“My last album kicked off with a song where the sentiment was that the idea of having to start over was a curse,” says NYC solo artist and showman Nick Vivid about his new single, “Trainers,” from his upcoming LP No More Secrets (release date: November 12, 2021 via MegaPlatinum Records). “On my upcoming album starting over is a choice – one that I’m grateful to have. The title of my next single ‘Trainers’ is taken from the video game term for cheat mode.”
Musing about applying “cheat mode” to Real Life, Vivid wishes it could be used to figure out life’s dilemmas in order to get things right. “I feel like once we define ourselves and what our lives are about, we don’t allow ourselves to change,” he says. “I have a choice every day when I wake up to define who I am, whether I realize it or not. If I decide to change some aspect of my life – to start over as it were – then that might lead to something positive.”
“Sonically, ‘Trainers’ was the first song I wrote for the new album that I knew would make the final cut. When I stumbled upon the riff, it was that lightbulb moment. ‘OK, this is gonna be the vibe of the album.'” The funk swagger that threads its way throughout the No Secrets album started with the first single “Hush Money (Straight to the Bribe)” (out now) and continues through the dance vibe of “Trainers.”
Created within an 8-Bit environment, the accompanying “Trainers” lyric video includes code written by Nick himself. “I like to mess around with these old machines, and if I can incorporate computer hacking into my music videos, even better,” he explains.
While Nick is a front man/solo musician/song and dance man, he is also a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, drums, keys) as well as engineer and producer – an all-encompassing artist. Introduced to soul and blues music that bleeds through his music, Nick was raised in Buffalo, NY to a radio DJ father and a glam rock-loving mother whose musical tastes shaped his musical output. Eventually moving to NYC to work with Bill Aucoin (original manager of KISS and Billy Idol), Nick released a handful of earlier albums but based his new album No More Secrets on themes revolving around the loss of both of his parents in recent years and the life lessons he’s learned from what he calls “intensive meditative pandemic soul searching.”
Not beholden to any trends, Nick states, “I think I’ve found a way to fuse everything I love about ‘60s psychedelic funk, ‘70s glam rock, ‘80s new wave, and ‘90s hip hop into my own voice. I’ve had friends tell me this is my best album, and others tell me they don’t get it at all, but that it definitely sounds like me. I can appreciate that.”
Nick’s live concerts are a visual extension of his sonic palette, style and vibe, incorporating synchronized video and light effects working in time with his edgy dance moves and falsetto vocals reminiscent of Prince and Pharrell.
