He Never Expected They Would Become a Band! Interview with Nick Sumner & The Assistance
Tonight another great act is coming through! Check out our latest interview with lead singer Nick and Graeme Wilson and make sure to come by tonight to see them live!
Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions! When did you all become a band?
A: Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to answer some questions! Nick and Akil, bassist, backing vocals, and all-around swell guy, have been playing in bands, projects, and just to play for nearly 2 decades. John, guitarist and face-melter, Jordan, drummer and bringer of rhythm, and Nick, a self-proclaimed man in need of as much assistance as possible, all know each other from the audio industry, where they hold day jobs and nerd out habitually. Nick was finishing Embers, which had taken 5 recording engineers, 5 recording spaces, 7 keyboardists, 2 drummers, and nearly 3 times the originally intended budget, and was tired of the effort without the payoff. He’d mentioned in passing to John and Jordan that he wanted to do a release show and sort of be done with it, and they responded as though there were no other option: they’d play. Akil, the only other musician aside from Nick on the EP signed on for the one show, also. That was less than a year ago, and whereas Nick thought they’d be done with playing once the release happened, they keep coming back to collectively create something unique and bring it to a stage where they hope audiences feel the same when they hear the songs as the band does to play them.
Q: ”Embers" came out this past August. What was the response like for that? Are you currently working on any new stuff that fans can get ready for?
A: The release party we did for Embers was pretty great, but beyond that we haven’t made a tremendous push. And the reason is: Nick spent so long working on Embers before the Assistance joined up with him that by the time of its release, it was already old. There are a couple of new recordings of new songs already in the works, as well as new songs coming together… hopefully there are some fun things not too far on the horizon.
Q: When writing your own music, do you typically draw from inspiration from band's you like? Who are some of your biggest influences?
A: When I bring a new piece to a rehearsal, it is usually graded by the band on the scale of Nick Tune. The more odd time signature or rhythmic changes combined with the unusual chord voicings that I lean toward, the more of a Nick Tune the guys deem it to be. I don’t know how to classify my songs… rock, singer/songwriter, folk… but I definitely draw from all of my influences, or think I do, which might account for not being able to pin a specific name to the style. Maybe you could give us a listed and tell me whether you think I successfully draw from Jeff Buckley, Tom Waits, Foo Fighters, Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams, or Stone Temple Pilots at all. Seriously… I’d love to hear someone’s take…
~Nick
Q: Was music something you have always wanted to do or has you found a love for it over the last however many years?
A: Music has always had a particularly strong hold on each of us. It is the only way to explain why years of emotionally shattering critique and painful let-down could result in the four of us getting back onto a stage to try it all over again.
Q: What is the best part about performing for a live audience?
A: The audience themselves. When you can actually see them moving to the music, or reacting at the end of a song it sort of makes the experience tangible and something more than getting up on stage and making some noise. Its something everyone in the room can feel. Sort of transcendent.
Q: What has been your favorite venue to play?
A: To be very honest, collectively we’ve all played over a thousand shows… but together it’s been about 7. Rockwood Music Hall and Pianos in New York City are pretty fantastic venues - but Nick is very vocal in telling people that he’s wanted to play The Fire for almost 10 years. We’ll see what happens after tonight :)
Q: We can't wait for the show on the 15th, what can fans expect?
A: You can expect four dorks who like to make music to get up on stage and try to make the room feel the feels that they feel from the stage.
Check out Nick Sumner & The Assistance on their Facebook Page!
They are joined by Goodtheif, Idle Kyle and The Life in You tonight at 8pm!
Stay up-to-date on all The Fire news and events here: https://www.firephilly.com
By Jackie Karlsson