#SupportNewMusic with Nikki Sixx: Music Heals

By: Nikki Sixx

Music is more than a series of random notes and a few basic chords. If you really listen, it goes much deeper than that. When it really connects, it should feel like a kick in the jaw, something you can’t forget. (I don’t believe in the concept of passive passion). After the initial shock has worn off, you realize it might be the greatest wake-up call you ever got. Then come the lyrics. BOOM. The messages that become your battle cry and new-found mission. It can become your fashion sense. Your sense of self. Your pride. Your glory. And one of your greatest joys.

Songs are lyrics, melodies and chords, but music is life. It has the ability to heal, and in my case, music helped save me.

Growing up, I was mostly raised by my grandparents. I spent a large chunk of my childhood traveling from small town to small town. It was a nomadic life, much like the life I live as a musician. I had to carve my own path, and music was my way out. I don’t think I’m special or my story is unique, but what happened to me gave me a chance to change my past, create a future and ultimately give back.

Listening to music inspired me and motivated me to become a better version of myself. I believe you can’t just take — you have to give back. Once you get that first rush and you know how good it feels, you want to share it. That’s what music does.

There is a lot of talk about all the different ways we can get our music today. And we should keep talking. It’s good. Technology is good, but please don’t forget to listen. Without music, none of the other stuff matters. If you’re having a bad day, you know where to go…to your favorite song.

Nikki Sixx is an international rock icon, founding member of Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M., two-time New York Times bestselling author of The Heroin Diaries and This Is Gonna Hurt, philanthropist, photographer and host of the syndicated rock radio programs Sixx Sense and The Side Show Countdown.  Nikki is currently on tour with his band SIXX:A.M. promoting their new album Prayers For The Damned, Vol. 1. The title track is currently Top 30 on the Rock radio charts in the U.S. and Canada, and the band’s fifth studio album, Vol. 2, Prayers For The Blessed, is set for release on November 18 via Eleven Seven Music. For more information, visit http://sixxammusic.com/