We ran a few questions past Nic Nassuet to find out a little more about the man behind the music.
So, tell us what drives Nic Nassuet to make music?
I wish I knew so I could tap into it at will. As it stands the songs come, I hear them, record them, and release them and play them live. I can’t do anything else. I’m not the type of person who can work a regular job, so it had to be this I guess.
Who would you say are your main influences?
I don’t have any *main* influences, but I have a lot of musicians whose work I find inspiring. Current 93, Skinny Puppy, Samhain, Blaqk Audio, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Peter Murphy, David Bowie, Sisters of Mercy, How to Destroy Angels, Frank Sinatra, Soley, Bjork, The Cult, Pascal Pinion, Nine Inch Nails, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, The Electric Hellfire Club, VNV Nation, Sea Oleena, Genitorturers… this is a long list, and it could take pages if I list everyone. I think I’ll stop here.
What is your proudest moment?
I’m not really a prideful person, but if you put a gun to my head and told me that I had to be proud of something and forced me to do it I guess it would be the guy’s life I was credited with saving. I figure that there isn’t much in the world more important than creating or sustaining life, you know? He had his neck slit and was left under a bridge to die, but we patched him up and got him to the hospital and he survived.
If you could play a gig anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Wherever my friends and family could all gather. Its no fun having fun if the people you care about aren’t there to share it with you.
Are there any interesting facts about you that hardly anyone else knows?
Yes, but I can’t tell you. I had a Top Secret clearance, worked investigations for animal rights groups, led a street patrol, and my only hobbies are joining cults and obscure political factions. I’m full of secrets.
How do you go about the songwriting process?
Most often I hear a tune as I’m waking up, but sometimes the music comes when I’m wandering from one room to the other. When the music comes I try to hum it into my phone right away. Later I’ll sit down and pluck it out on a guitar and hear the other parts of the song. At that point a word comes into my head and that becomes both the song title and the subject of the song, and then its pretty much done. I usually don’t know what the song is about until I’ve finished writing it and analyze it like I would a dream.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenges have been physical. I deal with some pretty serious medical stuff that has really been hard to work through. Sometimes I just can’t walk, and other times even sitting is too painful to endure. At one point I was in the ER at least once every six weeks. That makes it tough to stick to a schedule, to muster up the energy to play a set, to travel from a parking space to the venue, and to carry equipment. Luckily I have some awesome people around me that help with a lot of that. I have nothing but love for them.
What do you have coming up next?
The LP, “Eleutherious” (pronounced Eh-Loo-Thi-Rhee-Us) should be out within the next couple of months, I just signed with Dirtshack Records so I’ll have some music coming out through them pretty soon. The dirtshack release will be separate from the LP release and the two should sound very different. I’ll also be on the cover of Jamsphere magazine’s print edition in April. After that we will be touring in support of the releases.
How can we keep up to date with what you are up to?
Reverbnation, facebook, twitter, and the email list via my website at www.nicnassuet.com. I’m not very good about keeping my website updated, but I keep the mailing list up to date and I announce everything on social media, so if you add me on reverbnation, twitter or the book of face you should get the latest news and releases.
… and finally, what was the last record you bought and what did you think of it?
The last full album I acquired was AFI’s “Burials” and I really loved it. I thought It really captured the essence of their music in a way that I haven’t heard in years.