Meeting Jared James Nichols
31st October 2016
Meeting Jared James Nichols
A while ago I read in a guitar magazine about a young blues rock player called Jared James Nichols. I downloaded his album, and was blown away by the fresh sounding riffs and great writing. It was exciting blues rock played by a new, upcoming artist. I knew I had to see this guy live. I reached out on Twitter, and we had a few chats. Jared had already been introduced to Bare Knuckle Pickups by our good friend and BKP artist Nick Perri of Mount Holly, and Jared was already using a BKP Nantucket 90, which he had put in the bridge of his legendary Les Paul, "Old Glory". So, when I found out Jared was playing in Exeter this October, I dropped him an e-mail to see if he wanted to meet up before the gig. He said yes, so I got to winding something to take up with me.
A Mississippi Queen HSP90 with a twist
I made him a Mississippi Queen HSP90 with a twist; Dan from the workshops, who is an incredible artist, designed a Jared-inspired tattoo for the pickup. Jared's trademark is "Blues Power", so we put that across the front of the pickup. Dan also designed a Native American Eagle to go on the front, as we had spotted that Jared had one tattooed on his arm.
We got to Exeter and gave Jared his pickup, which he was thrilled with. We also got to meet his band, Dennis and Erik, who are exceptional players. The band is a three-piece, and onstage they sound huge. The music is exciting and fresh. It was invigorating to see a young blues rock band throwing those kinds of riffs around, and it was great to see Jared play. He was supporting Walter Trout, who was awesome live; the world of blues is much richer for having that guy in it after his health issues, and it was a privilege to see him play again.
Thanks Jared, Dennis, Erik and Walter for a great night and we look forward to seeing you all again soon. If you want to see Jared on tour, he's just kicked off a few dates with Scorpion Child around the UK.
Blues Power!
Tim.
