SIXX: A.M. Working On 'Incredible' New Album

Road Crew Magazine conducted an interview with SIXX: A.M. members James Michael (vocals) and DJ Ashba (guitar) during a recent stop on the Crüe Fest 2 tour (which was once again headlined by MÖTLEY CRÜE, the band featuring SIXX: A.M. bassist Nikki Sixx). The chat can be viewed below. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

On the progress of the songwriting sessions for the new SIXX: A.M. album:

James: "The new SIXX: A.M. record, it's kind of gonna be a long time coming, just like the first one was. We have gone through a lot of different stages of it, ever since we got off Crüe Fest last year. And I think we finally, this week, have honed in on what this record needs to be. In fact, today we wrote what is probably gonna be the first single. And it's an amazing song. I think that because the three of us are obviously so busy doing other things — I mean, Nikki is out on stage right now with MÖTLEY — it's taken awhile for us all to be able to get our heads back on the same page and figure out what SIXX: A.M. should do next, and I think we finally honed in on it, and it's gonna be an incredible record"

On whether the upcoming SIXX: A.M. record will be based on a yet-to-be-released Nikki Sixx book?

James: "At this stage, no, it's not. But we have talked about a lot of different concepts. What I can tell you is that it's gonna be more than just a record full of songs; it is gonna be attached to some other things, and they are things that are really inspiring to all of us. And that's really all I can say at this point."

On whether the forthcoming CD will be more about all three members of the band as opposed to focusing primarily on Nikki:

James: "Yeah. In fact, I think that the last record ended up being about all three of us in different ways. A lot of the songs even were written before 'The Heroin Diaries' book came about, but they all just fit in so well, and we kind of adjusted them to work. I think that's why 'The Heroin Diaries' soundtrack so well — we were all sharing our personal experiences with it, and we found a universal theme that kind of worked. Nikki's book happened to be the catalyst for that and happened to be the guiding force, and I think that's kind of what we're doing on this one. Because for three songwriters to be in a room writing, it can't just be about one of those songwriters; I think that it has to be about shared experiences."

What is the songwriting process with the three of you?

DJ: "It's like it was on the first one. It's three friends getting together, usually in a hotel room, sitting on a floor, eating some pizza and just brainstorming and coming up with stuff that's very real, subjects that are very serious and cool that we feel, as artists, need to be talked about a little more."

Has it been hard with Nikki having to [go out and tour] and then coming back and writing?

DJ: "No. we're used to that."

James: "I think that that was something that, when we finished the tour last year, and when 'The Heroin Diaries' soundtrack kind of finished its run, because 'Life Is Beautiful' had so much success and did so well at radio, there was definitely a lot of pressure, 'What's SIXX: A.M. gonna do next?' And I think that what we all needed to do was just fend that off, not give in to that pressure, because then I think we would have very easily fallen into that rat race — follow-up record and follow-up single, and get it there within the amount of time that the audience is gonna remember who you are. And I think that we all kind of just pushed that back and said, you know what?! SIXX: A.M. was never about that. SIXX: A.M. was never about radio or anything. It was about doing something that the three of us really believed in."

DJ: "It's really a labor of love. As long as it becomes that and stays that, that's pretty much what me and James and Nikki always looked at SIXX: A.M. being — kind of our artistic outlet."

James: "I think that we all had to resist the urge to just jump right back in and make one right away so that we could fit into that time window and we could get our new record out by a certain time, and I'm glad that we did. We resisted that urge and we waited until we were all inspired by something new."

On James' work as a producer and what it is like being behind the scenes and then having to go back out on stage:

James: "Being behind the scenes is my comfort zone. Being the lead singer of SIXX: A.M. is kind of an anomaly for me; it's been a blast, but I'm comfortable behind the mixing board, writing songs, working with other artists, bringing the best out of them, and I love that. Right now, I'm just finishing up a record with Taylor Momsen, who is one of the stars of the TV show 'Gossip Girl', and it's an amazing record. She just turned 16 years old, and I know that when we think of 16-year-old artists, we think of Disney, we think of Hilary Duff — who I've also written with — but this is something different. She is the second coming of Deborah Harry or Courtney Love; it's so heavy and so beautifully written. I'm incredibly excited about that record; it's gonna be coming out on Interscope, I think, early next year. But right now, I think that the three of us have just been finally sharing that excitement again. I would say that in the last couple of days of writing the SIXX: A.M. record, it's started to feel like it did when we first sat down and started writing 'The Heroin Diaries' soundtrack, and we were all waiting for that — we were all waiting for that moment when it all kind of hit us and we went, 'OK, it's time.' And I would say it's time."

SIXX: A.M. is the project Sixx started a couple of years ago whose debut disc acted as a "soundtrack" to Sixx's memoir, "The Heroin Diaries". Sixx revealed earlier in the year that the second SIXX: A.M. effort is also a concept album, but that's about as far as he would go. "I can't really tell you what the concept is, because I think I'd just be kind of blowing the surprise, like telling what you're getting for Christmas before it comes," he said. "But it's gonna be a pretty powerful record. You know, sonically it does fall in line with the 'Heroin Diaries' record, but I think we're stretching out in certain ways where we can take in other styles of music and expand upon them."

Although SIXX: A.M. was initially just a studio project, a touring lineup did go on the road last year as part of the first Crüe Fest package,

SIXX A.M.'s debut featured the hit "Life Is Beautiful".

Road Crew Magazine's interview with James Michael and DJ Ashba:

"Accidents Can Happen" video: