June:
Genre: Gypsy Rock
Jacopo De Nicola is a native from Italy where he studied bass in his teenage years; his solo career got started when he arrived in San Francisco in 2006. He used this opportunity to engage in the local scene which was something he had never seen before. This gave him the opportunity to meet some incredibly talented musicians, perform live at different venues and it eventually helped De Nicola define the sound of his music. He plays the guitar, bass and of course the Kazoo! De Nicola even produces his own music,” I love the artistic freedom that comes with being in charge of all the different phases of the process of making an album.” He states that it is similar to a painting in the fact that once the foundations of your music is laid out, new artistic ideas can spring up like a flower, and the whole piece can morph into something completely unexpected. When it comes to musical taste De Nicola had a pretty eclectic upbringing, he goes on to say, ”The most prominent influences are Latin American, Balkan music, English punk/goth and new wave, Italian Cantautori’s traditional folk, world and meditation music and rock.”
All these musical influences helped form his style/genre of music today which he identifies as gypsy folk/rock. He uses the term gypsy to signify the erratic and meandering nature of the music that draws inspiration from many sources without conforming to any. Jacopo De Nicola plays in a band named The Late Saints and when he was asked what one of his most memorable performances was he told one about when he performed at The Ice Cream Festival in Wilmington Delaware. This festival was expecting an average of Ten Thousand people! Then on Sunday afternoon all hell broke loose and there was a torrential downpour. All those who were expecting the worse had left. Not the Late Saints however they stuck it out and they performed in front of a deserted immense lawn while the sky was lead black, Lightning was falling everywhere and it rained like no tomorrow. Despite these unfortunate circumstances there still stood eight people in front of the stage dancing, cheering and loving life. De Nicola finishes the story by saying, “As soon as we finished playing the sun came out, and it felt like we had experienced something majestic together.” That is what music is truly about making a connection with the people listening to one’s music.
De Nicola says he loves the Philly music scene. He believes it is exciting, diverse but most important how incredibly genuine the music is. He feels a constant impression that something is happening here and he is glad to be a part of it! De Nicola’s advice to anyone perusing a music career is, “Stick to your true colors, do it for the fun, don’t let anyone hold you back.” Jacopo De Nicola and The Late Saints are excited to play in the historic venue at the Trocadero in Philly on the eleventh of June. They can’t wait to unleash the energy of their live performance in this fun and artistically stimulating context of the RAW artist showcase. Until then come check out Jacopo De Nicola and The Late Saints who will be playing at Sprout Music Collective Saturday June 6 at 10pm!
Contact:
Twitter: @TheLateSaints
Facebook: The Late Saints
Bandcamp: Music