You might be familiar with the accusations against Nikki Sixx and his bass playing. Recently, new accusations surfaced about the same matter in a new interview.
During a chat with Artists On Record, former manager Alan Niven recalled one of the band’s recording days. He mentioned Doc McGhee’s phone call with record producer Bob Rock, where he claimed Sixx didn’t know how to play bass:
“Mötley are up in Vancouver, I think it is with Bob Rock recording. A frantic Bob Rock is on the phone and Doc [McGhee] is thinking, ‘I got to get to the safe to get the bail money.’ He goes, ‘What’s up? What’s happened to who?’ Bob goes ‘We got a real problem up here with Nikki.’ Doc’s brain is beginning to spin and go ‘Oh what now? What’s up, Bob? What’s going on?'”
Apparently, McGhee’s response came as a surprise. He continued:
“‘He can’t play bass.’ ‘What do you mean? ‘He just is not a good bass player, he cannot play bass.’ Doc said, ‘He doesn’t have to, does he? Get someone else to do it.'”
Did Sixx Take Bass Lessons?
The rumors about Sixx started when Mick Mars took legal action against him and the band, claiming they used pre-recorded tracks during live shows. Things got heated after a recent Talk Is Jericho podcast interview with the band’s producer, Bob Rock.
He looked back on the time he worked with the Mötley Crüe bassist and revealed he recently took bass lessons. He said:
“I’ve got to tell you a story about Nikki Sixx. This is funny. So, [while we were making] ‘Dr. Feelgood’, [Nikki] says to me; he goes, ‘I don’t think I ever played on any of the Mötley Crüe records. I think somebody came in at night and replaced all my parts.’ He says, ‘So I don’t really know how to play bass.’ And I said, ‘Too bad. You’re playing bass on it.’ So I worked with him through ‘Dr. Feelgood’, did a lot of edits and made him play every note.”
Rock also recalled working on ‘The Dirt’ soundtrack with the band. The producer mentioned that Sixx surprised him with his bass-playing:
“But when we did ‘The Dirt’ [soundtrack], the songs on ‘The Dirt,’ I went to see him, and we started working on the demos. He picked up the bass and started playing, and I said, ‘Woah, woah, woah. What’s going on here?’ He had been taking bass lessons for five years. All of a sudden, he’s an amazing bass player. And I think that’s so cool; at that point in his career, he wanted to be better. I admire that. So now, on ‘The Dirt,’ Nikki and Tommy Lee played live off the floor, both of them.”
Carmine Appice Says Someone Else Played Sixx’s Parts
Similarly, Carmine Appice also confirmed the rumors with a tweet last year.
The drummer backed an anonymous claim that Sixx’s parts on Mötley Crüe albums weren’t played by him. The drummer confirmed that a session musician played the bass parts for Crüe. He wrote:
“I rest my case regarding Nikki Sixx… Carol Kaye.”
You can watch the interview down below.
