Nicholas Altobelli

Local alt-country singer/songwriter Nicholas Altobelli (Italian descent, you think?) has just released his debut, Streetcar Visions, and he's cautiously optimistic about the release.

“The record is not perfect," he says, "but I’m proud of the songs even though I’m trying to stay away from the country side of things.”

Mixing folk, rock and, that’s right, country, the EP has barely hit the, ahem, streets, and Altobelli is already scheduling his next project.

“I plan on recording a folk album at my home studio this summer and hopefully having it finished by this fall,” says the 23-year-old wunderkind from Plano.

The EP features five original songs, but during Saturday night’s CD release party at The Cavern, Altobelli paid tribute to such Americana heavyweights as Uncle Tupelo, The Jayhawks and Ryan Adams.

“I started playing music because I failed my senior year in high school,” explains Altobelli. “I picked up the guitar, but it wasn’t until I listened to Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown that I really started to work on songwriting.”

Since Altobelli doesn’t drink or verbally assault the audience for talking during his show, it’s difficult to compare him to the ever-petulant, self-proclaimed genius that is Ryan Adams. Only when Altobelli chastised his own father (for continuing to request a certain song) did the singer’s link to Adams become slightly apparent. --Darryl Smyers - Dallas Observer (4/28/08)

A few months back, when I first stumbled across the myspace page of local alt-country singer Nicholas Altobelli, I was taken aback by the maturity that this youngster displayed. Like a pleasant version of Ryan Adams, Altobelli’s mix of classic, Dylanesque folk and more modern singer/songwriter fare resonated through his recently released Streetcar Visions EP. Now comes word that Altobelli has basically completed his first full-length and is just waiting for the necessary funds in order to get the thing in circulation.
“I uploaded three new songs on Wednesday [to Myspace],” says Altobelli. “These songs will be on my album which will come out this winter, depending on the money.”
The album, Waiting for the Flowers to Bloom, is an all-acoustic affair with a thematic bent. “Unlike the last EP, this album has a personal meaning. All 10 songs relate to each other in some way.”
Here’s hoping the young Altobelli stumbles into the needed funds so we can hear the new effort, sooner than later. Catch Altobelli at Banter Café in Denton on Saturday and get a preview of the album. --Darryl Smyers - Dallas Observer (8/1/08)