nickykay.com

Next show: The Fair Shakes celebrate the holidays Fri. Dec. 23

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:08:14 +0000

The Fair Shakes will rock the holidays Friday December 23rd at South Park Tavern with special guests The Show from Yellow Springs, Ohio. The Fair Shakes go on at 9:30pm ET. Jim Macpherson will be back behind the drums once more!

Come early for the pizza and beer and stay late for the rock. We hope to see you there!

Dementia Precox: Gyn Cameron’s Legacy

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:17:44 +0000

Don published a nice article about Gyn … it hasn’t gone online yet, but Don let me post it here:

Pollard, Kizirnis talk Greg Stover’s legacy

BY DON THRASHER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Gyn Cameron

On Saturday, Sept. 24, the world lost another unsung musician. That day, Greg “Gyn Cameron” Stover, the former leader of Dayton-based ’80s industrial-techno pop wizards Dementia Precox, passed away in St. Petersburg, Fla. at age 54.

Aside from two reunion shows in 2007, the band hadn’t performed since the mid-1990s, but is still remembered fondly by longtime fans. Some of the late musician’s friends, including local bands Dark Backward, Gem City Saints and former Dementia Precox members, will pay tribute to Stover and his music at Oregon Express on Saturday, Oct. 15.

We checked in with Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices and Nick Kizirnis, a former member of Dementia Precox, The Mulchmen and other bands, to get their thoughts on the legacy of Stover’s music.

Q What was your introduction to Dementia and what was your initial reaction to the band?

KIZIRNIS: “I found a copy of ‘Parts Unknown’ and was completely blown away by how wild it sounded. It was a completely different take on punk rock that both fit in with the intense, urgent music I was listening to like the Minutemen and Husker Du and yet sounded nothing like them. Shortly after that I got the cassette and I was surprised and excited to hear how the approach was morphing into some cool pop songs — with plenty of weirdness thrown in!”

Q Dementia was completely different than what you, or anybody else, were doing locally at the time. What’s your impression of the band’s music?

POLLARD: “At the time I wasn’t too crazy about Dementia Precox, but it sounds good, man. It was way better than what I was into. I was behind, dude. At the time I was more into jangle-pop and stuff and they were into the industrial stuff, like Chrome, which I wasn’t too crazy about but now I like it. ‘Parts Unknown’ aged well — I like that record.”

Q If Dementia Precox could be remembered for one song, what track would it be and why?

KIZIRNIS: “Gyn was not only ahead of his time, but was a terrific person to work with. He wrote many, many amazing songs — ‘Just For a Little While,’ ‘Nothing Lasts Forever,’ ‘TV Jesus,’ ‘Newar’s Eve,’ ‘Maladie D’Esprit,’ ‘Love is Headless,’ ‘Streets are Empty’ — but I’d pick ‘Tonight,” which was the opening number in the later years of the band. It was a perfect opening number, and really set the mood for the entire set. But as you can see, I find it hard to pick just one.”

Contact contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.

HOW TO GO:

What: A Tribute to Gyn Cameron with Dark Backward, Gem City Saints and special guests.

Where: Oregon Express, 336 E. Fifth St., Dayton.

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15.

Cost: $5.

More info: (937) 223-9205 or www.oregonexpressdayton.com.

R.I.P Gyn Cameron and Dementia Precox

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:52:51 +0000

I heard Dementia Precox for the first time when I bought their “Of Parts Unknown LP”. I was into a lot of punk and art-rock at the time, and I was floored. This came out of Dayton, Ohio?

I saw Dementia Precox for the first time at Canal Street Tavern, and they were different than that album. Heavier synths, more danceable tunes, but the metal percussion and raging guitars were still there. And amongst the fog machine, pin spots and strobe lights I heard these amazing (and at the same time very strange) pop tunes. Singer Gyn Cameron had evolved Dementia from a noise art-rock group to a dance art-rock group, and it was fine by me.

I heard a cassette of the more recent material at that time. Pop, synthy but then just downright strange, parts of it were similar to the first LP I heard.

Ed Lacy loaned me a copy of the “Mines/Dead on 2 Legs …” single. Crashing noise, craziness and catchy. And then an EP with a mix of everything, including a great song called “Maladie D’espirit.

So I started going to a lot of Dementia shows, and got to know the band. Bandleader Gyn Cameron was cool and aloof, but the more often I saw them the friendlier he became, maybe at first he was more cautious than other musicians dealing with some dudes always showing up at your shows asking a lot of questions.

Eric Purtle left Dementia and mentioned that Gyn had some gigs booked and might need some help. Gyn called and I ended up playing almost half a dozen very synthy, very foggy, very stroby, and very metallic-oil-barrel-banging-ly lod shows in Dayton and Cinci.

During that time Gyn gave me free reign to explore different ideas for his songs. He listened to everything, never insisted on anything, but encouraged me every time he heard somethng he thought was cool. He was reworking tunes feverishly, experimenting with new ideas, new gear, etc. etc.

Those were fun shows. Gyn put the band to bed, and except for one benefit performance he didn’t seem interested in playing anymore. The band was retired, well almost. Even if I wasn’t hearing from him anymore, he did put out a couple of 12″ singles.

He moved to Florida. He sent some emails, he made fun of me for missing the reunion show (which I totally missed, I don’t know how that happened, and that was it I never heard from him or about him again. Until Sunday October 25th when I heard from several of his friends he had passed away.

I won’t go on and on about how sad I feel about it. He was a friend, generous, and an amazing talent that influenced many people and many bands. Hi resume is out there if you’d like to see it.

Until then, listen to this:

Nick Kizirnis and friends play free show at the Dublin Pub Saturday Oct 1

admin — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:48:16 +0000

Next up is a “solo” gig on Saturday, October 1st at the Dublin Pub in Dayton, Ohio. The plan is to invite several friends that may be friends of yours, too) to play some of their songs and select cover tunes. You can submit (reasonable) song requests, and you never know, you might hear it. Or maybe you’ll discover some cool new songs that you didn’t know!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The show will start at 10:30 p.m. And there will be door prizes.

The list of songwriters is growing, and we’re planning on having a real good time. Plus, there will be door prizes.

You can RSVP on the Facebook event page … while you are there please consider stopping by to “Like” my official page. We would really appreciate it.

A detailed look at surf music history

admin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:35:39 +0000

I was fortunate enough to get to review Kent Crowley’s excellent account of the history of surf music, “Surf Beat” (affiliate link). Read the review here.

Nicky Kay Tonight at Fraze Pavilion with Shrug

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:06:42 +0000

Hi everyone — we hope to see you at the Fraze tonight as Nicky Kay and his FABULOUS Kay-Tones featuring Crazy Joe are joined by Shrug for ths free show, starting at 7pm ET!

Nicky Kay and WYSO bring rockabilly back to the airwaves!

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:46:27 +0000

Nicky Kay and Crazy Joe will play LIVE on WYSO Wednesday August 17th at 9:00 PM. Juliet Fromholt, host of “Kaleidescope” will host a night of rockabilly tunes, good conversation, and the best in indie rock. We are excited to be on the show, especially since the FABULOUS Kay-Tones will be appearing at Fraze Pavilion on Wednesday August 24th with special guests, the might SHRUG!

Please tune in and check out the fun. Call in and we’ll dedicate a song to you!

Nick Kizirnis Band

admin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 09:45:12 +0000

Nick Kizirnis Band

The Nick Kizirnis Band:

Jim Macpherson – drums
Brian Hogarth – bass
Tommy Raygun – keyboards, vocals
Ed Lay – keyboards, vocals
Liz Landis – Violin
Dennis Mullins – guitar
Nick Kizirnis – guitar, vocals, theremin

Nick Kizirnis: Into The Loud

admin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 09:38:31 +0000

By: Scott Kinnison

If a resume could equal CD sales, Dayton, Ohio’s Nick Kizirnis would have a wall lined with gold records. Often compared to a modern day Neil Young, Kizirnis is happy to play rock one day, surf instrumentals the next, and perhaps wrap the week up in a swing, rockabilly outfit.

Kizirnis’ first “solo” record is a 15 track CD on ATOM Records titled Into the Loud. The disc is best described as “classic Dayton alternative rock,” if such a term exists in a city where Guided by Voices and The Breeders rose to national acclaim.

On Into The Loud, Kizirnis is helped by former GBV and Breeders drummer Jim MacPherson, as well as John Shough, Maery Lanahan, Todd Robinson and “Crazy” Joe Tritschler – all adding to that “Dayton sound.” There is even a GBV cover tune, Hank’s Little Fingers.

Into The Loud is an upbeat, catchy record that has melodies and chords that will stick in your head for days. Some alternative rock stations have already started playing Stood Looking Both Ways, Messenger, and the title track Into The Loud. Kizirnis plans to do some touring to support the record, which will feature songs from the new disc, but also tunes from…

Eyesinweasel – Nick’s 2002 project with former GBV guitarist and vocalist Tobin Sprout. As a side note, Nick also played on Tobin’s latest solo CD.

The Mulchmen – a surf-instrumental trio that released two CDs on Big Beef Records and which still continue to have solid sales numbers.

Cage – his mid-90’s rock band that was featured in Spin Magazine and Alternative Press.

Nicky Kay and His Fabulous Kay-tones – a current band that plays swing, rockabilly, and country tunes. They released Go CRAZY, Pop! in 2005 (on ATOM of course).

Besides the previously mentioned bands, Kizirnis has also played with The Jet Age, The Obvious, and on numerous other CD releases and projects. As stated in the beginning, the Kizirnis resume is long and varied. He’s even had a CD named after him – Real Lulu’s We Love Nick. So pick up a copy of Into The Loud and keep your eyes peeled for this music veteran to come roaring through your town, to put on a show that will be varied and rock solid from start to finish.

Shrug plays Peachs in Yellow Springs with special guests Nicky Kay

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:37:54 +0000

Dayton, Ohio rock-warriors Shrug will make their first(?) appearance at Peach’s in Yellow Springs, Ohio on Saturday 23rd! If you haven’t seen Shrug in awhile I strongly urge you to check out what they are laying down. The songs, the playing, the singing – you name it, its all amazing.

The bill also features Nicky Kay & his Fabulous Kay-Tones playing a “warm-up” set before their feature show at the Fraze on August 24th. This is our first appearance in awhile, and we are already having a blast. The set now features some fine songs by the one-and-only Crazy Joe “Bacon & Eggs” Tristchler, who continues to thrill and delight roots-rock audiences across the world! As Nicky Kay I’ll be singing and strumming the acoustic, ”Hep Cat” Matt Duffey from the Mad River Outlaws on upright bass, and of course, Brian “The Good Guy” Hoeflich on the skins, taking just a few moments from his current gig with the stellar C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks to rock & swing for awhile.

I am very grateful to the folks at Peachs for letting us warm up and entertain the fine folks in Yellow Springs. The other shows we’ve played at Peach’s have been a blast!

The clip below is from a Kay-Tones appearance in Las Vegas a few years back. A DVD of our performance surfaced a while back, and I thought it would be fun to share it (a side note – quite a few DVDs of performances have been resurfacing lately, due in most part to the masterminds at Big Beef Records):