Franz Nicolay Announces Dates In Support Of "Major General"

Franz Nicolay will be hitting the road first thing this new year in support of his new album, "Major General." Nicolay is that dapper, mustachioed multi-instrumentalist and man-about-town you've seen with such groups as The Hold Steady and World/Inferno Friendship Society. On Major General, he steps up to the spotlight with a melodramatic grab-bag of full-throated songs, stories, and days of wine & roses; shamelessly strident, stentorian and more than a little sentimental.

Nicolay moved to New York at the age of 17, from Center Sandwich, a 900-person town in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where he'd grown up in a cabin with no electricity or running water. In New York he fell in with the legendary circus-punk collective, World/Inferno Friendship Society, whose fire-breathing, club-smashing shows made the term "cult" richly deserved & literally accurate. He founded and still composes for the punky new-music collective, Anti-Social Music, whose mohawked-and-booted chamber-music shows have taken them from rooftop parties to Merkin Hall at Lincoln Center. Anti-Social Music's "Sings The Great American Songbook" was Magnet's #1 Record You Didn't Hear In 2005 and their projects include the hit indie-opera, "The Nitrate Hymnal," and collaborations with Dalek & His Name Is Alive. Guignol, Nicolay's Balkan-klezmer group with Peter Hess of Balkan Beat Box, was a charter member of the NYC gypsy-punk explosion that included Gogol Bordello, Slavic Soul Party, and more (as featured in photo essays & features in the NY Times & London Times). And, of course, in 2004 he joined rock saviours (or haven't you heard?), The Hold Steady, and has been increasingly hailed as the band's hidden MVP for expanding their sound to a cinematic 3D, as well as for his explosive, scene-stealing performances.

In addition, Nicolay has been a kind of in-house session keyboardist for many of the day's punk bands like Leftover Crack (Alternative Tentacles), The Loved Ones (Fat Wreck Chords), The Living End and Max Levine Ensemble (Plan-It-X), while performing or recording with artists like the Subhumans, Jennifer O'Connor, The Dresden Dolls, Against Me!, Bouncing Souls, and many more.

Major General was made in six days, after two rehearsals with the band, a chaotic show at DIY promoter Todd P's Death By Audio warehouse space, and three days of tracking, drinking, and feasting with James Frazee (The Hold Steady). "Jeff Penalty" was produced in a separate session with legendary NYC hardcore producer Don Fury (Cro-Mags, Gorilla Biscuits) at his Coney Island studio overlooking the freak show. Nicolay finished with a few days of overdubs and then handed it off to John Agnello (The Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth) for a proper mix.

The eponymous (i.e., Major General) band includes Brian Viglione (Dresden Dolls), Yula Be'eri (ex-World/Inferno), & Jared Scott (Demander). Other guests include Peter Hess (Balkan Beat Box) and lyrics on two songs by Jack Terricloth (World/Inferno).

FRANZ NICOLAY Supporting "Major General" On the Road!!!:

• 1/6 - Charlotteville, VA - Boylan Heights Restaurant
• 1/7 - Baltimore, MD - Otto Bar
• 1/8 - Washington, DC - Black Cat (Backstage)
• 1/9 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
• 1/11 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
• 1/12 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
• 1/13 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
• 1/14 - Lansing, MI - Mac's Bar
• 1/16 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
• 1/17 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
• 1/18 - Dekalb, IL - The House Café

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