NIKI THUNDERS_

Before it's too late, before it's too late;

It was just a fear, in a daze, my love;

(slipping away, slipping away)

I feel I'm slipping away;

It gets harder to care and now I'm broke beyond my own repair;

And it brings it out;

So tear it down;

And through the walls you'll hear the sounds - don't break down;

My mother didn't have to run away;

The pain exists but the void has been replaced;

So now I'm dealing with the issues I create;

The mirror breaks while the tears run down my face;

Before it's too late, before it's too late

It was just a fear, in a daze, my love;

(slipping away, slipping away)

I feel I'm slipping away;

It gets harder to care; now I'm broke beyond my repair;

Your misery, my own mistakes;

Her mysteries, the breath we take;

And like a wolf the look in your eye;

I only sleep where a dog can hide;

And it brings it out;

So tear it down;

And through the walls you'll hear the sounds - don't break down;

You take this hand to mouth, hand to mouth, hand to mouth;

So you say you wanted it and now you'll take it hand to mouth;

Can you strike a pose, can you strike a match and let your world burn to the ground;

I let you smoke up all my ash;

You're in me diggin' through the trash;
This world will grow;

The hatred breeds;

The world that grows inside of me;

You'll take this hand to mouth...

4/29/08

I love this site.  It's addicting; the community is great.  So, I've been stuck at 5,400 for awhile - so be it! ;)

04/27/08

Where did this music come from?  What is the backdrop that 'is' Niki Thunders.  Well, as many of you know, Skitzo Calypso started as a solo project.  I still continue to write a large portion of the Skitzo Calypso material, but it was important for me to really do some soul searching and reflect on the past. 

I have been blessed and incredibly grateful to open and share tour slots with such bands as:  Seven Mary Three, Amen, The Living Things, LA Guns, Skid Row, Local H, Powerman 5000, The Dreaming, Slaugher, The Brides of Destruction, and a ton of others!

I had played an innumerable amount of shows and really needed to reflect on 'the scene' - the underlying fire the fuels the life of an artist and the mininons and vultures abound - 'the Club Kids.'  There's a whole culture going on, spoiled and consumed by drugs, ego, alcohol, sex and everything else.  It is what you think it is.  Some artists live through it, some are smart enough to not get involved and some become it.  I became it, but I'm living through it and I'm smart enough, now, to only get so close - a compromise was made!

I started with "A Vietnam in the Neighborhood."  It's a track about getting caught up in a fantasy world, only to realize that while you're out sowing your metaphorical oats, the homestead is equally as immersed in an alternate existence.  It's the kind of story that occurs when two worlds that once thrived as a collective whole, divide and collide. 

"The Sickness of Dreams," was actually written about my primary "O" or 'pure O' OCD.  The lyrics were a bit different, originally, but I used a few metaphors to carry the theme.  It's the awareness that one comes to when they realize that they've floated so far away from shore, in an attempt to create and become their art, that reality has all but become a distant memory - so buried in one's subconscious that the new reality is literally the only thing they know any longer - the ache, the throb, the passion and the addiction of 'the dream' - the loss of identity - the crisis. 

"Shot it down in my veins, to kill the disease, to live like a saint amongst the damned and the thieves; the courtship is over, the lessons come free, when you live like a devil, in the sickness of dreams."  That was a very difficult and painful song to write and I'm still overcoming alot of the obstacles I put in my own way.  I distanced myself from a lot of my family, friends and humanity; in an effort to avoid being hurt - that divide is now a canyon and like Indiana Jone's 'leap of faith,' in the quest for the Holy Grail, I have to literally feel my way back and take a lot of chances with my heart.  I feel incredibly empty, at times, but that is the price one pays to live and breathe art - it is a neurosis!

"To Die Like Morrison," could be more of a literal account of the above; it's a more vivid and real life [untainted by metaphor] account of a nostalgic look back at the past 10 years.  I believe God is that of a collective unconscious, as postulated by Stephen Hawking. I believe God is growing, evolving and we (the air in the sky, the grass on the ground and everthing in between, including humanity), as a people, are a part of that.  Life is painfully obvious - as is reality; yet, too grandiose for comprehension or calm. 

What is the origin of self.  What truly makes me, 'me,' and why?  Well, their really isn't a self, only a culmination of choices that create who you are 'now.'  'To Die Like Morrison,' is a lot like 'The Sickness of Dreams,' in that it's the attempt to find one's self through the testing of boundaries - only to realize that the mirror wasn't really lying and your eyes knew it all along!

"Twilight on the Runway," is along the same lines.  This collection of songs is, as Laurent noted, about my awakening.  "Niki Thunders," the name, was intended to be a cliche' blend of a cartoon-esque rocker (Nikki Sixx/Johnny Thunders) and the disenchanted reality of becoming another - yes, just another - a parody.  But, at the end of the day, your heart will lead you, guide you - it's in you - you have no choice.  So, what is your heart?  Well, it's your internal umbilical chord to the heavens, the collective unconscious - the awareness of a truth - an absolute.  Sadly, it isn't able to be fulfilled by the 'club kids' or cliche's.  But, this is, what people wanted - right? 

I got caught up 'between being a father and a pre-madonna' (Eminem), as do a lot of us, but it's fear that keeps us trapped and dreaming.  Anger really is the final fig leaf, as noted by Al Pacino in The Devil's Advocate and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I have some pretty big dreams.

We need to really cleanse our pallet of Hollywood.  We need to get back in touch with humanity and reality - it doesn't sell, but it should. Niki Thunders is the juxtaposition of a 'classic case' and the evolution of a true self.  The music is the sour to a name that is sweet! 

A lesson can be learned and the album will be unfiltered, unabashed passion, reflection and emtion.  There are raw tracks and tracks that walk a line of grandiosity - as genuine as the spirt of an absolute - tomorrow never existed and that may just be the punch to the stomach the record industry needs!

- Brad Cox

04/05/08 - The Shattering (Alter-Ego Round 1) Lyrics:

03/29/08 - Twilight on the Runway lyrics:

03/28/08 - Tomorrow, New Music!

Niki Thunders will upload new music, tomorrow!  It's exciting to reach 5k.  It's truly an honor to have such widespread support of this project!

03/13/08 - Back to the Studio

I hit the studio, Secret Sound Studio (Maryland) at 5:00pm.  After a set-up and some technical issues, we were off and running; the drums were mic'ed and we laid tape!  I hung around the studio until about 1am and finally retired back to my home.  I will return on the 19th and finish up.  The track I will upload is called, "Twilight on the Runway."

- Niki

"I am actively looking for new music. If you are a band or a label or a publicist and you'd like me to check out what you're doing, review your music or interview you, contact me. I am currently submitting reviews and articles to both AMP and Glide magazines." - Bob Vinyl

www.myspace.com/bobvinyl

Thursday, October 18, 2007