The brains and lifeblood of infamous hair-metal band Mötley Crüe, Nikki Sixx possesses a full-bore intensity both on and off the stage is the stuff of legend. As the Crüe’s primary lyricist and songwriter, Sixx has inspired either awe or loathing—sometimes both—polarizing musicians since he first took to the stage nearly 30 years ago. To fans, Sixx and his Mötley bandmates—drummer Tommy Lee, guitarist Mick Mars, and vocalist Vince Neil—were performance geniuses, their Kiss-inspired outfits and zombified glam imagery scaring the hell out of parents everywhere. To critics, the Crüe epitomized the missteps of ’80s hard rock—a commoditized obsession with an over-the-top personal style, screechy vocals, buzzy guitars, and unsurpassed debauchery.

With the Crüe resting up from a triumphant 2005 reunion tour, Sixx has turned his attention inward, focusing on collecting personal journals made as the Crüe was beginning to dominate the rock & roll landscape of the late ’80s. After assembling passages for his new book, The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star [MTV/VH1 Pocket Books], Nikki set out to write an accompanying soundtrack, enlisting vocalist James Michael and guitarist DJ Ashba to collaborate as Sixx: A.M., Nikki’s grandest, most melodic venture to date.

Like a hard-rock Broadway show—complete with forbidden onstage acts and a badass rock band thundering from below the stage—The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack examines the pitfalls that came with Nikki’s decadent lifestyle, chronicling the drug-addled days of 1987. With deep, piano-like bass tones on the powerful “Accidents Can Happen” and fat, propelling riffs on the urgently upbeat “Life Is Beautiful,” Sixx plays it all—from director to supporting player. It’s Nikki’s genuine attempt at personal and musical candor, owning up to past immaturity and insecurity on record and in print. Nikki is even giving back to society in the best way he knows how, donating a portion of sales to Running Wild in the Night, a fundraising initiative reaching out to runaway teens and encouraging them to develop their musical talents.

Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil sums up Nikki best in the new book: “You know the problem with Nikki Sixx? He can’t do anything just a little bit. There’s no middle speed for that dude—it’s zero or ten.” In other words, get on board, or get out of the way.

What inspired you to publish The Heroin Diaries and create a soundtrack for your journal?
I was going through my storage unit and reading some of my journals from ’81 and ’82. At the time, I was thinking that a band could rule the world if it had the attitude of the Sex Pistols and the balls of Black Sabbath. Around Shout at the Devil [1983], I had written, “Our album came out yesterday and we played in front of 70,000 people—and they all knew the songs.” We embraced all the decadence, but at the core, the kid with the dream was intact. We were selling out arenas by 1985, and by late ’86 I was thinking, “What happened to the guy with the dream? The music that was everything to him?” It was a real fly-on-the-wall look at addiction.

My dad left when I was three and my left mom when I was six. I was shuffled all over the place, and I became fueled by anger, alcohol, and anything else I could get in my body. It was like search and destroy, and I turned it into a career. And then it turned on me. When I got out of it, I was at a higher level of creativity, and I got my dream back. That evolution inspired us to write a soundtrack and donate proceeds from it.

To me it’s coming full circle, closing a chapter. I hope this will help some people.

What do you hope people get out of it?
I’m not on a soapbox saying not to do drugs or alcohol. I’m sharing my story and saying, “I can tell you what’s behind door number one.” I believe that if you read the book, you will never do what I did. People I know who have been associated with drugs and alcohol—that whole lifestyle—say the book made their skin crawl. You are not going to read The Heroin Diaries and think, I can’t wait to go score some junk.

Did you set any stylistic parameters as you wrote the soundtrack?
We focused on the visuals that were in our heads from the book. The most important thing was to be true to the story and to give the record a sonically cohesive feel. We felt we didn’t need a cohesive style—I’ve been fortunate enough to make many records, and they all have been very different. It comes down to the chemistry between human beings. People are either a positive part of the process or they get in the way.

Musically, how would you compare Sixx: A.M. to Mötley Crüe?
They’re actually very different. There’s finesse in Sixx: A.M. There’s not a lot of finesse in Mötley Crüe.

How would you describe your bass playing?
It depends. I’m very fluid and use a lot of movement on The Heroin Diaries. But the one song that could best be dubbed as my style is “Pray for Me”—it’s straight down the middle, just rock & roll. When we played at the press conference to announce the book and album, that was the one song where I felt, “Okay, this is what I do.” I’m used to being in attack mode—right with the drums, right in the pocket. You know, a rock bass player.

What’s the most underappreciated aspect of your playing?
You know, I don’t know if I even care [laughs]. I’m a bass player in a rock band—what do I want, a Bass Player of the Year Award? I love bass—a lot. But I’m a bass player in a band. I’m not standing in the spotlight seeing how many licks I can fit in. There are lots of bass players out there that just blow me away. If I wanted to play that way, I would. But it’s just not my thing.

What’s your biggest weakness as a player?
In Mötley Crüe I always used a pick. But at home, I’m a better bass player when I use my fingers—and I did on half of the Sixx: A.M. record. When I play with my fingers, something different happens. A pocket develops, but it’s less aggressive. I can play with more subtlety, and I tend to play less.

You’ve always been involved in every aspect of your projects. Is it hard to concentrate on just being the bassist?
If you’re a bass player, you’re a creative person. And that means you can do everything. You can write songs and lyrics; you can design things for your band. You can be involved in everything. Ego will tell you that you are everything. If you’re wise and in tune, you’ll know you’re a part of everything—in music, that’s when things get really great.

I always say, “My ego’s not my amigo.” I see these cats that say, “Man, turn up my snare drum,” or, “I want my guitar to shred all the way through.” They’re missing the whole point. Music is for the listener, not the musician. When it’s not about the music, what are you doing?

What inspires and motivates you?
More and more, it’s things like photography or stream-of-consciousness writing that inspire music—something will jump off the page, and I’ll run over and pick up my bass. Or it’ll come from a conversation I overhear at the café. I’ll sit in the corner with a notepad, jotting down what people are saying or wearing. The interaction of human beings is amazing to me.

Are you driven today by something different than in the early ’80s?
Absolutely. What drove me then was abandon and anger. What drives me now is a thirst for quality and a desire to say something fresh and unique—to be honest and not cliché.

What gear do you use?
Live, I use Ampeg SVT heads with Basson B810B 8x10 cabinets, and a Gibson Thunderbird. In the studio, I use a ’59 Fender Precision Bass and a ’64 Fender Bassman. I pretty much stick to that. I have Thunderbirds from the ’70s, and they’re in storage under lock and key because they’re so rare. I mostly use the newer ones.

What do you want out of an amp?
I just love the biggest, loudest, rawest bass rig. That’s the jones. When we kick in—with Mick Mars slamming thick, and Tommy’s drums just pounding, it’s like a battle between all of us—it’s invigorating.

Are you particular about strings and picks?
I use medium-gauge strings in whatever brand is available. The picks I use are Herco .75mm. That’s important to me. When I’m in the studio, I might goof around with the EQ, but I just go. I just don’t like to get stuck in the details. Some of my friends can tell me the kind of tubes they’ve got in their head, and I’m like, “Dude, you’ve got to get a hobby. Trust me, no one can tell the difference!”

What have you learned from working in the studio?
For me, it’s all about being extremely creative without getting hung up on the little things. I prefer a rough mix to a mix that’s been too thought out, and I think the first takes of a song are always the best. Jamming on ideas—even when someone hits the wrong note or makes a mistake—inspires me to take the song to the next level.

Selected Discography

With Sixx: A.M.

The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack [Eleven Seven, 2007]

With Mötley Crüe (all on Motley/Beyond, except where noted)

Too Fast for Love [1981]
Shout at the Devil [1983]
Theater of Pain [1985]
Girls, Girls, Girls [1987]
Dr. Feelgood [1989]
Mötley Crüe [1994]
Generation Swine [1997]
Live: Entertainment or Death [1999]
New Tattoo [2000]
Carnival of Sins: Live [Universal, 2006]

With Brides Of Destruction

Here Come the Brides [10th Street Entertainment, 2004]
Runaway Brides [Shrapnel, 2005]