NIKKI SIXX

MMUSICMAG.COM
MARCH/APRIL 2011 ISSUE
David S. Holloway/Getty Images
Q&A
NIKKI SIXX
The Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M. rocker prefers clicks to cliques
WHEN BASS PLAYER AND SONGWRITER
Nikki Sixx isn’t busy shouting at the devil
with Mötley Crüe or Sixx:A.M., you’ll find him
taking photos or writing books. His latest
project, This Is Gonna Hurt, combines all
three: It’s a book of photography and prose
accompanied by an album of the same name.
This Is Gonna Hurt showcases Sixx’s gritty
photos, serves as his literary follow-up to the
bestselling 2007 memoir The Heroin Diaries
and boasts new music from the rocker and
his Sixx:A.M. bandmates, vocalist James
Michael and guitarist DJ Ashba.
How did this project take shape?
I knew I wanted to do something with my
photography at some point. I had started
writing songs with James and DJ for a
Sixx:A.M. record. James came to my studio,
where I have a gallery, and he was looking
at all the photography that was framed as
we were writing songs. I said, “Wouldn’t it
be interesting if this influenced us, or if we
influenced that?” And the lightbulb went on.
What’s the unifying concept?
We felt like we were not only exorcising
our own demons, but also shining a light
on what it feels like to be living in the
world. It’s become this kind of plastic
bubble. So many people forget about art
or music or photography or fashion that it
becomes disposable.
What demons came out?
I have at times become judgmental—but I’m
not judging those who are usually outed from
the party and not invited into the special
velvet-rope rooms. I’m talking about the man
with the gray suit and gray tie and gray smile—
I’m judging him as a shark before I even let
him get close, which I know better than to do.
That’s what my book is about: getting people
together. We are all the same. We just want
to be accepted, so let’s stop the cliques. I
have this thing where I get together with
all kinds of different people—bikers, fashion
designers, business people, people I’ve
photographed, family members—and have
these dinners. It’s amazing when you see a
Hell’s Angel talking to a transvestite.
How long did this project take?
A couple years. The book was originally
close to 500 pages, so we had to do
a lot of surgery. The book company
wanted 264 pages, and my foreword could
have been that long.
How different is being in Sixx:A.M. from
being in Mötley Crüe?
The chemistry of us four in the Crüe is
way different from me, James and DJ. In
Sixx:A.M. we don’t try to be anything, because
we’re not really a band. We don’t conform
to the band concept.
Does that take the pressure off?
Maybe I’m able to be very Zen about Sixx:A.M.
because I have a safety net. I already have
something that’s successful. But Mötley Crüe
is like a train accident waiting to happen. I
don’t ever look at Mötley Crüe and think, “I
have a stable relationship.” I love the band,
I love the music and I love the guys, but I
don’t depend on it to last. I never thought
it would last this long. But I definitely don’t
do Sixx:A.M. and just throw it to the wind
because I have a safety net. The fans don’t
have to listen to something someone’s doing
because they need to make their mortgage.
I’m able to create from a place of complete
honesty, which is nice.
–Eric R. Danton
‘I’m able to create from a place of complete
honesty, which is nice.’
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