Artist description Nakia is a songwriter from North Alabama, currently living in Austin, TX. With heartfelt lyrics and soulful vocal presentaion. His music is full of analogies on love and life. The pain in which he suffered a battle with depression is represented in some of his earlier works.

Music Style Soulful Singer/Songwriter - Piano Based

Musical Influences Elton John, Jeff Buckley, Ben Folds, Sarah McLaughlin, Indigo Girls, Lyle Lovett, Adam Duritz, John Denver, Shawn Mullins, Ed Harcourt, Mark Eitzel

Similar Artists Elton John and Billy Joel had sex to create a love child who grows up on Motown and Southern Gospel and Kiss, then one day meets Tori Amos while drinking coffee with Roy Orbison and John Denver...?

Artist History Nakia began writing songs at age 13 while living in his hometown of Fort Payne, AL. Although he had taken piano lessons briefly, at an earlier age, Nakia did not begin playing the piano publicly until 1995. It was while living in Atlanta, GA and working for super producer, Brenden O'Brien, that Nakia was fortunate enough to move into a furnished apartment, complete with an upright piano... a slight bit out of tune. Upon returning home in 1996, he quickly joined long-time friend and collaborator, Stuart Douglas in founding, Latenight Breakfast, a short-lived alternative rock band that served up one record. After leaving to pursue his own solo efforts, Nakia began writing and carecording his first set of demos, which would later be known as COAL. Playing running gigs in his hometown and elsewhere in the southeast, Nakia finally wound up in Chicago in the winter of 2001. He had been chosen to work for Aware Records Intern Program for 4 months, during which time he worked closely with VP's Mark Cunningham, and Steve Smith. Nakia also discovered an open-mic night nearby his PT job where he soon made a name for himself by performing his own material. A much needed break from the show tunes and karaoke that the crowds had been used to. It only took 3 performances for the owner of the club to catch wind of Nakia's talent, when he called up Nakia and booked him for his first solo show in Chicago. The song Weatherman was a venue favorite and it was premiered there. The live video that accompanies the song was also filmed on location at the venue, Gentry on Halsted. Nakia's travels then brought him to Austin, TX later that summer and he immediately fell in love with the friendly city and the local Austin music scene. He moved to Austin in August of 2002 and stepped right into working on a new demo, which he finished in November and is currently being sent out to everyone... everywhere. Nakia is now touring this summer and working out new material for his debut independent release.

Group Members Nakia Reynoso

Instruments Piano, organ, and other keyboards

Albums Analog Demos 1997 (also known as COAL),Kendall Marston Spider 2002

Press Reviews Reynoso's 'crash course' on interviews BY ALAN SMITH Special to The Post and Courier Interviewing a musician is always an unpredictable experience. Ask the right question and even the most unassuming performers will wax passionate about their art. Start by asking a musician to describe his own music, and you're guaranteed an uninspired hour of stock answers and press kit quotes. Then, there are the conversations that go wildly beyond the bounds of conventional interviews. Austin, Texas-based songwriter Nakia Reynoso began such an interview with the ominous information, "I'm on a bridge right over the Tennessee River and there's some sort of traffic jam. I'm moving really slowly." Thirty minutes later, the conversation came full circle as Reynoso said, "so the guy who booked the showóoh my God! Oh my God!" "Are you all right?" I asked with typical journalistic compassion. "That truck driver just hit me! Hey! He's still hitting me!" Nakia replied. "Should I call back later?" I wondered aloud. I did, and Nakia was thankfully still around to answer my call. Apparently, he was being pushed down the freeway and into a Chrysler Sebring by an oblivious eighteen-wheeler. Reynoso's reaction to the incident displayed his character more vividly than the standard question-and-answer fare ever could. "Hey, feel free to use this," Nakia advised. "It's kind of ironic how I was just talking to you about being an independent artist and trying to learn from my mistakes and ó boom! And after everything got cleared up, I grabbed my digital recorder and got the beginning of a song about the whole thing." Reynoso's unique attitude sets him apart from most other singer/songwriters. He has extensive experience in the business side of the music industry, yet is committed to touring and recording independently. He cites his musical influences as his father's Neil Young records, his mother's Southern gospel and his sister's Prince and Duran Duran; yet he plays witty, sincere, piano-driven pop. Reynoso's ability to turn completely disparate experiences and influences into a cohesive package began at an early age: "People who knew me as a child will tell you that I was standing in my front yard stopping cars to sing to people in my neighborhood, when I was like five years old. It's something that I've always wanted to do." Nakia, however, took the long way home in terms of converting his childhood impulses into a career. As a teenager, he began writing lyrics and melodies without the aid of an instrument; his only prior musical training was a couple of years of piano lessons. He also exposed himself to the music business by working in both retail and promotion. Suddenly, fate provided Reynoso with a golden opportunity to develop his talent. "I got an apartment in Atlanta when I was twenty-one, when I was working on my internship with Brendan O'Brien, and the place was furnished with a little, out-of-tune upright piano. I took what I could remember from my piano lessons as a kid, listened to other people, and eventually just taught myself." His simple, honest approach caught on. While in another music internship in Chicago, Reynoso began playing open mikes. By his third performance he was approached to play solo shows. As his musical career began to show more and more promise, Nakia moved back home to Alabama and eventually to Austin. He's since recorded an EP, "Kendall Marston Spider," and taken advantage of his broad experience on both sides of the music industry. "Right now, my main concern is simply getting my music heard and building a fan base. Since I've worked with labels and had a chance to see how they kind of groom artists, it's given me a little advantage to where I don't need to sign up with anybody immediately. I think it's important to learn a little about the road myself and get my feet wet, so I can completely understand what I'm doing." As our conversation proved, Nakia seems to be learning even more about the road than he bargained for. Nakia Reynoso will be bringing his self-styled pop to the Village Tavern this Tuesday. The show is free and starts at 10 p.m. im Reed Music Editor Nakia Many singer/songwriters have played this cozy coffeeshop off of Forsyth Park since it first opened, but the vast majority have been guitarists. This artist, however, is a talented and capable pianist with an assured, melodic style. His tender, romantic ballads could easily be likened to those of Elton John or Sarah MacLachlan. He began writing songs while barely a teenager in his hometown of Fort Payne, Alabama, but debuted publicly in 1995. While living in Atlanta and working for noted record producer Brendan O'Brien, Nakia was fortunate enough to move into a furnished apartment, complete with an upright, slightly out-of-tune piano. That was all the encouragement he needed, and he was soon gigging sporadically in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. After a brief stay in Chicago (where he honed his live performance skills even more), he settled in the infamous music mecca of Austin, Texas, where he has resided since August of 2002. He is currently on his “Broken Spoke” tour of the Southeast, which - in addition to this date - includes stops at Nashville’s almost mythical Bluebird CafČ and Decatur, Georgia’s respected listening room Eddie’s Attic. Folks who appreciate earnest and sincere songwriting delivered with wit and panache will no doubt enjoy this free show by an emerging talent (who also cites Oscar Wilde as his favorite author).

Location Austin, Texas - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).