Inducted May 2010NiteRail featuring Mike Fugazzi is definitely one of the established bands intown. They’re good at getting their name out there, and then they backup the hype with a good show.
A blues-funk band that formed in 2004, NiteRail has recorded two albums, “Back and Forth” in 2005 and this year’s “Splittin’ at the Seams.”
Here’s more about the band from Fugazzi.
Q: Describe your sound for someone who might not have caught a show yet.
A: We’re a five-piece band in our 20s (Fugazzi — vocals andharmonica, Korey Hicks — guitar, James Schneeberg — drums, Konr Ness — bass, and Zach Sershon — keys).
The best way to describe our sound is roots-rock. Our stuff is really accessible to anyone not obsessed with current top 40 radio, and our fans tend to range from college kids tobaby boomers.
We are blues influenced, but we aren’t a straight blues band. There are strong influences in our sound from rock, funk and jazz as well. I don’t think a lot of local bands try to do what we do and that makes us pretty unique.
We have really fantastic instrumentation without getting too jammy and really cover a wide range of music, including originals. I don’t think anyone in the area, regardless of age or genre, features the harmonica the way we do, and Korey Hicks is legitimately one of the top guitarists in the state and is only 28.
Q: Do you play original material or covers? A mix of both?
A: We play a mix of both. For a club gig we typically do original material for a third to half the show. We’re pretty selective about covers and making sure we put our own spin on them.
We tend to stay away from “bar rock,” but we balance stuff people are familiar with and covers off the beaten path. Really, we use the covers to help engage the audience and take them through a musical journey, so we try to avoid doing the same stuff as the cover bands in town. We have stuff on the setlist from the ’50s through today and continually throw in new material.
Q: When you write music, what’s your inspiration?
A: Lyrically, I’ve handled the bulk of the duty. The band collaborates on the music end with groove being the biggest inspiration. Korey and James tend to come up with most of our initial ideas, and Konr and Zach really come up with these amazing layers to add. We try to then balance really strict arrangements with tunes we can jam out.
Most my inspiration for lyrics comes from direct experience. I try to use writing as a way to evolve and share some of my life observations.
Most tunes areabout really specific events and episodes from my life. I try really hard not come off as jaded or whiny in any of our songs. If anything, I want others to feel inspired or hopeful after hearing a NiteRail song.
Songs like “Gotta Keep Movin,” “Leave Your Light On” and “Hungry Ghosts” really capture where I am coming from lyrically.
It can be pretty unnerving to really put yourself out there and maybe expose some things that make you feel defensive or vulnerable, so people avoid it. But that’s what you have to do. You have to be real with yourself and write about what you know. The melody and lyrics are the easiest pieces of a song for a listener to relate to and are the most important part of a song.
Q: What’s a good night on stage like?
A: It is extremely liberating. You get a break from the endless chatter in your mind, and you just do your thing. It is an amazing feeling to share music with other people and have them accept it.
They don’t even need to like it necessarily, but being respected for laying it all out there and making at least a few people happy during your set is wonderful. You can make a difference not only for yourself but others. It is a win-win.
Q: What do you love about performing?
A: I love pushing myself. I love the improvisational aspect and really just living for the moment. The whole performance aspect is extremely profound to me. That really comes from the interaction with other people, whether it be band members or the audience.
The connection music brings is extremely unique to the fine arts. Nothing other than family has ever topped being on stage for me. When the audience applauds, dances or chats with us between sets it is extremely humbling. We’ve made some amazing friends and fans from all walks of life. It also brings out the absolute best in people. We’re all just there to share a good time together, anyway.
Q: Who are some of your influences?
A: As a band the Fabulous Thunderbirds are probably our biggest blues influence. Otherwise, Eric Clapton and his work with Derek and the Dominoes is a huge influence.
Korey and I talk all the time about covering the whole “Layla” album for a set. You can hear the same vibe Santana brings in a lot of our tunes as well. The Derek Truck Band is our biggest contemporary influence, and I think we need to mention Blues Traveler for the simple fact they are the only major act featuring the harmonica in such aunique context like we try and do.
Q: If you ever made the cover of Rolling Stone, what other bands would you want to be compared to?
A: The Derek Trucks Band, the Allman Brothers, Derek and the Dominoes, Blues Traveler, Santana and John Mayer would be pretty sweet to be mentioned alongside.
Q: Where’s your favorite place to play in Mankato and why?
A: We’ve been fortunate to have pretty much played everywhere in town a full band can fit, but our sound is really geared toward a place like Buster’s. They get a wide range of ages in there, have a full stage and plenty of dance room, and when Don is running sound, we could never sound better. A more intimate place like Pub 500 is also a great change of pace for us, too. It lends itself to doing more blues and playing with a wider range of dynamics.
Q: How do you unwind after a show?
A: Someone always has to commute, as I am in Mankato and the rest of the guys are in the Cities. So after spending some time chatting with fans, we hit the road and tune into talk radio … maybe get something to eat. Everyone other than Zach is married with kids, so nothing too wild and crazy!
Q: Any interesting band rituals?
A: Full band we have some official NiteRail dialect between the band before and after shows that is pretty sophomoric, and you’ll always see me and Konr standing next to each other on stage.
From a performance standpoint, I quote a lot of Will Ferrell movies onstage, and you’ll always see a Buddha statue on my amp. We always do some “team drinks” with the audience and get them to sing along to some of the songs. But our biggest ritual is to always try and push each other and melt as many faces as possible … and make fun of Konr.
Read more about the band here.
