Nickel Creek is an American acoustic music trio with roots in bluegrass, though is now sometimes described as "Progressive Acoustic." The band is composed of three permanent members: Chris Thile (mandolin), Sara Watkins (violin), and her brother Sean Watkins (guitar). The band's fourth guest member has been less permanent, although he is always a dynamic part of their performance. This position is currently filled by Mark Schatz (string bass). Over the band's three official albums, Nickel Creek's musical style seems to have shifted from contemporary bluegrass to the incorporation of indie rock elements, covering songs by Radiohead, Pavement and Bob Dylan. However, the core influence of bluegrass remains evident in all three albums.

History

The band formed in California in 1989 with Scott Thile, Chris' father, playing string bass. The two families, the Watkins and the Thiles, met at That Pizza Place, in Carlsbad, California, where they listened to the band Bluegrass Etc. The oldest of the children, Sean, was only twelve years old at the time.

In Nickel Creek's early days they recorded two albums: Here to There (out of print) & Little Cowpoke. Later, Alison Krauss helped to develop their style. She produced their self titled 2000 release on Sugar Hill. This is now recognized as their first major release. Scott Thile retired from the group when their touring schedule became too difficult to balance with his day job. After a few years of touring with various bassists, Mark Schatz has taken over the role.

The group has released five albums (three major releases) and won a Grammy Award in 2003 for Best Contemporary Folk Album for their release, This Side. Nickel Creek and This Side have both been certified gold for sales above 500,000. They released their third album, Why Should The Fire Die? on August 9, 2005 which was nominated for the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. The track Scotch and Chocolate from Why Should the Fire Die? was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance.

Discography

Chronological releases

• Little Cowpoke (1993)
• Here to There (1997)
• Nickel Creek (2000)
• This Side (2002)
• Why Should the Fire Die? (2005)

Singles

• 2002 - This Side
• 2003 - The Lighthouse's Tale
• 2003 - Speak
• 2003 - Smoothie Song
• 2005 - When In Rome

Collaborations

• Mutual Admiration Society (2004) with Glen Phillips
• Little Worlds (2003) with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, featured on Off the Top (The Gravity Wheel) and Off the Top (Line Dance).
• Further Down The Old Plank Road (2003) with The Chieftains, featured on The Raggle Taggle Gypsy

This biography was taken verbatim from the Wikipedia. We're providing a snapshot just in case the Wikipedia servers were temporarily unreacheable. The original page is not only much more up-to-date, it also features links to other pages and sites. This snapshot was last updated: 08/15/2006. (mm/dd/yyyy)