Franz Nicolay

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Franz Nicolay – vocals, accordian, keyboard, guitar, etc etc
featuring Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls

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St. Sebastian Of The Short Stage (Team Science Records)
Release Date: December 08, 2009

New England

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Franz Nicolay has one impressive mustache.

Regardless of your feelings (or lack thereof) regarding the upper lip warmer and its rapid ascension to prominence with the hipster set, you must nevertheless be made aware of the enormity of our boisterous troubadour’s facial markings. At least that’s what nearly every feature penned about Nicolay and his 2008 solo outing, the critically acclaimed Major General, would have you think. In fact, I bet that right now you’re listening to Nicolay’s most recent release, the four-song 10-inch, St Sebastian Of The Short Stage, and asking yourself, “How the hell can I not mention that unmistakable waxed handlebar flavor saver?”

That distinctly Eastern European stache – rivaled past fifty years only by Rollie Fingers and Husker Du’s Greg Norton – has been so ingrained into Nicolay’s very existance that at this juncture, it’s nearly impossible to separate the cookie duster from the man, or any of his other bands for that matter: World/Inferno Friendship Society, Guignol, Anti-Social Music and of course, The Hold Steady. It could even be argued that next to Craig Finn’s lyrics, Nicolay’s mustache is the second most noteworthy thing about the popular Brooklyn five piece.

Yes, even Snidely Whiplash would have trouble turning a blind eye, but perhaps it’s because Franz Nicolay somehow looks exactly like you’d expect his music to sound – unorthodox, theatrical and just a bit retro. Place him in a lineup next to ten other artists and ask a random passerby to guess which one plays eclectic, gypsy-folk and vaudevillian-inspired punk rock. Most fingers would immediately point in the direction of our dapper, cabbie cap-wearing multi-instrumentalist. Nicolay often comes across as the most interesting, self-confident person in the room, and St. Sebastian does nothing to dissuade that notion. Read more …

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Media

* Bio (pdf)
* Album Art (hi-res)
* Photo 1 (hi-res)
* Photo 2 (hi-res)
* Photo 3 (hi-res)
* Photo 4 (hi-res, live)
* Photo 5 (low-res)