Nicholas McCarthy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicholas Augustine McCarthy (born December 13, 1974), known familiarly as Nick McCarthy, is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist, backup singer, and keyboardist of the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand, not to be confused with Nick McCarthy, well-known Balladeer of Bansha, County Tipperary in Ireland.
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[edit] Early Years
Nick McCarthy was born in Blackpool, England. He was raised in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
A troubled youth, he broke into buildings and stole alcohol and cars (although he only went on joyrides and claimed that he always returned them), which earned him the name "Nick McCarthief." Despite his delinquencies, McCarthy still took his musical and theatrical aspirations seriously. He trained classically as a pianist and double bassist at the Munich Conservatory.
Whilst residing in Germany, McCarthy was a member of a band called Kamerakino. He also played double bass, cello and Arabic lute in a band called Embryo, whose music is described as a 'fusion of jazz, rock and ethnic world music.' After extensively touring internationally with Embryo, McCarthy decided it was time for somewhere new, returned to the UK and, on a friend's suggestion, moved to Glasgow.
There, McCarthy broke into Glasgow's underground cultural scene as a member of the jazz band Scatter. Shortly after, he met Alex Kapranos, now of Franz Ferdinand fame.
[edit] Franz Ferdinand
Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy met at a party, where Kapranos caught him stealing his vodka. A fight seemed imminent until Kapranos asked McCarthy if he could play the drums. McCarthy claimed he did, though Kapranos would soon discover McCarthy was unable to play them in any particular coherent order. The fact that his drumming ability was lacking became irrelevant as they discovered that they could write songs together. He eventually swapped instruments with the current drummer, Paul Thomson, and with the addition of Robert Hardy, the band became Franz Ferdinand.
McCarthy provides the vocals for "Tell Her Tonight" from the album Franz Ferdinand, "Van Tango" from the EP Darts of Pleasure, "All For You, Sophia" from the single Take Me Out, "Fabulously Lazy" from the single Do You Want To, "Jeremy Fraser" from the single The Fallen / L. Wells, and "Ghost in a Ditch" from the single Eleanor Put Your Boots On
McCarthy is a noted player of Hagström guitars.
[edit] Box Codax
On 2 July 2005, McCarthy married his Bavarian fiancée Manuela in Bavaria, Germany. Franz Ferdinand turned down a Live 8 spot so that the pair could tie the knot.
McCarthy and his longtime friend Alexander Ragnew have formed a band called Box Codax, and have released their first two singles, "Boys and Girls" and "Naked Smile," on the label The Thin Man (previously known as Thin Man Records). The band's first album, "Only An Orchard Away" was released on 4 September 2006. McCarthy's wife makes several appearances on the album.
[edit] Trivia
- In late 2004, McCarthy placed number five on NME's annual "Cool List"", which ranks the "coolest" people in the music industry that year. Surprisingly, frontman Alex Kapranos did not make the list.
- Recent curatorial endeavors include:
LightBox Gallery in Culver City presents "St. Mungo and Me," a group show curated by Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand (December 2, 2006 to January 20, 2007). Artists: Manuela Gernedel, Celia Hempton, Shana Moulton, Jo Robertson, Niklas Schechinger & Hank Schmidt in der Beek, Lucy Stein, and Anna Witt.
[edit] Related links
- Official Franz Ferdinand Website
- Official Franz Ferdinand Biography
- Official Box Codax Website
- Box Codax at Thin Man Records
| Franz Ferdinand |
| Alex Kapranos | Robert Hardy | Nicholas McCarthy | Paul Thomson |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: Darts of Pleasure | Franz Ferdinand | You Could Have It So Much Better |
| Singles: "Darts of Pleasure" | "Take Me Out" | "The Dark of the Matinée" | "Michael" | "This Fire" | "Do You Want To" | "Walk Away" | "The Fallen" / "L. Wells" | "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" | "Jeremy Fraser" |
| DVDs: Franz Ferdinand |
| Related articles |
| Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria | Domino Records | Tore Johansson | Rich Costey |
