Recent poll winners Nicos Gun (yes, no apostrophe please) have only been together for a little over a year, but the four-piece’s silky, smooth dance tracks sound surprisingly polished. We had a chance to catch up with co-founder of the band, Barney McKenna, to get the scoop on his beef with Geno’s and Jim’s, playing with guns, plans for a Nicos Gun documentary and more.
The Deli: How did Nicos Gun start?
Barney McKenna: We started when I stopped playing with my band Cortez Cortez (whose album was reviewed on your site). Me and Nick Bockrath (Cortez Cortez bass player) started recording with Harry Zelnick who I’ve known since I was a teenager (we both grew up in Philly). Harry was a hip hop producer and a friend of mine. Harry has produced for Ludacris, Freeway, and Beanie Sigel. He’s the drummer/collaborator now of Nicos Gun. I wrote some songs that Harry helped me produce. Then we began writing stuff together and producing it at a studio on 4th and Callowhill. We’re all into the same type of bands like Prince, LCD Soundsystem, Gang of Four, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Talking Heads, Justice. Andy Black is a great bassist in the area and he joined us for our first show and we’ve been together since then (around September 2009).
TD: Where did the band name come from?
BM: Me and Harry worked at a shoe repair store downtown owned by an old greek guy named Nico. He kept a luger behind the cash register, and we used to pull it out when we closed the store. One time Harry dropped the gun and it went off in the store. There was a hole in the wall that Nico saw, and he fired us after that.
TD: What are your biggest musical influences?
BM: Talking Heads, Prince, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Grandmaster Flash, Beck, David Bowie.
TD: What artists are you currently listening to?
BM: Carsick Cars, Nirvana, MSTRKRFT, Liquid Liquid.
TD: What’s the first concert you ever attended and the first album you ever bought?
BM: The first big concert I ever attended was Lyle Lovett. My aunt took me to see him. He had cool hair, and I liked his guitar. I was 8. The first album I ever bought was Nevermind by Nirvana when I was 9.
TD: What do you love about Philly?
BM: I love how many talented people are in this city and how cheap it is to live. Growing up here your friends with every type of race and class. It is a good melting pot of a town where I’ve witnessed very different people hanging out.
TD: What do you hate about Philly?
BM: I hate Geno’s cheesesteaks and the ignorant people who work there and own that store. I hate Jim’s cheesteaks and the idiots who wait in a line around the corner for a shitty fattening sandwich. I hate that there’s becoming fewer and fewer nice venues to play and the urgency for bands to leave the city to gain any type of success.
TD: What are your plans for 2010?
BM: Mix our album, release our EP. Continue booking shows in other cities. Making music videos, and finishing a documentary on the band and our life.
TD: What was your most memorable live show?
BM: Jay Reatard at Johnny Brenda’s.
TD: What’s your favorite thing to get at the deli?
BM: Chicken soup
(Photo by Matthew Dodd)
– The Deli Staff