Punk Globe: What bands were you in Nick, prior to Pat Todd and the Rank Outsiders?

Nick: I was in a little pop/punk band called Dead Rats, and another band called Petticoat Junkie. Neither put out much. The band put out some stuff after I left, and we briefly got it back up and running in 2013-2014 with the other original member Nate Dillon.

Punk Globe: How did you meet Pat Todd? When did you join Pat Todd and the Rank Outsiders?

Nick: I met Todd at a Lazy Cowgirls show in 1998-Bar Deluxe was the first show I went to; later struck up a friendship with him triggered by our mutual adoration of the NY Dolls-I had made a NY Dolls shirt that he liked so we started chatting…He and Michael Leigh (of Lazy Cowgirls) had been doing a “stripped down” version of The Cowgirls and in 2003, Pat asked if I was interested in backing them on mandolin. Although I had never played mandolin before, I quickly got my hands on one and learned a few chords so I could join and comp them. I only played one show with the two of them at The Thunderbird in NoHo, but later that year I was invited to record with them at Earle Mankey’s. I did a little guitar, but mostly mandolin. Later that year The Cowgirls split. As they were recording their last show, Pat asked if I was interested in starting a band with him. At that time it wasn’t clear if he was going to keep The Cowgirls going, or start a new project. It was an intimidating prospect and I told him I would have to think about it-after a few weeks I told him I was in. By this time it was clear the other members of The Cowgirls decided the last, so that cleared a path for Pat to make some decisions. Pat and I tried a few iterations, but we soon got Rick Johnson on board and the three of us rehearsed new songs in Pat’s  bedroom. We soon got another guitar player, Erik Kristiansen and then (former Cowgirl) Bob Deagle joined up. Rather than call it The Lazy Cowgirls (even though Rick and Bob were former members), Pat decided to call it Pat Todd and The Rankoutsiders, “rank outsiders” lifted from Tumblin’ Dice, but it was also the title of a Cowgirls album. We rehearsed a lot and played our first shows in early 2005. That year we also played in SXSW, we played several shows up and down California, and hit Texas again in the fall. We also recorded an album that Pat combined with those Cowgirls sessions I was on with Michael which became the double LP, Outskirts Of Your Heart.

Punk Globe: Any favorite music artists?

Nick: I listen to a lot of music, always happy to discover a new artist, or an artist that’s new to me (regardless of when it came out). As for influences, KISS was always my gateway drug when I was about 4 years old (yup, four). I was right in that demographic ripe for the action figures and makeup kit. Later, I got curious and ate up any magazines that were in (from the 70s) which will inevitably lead up to the NY Dolls and NY punk scene. I started playing guitar at 14 or so, and to get a start, I tried to find albums that a young ace or Johnny Thunders may have listened to, which lead me to The Yardbirds( that kicked off a lifelong obsession with Jeff Beck), Howlin’ Wolf, Jimi Hendrix, The Stones, MC5, The Stooges, and on and on, and also Marc Bolan and Bowie. This was the late 1980s, so I was at the mercy of what I would dig up at the local record stores (I was living in Phoenix at the time) and comic book shop and local bookstores (always a safe bet you could find some old Creem and Rolling Stone mags around), so I was basically an archaeologist. At the same time, I listened to what was contemporary, but stuff that seemed to have an edge (GnR, Faster Pussycat) but pickings were slim the big hair stuff always seemed a little hokey, but the bands I waS listening to were either no more or they were dead, and it would still be a few years until I got into later punk stuff-a lot of that was impossible to come across then out there. It wasn’t until I moved back to LA in the early 90s that I found that. I didn’t go to a lot of punk shows in Phoenix though, so I made a decision later on that I wanted to play out. As far as what I am listening to today (and tomorrow will be different): Les Paul and Mary Ford, early Stevie Wonder, Press Club, Screaming Females, Django Rheinhardt, Ann Pebbles, Big Mama Thornton, Skating Polly, Velvet Starlings, Jeff Beck Group-BBC Live ’72…and on and on.

Punk Globe: What are you working on now?

Nick: Right now I’m relearning some songs we recorded over the last few years from about August 2020 through this year, we’ve recorded 60+ songs! Most of those were recorded during lockdowns. Pat has so many songs, and there were alot of obscure covers he wanted to do, and a few we suggested, and for the first time, we had the time to record. We had always spent our time rehearsing for the next show and maybe sneaking in a new song in occasionally and if we were lucky, a new album would be done in about 3 years. This time we just recorded and recorded and left it up to Pat to sort out how they’d be released. I think we have two full-length new albums in the can now, and a handful of singles, and maybe about half another album…and Pat wants us to do some more recording in the next few months. He keeps us pretty busy. There is some potential for another Europe tour in 2024. It looks like Pat will be doing a solo acoustic tour of Australia in November. He’s been doing a lot of those shows and I’m really excited for him. I think he should be playing every night really, and I hope Australia is a blast! We also have a lot lined up for local shows throughout the year.

Punk Globe: Had you always been a Lazy Cowgirls fan?

Nick: Yeah, but I didn’t discover them until late in their career. I discovered The LC through zines like Fiz, Flipside, PUNK GLOBE, Chatterbox, and Maximum R and R-it was mostly references to them like reviews and advertisements, also I’d see other bands I liked wearing Cowgirls t-shirts. It wasn’t until I was going through the bins at Tower outlet (Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks) in about 1997 that I found Tapping the Source-totally blew me away-so I immediately became a fan. It wasn’t until ’98 that I saw them live. 

Punk Globe: Any Final Words Nick? 

Nick: Trying to learn Les Paul riffs-that’s a lifetime pursuit in itself. Otherwise, just keep rocking along I guess. I’ll keep doing my part to keep the band going and keep working at untangling the mystery of the guitar whenever I can.