Tunes Tuesday: Nick Politelli

Photo courtesy of Nick Politelli.

Home for Good and All is your second solo release. Can you walk me through its conceptualization?

It’s my first full length album. I recorded the Examiner EP back in 2021 with Keith Zarriello of The Shivers in a cabin in Saugerties, NY. We all look up to Keith. He’s a legend.

I’ve been writing songs since I was about 17 or 18 but never played them out. Truthfully, those first songs were all bad. Objectively and subjectively. It took a long time to write music and lyrics I was happy with – the first being “Absent Minded Fool” on Ravi Shavi’s “Special Hazards.” I feel lucky that I’ve always been encouraged to write and put things out – particularly by my bandmates and friends who write and record music. So I just kept writing songs I liked then asked my friend Chuck Perry, who just bought some recording gear, if he wanted to record them. He obliged and we spent many, many hours in our old studio space behind Wes’ Rib House making it. We started off with a song called “You Got Me All Wrong” which didn’t make the album, but it sounds pretty cool and I’d like you to hear it someday.

You collaborated with some talented artists on this. What do you think they add to the album?

They realized the album for me. I couldn’t have done this on my own. I can barely record a demo – it’s embarrassing. Chuck Perry is a fantastic engineer and tasteful player on whatever instrument you put in front of him. He played electric bass, some keys, and defined the sound of the album. I was lucky to have Lucy Mangelson, Damian Puerini, EDT, Amato Zinno, Florence Wallis, and John Faraone play with me, too. I’m grateful to everyone who helped me see this through.

There’s an acoustic side to the album and a full band side. Why did you think it was important to incorporate both?

I started performing at folk clubs in London. I would often play at one of Davey Graham’s old haunts. You’d do well to listen to him play the guitar. I love country blues and ragtime guitar and piano songs – I find the music so exciting. I always try to incorporate what I learned from those styles into what I write. It’s as much of who I am musically as my contributions to Ravi Shavi and Lookers. So instead of being pulled in two different directions, I tried to use everything I knew about songwriting to make a cohesive album. Bob Dylan did it on “Bringing it All Back Home,” and on his world tour in late 1965 and 1966 where he would play the first set by himself, then bring The Band on to finish the show.

Who are some of your inspirations and how do they present themselves in this album?

I like epic stories, traditional music, angular, jagged guitar. I like old melodies of apocryphal origin. Garage and cellar music. Garages and cellars are fertile, holy grounds. I just put a ping pong table in my garage and immediately got a shoulder impingement. I like going on tangents.

I grew up in Rhode Island, I’m still here. I like being of a place and the voice it adds to your writing. I don’t want to make any boilerplate indie music. And I hope I haven’t.

What should people expect from the album?

I’m not sure. I hope there’s a song or two on there you’d play more than once. I tried to write lyrics that can conjure up an image in your mind, or play like a short scene.

If you could describe Home for Good and All in three words, what would they be?

Good for All.

Your brother directed some of the music videos off this album. How special was that getting to collaborate together in that way?

He’s very talented behind the camera – and more importantly he has good ideas. The great David Lynch once said that ideas come from a TV in your mind, and I think Luke’s got a pretty big screen with all the channels. Collaboration is at the heart of this whole thing and I often feel that it shouldn’t just be my name on the cover.

Lastly,

I’d like to record a second album very soon. The songs are written and I’m really excited about them. So please listen to “Home for Good and All” and give me a reason to spend some of my hard-earned money to make another. Thank you all for listening.

Listen to the album here.