NICK CURRAN (20 de Septiembre de 1977 - 6 de Octubre de 2012) D.E.P.
2010. Fue la noticia del día de ayer pero servidor no se ha enterado hasta esta misma mañana. Nick Curran, uno de nuestros más adorados guerreros del rock'n'roll, finalmente perdió la batalla contra el cáncer. En los últimos meses se habían ido filtrando noticias contradictorias pero todos confiábamos en un desenlace positivo a toda esta historia. Todos, a estas alturas de la película, ya nos hemos hartado de ver "partir" a muchos de nuestros ídolos, y en cierta manera uno se va acostumbrando y tomándolo como lo que es, algo inevitable. La edad no perdona a nadie. Pero, ay amigos, cuando empiezan a caer en combate músicos que son menores que uno... ufff, la sensación es bastante más desagradable. La puta e injusta fugacidad (y arbitrariedad) de la vida. No nos vamos a poner depresivos, seguro que el bueno de Nick querría que bailáramos y bebiésemos a su salud. Eso haremos. Hoy lo recordamos con el que fue su último disco, mucho más que un preciosista ejercicio de estilo, un auténtico tributo a los maestros. Amigo, allá donde estés, descansa en paz.
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Comin' on like a sci-fi hybrid of
T-Bone Walker,
Little Richard, and
Guitar Slim, guitarist/singer
Nick Curran is a powerhouse performer who owes a strong debt to blues and rockabilly artists of the '50s. Originally from Portland, ME,
Curran began performing in his early teens with his father's band, Mike Curran & the Tremors. At 19, while playing with local rockabilly band
King Memphis,
Curran met rockabilly legend
Ronnie Dawson and ended up touring with him for about six months. Soon after coming off the road, he got a call to do a tour with Texas rockabilly queen
Kim Lenz and eventually joined her backup band,
the Jaguars.
Subsequently,
Curran moved to Dallas where he quickly immersed himself in the city's vibrant blues traditions as well as the roots music scene in Austin. It was during this time that
Curran toured with retro-country sensation
Wayne Hancock. Citing such influences as
Wynonie Harris, Otis West,
Roy Brown, and many other postwar blues and rock & roll artists,
Curran released his solo album debut,
Fixin' Your Head, in 2000. Recording live, single takes on vintage equipment,
Curran has cultivated an impressive retro '50s jump blues sound that is only enhanced by his predilection for vintage clothes and Nu Nile pomade.
Nitelife Boogie followed in 2001 and further solidified
Curran's reputation as one of the most authentic and exciting roots musicians of his generation.
In a move that garnered him a slightly higher profile,
Curran signed with legit-blues label Blind Pig Records in 2002 and released his third album the following year. Featuring more of
Curran's old-school blues and R&B,
Doctor Velvet found the still twenty-something artist branching out into Delta blues, reworking
the Sonics' garage rock classic "Shot Down," and performing alongside one of his musical idols, original Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist
Jimmie Vaughan. Further accolades followed in 2004 as
Curran received the
W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut and released his fourth album,
Player!
Toward the latter stages of the tour promoting
Player!,
Curran parted ways with his longtime Nitelifes rhythm section of ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds bassist Preston Hubbard and drummer Damien Llanes. Ironically,
Curran then joined vocalist Kim Wilson's lastest incarnation of The Fabulous Thunderbirds in time to record the band's 2005 release Painted On.
After leaving the T-Birds,
Curran formed the punk-blues combo Deguello with T-Birds' bassist Ronnie James Weber and played in various side-projects before relaunching his solo career. In 2010, Curran released Reformed School Girl on Eclecto Groove Records.
Nick Curran was born in
Biddeford,
Maine, and grew up in nearby
Sanford. Curran began his professional career at age nineteen, leaving Maine to tour with
Ronnie Dawson, “The Blonde Bomber.” Although Dawson was primarily a
rockabilly musician, many blues and punk fans appreciated his performances. He taught Curran not to get pigeonholed. Curran toured next with Texas rockabilly doyenne
Kim Lenz, moving to
Dallas to join her backup band the Jaguars for two years, and performing on Lenz’s recording, The One And Only. Nick would stay with the Jaguars for two years. He is also featured on Lenz’s latest CD, It’s All True, and toured with her in the summer of 2009.
In 1999 the Texas Jamboree label issued Curran’s debut solo recording, Fixin' Your Head. As he would do on all future CDs, Curran, used vintage recording equipment to achieve the feel and sound of old 45s and 78s, and the LPs of the 1950s. To support the recording he formed the band, Nick Curran & the Nitelifes.
From 2004 to 2007 Curran played with
The Fabulous Thunderbirds appearing on their 2005 recording, Painted On. During that time, Curran and bassist
Ronnie James started the punk band,
Deguello, saying that it “sounded as if
Little Richard sang with The Ramones.”
Curran performed four songs in a scene in the 2008 HBO Series,
True Blood."
After performing a solo show in November, 2008, Nick formed the rock ‘n’ roll roots band, The Lowlifes. Curran is also in the Austin-based punk/rock ‘n’ roll band The Flash Bo
ys.
As of 2010, Nick Curran was diagnosed with
oral cancer. As of June 2010, he was deemed cancer free.
In April 2011, it was announced[
who?] that his cancer returned and he was undergoing treatment. He died on October 6, 2012.
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