Okay…I think I’m on a roll here. LOL
Nikki Sixx, in addition to being a founding member of Motley Crue, musician, songwriter, recovering addict, record company president, clothing designer and parent, is also a photographer. Let me rephrase that: An AMAZING photographer. He has photos on his MySpace profile, his Facebook profile and he throws links to pix up on Twitter too. He is my friend on all three networks and I am a huge admirer of his work – music and photos.
Now…some of his photographic subject matter might not be everyone’s cup of tea. A lot of it is very dark and, depending on your point of view, disturbing. But if you get Nikki and where he’s coming from…and as a fan of his for the last twenty-three years, I’ve read and watched interviews of his, read both of his published books, listened to his radio show…so yes, I get his mindset. Simply put, he sees beauty where others do not.
On the back cover of his current book, This Is Gonna Hurt, there is a quote from his oldest daughter, Storm. She tells the story of a time she was out walking with her dad, and they walked by a bunch of beautiful roses. She commented on that beauty, and he kicked his foot out, knocking one flower’s petals all over the place. She objected…thinking that the flower was now ruined. But Nikki said no, it’s still beautiful.
At first I was of the same mindset as his daughter. Dude are you crazy? Except perhaps for the loss of the intoxicating scent (which I adore) he’s absolutely right. Why? Because it’s all a matter of perspective. How you look at things. Your point of view. (Damn…is it me or is Nikki starting to resemble Obi-Wan Kenobi a bit here? LMAO!)
If you are narrow-minded, then yes, the flower is ruined. But if you keep yourself open to different ways of thinking, new ideas, if you have a “think outside of the box” mentality, you can see that the flower isn’t finished yet. Case in point: I still have the roses from my wedding day nearly eleven years ago. They’re dried out…brittle…if you’re not careful handling them they could break…but I don’t think of them as ruined. They still hold the memory of when a new chapter began in my life.
I was out and about a while back and looking around trying to find something to take a photo of. I can’t remember if I had my Nikon D90 DSLR, or if it was wet and rainy that day and I was relying on the 5 MP camera built into my iPhone. But the thought went through my head: How would Nikki shoot this? I ended up trying to see my world through Sixx-colored lenses, if you will. Because after reading his latest book – including his daughter’s comments – I thought about occasionally trying to change my own viewpoint…at least in relation to my viewfinder. I already know what he’d be shooting if he was here…and I am not brave enough to venture into the alleys of the Downtown East Side of Vancouver alone. Or even with a bodyguard, like he did a few years ago.
For me…that would mean, not shooting what I normally do. I haven’t really found my photographic niche yet. I just shoot what’s pretty, to me anyway. It could be a flower or other plant, one of the many forms of local wildlife, cityscape, landscape, my brightly smiling daughter…I shoot pretty much anything and everything. So now I am going to add “not so pretty” to my photographic agenda…and see where it takes me.
Friday, May 13, 2011
This Is Gonna Hurt...You're Damn Right! But That's OK. It's Supposed To.
This post...no, this entire blog, has been created in response to a single blog post created by James Michael, singer, songwriter, producer, and currently, lead vocalist for the rock band SIXX:AM. SIXX:AM is comprised of James, guitarist/songwriter Dj Ashba and bassist/songwriter Nikki Sixx, who is also bassist, songwriter and founding member of Motley Crue.
(L to R: Dj, James, Nikki)
(Stupid question maybe, but why, lately, whenever I try to type "Crue" it always comes out "Cure" at first?) I bet Nikki would get a kick out of that. Maybe James, Dj, and the rest of the Motley boys too.
So...to the point of this whole thing. The SIXX:AM dudes are very fan-focused. On the band's website they have started blogging. Today's entry was posted by James, and in it, he asks what about a person defines who they are. If everybody looked exactly alike, how then would we be different? Well...I opened up Microsoft Word and began to compose a response. Three and a quarter pages later...I realized I needed somewhere to house my words...I was not going to clog up the band's blog page with over three pages of reply/personal story/why their work means what it does to me. I also have a photography blog (for anyone curious it's here: ) and thought about throwing it up there, but realized that it would not fit...and so here we are.
To answer your question, James, in a nutshell, for me anyways, what defines us is our behavior - specifically how we treat one another. But...here is the longer version, and the reason for this new blog.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Dear James, Nikki & Dj,
This is in response to James’s blog entry and question regarding what really defines a person. If, as James suggests in his post, everybody looked the same (OMG how BORING that would be, LOL!) what would really make us who we are? What we are on the inside. How we treat ourselves and those around us. That is what I look for in my friends and (before I got married) my romantic relationships.
Because…I was mocked and made fun of in elementary school just because the other kids thought I was ugly. This began in the fourth grade, after I had to switch schools because I lived in another school’s area. Probably partially due to the fact that I arrived after the beginning of the year, and all the kids had made their friendships and formed their little cliques. I suppose, if you look at me through the societal viewfinder, I’m not “ugly”. I am not missing any limbs, physically handicapped in any way…or have anything “wrong” with me that could be termed as unattractive. My husband of almost eleven years calls me beautiful, despite still carrying around stretch marks and a few pounds of flab from carrying his four children. I am by no means model material – and I am not putting myself down when I say that: it’s just simple fact. You have to be a certain height and I’m too damn short. LOL However when I look in the mirror, I do not see what my husband sees. I still remember the laughter and snide remarks from the kids I went to school with: I heard that shit for nearly five years straight. You wanna hear something fucking cruel as hell? One day in junior high I was in the bathroom putting on lipgloss. Clear lipgloss, that was not meant to bring color to my face in any way…just to help keep my lips from getting dry. One of the girls who made it her mission in life to verbally torment me walked in while I was applying the gloss. She looked over at me and said – I can’t remember the exact words – but it was something to the effect of it wasn’t gonna help my looks any. This was when I was twelve! This same girl also mocked my choice of favorite music. One day in class I was doodling on a folder. “I ♥ Poison”. She turned around (yes, I had the everlasting joy of sitting right behind the little witch) and said “Poison don’t love you!” Kinda makes me wish I knew where she was now…so I could show her how many of my favorite musicians and actors I have as friends on Facebook & Twitter…and how you guys regularly respond to us fans. If you guys didn’t give a shit…why would you even have such public pages and accept fans as friends?
The only thing that truly set me apart in school was the fact that I could not participate in sports and physical activities where I might get injured in the head or chest…due to being born six weeks prematurely with a congenital condition called hydrocephalus. Hydro is where you have too much spinal fluid – everyone has some…it’s part of what cushions the brain against injuries – but folks like me with hydrocephalus make too much…so the doctors insert a plastic tube with a pump attachment that drains out the excess. The pump is up in my head and the tubing snakes down to my abdominal area where the excess fluid gets neatly dumped into my kidneys. Although due to the placement of the tubing that is why I could not do other things kids normally do – participate in a lot of sports, ride a bike, roller skate, ride a skateboard… and I don’t know…maybe they thought I was weird because I couldn’t play volleyball. *shrug*
But all those ugly things said to me growing up have stayed with me, lurking in the back of my mind. To this day, if I walk up on a group of people laughing, the first thought that pops into my head is, “Are they laughing at me? Why? What’s wrong with me?” OK…it’s not as pervasive as it used to be, but it does happen still.
Of course, in some respects, I may not have helped matters. In elementary school, I was what was referred to as academically gifted. Not genius caliber, but smart enough to need extra stimulation, so I went to a special class for smarter kids every so often. But being smart, I’d get some work done easier and quicker and then end up bored as hell…and end up a little disruptive. And this was in the 80s! Dear God, I’d hate to be growing up now…because bullying is so much worse nowadays.
So to answer your question, James…our actions define us. And one action is how we treat others. If you treat someone like shit, then that defines you as a complete jerk! (Speaking of being treated like shit…do not fucking get me started on my mother-in-law!) If you are good and kind to others – as best you know how – then you will be seen as a good person yourself. Case in point: Look at Sixx. In his own words, his formative years were not the best in the world, to put it mildly. Then he went on to make things worse by adding drugs & alcohol to the mix. And during that time he did and said things, that probably would have defined him as a complete and utter asshole. But he has now turned his life around – no more drugs, booze, and hopefully very little assholishness. I’m sure he has bad days, just like everyone…but again, thanks to his two books (three if you count the Motley bio) we have his own words showing that he is trying his damnedest to be a nice guy. So much for his rock & roll bad boy reputation. LOL It’s pretty much shattered, dude! But…if it wasn’t…if he was a clean and sober asshole…he still might not have gotten together with you James, and Dj, and written such kick ass and inspiring music in the form of The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack and This Is Gonna Hurt. Hell, everybody has things that they’ve done or said that they are not proud of. I’m sure you two do, too… but in forming SIXX:AM with Nikki, James, you and Dj have helped tons of people in many ways just with your music. I am proud to be a fan of yours…and proud to call you three friends…even if it is only on a couple of social media sites.
(L to R: Dj, James, Nikki)
(Stupid question maybe, but why, lately, whenever I try to type "Crue" it always comes out "Cure" at first?) I bet Nikki would get a kick out of that. Maybe James, Dj, and the rest of the Motley boys too.
So...to the point of this whole thing. The SIXX:AM dudes are very fan-focused. On the band's website they have started blogging. Today's entry was posted by James, and in it, he asks what about a person defines who they are. If everybody looked exactly alike, how then would we be different? Well...I opened up Microsoft Word and began to compose a response. Three and a quarter pages later...I realized I needed somewhere to house my words...I was not going to clog up the band's blog page with over three pages of reply/personal story/why their work means what it does to me. I also have a photography blog (for anyone curious it's here: ) and thought about throwing it up there, but realized that it would not fit...and so here we are.
To answer your question, James, in a nutshell, for me anyways, what defines us is our behavior - specifically how we treat one another. But...here is the longer version, and the reason for this new blog.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Dear James, Nikki & Dj,
This is in response to James’s blog entry and question regarding what really defines a person. If, as James suggests in his post, everybody looked the same (OMG how BORING that would be, LOL!) what would really make us who we are? What we are on the inside. How we treat ourselves and those around us. That is what I look for in my friends and (before I got married) my romantic relationships.
Because…I was mocked and made fun of in elementary school just because the other kids thought I was ugly. This began in the fourth grade, after I had to switch schools because I lived in another school’s area. Probably partially due to the fact that I arrived after the beginning of the year, and all the kids had made their friendships and formed their little cliques. I suppose, if you look at me through the societal viewfinder, I’m not “ugly”. I am not missing any limbs, physically handicapped in any way…or have anything “wrong” with me that could be termed as unattractive. My husband of almost eleven years calls me beautiful, despite still carrying around stretch marks and a few pounds of flab from carrying his four children. I am by no means model material – and I am not putting myself down when I say that: it’s just simple fact. You have to be a certain height and I’m too damn short. LOL However when I look in the mirror, I do not see what my husband sees. I still remember the laughter and snide remarks from the kids I went to school with: I heard that shit for nearly five years straight. You wanna hear something fucking cruel as hell? One day in junior high I was in the bathroom putting on lipgloss. Clear lipgloss, that was not meant to bring color to my face in any way…just to help keep my lips from getting dry. One of the girls who made it her mission in life to verbally torment me walked in while I was applying the gloss. She looked over at me and said – I can’t remember the exact words – but it was something to the effect of it wasn’t gonna help my looks any. This was when I was twelve! This same girl also mocked my choice of favorite music. One day in class I was doodling on a folder. “I ♥ Poison”. She turned around (yes, I had the everlasting joy of sitting right behind the little witch) and said “Poison don’t love you!” Kinda makes me wish I knew where she was now…so I could show her how many of my favorite musicians and actors I have as friends on Facebook & Twitter…and how you guys regularly respond to us fans. If you guys didn’t give a shit…why would you even have such public pages and accept fans as friends?
The only thing that truly set me apart in school was the fact that I could not participate in sports and physical activities where I might get injured in the head or chest…due to being born six weeks prematurely with a congenital condition called hydrocephalus. Hydro is where you have too much spinal fluid – everyone has some…it’s part of what cushions the brain against injuries – but folks like me with hydrocephalus make too much…so the doctors insert a plastic tube with a pump attachment that drains out the excess. The pump is up in my head and the tubing snakes down to my abdominal area where the excess fluid gets neatly dumped into my kidneys. Although due to the placement of the tubing that is why I could not do other things kids normally do – participate in a lot of sports, ride a bike, roller skate, ride a skateboard… and I don’t know…maybe they thought I was weird because I couldn’t play volleyball. *shrug*
But all those ugly things said to me growing up have stayed with me, lurking in the back of my mind. To this day, if I walk up on a group of people laughing, the first thought that pops into my head is, “Are they laughing at me? Why? What’s wrong with me?” OK…it’s not as pervasive as it used to be, but it does happen still.
Of course, in some respects, I may not have helped matters. In elementary school, I was what was referred to as academically gifted. Not genius caliber, but smart enough to need extra stimulation, so I went to a special class for smarter kids every so often. But being smart, I’d get some work done easier and quicker and then end up bored as hell…and end up a little disruptive. And this was in the 80s! Dear God, I’d hate to be growing up now…because bullying is so much worse nowadays.
So to answer your question, James…our actions define us. And one action is how we treat others. If you treat someone like shit, then that defines you as a complete jerk! (Speaking of being treated like shit…do not fucking get me started on my mother-in-law!) If you are good and kind to others – as best you know how – then you will be seen as a good person yourself. Case in point: Look at Sixx. In his own words, his formative years were not the best in the world, to put it mildly. Then he went on to make things worse by adding drugs & alcohol to the mix. And during that time he did and said things, that probably would have defined him as a complete and utter asshole. But he has now turned his life around – no more drugs, booze, and hopefully very little assholishness. I’m sure he has bad days, just like everyone…but again, thanks to his two books (three if you count the Motley bio) we have his own words showing that he is trying his damnedest to be a nice guy. So much for his rock & roll bad boy reputation. LOL It’s pretty much shattered, dude! But…if it wasn’t…if he was a clean and sober asshole…he still might not have gotten together with you James, and Dj, and written such kick ass and inspiring music in the form of The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack and This Is Gonna Hurt. Hell, everybody has things that they’ve done or said that they are not proud of. I’m sure you two do, too… but in forming SIXX:AM with Nikki, James, you and Dj have helped tons of people in many ways just with your music. I am proud to be a fan of yours…and proud to call you three friends…even if it is only on a couple of social media sites.
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