SongVault Artist Profile

A truly region-defying concept band, UseCurtis hailing from Fayetteville, Arkansas, draw much influence from their Ozark Mountain roots. But obvious bluegrass, country and blues aspects of UseCurtis' music are only part of what create an incredibly solid, rock-induced, trendy but interesting sound.
Perhaps most obvious upon first hearing UseCurtis, is the fact that, even up to the sound of the mix, no two songs will sound the same. This is because UseCurtis is the self-proclaimed "most cost-effective band on earth." says Will Nicholson, the band's singer-in-producer. "We're lucky enough to have been spoiled rotten living with great musicians who owned great gear that we gratefully borrowed-to-own, per se. Every track thus far recorded in the history of UseCurtis, we've done using a fairly simple home studio setup consisting of random gear I stole from my dad who used to co-own an ad-studio. Therefore, I don't necessarily have rediculous resources, but I have creative freedom and haven't come across a project yet that I didn't have the tools requisite to the job."

"I also was fortunate enough to have had a mother who had been a musician since she was young," states Wes Berry, UseCurtis' bassist. Debbie Berry, a seasoned musician and long-time professional performing bluegrass banjo-picker, incidentally grew up in the same town as Will's father and Jack's uncle, Ed Nicholson who spent some of the 70's touring with LaCosta and the likes of Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash.
Taylor Alderson was later added to this equation when Will's imediate family moved to Northwest Arkansas from Little Rock. "In a town of 3,500 people and three times as many cows, a thirteen year-old music-nut who wants to start a band is kinda without a paddle. I was lucky enough to have moved to the one of the few 'small-towns' with some other music-nut I suppose." says Will. "It was weird how it happened. When I was about 16, I tagged along to a family event with Will and his musical family with my drums in my car." says Taylor Alderson [drums]. "This was the first time I played with Wes. Jack is Will's first cousin, so that sortof lined out as could be expected."
Through spending their first two to three years together as a cover band, UseCurtis were able to derive knowledge and a unique style from their respective influences.



Instrumentation
Will Nicholson - Lead vocals, lead guitar, piano
Wes Berry - Vocals, Bass, Guitar
Jack Nicholson - Guitar, Bass
Taylor Alderson - Vocals, Drums, Bass