niko friesen profile picture

niko friesen

About Me

I've always loved every aspect of making music. My job since I was 21 has been as a drummer, playing on records and peforming, but lately I've also started doing a lot of co-writing with some fantastic artists. I've written quite a bit with Motion Soundtrack and Adrienne Pierce, but have also written with Lily Frost, Emily Jane, Ben Sigston, Jenny Galt, Winston, Carmen and Camille, and Marnie Mains. Many of the songs I've co-written have been featured on Film/TV soundtracks. A song I wrote with Adrienne Pierce, Fool's Gold, was twice featured on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. I've played drums with a wide variety of artists/bands, both live and studio, including John Wozniak (Marcy Playground), Jane Siberry, Kelly Rowland (Destiny's Child), Motion Soundtrack, Adrienne Pierce, Christa Couture, The Wyrd Sisters, Winston, and Lily Frost. I have also worked (drumming) with such producers as Thom Russo (Audioslave, Macy Gray), Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Aerosmith), Jeff Dawson (Daniel Powter, John Wozniak), Brenndan McGuire (Sam Roberts, Sloan), John Shepp (Matthew Good, Gob) Mathew Yelton (Pixies, Frank Black) and Futcher (The Be Good Tanyas, Christa Couture). I have regularly performed in the Vancouver International Jazz Festival with such artists as Bruno Hubert, Steve Fisk, and George McFetrich, as well as having recorded with Experimental Jazz artists Marilyn Lerner and Peggy Lee.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 10/11/2005
Influences: The Beatles, PJ Harvey, Brad Mehldau, Radiohead, Miles Davis, Tom Waits, Nirvana, Matt Chamberlain, Elliott Smith, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Bill Evans, Death Cab for Cutie, Lucinda Williams, Jim Keltner, Fiona Apple, Bad Brains, Arvo Part, Johnny Cash, John Leventhal, Joseph Arthur, Leonard Cohen, Paul Motian, Shawn Colvin, NOFX, Kenny Buttrey, Modest Mouse, Neko Case, C.C.R., Jack DeJohnette, Bob Marley, Cocteau Twins, etc.
Sounds Like:
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Kispiox fun

I just got back from playing the Kispiox Folk Fest with Christa Couture.Christa also had the very talented, Aaron Joyce on guitar, and Michael Paterson on double bass. We played two full band sets on...
Posted by niko friesen on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:38:00 PST

Kelly Rowland

This last week I had the great pleasure of playing drums on a new Kelly Rowland (Destiny's Child) track. It was produced and mixed by Jeff Dawson, but also features the very fine playing of Darren Par...
Posted by niko friesen on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:47:00 PST

'You're so beautiful'

A fun little recording I made with Garage Band on my lap top. I have to admit that I never thought that I would ever use a dance beat with one of my songs, but it just fit so well. I kinda like it n...
Posted by niko friesen on Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:55:00 PST

trouble downloading?

Quite a few people have mentioned that they've had trouble downloading some of my tracks. So, if this is the case for you, just send me your email and the track(s) you want, and I'll send it. cheersn...
Posted by niko friesen on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:06:00 PST

drumming with Laura Smith

I did a fun session about a month ago with Bill Bell producing a talented young singer named, Laura Smith. We did three songs at Mushroom with Rene Worst on bass, and she just posted them. Check t...
Posted by niko friesen on Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:41:00 PST

'You Turn'

I just posted this song, 'You Turn', which I wrote with my father on New Years Eve 2007. We had just enough rum to inspire us to make this first attempt at co-writing. I recorded it with my friend R...
Posted by niko friesen on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:40:00 PST

'You Don't Know'

Hey yo,I've posted a new song called, 'You Don't Know'. It's a recording I made on Garage Band one night recently, and it's the first time I've ever demoed a song all by my lonesome. It's pretty bar...
Posted by niko friesen on Wed, 09 May 2007 04:16:00 PST

'Don't Go Yet'

A few months ago I wrote song with the very talented, Emily Jane Roberts, called, 'Don't Go Yet'. She just recently recorded a cool version with Tommy Stinson (The Replacements). Check it out, and al...
Posted by niko friesen on Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:46:00 PST

Some fun sessions

Ok, just a little update on some of what I've been up to...Last week I did a day at Hipposonic studios with producer Jeff Dawson, working with a new R&B artist named, Mark Huculak. We did a couple...
Posted by niko friesen on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:11:00 PST

new RC songs

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of playing drums on a new RC (singer for Mongoose) song at Lemon Loaf studio with Mr. Blair Calibaba producing.  I played on a very cool song called,...
Posted by niko friesen on Mon, 20 Nov 2006 03:02:00 PST