http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grpress/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-2/1184853094187660.xml&coll=6 Def Leppard promises all its hits Thursday, July 19, 2007 By Jake May The Grand Rapids Press Def Leppard started out like any other band. Each member had an interest in music; each wanted to form a band. Lead vocalist Joe Elliott said the first time the guys got together, they didn't even pick up instruments. Actually, they didn't pick up them up for about six weeks. "It was really just us sitting around listening to records," he said in a phone interview on the road near Cleveland. "We talked about our future ... and what we wanted to be. Did we contemplate world domination? Absolutely. Nobody wants to consider it a race, but we wanted to be the biggest rock band out there." Approaching the band's 30th year together, Def Leppard still is on the road, playing its hits. The group takes the stage at 10 p.m. Sunday at the Mountain Rock Music Festival, in Farwell. The four-day event includes performances by Styx, Grand Funk Railroad, Third Eye Blind, REO Speedwagon and many other groups. Def Leppard expects to release a new CD in 2008. "Some people may be disappointed, because we won't be playing new material, but we're bringing back some stuff," Elliott said. "We're not going to play any new material, because it's too easy for something to just pop up onto the Internet today. ... It can be on YouTube (within) two minutes of playing it. "We might change a song between now and when we release it. You just can't do it anymore. We've got to protect ourselves." Being about 80 percent done with the songs for the new album, Elliott said the group plans to write two or three more before tour's end. "The more you do it, the better you get at it," he said. "We decide what records we make, and what goes on them -- always have, always will. We've been around for a while, but that doesn't mean we find it more difficult to create new songs." "When we are trying to work through a song, we may fart around and come back to it until we play it right. Other times, they write themselves. You have certain things that click and some that don't. Sometimes a band can go too far and ruin something, and other bands don't go far enough. That's how it is." The performers Today: Da Yoopers, Larry McCray, Chicago Friday: 49th Star, The Flask, Lucky Livingstons, Collective Soul, REO Speedwagon Saturday: Pop Evil, Saliva, Grand Funk Railroad, Third Eye Blind, Deep Purple Sunday: Dave Kellen, Uncle Kracker, Styx, Def Leppard If you go When: 5-11 p.m. today, 1-11 p.m. Friday, 1-11 p.m. Saturday, 2-10 p.m. Sunday (Times shown are start of first and last performance) Where: Silver Ridge Music Festivals, 1001 Mott Mountain Road, Farwell Tickets: $75 one-day general admission ($35 child); $150 four-day general admission ($70 child); $275 four-day reserved seat; $375 four-day VIP seat Camping: Available with music ticket; $60 and $70 four-day general admission camping More: (989) 588-7220, (800) 515-1780, mtrockfest.com Send e-mail to the author: jwmay@grpress.com ©2007 Michigan Live LLC. All Rights Reserved.