David Jones vowed long ago to take his wife’s name when they got married. Now he is David Nields, and he’s in Nerissa Nields’ band called The Nields. Isn’t that romantic?
“The truth is, it didn’t have anything to do with the band, even though that became pretty convenient in the end,” guitarist David Nields said recently in a tour stop to promote the folky rock quintet’s Razor & Tie Music album, “Gotta Get Over Greta.”
“I grew up as David Jones, and for that I was tormented endlessly in school. You know, Davy Jones of the Monkees and about the other Davy Jones’ locker at the bottom of the ocean. Anything you can possibly imagine. Even David Bowie couldn’t take it and changed his name from David Jones to Bowie. Wouldn’t you?”
Singers Nerissa and sister Katryna Nields met David at graduate school in the Washington, D.C., area in the late ’80s, then moved to Connecticut to form The Nields with bassist Dave Chalfant. A third Dave, drummer Dave Hower, joined later.
Critical ravings for their vignette-laden, melodically passionate songs soon followed. Relentless touring also helped build a cult following that has swelled to a 11,000-member mailing list and an active Web site.
For “Gotta Get Over Greta,” produced by Kevin Moloney (U2, Sinead O’Connor), The Nields had a simple goal:
“The word ‘record’ has dropped out of use because people are making CDs,” Dave Nields said, “but I think ‘record’ is the best title for what musicians do. They make a record of what they are.
“For this album, we had worked up the arrangements as a band. We were really excited about the songwriting, because when Nerissa and I wrote these songs, we had the band’s sound in mind. It’s a much more unified project than anything else we’ve done.” Dave Nields thinks so highly of Moloney, he calls him “the sixth member of The Nields.”
“When he first saw us, it was in a little club in Los Angeles,” he said. “He immediately liked what we were doing and understood us on an emotional and intellectual level. His idea for us was to capture our sound rather than mold us into his image.” From: https://www.pauseandplay.com/the-nields-are-in-a-class-by-themselves/
I saw them for the second time at the Birchmere at the end of June, and they again put on an inspired and wildly entertaining show. On stage they make for a curious sight, as the guitar player looks like the spitting image of Tom Hanks' evil brother, sporting the latest in Michael Stipe hairless hair cuts. The goateed, bandanaed drummer was straight from any number of Seattle bands, while the long sideburns on the bass player left me reminded of some punk/rockabilly style band. Then you've got Nerissa Nields, who definitely looks like a '60s throwback, with her straight blonde hair, bangs in the eyes, and that sweet, slightly distant look in her face. Center stage is the statuesque mistress of the grand gesture, Katryna Nields. Despite the incongruous looking band, The Nields play a clever, funny electric folk rock. There shows are full of manic energy, pretty harmonies and witty wordplay. Their albums only partially capture the fun of the live shows, which mix plenty of banter with inspired covers and lively versions of their songs. Nothing could match the dead-on version of Dolly Parton's "Me and Little Andy" from the last show, but "Lovely Rita" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" were fun, as was the hilarious "I Hate MCI" ("because they make me realize I have no friends or family"). I highly recommend seeing them if they stop in your town. The Nields have no problems electrifying the place immediately. From: http://ectoguide.usrbin.ca/artists/nields.the
