NICK CURRAN AND THE NITELIFES
''PLAYER!''
JUNE 29 2004
44:21
1/Player
Nick Curran/2:38
2/Honey Bee
Don Robey/2:26
3/What About Love/2:17
4/Evenin'
Aaron Walker/3:06
5/She's Evil
Nick Curran/3:34
6/The Groovy Jam
Nick Curran/2:54
7/No Fun
D. Alexander / Ron Asheton / Scott Asheton / Iggy Pop/4:11
8/The Stalker
Nick Curran/3:19
9/Down Boy Down
Henry Glover / Fred Weismantel/2:44
10/Leavin'
Nick Curran/4:25
11/Good Luck
Nick Curran/3:32
12/Come Back
Nick Curran/2:39
13/Crazy Mixed Up World
Willie Dixon/4:04
14/Heeby Jeebies
John Marascalco/2:32
John Abrahamsen /Group Member, Trumpet
Gordon "Sax" Beadle /Group Member, Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor)
Dave Biller /String Arrangements
David Leroy Biller /Additional Personnel, Guitar
Nick Curran /Group Member, Guitar, Vocals
John Doyle /Additional Personnel, Sax (Tenor)
Jonathan Doyle /Sax (Tenor)
Preston Hubbard /Double Bass, Group Member, String Bass, Vocals
Doug James /Group Member, Sax (Baritone)
Paul Klemperer /Additional Personnel, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
Damien Llanes /Drums, Group Member, Vocals
Earmon McLauglin /Additional Personnel, Strings
Riley Osbourne /Additional Personnel, Piano
The Providence Horns /Ensemble
Carl Querfurth /Group Member, Trombone
Kim Wilson /Additional Personnel, Harmonica
REVIEW
by Matt Collar
Nick Curran's second album for Blind Pig Records features more of the retro-R&B that helped nab him the 2004 W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut. Once again, guitarist/vocalist Curran, drummer Damien Llanes, and bassist Preston Hubbard deliver an impressive old-school blues album that should catch newcomers off guard as well as please longtime fans. Showcasing a slightly harder edge à la Bee Houston, Player! flows nicely between uptempo shouters, slow and dirty ballads, and swing numbers. To these ends, Curran rips into the Little Richard speedball "Heeby Jeebies," does what he did for the Sonics' "Shot Down" to the Stooges' "No Fun," and outshouts Wynonie Harris on "Down Boy Down." It's Curran's originals, though, that usually make the biggest impression, and on that score Player! features some of his best. Notably, the title track is a rambunctious ass-mover that sticks in your ear and "Come Back" features Curran crooning against string backgrounds. Similarly, "Leavin'" is a slow shuffle with a nice twangy melody and "The Groovy Jam" finds Curran delving into Tiny Grimes-style rockin' swing with devastating charm. One of Curran's most diverse albums to date, Player! also features stellar performances by harmonica player Kim Wilson, guitarist David Leroy Biller, saxophonists John Doyle and Paul Klemperer, and Roomful of Blues' Providence Horns.
BIOGRAPHY
by Greg Prato
by Matt Collar Comin' on like a sci-fi hybrid of T-Bone Walker, Little Richard, and Guitar Slim, guitarist/singer Nick Curran is a powerhouse performer who owes a strong debt to blues and rockabilly artists of the '50s. Originally from Portland, ME, Curran began performing in his early teens with his father's band, Mike Curran & the Tremors. At 19, while playing with local rockabilly band King Memphis, Curran met rockabilly legend Ronnie Dawson and ended up touring with him for about six months. Soon after coming off the road, he got a call to do a tour with Texas rockabilly queen Kim Lenz and eventually joined her backup band, the Jaguars.
Subsequently, Curran moved to Dallas where he quickly immersed himself in the city's vibrant blues traditions as well as the roots music scene in Austin. It was during this time that Curran toured with retro-country sensation Wayne Hancock. Citing such influences as Wynonie Harris, Otis West, Roy Brown, and many other postwar blues and rock & roll artists, Curran released his solo album debut, Fixin' Your Head, in 2000. Recording live, single takes on vintage equipment, Curran has cultivated an impressive retro '50s jump blues sound that is only enhanced by his predilection for vintage clothes and Nu Nile pomade. Nitelife Boogie followed in 2001 and further solidified Curran's reputation as one of the most authentic and exciting roots musicians of his generation.
In a move that garnered him a slightly higher profile, Curran signed with legit-blues label Blind Pig Records in 2002 and released his third album the following year. Featuring more of Curran's old-school blues and R&B, Doctor Velvet found the still twenty-something artist branching out into Delta blues, reworking the Sonics' garage rock classic "Shot Down," and performing alongside one of his musical idols, original Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. Further accolades followed in 2004 as Curran received the W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut and released his fourth album, Player!
Toward the latter stages of the tour promoting Player!, Curran parted ways with his longtime Nitelifes rhythm section of ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds bassist Preston Hubbard and drummer Damien Llanes. Ironically, Curran then joined vocalist Kim Wilson's lastest incarnation of The Fabulous Thunderbirds in time to record the band's 2005 release Painted On.
After leaving the T-Birds, Curran formed the punk-blues combo Deguello with T-Birds' bassist Ronnie James Weber and played in various side-projects before relaunching his solo career. In 2010, Curran released Reformed School Girl on Eclecto Groove Records.
''PLAYER!''
JUNE 29 2004
44:21
1/Player
Nick Curran/2:38
2/Honey Bee
Don Robey/2:26
3/What About Love/2:17
4/Evenin'
Aaron Walker/3:06
5/She's Evil
Nick Curran/3:34
6/The Groovy Jam
Nick Curran/2:54
7/No Fun
D. Alexander / Ron Asheton / Scott Asheton / Iggy Pop/4:11
8/The Stalker
Nick Curran/3:19
9/Down Boy Down
Henry Glover / Fred Weismantel/2:44
10/Leavin'
Nick Curran/4:25
11/Good Luck
Nick Curran/3:32
12/Come Back
Nick Curran/2:39
13/Crazy Mixed Up World
Willie Dixon/4:04
14/Heeby Jeebies
John Marascalco/2:32
John Abrahamsen /Group Member, Trumpet
Gordon "Sax" Beadle /Group Member, Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor)
Dave Biller /String Arrangements
David Leroy Biller /Additional Personnel, Guitar
Nick Curran /Group Member, Guitar, Vocals
John Doyle /Additional Personnel, Sax (Tenor)
Jonathan Doyle /Sax (Tenor)
Preston Hubbard /Double Bass, Group Member, String Bass, Vocals
Doug James /Group Member, Sax (Baritone)
Paul Klemperer /Additional Personnel, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
Damien Llanes /Drums, Group Member, Vocals
Earmon McLauglin /Additional Personnel, Strings
Riley Osbourne /Additional Personnel, Piano
The Providence Horns /Ensemble
Carl Querfurth /Group Member, Trombone
Kim Wilson /Additional Personnel, Harmonica
REVIEW
by Matt Collar
Nick Curran's second album for Blind Pig Records features more of the retro-R&B that helped nab him the 2004 W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut. Once again, guitarist/vocalist Curran, drummer Damien Llanes, and bassist Preston Hubbard deliver an impressive old-school blues album that should catch newcomers off guard as well as please longtime fans. Showcasing a slightly harder edge à la Bee Houston, Player! flows nicely between uptempo shouters, slow and dirty ballads, and swing numbers. To these ends, Curran rips into the Little Richard speedball "Heeby Jeebies," does what he did for the Sonics' "Shot Down" to the Stooges' "No Fun," and outshouts Wynonie Harris on "Down Boy Down." It's Curran's originals, though, that usually make the biggest impression, and on that score Player! features some of his best. Notably, the title track is a rambunctious ass-mover that sticks in your ear and "Come Back" features Curran crooning against string backgrounds. Similarly, "Leavin'" is a slow shuffle with a nice twangy melody and "The Groovy Jam" finds Curran delving into Tiny Grimes-style rockin' swing with devastating charm. One of Curran's most diverse albums to date, Player! also features stellar performances by harmonica player Kim Wilson, guitarist David Leroy Biller, saxophonists John Doyle and Paul Klemperer, and Roomful of Blues' Providence Horns.
BIOGRAPHY
by Greg Prato
by Matt Collar Comin' on like a sci-fi hybrid of T-Bone Walker, Little Richard, and Guitar Slim, guitarist/singer Nick Curran is a powerhouse performer who owes a strong debt to blues and rockabilly artists of the '50s. Originally from Portland, ME, Curran began performing in his early teens with his father's band, Mike Curran & the Tremors. At 19, while playing with local rockabilly band King Memphis, Curran met rockabilly legend Ronnie Dawson and ended up touring with him for about six months. Soon after coming off the road, he got a call to do a tour with Texas rockabilly queen Kim Lenz and eventually joined her backup band, the Jaguars.
Subsequently, Curran moved to Dallas where he quickly immersed himself in the city's vibrant blues traditions as well as the roots music scene in Austin. It was during this time that Curran toured with retro-country sensation Wayne Hancock. Citing such influences as Wynonie Harris, Otis West, Roy Brown, and many other postwar blues and rock & roll artists, Curran released his solo album debut, Fixin' Your Head, in 2000. Recording live, single takes on vintage equipment, Curran has cultivated an impressive retro '50s jump blues sound that is only enhanced by his predilection for vintage clothes and Nu Nile pomade. Nitelife Boogie followed in 2001 and further solidified Curran's reputation as one of the most authentic and exciting roots musicians of his generation.
In a move that garnered him a slightly higher profile, Curran signed with legit-blues label Blind Pig Records in 2002 and released his third album the following year. Featuring more of Curran's old-school blues and R&B, Doctor Velvet found the still twenty-something artist branching out into Delta blues, reworking the Sonics' garage rock classic "Shot Down," and performing alongside one of his musical idols, original Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. Further accolades followed in 2004 as Curran received the W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut and released his fourth album, Player!
Toward the latter stages of the tour promoting Player!, Curran parted ways with his longtime Nitelifes rhythm section of ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds bassist Preston Hubbard and drummer Damien Llanes. Ironically, Curran then joined vocalist Kim Wilson's lastest incarnation of The Fabulous Thunderbirds in time to record the band's 2005 release Painted On.
After leaving the T-Birds, Curran formed the punk-blues combo Deguello with T-Birds' bassist Ronnie James Weber and played in various side-projects before relaunching his solo career. In 2010, Curran released Reformed School Girl on Eclecto Groove Records.
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