Nick Africano
Broken

Nick Africano has escaped the musical desolation of Bloomington, Indiana for the fertile aural landscape of Minneapolis/St. Paul (try not to laugh, we’re being serious). And the Macalester grad, who has been gigging with Over/Under for an extended stint at the 400 Bar in April, has something special to share with his new friends and neighbors.

Broken, his new 5 track EP — unofficially released in late August and September in Illinois but considered brand spankin’ new in the Twin Cities — is a straightforward mix of folk, country and acoustic rock singer-songwriting.
Note: there are no drums on this album, and that’s okay.

The Current featured lead track “Angelina” on The Local Show a few weeks ago, which is a good first step for this Indy transplant.

Africano is performing at the Turf Club on Sunday, June 4 at the 400 Bar on Saturday, June 10th with The Pines and Jeffrey
Foucault.

We sat down with Africano to talk about the move to MN, Over/Under and where to pick up Broken. Read on…

Why are you in the Twin Cities now?
1) I’m in the Twin Cities now becuase while I was in college here I didn’t really have time to delve into the music scene as much as I’m able to recently. I also knew some great musicians here who I had gone to college with and who, luckily, were good friends of mine, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to form a band with them.

How did you get hooked up with Over/Under, or did you cofound it?
2) I had played music with most of the guys in Over/Under off and on throughout college, especially with Dan Walz-Chojnacki, our lead guitarist, but we never really had a “band.” After we graduated, most of us left for the summer and then moved back to the cities in October of 2005. We quickly started to play with each other again, and it just felt right. At that time it was just Mike, Jack, Greg, and I, but by January we convinced Dan to move back to the Cities and join the group. So far I’ve managed the booking for us and most of the promotion work.

What do you think of the music scene here compared to wherever you’re from in IL?
3) The music scene here is by far more active than the scene in Bloomington, Illinois. There are more good artists, both living here and passing through, to challenge you and humble you. It’s a competitive scene, but also one that’s very nurturing, even though we’re not an indie band!

How was playing the 400 for the whole month of April?
4) Playing the 400 Bar is always great. They treat us real well there, and it’s one of my favorite venues in town. Playing every Thursday also gave us a chance to become more comfortable with our set, a chance to try new things each night, and a chance to play for new audiences each time. By the last Thursday I think we all could feel a difference in our playing. We played more confidently.

Which performer did you most enjoy opening for and why?
5) I can’t speak for all of us, but I enjoyed opening for The Deathray Davies and The M’s the most. Their crowd was really fun and responded really well to our songs. Their music was really fun and intelligent, and more soulful than maybe I expected, which was a pleasant surprise.

Where can you buy the album?
At this point fans have to buy my EP from me (unfortunately).

Touring update?
We’re in the process of booking a few gigs out of town in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, and planning a date to record our first album this summer. Those who are interested can check my MySpace page for dates. We’re also working on a website.