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New West Fest Guide - New West Fest Guide |
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Written by NEXTnc Staff Reports
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Wednesday, 16 August 2006 |
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Page 2 of 5
NICKEL CREEK
Strong roots: Where bluegrass meets rock, the Creek rises up
By Glenn BurnSilver
For NEXTnc
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Danny Clinch | for NEXTnc
Nickel Creek. |
Banish any preconceived thoughts you might have about Nickel Creek. Don’t let the acoustic instruments and bluegrass pedigrees fool you.
Sure, individually, guitarist Sean Watkins, mandolinist Chris Thile and fiddler Sara Watkins follow more bluegrass-oriented pursuits, but Nickel Creek is what happens when bluegrass kids grow up, find their rock ’n’ roll souls and allow the two collide head-on. This is something more akin to Heart on a psychedelic bender.
The results are most striking on their latest release, “Why Should The Fire Die?” (Sugar Hill). Songs rise and fall on rolling bass lines and come to thundering crescendos full of powerful rock overtones.
Harmonies rival Crosby, Stills and Nash in beauty and strength, while electronic effects and vintage instruments and amplification add a classic rock feel.
At the same time, Nickel Creek expose their roots with slow, sweet, old-timey bluegrass numbers or bursts of lightning fast picking.
“Bluegrass will always be the biggest part of what we do because it is what we started off doing, but we don’t call ourselves a bluegrass band,” explained Sean Watkins by phone from his southern California home. “But to someone who listens to only rock, we’re a bluegrass band and for bluegrass fans we sound like we’re rocking. It’s definitely not bluegrass, but it is based in it.”
Part of the equation revolves around the trio growing up in southern California where all forms of music could be heard, including the classic rock like Jackson Brown, the Eagles or CSN&Y.
Another part is producers Tony Berg and Eric Valentine, who helped guide (gently) the band toward their full-rocking potential.
“Eric pointed out that was something we had some affinity toward and that we should try to capitalize on it,” he said. “We focused on that. We feel like we’re not good at it, but it sounds right when we do it.”
Of course, it doesn’t sound right for the bluegrass purists who want straight picking and harmonies. Now 29 and having performed on stage for 20 years, Watkins says he isn’t worried about playing “proper bluegrass.”
But has growing up made it any easier for him, stepping away from purely playing bluegrass?
“We always felt like we had the upper hand because we were kids. I remember thinking as a kid that one day we’re going to be adults and we’re not just going to be kids who can just get away playing fast. We’ll have to write things that are meaningful and say something,” he said. “It’s good to stop relying on just being young. It was advantageous being young, but it’s nice being older and being able to step out of that.”
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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