Nolen & Friends have released a remarkable new album, Live From Vaccine Summer. Currently based out of Denver, Colorado, the ensemble, led by singer and songwriter Nolen Ramminger, Nolen & Friends has have been building a hard-earned reputation as a stand out live act and one of the rising stars of the American Independent Music Scene. The album captures the very essence of a band’s energy in concert, making you feel like you were actually there.
With their 17 track album, ‘Live from Vaccine Summer’ out now, we talk to Nolen Ramminger about the record, the live shows, the past, present, and future of Nolen & Friends.
Nolen & Friends Live from Vaccine Summer (2021) – full album
WWM – Who are some of your musical influences?
Nolen – In terms of songwriting Ive always been into the folk singer songwriters like Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, and newer folks like Todd Snider and John Craigie. I love the storyteller approach and the subtle use of comedy in the writing. From an aesthetic perspective, the very raw, tender, punk acts like The Velvet Underground, Daniel Johnston, Elliot Smith, Weezer, Ben Folds, Elvis Costello are all huge for me.
WWM – How did the band members find each other? As a band, how do you work and write together tossing ideas around? How do you stay focused as a band and to avoid common band disagreements in all facets, including writing, recording and making the decisions?
Nolen – I first met Adam Petty (lead guitar), at a house party at Zach Rudd’s place here in Denver where myself and some of the Caterpillar Effect Records guys were there as the house band just jamming in the living room. I’ve known Zach since college at Colorado State, so a bunch of our buddies are there. This guy Adam shows up with his guitar, and sort of sheepishly asks if he can join. We say sure, and someone calls a funk blues or something and Adam starts absolutely ripping. All of us were instantly like… “Who the heck is this guy…?” It was pretty unbelievable.
Ultimately I got to know Adam that evening, and he introduced me several months later to Jake (bass) and Jonah Greene (drums), his bandmates in Ms.Nomer (an insanely talented instrumental trio in Denver). It was also through those guys that I met Remy DeWeese, Ms.Nomer’s honorary fourth man / live-in sound engineer, who produced this record. Miles Rothstein and Nick Krieg play acoustic and cello on the final track, Catfish Blues. I met them both at my previous day job as a tech consultant.
WWM – Do you collectively have a favourite album? If so, can you tell us why it’s your favourite?
Nolen – My personal favorite album in terms of influence for this record would have to be Sam Cooke’s live from Harlem square album, One Night Stand. I think that must be one of the greatest live albums of all time. It really transports you into the room. Into the audience. And that’s a big part of what I was looking for on Live from Vaccine Summer. I wanted to capture the excitement and energy of live music coming out of hibernation.
WWM – The album is a compilation of live performances in Denver, Colorado at The Mercury Cafe, and The Broadway Roxy. How much does playing live and in particular the crowd’s reaction, influence/inform your songwriting/sound?
Nolen – For me playing live is really what it’s all about. I’m not one of these guys who loves to spend a bunch of time in the studio tweaking sounds. I love the challenge of balancing my own personal interests and goals as a songwriter, with the ultimate task of entertaining the room and making it feel like a party that everybody is invited to. I think the challenge is to be really authentic and personal and soul-baring, while also being inclusive, and without isolating anybody, or killing the mood. I just love it all. Changing the setlist based on the energy in the room, bantering with the crowd and the other musicians. I hope all of that comes across on the album.
WWM – What’s one anecdote that you’d love to share about this release?
Nolen – One thing that we did at these shows which was a blast was we created a big cardboard gameshow wheel with a bunch of musical challenges…. The instrument swap, Jeopardy, half-finished song challenge, 30 second cover song challenge, just to name a few. The gameshow wheel made for a lot of fun, and ultimately led to the spontaneous creation of the Improvised Dinosaur Blues track featuring my Dad. So if you want to feel the thrill of the wheel in action, you’ll have to come on out to one of our shows.
WWM – Can you describe your current sound? Has your sound changed since you wrote your first song?
Nolen – I would say the sound has definitely changed. The first studio record, Whiny Millennial Blues was pretty much purely acoustic singer/songwriter stuff. Live from Vaccine Summer includes everything from indie and surf rock, to funk, some blues, but still a bit of acoustic folksier stuff. Having genre diversity at the shows and on the record was a major goal for me.
WWM – Is there a mentor who supported you in your career? If not, how do you navigate the industry?
Nolen – So obviously my Dad, Scott Ramminger plays and sings on a few tracks in the album. He’s been super helpful to me as a gigging musician himself. We definitely have our fair share of late night phone calls recapping each other’s gigs, scheming on how to get more folks to the next show, all that stuff. So it was great to have him play with me and my pals on this record.
WWM – Do you have any upcoming performances you would like fans to know about? Is there anything else you would like to announce for your fans or anything you would like them to know?
Nolen – We will be playing some shows in Denver and around Colorado in the coming months, so for anybody who digs the record, definitely keep your eyes on our socials for those announcements! And if you’re in another location and would like to see a Nolen & Friends show, drop us a message and we will see what we can do to get there!
Band members:
- Nolen Ramminger – composer, vocals, guitar, mandolin
- Adam Petty – guitar, backup vocals
- Jacob Hoeffner – bass, backup vocals
- Jonah Greene – drum kit, backup vocals
- Scott Ramminger – saxophone, vocals
- Zach Rudd – composer(Frisbees and Scooters), guitar, vocals
- Nick Krieg – Cello
- Miles Rothstein – acoustic guitar
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