his name is Luca

We ask Nick Luca, the man behind the outfit called Luca, if he is some kind of control-freak. How much of a band is Luca? He writes the songs, he plays most of the instruments, he deals with studio matters... does that make him a control-freak?

Nick Luca, in just some hours, writes us back from the USA, exclusively for our web-blog, through the Internet:

“Yes, I am a control freak. Well, not totally. I bring in songs, and let the other musicians figure out their own ideas to play. Basically, the songs I bring in are just a skeleton, and it’s up to the band to flesh them out. When we recorded ‘Sick of Love’, Craig Schumacher was the producer and engineer, so I let him do all that, and was happy to just be the artist. We are working on a new record now, basically recording rehearsals in a loose and improvised kind of way, and picking songs from that, which is a lot of fun, too. The next record will definitely be a blend of loose desert and pop/rock --it should be interesting!”

Luca, the band, have a new CD out. It is called ‘Sick of Love’, and features a network of well-known friends of Nick’s, all of them top-respected artists, such as Giant Sand’s maestro, Howe Gelb, Calexico’s John Convertino and Joey Burns, the great Jon Rauhouse (we will be giving him a lot of spins on our radio show), and critically acclaimed M Ward. But this time, it is these heavyweight gentlemen that are guesting on a Nick Luca LP --not the opposite! ‘Sick of Love’ is a record full of true emotion; a brilliant pop/rock statement from a power-trio at its best (+ some fine guests). It is no surprise that we play as many songs of this stunning album on the air as we can, every night.

Bandleader, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer, producer, session-man, touring musician, etc., Nick Luca has been one of the central personalities of the Tucson music scene for over a decade. Although an East Coast native, Nick relocated to Arizona in the early 90s, eventually earning a Masters Degree in Composition from the University of Arizona. As a a top honcho at Tucson’s Wavelab Studios, our hero has recorded with the likes of Howe Gelb, leader of indie rock cult-fave Giant Sand, Joey Burns and John Convertino, Iron & Wine, Neko Case, Evan Dando, Richard Buckner, Steve Wynn and many more.

More on Luca’s ‘Sick of Love’ in the next issue of ‘ANATOLIA Alumnus’-mag (http://www.saak.gr/sk/mag102.asp).

John Simandiras