Nickel Creek
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| Nickel Creek | ||
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 Nickel Creek in the music video for Speak.
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Southern California, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Alternative, Bluegrass, Country | |
| Years active | 1989-2007 (proposed) | |
| Label(s) | Sugar Hill Records | |
| Website | nickelcreek.com | |
| Members | ||
| Chris Thile Sara Watkins Sean Watkins |
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Nickel Creek is a Grammy Award-winning American acoustic music trio with roots in bluegrass, which is now sometimes described as "progressive bluegrass" or "progressive acoustic." The band is composed of three permanent members: Chris Thile (mandolin), Sara Watkins (violin), and her brother Sean Watkins (guitar). The band's fourth guest member has been less permanent, although he is always a dynamic part of their performance. This position is currently filled by Mark Schatz (string bass), and it has previously been filled by Scott Thile, Edgar Meyer, Byron House, and Robert Trujillo. Over the band's three official albums, Nickel Creek's musical style seems to have shifted from contemporary bluegrass to the incorporation of indie rock elements, covering songs by Radiohead, Pavement, Elliott Smith, Bob Dylan, and even Toxic by Britney Spears, which has become a crowd favorite at their shows. However, the core influence of bluegrass remains evident in all three albums.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] 1989-1999: The Early Days
The band formed in California in 1989 with Scott Thile, Chris' father, playing string bass. The two families, the Watkins and the Thiles, met at That Pizza Place, in Carlsbad, California, where they listened to the band Bluegrass Etc. The oldest of the children, Sean, was only twelve years old at the time. Nickel Creek played many renowned bluegrass festivals thoughout the nineties, and released two albums: Little Cowpoke in 1993, and Here to There in 1997. Because of Here to There's limited release, and the band's refusal to re-release it, the album sells for a hundred dollars and up on eBay and other vintage compact disc websites.
[edit] 2000-2001: "Breakthrough" album
After the first two albums, Alison Krauss helped to develop their style. She produced their self titled 2000 release on Sugar Hill, which is considered their first major release. It is their most successful album to date, selling 900,000 copies. Critics responded favorably to the album; All Music Guide giving it four and a half stars out of five. Nickel Creek received two Grammy nominations for the album: Best Bluegrass Album and Best Country Instrumental for Ode to a Butterfly. A year later, Chris Thile's third (but first major) album Not All Who Wander Are Lost was released.
[edit] 2002-2004: This Side and Shift From Bluegrass
In 2002, This Side was released. It was a major transition from their previous albums, the first three being purely bluegrass. Although the core influence of bluegrass remained throughout the album, many other genres were present, such as indie rock and folk rock (the band covered Spit on a Stranger by Pavement, and Should've Known Better by Carrie Newcomer). Again, critics responded positively to Nickel Creek's album. Charles Spano on the All Music Guide said:
"Thile and the Watkins siblings' originals, like the sleepy, subtle "Speak" and the darker "Beauty and the Mess," easily outdo the likes of folk-rockers Dave Matthews and Hootie & the Blowfish, while forging a new style to rejuvenate a genre that has always been a bit of a dark horse."
[edit] 2005: Why Should the Fire Die?
After This Side was certified gold for selling 550,000 copies, Nickel Creek released Why Should the Fire Die? in August 2005. Again, Nickel Creek shifted their genre with more rock and pop influences as they did with This Side from Nickel Creek. Although tracks like Stumptown stayed with the traditional bluegrass feel, tracks like Best of Luck or Helena have more of a rock influence.
[edit] 2006-Present: Hiatus and Farewell (For Now) Tour
In the late summer of 2006 via Billboard Magazine and their official website, Nickel Creek announced that at the end of the year they would no longer be recording together as a group and their tour scheduled through 2007 would be their last for an indefinite period of time. According to Thile, "It's always been so natural, but lately it hasn't been quite as natural and we're running the risk of actually having to break up. We would rather leave it for a while, while it's still intact and healthy."
Sean Watkins stated that all three members are ready to expand their musical horizons by experiencing real life again: "When you're on the road all the time and meet all these people who love your music, you can't always relate to them because stuff never happens to you. We're supposed to be writing songs that relate to other people... I need to be out there and having a different life than that. I am ready to write about real things again.".[1]
Nickel Creek's last tour before the hiatus was announced via their website on February 13, 2007. The Farewell (For Now) Tour starts in April 2007 and ends in late 2007. In a recent statement, Nickel Creek said that they "wanted to do this in a positive way and take that last lap before our break. We want to see our fans one more time and play with the musicians that have inspired us over the years." [2]
[edit] Awards & nominations
[edit] Wins
- 2000 - IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year
- 2001 - IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year
- 2003 - Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album (This Side)
[edit] Nominations
- 2001 - Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album (Nickel Creek)
- 2001 - Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental (Ode to a Butterfly)
- 2001 - CMA Award for Best Vocal Group
- 2001 - CMA Horizon Award
- 2005 - Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album (Why Should the Fire Die?)
- 2005 - Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental (Scotch & Chocolate)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums & Singles
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
|---|---|---|
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Little Cowpoke
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Singles Released
None |
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
 |
Here to There
|
Singles Released
None |
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
 |
Nickel Creek | Singles Released |
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
 |
This Side
|
Singles Released
|
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
 |
Why Should the Fire Die?
|
Singles Released |
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
 |
Reasons Why: The Very Best
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Singles Released
None |
[edit] Singles information
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Country | US Rock | US AAA | UK | |||
| 2001 | "When You Come Back Down" | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nickel Creek |
| 2001 | "The Lighthouse's Tale" | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nickel Creek |
| 2002 | "Reasons Why" | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Nickel Creek |
| 2003 | "This Side" | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | This Side |
| 2003 | "Speak" | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | This Side |
| 2003 | "Smoothie Song" | N/A | N/A | N/A | #1(3w)* | N/A | This Side |
| 2005 | "When In Rome" | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Why Should the Fire Die? |
Note: Due to the unique musical style of Nickel Creek, they were often overlooked and rarely played on radio, primarily on the Country Charts, even though they received heavy rotation on the Country Music Video Channels CMT and GAC. Smoothie Song is the exception, becoming the first purely instrumental track to go to number one on any of Billboard's music charts that wasn't instrumental based already.
[edit] Collaborations
- Those Were The Days (2005) with Dolly Parton, featured on a cover of Blowin' in the Wind.
- Mutual Admiration Society (2004) with Glen Phillips
- Little Worlds (2003) with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, featured on Off the Top (The Gravity Wheel) and Off the Top (Line Dance).
- Further Down The Old Plank Road (2003) with The Chieftains, featured on The Raggle Taggle Gypsy.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Nickel Creek's official site
- VH1 biography
- Acoustic Guitar article
- PopMatters interview (11/2005)
- August 2005 performance for World Cafe broadcast on NPR
- October 2005 interview on All Things Considered
- Nickel Creek's Song "Tomorrow is a Long Time" played on NPR's All Songs Considered
- Review Nickel Creek - Reasons Why
