Nikki Sixx to Chronicle Origin Story in ‘The First 21: A Memoir’
Nikki Sixx has announced a new memoir that will detail his rise from a disaffected teen in rural Idaho to one of the biggest and most notorious rockers of the ‘80s.
The Motley Crue bassist announced the new book, titled The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx, on Twitter. The book comes out Oct. 19, 2021.
Sixx, born Frank Feranna Jr. in 1958, fled his adolescent home of Jerome, Idaho, at the age of 17, taking a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles. He legally changed his name to Nikki Sixx shortly after arriving, and he memorialized the name change in Motley Crue’s “On With the Show,” which begins with the lyrics, “Frankie died just the other night / Some say it was suicide / But we know how the story goes.”
You can see Sixx's book announcement below.
Sixx teased his announcement with a wry tweet over the weekend. “I just read my Wikipedia for the very first time, and man, do they have a lot of stuff wrong,” he wrote on Saturday. “But I guess if it’s on the internet, it must be true. I will say I’m pretty excited about next [week’s] announcement.”
This led to speculation that the bassist might be announcing new music, either with Sixx: A.M., with whom he has also been working, or with L.A. Rats, his new supergroup featuring Rob Zombie, John 5 and drummer Tommy Clufetos (Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne). The quartet released its first single, a cover of the country standard "I've Been Everywhere," last month.
Between his new memoir and various musical side projects, Sixx should have plenty on his plate until Motley Crue embark on the Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts next year.