Nick McCabe
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| Nick McCabe | |
|---|---|
 © nickmccabe-kim-2freespirits.co.uk |
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| Born | July 14, 1971 (age 35) St. Helens, Merseyside, England |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Psychedelic rock Shoegaze |
| Affiliation(s) | The Verve |
| Label(s) | Hut Virgin |
| Years active | 1989 - Present |
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" McCabe (born on July 14, 1971 in Haydock, England) is an ambidextrous guitarist who played with The Verve during the 1990s.
Nick McCabe was the youngest of three children and was strongly influenced by music growing up. He led a normal life training to be a Quantity surveyor until, after leaving Haydock High School, he met Richard Ashcroft at Winstanley Sixth Form College in Winstanley, near Wigan, Lancashire. Ashcroft heard McCabe's guitar jamming and thought McCabe could "almost make the guitar talk". Along with Simon Jones and Peter Salisbury, Ashcroft and McCabe formed The Verve.
Tensions and power struggles between McCabe and Ashcroft would later cause the band's dissolution, twice. The first breakup happened when Ashcroft left after The Verve's unsuccessful second album, A Northern Soul. Shortly thereafter Ashcroft reformed the band, but at first McCabe refused to return, though he later returned for the band's third album, Urban Hymns. The Verve broke up for the second and final time when McCabe left after Urban Hymns.
Musically, McCabe has always expressed his fondness of synthesizers and explained his "psychedelic" sound as trying to make a guitar sound like a synthesizer by using effects pedals and Valve Amps.
McCabe recently remixed a single for The Music ("Freedom Fighters" - September 2004). In 2001, he played on John Martyn's record, On the Cobbles.
[edit] Equipment
Amps (partial):
- Mesa/boogie Mk III combo
- Roland JC120 (daisy-chained to the boogie)
- Marshall solid state bass amp
Effects (partial):
- Alesis Quadraverb+
- Selmer (Wem licensee) Copycat
- Roland 201 Space Echo
- Boss od-1 pedal
- Ibanez analogue flanger
- Eventide H3000
- Roland GP-8
Guitars (partial):
- Fender Strat (1979)
- Gibson 335.
- Fender Jazzmaster (1959) 70's
- Gibson Flying V
- mandolin
- Ovation acoustic
