If Cleveland, Ohio was the launch pad of Rock and Roll 50 years ago, then Seattle, Washington was where they built the engine. From guitar-band pioneers like the Ventures and The Kingsmen; through the fury of Jimi Hendrix and Heart; and past the grunge / metal movement that spawned Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice In Chains, Seattle has been a breeding ground for some of rock’s most enduring legends dating back to the early 1950s.
Fast forward to 2004. Nicholas Russell, singer/songwriter and Jet City native is ready to carry on the tradition of the Northwest and forge a brave new path with unique but catchy chord changes, and a melody that everyone understands.
In two words: pop music.
"A lot of people look down on you if you say you write and record pop music," says Russell, who has just completed his self-titled debut album. "But, that’s what my music is. The greatest writers in rock’n’roll from Little Richard; Holland Dozier Holland; Lennon & McCartney to Brian Wilson didn’t build their legacy around a lot of high-brow music. They made pop music and that has always been the real common denominator in the rock’n’roll equation. They call it pop music because it is indeed popular."
From the infectious melody and chord changes of the acoustic driven pop gem, "The Real One," through more aggressive songs like "Already Been," and "I Saw You", Russell presents many of the traditional scenarios with a fresh, and often compelling twist. It’s not just boy meets girl they fall in love and live happily ever after. With Nicholas Russell’s songs, the couple only makes it after years of therapy, bouts of psychosis, and considerable time spent in an anger management program.
After ten years on the Seattle club circuit, Russell has finally decided that it is his love of songwriting that has always been at the source of his musical inspiration. He has come full-circle and returned to writing and recording new songs best suited for himself (and not for a band of which he is a member). "Turning emotions into sound has always intrigued me and motivated me to keep moving forward with my music," he says. "This album took a year to record, but it has been years and years in the making."
"I had a girlfriend when I was 9 years old. Her parents would constantly play Elvis records in their home," says Russell. "I liked it enough to buy one of his records. Soon afterwards, one of my 8 older siblings introduced me to The Beatles, and that was it…"
Like millions of other aspiring musicians, Russell soon absorbed everything about The Fab 4 and their music he could, but it was one area in particular he paid attention to: their amazing ability to create well-crafted, infectious pop songs.
"My mom got me my first guitar around that time and I spent every free moment learning songs out of an Easy-Play Beatles songbook. By 12, I was in a band doing 8th grade dances singing stuff like ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’. I knew this is what I had to do. If nothing else, it was a great way to have girls introduce themselves to me."
Through his high school years and a myriad of bands, and during four years spent at the University of Washington earning a degree, he furthered his musical interests by taking advanced guitar and piano lessons, and later, classes in music theory and arrangement (Among his professors was Dave Brubeck Quartet member, Bill Smith).
"I graduated witth a degree in electrical engineering, with a main focus on digital signal processing for audio, but my real passion was the music classes I took," he says. "I would plead with the teachers in the music department and tell them I was a music major so I could get in all these great classes that only students in the music school could attend," he adds, admitting he could charm his way into any class he desired. "In the end, it was well worth the white lies. The education taught me how much goes into music composing. Most musicians take the process of songwriting for granted. It is, indeed, a real art."
While in college, he was asked by one of his older brothers to come on board at Victory Studios, a successful audio/video post production facility, where Russell worked creating film and TV music, as well as several years of doing engineering. "To be able to work there was like winning the lottery. I was able to go to work in a world class studio creating and recording all types of different music. For me, the recording studio has become an instrument all its own." Not long after joining the staff at Victory, he earned credits mixing audio recordings for video and CD compilations for the likes of Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains.
While cutting his teeth in the studio at Victory, his pop music career began to flourish in earnest. Russell was soon fronting two popular Seattle-based bands, Godot, and later, the popular club act, Ivan. The latter evolved into the current Russell solo project, with all of the former Ivan members appearing on his new album, and drummer Kevin Hammond continuing on as Russell’s drummer. "I am very lucky to have worked with some terrific musicians over the years," says Russell, but in the end, being a member of a band means you have to make a lot of compromises. "At this point in my life, my vision of these songs I am writing is too clear and too developed to want to make any of those typical compromises. It is incredibly fulfilling to finally be able to take these songs from an idea to a finished recording without any hesitation."
With a world-class album and High Definition TV music video under his belt, Russell is preparing for the record’s impending release and for a new chapter of his musical life that will take him around the world touring.
"I finally feel the time for me is right," he adds. "I want to perform and experience that physical connection with my audience. But, in the end, I don’t get too deep into analyzing my music, or the people that listen to it. After all, it’s just a bunch of pop songs."
