Meet Nick Crnko

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Crnko.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up playing music in Seattle and moved to Southern California in 2009. I studied drums at the University of Redlands about an hour from Los Angeles for four years and after a short stint in San Diego I moved to Silverlake in 2014. I’ve been playing drums for bands for five years. I’m currently drumming for three different bands, Harry Katz and the Pistachios, Dario Bronco, and for Ashley Keene.

Along the way I’ve learned to diversify my musical boundaries beyond being solely a drummer. I grew up singing, I’ve taught myself guitar so I can write music. Most recently I’ve been learning sound production. I’ve found that beyond keeping myself from creative stagnation, being available for deviating gigs allows me to stay constantly active and present and that is, I believe, the key to living a successful musical life in Los Angeles.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh, there’s always road bumps. It’s foolish to play rock n roll for any kind of immediate financial gain, and it’s dispiriting how many musicians I know holding down a full-time day job all the while trying to give 100% to their art.

The radius clause is another restrictive side of the LA music scene. Basically the idea is that an artist can’t perform in a window of time leading up to and following a show. Typically it’s two weeks before and after and logistically that allows artists only one show a month.

It’d be nice to think those kinds of rules are in place to help the artist, to limit exposure and the over-saturation of your product to your audience but I can’t help seeing it protecting the clubs and promoters who expect the bands to pack out their bars and stack their numbers. Even if you’re working with “bookers” or “promoters” your band is always doing the hustle, it’s still your job to bring the audience.

Thus far as a drummer I’ve been very lucky to play in bands like Harry Katz and the Pistachios who’ve had the opportunity to host residencies at clubs like The Satellite and Harvard and Stone. Those venues are really looking out for the musicians; offering them reoccurring weekly shows and the opportunity to book similar minded/styled bands. This allows a band not only to build its stage presence but also to construct cohesive night’s of music, an audience can feel that comradely between bands.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’ve always preferred the life of being in a band as opposed to that of a hired gun. It’s the difference between moving into a home with four significant others (or 9 in the case of “the Pistachios”) and deciding what color to paint the walls verse checking into a hotel. There’s obvious advantages to both scenarios. As a hired musician you set your rate and you’re paid out upfront. But in a band it can be financially weird; money is split on the back end, ie, after sales of merchandise or streaming revenue if there is any.

Thing is, as a musician I’ve always thrived on collaboration and in a band you create music together, take it out on stage, watch it grow and morph nightly. The benefit of having or being in a band is the access to all the different moving musical parts that each member brings. The energy from that crazy lassoing of vibes and ideas has always been what’s thrilled me about music.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My parents both grew up in California and almost every family vacation would be down to Southern California either visit family or to visit the beach. I became obsessed with the idea of moving to California the moment I could so I’d say my favorite childhood memory was graduating high school (which I detested entirely) and knowing I was finally done with that phase of my life and about realize that move to Los Angeles.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ncrnko123

Image Credit:
David Garret Sarrafian,  Fiona Cansino

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