Nic Arp leads two bands, Nic Arp Band and Fritters, to the Mill’s stage on Friday.
By Isaac Hamlet
Watergate left Nixon singing the blues; it left Nic Arp, at age 9, writing his first song.
“I think I was fascinated by the fact that the president had done this naughty thing and gotten caught,” Arp said. “Lyrics have always sort of been about how I expressed myself and explored the world.”
At 8:30 p.m. Friday, the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., will welcome Arp and his two musical groups: The Fritters and the Nick Arp Band. Saxophonist Saul Lubaroff will sit in.
Bass player Jennifer Horn-Frasier will join Arp on stage in The Fritters, an electric pop-folk duo.
While waiting for their children to finish music lessons, Arp and Horn-Frasier got to talking, realized they lived right around the corner from one another, and decided to jam.
“Being in The Fritters stretched both Nic and me,” said Horn-Frasier. “I had never played bass in such an exposed way, and Nic had never really sung harmony parts before.”
Arp, though, considers himself first and foremost a songwriter, a title better on display in his full band.
“Nic is a non-typical songwriter,” said Dave Rosazza, the Arp Band’s electric guitarist and vocalist. “Not coming from a music-theory background, he doesn’t have any preconceived notions of what a song should do.”
This atypical musical development perhaps stems from Arp’s lateness learning an instrument.
“In college, I had a friend who played guitar, and I’d write songs with him,” Arp said. “Eventually, when we parted ways, I had to learn how to play guitar. Before that, when I was writing songs, I didn’t really understand music, I was just writing words.”
Rosazza is engaged by Arp’s style of songwriting and because “he writes what he hears.” Arp’s more nontraditional musical background can make his songs “fun for an experienced musician,” because it can be hard to know what direction the pieces will take.
“With a full band you really have the culmination of a dream,” Arp said. “When you’re at an open mike with only a guitar, and you’re just getting started, it’s fun to fantasize, ‘Wow, one day I’ll do this with a full band.’ And I’m lucky enough to have that now.”
Because the Arp Band recently needed a bass player, Horn-Frasier was brought in. The Mill gig will mark her début performance.
Even after years of writing and membership in numerous bands, Arp is still grateful for the opportunity to play his music with a group.
“I’ve been working in music for a long time, and I can say, even when you’ve been at it for years, you don’t necessarily get a lot of attention,” Arp said. “But it’s still important to recognize that spirit of creativity for people in any art. I encourage people to pay attention to those around them who are making art.”
MUSIC
Nic Arp Band
When: 8:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Mill, 120 E. Burlington
Admission: $8