Nikki Sixx Talks Motley Crue’s Eventual Farewell: We Want to Go Out on Top

Nikki Sixx says he'd like see Motley Crue go out while they're still on top. The musician spoke with Loudwire and other reporters at the recent NAMM Convention, where he was showing off his new Schecter Sixx bass guitar, and he addressed Motley Crue's future, their upcoming album and winning the 2012 Loudwire Bassist of the Year, among other topics. Check out the interview below:

Congrats Nikki on winning the 2012 Loudwire Bassist of the Year Award, which is a fan-voted honor. What does it mean to have your fan base rallying behind you against some solid competition?

It's really cool to know that there are so many people out there that are attached to me or projects that I've done to really feel that it's a personal relationship. Some of the guys on that list are just such amazing bass players and I don't even think it really comes down to being the actual technician of being a musician. It comes down to the relationship you have with your fans and that meant a lot to me.

You're taking the Kiss-Motley Crue tour overseas. How has the pairing worked so far?

It's just been a piece of cake. From the get-go, when we sat down and talked about it, it was super easy. You would think you have these two bands that couldn't work together because they want to be 100 percent and we really went out of our way for each other to make sure that the other band could do that. Anytime there was a sticking point where something of ours wouldn't fit on the stage or something of theirs wouldn't fit on the stage, we would be like, 'What can we do to make it better for Kiss' or Kiss would be like, 'What could we do to make it better for Motley Crue' and it's been one of my favorite experiences touring with another band. They're really great guys.

How are things coming along on Motley Crue's next album?

We've been writing. We started the record with the song 'Sex' and I have a ton of riffs. I know Mick has told me he has a ton of riffs and it's just a matter of now collecting riffs. For a while, it was only writing segments of music and getting together and collaborating but now I'm starting to finish music more like I used to more -- like I used to in the old days -- and finish it top to bottom. So I look forward to getting in the room with my band and going, 'Here's ten of my ideas, what have you got?' and then we kind of let that process happen.

And what about the band's future?

We haven't been shy that Motley Crue has been talking about somewhere in the near future doing a farewell tour. We talked about it on 'Piers Morgan' and different interviews. It's not that we hate each other or we don't work together well. I think it's just at some point we want to leave it with some sort of a legacy that's leaving it in a good way. I just see some bands that keep f---ing beating a dead horse and I'm like, 'Get off the horse, dude, it's dead.' And Motley Crue is really at one of our highest points we've been and I would like to see us even climb higher by seeing us finish our movie, an album and then maybe announcing a farewell tour and going out at the top. It would be a really nice look.

Congrats are in order on the anniversary of your 'Sixx Sense' radio show. Can you talk about what you get out of that venture?

I just love doing radio. I've learned to be more vulnerable through radio than even I've been through books and writing lyrics. It's a different type of experience where if I'm writing a lyric I can sort of hide behind it a little bit. I don't want you to 100 percent know, even if it's a heartbreaking song, I don't want you to know exactly how vulnerable I am, but radio, you put it out there and it's from my lips to your ear and … in the beginning I tried to be a little bit guarded and it didn't really work so I just kind of let go and I heard recently there was some executives that were complaining about some things that I said and I said, 'Well if you want me to be vulnerable, I'm gonna f--- up. I'm going to say things that are going to upset people and I'm also going to say things that are going to make people laugh and think a little bit.' So that's the part that I love about radio. It's been kind of one of the greatest gifts that's fallen into my lap.

Not that long ago, you were the young guy meeting some of the legends and now there's a new generation of rockers wanting to meet Nikki Sixx. Are there any of the younger generation rockers you've come to admire and like what they do?

One of the greatest things with the radio show, we have guests on all the time and whether it's the young guys in the Black Veil Brides or guys like Aaron from AWOLNATION or guys like the legendary cats coming through the door like Joe Walsh and Ozzy and Rob Halford, to me it keeps me connected to music. It keeps me connected to the actual creative process because when I'm talking to other artists, we're not talking about the bottom line or marketing or brand correctness or all that other bulls---. I get it, but I'm a businessman and I understand that stuff, but in the end it's like, 'How cool does that riff feel in A?' It's really about that and how does that backbeat feel when the drummer lays behind the groove. That's sexy and that's what I get reminded about all the time hanging out with other musicians.

Editor's Note: Nikki Sixx also discussed his other band Sixx: A.M. and his 'Heroin Diaries' Broadway project. We covered those answers in an earlier article that can be seen here.