- Nicholas McCarthy
-
Nicholas McCarthy 
Nicholas McCarthy Performing With Franz FerdinandBackground information Birth name Nicholas John McCarthy Born 13 December 1974
Blackpool, EnglandGenres Indie rock Instruments Guitar, piano, keyboard, synthesizer, bass, vocals Years active 2001–present Labels Domino Records Associated acts Franz Ferdinand
Box Codax
Kamerakino
EmbryoWebsite http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk
http://www.boxcodax.comNotable instruments 1959 Hagström P46 Sweetone
Gibson Les Paul Junior
Epiphone Wilshire
Minimoog Voyager
Roland Juno 6Nick McCarthy (born Nicholas John McCarthy, 13 December 1974) is an English musician. He is the guitarist, backing/lead vocalist, and keyboardist of the Glasgow based band Franz Ferdinand.
Contents
Early years
Nick McCarthy was born in Blackpool, England and grew up in Vagen near Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
He was trained classically as a pianist and double bassist at the Munich Conservatory.
Whilst residing in Germany, McCarthy was a member of a band called Kamerakino. He also played double bass, cello and Arabic lute in a band called Embryo, whose music is described as a 'fusion of jazz, rock and ethnic world music.' After extensively touring internationally with Embryo, McCarthy decided it was time for somewhere new, returned to the UK and, on a friend's suggestion, moved to Glasgow.
There, McCarthy broke into Glasgow's underground cultural scene as a member of the jazz band Scatter, shortly after he met Alex Kapranos, now of Franz Ferdinand fame.
Franz Ferdinand
McCarthy met vocalist and co-guitarist Alex Kapranos at a party. McCarthy was classically trained on the piano and double bass but initially tried to play drums. The two met up with Paul Thomson who had played drums with Yummy Fur. Thomson was originally going to play guitar because he wanted to try something other than drums. With the addition of Robert Hardy, the band became Franz Ferdinand.
Box Codax
On 2 July 2005, McCarthy married his Austrian fiancée Manuela Gernedel in Bavaria, Germany. Franz Ferdinand turned down a Live 8 spot so that the pair could tie the knot. In June 2011 Gernedel gave birth to a son, Vito Gernedel McCarthy.
McCarthy and his longtime friend Alexander Ragnew have formed a band called Box Codax, and have released their first two singles, "Boys and Girls" and "Naked Smile," on the label The Thin Man (previously known as Thin Man Records). The band's first album, "Only An Orchard Away" was released on 4 September 2006. McCarthy's wife makes several appearances on the album.
The band released the album on the Gomma Records label and it is described as "a collection of songs often romantic and whimsical nostalgia, at other times scrappy and punky"[1]
References
External links
Franz Ferdinand Studio albums Extended plays Blood: Franz Ferdinand (Remixes)Video albums Franz Ferdinand (DVD)Singles "Darts of Pleasure" • "Take Me Out" • "The Dark of the Matinée" • "Michael" • "This Fire" • "Do You Want To" • "Walk Away" • "Your Diary" • "The Fallen / L. Wells" • "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" • "Lucid Dreams" • "Ulysses" • "No You Girls" • "Can't Stop Feeling" • "What She Came For" • "Die On the Floor/Katherine Hit Me"Other releases Scotland on Sunday • Exclusive 5 Track CDProduction Related articles Discography • Domino Records • Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand • The Karelia • The Yummy FurCategories:- 1974 births
- Living people
- English keyboardists
- English rock guitarists
- English male singers
- People from Blackpool
- Franz Ferdinand members
- Ivor Novello Award winners
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
