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.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 11: John Mellencamp performs at Northrup Auditorium on February 11, 2015 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 28: Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petterson of the band Cheap Trick perform on stage during the 35th Anniversary of Cheap Trick at Budokan at the John Varvatos Bowery NYC store on April 28, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for John Varvatos)

LAS VEGAS - JULY 24: REO Speedwagon (L-R) frontman Kevin Cronin, keyboardist Neal Doughty, bassist Bruce Hall, guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt arrive at an after-concert party at the Rok Vegas nightclub at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino early July 24, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Rok Vegas Nightclub)

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)

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JANUARY 12: Musician Bob Dylan onstage during the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium on January 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)

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

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Musician Chrissie Hynde performs at Ryman Auditorium on November 10, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

INDIO, CA - APRIL 16: Musician Slash of Guns N' Roses performs onstage during day 2 of the 2016 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Weekend 1 at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2016 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 20: Steve Miller performs onstage during The 7th Annual Little Kids Rock Benefit at Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom on October 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Little Kids Rock)