Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
This Manhattanite can be found in local clubs and in the subway, playing his original fingerstyle guitar tunes. He’s influenced by Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges, but his tunes have a new and refreshing quality to them. Thompson could go down in history as one of the greats! This CD is a definite must for your guitar music collection - Creations
On the back cover, I notice in the song list, "Song for Michael Hedges." Anyone who is familiar with Hedges (an acoustic monster if there ever were one) might prick up their ears and say, let's see about that. And I did. And Thompson delivered. He's a surprising talent, tapping the fretboard, fingers all over the place, picking like a banshee when called for. So those worried about the Hedges song, or any others, can relax, because you're in good hands. Music of this sort creates an atmosphere in which relaxation and attention are key to enjoyment, and it's not for guitar heads alone. Others should equally find joy in it. Sure, you won't be singing choruses while waiting at the bus stop, but when you do give pause, you will find the music doing strange and wonderful things, like evoking memories in your head as passages hum or repeat, or experiencing Zen-like moments when a sharp note is plucked hard, or when Thompson raps on his guitar with his knuckles. He's a smart fellow too, by the way. You can find out more by visiting www.nickthompson.com.
- Street Beat
Nick Thompson plays mainly Open Tunings on his album “Lend me Your Ears”.His style of playing is very percussive, intimate and reminds one of Michael Hedges. He combines silent passages with loud strumming. On "Song For Michael Hedges" Nick is accompanied by a wonderful horn player in the atmosphere of Chet Baker. "Two Taylor's Tussling" is a very intimate and calming piece ."Spitbugs with Horns,” endearing play of the horn again. "Tompkins" is where Nick plays percussive. "Sycamore, an adorable intimate composition. Nick made
with “Lend me your Ears" a very profound altered tuning
cd, the horn player gives an extra dimension to this album. - Bridge Guitar Reviews
Fingerstyle guitarist Nick Thompson`s 2003 CD release, Lend Me Your Ears, continues the musician`s development, following his previous two CDs, Red Weather" and Sometimes Splatter Paints. Some cuts, such as Serenading The L Train feature a highly percussive style, with slaps, pops and other startling techniques. Song For Michael Hedges and Song For Michael Hedges (Reprise) are tributes to the late acoustic master, while tracks such as Two Taylors Tussling and Spitbugs With Horns feature Thompson`s longtime friend Taylor Ho Bynum on coronet. - Guitar 9
Discography
Red Weather, 1996
Sometimes Splatter Paints, 1997
Lend Me Your Ears, 2003
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Nick Thompson plays rocking fingerstyle guitar on 6-string, 12-string, and microtonal guitars.
Nick Thompson started playing guitar in a high school Black Crows and Guns n' Roses cover band, but quit that as soon as a teacher introduced him to the fingerpicking and tapping on a couple old Michael Hedges and Leo Kottke records. Now that's all Thompson plays on his 6- and 12-string guitars.
Thompson lives in New York and plays around the city and in the subway system. He also has performed all over Boston, San Francisco, and in 25 states. He also has recently given shows in Ghana and Bali. "Lend Me Your Ears" is his third album and he is he is joined on three tracks by his best friend from childhood, the trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum of the Fully Celebrated Orchestra, one of Boston's leading jazz bands.
Thompson's main influences are other fingerstyle players, and he likes to call his music "Neo-Leo" guitar as a way of honoring Kottke. He primarily listens to jazz however and much of his music is based on structured improvisation.
When not playing music, Thompson works as a journalist and was most recently editor of The Washington Monthly. He has also written for the Boston Globe, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and many other publications.
Links
