The 80’s rock band Motley Crue is legendary for their hard partying past. If you’ve read their autobiography, The Dirt or seen their Vh-1 Behind the Music, you’re familiar with their outrageous story. But now comes The Heroin Diaries, a raw and unflinching look into Crue bassist Nikki Sixx’s devastating drug addiction. Previewing his book and accompanying CD, Nikki Sixx came out to the Crash House in Los Angeles on July 16 to discuss his story and debut his new band Sixx A.M for the press and a few lucky fans.
Recounting the height of his addiction and fame, Nikki Sixx has taken the pages of his personal diary from 1987 and made it public with the intention of helping others with crippling addictions. When he first re-read his words in preparation for the project, he felt it was "like reading another person’s diary." Wanting to better understand the extreme depths of his life back then, Sixx talked to those who witnessed his descent into drugs. As Nikki explained, "I felt the story wasn’t complete unless I had other people’s opinions or truths."
But getting his close friends’, and in particular his Motley Crue bandmates’ honest opinions was tricky, as he explained, "I knew if I went to the band and said ‘Tell me what I was like in 1987’ that they would be ‘Nikki we love you there’s no problems’, and I knew we would have a fluff piece, and the last thing we need is another fluff piece book out there. So I got them to be really honest, but not to me, to somebody else so they could really open up."
Wanting even more brutal honesty, Sixx hit up ex-girlfriends, ex-managers and family members to recall those dark days. Hearing what the people closest to him had to say about his drug filled past enabled Sixx to gain the closure he so desperately needed. "They gave me the [opportunity] to be able to understand it." Facing the reasons for his addictions, Nikki realized, "I was able to fill this huge hole with drugs and fame and sex and everything else that comes along."
A former runaway with a rocky childhood himself, Sixx hopes his story will help other troubled teens get the help they need to straighten out their lives. As the press conference’s moderator and Executive Editor/Associate Publisher at Billboard Magazine, Tamara Conniff, jokingly stated, "if Nikki can get clean, anyone can get clean."
But the book is only one aspect of The Heroin Diaries. Creating what can only be described as a soundtrack to the book, The Heroin Diaries will also be released as a CD featuring Nikki’s new band Sixx A.M. Explaining how they came up with the songs, Sixx shared, "We weren’t writing for radio; we wrote music based on what everybody felt from the book." Making up his new band is Dj ASHBA and James Michael.
Fans of Motley Crue won’t hear a lot of the revered hair metal band on this CD however, as Sixx has let go of the 80’s and moved into the present. As Jim Richards, Director of Rock Programming at Clear Channel said, "He has not stayed in 1987 musically. When you have a chance to listen to every song as a compilation you see the lyrical and thematic factor being woven from one song to the next production style. At times it’s like a twisted circus."
Commenting on Sixx A.M’s first single, Life is Beautiful, Jim explained why it’s already getting attention before it has even officially been released, stating, "It’s good. It rocks and it’s interesting lyrically, it’s interesting musically and it’s very contemporary."
The Heroin Diaries also features photos of Sixx that "Capture what it was like to be in my head at that time." Not wanting perfectly airbrushed photos of himself, Nikki had prosthetics put on to show his face in decay, rotting and falling apart.
Since Nikki knows what it’s like to be on the streets with nowhere to go, he feels it’s important to give back. Not content with just sharing his experiences through his words and music, the rocker is giving 25% of his book royalties to Running Wild in the Night, a charity he formed to help raise money for the Covenant House which is the largest privately funded agency in the Americas that provides shelter and other services to homeless, runaway youth.
With a huge media campaign being rolled out for The Heroin Diaries, readings, signings, PSA’s and concerts are in the works. Fans interested in the project can also go to one of Clear Channel’s 167 rock station websites, type in keyword Nikki Sixx and get information and previews on the new CD and book. There will also be six webisodes to watch from now until the project is released that will give a behind the scenes look at the making of the The Heroin Diaries.
The Heroin Diaries CD will be released on August 21st with the book to follow on September 18th. For more information go to www.NikkiSixx.net.
Photo credit: Lori Wilson
