Hey friends,

here's an interview that I just did with Astra Kelly of KPRI in San Diego!

have a listen...hope you enjoy...

http://www.kprifm.com/common/global_audio/224/10007.mp3

~nico

SONGSTRESS NICOLE TORRES: A MUSICAL MUSE
By Don Bain

She dances across the stage as the music starts in a dynamic yet unassuming manner. Nicole Torres is singing her introspective, self-aware and original composition titled Impulsive. She's the musical act, the draw, for a gathering of many of the front range's best known poets,
united in a fervent hue and cry of opposition to the war in Iraq. Labeled War Rant, the event was organized by Ted Baca and held at the Aztlan theater last weekend.

This is one way she maintains her ties to the community and the causes she supports. "I think people care more what public figures think than what politicians think," Torres said. "If you ask anyone between 15 and 30 what Barrack Obama thinks about any given thing they may or may not know, but if you ask them what Snoop Dog thinks –they probably know. It's about creating a voice for yourself and music is peace, so I can be involved in political or socially oriented things without making my songs political."

After witnessing different performances at various venues, she seems to grow to fill the stage she's on, possessing a stage presence well beyond her years. She demonstrates a vocal range and musical savvy most American Idol contestants would die for – a woman born for the stage.
She's performing songs from her latest CD, Out of Harm's Way by Nicole Torres and the Affiliates. This is sophisticated music, classically structured and yet containing various elements, rhythms and genres. Artistically, she moves through the wide plains separating Massachussetts' Paula Cole from Mexico City's Magos Herrera, incorporating jazz, pop, alternative and spoken word styles likely to hijack the attention of anyone within earshot. The classical aspect results from her early studies – she took violin for years in public school. "A lot of what we do is based on classical music – my sense of arrangement is based on classical music – it's got themes, it's modular and it's usu-
ally very simple." She gave up the violin at 15 and devoted herself to intermural sports. It was three years before she picked up a guitar and felt its attraction.

"My senior year of high school, I had a boyfriend who brought me some of his chord charts and loaned me a guitar," she said. "I started learning Beatles songs and Elvis Presley. I figured if I was going to spend all this time learning other peoples songs I should just make up my own."

Torres got her start playing open mike events and the music has become her passion. She was always attracted to the stage, first with theater, but she feels more natural playing music. She plays a flat-top acoustic guitar with an electric pick-up, using the instrument's full range of on simple rhythms played to clever effect, occasionally throwing in short leads. She uses her voice similarly in both high and low range plus rapid fire spoken word torrents. Broad pauses sometimes punctuate her songs, allowing time for the lyrics to sink in.

She is essentially self-taught, with little musical instruc-
tion or theory other than the violin. She cut her musical teeth in Tacoma, Washington during 2001, working with a musicians co-op known as Victory Music. "I ended up being a volunteer coordinator for them and hosting their weekly radio broadcast Open Mike– 30 acts and everybody gets one song. I had to learn to run sound, I had to learn to be on the stage and I had to learn to host. That was how I started to play out." Torres took some voice lessons last summer and plans further study of guitar and other instruments – this is her calling – not just a hobby.

An excellent pair of musicians form her band, The Affiliates, and compliment her style magnificently. John Minardi is an impeccable percussionist who demonstrated his expertise on an electronic drum pad for the very first time at another recent performance. Sparrow plays the bass guitar with true verve and balance – between the two they lay a solid foundation for Nicole's rhythm and vocal leads. Saturday night her guest for most of the show was local flute and saxman extraordinaire Christopher Lawhead, playing flute for this gig.

Nicole has a very organic approach to the music business – she has CDs available at her gigs
or online for $15. Various tracks are available from iTunes and free downloads are available on her
website. "There's a lot of changes I want to make in the world and I'm going to need a lot of resources and a really big voice to do that." She's not necessarily pursuing a record contract but would accept one that worked for her. "I would want to have decision making power – creative control is very impor- tant to me."

She already does all the design work for the albums and fliers, manages tours and booking plus handling promotion and even some production. So A&R people will need to show her what their company can do for her she's not already doing herself. "They could probably expedite the process, but if I've got to do it myself, I'll do it myself."

When it comes to what audiences take home from her performance she's unequivocal. "I have
this obsession with being the muse – I don't care if you liked my music, I don't care if you liked me, I don't care if you liked anything we did as long as when you go home you want to do your own thing. If you're a painter, I want you to go home and want to paint. If you're a dancer I want you to go home and want to dance. I want to inspire people."

So far the Front Range has catapulted Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Devotchka and The Fray into the big time. Will Nicole Torres and the Affiliates be the next big name to rise out of
Colorado? If talent, passion and drive are what it takes, our money's on this gifted young songstress. For a calendar of performances or to hear some of her music visit nicoletorres.comor catch her show at Dulcinea's 100th Monkey Feb. 7.

-Don Bain
La Voz

Nicole Torres & The Affiliates
by Tommy Nahulu
Tommy@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Far from the ear-candy shop of bubblegum Pop and mainstream monotony, a young doe-eyed songstress shares her own brand of bold, passionate, and poetic music with Denver's music loving scene. Her expressive style of writing is honest and sophisticated. Her energetic performances are engaging. Nicole Torres and the Affiliates create acoustic-driven, urban Jazz/Rock compositions that are best experienced live. For someone who started her musical journey only seven years ago, Torres shows great promise. Her accomplishments as a musician are impressive: since 2001, Torres has recorded six CDs and is soon to release another. She's played some of the most notable clubs and venues in the Denver area, and has established herself in popular stopovers from Seattle to Minneapolis. Like all great artists, despite their level of success and popularity, Nicole Torres and the Affiliates are true to their art. That art is often dependant on keen observational instincts and the willingness to bear your soul. Torres has both. Her love for Hip Hop and Electronica, as well as bands like Radiohead, is more an inspired element than an influence when it comes to creating her unique style. All of this became obvious, after listening to her song "Jumbled Numbers," a track she pointed out as her favorite composition. Torres expressed great relief and satisfaction when talking about her band she affectionately calls The Affiliates. For drummer John Minardi and bassist Ben Sparrow, the feeling is mutual. Minardi, the mature family man whose years as a musician began in Brooklyn, New York before Torres was a twinkle in her mama's eye, confidently considers Torres a genius. "I've never been more proud to be part of a band," said Minardi, "Her songs are smart, unique, and fun to play." Perhaps that explains why "Mango & Nicotine" is his favorite of all her songs. For Sparrow, playing "Kind Of Kind" better defines his presence in what he considers to be the best band he's ever been in. Originally from Iowa, Sparrow is pleased to be surrounded by the great pool of talent that makes up Denver's rich music scene. Influenced by the likes of Jaco Pastorius, Flea, Les Claypool, and Victor Wooten, Sparrow's contribution is sure to shine. "I wouldn't change a thing," Torres told me, when describing her fellow players. Her Affiliates agree. Torres seems more interested in filling hearts through their ears than filling stadiums through the years. Given the growing fan base she's been accumulating, one may indeed lead to the other.

NicoleTorres.com

i finished the photo section on my website. i'm pretty excited about it. check it out.

www.nicoletorres.com

me, my girlfriend, and a friend of ours were sitting on the balcony late last night. i got up to go inside to get something, but when i got to the door, it seemed to be locked from the inside. bummer. especially because it was 1:30 a.m. definitely a situation.

fortunately, our friend was still awake when we called, so he walked over a mile to this house to save us. about a half hour later we threw the keys down to him (how rent of us) so he could go into the house and free us from the bounds of the balcony. needless to say, we were lucky to have good weather.

the text message read: "no bites last night by the by."

what i understood: "nobody hit your my space profile last night."

what she meant: "no spiders bit me in my sleep last night for the first time in a month."

maybe i should unplug my computer for a while.

on a different note, i went to the immigration rally downtown today. i gotta say--masses of people uniting for a cause really brings a tear to my eye. i hope everyone gets what they were looking for.

i'm still not sure what i'm supposed to put in this thing. this morning the woman at the record store across the street let me buy a roll of quarters from her so i could do laundry. since they don't generally make change, i thought it was awful nice of her. hooray for nice people.