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Standing tall and braving the hot Southern California sun, Thomas Ian Nicholas, with guitar strings at his fingertips, performed to a modest Orange County crowd on Mother’s Day at Chronic Cantina in Costa Mesa, CA.
On an acoustic tour promoting his new solo album, Without Warning, set to be released January 15th, Nicholas’ presence on stage was addictive. Already a veteran actor, with over 15 years on the big screen, and a director credit under his belt for indie film L.A. DJ, Nicholas is now a triple-threat and by no means plans on slowing down.
I was fortunate enough to sit down with Nicholas after his energetic performance to find out more about his new solo project, his marriage to a famous DJ, and where he wants his music to take him.
PD: There are few people that don’t know you as “Kevin” from the American Pie blockbusters, but the world got its first taste of you on the big screen as “Henry Rowengardner” in Rookie of the Year. How did it feel to be on the mound for the Chicago Cubs and strike out Barry Bonds?
TIN: (laughter) It was cool, man. That was my first starring role in a feature film and I was 12 years old. It was like every kids fantasy.
PD: It being Mother’s Day, your mom is here with you today. How has she supported you in your career?
TIN: She was a supporting role model and definitely sacrificed a lot. Whether it was to get me to my appointments or go with me, for like three moths, to film a movie in another city or sometimes another country.
PD: Congratulations on your solo project. When was your musician seed planted?
TIN: I’ve been playing guitar, writing music, and singing for about twelve years. About eight years ago I did an album with a band called the T.I.N. Men and it was great but I was young, like 17 or 18. I wrote a lot of the songs on the album by myself and with my cousin, who taught me how to sing and play. It got distribution and everyone was all hyped up on it and then the distribution company went out of business. So, Tower Records orders 3,000 copies and I’m stoked, and then they all got sent back to me with Tower Records’ barcodes on them…like, sorry dude. That was my first experience with a record company.
PD: Aware of the daily dose of cut-throat that Hollywood dishes out, how were you able to roll with the never-out-of-style-punches after your first experience as a musician?
TIN: I kind of took a break from it for a while. I recorded an EP about 5 years ago and I wasn’t happy with the result, so I shelved it. In order to succeed, you have to fail and I’ve already failed, so I’m hoping this is the successful moment.
PD: As a matured musician, your new album has some note-worthy industry names associated with it. How did that evolve?
TIN: In 2006, I started working with a good friend of mine whose cousin is Bob Ezrin, who produced Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, and KISS. He had a lot of connections and hooked us up with Brian Virtue, who’s engineering and co-producing and has worked with Audioslave and Jane’s Addiction. Through Brian, we brought in Chris Chaney, who played bass for Jane’s Addiction. Chris hooked us up with Lawrence Katz who played guitar for Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Then the producer, Jeremy Rubulino, brought in Bruce Kulick, who played lead guitar for KISS for 12 years. It was like I was cherry picking all these awesome musicians, and the sound they came up with around my original music is great, I couldn’t be more happy.
PD: You definitely took advantage of your six-degrees of separation when recording your album, but your album is not the only important thing in your life right now. You recently got married to world renowned DJ, Collette. What is The Secret in making a relationship work with two hectic schedules?
TIN: I don’t necessarily know that there’s a secret. What we did for the first year when we were dating was, I would go with her to the cities that she played in when I had a free weekend. She was surprised that I wanted to do that because touring is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. I mean, flying to two or three or four cities in a weekend. She really appreciated that. And, when my schedule doesn’t allow, we spend a lot of time on the phone and we try to take some quality time when she is in town. You see the great thing for us is that I don’t work a nine-to-five job, so during the week, when she’s home, I don’t have to be at the office. I have meetings and then I’m home, so we have plenty of time to hang out during the week.
PD: Your wife, brother (Tim Scarne), and character you played in your first directorial debut, L.A. DJ, are DJs. Why are you not behind turntables instead of a guitar?
TIN: (laughter) Because I can not spin to save my life!
PD: You’re currently on an acoustic tour. How has the road been treating you?
TIN: Right now I just enjoy getting out there and sharing my material because I’m writing material that I’m proud of and really want to put out there. Would I like my album to come out and go gold…or platinum? I would be lying to you if I said, “No,” but that’s not really going to happen unless I get out there and share my music with people. I know that everyone’s not going to dig it, but I also know that the reaction has been positive. It definitely makes me feel good when friends come to the show and they’re like, “Dude, you should have told me you didn’t suck.” It’s kind of a back-handed compliment, but I’ll take it.
PD: What’s the ultimate goal for Thomas Ian Nicholas, the musician?
TIN: I would love to be able to get enough people diggin’ the tunes to maybe go on the road for a little bit with a full band. I’ve gotten a couple of opportunities to jam with some cool people on my current acoustic tour. Bruce Kulick has come out a couple of times and played some sick leads on an acoustic guitar. When I’m jammin’ with people there’s just a vibe for me that’s really cool. My ultimate goal would be to just be making enough to be able to pay everyone that’s playing in the band, because you can only ask for favors for so long.
PD: Do you want to be remembered for what you accomplished on-screen or on-stage?
TIN: It’s all in the name of entertainment, so for me entertainment is a safe escape. It’s not gonna really hurt you. And laughter, according to doctor’s studies, is going to make you live longer. So hopefully, I’ll be remembered for making everybody live longer. Just in the idea of putting a smile on people’s faces. Whether that’s from a good tune that makes someone feel good, or a funny movie that has that funny moment that when people think about it, they still laugh.
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