MuzikMafia Godfather Jon Nicholson at Legends Nashville Blues & Funk Artist Opens for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe By Jeff Eason Singer-songwriter Jon Nicholson of Nashville’s MuzikMafia will perform tonight at Legends in Boone. With a name like MuzikMafia, you get the picture that this collective of rebellious musicians is set to shake up the Nashville establishment. What you might not realize, however, is this group has already made a name for itself when it comes to commercial success. John Rich and Big Kenny of MuzikMafia scored big last year with one of the fastest selling records in country music history, Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy, under their moniker Big & Rich. And Gretchen Wilson gained breakout notoriety with her album Here for the Party with its chart-topping single “Redneck Woman.” She even won the Grammy for Best New Artist last month. Not bad for members of a collective that was originally formed to help secure gigs in the small smoky nightclubs of Nashville. Now it is Jon Nicholson’s turn. One of the founding members of MuzikMafia, Nicholson will bring his unique hybrid of soul, blues, funk and rock to Legends in Boone on Thursday, March 17th. He will perform a solo show with special appearances by members of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe prior to the KDTU show. Tickets are on sale at the door. Nicholson paid his dues in Nashville as a singer-songwriter for years. Like many a musician before and after him, Nicholson packed up his belongings, moved to Music City, wrote dozens of songs and played in scads of bands. Along the way he found that it was the relationships that he made with other struggling musicians that gave his life real meaning. Together with Big Kenny, John Rich and Cory Gierman, Nicholson founded MuzikMafia to combine resources and provide assistance for each other’s recording and performance projects. Eventually the shows became showcases for all of the MuzikMafia talent and the crowds grew. While some of his compatriots have moved onto national fame and world tours, Nicholson is content to keep looking for that perfect song. Some of his tunes are in the story-song tradition (“Just A Man,” “Stereo”), while others celebrate the ephemeral (“Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Grandma”). “I get done writing a song and it’s like ‘Hey, that’s pretty cool, how did that happen?’” said Nicholson. “I might not understand it for a couple months but that’s the beauty. Songwriting should be an honest expression of what comes out, almost like you can’t stop it. It’s not something that’s forced or put together for commercial purposes. It shouldn’t be, at least.” Despite the sudden success of some of the MuzikMafia acts, the group still gets together in Nashville on a regular basis. “We got together and did some shows last fall,” said Nicholson. “And this coming fall we’re all going to go on a MuzikMafia Tour. We still work on each other’s records. There’s definitely strength in numbers. And the musical possibilities are endless with MuzikMafia. Best of all, we don’t have to adhere to the rules of Nashville. “We always talk big about world domination and all those things, and that’s initially how MuzikMafia was formed: trash talk. We probably never really thought it was going to happen, but now MuzikMafia has totally changed how the industry thinks and has put art back in the hands of the artist.” Karl Denson Karl Denson first burst on the scene as the saxophonist for Lenny Kravitz in 1989. He spent four years touring and recording with Kravitz and learned a lot from Lenny about experimenting with different styles of music while maintaining a successful and well-disciplined band. In 1992 Denson left that band to pursue a solo career. During the next four years he carved out a niche for himself recording four acoustic jazz albums for the German jazz label Minor Music. During this time he struck up a friendship with labelmates Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley—three musicians best known as James Brown’s horn section. In 1994 Karl formed the band The Greyboy Allstars which quickly became known for its unique groove jazz sound. His latest band, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, continues the exploration of the Jamband-meets-Jazz band territory. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe includes Denson on flute, saxophone and vocals, Brian Jordan on guitar, Ron Johnson on bass, David Veith on keyboards, Chris Littlefield on trumpet and John Staten on drums. In 2002, KDTU released its latest studio album, the much-acclaimed The Bridge. The disc featured the band in a variety of musical settings from funk to rock to jazz. The danceable R&B flavor of the original song “Because of Her Beauty” was expertly offset by the quirky spoken word and African rhythm piece tribute to Fela Kuti called “Freedom.” The album even featured a funky psychedelic treatment of the Curtis Mayfield tune “Check Out Your Mind.” Tickets for tonight’s show are $10 per person. For the March 17th show at Legends, all attendees 21 and over with proper ID are allowed to bring in a six-pack of their favorite beer or wine beverage. For more information, call the Appalachian State University Department of Student Programs at (828) 262-3032.