Pesky J. Nixon

Artist Information

Biography

2011 - Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artists
2011 - NERFA (New England Regional Folk Alliance) Formal Showcase


"You have an amazing sound that is infectious and puts a smile on peoples faces."
- Cheryl Praskher, President of NorthEast Regional Folk Alliance (Nov 07, 2011)

"PJN's music is an ideal blend of vocal harmonies and skilled instrumentation."
- Ariel Kay, Brandeis Justice (Sep 20, 2011)


Bombastic but brilliant, this quartet from New England exude a genuine musical authenticity and mirth on stages up and down the East Coast. Drawing influences from contemporary urban balladeers, rowdy southern bluegrass, and the sardonic yet wry wit of New England's localized folk scenes, Pesky J. Nixon (PJN) creates an atmosphere both inviting and challenging for audiences. Compelling harmonies and narratives rein in disparate instrumentation including- zydeco style accordion, virtuosic mandolin, a variety of tribal percussion, and a myriad of string instrumentation. Jay Moberg of Boston's WUMB says of the group, "These guys represent what I love about music...great playing, thoughtful lyrics, and musicians who actually enjoy playing together!".

Released in late 2010, the band's first studio album, Monkey Business & Mislaid Hopes, peeked at #28 on the Roots Music Report Folk & Roots Country Radio Charts and has consistently been listed among the top records in the industry since its release. Darius Rips, from the folk publication Oliver di Place describes the album as "...songs of partings, taken with the best possible grace".

Instrumentation

Ethan Scott Baird - Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals, Rythm Guitar
Jacob Bush - Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals, Accordion, Piano.
Eric McDonald - Guitar, Backing Vocals, mandolin
Dan Carp - Hand Percussion, and Backing Vocals

Discography

2008 - Good Grief!
2010 - Monkey Business and Mislaid Hopes* can be found on CD Baby, Amazon, Pandora and iTunes.
2012 - Red Ducks

* April & May 2011 Roots Music Report Folk & Roots Country Radio Charts top 25 album.

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pesky's Facebook Home
• Reverb Nation Homepage

Audio

• Anna Lee
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• Breathe in Autumn (radio edit)
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• Atlanta
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• Who Will Love You
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• These are songs of partings, taken with the best possible grace. [+ Show ]
  

  And what songs! Pesky J Nixon boasts two fine songwriters, Ethan Scott Baird and Jacob Bush. It’s su...And what songs! Pesky J Nixon boasts two fine songwriters, Ethan Scott Baird and Jacob Bush. It’s surprising enough to find two strong songwriters in the same group, but here their styles are so compatible that the album has a unified narrative voice. These are songs of partings, taken with the best possible grace. Who Will Love You opens the album, and starts out sounding like it’s going to be a jealous plea for a lover to return. But, it turns out that the narrator recognizes that he has hurt her, and she isn’t coming back, and he simply hopes that someone will take as good care of her as he wanted to. Breathe in Autumn equates the cooling of a relationship with the cooling of the weather, and the metaphor really works. Atlanta starts with two friends who haven’t seen much of each other in the last few years; as time continues to move, the one friend manages to show up only when he is needed most. This song has the quality of a classic, and deserves to find the widest possible audience. Fade has another great metaphor, equating the state of a relationship with the reception of a distant radio station. And the rest of the songs are just as good, although these moved me personally the most.

• Pesky's Hootenany has group's singing their hearts out [+ Show ]
  

  PJN's music is an ideal blend of vocal harmonies and skilled instrumentation. Bush's accordion added...PJN's music is an ideal blend of vocal harmonies and skilled instrumentation. Bush's accordion added an unexpected, lyrical tone while Karp's percussion—several hand drums and cymbals as opposed to a full drum kit—gave the music a softer, less staccato vibe than can be achieved with drumsticks. Baird's voice, deep and just a touch raspy, traveled from the stage to the audience and wrapped the listeners inside the songs' stories. The music brought on a feeling that was comfortable, cozy and familiar. "Their songs are so completely natural and well-made that they quickly hook you in. They often use beautiful three-part harmonies, and their sound is also defined by the very sensitive arrangements that feature accordion and hand percussion," said Chasalow.
  
  Baird shared several humorous anecdotes from the band's time together. His account of their rise to popularity was particularly memorable. PJN first learned that their music was being played on the radio about a year ago. Unfortunately, the radio station that had picked them up was located in Melbourne, Australia. From there, the song migrated up East Asia and through Russia to the West Coast of the United States until finally making its way to New England, where the band lives. Today, they have a fair amount of success on folk and country radio stations throughout the country, particularly on college radio.

• An Absolute Pleasure to Listen To [+ Show ]
  

  Pesky J. Nixon recently released their sophomore album, Monkey Business & Mislaid Hopes, and sent it...Pesky J. Nixon recently released their sophomore album, Monkey Business & Mislaid Hopes, and sent it my way for a listen. I'm so glad I got to hear their energetic americana music with adept banjo plucking and melodic harmonies that get you listening right from the start. Don't let "americana" through you off though, this is music that can appeal to a wide audience with it's pop sensibilities, well crafted songs, and subtle rock and folk influences. Their songs are a fluid piece of work with a clear voice, making for an enjoyable listen.
  
  I thought "Breathe in Autumn" was the perfect song for last week as summer quietly became fall and the leaves began to change as if they were just waiting for September 22nd to come along. This music feels just right for the fall, whether it is soft and contemplative or more upbeat and sing-along-esque like "Who Will Love You?", there is something about the combination of an accordion, a banjo, and stories told in the form of songs that seems just right for this time of season. Be sure to check out their album, it is an absolute pleasure to listen to.

• Interview with the Boys of Pesky J. Nixon
  

  Our first published interview.

• The Power of Pesky [+ Show ]
  

  Their energy is around 5 on the Richter scale.... One thing is for certain. If Pesky J. Nixon is th...Their energy is around 5 on the Richter scale.... One thing is for certain. If Pesky J. Nixon is there, we don’t want to miss it.

Setlist

Original Songs include:
- Day By Day
- Wildflower
- ISOIA
- Fade
- Breathe In Autumn
- Storybook
- Anna Lee
- Atlanta
- Easy
- Who Will Love You
- Growing Old
- Way We Get By

Cover Songs include:
- Tread Light
- Lord Have Mercy
- Wagon Wheel
- Ms. Ohio
- Girls Just Want to Have Fun
- Jesus Gonna Be Here
- Window
- Don't You Be So Mean My Jellybean
- For What Its Worth
- Born Again
- John Brown
- Talk About Heaven
- Easy Chair

Set can range from comfortably range from 20 to 120 minutes although we do organize a three hour show annually.

Basic Requirements

Calendar