Sunday, November 27, 2011

10 Important Events (#6)

1) Nikki Sixx moves away from his family when he was 16, and in with his grandmother
-This changed his character dramatically. Leading him to get into trouble, and eventually joining a band

2) Nikkis Sixx forms Mötley Crüe with Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, and Vince Neil
-Being in a band can change anyone's life. He started on a new road to fame, and it opened a door to a world he hasn't been exposed to before. Being in this band also gave him the oportunity to share his attitude and views on life, to help him express himself

3) Sixx becomes addicted to heroin
-If he never took drugs to begin with, sure his life would've been better and a lot easier, but there would be no influence in the rest of his career in music

4) He makes the decision to write a book
-December 25th, 1986, Nikki Sixx decides that if dies soon due to heroin, having his family and friends read his personal diary would be a good idea. If he wouldn't of had a diary, the lack of expressing his anger and depression may have led him to kill himself

5) Girls Girls Girls is released
-The band's most successful album was released in 1987 in the midst of Sixx's addiction. Barely finding the motivation to finish the album, Sixx, along with his band, found themselves on the top of the rock and roll world for the year. Nikki had everything he could've asked for in the palm of his hand, but used his power to obtain drugs instead.

6) Mötley Crüe goes on a world tour
-Traveling from city to city every day wouldn't be easy for anyone. Especially not for Nikki Sixx. Being miles away from home, and seriously unstable, he some how finds a way to pull himself together between shows and only vent through pages in a diary.

7) Nikki Sixx gets in a fight with Vince Neal and Mick Mars
-The guitar player and singer for the band both had enough of Sixx by the end of their tour. After coming home from Japan in December of '87, Neil had pushed Sixx over the edge and Nikki forced himself into blowing off steam the only way he knew how...heroin. Perhaps being one of the worst mistakes of his life.

8) Sixx parties with Slash
-Lead guitar player of Guns N Roses, Slash, is invited to a hotel drug party with Sixx in Southern California. After one too many doses of heroin, Nikki passes out in a bathroom. Alert, Slash's girlfriend quickly called the ambulance and the rock star did not look good.

9) The Death of Nikki Sixx
-He is pronounced dead at the hospital, and within an hour, he is revived. Sixx claims to have been able to see the ambulance's lights and himself under a white tarp from above. He thinks of it as a miracle. Without this near death experience, Nikki Sixx may still be on heroin and perhaps dead for good.

10) Nikki comes clean
-Days after his night in the hospital, Sixx realizes that life is too short to throw away and decide to officially get off drugs for good. He apologizes to his band, and becomes the talented, caring, influencial, person he is today.

Summarize the Book (#9)

In December, 1986, Nikki Sixx, bassist and songwriter of the rock band, Mötley Crüe, decided to keep a diary for his friends and family to discover after he passes away. Sixx was extremely addicted to heroin, and he couldn't see himself living much longer. He had hit rock bottom of his life, and didn't enjoy living any more. Struggling to stay alive only for the sake of his band, Nikki managed to record the very successful album, Girls Girls Girls, with his bandmates. Throughout the book, Nikki Sixx vividly explains the horrors of heroin and the evil voices he has living in his head durring the year, 1987. Trapped inside of his own life, the shattered rock star runs out of places to turn and manages to convince himself not to commit suicide.
Traveling all over the country and parts of the world, Sixx writes in his diary every chance he gets and describes exactly what he feels, what he's thinking, and what heroin has done to persoanally ruin his life. Getting into all kinds of trouble, Nikki Sixx ends his terrifying year by overdosing and almost leaving this world forever. On December 23rd, 1987, Sixx was pronounced dead, and revived in less than an hour. This near death experience and miracle is his motivation to change his life and become the person he has always wanted to be.

Between Christmas of '86 and Christmas of '87, Nikki Sixx writes about his mesmorising and emotional tale that can break anybody's heart. Half way through the book, you feel as though you begin to know the rockstar personally and find yourself rooting for him to get over his addiction. The book is definitly one for the ages, and will contine to scare and encourage people to stay away from drugs and never stop being who you are.

Best Chapter/Section of Book (#8)

The book is sorted in chronological order and divided by month. In my opinion, the most interesting month of the book is December of 1987. During this time of Sixx's year, he hits his lowest point possible. First, he got into an argument with guitar player, Mick Mars, over Mick's girlfriend. Later, he and his band traveled to Japan for some time to play a few live shows. During his time in Japan, Sixx was arrested for public disturbance and public intoxication and spent a day in prison. Once out of prison, he got into a fight with singer, Vince Neil, over Vince's "big headedness". When Nikki returned to America, he called his friend Slash to a hotel to blow off steam, and eventually died of a heroin overdose in that hotel. Within an hour, he was revived, and the rock star eventuall returned back to his home in Van Nuys, California. Within days, Nikki Sixx realized the beauty and value of his life and had the motivation to not turn to heroin again.
Over the course of a month, all these events happend to one person, and he still manages to bring himself back to the brighter side of things and change his life for the better. It's not exactly the most inspirational story, but at the same time its almost iconic that he turned his life around in such a short period of time. It can give hope to anyone else who has a long term problem and stuggling to get themselves out of a jam. After a year of threatening to kill himself, he almost gets his wish, but is revived. Anyone could see it as a sign that he should be dead, but instead he saw it as a miracle and a reason to make some changes in his life. The novel has a happy ending, and I think that the happiness of the ending is definitely the most interesting section of the book.

Author's Tone in One Page of the Book (#7)

Pg. 392
December 25th, 1987
Van Nuys, 9:30 a.m.

"I don't know how I survived the last year but I know there has to be a reason. Today for the first time ever I don't care about the outcome or the whys and whens. I just wanna live. I woke up happy. I can't believe it. I didn't wake up with my head screaming and my instincts telling me to run and hide inside a needle or inside a coffin, whichever comes first... as long as I became numb or better yet dead... I want to live and I don't know why.
Hey...why ask why...I'm going to go wake Karen up and tell her "Merry Christmas". I think I'll even call the guys in the band."

In this page of the book, I feel that Sixx has finally realized how good his life can be. He seems to have a very sincere tone and for once he is caring about the people in his life. After the arguments he's had with his band, it was a bold move for him to call them to wish a merry Christmas. The last 12 months was a roller coaster for everyone involved, and nobody thought he would make it this far. Perhaps an over night epiphany has Nikki's heart warmed and started on a new way of life. From this point on, it seems that his optomistic tone in the passage above sticks with him.

Two Places in the Book (#5)

Throughout the year 1987, Nikki Sixx spent a lot of time in his mansion in Van Nuys, CA. Here, he often hid when he found life to be too much for him, he gets the idea for keeping a diary, and abuses heroin the most. At one point in the book, Sixx begins to realize how bad his life has become after a high while in his house. The wasted rockstar hears police officers yelling at him from outside, and he claims to have seen the flashing lights from a police car. Panicing, he crawls into his bathroom, flushes the rest of his heroin, and passes out. The next morning, he wakes up to find out that there were never any cops out for him, and it was just a hallucination. This, along with other bad experiences, eventually drives Nikki out of his own home to move in with his bandmate, Tommy Lee, until Mötley Crüe takes off for their tour.

Although Sixx didn't spead much time here, I found that a certain hotel in Southern California played a very big part in his life that year. In late December, 1987, after returning home from a weekend of rock shows in Japan, Nikki gets in a fight with lead singer, Vince Neil, and calls his friend and fellow rock star, Slash, of Guns N Roses, to the hotel to blow off steam. The two of them, along with Slash's girlfriend, Sally, did an outrageous amount of drugs in the hotel. Nikki Sixx later overdosed on heroin, and passed out in the bathroom. Slash, too high to understand what's happening, does nothing. His girlfriend, Sally, calls for an ambulance to come for Sixx. The memory of his night in that hotel, and what happend to him afterwards, will stick with him forever and will always serve as a reminder why he never turns to drugs again.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Important People/Triats in the Book (#4)

The book mainly centers around the life, ideal, attitude, and experience of Nikki Sixx. The rockstar is a very arrogent character who knows what he's doing is wrong. Being on heroin for some time, he makes the desicion to quit cold turkey. This lasts for about two weeks, and during that time he begins to see the world for more than what he used to. Eventually, he returns back to his hostile, heroin addict, state of mind.

Throughout the year, Sixx finds himself going through a lot of different thoughts and ways of life. Convincing himself he shouldn't comitt suicide, forcing himself to stay with his girlfriend, finding it a chore to continue to be with his band, and so much else. He realizes that none of these things would ever be a thought if he was never on heroin to begin with. Constantly trying to get himself off of it, Nikki finds himself almost helpless on his own. His band, consisting of Neil Young, Tommy Lee, and Mick Mars, all try to be the best of friends as they can without losing their patience. While Nikki Sixx is addicted to heroin, he often doesn't realize the amount of offensive things he may be saying. While his bandmates try their hardest to help him, they often found themselves giving up quickly due to his lack of cooperation and stubborn qualities.



His girlfriend, Vanity, wasn't much help either. Being together for over a year, Sixx began to think that he deserved the unhappy relationship he found himself in. Vanity would often follow him around while on tour, and abuse him for sex and money. Being depressed and uncaring, Nikki forced himself to be with her despite the cruel thoughts his bandmates had towards her. Nikki Sixx had the friends and ability to get himself out of his slump, but ended up resisting the will power to do it himself.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Would I Recommend This to Other APers? (#10)

This book teaches the reader about topics in life that most people aren't educated on. Everyone knows that some famous musicians and rockstars have done drugs at one point during their career. Nikki Sixx describes exactly what that side of life is like in very vivid detail. To anybody in the Advanced Placement Language and Composition class interested in a topic such as this, or a fan of Sixx's music, I would highly recommend the book. It is a heart breaking and emotional story that some people may not appreciate as well as others. The story's main focus is the daily exsistance of a rockstar in the 80's. For those who can't keep their attention held by tales of dark rockstar life, suggest you don't read it unless stories with deep morals appeal to you.

Friday, November 18, 2011

MLA Documentation (#1)

Sixx, Nikk. The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rockstar. Poket Books; September 18, 2007

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Explain Title & How It Relates To The Book (#3)

The author of the book titled, The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rockstar relates to a year in the author's life recorded via diary. From Christmas of 1986 to Christmas of 1987, the author of this book recorded his dark experiences of life addicted to heroin. While on heroin, the author was also a very successful bassist and song writer for the band, Mötley Crüe.. Being at the height of his career, he was never able to truely appreciate it due to his "shattered" state. To live life as famous as he did, to have everything he dreamed of and more, only to screw it up by taking heroin. The title describes the day to day diary entries writen by a rockstar who has been to the top and bottom of the world in a year.

Information About The Author (#2)

Nikki Sixx was born on December 11, 1958 in San Jose California. He and his sister were raised by their abusive mother. At 13, he left his mother to move in with his Nona (Grandmother). He never knew his father. Already famous for writing and playing music, he expanded his popularity by publishing his book. Sixx is more famous for his position as song writer and bass player for the rock band, Mötley Crüe. In 1987, the band reached one of the peaks of their early career while he reached the rock bottom point in his life. Nikki found himself severely addicted to heroin and he knew that his body wouldn't be able to stand living like this much longer.

Knowing that his life may be coming to an end soon, Sixx decided to keep a personal diary for his friends and family to discover and learn from once he is gone. In his diary, he writes about extremely dark experiences and the reality of heroin and what he put himself through. Filled with morals and a few heartbreaking moments to remember, the rockstar's diary tells the story of the darkest year of his life, and the dangers drugs has on everyone (not just the person with the addiction).

Nikki was pronounced dead on December 23, 1987. He was revived within an hour. He claims to have seen himself entering the abulance and it's flashing lights from above, as a spirit. This experience helped him realize how valuable life is to him and he has been sober and very successful ever since. In 2002, Nikki Sixx formed the side project, Brides Of Destruction, and relased the album Here Comes The Brides in 2004. In 2007, he released the music album, Sixx: AM, to follow up his book with songs to better deliver the story he has told. In 2011, he published a success story titled This Is Gonna Hurt that expresses his veiw and attitude he has towards life. Today, Nikki Sixx is still touring with Mötley Crüe, is a proud single father of three, and a host of a radio show, Sixx Sence, where he discusses music and lifestyle topics. The inspirational musician and song writer is alive and well and still devoting his time to spreading his views and values as much as he can.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Why The Heroin Diaries?

For AP Lang and Comp, I chose the book, The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by: Nikki Sixx. The reason I chose to read this book is simply because I am a big fan of music and of the rock band, Mötley Crüe. Nikki Sixx is the song writer and bassist for the band and was pronounced dead due to a heroin overdose in 1987. When brought to the hospital,  the rock star was revived and still lives, drug free, today.

In 1987, Mötley Crüe released their very successful album, Girls Girls Girls, and followed up with an even more successful world tour. The band had reached the peak of their career and was on top of the world of Rock N Roll. While the rest of the band was living the life they dreamed of, Nikki Sixx found himself at his own rock bottom. Addicted to heroin while in a bad relationship with his girlfriend at the time, the bassist had lost the will to live and saw his life ending soon. He decided to keep a diary so his friends and family would know exactly what he was going through before he died. His diary entries begin on Christmas of '86, and end on Christmas of '87. Throughout this year of his life, he explains what he went through, what its like to be a rockstar, what its like to be a drug addict, and even some personal history.
In 2006, Nikki Sixx rediscovered his diaries and was inspired to share his life's story with his fans. With the help of Ian Gittins, the book released in 2007 and  became a New York Times Bestseller. Sixx also followed up this book with an album dedicated to the book, called Sixx: AM, which makes up of a collection of songs that describes his life during the book.

His story may not be the most inspirational, nor may he be the most inspirational person in music. However, the lyrics he writes are more poetic than a lot of other rock and roll songs I've ever heard. Like a popular movie, you don't fall in love with the actor himself, but the character he plays. Like a famous athelete, you do not love him as a person, but the game he plays on the feild. Although Nikki Sixx lived the miserable life he did, his heart speaks louder than his actions and still continues to prove himself to be an influencial musician in my eyes. To know the story that shaped the remainder of his life and career will be interesting. It won't be the easiest book to read, but perhaps a very heartfelt one, and I look forward to discover the untold life of Mötley Crüe's bassist and song writer.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

First Post

I have no idea what I am doing or if any of you will see this.
Here goes nothing.