Nico Vega was an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band formed in 2005 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. They consist of lead vocalist Aja Volkman, lead guitarist Rich Koehler, and drummer Dan Epand. The group has released two albums ''Nico Vega'' (2009) and ''

Lead to Light ''Lead To Light'' is the second full-length album by American indie rock band Nico Vega. It was released on July 22, 2014 on iTunes. The album was produced by Dan Reynolds ( Imagine Dragons), Tony Hoffer ( Beck, Foster The People, M83), and Tim ...

'' (2014). ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described ''Lead to Light'' as possessing "some of the most unstoppable pop-rock hooks heard all year." After a hiatus announced on June 6, 2016, the band returned nearly two years later on April 6, 2018, when Volkman announced a new single and a return on her Instagram. In 2020, Volkman and Epand formed a new duo called TWWO and released their debut EP "Pull the Knife Out".

History

Aja Volkman started writing songs while in high school in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. Later she moved to Los Angeles and started performing on her own. She had hoped to eventually form a band. That happened when one night after a show in 2005, Mike Peña approached her about singing with him and Rich Koehler. The band called themselves Nico Vega after Mike's mother. However, in 2007 Mike left the band to pursue acting and enjoy fatherhood. At that point, Dan Epand joined the band as their new drummer and has been a driving force behind their continued creativity. Nico Vega have garnered a reputation as an exciting live band, touring with

Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale (born 30 October 1965) is an English guitarist and actor, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992; on the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer ...

(of

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

) (2009),

Neon Trees Neon Trees is an American rock band from Provo, Utah. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records. Their f ...

(2009, 2012),

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

(2009-2010),

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathem ...

(2010),

She Wants Revenge She Wants Revenge is an American rock band, based in San Fernando Valley, California. Formed in 2004, the band is a duo of singer and guitarist Justin Warfield and multi-instrumentalist Adam Bravin. Their music has been influenced by post-punk, ...

(2011), Blondie (2011), and

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...

(2010, 2013, 2014) among others. They have also opened for

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

and KISS.

Nico Vega (2009)

Nico Vega released several independent EPs and recorded their own videos to get their music out. In 2009, Nico Vega released their first full-length album via

MySpace Records MySpace Records was a record label founded in 2005 to sign artists who appeared on the social networking site Myspace. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Myspace, operating as a joint-venture between MySpace and Interscope Records. Distributio ...

. The album was co-produced by Tim Edgar, a friend of the band, and

Linda Perry Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for ...

(Pink, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera). Linda produced three songs for the album: "So So Fresh", "Wooden Dolls" and "Gravity". The album was mixed by

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arct ...

(The Black Keys, Sheryl Crow). In 2013, Nico Vega released the ''Fury Oh Fury'' EP and re-released single " Beast", which garnered national popularity when it featured in the video game ''

BioShock Infinite ''BioShock Infinite'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. The third installment in the ''BioShock'' series, ''Infinite'' was released worldwide for the Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, ...

'', resulting in more than 5 million streams and downloads. Drummer Dan Epand also features on the recent project of

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...

(of

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

Circa Zero Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...

Lead to Light (2014)

Second album ''

'' was released via

Five Seven Music Five Seven Music is the alternative/indie sub-label under The Eleven Seven Music Group. Five Seven Music launched with Jet's Shaka Rock in 2009 followed by She Wants Revenge's Valleyheart in 2011. The label has rapidly grown since and has als ...

on July 22, 2014. The album was co-produced by

Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife A ...

(Imagine Dragons),

Tony Hoffer Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer. Career Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have been ...

(Beck, Fitz and the Tantrums, M83) and Tim Edgar (Nico Vega). Single "

I Believe (Get Over Yourself) "I Believe (Get Over Yourself)" is a song by American alternative rock band Nico Vega, and Dan Reynolds (of Imagine Dragons). The song was originally recorded for the band's second album '' Lead to Light'' (July 22, 2014). Live performances and ...

" was co-written by

(of

). Nico Vega performed "I Believe (Get Over Yourself)" on VH1's ''

Big Morning Buzz Live ''Big Morning Buzz Live'' is a live daily morning news and pop culture talk show on VH1 that premiered on May 9, 2011, and aired its last episode on June 5, 2015. Broadcast weekday mornings and hosted by Nick Lachey, the show featured entertain ...

''., and was featured in the trailer for season four of the American Television show ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

''. Track "Lightning" were co-written with members of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

premiered track "I'm On Fire" via ''

All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on '' ...

'' and offered it as a free download. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' premiered track "No Home". Nico Vega performed at Life Is Beautiful Festival (2013),

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a three-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts ...

(2014), and

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

(2014).

Indefinite hiatus

On June 6, 2016, Aja Volkman announced in a post on the band's official Facebook page, that Nico Vega was taking an indefinite hiatus. Aja went on to apologize to fans for not staying in better communication, while also thanking fans for their continued support over the years. In regard to if this meant the band was breaking up, Aja said, "I can't say that it's over forever, because nobody knows the future. But it is over for now." On April 5, 2018, Volkman returned to Instagram to announce the return of the band and a new single, "Little Operator", which was released the following day. This was followed up by the 5-song "Wars" EP, released September 14, 2018.

Break-up

In June 2020, Nico Vega has broken up, as Aja Volkman and Dan Epand have formed a new band called, “TWWO".

Members

Final lineup * Aja Volkman – lead vocals (2005–2016, 2018–2020) *Rich Koehler – lead guitar (2005–2016, 2018–2020) *Dan Epand – drums (2007–2016, 2018–2020) Other members *

Michael Peña Michael Anthony Peña (; ; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including ''Crash'' (2004), '' World Trade Center'' (2006), '' Shooter'' (2007), '' Observe and Report'' (2009), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), '' Batt ...

– drums (2005–2007) *Jamila Weaver – bass (2012–2013)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Nico Vega'' (2009) * ''

'' (2014) ''Heatseekers'' #9

EPs

* ''Chooseyourwordspoorly'' (2006) * ''Cocaine Cooked the Brain'' (2007) * ''No Child Left Behind'' (2007) * ''Nico Vega Covers Nico Vega and Rod Stewart'' (2011) * ''Fury Oh Fury'' (2013) ''Heatseekers'' #17 *''Wars'' (2018)

Singles

*" Beast" (2009, re-released on 2013 as an official single & as a "

Vicetone Vicetone is a Dutch electronic music DJ and production duo formed by Ruben den Boer ((), born 22 January 1992) and Victor Pool (born 9 July 1992) from Groningen. The duo began as a DJ act, and in 2013, they were voted into the ''DJ Mag'' Top 10 ...

v. Nico Vega remix" through

Monstercat Monstercat (formerly known as Monstercat Media) is a Canadian independent electronic music record label based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen, the label released music on a tri-weekly basis unt ...

) *"

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, ''The Sonny Side of Chér''. It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles C ...

" (2013) *"

" (2014) *" Perfect Day" (2015) *"Little Operator" (2018)

Videography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nico Vega Alternative rock groups from California Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups from Los Angeles 2005 establishments in California