Interview with Nick D'Virgilio

by Heike Mueller, Dutch Progressive Rock Page

While Nick D'Virgilio was feeding his kids, he was generous enough to answer me some questions about his first solo album "Karma" and other projects he's involved in.

HM - I'd like to begin right with your origins: Does the musical ability run in your family?

NDV - Yes, kind of. Not everybody. My grandmother on my father's side was a cellist. She played in some symphonies. My mum took some piano lessons, but nothing like professional. My brother played guitar in a few bands while growing up. My dad sang. But I am the only one who's trying to make a career out of it.

HM - Every good drummer has his own style. Which characteristics would you say makes your style unique?

NDV - Probably it's my laid back nature, being able to sit back and groove for a while. 

HM - In 1998 you said: "Spock's Beard are the first band I can stand being with for a long time. Usually, I lose my interest after half a year, but those guys are magical." Do you still think so or do you want to concentrate on your solo career in the future?

NDV - No, I like to do both. There's pros and cons to both, that's for sure. In my thing I get to do whatever I want cause I'm the boss, but there's something about being in a band: the democracy, the team effort that goes along into it. I hope that I can do both. 

HM - Karma is a Buddhist expression. Why did you choose it as the title of your album. Is there a subtle religious meaning to be found on the cd?

NDV - I named the record "Karma" just because I wrote a song called "Karma". That's a pretty basic answer, I know, but that's the truth. I think I was bringing more meaning into it as time goes by. The message of the song Karma is (as the chorus says): "You can't hide when your karma follows you...". But at the point when I was coming up with it, it just sounded cool. It did just fit. 

HM - Let's look at some songs more closely now."The Game" is a so far unpublished song by Kevin Gilbert, who died 5 years ago. Do you want to pay homage to your friend and late producer by putting it on Karma?

NDV - Well, it's one of the only songs I've ever written with him. One day, when we were recording, he would get frustrated with working on one thing only. So we sat down and started jamming out this piece of music and that's what came up. It took me 5 years to write good lyrics to it. I wanted the song to be about him in some way but for a long time everything I came up with sounded really cheesy to me. I couldn't figure out how to say what I felt. Only very recently, I thought of the lines I use now and it was the first time that they sounded really honest to me. So this is at least what I thought were good lyrics... Now, it's just neat that I've got something from 1996 still around to be able to use so that I can still have him on my record. I feel blessed to have him on Karma. That's pretty cool. 

HM - "Come what may" can be found on the Soundtrack of the Hollywood movie "Moulin Rouge". How did you get in contact with these people?

NDV - It's not the movie company I'm connected with. The guy who wrote the song, his name is David Baerwald, and I was playing with David off and on for years here in L.A. He did a version of this particular song with Kevin Gilbert ages ago. I just thought it was an amazing love song and I always wanted to try and perform it. So I recorded it. I had no idea that it was on Moulin Rouge. During the Spock's Beard tour in June, Matt Goodluck from InsideOut told me that he had seen the movie and that he heard the song there. That's how I found out! I was just doing it because it was a cool song that David wrote and that I always wanted to do. It' kind of a weird coincidence that it was on the movie. The Moulin Rouge version is way different than mine and there it is performed by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor! 

HM - "Paying the Price" is divided in three parts and reminds of the typical prog style whereas all the other songs are more traditional rock songs. With putting "Paying the Prize" on the album was your intention to write something for the prog scene?

NDV - A little bit. The first song, "The River is wide", is kind of proggy. It wasn't really made up to satisfy the prog fans but I just felt it. I had the second part of this song for years and I wanted to do something that could tie it in. "Unknowing" was almost a kind of funky sort of song. I worked out a few things and just put it all together to one story. I don't really know how it came that way, but it just did.

HM - How do you write: Do you improvise until a theme develops or write the music from your thoughts?

NDV - Sometimes both. I start in a number of ways. From a lick on the guitar or I groove on the drums till I might have some kind of subject matter that I'm thinking of. It varies, really. 

HM - Which track is your own favourite?

NDV - Right now - "Dream in Red". I like the whole record a lot but that one just jumps out on me for some reasons these days. 

HM - To anyone who has not heard the album yet how would you describe your music?

NDV - That's like the hardest question (laughs) - I never know how to answer it! I think it's pretty much straight ahead - well, it's not too straight ahead. It's a kind of pop-rock, a musical pop-rock, does that make sense? 

HM - If you had to choose just 1 or 2 tracks from the album to play to someone as an introduction to your music what would they be?

NDV - I'd probably choose "Dream in Red" cause I think this is one of the strongest tunes on the record. I'm not sure what to choose cause it depends on who you're playing it for. Maybe "The River is wide" cause it's got a little bit of everything in there: it's got the stanza musicianship plus some pretty straight ahead chorus. It could be kind of a key. 

HM - Will you go on tour to promote the album?

NDV - I will definitely try. It's all a matter of time and money though. I will probably go out with my friend Rick Musallam, who is one of the guest guitar players on the record. Rick and I are going over to Europe in October to do a tour with Mike Kenally and his band called "Beer For Dolphins". Mike Keneally played guitar and piano on "Karma" ("Ther river is wide", "Dream in red" and "The waters edge") and has been the guitarist for Frank Zappa and many others. We will play in Holland, and maybe some shows in Germany, but I don't know yet. After that I might probably go out with my friend Rick and do a week or two of duo gigs. These won't necessarily be pub gigs, I just want to go out and set up a few small shows. A multi-instrument entertainment explosion!

HM - What will be your next project?

NDV - Well, Spock's Beard is going back into the studio in September to start recording a new record. Other than that I'm looking for work here at home in L.A. - some studio work with other bands. 

HM - What about your work with Roland Orzabal? Can we expect a tour with you and him?

NDV - I'm hoping so, but I don't know what's going on. He's writing with Curt Smith again for a new Tears for Fears project. He hasn't even released his record here in the States yet, it's only an import. So he's working on releasing it here and then hopefully we'll go out on tour but there are no plans. 

HM - Regarding your career, is your most important goal still to sound like Donnie Osmond?

NDV - NO - that was when I was 4 years old, you see (laughs). I have a little 45'' vinyl record that my dad made of me when I was 4 or 5 years old - singing a couple of Osmond tunes. I'm gonna take that and put it on cd. That'll be funny!!! I found it a few years ago and put it on - it was really hilarious stuff !!! 

HM - If there's anything you think that I should mention in the interview, please let me know.

NDV - Well - everybody buy the record! Tell your radio station to play it!

NDV - My website is not perfect yet, but it's up now: http://www.ndvmusic.com. That will be a work-in-progress, but it's got bios, a few MP3 things and some news. Jim Harrel, a friend of mine, is building it up. 

HM - Thank you ever so much for this interview and I wish you all the best !

NDV - Well, thank you for your work!

Heike Mueller
8/17/01
Dutch Progressive Rock Pages