We reported last week that keyboardist Franz Nicolay had left the Hold Steady, and yesterday, Paste got the scoop. Says the man himself:
“In The Hold Steady, I was kind of a fox in a hedgehog band,” Nicolay tells Paste. “The Isaiah Berlin thing about the hedgehogs who have one defining idea and the foxes who have a lot of different ideas. So this is going to let me indulge a lot of those different ideas.”
The need for a change, Nicolay says, is about ambition. “They have their one big idea—making literate, wordy lyrics over big anthemic rock—and the last two records were about as good as I felt like I could do with that idea.”
It’s a little unclear to me whether or not he left on amicable terms or if this is about something else. Either way, he says he recorded sessions for a new record with the band that have since been re-recorded by a new keyboardist. As for Franz’s future, here’s Paste:
“Whatever works” is an apt way to describe Nicolay’s approach to making art. Bored easily, he always seems to thrust himself into four or five projects at once. At present, he’s anticipating the release of his upcoming book of short stories, producing a record from Brooklyn’s The Debutante Hour, promoting his klezmer/punk band Guignol’s Fight Dirty and his own solo EP, St. Sebastian of the Short Stage, gearing up for his solo tour and fielding questions about his departure from The Hold Steady. Phew.
Sounds pretty busy to me. Here’s wishing Franz good luck and for a new Hold Steady record soon!
Michael
ulyssesworkman
awarshauer
