MARCH/APRIL 2011 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM

WHEN BASS PLAYER AND SONGWRITER

Nikki Sixx isn’t busy shouting at the devil

with Mötley Crüe or Sixx:A.M., you’ll fi nd 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 infl uenced us, or if we

infl uenced 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 defi nitely 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

NIKKI SIXX The Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M. rocker prefers clicks to cliques

‘I’m able to create from a place of complete honesty, which is nice.’

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Q&A

M mag 10.indd 36 4/17/11 7:47:14 PM