Jared James Nichols

    Town Hall, Birmingham 27/07/2017

    Ever since Gene Simmons ran his mouth about rock being dead a few years ago, it doesn't seem like a month goes by without the music press publishing another opinion piece on the death of the genre. While we all have our own opinions about Gene's bold statement, what can't be argued is that the last couple of decades have definitely seen a dearth of guitar heroes. I'm not talking about kids who have been raised on YouTube videos and have spent hours locked in their rooms trying to nail that 200bpm John Petrucci lick, but a lack of guitar heroes in the truest sense of the word: honest to goodness showmen who do something new and original with their instrument. Players who are captivating to watch work their magic. Those who aren't shy to wear their influences on their sleeve, but at the same time are instantly identifiable as themselves from the first few notes of any solo or riff they play.

    Jared James Nichols might just be the guy to end the famine. A Midwestern USA native who made the move to LA to follow his dream, he's been slowly building up a following stateside and in the UK over the past few years with a number of support slots alongside the likes of Zakk Wylde, Glenn Hughes, Saxon and ZZ Top. His guitar hero credentials are certainly impeccable.


    All well and good you might think, but where does the originality come into it? Well..... he plays with his fingers. Not the delicate fingerstyle of someone like Mark Knopfler, he really, really PLAYS with his fingers. The staccato barrage of notes that kick off tonight's set opener Don't You Try is just something you don't hear in rock music. The lack of a pick doesn't limit him in any way either. The heavy chukka-chukka muted string strumming at the start of live staple Playin' For Keeps must be hell to play without a pick, but JJN does it, and it sounds awesome. His songs definitely have their touchstones, but nothing in today's rock scene is this raw and in your face, whilst also having such stunning musicianship and great, stuck in your head after one listen, songs. Working with Eddie Kramer (another guitar hero credential checked off) on debut album Old Glory and the Wild Revival no doubt helped this.
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