John Mellencamp on Punching The Cars’ Benjamin Orr, Getting Kicked Off Multiple Tours

John Mellencamp has mellowed with age, as most people do. Nonetheless, Indiana's favorite son got aggressive with his fair share of people early in his career.

He touched on this in a new interview with The New York Times, which is appropriately titled "John Mellencamp Just Might Punch You." Mellencamp says at one point, "I built my own studio in Indiana because I couldn't get along with anyone in the multiplex. I punched the blond-haired singer of the Cars. I fought all the time, and lost all the time."

Sadly, there's no elaboration in the published interview as to what led Mellencamp to punch presumably the late Benjamin Orr. However, the mystery makes the story that more intriguing, sort of like how Mellencamp said he "got kicked off every tour" he was on.

When pressed on why he got kicked off tours with Rainbow, KISS and REO Speedwagon, Mellencamp said, "My band and I were terrible, but we were better than KISS." He added, "I was a young kid, full of energy, and the reviews said, 'John Cougar blew the place up last night.' Gene Simmons would look at me like he wanted to kill me." (Mellencamp didn't even spit blood. The nerve!)

Mellencamp's new album, Orpheus Descending, comes out on June 16 and is available for pre-order here. He's also on tour, and a full list of upcoming shows can be found at Mellencamp.com.

Some of classic rock's biggest names and influencers we know and love hail from the Midwest.

From Cheap Trick being the pride of Rockford, Ill. to John Mellencamp's deep roots in Indiana, rock and roll isn't just born on the coasts. You can find it in what some might dub "flyover country," but these names prove this area of the United States should be anything but ignored.

Scroll below to see just a sample of the incredible rock and roll talent that came from the Midwest.

Three members of the American rock and roll group Guns N' Roses in front of a Hard Rock Cafe banner, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1992. From left, Duff McKagan, Gilby Clarke, and Izzy Stradlin. (Photo by Scott Harrison/Getty Images)

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 04: Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses performs following the V8 Supercar Grand Finale at ANZ Stadium on December 4, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 19: Musician Bob Seger speaks onstage during the 2015 Billboard Touring Awards at The Roosevelt Hotel on November 19, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

CHICAGO - JANUARY 01: Chuck Berry performs at the Congress Theater on January 1, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)