MÖTLEY CRÜE's NIKKI SIXX: 'I Spent More Money On Therapy Than Most Rock Stars Spent On Cars'

During a recent interview with SiriusXM's Larry Flick, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, who had a near-fatal overdose in 1987, was asked why he thinks he was "spared" from dying when so many others did not live to see another day.

"I do the New Year's resolution-type list thing, and one is called 'purpose' and one's called 'creativity,'" Sixx said. "And at the top of the list is to make a difference.

"I don't understand a lot about my childhood," he continued. "I'm working on a book right now that kind of focuses in on that. And a lot of my behavior and a lot of stuff that I took on was because of stuff that happened in the first seven years of my life. It's been really painful and exciting, and I'm into it. But I think my purpose is to make a difference.

"I had a shitty upbringing, and I'm dealing with that every day, "Sixx added. "I spent more money on therapy than most rock stars spent on cars. I really wanted to change and I really wanted to evolve and be a better man. And part of that is being there for my kids. And that's really a big deal.

"I'm trying to get over my anger that's turned more into disappointment and regret about my mom," he said. "I let my dad go. But just now that I'm working on this book and I'm talking to my aunt and I find out things like I was never held for the first three weeks of my life, I almost started crying. And someone's, like, 'Wow, rock stars cry?' I mean, yeah, man, it hurts to hear that kind of stuff. So, I'm not angry. I'm just dealing with it. And chances are a whole bunch of songs are gonna come out about it."

Nikki told The Sun that much of his own bad behavior was triggered by the fact he had "no parents." His father walked out when he was a youngster and his mother was an alcoholic who regularly brought home new stepdads. He hated his parents so much, he legally changed his name to Nikki Sixx from Frank Feranna. Frank was the name of his estranged dad.

The new film adaptation of MÖTLEY CRÜE's 2001 memoir, "The Dirt" will premiere on Netflix on March 22. The soundtrack will arrive the same day and features a string of CRÜE classics, as well as three new songs and a cover of Madonna's "Like A Virgin". The first of the new tunes, "The Dirt (Est. 1981)", a collaboration with rapper Machine Gun Kelly, was released last month.

Photo credit: Courtney Sixx