What are your Full names?
Nick Green and Dave Rosser
How old are you?
We are both 29 years old.
What is your genre of music?
Rock and Soul
Give us a little bio about you as a duo.
Bio:
The rock and soul duo’s approach to songwriting has always had a strong emphasis on beauty, combined with infectious hooks. Their music features lush vocal arrangements, infused with the melodic honey of the talk box over organic beats. Constantly striving to reinvent the modern pop song, they were given the opportunity to work with Odd Future affiliates, The Internet. In 2013, under the production of The Neptunes’ Chad Hugo, they helped pen their underground hit “Dontcha.”
In January of 2015, Nick was in the studio with his good friend Syd and the electronic Londoners, Snakehips. Together they wrote the song “Gone” at Syd’s house in LA. The track features Syd and has undeniably been a favorite of Snakehip’s devoted fan base. This led to Nick, the duo’s lead singer, getting asked to vocal produce and co-write on The Internet’s Ego Death. The alternative soul record features collaborations from Janelle Monáe, Vic Mensa, and Tyler, The Creator. Both members collaborated on the record that dropped last summer. It even reached as high as Number 9 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Ego Death is also nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2016.
Most recently, the duo just finished a national fall tour as direct support for The Internet on the Ego Death Tour. They were out promoting their NICKY DAVEY – EP released on Noise Alchemy in August of 2015. Their single, “Been Lovin’ You” is featured on NOW 57: That’s What I Call Music! Currently, the two studio rats are back in their Hollywood studio and feverishly working on their next release.
Give us a little Bio about you as individuals.
Nick– I was born and raised in Los Angeles, Ca. My Mom and dad are both musicians. Dads a voice coach and my moms an opera singer. As a kid I rebelled not wanting to play music, I fell in love with basketball and played at high levels until I was out of high school. Once I realized I wasn’t gonna grow taller then 5’11. I gave in and took over the family business. Lol
Dave– I was born in a suburb of Chicago called Hinsdale, Illinois. I moved to Florida as a toddler. When I was 9 years old, I moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. As a kid, I was pretty much only into sports. I was a junior olympic gymnast and trained 6 days a week for almost four hours a day. I did that until I was 15. It was around that time that I got more serious about music and started my first band.
How long have you been doing music?
NIck– I’ve been singing my whole life. I started writing poetry in high school and that led to crafting songs.
Dave– I started playing guitar when I was 13 years old. I started playing gigs shortly after when I was a freshman in highschool. I moved to LA when I was 20 and have been playing professionally ever since.
What made you go in to music?
Nick– I knew that I wanted to do something with purpose. I wanted to reach people. Connect with something bigger then myself.
Dave– When I was 12, I saw an older friend of mine playing Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Star Spangled Banner” and then move into ‘Under The Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Seeing those songs played up close on guitar made me wish I could do that. I was mesmerized by what I was hearing and seeing. I told myself, I have to be able to do that. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. As soon as I could play “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, I was addicted. From that point on, I knew I would be a musician.
Are you a signed?
We are signed to an independent record label called Noise Alchemy.
You released ‘ Been Lovin You ’Video , tell us more about the inspiration behind the song.
As told by Nick:
We wrote Been Lovin You some years ago when I was working at Fred Segal in Santa Monica. I actually wrote the song at work. A couple years passed and we finally decided to put it out once we got the arrangement right. It’s just a fun and light song that puts you in a good mood the moment you press play! Well not in particular but there is a line in the song that says…” And then I asked you for your number, you only gave four. Girl I’m a play your guessing game but guess again if you don’t think I’m gon’ score. That is a true story! lol The girl only gave me four numbers and told me to guess the rest. HAHA! So,that being said… I didn’t score.
The Video is great, did you have the job of what was to go in it and not or was it a joint decision with your teams help?
We had the pleasure of working with our very talented friend, Rich Yodsukar. He directed and shot the video. Rich came up with the initial idea, and then we all kind of came together and brainstormed ideas for it. We essentially ended up telling a story of our daily lives as musicians in LA, and do it in a light-hearted way.
Any new material being released soon? Single?
We will be dropping our second EP in Spring. We might drop a single to promote it. However, we are still deciding on that.
You guys are releasing an EP in Spring? can you tell us more about it
We are just really excited about it! This EP has so many different channels and colors to it. It takes you from being high on love, to tragedy and then back. Can’t wait for the world to hear it!
Do you have any plans for an album? If so when and tell us more.
We defnitley would love to release an album when the time is right.
What instruments do you play?
Nick – mainly programs our drums and adds some keyboard sprinkles here in there.
Dave – plays guitar, bass, keyboards and talk box
Who are your influences?
Nick– Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, Chaka Khan, D Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Teddy Riley, Morris Day and the Time, Zapp and Roger, J Dilla, Outkast, Dr Dre, Dj Quick and the whole west coast 90s hip hop era.
Dave-Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Michael Jackson, The Police, Neil Young, James Taylor, Tom Petty, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Ryan Adams, Eric Johnson, and the list goes on
Will you be doing any gigs or a Tour?
We are planning some tour dates in the Summer that are TBA.
If you are, where are will you be heading?
We are definitely heading through the west coast. if all the stars align, we hope to do some dates in the midwest and east coast as well.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Inspiration is one of those really mysterious things. Sometimes our cup is so full of it and everything sounds so good. Other days, we feel like we forgot how to write a song and are constantly second guessing ourselves. That’s the beauty in inspiration. It’s how you choose to see or find it. When we need a spark, we usually try to find a sound or chord that creates its own vibe. Sometimes it could be a single word or picture that brings music to your head. We also believe getting outside of the studio and taking a look at what’s around you can really help as well. Inspiration is all around us. You just have to be in the right place to find it.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
The cliché thing to say would be to take over the world. Which, I guess could have its uses if we did something positive with that power? Haha. I’d like to think we are still making and playing the music we love to even more fans all across the world. Maybe we have our own Grammy win under our belt?
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Nick- I love to cook and watch sports. I’m a huge laker fan and yes I still watch them cuz in my book the clippers still and always will suck. Lol
Dave- I’m a huge sports fan. So whenever I can watch the Chicago Bulls or Nebraska Cornhuskers, that’s pretty much a perfect day to me. I also like to frequent our local Farmer’s Market and chill.
If you could collaborate with one UK Artist who would it be?
Man, that’s a really tough question. If we absolutely had to pick, I think we would both say Mark Ronson.
If you could collaborate with one USA Artist who would it be?
Man, again…very tough. I think making a record with PRINCE could be pretty special.
Where is your dream venue or festival to perform in UK?
If we ever got to play Wembley Stadium, I have a feeling that would be pretty epic. Glastonbury would be amazing as well.
Where is your dream venue or festival to perform in USA?
I mean, Madison Square Garden and Coachella sound pretty nice.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
Nick– when I heard Nothing Even Matters by Lauren Hill and D Angelo is when I truly fell in love with music. Still to this day I listen with chills.
Dave– As a kid, I was really into the Breakfast Club movie. To this day, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds just brings back this sense of nostalgia to me. There’s a lot of hope in that song, even after love fails. That hope is powerful when you put it in a song. You can rely on it, whenever you need it. I loved it as a kid and still do now. There’s just some sort of magic in that song.
Yous have been nominated for a Grammy, was there any inspiration from that on any new tracks?
Nick– Yes. Definitely. I think that being acknowledged by our community is a very special thing. It’s the academy awards for musicians. That being said, I feel like it pushed us to work even harder. The song writing and production have gone into worlds I could never recreate. I think that’s what making music is all about. On Ego Death Syd, Matt and I talked a lot about letting the spirit Live in the song! I have to say every song on the new EP has its own identifiable spirit.
Dave– First off, being part of a grammy nominated record is simply an honor. Secondly, it just makes you want to work even harder. It definitely fuels your creativity to make high quality art, but with that comes very high expectations for the new records we’re making.
What was it like to get the phonecall to say you was nominated?
Nick– My friend Taz Arnold who is a producer on the Kendrick Lamar To pimp a butterfly album called me up at six in the morning talkin bout we Grammy nominated! I said we? He said yeah we!! I hung up the phone and started crying happy tears while I called my mom to let her know we did it!!
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Nick– it seems cliche but my coach once told me that great work ethics create greatness.
Dave– My Dad always told me that Inspiration is divine. It can go away if you don’t jot it down or record it. When I first moved to LA, my Dad sent me a little pocket recorder with a mini-cassette tape in it to record my ideas when they came . This was before phones were any good. I started making a habit of it. Now I record something instantly when an idea comes to my head. It’s definitely been helpful as a musician.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
To stay true to yourself and your art. Most of all, just keep going. It’s easy to let a lot of opinions get in your head and scramble you up a bit. If you feel that happening, step back and make some hard decisions. You might have to cut ties with people that are supposedly helping you, but in reality are stripping you from your core values as a musician. There is no right way to do anything in the music business. You will make mistakes, but so does everyone else. The only person carving your path at the end of the day is you. So, you can’t just depend on someone giving you a plethora of empty promises.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Nick– When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. “ Jimi Hendrix“
Dave– “There ain’t no fish in the goddamn trees!” -My Grampa told me this as a kid. It always makes me double check that I’m searching in the right places in life.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Nick– my lyrics lol my fun bag and 3 swishers
Dave– Carmex, picks, bolo tie, rings, and my smile
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes we do!
instagram.com/nickydaveymusic/
