Kearney Nick Jones, better known by his stage name Nick 13, is the lead vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter of psychobilly band

Tiger Army Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...

, as well as a solo artist in the

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

genre.

Career

Tiger Army

Tiger Army was signed to

Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid, w ...

in 1996 shortly after forming and released their

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

full-length debut album in October 1999. That album was followed by 2001's '' Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite'', 2004's '' Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise'' and 2007's '' Music from Regions Beyond'' before leaving the label. Their latest album, '' V •••–'', was released in 2016 on Luna Tone Records/ Rise Records.

Solo career

In an interview, Nick 13 was asked why the sole songwriter for a band would launch a solo career. "The first person to give me the idea of a primary songwriter making a solo record was Paul Fenech of

The Meteors The Meteors are an English psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from London, England, they are often credited with giving the psychobilly subgenre — which fuses punk rock with rockabilly — its distinctive sound and style. About.co ...

," he said. "I always thought there was something cool about that: You write all the songs for the band, and there's a certain sound people expect. But while Tiger Army has always tested those kinds of boundaries, there are certain things that relate to heaviness and aggression that aren't part of my solo project, at all." When asked about the status of Tiger Army, he said, "Tiger Army aren't going anywhere—we will be back." His first full performance as a solo artist was at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California, in spring, 2010, where he opened for

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

and Ray Price. A handful of small club dates in California followed, leading up to an appearance at the Hootenanny Festival in Orange County just before

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

. Press reviews for both festival events were favorable. Nick revealed in an interview with ''No Depression'' that he had recorded with a wide-ranging group of notable musicians including

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cultu ...

, Eddie Perez,

Lloyd Green Lloyd Lamar Green (born October 4, 1937) is an American steel guitarist noted for his extensive country music recording session career in Nashville performing on 116 No.1 country hits including Tammy Wynette's “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” (1968), Charlie ...

, Joshua Grange, and

Mitch Marine Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). With Harwell's depa ...

. According to Nick's official

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

page updates, album work continued as of December 2010. The album was co-produced by Greg Leisz and James Intveld. Following Nick's performance at South By Southwest, Sugar Hill Records announced that they would be releasing Nick's debut solo album on June 7, 2011. He kicked off touring in support of the album with two nights at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, followed by national touring through October 2011. The album has been very well received by the Americana press. Nick's road support of the album included an appearance at

Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...

. Nick made several appearance's on Nashville's WSM Radio in November 2011, including a performance at Americana Carnival.

Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

added the video for "All Alone" to their "Out of the Box" program in December 2011 and has continued to air it throughout 2012. In January 2012, Nick appeared at the

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

where he performed and met with fans at the booth operated by

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsch ...

, his guitar endorser. In the summer of 2012, Nick headlined two nights at the

El Rey Theatre The El Rey Theatre is a live music venue in the Miracle Mile area of the Mid-Wilshire region in Los Angeles, California. This art deco building was designed by Clifford A. Balch (who designed over twenty classic art deco movie theatres aroun ...

in Hollywood and released a music video for "Carry My Body Down." The video for "Carry My Body Down" began airing on

's "Out of the Box" program and on Country Music Television in late summer, 2012. The video reached No. 1 on CMT Pure's "12-Pack Countdown" in November 2012. Nick appeared at the 2013 Stagecoach Festival with

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...

, Marty Stuart and more, broadcast on AXS TV. The video for "Nighttime Sky" arrived around the same time, eventually debuting at No. 1 on CMT Pure's "12-Pack Countdown" and staying there for 6 consecutive weeks. Nick tweeted plans to shoot and direct a fourth video himself, for the track "In the Orchard." This video was released in July 2014. According to his official Twitter account, Nick intends to write and record a second solo album before creating a new Tiger Army album. Nick 13 is a practitioner of

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...

. Nick has stated that he does not mix politics with music, but has criticized

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and the religious right.

Discography

Studio albums

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nick 13 Living people American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters American country guitarists American male guitarists American punk rock singers American punk rock guitarists Musicians from San Jose, California Psychobilly musicians People from Ukiah, California Year of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from California Guitarists from California Country musicians from California