Tired of staring down at his shoes and replying, "I just play under my own name," Alex Sniderman formed The Nu-Sonics with drummer Melissa Houston and bassist Scott Anthony. Fans compare the Brooklyn band's sound to the ringing hooks of power pop icons Big Star rubbed up against the grit of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, or the results of Elvis Costello's imaginary songwriting collaborations with Keith Richards.
The MC5's Wayne Kramer first discovered 19-year-old Alex Sniderman fronting The Tone Def White Boys in Nashville. An impressed Kramer subsequently produced and appeared on Sniderman's self-titled debut, released in 2000. The album was reissued in 2002 with extra tracks featuring guitarist Kevin Salem, Billy Ficca (Television), and bassist Scott Yoder.
The pedigrees of Sniderman's bandmates are equally colorful. Bassist Scott Anthony is a widely respected producer/engineer who has worked with artists from David Poe to Daniel Lanois. Melissa Houston has played drums with a variety of acts from rock bands to dance companies, as well as working as a session drummer with producer Jimi Zhivago (Rufus Wainwright, Ollabelle).
The Nu-Sonics tracked The "Eureka" E.P. at Excello Recording in Brooklyn and The Viewing Room in Springfield, New Jersey. Guests on the record include Brooklyn troubadour John Pinamonti on guitar and mandolin, alt-country singer Rebecca Turner on harmony vocals, and noted pianist Tyson Rogers (The Blueprint Project, Yo La Tengo, Chris Stamey) on keyboards.
Some of Sniderman's new songs showcase the dualities of growing up a rock snob in a country town ("Elevation," "Losing Myself"); others feature his no-frills pop sensibility ("Rise & Shine," "Say Hello, No Goodbyes"). But the songs wouldn't pack the same punch without the tightly wound band. Houston's versatile drumming and Anthony's surefooted bass glue everything together seamlessly.
The Nu-Sonics is a band of music lovers and lifers who want to share the fun of making good noise with good friends.