By Rob Nagy

By all accounts singer songwriter Nik Everett should have become as well known as his Philly based contemporaries the Hooters, Tommy Conwell and Robert Hazard. Hailing from Wilmington, DE, Everett burst onto the Philadelphia music scene armed with his guitar and a wealth of original songs that were rivaled by few. With the drive, talent and determination to make a name for himself, fame and fortune eluded him. Everett was given a brief look by major record labels only to be passed up. Now approaching three decades in music, Everett has released his fifth album “Little Victories” continuing the legacy of great songwriting and vocal prowess.
Like most musicians from Everett’s time, he gravitated towards the influence of the Beatles starting out as a drummer and vocalist shifting to guitar while continuing his duties as a lead singer in a variety of local bands. From the start there was no mistaking Everett’s distinct vocal style and songwriting abilities as he continued to hone his craft. There were local artists getting more media, fan and radio attention but no one could argue that Everett was not equally deserving of the same. In an effort to find his place as an artist, Everett played in a variety of local bands that had no trouble finding work but fell short of the personal goals Everett was now striving to reach.. “As time progressed the bands I was in were getting into heavier rock”, says Everett”, And I was going more in the singer songwriter direction after having taken up the guitar again and applying myself toward writing songs. My new heroes became solo Beatles (especially McCartney), Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and Neil Young. I also noticed the girls liked singers and guitar players too.” Everett started performing singing and playing guitar without the backing of a band, which satisfied him creatively but monetarily was less rewarding. In an effort to provide some variety and for financial reasons Everett returned to playing in a variety of bands in and around Philadelphia hitting all the clubs and college campuses while continuing to perform solo billed as “The Original Acoustic Rock n’ Roll Man”. In 1984 Everett anxiously released his debut “Paralyzed in Motion”. Everett’s hard work soon began to pay off as he was given the opportunity to play J.C. Dobbs, the Cabarets and some prestigious clubs in New York City. By the early eighties Philadelphia was becoming a hot bed for music with Everett jumping on board forming “The Nik Everett Group”. It was unlikely not to find Everett and his band gracing the stage six days a week in a local or regional venue. By the late eighties he had gained a respectable following of fans and the admiration of the regional music press. The release of the “Surrender Tonight” album charted in the northeast grabbed the attention of major record labels and won the honor of earning Best Independent Release by the Philadelphia Music Foundation. “We had become one of the biggest bands in the region”, recalls Everett, “Performing from New York City to Washington, D.C. and all the shore points in between, opening for the Hooters, Tommy Conwell, Robert Hazard, Dave Edmunds and Marshall Crenshaw. It was really an exciting time.” As with many of the Philly bands at the time, The Nik Everett Group took the next step toward fame and fortune with both Atlantic and Columbia Records showing genuine interest in the band. “We went through showcases going into the early 90’s”, recalls Everett. “It was very exciting but stressful. It ended up burning out the whole group and then we broke up. I thought I had the energy to try it again. I took a few years off, got refreshed and then came back and just went through the same thing all over again. With a new sense of direction, relying on his own abilities, Everett released his second solo release “Gravel & Honey”. While Everett was settling into his role as a solo act he was growing frustrated with the lack of attention his songs were getting on a larger scale. He considered stepping back from the music business and joining the corporate world only to find that was not his calling. “I was going to get out of music all together and then 9/11 hit”, recalls Everett, “It really made me think about things and what I was destined to do.”

In 2004 Everett released his finest work up to that point the “Summers Gone” album. Again, Everett had penned songs that were as good as most anything out at the time. Hoping to get that big break, Everett was again disappointed by the lack of attention his songs were getting. “ I paid a lot of money to people who, I hoped, would be able to get the “Summers Gone” record on the radio. That did not happen, which was very discouraging. I really thought that by this point I would be a Marshall Crenshaw or John Hiatt. I’d have some records out. I’d have some money in the bank. I’d have financial security and I’d just be able to play music, maybe a couple hundred people in just about every major city throughout America would come out and see me. It didn’t happen and for a while that was a hard thing to get over. There was a time”, added Everett, “I could walk into just about any club in Philly and people wanted pictures or autographs, the women flowed, that all feeds into your ego and that was a hard thing to get over and sort of deflate and come back down to earth.”

Most recently Everett has released his fourth solo effort “Little Victories”, an appropriate title featuring twelve new compositions from Everett as well as a remake of the classic Elvis Presley song “Don’t Be Cruel”. In typical Nik Everett fashion “Little Victories” is a “Big” victory for Everett proving that some artists only gets better with age. Standouts include “Out of Time”, “Melody”, “Goodbye To You”, “Little Victories” and “The End Is Not In Sight”. “I wanted to do a little more ‘Pleasing to the ear’ record, less rocky this time around”, says Everett. “Something that sort of engaged the listener in one mode instead of jumping around doing a lot of things, which I enjoy doing but this time around this is what I wanted to do. I don’t like to be calculated but the only calculation behind it was that some of the listening rooms and folk festivals that I’ve been trying to get into told me ‘That if I made a more acoustic based record I’d have a shot at getting some better gigs.’ I like to think that I have accomplished what I set out to do on this record.” Along with recording and performing, Everett is looking into other avenues of getting his music heard. He has scored a song for the film documentary “Greetings From Asbury Park”, a film reminding us of the history of this once great beach resort, its decline and attempt at a rebirth. Not one to sit and watch life pass him by, Everett is already giving thought to his next release which he expects to be more of a rocking band oriented record. “I Feel very lucky to be doing what I do”, says Everett. “There are still people that buy my music all over the world. I get these really heartwarming emails saying what this song means to them and that’s the kind of stuff that keeps you going. I still am successful and there are still people out there that consider me something that moves them but it’s just at a smaller scale. I have to consider myself very blessed.”

The Nik Everett Band plays Steel City in Phoenixville, PA on Friday December 12, 2008. Opening is the Graham Brown Band. Tickets are $12.00 I advance and $15.00 DOS. Showtime 8:00 P.M.

For more info on Nik Everett go to www.nikeverett.com

www.myspace.com/nikeverett Little Victories is available on-line or download at www.itsaboutmusic.com or at any Nik Everett show