Nicole Atkins Background Info

Nicole was that kid slightly out of touch. When her friends were collecting the latest New Kids on the Block album, she was raving about Traffic or Cream. At the age of 13 she found an old beat up guitar in the attic of her house. It had belonged to an uncle who died when he was young, and she taught herself to play a Grateful Dead song.

Her father turned her on to blues artists like Jimmy Reed, and allowed Nicole to sit in on sessions with local musician friends. And then she left that town, that place, behind, attending art school in North Carolina, where she played for three years with the North Carolina alt-country band Los Parasols before making a name for herself as a solo performer on New York City’s anti-folk scene.

She slept in an old Dodge Ram Charger on Avenue A, finally, with a little help from her friends, among them David Muller (occasionally a member of Yoko Ono’s band, Fiery Furnaces and Fischer Spooner) finally discovered her own sound. (via Nicole Atkins’ Facebook Page)

MarsBands Reivew

I’m actually really disappointed in myself. I’ve known about Nicole Atkins for quite some time and never thought to let you guys in on the party. I stumbled across her cover of Nirvana’s cover of The Four Pennies cover of Lead Belly’s cover of In the Pines (Where Did You Sleep Last Night). Yes, that song actually has a very storied history, dating back to at least the late 1800’s. I digress…

So Nicole’s cover was amazing. No, it wasn’t Cobain-esque, but that’s asking quite a bit from anyone. Nicole’s version did have copious amounts of emotion and passion, however, which is what that song needs and deserves. You can tell she really felt the song. And that’s how all of her songs are. This woman literally wears her heart on her sleeve every time she sings. And her voice - wow what a voice she has. It’s incredibly strong. If you put Nicole and Allison Crowe in a glass house together, the entire thing would crack and shatter. That is some serious power.

There’s a lot going on in my head at any given time, and yes, a lot of it is music. So when I overlook or forget about a band or artist, it’s not done out of hate, it’s done out of my brain not having enough RAM (or is it ROM?). The whole reason I was even able to recall Nicole’s amazing music is because I was listening to another artist (who you will learn about in due time) that sounded a lot like Nicole.

With all that being said, you should definitely check out Nicole Atkins. She’s a little Folky, maybe even a little Poppy. But no matter how you label her, she is 100% authentic and awesome.

Her live performances rival her recorded albums. In fact, I prefer to listen to her live stuff. That’s not a knock on her recorded material, that’s just a testament to how good she is live. Below is her latest album, Mondo Amore, via bandcamp. Enjoy!