Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Perri.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I got bit by the rock and roll bug when I was about 10 years old. My Aunt Terri, aka The Dode, used to drive my sister and I around in her Camaro in the early 1990s (in Bensalem PA, just outside Philadelphia) cranking Pearl Jam and ACDC on cassette. When I was 12 I finally convinced my parents to buy me a guitar and off I went. I must have been a serious manifester because by age 16 my high school band, Silvertide, was courting major label attention, which led to signing a multimillion dollar record deal with Clive Davis when I was 17.
We made a record which did sell well, by at least today’s standards, (around 350,000 physical albums), toured the world, and played with all our heroes- including opening the 2004 Van Halen reunion tour with Sammy Hagar. But as close as we came we never really broke the threshold into worldwide public consciousness, and the band was dropped when I was 22. I decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue music because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Before long I landed a gig playing guitar for alternative rock pioneer Perry Farrell. I toured with him and with some other artists for the next few years before making my return to original music with an alternative-rock band called Mount Holly (named after a town in New Jersey by the same name). That was the last gig I played as a guitarist / songwriter before flipping the switch and deciding to take on band leading and a lead singer role.
I formed The Underground Thieves in 2018 as a vehicle to collaborate with all the artists I know and wanted to play with, and I’ve been fronting that group ever since and releasing music under the name Nick Perri & The Underground Thieves. In 2020- pandemic be damned- a song I wrote and produced called Feeling Good cranked the Top 50 on the national Mainstream Rock radio charts. And my followup double album Terra Firma debuted at #14 on the iTunes Alternative albums charts in 2023.
Being an independent artist is a rewarding but challenging career choice, and to help round out a living I also do a lot of session work, playing on a variety of other artists’ albums, including Alessia Cara, Suki, Waterhouse, Luke Spiller, 50 Cent, Christina Perri (my sister who’s also an artist), and many many more. It’s an interesting thing to combine your passion your hobby and your job into one thing, it’s definitely not for everybody, but I have found as long as I can stay inspired I can keep going.
So that’s really the biggest thing for me- staying inspired- and doing whatever it takes to ensure that happens.
Also to note I have a brand new single out that was just released a couple weeks ago called Be With You! I think it’s among my best songs, and productions. Check it out!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Lolol. No one’s life is a smooth road, and navigating the music business is about as rocky as they come. Speaking of Rocky- good thing I was born in Philly- we’re tough! Jokes aside, it’s a pretty brutal career path I would never recommend to anyone else who wasn’t completed and utterly obsessed and couldn’t fathom doing anything else.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think most of this was answered in my story. But as far as what I’m proud of, it’s being authentic to myself for better or worse, and carving my own path, AND the fact I’m still in the game 24 years in. Very few people make it this long. But it’s just not something I can turn off.
What were you like growing up?
Type A all the way. When I get into something it’s all or nothing. (this is great and also terrifying) haha. I’ve always been determined, passionate, and focused, and an optimist! Which is not common among artists I’ve found out. But it’s the way I was programmed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nickperrimusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickperri/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb3iXU-bjlyu-FE3WATkBpw
- Other: https://tr.ee/Ki5lXjmfrX
Image Credits
Press/Studio photos by Ryan Richardson
Live photos by Bob Linneman
