Honestly I never cared about Vince Neil enough to know his history or that he claimed to not drink at all. If so, it would have been easy enough to call him out on that. He is a regular, with a glass in hand, around Vegas at receptions and events. I can’t vouch for what was in his glass –though he was not carrying anything like bottled water or other alternatives that stood out -only that it looked identical to the drinks served at whatever reception.

The one time I did observe him closely he was getting a tattoo and was not drinking. But in a must read blog post Steve Friess offers Neil’s own words contrasted with his alleged behavior. Friess interviewed him in detail on the topic of his sobriety and got some answers that looking back were alarmingly vague. It is a strong  post because Friess not only carefully examines the accusations but lines them up with how Neil seems to view drinking.

But the most distressing fact Friess offers was new to me about Neil: “in 1984 he was drunk when he crashed a vehicle that left a passenger dead and two people in vegetative states.” You would think that incident would be too soul crushing to ever repeat that choice (the drink and drive choice which I think of as separate from an alcoholic drinking). Las Vegas is not other cities. No one even has to call a cab (just go to the cab-line at the resort).  If you have had drinks at a Strip resort you need never work hard to find an alternative for the drive home. And, a man with Neil’s connections, almost certainly, could have been comped a room, just for the asking. If the charges against Neil are true, no one could have less of an excuse for driving after ANY drinking than Vince Neil. (Photo: Sarah Gerke)