It turns out a lot of the artists I listen to also uses photography as another creative outlet. Some of them do it just for themselves, sharing their photos in various social medias, others turn their photos into cover art for their albums and then there's those who has made it into another career.
Nikki Sixx is one of those who has turned his interest for photography into an alternative career. Known as the bass player and main song writer of Mötley Crüe but maybe most famous for his outrageous behavior and drug addiction.
I was a fan of Mötley Crüe in the '80s and Nikki was the one who fascinated me the most, mostly thanks to the rumors surrounding him that appealed to an impressionable, young teenager as me.
This was before the internet, before bookstores were filled with biographies about artists lives and before I could get my hands on magazines from England or the States so when I, years later, heard that Mötley Crue had a book out (The Dirt) I instantly bought it. That was soon followed by Nikki Sixx's book The Herion Diaries, a book mostly based on the journals he kept during the most turbulent years of the '80s.
Although a fascinating and disturbing read, what caught my attention the most was the photos in the book: dark, disturbing, haunting, beautiful, ugly and food for thought - everything I like in photos.
Sixx has also released another book, This Is Gonna Hurt, featuring a lot more of his photos and also letting us know how he works while taking them. His studio work is amazing but it is the portraits he has taken while on tour and traveling that hits you in the gut.
You can find Nikki Sixx's photos online on Tumblr, Flickriver and he also uses Instagram, username nikkisixxpixx.