The Nixons
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The Nixons (formed in Norman, Oklahoma in 1990) were a post-grunge rock band.
The Nixons were a "one hit wonder" band (and maybe, one of the most obscure charting groups of the grunge era) founded in Oklahoma City by singer/guitarist Zac Maloy, guitarist Jesse Davis, bassist Ricky Brooks, and drummer Tye Robison. The group released their debut EP Six in 1992 (after an obscure self-titled album, probably released in 1990) on Dragon Street Records and replaced the original drummer with John Humphrey before releasing Halo in 1994 on Dallas-based Rainmaker Records. This album features several songs also included in Foma, their first official full length record, released in 1995 on MCA Records. Foma spawned the radio hit "Sister" and the group capitalized on their success with a big tour (about 300 shows in one year), including dates with Soul Asylum. Foma eventually peaked at #77 on the Billboard 200.
Two years later, the group replaced Ricky Brooks with Ricky Wolking and released a self-titled album, also known as "the red album," which featured songs like "In Spite of Herself" and "Baton Rouge." Though The Nixons failed to match the success of Foma, charting only as high as #188, and the band was subsequently dropped by MCA, their consistent gigging ensured a strong cult audience for 1999's Scrapbook EP (featuring b-sides, live and acoustic performances, including covers of Elton John's "Rocket Man" and Cheap Trick's "Heaven Tonight"), which saw the band return to Rainmaker.
Their fourth album The Latest Thing, was released by Koch in early 2000. It featured songs co-written by Marti Frederiksen and Jack Blades of Night Ranger fame. Though Jesse Davis and John Humphrey recorded The Latest Thing, an unknown dispute caused them to leave the band before the subsequent promotional tour, which featured Ray Luzier on drums and Scott "Scooby" Bush on guitar.
The Latest Thing failed to chart, and after a brief tour in support of the album, the Nixons went on hiatus. As of late 2006, they have not released any new material or re-formed for any shows since that time.
Davis, Brooks, and Humphrey reformed in early 2001 as Huver, with a new lead singer, Garin Murdock. The band gigged heavily in Oklahoma and Texas, and reportedly signed a recording contract with Epic Records, but broke up in the summer of 2002 after independently releasing one EP. John Humphrey has gone on to play drums in the band Seether. Ricky Wolking now plays bass for the Dallas-based rock band Edgewater and has recorded a solo album as Honky Mofo. Jesse Davis has a roots-rock band called 4 Points West which occasionally gigs in Oklahoma City and has independently released an album. Zac Maloy released two albums and an EP as a solo artist which were fairly popular in Texas and Oklahoma but did not chart nationally, and has since become a songwriter and producer, working with such acts as Supercell, The Daylights, Chris Daughtry, and Bowling for Soup. Maloy also recently opened his own recording studio, Rosewater Studios, in Tulsa.
Contents |
[edit] Discography
- 1990 - The Nixons (Dragon Street)
- 1992 - Six EP
- 1994 - Halo
- 1995 - Foma #77 US
- 1997 - The Nixons (MCA) #188 US
- 1999 - Scrapbook EP
- 2000 - Latest Thing
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
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| 1996 | "Sister" |
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Foma |
| 1996 | "Wire" |
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Foma |
| 1997 | "Baton Rouge" |
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The Nixons |
| 1997 | "The Fall" |
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The Nixons |
| 2000 | "First Trip" |
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Latest Thing |
[edit] Band members
- Zac Maloy - vocals, guitar (1990-2000)
- Jesse Davis - guitar, backing vocals (1990-2000)
- Ricky Brooks - bass (1990-1997)
- Ricky Wolking - bass, backing vocals (1997-2000)
- Tye Robison - drums, backing vocals, keyboards (1990-1992)
- John Humphrey - drums, backing vocals (1994-2000)
- Ray Luzier - drums (2000)
- Scott "Scooby" Bush [Guitar] [Backing Vocals]
