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Ben Nichols
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Hometown: Memphis, TN US Ben Nichols is a rock n’ roll archetype and lead’s Lucero as such. He plays a big, hollow body Epiphone guitar like Chuck Berry and wears it down near the knees like Tim Armstrong. With pale arms that are a patch of bad tattoos, he leans on the microphone stand too much, like Shane McGowan, propping himself up under the weight of the lights and the booze. When he peers over the heads of those he is singing to, he squints his eyes, and stares long into the stage lights, as if his gaze alone could bring down the lighting rig. Looking as if he just rolled out of bed, a bar, or off a construction site, he tosses out a name of the next song and the band, lead almost always by Roy Berry’s faithful drum beat, follows. Razor thin in faded blue jeans, tattered cowboy boots, and a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, on stage, Nichols is a mess of sweat, swears, and sincerity. Female audience members eye him closely from the floor and bar booths. Not without him taking notice. And the guys –– strangers –– yell out requests or jokes, as if Ben were an old friend. Nichols responds to them all with a short quip in a charming, slight southern accent.When Ben Nichols moseys up to the mic, his growl beckons to the crowd that has mobbed the floor of the Stork Club. Heads bob and hips sway, beer bottles are raised, and unintelligible hollers battle with the sound of the band. This is rock n’ roll. But Lucero’s music isn’t entirely wild rock n’ roll abandon, though admittedly a lot of their songs are about girls and getting drunk. - Gigbot |
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