Nicholas Burgess

I’m playing the Thrifty Times Summer BBQ on July 13!

Nicholas Burgess — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:57:32 +0000

On July 13 at O’Brien’s Pub, I’ll be playing the Thrifty Times Summer BBQ & Rock Show ’13. Thrifty Times is a local zine and is putting on this show to coincide with its big summer issue. It’s going to be a pretty awesome show, because, in addition to my solo band, Malibu Gaze and Half Sour will also be playing. And in addition to the music, there will be food! O’Brien’s is going to open up their patio and fire up their grill. The ticket price will include a burger or veggie burger. And in further addition to all that great stuff, Thrifty Times will be showing off some of their impressive vintage VHS tape collection on a (presumably) big screen!

There’s a Facebook event here. I will most likely post about this again before it happens. Don’t miss it!

Hex Map’s new record release show is tomorrow night!

Nicholas Burgess — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:45:07 +0000

Hex Map is playing tomorrow at TT The Bear’s Place in Cambridge. It’s the official record release show for our second album, Ruin Value. Ruin Value is an actual record, made with crystal clear (aurally and visually) vinyl, with an insert for lyrics, a full color jacket, and a fancy black sleeve. It’s gloomy, yet sophisticated.

If you can’t make it to the show, you can order a copy of Ruin Value from the Hex Map Bandcamp site and have your own little release party at home.

If you can make it, you’ll get to enjoy the sounds of Neptune, Eksi Ekso, and Harris Hawk, which are other bands that will be playing in the same building on the same night, before and after us.

You can check out the details on this TicketWeb page. Here’s a facebook page for the show, if you prefer to get snooped on by the government while you make your entertainment plans.

Pre-Order the new Hex Map album and come see us this Friday in Allston!

Nicholas Burgess — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:35:39 +0000

Hex Map has a new album coming out soon. I think it will be out in mid-June, but we’re waiting on an exact date. If you only know me from my solo music or from my wizard posts, Hex Map is a band I’m in.

The new album is called Ruin Value, and it’s going to be available on fancy clear vinyl records and on un-fancy mp3s and other digital files. You can pre-order a copy here on the Hex Map Bandcamp page: http://hexmap.bandcamp.com/album/ruin-value I highly encourage you to do so!

We’re also playing shows again, with a new line-up, including Scott Craggs of “mastered Wizard Planet” fame and Evan Persons of “has nice hair” fame. Our first show back is this Friday at O’Brien’s in Allston. If you’re on Facebook you can look at this event page.

You can listen to a few tracks from Ruin Value right on this page, below. Enjoy!

You missed out (unless you didn’t)!

Nicholas Burgess — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:10:35 +0000

I played a show on Saturday at Precinct with my band, the Actual Billy Joel AKA the Fluorescent Earth-Tones AKA The Zards. We careened helplessly through seven songs. Here’s the setlist:

Wizard Planet
She’s A Werewolf
Minnesota Ice Man
A Savage Drag
Wallpaper
Troll Hair
Bodice Ripper

It was mostly stuff from Wizard Planet, as you can see, but we did sneak a new song in there. We were joined by The I Want You, Hookerclops, and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling. A good time was had by most!

There’s another show coming up relatively soon, and some big Hex Map news too in the immediate future/present.

The photo above was taken by Mike Weakley. Click on it, and it will get bigger.

Show tonight at Precinct!

Nicholas Burgess — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:54:56 +0000

What are you doing on the internet? You should be on your way to Precinct Bar in Somerville, MA right now! I’m playing a show there in 3 hours. Doors open in 2 hours (at 8!). Get off the computer!

Oh, you have some sort of pocket computer-phone. That’s weird. I guess you can come to the show anyway.

Show this weekend at Precinct! Bring your friends!

Nicholas Burgess — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:06:41 +0000

My new, currently nameless band is playing a show this weekend. We’re mostly playing stuff from Wizard Planet, but we’ll also be dropping in a song from the upcoming second album. If you’re able to get to Somerville, Massachusetts this Saturday night, I mildly recommend stopping by! Tickets are $8, and we go on at around 9PM. The Nicholas Burgess band will be on for less than half an hour, so don’t stop for snacks if you’re running late.

Facebook event page.

Upcoming shows widget thing:

Date	City	Venue
07/13/13	Nicholas Burgess in Allston, MA	O’Brien’s Pub
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal	Time: 6:00pm. Admission: $10. Age restrictions: 21+. Address: 3 Harvard Ave. Venue phone: (617) 782-6245. It’s a barbecue! It’s a rock show! It’s a zine party! It’s a summer celebration! Thrifty Times Zine (thriftyzine.com) is throwing a party at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston. The patio will be open, and we’ll be grilling, so show up early for a burger and summertime lounging. Bands start at 8pm, and between bands there will be summer music, Thrifty Times live treats, and good times all around. Live music line-up (subject to additions!): Malibu Gaze Half Sour Nicholas Burgess Tickets are $10 and include a burger or veggie burger!

I’m playing a show in Somerville in exactly one month!

Nicholas Burgess — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:37:21 +0000

I feel like I need more than a month to prepare, so who knows what will happen?

There’s a Facebook event page here if you want to social media-tize your future plans.

We’ll be playing Precinct in Somerville at 9pm on April 27. Join us!

I’m playing a show on April 27 in Somerville

Nicholas Burgess — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:06:20 +0000

Come see the new band and me try not to screw everything up!

We’ll be on first, and we will probably be playing for about 20 minutes, so if you want to see us, don’t be late! The show starts at 8. After us you can hang around and hear The I Want You, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, and Hookerclops. Tickets are $8, so that’s $2 a band if you watch them all. That’s only $2 more than free!

It’s at Precinct in Somerville on Saturday, April 27. If you are younger than 21 you will unfortunately not be allowed inside. Sorry!

I realize that in the show info below it is a little goofy that it specifies that the show is in the United States. I’m trying out a fancy automatic show calendar thing. That’s a side effect.

The Making of Album 2: Part 6: It never ends!

Nicholas Burgess — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:53:19 +0000

When last I updated this series, way back in September, I was sure I was nearly done with this album. The fact that it’s been six months, to the day, since I made that post, and the album is not even slightly out, is a tip off that I was very wrong. Much like in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King*, every time I think things are wrapped up and finished, another ending sneaks up and demands my attention, and things continue.

I said in Part 5 that I had eight and a half instrumental mixes done. Ha! I was living in a fantasy world (also much like in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King†). I have since recorded vocals, re-recorded vocals, and remixed everything. The problem with making instrumental mixes before you record vocals is that the vocals will change everything. It’s like knitting a pair of pants for your future adult grandchildren. Even if you know you’ll have them, you’ll never know exactly how big they’ll be, or if they’ll have legs, or if knit pants will be in vogue in 2065.‡

Six long/short months later, I now have 7 or 8 nearly kiiiinda done mixes. By “nearly kiiiinda done” I mean they are not done, but I know what I need to do, and I’m not losing sleep over them (I am losing wrist function. Mixing on a computer sucks. Somebody buy me a mixing deck!). The other 2 or 3 songs are not done, not even kiiiinda, and I am thinking about them at three in the morning, in between asking myself what I’m doing with my life and remembering that I forgot to reply to that email.

The bad news about this long delay is that I only have so many months in my lifetime, and I’m flying through them at great speed, not having put out this album, unable to really move forward to another project, and unable to send the album back through time when I do finish it. It’s going to be out much later than I wanted no matter what.

The good news about the delay is that the songs sound much better than they did in September. I still have the mixes from September, and I can’t believe I considered them “done.” It’s crazy! I definitely needed a break, and I took one for a little while this fall. I’ve been back into it for the last few months, though, and it’s coming together.

My best guess for a release date, at this point, is this summer. My solo band (does that make sense?) will be playing shows, the album sounds like a summer album, and that’s about when it should be done anyway. So it all works out. I would have liked to have had it out last summer, but I didn’t, so that’s that.

In the meantime, you can listen to Wizard Planet one more time and tell me which songs you’d like to hear live.

* The live action movie version.

† Movie or book version this time. Reader’s choice.

‡ My money is on waders.

Album 2 is slowly, slowly, slowly nearing completion.

Nicholas Burgess — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:40:59 +0000

I’ve been a website slacker lately, but work on the next album has been going on, or, as they say, ongoing. It’s taking a lot longer than anticipated, and a lot longer than Wizard Planet. I’m at that point where half of the album is sounding finished, and the other half is giving me nightmares and inspiring last minute ocarina solos.

The “shows” section above will be coming to life soon. The band is assembled, we have some shows booked, and I am working on the wizard mask.

Hex Map has a new album coming out too, and a new website, and some new band members. Keep checking hexmap.net every three minutes over the next few weeks.