MÖTLEY CRÜE Bassist Discusses 'Heroin Diaries' Book

VH1 Blog recently conducted an interview with MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx about Nikki's upcoming book "Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star", due September 18 via MTV/VH1 Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

"The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star" offers an unflinching and utterly gripping look at Sixx's descent into drug addiction with a soundtrack, featuring James Michael and DJ Ashba (ex-BEAUTIFUL CREATURES),to match. The book is a tell-all, drawn from Nikki's 1986 and '87 journals.

VH1: How did the idea to release your diaries happen?

Nikki: What prompted the book was actually finding the original diaries. I've been keeping diaries for over twenty years and I found them in a storage unit in the Valley. I had gone down there to do something, and I started running across stuff from '89 and '81, and I got this moment where I was reflecting on my life. I remember it was brutally hot that day and I was just sweating, and when the ones from '86 to '87, all kinds of feelings came up. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me question things.

VH1: What was the next step after finding the diaries in terms of putting the book together?

Nikki: I felt like something was missing, so we interviewed my mother and my grandfather — they had contradicting stories. That was really interesting. We [then] got the band participate. I felt that really completed the story. Then I went to ex-girlfriends, managers, record company people. Then I was able to go in behind it and go, "You know what? I see what they're saying," or "I disagree with what they're saying."

VH1: Was it difficult to read what people had to say about you during that period of your life?

Nikki: I sat down with everybody, and I said, "I need you to be so honest. Don't worry about my feelings. Don't worry about my image. You can say 'I hate his fucking guts,' and it's going to be OK." Giving people that safety net was such an important part of the book. I think we get to a place that needs to be gotten to. The first thing I said was, "I can't go talk to the band or my mother, or Doc McGhee and Slash." If I'm going to say "Hey, was I an asshole?" Very few people will say yes. [Because] I'm a great guy now.

VH1: What were you most struck by while reading these diary entries?

Nikki: Just the overall unconcern for life. There was no [thought that] "I might die from this." You think that you're invincible. I remember the pain being so huge at times, because pain bubbles. It's not always there poking you. I have a vivid memory, it was during the "Theater of Pain" tour, and I believe we were shooting the "Home Sweet Home" video. I was walking to stage, and [drummer] Tommy [Lee] looks at me and goes, "Why you so bummed out all the time?" I looked at him and said, "You would never understand." That's it in a nutshell — I didn't think anyone else would understand, so I kept it to myself.

Read the entire interview at this location.