Jeb: Tell me about the decision to re-release your cds and dvds.
Nikki: The entire catalog comes out on April 1st. That is exciting for us as we are one of the few bands that actually own our own catalog. As a business, we can find people to partner up with in an interesting way. In this case it is Universal Music. They are going to do the best possible job, we believe. We are going to license our music to them for a number of years and they are going to keep it out in the bloodstream so that when people come along they are going to be able to get Motley Crue. That is why a lot of bands are with majors. They have the distribution in place.
Jeb: Crue is famous for drugs and booze. You were also not very old when all of this started out. How were you guys smart enough to succeed in business where all of these other bands fucked up?
Nikki: Partially we are really lucky and partially we had the guidance of some really shrewd attorneys. There is a man who manages the band named Allen Kovacs, who is ruthless and at the same time honest. He believes in artists and he helps us to achieve our goals.
Jeb: Ruthless and honest kind of describes Motley Crue.
Nikki: Honesty is so important.
Jeb: Will there be any bonus tracks on the re-releases?
Nikki: There will be a few things on there. The idea is not to make people go out and re-buy them. We just want them to be available for people who want to get a new album. We are going to release a box set of our career at some time in the future. That is going to be fun. We are going to release, for the first time, all of our videos on DVD.
The two things I am really focusing on right now are my new band, Brides of Destruction -- you should go to the website and check it out. There is a little player up in the corner where you can download some music and rock it.
Jeb: I love your sight. The skulls framing the page are cool.
Nikki: You like that huh?
Jeb: Speaking of your band, I hear you guys had a song stolen.
Nikki: We work out of Klown Studios. We rehearse there then we record there. We are not the only band that does that there. It is really a creative hotbed. We had some of our hard drives down there as we were back in rehearsals. Somebody snagged a hard drive. I don't know if they were snagging it because they needed a hard drive or what but they found the song "Shut The Fuck Up." That got leaked out to the net. I want people to get our music from us; not from someone who stole it from us. I don't want some strange mix that we don't even know about. I am very pro Internet. If you go to the Brides of Destruction website you can hear 9 or 10 songs that we just got done recording.
Jeb: That is so cool.
Nikki: I think so. Artists are going to have to realize that this is the reality. This is the digital age. If you want to protect it all the way until it goes to the stores, somebody is still going to go home and send it somewhere. That is reality and it is going to happen. You have to have other incentives for people to buy your records than just buying them for the music. They are going to be able to get the majority of the music on the web anyway. There is artwork or maybe there are things on there that are DVD format. I am pro viral marketing. I think it is a wonderful way to send a message. Brides of Destruction are a brand new band and we are getting a really cool buzz out there because we are letting the people carry the torch.
Jeb: How is it working with Traci Guns?
Nikki: That little guy is a shredder. He is amazing. This band is unique in a lot of ways. We have a drummer who is a lead singer. We have a rhythm guitar player named John Corabi who is a lead singer and I have a lead singer in London LeGrand. He is basically a basket case. He is an incredible talent. He is a rock star and he doesn't even know he is a rock star. You have Traci and me as well. I don't see any limits. We can do anything.
Jeb: Do you like this name better than the original name of Cockstar?
Nikki: I came up with Cockstar. Some of our radio associates were like, "You are on drugs dude. We are not playing a song by Cockstar." Hence, the name Brides of Destruction.
Jeb: Tell me about the Nikki Sixx clothing.
Nikki: N6 Clothing was born out of a meeting I had with Edward Dada, who owns Dragonfly Clothing. We saw eye-to-eye on tattoos being the thread that ties all the clothes together. That comes in many different forms whether it's in graphic design or in cut and sew design or in embroidery. That is the mainstay in both the men's and the women's line.
We are getting huge support by places like Hot Topic. There are so many people who are excited about it. I mean, clothing is clothing. You can adjust it to a certain point but most people like the same things. They like jeans and they like t-shirts or button down shirts. How do I do something different that has been done a hundred times before me? I am not trying to re-invent the wheel; I am just trying to put a cooler mag on it. You know what I mean?
Jeb: I know exactly what you mean. How does is it differ being a clothing mogul from being a rock star?
Nikki: It is as different as being a rock star and being a father. It is totally out there. It's a whole another world.
Jeb: I imagine the competition is fierce.
Nikki: It's blood and guts all the way. I bring a fresh attitude to the business. When we are sitting down in a meeting I suggest things that they never have thought of. For instance, I may suggest we use radio as a way to get the message out and they go, "Wow, really? Radio would be cool." I am like, "All the cool radio stations could give away the clothes." Other clothing companies don't think like that. Because I am from rock n roll, I think of music first.
Jeb: How did the idea even come to you to make clothes from tattoos?
Nikki: It came from a conversation I had with Edward. It just clicked. We started with a few items and they sold out. We introduced a few more items and they sold out. Now we are off and running. We have two complete lines - a men's and a women's line -- being developed as we speak.
Jeb: Are the clothes based on your tattoos?
Nikki: The first ones were. They have themes as well. We have everything from tribal to rock n roll to Japanese style. There are so many interesting visuals when it comes to tattooing that we are able to lift from and use or reinvent.
Jeb: Are there any summer tours coming up?
Nikki: For Motley, no. For Brides very possibly. I can't say who because I am holding my breath and crossing my fingers and crossing my legs and my toes too.
Jeb: It must be big.
Nikki: Uh huh…….
Jeb: You are doing other songwriting projects as well.
Nikki: I have written the new single for Saliva called "Rest In Pieces." It looks like we are going to have a #1 album in Europe for the new Meat Loaf album. I wrote four songs for that. Check out the song "Man of Steel." You will freak out.
Jeb: How is Mick Mars?
Nikki: Mick is doing so much better. His health has really turned around. He is mobile and he is playing again. To be honest with you, it would have been impossible for Motley to tour. We don't have our original drummer and our guitar player is ill. We needed this downtime. We needed the time after all these years to unplug and reevaluate.
Jeb: I don't know if you could tour with Vince or not. I saw him twice this past summer and he was not what he once was.
Nikki: I think that if Motley is to go out and tour then everyone will have to be what they once were but better or there won't be a tour. That is simply it. We want this to be the best Motley Crue every. Vince Neal is the greatest front man I have ever performed with. Mick Mars is a monster on guitar. Tommy is the craziest sane drummer I have ever met. We do something that nobody else does. I want that one more time for everybody. I want to call it a farewell. It may not happen but I am willing if all the pieces are in place.
Jeb: There are rumors about a Motley movie.
Nikki: The are not rumors anymore. We have signed with Paramount Pictures/MTV Pictures and we have hired the guy who wrote XXX to write this. It is going to be made.
Jeb: How are they going to keep it from being rated XXX?
Nikki: To be honest with you, it is not just based on rock n roll. It is a story of survival very much like the book. You will sense the brotherhood and the survival of that brotherhood and everything that we had to go through to become what we were. The things that made us what we were also tore us apart. I think the story is demographically huge. It is not just a rock star movie.
Jeb: Most bands go to great lengths to keep under cover what you all freely told the world.
Nikki: I know. I have never understood that. It is easier to keep track of your truths than it is to keep track of your lies. We just tell the truth.
Jeb: How are you doing personally? I used to be a wild fucker but I quit years ago. I have a wife that would kill me if I fell off the wagon.
Nikki: We have the same wife.
Jeb: No, we don't Nikki. Mine is cute but we don't have the same wife!
Nikki: (laughing) Hey, don't get yourself in trouble! I am sober. I don't do drugs and I don't drink. I don't do anything.
Jeb: I thought I was wild till I read your book. Within two paragraphs it was obvious you were way out of control.
Nikki: I am not in the Grateful Dead but I'm grateful I'm not dead.
Jeb: I have to tell you that I remember the first day I ever heard Too Fast For Love. It changed my life.
Nikki: That is what I like about the Brides of Destruction. It reminds me of Too Fast For Love.
Jeb: Before we go do you have a message to the troops in Iraq?
Nikki: I hope that we get Saddam Hussein and cut his nuts off little by little by little by little. This guy is the anti-Christ. He is Hitler incarnated.
Jeb: Last one: The first time I heard "Same Ol' Situation" I thought it was Poison.
Nikki: Ouch! Poison is like the Japanese -- they are really good at copying.
