NIKKI SIXX: MÖTLEY CRÜE Is A 'Living, Breathing Monster That Has Trampled Its Way Through Life'

Rob Cavuoto of Guitar International recently conducted an interview with MÖTLEY CRÜE/SIXX: A.M. bassist Nikki Sixx. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar International: Tell me why it was important for you to write a book that showcases your photography?

Nikki Sixx: Everything for me comes from honesty, being brutally honest. Most people don't understand that and it's hard for me to understand sometimes, too. David Bowie once said that he didn't understand his own music until five or ten years after he recorded and released it. It almost feels that way with photography for me. You're doing so much photography that you get the idea of doing a book on photography, at first you start to write it for yourself. So you start writing and then that influences the photography. The photography then bleeds over into influencing DJ Ashba and Michael James [of SIXX: A.M.] when they write songs. Then the songs and words start to influence more photography. Then the songs start to merge and they merge back with the lyrics. Then, I'm like, "Wow, I have to get a documentary crew and they have to document what is happening here. It's something magical and I don't know what it is but I have to capture it. We're going to record it, write it, sing about it, talk about it, take picture of it, and make films about it." In the end, it's like I've given birth to this baby. Somehow everything is connected to something else. It's really painful to figure out what all this stuff really means. It's like Psych 101 and I'm still trying to figure it out.

Guitar International: In the book, you equate MÖTLEY CRÜE as work and SIXX: A.M. as fun? Do you ever think MÖTLEY could be fun again for you?

Nikki Sixx: I love MÖTLEY CRÜE. They're magical. Being in the band takes my breath away. I've only ever been in MÖTLEY and done a few side projects. SIXX: A.M. is the passion project set up for failure. We don't tour, we don't think we are accessible. We're dark and off the beaten track. MÖTLEY CRÜE is this living, breathing monster that has trampled its way through life and really doesn't take any prisoners. We primarily seek and destroy. This dragon should've been slayed a long time ago. How it's still alive, I don't know. I want to ride it until it drops. I won't say it's not fun, I would say it's like going to war!

Guitar International: With the current music environment of no rock radio, filesharing, and the slumping record industry, how do you measure success for SIXX: A.M.?

Nikki Sixx: It's already succeeded and failed at the same time. It is what it is. You have it, and that's all I care about, and that you listen to it. That you have my book and you get to read it. You get to reflect on your own life. I don't need anything more. That's where we come from as a band. The only other level of honesty that we could have done is not to sell it, as if we didn't put it out. Same with my photography, I haven't shared it with anybody for almost half a decade. If it's successful, I'm going to celebrate like a motherfucker. If it's not, then OK, because I don't expect it to.

Read the entire interview from Guitar International.