Meet Nicky Blitz of Big Bad Hawk in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicky Blitz.

Nicky, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started in the mailroom of Trauma records working for Rob Kahane and Paul Palmer at 14 and was very lucky to have had the experience. The first bands they signed were Bush and No Doubt (they became massive). During this internship, I observed every angle of the record business from cleaning out producers attics (kinda fun) to hopping on private planes to watch Bush in Vegas for a few hours and returning the same night (very fun). You could feel the excitement throughout the building. I was interested in being an a&r but then got introduced to actually making music in high school by Nick McCarrell. Nick, who would later go on to produce My First Song on Jay-Z’s Black Album, encouraged me to start making beats and taught me how to use an MPC and sample. We would basically get uncomfortably stoned and make beats, it was a phenomenal period. I left Los Angeles to attend the University of Miami and was blown away by the talent at the school, everyone was WAY better than me at everything. It opened my mind to not just make beats, but to write songs. I interned for Dreamworks my freshman year and knew that music production was the path for me.

My sophomore year, I was introduced to Steph Altman (owner of a music house called Mophonics) and was exposed to placing music into commercials, tv shows… sync. This changed my life. Steph took beats that I’d started and turned them into placements for MTV commercials. This made me believe in myself and work. I came back to Miami with a new idea on how to make money in the interim. I met my future business partner Read Fasse and we started signing all the incredible musicians and artists at the school to our company Honor Roll, which would eventually become 10k Islands. We were scoring commercials, writing records for major labels and putting out our own records. We had no idea what the fuck we were doing but it was working. Some highlights included Old Navy, Best Buy campaigns, scoring Espn’ 30 for 30’s The U, Screwball and co-writing Post Malone’s “no option.”

During this period of business, I became super un-enchanted with the business and started writing songs for myself and for fun. I also began to sing on these tracks. this turned into my Nicky Blitz project. Unexpectedly, these songs also worked well for Honda/Microsoft/etc. commercials, and my passion project became profitable. I ended up accidentally playing my records for Miles Beard at APG and signed a record deal as an artist and songwriter. I currently have a new song out with APG/Atlantic called Panic Attack. I also started a new publishing company called Big Bad Hawk. A writer I publish, Mick Coogan co-wrote a beautiful song called “Past Life” which is Trevor Daniel and Selena Gomez’s new single. So life is busy and burgeoning.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’m a very fortunate person with a lot of love in my life. It has not been a smooth road professionally, it is brutal and can really fuck you up. This work really makes you question a lot about yourself, life, people, the universe, but there is something to be said about working with air, emotions and existence. It is an absolute gift to make music for a living and have sound as an income. The biggest difficulty in this business is expectation. Expectation on your records, your business, your relationships and most importantly, yourself.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
First and foremost, I’m a lover of music and the people that make it. I love to listen, sing and dance and can connect easily, that is my gift. My world is alternative and way left of center. That’s what excites me in life and musically. It’s the insane Spanish Tapas/and wine bar in a section of a gas station on Biscayne Blvd in Miami. I love the things that do not fit but work together perfectly, the contrast and the harmony. I’m a wildly loving psychopath that will go to the end of the earth to get the right lyric, melody or production. I’m proud of that dedication and finding that same standard in the people I work with.

Looking at the Crazy Crab studios in Los Feliz (Big Bad Hawk’s studio wing) makes me even more pleased because of the people who worked in these rooms. There is a shared appreciation and commitment to our art.I’m most excited by the impact that our songs at Big Bad Hawk are having on people’s lives. My new song Panic Attack is opening a conversation on our mental state in the most unstable period I’ve ever experienced. Everything in the cosmos is out of wack and in perfect alignment, the changes are breathtaking in every capacity. I’m happy to publish Mick Coogan whose Trevor Daniel/ Selena Gomez song “Past Life” is touching people on a spiritual level. It’s nice to have an impact on mind, body and soul. We are unapologetically ourselves and that is worth being whether it leads to success or failure.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Having sweet dreams, waking up peacefully and cuddling with your person. That feels like the formula. All the other markers are fleeting and I’ve tasted some of them. Things seem to happen when they are pure and purposeful. Of course, you want to have big hit songs, strong investments and a steady/comfortable income but the most valuable asset is time and knowing how we want to spend it. I’m trying to learn how to spend my time better. I can tell you when I’m taking my grandma for sushi or a drive to the beach, glass of red wine and a walk around her neighborhood, business starts to happen and I’m reaping the benefits of these memories. I’m most proud of having found my girl, Nisha. That is the most successful part of my life. I don’t care if it sounds weak, but it’s true. She makes me melt. She keeps it real, is my harshest critic and just knows. Yeah… I guess it’s all about love, that’s what I was looking for and that’s what I’ve got.

Contact Info:

• Email: nick.scapa@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickyblitz/?hl=en

Image Credit:
Brian Fowler, Jimmy Fontaine, Andrew Markowitz, Janine Israel

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