Nikki Sixx "I think at some point I would like for Sixx: A.M. to be a bigger priority..."

Nikki Sixx "The biggest problem for Sixx: A.M. is that I’m in Motley Crue"
Posted By: Metal Sludge

Nikki Sixx has a lot on his plate at the moment, but the Sixx: A.M. bassist and creative force took some time to speak with Loudwire and other reporters during a roundtable interview at the NAMM conference in Anaheim Saturday (Jan. 26). 

Sixx was at NAMM to promote his new Schecter Sixx signature bass, which we detailed in our previous article, but the following Q&A focuses on the status of Sixx: A.M.’s next album and Sixx’s foray into launching a Broadway production based on his memoir, ‘The Heroin Diaries.’

You’re taking ‘The Heroin Diaries’ to Broadway. Can you tell us how the idea came about and what all it entails?

The book inspired me, [and Sixx: A.M. bandmates] James Michael and DJ Ashba to write a soundtrack to that book. It was always in my head [either] a movie or a play. And when we met the right partners to start that process happening, it was interesting how we’re referencing the book and referencing the music in the play as we’ll also be writing new music. We’ll also be writing new music and continuing to flush out the story. It’s a different environment like having the book and the music in a real 3D experience, and I think it’s the perfect next step.

How far along are you at this point and when might we expect it to premiere?

It’s moving really quickly … We just finished our third time through, what you would call a script, it’s called a book, and we’re placing characters and music and making our changes and I just met with a fantastic set design person and we have directors and producers and investors, so it’s moving along quickly. In a perfect world, I’d love to see something maybe spring of 2014, but since this is my first at bat doing something like this, I don’t know. These things do take time. It’s very creative and very exciting.

Following up on Sixx: A.M., in general, the first two albums accompanied books. Will you be following a similar format this time?

This time we really want to fly on our own. We started out the songwriting process by having conversations about how far we can push ourselves musically … Our conversations were, ‘Let’s go as far to the left as we can, musically’ and once we finish up a handful of songs that are pretty out there … I don’t even want to use any kind of references because it’ll throw people and they won’t really understand what I’m talking about. But we’re just taking a lot of chances musically and at this point nothing sounds at all like Sixx: A.M. that you would know, because we’re taking such huge leaps of faith that we’re going to land on our feet.

But once we finish what we have now, we’re going to start backtracking into who we are as a band that we know at least. I think you’re going to end up with some songs on the album that are sort of surprising and bands that always did that for me were like Queen. There would be songs on Queen’s albums that would be like, ‘I can’t even believe that came out of a rock band,’ and that’s what we want to do. We want to take those leaps of faith and in the end, we are a rock band so we’ll go back to that at some point.

What’s the status on Sixx: A.M.’s album at the moment? How far are you along?

We’ve got six [songs] done, so we’ll probably knock another 10 around and then we’ll figure out which 10 we put on a record and then we’ll figure out when we’re gonna release it. The biggest problem for Sixx: A.M. is that I’m in Motley Crue. It’s a great thing because people know of Sixx: A.M. because if they like me in Motley Crue then they’re willing to give it a listen. But, Motley Crue is a big machine and it’s busy and it takes up a lot of time. So there’s very little amount of time for me to take [Sixx: A.M.] out and tour. I think I would like to go out in 2013 and do some shows, maybe a month’s worth of shows, just to kind of feel what it feels like. I think at some point I would like for Sixx: A.M. to be a bigger priority as far as a live act than it is now.

The above is from LoudWire

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