Nicki Bluhm
| Nicki Bluhm | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 22, 1979 |
| Origin | San Francisco, California |
| Genres | Rock, soul, Alt-Country, Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-Songwriter |
| Years active | 5 |
| Labels | Little Sur Records |
| Associated acts | Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers, Infamous Stringdusters, Brokedown In Bakersfield, The Mother Hips |
| Website | Nicki Bluhm |
| Members | Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers: Deren Ney on lead guitar/vocals, Steve Adams on bass/vocals, Dave Mulligan on rhythm guitar/vocals, and drummer Mike Curry. |
| Past members | Tim Bluhm, Bill Cramer |
Nicki Bluhm is a singer, musician, and songwriter from Lafayette, California. She has performed with The Gramblers since 2008. She has also guest-performed with Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Warren Haynes, Chris Robinson, Grace Potter, The Avett Brothers, Keller Williams, and Galactic among others. In the winter of 2016 she toured as guest vocalist with the Infamous Stringdusters. She has also sang on album tracks for Karl Denson (The Rolling Stones, Greyboy All-Stars) and The Brothers Comatose.[1]
Contents
Early career and The Gramblers
In 2006 Nicki was heard singing by Tim Bluhm, singer of The Mother Hips. He offered to help her record in his home studio, Pacific Dust, in San Francisco, and in the course of making the record the two dated and married. Nicki began performing in San Francisco with guitarist Deren Ney, a friend from grade school, at night as she worked on the album. That debut, "Toby's Song" (Little Knickers, 2008),featured an ad hoc studio band including Ney, singer/songwriter Jackie Greene (Jackie Greene Band, Phil Lesh and Friends, The Black Crowes) and ALO's Steve Adams (bass) and The Mother Hips' John Hofer (drums). When Toby's Song was released Bluhm assembled a touring band and began performing under the name Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers.
Nicki is credited with writing or co-writing most of the band's songs, but also integrates those written by other songwriters in the band, predominantly Tim. In an interview with The Independent Bluhm said:
- "There’s four songwriters in the band — me, Tim, lead guitarist Deren Ney, and rhythm guitarist Dave Mulligan. Basically we all write independently and then bring songs to the table and play ’em for each other. Typically we always like the songs that people bring in; I think there has yet to be a song that we didn’t like, which is really lucky. We all definitely have a common thread in our songwriting, but it’s all got some personality to it. I think it’s really cool to have multiple songwriters; it kind of diversifies the feel and the sound. So far it’s worked well for us." [2]
After some lineup tweaks and touring Bluhm's second album, Driftwood, was the first to be recorded mostly with the live lineup of Nicki, Tim, Ney, Adams, and drummer Mike Curry. It also featured Greene on keys, Adams' ALO bandmates Dave Brogan and Dan Lebowitz, and Railroad Earth's Tim Carbone. Shortly before the album was released singer/songwriter Dave Mulligan joined the touring band on rhythm guitar/vocals and Tim shifted to keys. [3]
Driftwood had a modest run on its initial release in 2011 but was re-released in Summer 2012 as the band's popularity surged. They toured relentlessly in support of the album and developed a reputation as a strong live band. Their festival performances strengthened the buzz and they performed at the Bonnaroo Festival, the Newport Folk Festival, and Warren Haynes' Mountain Jam. In June 2013 they were the subject of an Anthony Mason piece on CBS This Morning.
Bluhm's third record and first credited as "Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers" (Little Sur, 2013) was released in August 2013. The self-titled album debuted in the Top Ten on Billboard's New Artist and Americana charts. To promote the album they made their late night talk show debut on Conan performing "Little Too Late (To Die Young)". The album tour culminated with a sold out show in their hometown at The Fillmore.
To write their fourth record, "Loved Wild Lost", the band moved into a farmhouse in Pescadero, CA. They emerged with nearly a complete album which they recorded at Panorama Studios in Stinson Beach, CA, with producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine, Counting Crows). "Loved Wild Lost" was released in Spring 2015 and debuted by the New York Times. They released their first music video for the single "Waiting On Love" with starred Jason Ritter (Girls, Gravity Falls and Melanie Lynskey (Togetherness, Two and a Half Men) as reckless lovers literally tearing their world apart. [4]
In the summer of 2015 the band parted ways with Tim Bluhm. That Fall a public statement was released stating that Nicki and Tim would be separating musically and personally. Nicki and the band continued as a 5-piece and with guest keyboardists. They toured Europe in 2016 and are expected to record a fifth album this year.
YouTube Success
The band became widely known after their "Van Sessions" videos, where the band performs cover songs in a van while driving between gigs, became a viral hit in March 2012. Their cover of the Hall & Oates song I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) was viewed over a million times a week after it was posted. It gained the band noteworthy fans such as Cameron Crowe, Ryan Adams, Melissa Etheridge and even John Oates and Daryl Hall. The video's popularity brought the group media attention. MSN, CBS News This Morning and New York Magazine all did features on the band. Their "nbluhm" YouTube Channel as of this writing has nearly 10 million views.[5] Bluhm performed the song with John Oates in 2014.
Icons Redefined campaign
In 2012 Bluhm was featured in a global ad campaign for The Gap called "Icons Redefined", which featured "the icons of tomorrow", including The Avett Brothers and Kaki King.[6] These ads were featured on Gap billboards and in magazines worldwide. The band performed at the campaign launch event in New York.
Discography
Studio albums
Nicki Bluhm
- Toby's Song (Little Knickers, 2008)
- Driftwood (Little Knickers, 2011, rereleased 2012 on Little Sur Records, 2012)
Tim & Nicki Bluhm
- Duets (Little Sur Records, 2011)
Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers
- Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers (Little Sur Records, 2013)
- Love Wild Lost (Little Sur Records, 2015)
Brokedown in Bakersfield
- Brokedown in Bakersfield (Little Sur, 2014)
References
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