented Lee, who also noted how comfortable rock performers have become. "In rock there's got to be some element of danger, like, 'Is this guy going to make it through the show tonight?' Beyond the music, that's what makes it exciting. Come on, guys! Step it up a notch!"

For Rock Star hopefuls this year, there is a tip to remember from the incomparable Tommy Lee!

Newsted was born on March 4, 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Despite having received his first bass at the age of 13, he didn't take it seriously until five years later, where he decided to leave for Phoenix and formed a band called Dogz in 1981. In 1983, the band changed their name to Flotsam & Jetsam, specialising in a newfound metal style - thrash. Newsted was the band's leader, serving as the main songwriter and lyricist in addition to his bass duties. It was also around this time that Newsted discovered the frontrunners of thrash metal, Metallica - a band that he fell in love with immediately.

In 1986, Metallica bassist Cliff Burton died in an accident during the band's European tour. Metallica had just released their most successful album, Master Of Puppets, and decided to soldier on, auditioning bass players to fill the void left by Burton.

Despite a promising future with Flotsam & Jetsam, Newsted opted to try out for Metallica one day after Burton's funeral. He got the gig and Metallica picked up where the tour had left off with Newsted as the new member. Newsted then spent 1987 working with Metallica on their highly-anticipated follow up to Master Of Puppets.

With their self-titled release in 1991, Metallica became one of the most popular rock bands in the world - the album sold over ten million copies in the United States alone. After a mammoth two-year tour in support of the album, the band grounded to a halt in 1993, and the members decided to take some time off.

It wasn't until 1996 that the quartet issued their next studio album, Load. During this time, the band released several more hit albums. But Newsted also found time to guest on other artists' recordings. He left Metallica in 2001, created EchoBrain and quit again to join the Canadian metal band Voivod in 2002.

In March 2003, Newsted was showcased as the newest member of Ozzy Osbourne's band. Currently, he remains with Voivod and appeared on their self-titled album in 2003 as well as their latest album in 2005.

Newsted will be banding together with Mötley Crüe kitman Tommy Lee and one-time Guns N' Roses axeman Gilby Clarke to form Supernova, utilising the second season of the Mark Burnett-produced Rock Star: The Series to find a lead singer. Said Newsted, "This is a fantastic opportunity for me to play with guys I've respected for a long time. It gives us a chance to be innovators. This is a new thing. It's never been done before. We're going to break new ground musically and on television. The anticipation is building in me every day. This is a supergroup in the truest sense."

Born on August 17, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio, Clarke moved to Los Angeles in his teens, where he fell into the local music scene. At the tender age of 17, he dived into the Tinseltown music scene headfirst and came up swinging in a pop band called Candy, whose lone 1984 Polygram album, Whatever Happened to Fun?, was referenced by the hippest rock critics. When the criminally ignored Candy soured, Clarke fronted Kill for Thrills, a wonderfully strident, big riff quartet.

During this time, Clarke befriended the members of Guns N' Roses, who had undergone a meteoric, but rocky, rise to superstardom. When Guns founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin abruptly quit the band in the middle of a 28-month world tour in 1991, Clarke was one of the few guitarists that the band tried out. From there, Clarke won Stradlin's spot in the Guns N' Roses circus - private jets, football stadiums and diplomatic immunity followed. Clarke remained with the group for the remainder of the tour, which lasted through 1993, and appeared on their all-covers release, The Spaghetti Incident.

But Clarke ended his stint with the band in 1995 when lead singer Axl Rose decided to pursue different styles of music. Undeterred, Clarke launched a solo career, releasing a string of hit albums featuring contributions from several of his friends, including all of his former Guns bandmates. In the meantime, the guitarist began sharpening his studio skills in his own recording facility.

In 2001, Clarke formed the band Col. Parker, whose rootsy, garage rock debut on V2, Rock N' Roll Music, came out in 2002. That record made key year-end top-ten lists. In 2003, Clarke joined Heart for their national tour and TV appearances. In addition, he oversaw much of Nancy Sinatra's California Girl record, and assumed guitar duties in her touring band. Clarke also played with the reformed MC5 on their 2005 European tour and is currently with the band The Starf*ckers.

Most recently, Clarke, along with Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) and Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica), will be appearing on the second season of the Mark Burnett-produced Rock Star: The Series to search for singer to lead their new venture together - Supernova.