Excerpts from the chat:
On photography:
Nikki: "I feel honored to photograph people. I get to pull out of them something that I know they're sharing only with me. I've had people break down in tears in photos sessions and it's not because I'm yelling or throwing things. It's literally because the connection gets so close. They spill the truth and it comes out in photos.
On ghost writers for his new book:
Nikki: "I didn't want to use a ghost writer. You know, it's a lot more work than I thought. It's a lot of work to write a book. I really appreciate that in other writers now... I write in a tempo that is very much the beat generation-style writer. That's just who influenced me the most. I love the tempo of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. I just love the way it kind of rambles but in time to itself. I was just able to go off into this land of doing that and it ended up hundreds of pages more than I ever needed in a book. But I think that's important — to be super creative and then come back and find out what the real message was...I wrote the whole thing myself and I'm really proud of it. And I think fans deserve that."
On the SIXX: A.M. song "Goodbye My Friends":
Nikki: "I said, I want to write a song that's played at my funeral. And that's what the song is. It's the song that needed to be written when you get to a place in your life when you can see the end. So you realize, what do you want to say at that moment. That song is basically about how I don't have anything to apologize for."
On motorbikes:
Nikki: "I had this experience on a motorcycle about 10 years ago. I had a bike built for me and the chain locked up. It was a hard-tail. And I was doing about 50 miles per hour and it just locked up on me. And it was a moment where I realized there was this thing called pavement and I admit it kind of put a bit of a damper on me riding as much as I used to because I kind of realized I have four children and I've got a lot going on."
On skydiving:
Nikki: "Skydiving was one of the greatest highs I've ever got. I love it. I did it four times in one day because I'm an addict and then I said, I should never do this again because I'll be that guy."
On dealing with demons:
Nikki: "I know that everyday it's this thing where I'm always trying to become a better man, a better father, a better artist, trying to put a lot of positive energy out there. I'm still trying to change what the model looks like for being a rock star... I want to do something positive... just want to keep evolving and I don't know where I'm going 100%. I'm just going to keep making music, I'm just getting started as a photographer, I can see myself getting into movies."
On cell phones at concerts:
Nikki: "In concerts, a lot of times, people are just holding up their phones and you look out and you see thousands of phones and I'll notice right in the front row, people are looking at their phone. They're not even looking at the performance. And it was weird — I went to the Grammys and when Mick Jagger came out, everyone, including the celebrities and musicians, they were all looking into their phones. And I'm going, Mick Jagger is right there! I mean, I felt like stopping the show and saying, 'Guys, look at this.' It is part of what's going on and it's kind of weird for me. I understand someone wants to capture a moment, it's really beautiful that we get to do that. But from my side...sometimes we don't necessarily fire on all cylinders... (because) when we (mess) up, everyone sees it and it makes you a little bit uncomfortable. You think, Maybe I shouldn't jump from that speaker to that speaker because I don't want to be on YouTube as (idiot) of the week. And it's true, I swear to god, I talk to other musicians. You flub a note, it happens, but because there's 10 people in front of you with their iPhone... then you keep (messing) up. So it's a good thing, but then there's that part of it."
On new artists:
Nikki: "I don't know with music how to really do anything more than inspire young bands to write better songs. To maybe buy some hair products. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of looking at bands that don't scare me. They don't inspire me, they don't dress in a way that's interesting, they don't have anything to say and they're boring. And I think it's sad that that's OK. I think it's just become redundant and ridiculous. There are a couple of great bands out there but I'm not seeing any new METALLICAs, I'm not seeing any new GUNS N' ROSES, I'm not seeing any new ROLLING STONES. Where's the new Steven Tyler. I'd love to meet him. I'd love to see a band become the biggest band in the world."
