Tribute To NIKKI SIXX: The Influence Of A Shattered Rockstar

Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Ferrana, Jr. (December 11, 1958) is an American musician, author, fashion designer and photographer best known as the founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe. Sixx:A.M. is his current side project which features songwriter and producer James Michael and guitarist DJ Ashba. Sixx was partially raised by his single mother, Deana Richards, and by his grandparents after his father left the family. In 1981, Sixx founded Mötley Crüe with drummer Tommy Lee, later being joined by guitarist Mick Mars through an ad in the local newspaper he was reading, then by singer Vince Neil with whom Tommy had attended high school. Unlike his bandmates, Nikki Sixx fell in love with heroin. Nikki Sixx, from The Heroin Diaries: "Alcohol, acid, cocaine... they were just affairs. When I met heroin it was true love." He estimates he overdosed "about half a dozen times". On the night of December 23, 1987, Sixx was declared dead for two minutes after a heroin overdose, only to be revived by paramedics with two adrenaline shots to the heart (this incident was the inspiration for the song "Kickstart My Heart"). Sixx states that after he was declared dead, the ambulance arrived and one of the paramedics in the ambulance was a Mötley Crüe fan. "Apparently, the paramedic took one look at me and said, 'No one's gonna die in my ambulance.'" He also recalled having an out of body experience while being revived. Soon after his overdose, he and his bandmates went into rehab. In 1989, the band produced their most successful record Dr. Feelgood. The group went on hiatus soon after before reuniting in 2004, during which Sixx declared himself sober. Sixx wrote most of Mötley Crüe's material, including tracks such as "Live Wire", "Home Sweet Home", "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Kickstart My Heart" and "Dr. Feelgood". In the 1990s, all four members began contributing to the material on the albums. You can read more heavly into Sixx's addiction through his book "The Heroin Diaries a Year In The Life of a Shattered Rockstar". Thank you and enjoy my video!