Nick Perry is the leader of the eponymous Nick Perry’s Brass Tax. The band released their debut album, Revisionist History, earlier this year. Nick is also a former member of Emerson and Thoreau and All Moving Parts and an occasional contributor to this site, having reviewed several area concerts. You can learn more about the band at nickperrysbrasstax.bandcamp.com or facebook.com/nickperrysbrasstax.
Where were you born?
Rumford Hospital (I think)
What brought you to Portland?
USM. And the crippling debt is what kept me here.
Do you have a day job and, if so, what is it?
Bernstein Shur Sawyer and Nelson law firm (I’m a stage 4 lackey).
What was your most memorable gig?
Tie:
November of 2012 with The Sidescrollers, buying Hacksaw Jim Duggan a drink and talking in-depth with him about Survivor Series ‘90 (The Hulkamaniacs vs. The Natural Disasters) and ’91.
August of 2014 with Pokelogan at Amigos where some dude was getting yanked behind our bass amp.
What was your worst gig?
Playing a show with Emerson and Thoreau way back when. A craft fair at a middle school. An old woman actually said the words “turn that racket down” to us.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
All of the generic answers (Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Zeppelin), Syd Barrett’s “The Madcap Laughs”, Big Star, Ween, “Roxy & Elsewhere”, “Rust in Peace”…wait, did you only want one answer?
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
My guitar strap. I ain’t playing sitting down (I’m looking at you, Robert Fripp).
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Don’t be lazy. Don’t be an asshole. Don’t waste other people’s time by writing crappy music. Make it count.
What was the origin behind your band name?
I wanted a name that would fit comfortably in a grange hall or in a bingo parlor. I’ve always held myself to a high standard.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I’m a big fan of Marco Rubio’s first album “Crossin’ the Rubicon” featuring Miami Sound Machine. I’ve been known to rock out to Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, as gross as that is to admit.
What was the first album/recording you owned?
This is a fuzzy memory. It was either the Wayne’s World soundtrack that I got a BJ’s Wholesale in Auburn or Tom Jones Greatest Hits
What are you listening to at the moment?
“Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs” and Prokofiev’s first three piano concerti have filled my last couple of hours.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
I saw Joe Walsh at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom last summer. Joe Walsh is the coolest son of a bitch of all time. Do you know how hard it is to become a full-time member of The Eagles and not lose one ounce of credibility? God bless you, Joe.