Lightwall
Lightwall was my first project, formed by me in 2014 as an attempt to put together a real band with my friends. A full band never really coalesced, though we held a couple rehearsals in different lineups and I consider my first two acoustic performances Lightwall performances. A band was more seriously discussed by myself, Oliver Owens, and Ethan Singleton in late 2015, but once again never fully formed.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, bass guitar, keyboards
Nick Moore – acoustic guitar, backing and lead vocals (2014)
Shane Houts – electric guitar (2014)
Zach Nelson – bass guitar (2014)
Ethan Singleton – drums, tambourine, backing vocals (2015)
Ollie Owens – bass guitar, backing and lead vocals (2015)
Lightwall
The Pips
The Pips were my first performing band, formed as an ensemble for my high school's Performance Workshop between 2015 and 2017. A number of students cycled through the group over its 6 performances, but a core four remained the entire time. My final high school performance, after dozens of plays and musical shows, was in June 2017 with The Pips.
Personnel
Nick Brown – co-lead and backing vocals, drums, keyboards, harmonica, guitar
Zoe Hooks – co-lead and backing vocals, tambourine
Devon Harvey – co-lead and backing vocals, piano, congas
Leila Siegel – lead guitar
Riley Greenwood – bass guitar, rhythm guitar (2015-2016)
Emily Murotake – backing and co-lead vocals (2015-2016, 2017)
Tallia Saouaf – backing and co-lead vocals (2016-2017)
Duncan Grubbs – piano (2016-2017)
Callen O'Brien – bass guitar (2016-2017)
Sam Gaebe – drums (2016-2017)
The Pips
Basement Boys
Basement Boys was started as a sort of tongue-in-cheek continuation of my first project, Lightwall. I wanted to skip the logistics and difficulty of rehearsing a full band, so myself, Ethan Singleton, and Nick Moore simply improvised an entire concept album about anthropomorphic vegetables called The Yard and released it without a band name. It was my last collaboration with Moore. Bassist Callen O'Brien joined us for the second album, The Sea, recorded at his home 10 days later, and released under the name Basement Boys. This was the start of a nearly four-year friendship and collaboration with Callen. Ethan, Callen, and I recorded two further improvised albums and two EPs as a trio before letting Ethan go. Callen and I recorded the fifth and final Basement Boys album, Songs for Susan, in June 2017 as the intentional conclusion of the project. The controversial nature of much of the material has necessitated its removal from the internet, though some of it still remains on SoundCloud.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead and backing vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, drums, etc.
Ethan Singleton – drums, lead and backing vocals, etc. (2016–2017)
Nick Moore – backing and co-lead vocals, percussion (2016)
Callen O'Brien – bass guitar, drums, backing and lead vocals, keyboards, etc. (2016–2017)
Basement Boys
Starbird East
Starbird East was my first "proper" band - formed of myself and four of my classmates in my first year at the California Institute of the Arts in late 2017. Sam Cohen & Ethan Hans went to high school together and came as a package deal - Zane Taylor & Cedar Lange were both from Washington and came in separately then became close friends after their time in the band. The band was supposed to be a conduit for "yacht rock" - we played songs by Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, and others, and wrote an original song, "Open Air", in that style. The band was really fun and exciting for me - we recorded our original song for the CalArts Singer-Songwriter Project, played at two CalArts MAP Showcase Concerts and one full off-campus gig, at LA's Universal Bar & Grill (my first real gig), before disbanding because I was overbearing and the other members wanted to focus on their projects. I brought the group back - with saxophonist Spencer Hauck replacing Zane Taylor - for the Fall 2018 MAP Showcase, and again for Spring 2019's showcase, this time featuring just myself, Sam Cohen, Cedar Lange, and bassist/pianist Jake Michaels. I had originally intended to reunite Starbird East's original lineup a final time for my 2021 CalArts graduation recital, but the COVID-19 pandemic ended my CalArts performing career early and the band was permanently retired.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, keyboards
Sam Cohen – guitars, backing and lead vocals, bass guitar
Zane Taylor – guitars, backing and lead vocals, tambourine (2017-2018)
Ethan Hans – keyboards (2017-2018)
Cedar Lange – drums
Spencer Hauck – saxophone, percussion, backing vocals (2018)
Jake Michaels – bass guitar, piano, backing vocals (2019)
Starbird East
Show Biz Kids / Class of '69
My second and final CalArts band was truly comprised of two adjoining groups - Show Biz Kids was formed as exclusively a Steely Dan cover band by myself, flutist Rafael Luna, and drummer Carson Schafer, both of whom had come to me with the idea separately. The three of us recruited a full band, horn section included, and performed an hour-long concert at noon in CalArts' main gallery, which was arguably the peak of my time at the school. We had a great audience and the show went really well, though it wasn't perfect. The band also performed at that semester's MAP showcase and a photo event for the 2019 graduating class. The next fall, Rafael, Carson, and I came together to bring the band back, expanding our repertoire out from Steely Dan (though we did still play their songs). Joining us were returning guitarist Sam Cohen, bassist Owen Zorn, keyboardist Josh Sadinsky, and my friend Callen O'Brien on percussion, who had followed me to CalArts from high school. This lineup performed "Africa" by Toto at the CalArts 2019 Jazz Nights at Tatum Cafe. The following month, we performed another two times under the name "Class of '69", with Carson being replaced on drums by Noah Nelson, Callen replacing Owen Zorn on bass, and adding percussionist David Velazco. After a gallery night classroom concert and a show-closing appearance at that semester's MAP showcase, the band ended. My relationship with Callen had disintegrated, as had my working relationships with other members of the band. These performances were my final major live appearances at CalArts before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead vocals, keyboards
Rafael Luna – flute
Carson Schafer – drums (2018-2019)
Sam Cohen – guitars, backing and lead vocals
Jake Michaels – bass guitar, backing vocals (2019)
Evan Wendell – trumpet, arrangements (2019)
Nic Maldonado – saxophone (2019)
Evan O'Brien – saxophone (2019)
Ulrich Krieger – saxophone (special guest; 2019)
Owen Zorn – bass guitar (2019)
Callen O'Brien – bass guitar, percussion (2019)
Joshua Sadinsky – keyboards, backing and co-lead vocals (2019)
Noah Nelson – drums (2019)
David Velazco – percussion (2019)
Class of '69
Mothership / Lady Savarin
After graduating from CalArts and moving home to Marin County, California, I wanted to form a new band. Through mutual friends, I saw three young musicians - Gaelen McKee, 19, Owen Foltz, 18, and Dexter Hixon, 17 - performing at a high school event. I was struck by their talent, and invited them to join my friends and I at our headquarters, the shop Revolution 9, to hear my new album, Master Plan. We decided to collaborate musically and perform together if any gigs came to me. I was quickly hired to put together a band for a Beatles tribute performance at an older man's memorial the next month, and recruited McKee, Foltz, Hixon, and my friend, vocalist Alessia Potovsky to join me. We realized we needed a drummer, and after a couple leads went nowhere, we recruited 16-year-old multi-instrumentalist Oliver John to fill the role. Oliver not only played drums, but also guitar, harmonica, keyboards, bass, and saxophone, and sang really well. With this six-person lineup, we performed the Beatles tribute concert to great success. The band continued to perform a number of gigs through the summer, culminating in a triumphant headline performance at San Anselmo's Creek Park on August 20, 2021. Following this show, Alessia temporarily left the band to finish her last year of college. The rest of us continued on, playing gigs with various configurations through the fall, winter, and spring. Alessia graduated and returned in summer 2022, and we played a further nine shows, including a set at the Fairfax Festival, private parties, and full concerts around San Anselmo and Fairfax. Eventually, all the band members including myself realized the project had come to its natural conclusion, and we decided to end things with a full set at Creek Park in San Anselmo and the next day at the Summer's End Fest in San Geronimo on August 20, 2022. This group was my first true, proper band and played over 35 gigs, bringing in more than $15,000 and providing vital experience for all of us.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass
Alessia Potovsky – co-lead vocals, tambourine
Gaelen McKee – lead guitar, vocals, keyboards
Owen Foltz – guitar, trumpet, percussion
Dexter Hixon – bass
Oliver John – drums, vocals
Mothership
Lightwall
Lightwall was my first project, formed by me in 2014 as an attempt to put together a real band with my friends. A full band never really coalesced, though we held a couple rehearsals in different lineups and I consider my first two acoustic performances Lightwall performances. A band was more seriously discussed by myself, Oliver Owens, and Ethan Singleton in late 2015, but once again never fully formed.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, bass guitar, keyboards
Nick Moore – acoustic guitar, backing and lead vocals (2014)
Shane Houts – electric guitar (2014)
Zach Nelson – bass guitar (2014)
Ethan Singleton – drums, tambourine, backing vocals (2015)
Ollie Owens – bass guitar, backing and lead vocals (2015)
Lightwall
The Pips
The Pips were my first performing band, formed as an ensemble for my high school's Performance Workshop between 2015 and 2017. A number of students cycled through the group over its 6 performances, but a core four remained the entire time. My final high school performance, after dozens of plays and musical shows, was in June 2017 with The Pips.
Personnel
Nick Brown – co-lead and backing vocals, drums, keyboards, harmonica, guitar
Zoe Hooks – co-lead and backing vocals, tambourine
Devon Harvey – co-lead and backing vocals, piano, congas
Leila Siegel – lead guitar
Riley Greenwood – bass guitar, rhythm guitar (2015-2016)
Emily Murotake – backing and co-lead vocals (2015-2016, 2017)
Tallia Saouaf – backing and co-lead vocals (2016-2017)
Duncan Grubbs – piano (2016-2017)
Callen O'Brien – bass guitar (2016-2017)
Sam Gaebe – drums (2016-2017)
The Pips
Basement Boys
Basement Boys was started as a sort of tongue-in-cheek continuation of my first project, Lightwall. I wanted to skip the logistics and difficulty of rehearsing a full band, so myself, Ethan Singleton, and Nick Moore simply improvised an entire concept album about anthropomorphic vegetables called The Yard and released it without a band name. It was my last collaboration with Moore. Bassist Callen O'Brien joined us for the second album, The Sea, recorded at his home 10 days later, and released under the name Basement Boys. This was the start of a nearly four-year friendship and collaboration with Callen. Ethan, Callen, and I recorded two further improvised albums and two EPs as a trio before letting Ethan go. Callen and I recorded the fifth and final Basement Boys album, Songs for Susan, in June 2017 as the intentional conclusion of the project. The controversial nature of much of the material has necessitated its removal from the internet, though some of it still remains on SoundCloud.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead and backing vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, drums, etc.
Ethan Singleton – drums, lead and backing vocals, etc. (2016–2017)
Nick Moore – backing and co-lead vocals, percussion (2016)
Callen O'Brien – bass guitar, drums, backing and lead vocals, keyboards, etc. (2016–2017)
Basement Boys
Starbird East
Starbird East was my first "proper" band - formed of myself and four of my classmates in my first year at the California Institute of the Arts in late 2017. Sam Cohen & Ethan Hans went to high school together and came as a package deal - Zane Taylor & Cedar Lange were both from Washington and came in separately then became close friends after their time in the band. The band was supposed to be a conduit for "yacht rock" - we played songs by Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, and others, and wrote an original song, "Open Air", in that style. The band was really fun and exciting for me - we recorded our original song for the CalArts Singer-Songwriter Project, played at two CalArts MAP Showcase Concerts and one full off-campus gig, at LA's Universal Bar & Grill (my first real gig), before disbanding because I was overbearing and the other members wanted to focus on their projects. I brought the group back - with saxophonist Spencer Hauck replacing Zane Taylor - for the Fall 2018 MAP Showcase, and again for Spring 2019's showcase, this time featuring just myself, Sam Cohen, Cedar Lange, and bassist/pianist Jake Michaels. I had originally intended to reunite Starbird East's original lineup a final time for my 2021 CalArts graduation recital, but the COVID-19 pandemic ended my CalArts performing career early and the band was permanently retired.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, keyboards
Sam Cohen – guitars, backing and lead vocals, bass guitar
Zane Taylor – guitars, backing and lead vocals, tambourine (2017-2018)
Ethan Hans – keyboards (2017-2018)
Cedar Lange – drums
Spencer Hauck – saxophone, percussion, backing vocals (2018)
Jake Michaels – bass guitar, piano, backing vocals (2019)
Starbird East
Show Biz Kids / Class of '69
My second and final CalArts band was truly comprised of two adjoining groups - Show Biz Kids was formed as exclusively a Steely Dan cover band by myself, flutist Rafael Luna, and drummer Carson Schafer, both of whom had come to me with the idea separately. The three of us recruited a full band, horn section included, and performed an hour-long concert at noon in CalArts' main gallery, which was arguably the peak of my time at the school. We had a great audience and the show went really well, though it wasn't perfect. The band also performed at that semester's MAP showcase and a photo event for the 2019 graduating class. The next fall, Rafael, Carson, and I came together to bring the band back, expanding our repertoire out from Steely Dan (though we did still play their songs). Joining us were returning guitarist Sam Cohen, bassist Owen Zorn, keyboardist Josh Sadinsky, and my friend Callen O'Brien on percussion, who had followed me to CalArts from high school. This lineup performed "Africa" by Toto at the CalArts 2019 Jazz Nights at Tatum Cafe. The following month, we performed another two times under the name "Class of '69", with Carson being replaced on drums by Noah Nelson, Callen replacing Owen Zorn on bass, and adding percussionist David Velazco. After a gallery night classroom concert and a show-closing appearance at that semester's MAP showcase, the band ended. My relationship with Callen had disintegrated, as had my working relationships with other members of the band. These performances were my final major live appearances at CalArts before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead vocals, keyboards
Rafael Luna – flute
Carson Schafer – drums (2018-2019)
Sam Cohen – guitars, backing and lead vocals
Jake Michaels – bass guitar, backing vocals (2019)
Evan Wendell – trumpet, arrangements (2019)
Nic Maldonado – saxophone (2019)
Evan O'Brien – saxophone (2019)
Ulrich Krieger – saxophone (special guest; 2019)
Owen Zorn – bass guitar (2019)
Callen O'Brien – bass guitar, percussion (2019)
Joshua Sadinsky – keyboards, backing and co-lead vocals (2019)
Noah Nelson – drums (2019)
David Velazco – percussion (2019)
Class of '69
Mothership / Lady Savarin
After graduating from CalArts and moving home to Marin County, California, I wanted to form a new band. Through mutual friends, I saw three young musicians - Gaelen McKee, 19, Owen Foltz, 18, and Dexter Hixon, 17 - performing at a high school event. I was struck by their talent, and invited them to join my friends and I at our headquarters, the shop Revolution 9, to hear my new album, Master Plan. We decided to collaborate musically and perform together if any gigs came to me. I was quickly hired to put together a band for a Beatles tribute performance at an older man's memorial the next month, and recruited McKee, Foltz, Hixon, and my friend, vocalist Alessia Potovsky to join me. We realized we needed a drummer, and after a couple leads went nowhere, we recruited 16-year-old multi-instrumentalist Oliver John to fill the role. Oliver not only played drums, but also guitar, harmonica, keyboards, bass, and saxophone, and sang really well. With this six-person lineup, we performed the Beatles tribute concert to great success. The band continued to perform a number of gigs through the summer, culminating in a triumphant headline performance at San Anselmo's Creek Park on August 20, 2021. Following this show, Alessia temporarily left the band to finish her last year of college. The rest of us continued on, playing gigs with various configurations through the fall, winter, and spring. Alessia graduated and returned in summer 2022, and we played a further nine shows, including a set at the Fairfax Festival, private parties, and full concerts around San Anselmo and Fairfax. Eventually, all the band members including myself realized the project had come to its natural conclusion, and we decided to end things with a full set at Creek Park in San Anselmo and the next day at the Summer's End Fest in San Geronimo on August 20, 2022. This group was my first true, proper band and played over 35 gigs, bringing in more than $15,000 and providing vital experience for all of us.
Personnel
Nick Brown – lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass
Alessia Potovsky – co-lead vocals, tambourine
Gaelen McKee – lead guitar, vocals, keyboards
Owen Foltz – guitar, trumpet, percussion
Dexter Hixon – bass
Oliver John – drums, vocals
Mothership