Nicole Atkins (born October 1, 1978)
Early life
Atkins was born in Neptune,
New Jersey. She grew up in Shark River Hills, a middle class enclave within Neptune overlooking the Shark River.
[ "Nicole Atkins & the Sea Perform 'War Torn,' Chat 'Neptune City'", SPIN.com, January 22, 2008, Accessed January 29, 2008 "But the neighborhood I live in is called Shark River – it's part of Neptune – I live right across the street from the river, and there's a bird sanctuary."] Atkins has cited the bay as a major inspiration for her music, particularly the imagery of "the river in the rain" found in the title track on her album
Neptune City.
She started playing piano at nine years old and taught herself to play guitar at 13.
She eschewed more popular acts of the day for musical groups her parents listened to, such as
The Ronettes,
Johnny Cash, and The Beach Boys.
She has cited the vocalists
Harriet Wheeler of
The Sundays and
Cass Elliot as important early influences.
She started playing in pick-up bands and doing gigs at local coffeehouses while attending St. Rose High School in the nearby town of Belmar.
Career
Early beginnings in North Carolina and New York
After high school, Atkins moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to study illustration at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
She ingrained herself within the city's independent music scene, discovering bands like
Superchunk and
Uncle Tupelo. She also started writing original songs and befriending other local musicians. Among other bands, she joined a supergroup in the city called Nitehawk that, at one point, had almost 30 members.
After she returned, she joined the band Los Parasols, releasing an EP with them entitled
The Summer of Love in 2002.
[[2]]
That same year, Atkins moved to the neighborhood of
Bensonhurst in
Brooklyn, New York.
[ Influenced by the artists signed to independent label Rainbow Quartz, she strayed from the louder rock music she'd played in North Carolina and moved toward the songcraft style of Wilco and Roy Orbison.][ "Nicole Atkins: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview" , MusicSnobbery.com September 29, 2005, Accessed January 21, 2008] She returned to Charlotte and played with several bands, most notably a group called Virginia Reel. At this time, she started writing what she termed "a mix of Americana, 60s, and indie rock." She also recorded her EP Bleeding Diamonds.
Early 2003, she commuted into Manhattan by train to play gigs and maintain a connection to the city's underground music scene.[Donnelly, Tim. "Shore Of Herself", Asbury Park Press, December 10, 2006. "She couch surfed with friends in the city and rode the North Jersey Coast Line back and forth to make her dream happen."] In mid-2004, Atkins and David Muller, who had played drums with Fischerspooner and The Fiery Furnaces, started working on a demo CD entitled Party's Over. They recorded most of the album in Atkins' parents' house using a Casio keyboard, a ProTools rig, and a mini recorder. Drum parts were recorded at Muller's apartment in Manhattan, with further tracks recorded at the Dietch Projects gallery in Brooklyn.
2005–2009: The Sea and Neptune City
In early 2005, keyboardist Dan Chen, whom Atkins knew from her days at The Sidewalk Café, approached Atkins about forming a new group. The band, now known as Nicole Atkins & The Sea, was given a residency at the small showcase bar, Piano's, and won the attention of music industry attorney Gillian Bar. She soon found herself in the midst of a bidding war between record labels and signed with Columbia Records in January 2006.[ "Nicole Atkins: Homeward Bound", "CMJ", Accessed January 18, 2008] at Varispeed Studios in Kalgerup and Gula Studion in Malmö with producer Tore Johansson. The album was originally scheduled for a July 2007 release, but at the behest of Columbia co-chairman Rick Rubin,[ "Atkins & The Sea release CD", "Asbury Park Press", November 11, 2007. Accessed January 18, 2008] it was pushed back until October 30, 2007, to accommodate Audio mastering the album. It debuted at number 20 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and reached number 6 on the Heatseekers Middle Atlantic Chart.[, from Billboard December 1, 2007, Accessed January 18, 2008] In 2008, Atkins' backing vocals were prominently featured on A.C. Newman's second solo album, Get Guilty, released in 2009.
2010–2011: The Black Sea and Mondo Amore
In January 2010, Atkins and The Black Sea started recording new material at Brooklyn's Seaside Lounge studio with producer Phil Palazzolo, with whom Atkins had previously worked during sessions for Get Guilty in 2008.
2012–2014: Slow Phaser
In the winter of 2012, Nicole returned to Malmö, Sweden to record with Tore Johansson on her latest record, Slow Phaser. The album was released February 4, 2014, to rave reviews
2017–present: Goodnight Rhonda Lee and Italian Ice
Goodnight Rhonda Lee is Nicole Atkins' fourth studio album, which was recorded at Single Lock Records in Florence, Alabama and was released on July 21, 2017. Goodnight Rhonda Lee was produced and engineered by Niles City Sound: production, engineering, drums, and percussion on all tracks by Josh Block; production, guitar on all tracks, and musical arrangements by Austin Jenkins; production and engineering by Chris Vivion. The first single off her record was "Goodnight Rhonda Lee" which is about her past behavior and finally putting it to rest. Her next single following "Goodnight Rhonda Lee" is "Listen Up." In "Listen Up" Atkins is very self-critical on how her life lessons were learned the hard way. Goodnight Rhonda Lee received an 83/100 score and 4 out of 5 stars.
Atkins released her fifth studio album, Italian Ice, in 2020. It was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama, and featured several musicians associated with that studio.
Other work
In 2008, Atkins was cast as the voice of the mother in director Geoff Marslett's animated sci-fi comedy film Mars.
Atkins provide vocals for the track "Solano Avenue" (as Estrella Cumpas) on David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's 2010 album, Here Lies Love.
Atkins also joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.
Atkins recorded a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" in 2014 for a compilation album titled Dead Man's Town, a tribute to Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. LP.
In 2016 Cotton Mather released a three-song EP on Star Apple Kingdom titled Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins, featuring the songs "Girl Friday," "Faded," and "Call Me The Witch."
Nicole Atkins produced and co-wrote "Too Late" and "Saturday" for Tommy Stinson's Bash & Pop which were released by Fat Possum Records.
Nicole Atkins co-wrote "Those Were The Days" with Old 97's from their album Graveyard Whistling which was released by ATO Records.
Nicole Atkins covered "Joey" by Concrete Blonde, which was released December 8, 2017, as part of the Shovels & Ropes duet album, Busted Jukebox: Volume 2.
Personal life
When not on the road, she lives in Nashville, TN.
Discography
EPs
-
2006: Bleeding Diamonds, EP (Columbia Records)
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2007: Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007: Nicole Atkins & The Sea, EP (Sony BMG Music Entertainment)
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2008: Nicole Atkins Digs Other People's Songs, EP (Columbia Records)
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2011: ...Till Dawn, EP (Razor & Tie)
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2014: A Nightmare Before Summer, EP
Albums
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2007: Neptune City (Columbia Records)
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2011: Mondo Amore (Razor & Tie)
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2014: Slow Phaser (Oh'Mercy!)
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2017: Goodnight Rhonda Lee (Single Lock)
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2020: Italian Ice (Single Lock)
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2021: Memphis Ice (Single Lock)
with Los Parasols
-
2002: The Summer of Love (EP)
with Hungry Ghost
(Atkins sang backup vocals on "Police State Xmas")
Compilation albums
(Atkins contributed a cover of The Doors' "The Crystal Ship")
(Atkins contributed a cover of the Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson penned "Blue Christmas")
-
2009: Scott Walker – 30 Century Man
(Atkins contributed a cover of Scott Walker's "The Seventh Seal")
(Atkins contributed a cover of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks")
-
2012: Tim Adams and Mike Viola's HAREM: Songs from the Movie "That's What She Said"
(Atkins contributed the track "All Wrong")
-
2013: College Radio Day: The Album, Vol. 2
(Atkins contributed the track "The Stranger")
-
2014: Dead Man's Town: A Tribute to Born In the U.S.A. Lightning Rod Records
(Atkins contributed a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In the Dark")
Singles
Awards and nominations
2002
-
Asbury Music Awards Winner: Top Female Vocalist
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Asbury Music Awards Winner: Best Solo Act
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Asbury Music Awards Winner: Song of the Year – "Neptune City"
2005
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ASCAP Foundation winner: Sammy Cahn Award – "Neptune City"
External links
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Nicole sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interview
