STAMP OUT cancer; A BENEFIT FOR NICK CURRAN
Sunday, May 29th, 2pm – 6pm, Continental Club – 1315 S. Congress; $15 suggested
Performers: The Moonhangers, Hot Club of Cowtown, White Ghost Shivers,
The BellFuries, and Alejandro Escovedo with special guests.
(Austin, TX) Celebrated rock ‘n’ roll guitarist and singer Nick Curran needs our help with medical and living expenses due to a recurrence of tongue cancer and recent surgery. Stamp Out cancer; a Benefit for Nick Curran is set for Sunday May 29, 2011 at the Continental Club from 2-6pm. Doors at 2pm, first band goes on at 2:15. Cover charge is $15. Musical guests include The Moonhangers, Hot Club of Cowtown, White Ghost Shivers, The BellFuries and Alejandro Escovedo with special guests. All proceeds go to Nick Curran’s living and medical expenses.
Curran says, “I’m very sorry to everyone that we have to cancel the upcoming tour. I hate more than anything to have to do this but, be on the lookout for the Lowlifes to hit your town as soon as I recover from this surgery. Just another small bump in the road, just gotta get a small piece removed so there’s nothing there to come back at any point and then I’ll be ready to resume rockin’ forever! The next leg of the tour will be dedicated to everyone who helped including my doctors, HAAM (Health Alliance for Austin Musicians), friends, family all of our loyal fans, all the people who have done/will do benefits, people who donate, etc…The tour will be called the “I AIN’T F***IN’ DEAD” Tour. Canceled shows will be rescheduled and new shows will be added. Don’t worry, just know that I will beat this and will be ready to have a beer with you to celebrate this summer. I love you all and will see you again very soon!”
Nick has been called a twenty-first century hybrid of Little Richard and T-Bone Walker. This young guitarist/vocalist not only skillfully reinterprets R&B and jump-blues classics in the authentic style of the original recordings, he also crafts original tunes that hold their own with the masters. Nick formed the rock ‘n’ roll, roots band, The Lowlifes in 2008 and is also currently playing with the Austin-based punk/rock ‘n’ roll band, The Flash Boys.
Nick began his professional career at the age of eighteen touring with Ronnie Dawson, a.k.a. “The Blonde Bomber”. Curran also toured with Kim Lenz and her Jaguars and eventually moved to Dallas, TX to become a permanent Jaguar. He performed on Lenz recordings, The One and Only as well as her current release, It’s All True. Fixin’ Your Head was Nick’s debut solo recording for the Texas Jamboree label. As he would do on all future recordings, Curran used vintage recording equipment to achieve the feel and sound of old 45’s, 78’s and LPs of the 1950’s. To support the recording he formed Nick Curran and the Nitelifes who went on to record a follow-up release in 2001 (also for Texas Jamboree) called Nitelife Boogie.
Legendary blues recording label, Blind Pig Records soon caught wind of Nick’s talent and welcomed him to their roster. In 2003, they released Dr. Velvet. Shortly after it’s release, Dr. Velvet won the coveted W.C. Handy Award for “Best New Artist Debut”. Nick also recorded The Player in 2004. Nick soon joined The Fabulous Thunderbirds and recorded on their 2005 recording, Painted On. During the three years he toured and performed with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, he and bassist Ronnie James started the punk band, Deguello- best described as if “Little Richard sang with The Ramones”. In 2008, Nick performed four songs in a scene in the HBO Series, True Blood.
Nick soon formed Nick Curran and the Lowlifes. As he was recovering from his first bout of cancer treatments, their release, Reform School Girl, was receiving praise from many corners of the globe. The title track wound up scoring a “Top 10 Coolest Song in the World” award by the fans of Little Steven’s Underground Garage radio show. The host himself, Little Steven Van Zant, called the album a “classic”. Paste magazine said that any its 14 tracks “could have been a hit single in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll.” People Magazine’s Chuck Arnold gave it 3 ½ stars and called it “badass”. USA Today’s Jerry Shriver labeled Reform School Girl a “rockabilly beast” and noted that Curran channeled Little Richards “manic whoops”. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Nick Cristano wrote that Curran “delivers everything with his own ripped-throat intensity and dirty-toned (guitar) flair.”
The word from Curran’s peers was just as glowing. Iconic Texas bluesman, Jimmie Vaughan refers to Nick as “a total ass-kicker.” And The Blasters Phil Alvin said, “Nick Curran is a no-excuses, in-your-face, pedal-to-the-floor American rock ‘n’ roll musician – the kind that made you love rock music in the first place.
Donations: Monetary Donation: via PayPal; nickykay77@yahoo.com
Silent Auction: Trish Wagner; Violet Crown Media violetcrownmedia@gmail.com
Management: Harry Turner; HL Turner Company harry@hlturnercompany.com
Links: www.myspace.com/curranrock
For further information: Jo Rae Di Menno, Hard Pressed Publicity 512-554-2799 jorae@hardpressedpublicity.com