Nick Curran & The Nitelifes Doctor Velvet (LP, 180g colored Vinyl, Ltd.)

We want to celebrate the grand finale of 2024 with all of you at Sleazy Records!
For this occasion, we have the pleasure of having obtained the official license to release two of the most important albums in Nick Curran's career on vinyl, and that alone is reason enough for such a celebration - especially with a limited edition of only 500 copies!!!!

For these releases we have worked hand in hand with people involved in these albums and we were lucky enough to work with one of the photographers who shot the photo session for the Doctor Velvet album, using some alternative takes of these images.
Unfortunately, the designer of Doctor Velvet passed away years ago and it was impossible to obtain the original material. However, thanks to the efforts of George Brainard, we were able to create an adaptation based on the new photos!

Nick Curran's career has taken off since the release of his Blind Pig debut “Doctor Velvet” in February 2003, which won the 2004 W.C. Handy Award for “Best Debut by a New Artist”. And for good reason. He is an original new talent who has captured a golden musical moment in time and made it his own.
Although he is only in his 20s, Curran creates artfully raw, powerful music that recreates the exuberance and rebellion of the early days of the rock 'n' roll era. The young guitarist and singer is a 21st century cross between Little Richard and T-Bone Walker, mastering the nuances of roots rock and blues like a veteran. It's amazing that someone his age has so much experience that he can breathe new life into musical forms more than twice his age in a way that makes the familiar sound seem surprisingly new. Not only does he skillfully reinterpret R&B and jump blues classics in the authentic style of the original recordings, he also composes his own pieces that can hold their own with the masters.

One of the first things that strikes you when you hear Nick Curran's recordings is how much they actually sound like classic R&B records from the late 40s and early 50s. If they weren't on one of those little silver disks, you'd think you were listening to rare 45s or 78s. Using a live technique where everything is recorded in one pass and old-fashioned recording equipment, Curran manages to amazingly recreate not only the sound but also the spirit of those earlier, wonderful times. But Curran is far more than just a mere revivalist, a staid neo-traditionalist or a wannabe encoder. He's able to infuse each track with a freshness, urgency and vitality that many modern blues and rock releases lack.

Curran grew up in the Portland, Maine, area, where his father was a professional musician. His father gave him records by the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Duke Robillard and said, “If you want to be a good guitarist, learn all those solos, every note!” At 15, Nick played guitar in his father's blues band, Mike Curran and the Tremors. By the time he was 18, Curran was playing guitar in a local rockabilly band when he was introduced to rockabilly legend Ronnie Dawson. He joined Dawson's band and embarked on his first national tour, playing guitar with Dawson for the next six months. His reputation as an outstanding guitarist began to spread. When he returned from Dawson's tour, he received a call asking him to go on tour with Texas rockabilly queen Kim Lenz. His guitar work on that tour impressed Lenz so much that she asked Nick to move from New England to Dallas to join her backing band, the Jaguars. He stayed with the band for two years, gaining some recording experience on one of Lenz's albums (The One And Only) along the way.

When not on the road with Lenz, Curran played extensively in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with local blues musician Hashbrown, who introduced the young guitarist to many influential people in the blues scene and included him in the recording sessions for the Browntones' CD “Have Some Fun”.

Curran immersed himself in the vibrant blues traditions in Dallas as well as the roots music scene in Austin. He even went on tour with retro country star Wayne Hancock. Nick had long been an admirer of Duke Robillard and Roomful of Blues and had always wanted to have a similar band. In 1999 he was keen to get out of the rockabilly scene and play more blues music as well as his own material. He recorded his debut album Fixin' Your Head for the Texas Jamboree label. Blues Revue named it “Best of the Box” in the current issue and wrote: “Curran sounds old in all the right ways when he plays blazing hepcat swing.” The following year, he formed the Nitelifes because he wanted to tour with his own band to promote the album.

In 2001, he released his second album for Texas Jamboree, titled Nitelife Boogie. Living Blues noted that Curran's “assured, uncompromising musical vision and unconventional recording concepts leave most modern blues bands behind.” A few months after the release of this album, Curran decided to move to Austin, where he felt there were a large number of talented musicians. One of the local musicians who took notice of Nick's rise on the Austin scene was Jimmie Vaughan. Impressed by what he heard on Curran's CDs, he invited Nick to play with him at a show at Antone's and later called Curran one of his favorite newcomers in an interview with Blues Revue, calling him “just a total hell of a guitar player.” When it came time for Nick to record Doctor Velvet, his national debut on Blind Pig Records, Vaughan was happy to join Curran in the studio and guest on a few tracks.

Doctor Velvet was immediately acclaimed by critics. Blueswax called it “one of the best albums of the year”, while Living Blues described it as “outstanding” and Blues Revue predicted: “Curran is on course for success in a way that has nothing to do with age.” The indispensable guide to retro culture, Atomic magazine, added: “As good as Nick Curran's previous album was, it's hard to believe he could top it. Has he ever ... this is the album of the year.” Even Southern culture magazine, Gritz, joined in: 'I can't recommend this album enough.' Mainstream publications like Guitar One and Vintage Guitar also took note of the arrival of a new recording star, with the latter offering this review: “You know how some records are just bursting with fun? That's the case with this record. Nick and his group mix jump blues, boogie and fat rock 'n' roll into a perfect stew.

On his new Blind Pig release, Player!, Curran shows off the full range of his musical arsenal - from wild, raucous rockers to sassy, unabashed jump blues and R&B to tender, confident ballads. His strong vocals display a surprising range - from soulful crooning to raucous swagger, sometimes eerily reminiscent of heroes like Amos Milburn or Roy Brown - while his spot-on guitar playing stings like a rattlesnake. Add to that Nick's uncanny ability to recreate the feel and mood of classic R&B and rock, and the swinging backing of the fabulous Nitelifes, and you have a non-stop rhythm-and-blues party album that only Nick and the Nitelifes can deliver.

Nick passed away from oral cancer on October 6, 2012.