Time apart strengthens Nickel Creek
Members of Nickel Creek are, from left, Chris Thile, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins. The trio grew up performing together, but it was the nearly seven years spent concentrating on their separate musical interests that made returning to the stage together all the more exciting.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The trio of musicians in Nickel Creek grew up performing together, but ultimately it was the nearly seven years spent concentrating on their own separate musical interests that made returning to the stage together all the more exciting.
Fiddler Sara Watkins, her brother and guitarist Sean Watkins and mandolin player Chris Thile reunited last year in Los Angeles with the modest goal of a small 25-city tour to mark 25 years since the band formed and an EP of new songs. They wondered if their fans would return nine years after their last record.
“It’s really easy to lose fans these days,” Sara Watkins said.
Instead, the reunion resulted in a full-length album, sold-out shows and an expanded tour, which includes performances this month at Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Ky., and the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. “A Dotted Line” debuted at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 this spring – a strong showing for a bluegrass album that answered the question about fan interest.
They built that fan base for more than a decade before stepping away. Starting out in southern California as pre-teens hitting the bluegrass circuit, the trio achieved a Grammy Award, two gold albums and popularity outside the genre by the time members reached their 20s. But they took a break after realizing they couldn’t fit all their musical interests and pursuits under the Nickel Creek umbrella.
“I think we were kind of imposing the width and breadth of our individual musicianship on the project at all moments,” Thile said. “And no single project can stand that kind of intensity.”
During their hiatus following a 2007 farewell tour, Thile went on a prolific run, forming the Punch Brothers, winning a MacArthur Foundation grant, as well as collaborating with Yo-Yo Ma and writing classical music for the mandolin. The Watkins siblings went in separate directions, with Sara recording two solo albums and Sean working with two other bands, but the two also continued to perform together during regular shows in Los Angeles.
All the years collaborating with other musicians or performing on their own helped to create a stronger, more focused sound. For Sara Watkins, the time apart from her bandmates helped her return with much stronger vocals than on previous Nickel Creek albums.
“Having to sing, being the only singer every night at my shows, and having to front each song and try to live through each song every night when you were performing it, it took me a new strength,” Sara Watkins said.
Sara Watkins said they haven’t made any long-term plans for the band after this summer’s tour, but her brother Sean said they will always find a home with Nickel Creek.
“I think we’ll always sort of be a band,” he said. “It’s kind of a short and sweet little summer of getting to do these songs and these new songs. That’s all we’re thinking about now, I think.”
By Melanie J. Sims
Associated Press
Six albums in and making R&B hits almost seems too easy for Trey Songz.
He’s got the vocals of a crooner with the swagger of a rapper, and on his latest release, “Trigga,” the heartthrob once again darts between the bedroom and bottle service, sending his sweet vocals soaring over a landscape of seductive beats, beautiful melodies and lyrics that beg to be repeated.
But Songz’s latest set is missing something: growth. Shuffle through the tracks on “Trigga,” and while there’s plenty of fun, there’s almost zero evidence that Songz’s created something that would make his latest album more memorable than the five preceding it.
For all its catchiness – thanks in part to a sampling of Teena Marie’s “Oh La La La” – lead single “Na Na” sounds like something he could have released alongside his biggest pop hit, the Nicki Minaj-assisted “Bottoms Up,” in 2010.
Songz blurs the lines between good and bad guy on second single “Smartphones,” singing “time is not on our side” in a such a beautiful way, it’s easy to forget that the track is about the singer pocket-dialing his main chick while he’s hanging with his side chick. And that’s where he excels – singing sweetly about acting badly – as he demonstrates on “Disrespectful” featuring Mila J, the sister of up-and-comer Jhene Aiko.
Songz ranks high on the list of R&B contemporaries, but perhaps a little self-reflection and musical risk-taking would prove he’s bested earlier versions of himself.
“Ain’t you tired of this life, don’t you ever get bored,” Songz quotes his girl asking on the song “Y.A.S.”
Some fans will have to wonder the same when it comes to Trey’s songs.