Asking Nikki Sixx to put in perspective his career as a musician and how it relates to the bands he works with today returns an answer that travels down many paths. Contained in this interview is a walk along the road of lessons learned that come into play as Sixx enters another facet of his career in the role of record label president at Eleven Seven Music.
Nikki Sixx
Asking Nikki Sixx to put in perspective his career as a musician and how it relates to the bands he works with today returns an answer that travels down many paths. Contained in this interview is a walk along those roads, but perhaps the most telling of them all is when Sixx recalls his youth and when he was discovering music.
“I look at Aerosmith from when I was a kid,” says Sixx. “I remember none of my friends at school knew who they were until Toys In The Attic came out. ‘Dream On’ was not a successful single and it never really was a big hit for them until later. It became a mainstay for who they are, but they were a rock band, and they had songs like ‘Make It,’ ‘Mama Kin’ and all the stuff that were favorites of mine and a lot of my friends, but the mass majority of people didn’t know who they were until their third record. I remember saying about Mötley Crüe, I only really care about our third record and beyond for the rest of the world. Right now, this is about me and you guys and that’s when we did Too Fast For Love and Shout At The Devil.”
“I had started writing ‘Home Sweet Home’ when I was 17-years-old,” he continues. “I had been continually picking at it, but it wasn’t until I showed it to Tommy, and he was sitting at a piano and he started playing. Then we started jamming with Vince at the end of a rehearsal that this thing happened that ended up being such an important part of our career, but it was also our third record. We were our fans’ band until our third record, and then we became everybody’s band. That’s important to feel as an artist.”
That early lesson learned by Sixx has carried with him through his whole career, which is now entering another facet as he took on the role of record label president at Eleven Seven Music in early 2008. FMQB caught up with Sixx for a conversation about his new venture and the success he enjoyed with the Sixx A.M. release.
eQB presents excerpts from the February FMQB magazine Rock Up Close with Eleven Seven President Nikki Sixx
What led you down the path to becoming a label president?
My relationship with Allen Kovac is one where we’re able to brainstorm on how to make things successful, whether they’re books, albums, or working with artists who sometimes don’t want to get out of their own way. Because of the relationship that we’ve built up over the years it was a natural progression to being involved with Allen and Eleven Seven. What I bring to the table is a way to be more in line as a label president like they were in the ’60s and ’70s. I’m not only able to convey what’s right for the band as an artist, but also as the label president and take that message back to the label where they understand this is why the band is thinking the way they are. Sometimes the artist is wrong, sometimes the artist is right. At the end it doesn’t really matter. What matters is how everybody wins.
The bands you work with must appreciate your viewpoint due to your experience and longevity as a musician.
They trust me. They know that I’ve stood up against record companies in the past for the position of the artist. They are able to believe that I’m not going to sell them down the river. If you look at how it used to be when a community, meaning the artist and the record company, worked together, it was about giving an artist years to develop. It was not about putting out a single to see what happens and if it doesn’t get a certain amount of impressions then it is time to move on.
Did the success of the Sixx A.M. release come as a surprise to you?
Yeah. It was really nice to see it be successful for the project. Not really for me personally, but for James and DJ and for the project of The Heroin Diaries. To be able to see that a new entity, a new band could be developed in a left-of-center type of way felt really good. It gave me hope that if an artist makes real music, that it will touch people. And that’s all we try to do at Eleven Seven is look for bands, like Charm City Devils, that we believe are doing the real thing, and the real thing is really hard to find because there’s so much pressure out there.
What advice do you give bands?
I tell bands to keep writing songs and become better at what they do. Become passionate about that, and don’t listen to the radio to find out what you want to sound like, because if you’re copying what’s going on at radio, you’re going to come out with it a year later and radio will be playing something different. The artist needs to give radio something that they can sink their teeth into. Radio’s not the bad guy. So when we complain that there’s nothing on the radio that we like as artists, it’s only because we’re not giving radio anything to play.
You’re probably the first artist that I’ve ever heard say that.
It’s true and the artist owes it to radio, themselves, and the fans to write the best possible songs that they can write that is honorable and real and not chasing what’s going on. You’ve got to live and die by your own words and can’t necessarily follow any trend. The biggest bands have never followed trends.
Talk about your Running Wild In The Night charity which helps benefit Covenant House.
Covenant House is just phenomenal in the sense that we have an infrastructure that’s more than your normal halfway house. It’s hard to make money and feel that you’re really making a difference. I’m not saying anything bad about organizations that get people off the street. It’s great to get people off the street, but I feel Covenant House does more. They have an outreach program. They help with education, mental and physical help, doctors and get eventual reemergence back into society. Obviously for me, the music program feels so good to be a part of. They are doing so many things to up the percentage for chance of survival. That’s why I love them so much.
And you have a goal of getting $1,000,000 donated?
If I could get $1,000,000 a year for them, I’d be so happy. We’ve raised a lot of money, and there are a lot of people who have stepped up. That is my goal. At this point we’re about half way there. I’ve got a long way to go.
Are you doing any special events?
There’s a lot of stuff that we’ve talked about but time is my biggest factor. It’s hard, because I’m a father and there are so many other things that I’m doing, so I try to plug Covenant House into special projects like the Sixx A.M. project or the Heroin Diaries book. Even now, you’re raising awareness. We’re talking about it. When I was younger, I didn’t really realize the importance of being charitable, not like I do now. I have this belief that just one person makes such a difference in so many millions of lives. Bono is an example. A lead singer in a rock band that has done so much for human beings. He doesn’t have to do that, he does it because he cares and that is a great example. He’s in one of the world’s hugest rock bands, and he’s a father and married and he does a lot to help other human beings. He’s got a very full life, and it’s something we can all do too. I can run a business and I can help over here. I can be a housewife and I can help over here. We can all help. Look at our economic situation. If there’s ever a time that those words make sense it’s now. It’s really now.
** QB Content by Michael Parrish **
Also in the February Issue:
Up Close With KQRC Morning Man Johnny Dare
In August 2008, KQRC/Kansas City morning show host Johnny Dare celebrated his 15th anniversary on the air at one of the Midwest’s biggest powerhouse Rock stations. The tale of how Dare got to the top is rather unique, considering that it seems unlikely that a high school drop out-turned-paramedic would wind up becoming a hugely successful morning show personality. However, supported by his cast of Gregg, Carrie Coogan, T-Bone and Jake The Phone Snake, Dare’s ratings consistently tower over the competition in every demo. In the spring 2008 book, for example, he ranked #1 in persons 25-54 with a whopping 12.8 share and #1 in 12+ with a 9.9 share. Additionally, Dare is extremely active in the community and for 13 years he has been the chairperson for the Bikers For Babies motorcycle ride, which has turned into the largest charity ride for March Of Dimes in America with over 8,000 riders annually. After celebrating his 15th anniversary in 2008 with a massive concert headlined by Judas Priest, as well as turning 40, Dare sat down with FMQB to reflect on his career and talk about what’s ahead.
